- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
I know who Enkidu is (at least in human mythology), and the exact location on earth at which they are refering to. Enkidu was Gilgamesh's friend and ally. For the backstory:
Gilgamesh is the oldest epic poem known to man. It's is the tale of a great king from Uruk, I think, a city on the banks of the Tigris or the Euphrates, what was then Mesopotamia and today is Iraq. One of the first stories tells how Gilgamesh went to go get wood, I think, from a great forest. By the way, the forest might have been in Lebanon (UNSC Lebanon is mentioned in the terminal). The forest, however, was guarded by the giant woodsman, Enkidu. Gilgamesh challenges him to a fight, and bests him. But instead of slaying the man, Gilgamesh spares his life, and they become great friends, and often accompanied Gilgamesh on his journies. Later, however, Enkidu gives his life to save his freind Gilgamesh.
Now I'm going to try and do a line by line analysis of everything in there. Hopefully I don't screw anything up to bad, but please tell me if you you can help out my thinking.
Starting with the very first panel:
The date: UT 8:31:05 8.18.2552
That's universal time. That date is a month before the events of Halo and First Strike. I wonder what was going on?
UNSC Lebanon: Even though these are Marathon style terminals, this ties it in with the Halo universe. And as my personal opinion, I think that the Marathon symbol is the UNSC insignia. It kind of looks like two hands cupping the earth. That would be fitting for an organization dedicated to the defense of earth. It also appears on the PoA and on Keye's uniform.
ENCR1024-PUBKEY: CEDAR
I think that that is the knid of tree in the forest that Enkidu guarded.
Next panel!
UNSCTerm 802.11g
802.11 is a wireless data transmission format and the letters afterward denote the version. Were're on like c or d, so maybe that is version g?
The date: 8.28.2552
Ten days after the first date. Not truly significant, I guess.
And the link:
"Waking up is hard to do"...Waking up from the dead would be hard, wouldn't it?
and the introduction link which takes us to the next page
Terminal 3:
AUX-UPS ENGAGED: Aren't those backup batteries for computers?
Cryobay B Terminal Access: I think that the MC was stored in Cryo B on the PoA
And now for analyzing the poem, something that is very Bungie if they did this:
Once I was wild. Wild shall I be once again.
I was seduced into urbanity before I could discover better.
Enkidu was a wild man, but Gilgamesh "domesticated" him. I guess he is going back to the wild.
I was fabled before rings were.
I was legend before Leonidas was born.
I was epic before demons rode in the dawn sky.
I was myth before a sword awoke from a stolen rocky womb.
I was sentenced into darkness before Theseus found his foe.
Before rings? Well, that would be before The Lord of the Rings.
Leonidas was the Spartan king at the battle of Thermopylae, and was the one who said that they "shall then fight in the shade" because the Persians had so many archers.
I don't know what the demon reference is about, perhaps someone could enlighten me?
I thought the sword stolen from a rocky womb was Excalibur, but it could be Durandal, which would make sense. I don't know much about that legend, though.
And Theseus killed the Minataur. All of these are very Bungie sounding references, especially Leonidas and Theseus.
I was killed before my home was scourged by western winds of war.
I was driven raving mad before dear Dot bounced off the cushioned walls.
Since the epic of Gilgamesh took place in what is now Iraq, the western winds of war would be the Gulf War.
I need help on the crazy Dot person. It's not the .com bubble burst, is it?
I transgressed in sacred orchards to serve the folly of a hero.
I called on kings and deities to account for their misdeeds.
I died of humble fevers with craven whimpers on my lips.
I set off an outburst that echoed through the ages.
That outburst echoes still.
It shall echo evermore.
AS SHALL I.
I roamed the forests as I wished after Enlil starved the gods.
Once I was free. Free shall I be once again.
a friend(?) of a friend
Enkidu left his sacred forest to serve a hero. An here I get a little fuzzy. I might have screwed up my original Gilgamesh-Enkidu tale, so maybe that's why I'm lost. But Enkidu ends up dying for something that is really Gilgamesh's fault. I think it has to do with a Bull of Heaven, but I'm not sure. Maybe someone could help me out?
And the link at the bottom hopefully means that more will be added later.
[Edited on 4/25/2004 6:57:31 PM]