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This topic has moved here: Subject: Hesitation = Familarity
  • Subject: Hesitation = Familarity
Subject: Hesitation = Familarity
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  • Exalted Legendary Member

To play or not to play....

Why does the Master Chief hesitate to put the index in the mechanism within the Halo control room? Wehn he enters the room with Guilty Spark they are talking amung each other. Guilty Spark is telling the Master Chief about Halo and the Flood etc.

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343 GUILTY SPARK:

...Which means that any organism of sufficient mass and cognitive ability is a potential vector.

343 GUILTY SPARK:

Is something wrong?

MASTER CHIEF:

No, nothing.

343 GUILTY SPARK:

Splendid. Shall we?

(Master Chief and 343 Guilty Spark walk up to the main panel.)

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This dialogue seems to imply that the Master Chief hesitated and in game you can see that he kind of stops a bit but when Guilty Spark speaks to him again he continues.

If you consdier lots of other indications of familarity with Forerunner technology and even knowledge then you start to ask the question. Why do humans seem to know so much by pure instinct alone.

For example in the book we see numerous examples of humans (not just Spartans) knowing stuff or working out Forerunner related stuff heaps quicker than it would be by sheer logic alone. Almost as if we know something deep down inside us buried deep in our minds. Something we can't quite speak about and say "this is what it is" but we know it in our minds somewhere deep inside. It is almost like a very old memory or reflex.

Anyway proof in game can be seen by the Master Chief just knowing how to activate various terminals throughout Halo. I would imagine if anyone walked up to an alien terminal they would not know what to do at first. However the Master chief seemed to work it out pretty quick. Mind you the terminals foun don Halo were pretty user friendly.

The various Halo related books give even more detailed hints at this "familarity" . One example I can think of is Kurt in Ghosts of Onyx. As he watched the Sentinels at work he sees symbols flowing around them and they look oddly familar. He also sees symbols on walls that seemed to him to tell a familar story almost as if he had seen them before.

Ok lets look again at the hesitation in the Halo Control room.

Why would the Master Chief hesitate at this point? Up until then he believed that activating Halo's defences was a good thing. Why hesitate to do that? Wouldn't he want to activate defences against the Flood? Why stop and think about it when you've just spent the last few hours fighting life and limb to get to the point where you can finally activate the defences? It just seems odd.

----more dialogue----
MASTER CHIEF:

Yes... Activate Halo's defenses, and destroy the flood, which is why we brought the index to the control center.

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This dialogue shows that the MAster Chief believes all Halo will do is defend against the Flood. He doesn't seem to understand how the rings work at this point.

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MASTER CHIEF:

Yes... Activate Halo's defenses, and destroy the flood, which is why we brought the index to the control center.

CORTANA:

You mean this?

(Index appears in Cortana's hand.)

343 GUILTY SPARK:

A construct?! In the core?! That is absolutely unacceptable!

CORTANA:

Sod off!

343 GUILTY SPARK:

What impertinence! I shall purge you at once!

CORTANA:

You sure that's a good idea?

(cortana teleports the index away.)

343 GUILTY SPARK:

How, how... How dare you! I'll-

CORTANA:

Do what? I have the index! You can just float and sputter!

MASTER CHIEF:

Enough! The flood is spreading. If we activate Halo's defenses, we can wipe them out.

CORTANA:

You have no idea how this ring works, do you? Why the forerunners built it? Halo doesn't kill flood, it kills their food. Humans, covenant, whatever. We're all equally edible. The only way to stop the flood is to starve them to death. And that's exactly what Halo is designed to do; wipe the galaxy clean of all sentient life. You don't believe me? Ask him.

(Master Chief turns to 343 Guilty Spark)

MASTER CHIEF:

Is this true?

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If humans are familar with Forerunner technology and knowledge by mere instinct then what does that imply? This seems to imply that the knowledge is within us just waiting to be used or activated in some way.

A few possible vectors ;

1> Humans are supposed to take over from the Forerunners.
2> Humans are direct decendants of the Forerunners.
3> Something else.


[Edited on 07.23.2007 4:21 PM PDT]

  • 07.23.2007 4:20 PM PDT
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Hesitation = Familarity

The Chief just transported back to the place where he left from at the end of AOTCR. He recognizes the place because he's been there.

And how hard could the various terminal on Halo be? Turn on a light bridge, open a door and use an elevator. On/Off, Up/Down, open/close? Did I miss any? It can't be that hard. In fact I suspect he button mashed.

  • 07.23.2007 8:35 PM PDT
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Well, yeah, most switches on the halo were very user freindly, and MC could of hesitated because he was thinking about Cortana, but in the books it does say specificly that that the swithces and symbols seemed eeriliy familiar.

  • 07.23.2007 9:17 PM PDT
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Consider the fact that the Chief's only (fairly) recently parted with his AI companion, leaving her within the Control Room to her own devices while he went of to save Captain Keyes. The Covenant may have attempted to gain access to the Control Room once more, or UNSC forces could have arrived to retrieve her without him knowing.

There's also the question of what might happen to her should he unify the core with the Index while she's still in the system, which at the time, the Chief wasn't aware that she could "hold" it.

  • 07.24.2007 6:02 AM PDT

1.Arkham Asylum, 2.Mass Effect, 3.Halo CE, 4.Mass Effect 2, 5.Halo 2, 6.Splinter Cell Double Agent, 7.Gears of War 2, 8.Medievil, 9.Oblivion, 10.Crash Team Racing

Dont think so by this text.

1. When Chief stopped in control room it might be because of anything, he has ran around planet, seen fight, zombies, dead allies, fear, old computer and now they can end it all. I would be pretty confused.

2. Guilty Spark said only way to stop the Flood is to activate rings, of course we would think its a weapon. First Keyes said he heard Covenant speaking about it, then Cortana told things about this great weapon. Who would think it actually doesnt kill who it was supposed to kill, but to kill their food?

Its possible humans are Forerunner releated, but in 2500 Covenant and Humans seem to be busy with each other and get information of each other. If Elite can activate bridge, why couldnt Chief? Both factions spy each other

Thing that makes me doubt your theory is the fact that both Humans and Covenant get more info as time passes. In Halo1 Forerunners were just had just small part as missing old people. When story goes on you get to know more and more about Forerunners, during Halo2 speed of information flood rises and i think Halo3 will be even more Forerunner releated.

And if all people have these instinct, who from Forerunner knew Flood will once again appear and everything will go the same way again so humans was supposed to take their place? Forerunners studied Flood, humans got no chance to that when Chief was only one in library. Forerunners travelled across galaxy building and leaving their mark everywhere, humans barely got outside Earth. Did Forerunner expect humans would win Flood without any extra knowledge or technology, or was their intention to just have humans activate rings to put off the problem. If Chief would have activated ring in Control Room who would have come after us? We didnt leave any traces or marks to those who come here after us. They would have have even worse starting place than we did.

Judging by everything Forerunners were universal race with great technology and they were very well prepared to activate Halos, humans just got outside Earth and they were supposed to take Forerunners place? Did Forerunners have something like Covenant with them, maybe thats why Forerunner plan didnt work, when humans got out of Earth they were immediatly attacked and were in war with Covenant. If Humans could have slowly and steadily got outside Earth to moon, mars, reach maybe they could have grown as big as Forerunners or even bigger, but Covenant prevented that? But that leaves other question, who are Covenant, where and when they came and how they would fit in old Forerunner universe? Covenant knows much more of Forerunners than humans do. If Covenant knows about Forerunners, but we are the Forerunners where is the logic? Covenant shows us everything so we will learn about our past, or we let Covenant take our place as Forerunners?

I think the only thing that suggest our existence as Forerunner releated are Monitors, they are Forerunner tech and they seem to keep humans much bigger beings than Covenant. But that might be because Forerunners just told them to treat humans (Or living beings who happen to live on Earth?) as gods, because they are hiding and trying to solve Flood problem (ARK is on Earth, Hideout? Most important construct?) or they dont like Covenant, because they were arch enemies or for some other reason they have bad terms (Prophets, who seem to know all about Forerunners, old Forerunner allies, leaders, enemies?). Why were Guilty Spark or Sentinels allowed to shoot Chief if he is real Forerunner? This could mean Forerunners just told monitors to help humans activate Halos, if they dont help, they will be forced. But in Halo2 Spark acted entirely different than in Halo1, i wonder what happens when Chief and Spark meet again? New start as allies or still enemies?

This post got little off hand:). This story is so messed i could make endless theories, i would just wait.

[Edited on 07.24.2007 7:40 AM PDT]

  • 07.24.2007 7:37 AM PDT

I know you have all these fancy theories cooked up and everything, but are you absolutely sure that the Chief didn't just pause because he remembered that Cortana was still in the Control Room? It seems to make more sense...

  • 07.24.2007 4:11 PM PDT
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To play or not to play....

Iwas thinking that maybe humans were given some deep seated knowledge or instinct. Humans are after all seen as reclaimers and a reclaimer seems to have the role of RECLAIMING from the Flood. Part of that role is activating Halo, if necessary. It is possible that humans are genetically inclined to know stuff about Halo. Though being inclined and actually knowing things are not the same. It is like being good at something you just started doing. Some people call it a natural aptitude or gifted in something. It could just be that humans are gifted in some way.

I am not necessarily saying Forerunners are human I am saying that possibly we are decendants. I am definately saying we are seen as reclaimers. Two Monitors have called several humans by that title now, on two different Halos.

Though you folks do raise some good ideas :) .

If I was the Master Chief I would be oh so eager to activate the Halo defences after all the hardship I just went through. Heck I would be darn right itching to get back at the Flood.

[Edited on 07.28.2007 6:11 PM PDT]

  • 07.26.2007 3:29 PM PDT

1.Arkham Asylum, 2.Mass Effect, 3.Halo CE, 4.Mass Effect 2, 5.Halo 2, 6.Splinter Cell Double Agent, 7.Gears of War 2, 8.Medievil, 9.Oblivion, 10.Crash Team Racing

Like i said, if Forerunners were huge race with great technology, how could have they given job of stooping Flood for race which is much less evolved. Did Forerunners plan humans to be just short term solution for Flood problem? Not ultimate solution? Who would come after us to finish the job eternally?

How and Where Covenant appeared and how would they fit Forerunner universe? Did Forerunners know there will be Covenant who try to stop Humans?
We know that Forerunners fought against Flood only. Humans have Covenant, Flood and partly Sentinels, how could Forerunners think we have any chances if they couldnt win?

2 important problems from my post above.

  • 07.27.2007 3:57 AM PDT

I think they were obviously laying the groundwork for later explaining the ties between humans and forerunners, that much we can be sure of.

  • 07.27.2007 5:43 AM PDT