- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
Zk315, you nailed it and you are exactly right! you wrote:
So instead of trying to use this to patch together the furure of Halo, we need to use this to solve the present. That is, what's happening to Enkidu now, not what's going to happen or what may or may not have happened.
These Enkidu terminals can tell us nothing about the future of the Halo Story or how they tie in with the Halo Story. Everything that we are coming up with on this is simply guesses and speculation, and nothing more. The cryptic complexity of the Enkidu transmissions has gotten us all side tracked by distracting us.
So, What should we be trying to figure out based on the information given?
I believe we should be trying to simply answer 2 things. They are:
1) Who or what is the "new" identity Enkidu and...
2) Is the "new" Enkidu identity on Frigid a friend or a Foe.
There are two other questions raised by the Enkidu terminal but I feel that there is insufficient data at this time to try and answer them (they are: Who is JD and what is the secret mission of the Lebanon called "SENTRYWALK".) We should try to instead focus on the above questions.
OK. So here goes question number 1:
Prior to Landing on frigid Enkidu was a standard ship AI that operated and spoke as a normal one did. Before entering the structure on Frigid, this “standardness” (for the lack of a better word) of the Enkidu AI is hinted at in the terminal entry titled Blast from the Past. There it reads: ...hopes to salvage whatever code breaking equipment we can from the wreckage of the Pelicans. Then we hope to rig a bypass circuit on the door locks."
This passage describes how normal Enkidu was because a "smart" AI like Cortana would have had no trouble with forerunner doors as we have seen on the HALO. cortana would not have needed special codebreaking equipment.
Upon entry of the structure we are then informed that Enkidu will be linked up with some sort of "RF network" that is connected to a terminal within. This occurs on 8-21-2552 and this transmission is recognized by the Lebanon's computer as were all prior transmissions: ***INCOMING M[E]SSAGE FROM ENKIDU***
The next chronological events then occur on the same day, 8-21-2552, about two hours later. This event is marked with a riddle about someone's or something's identity. This entry on the Enkidu terminal is tiitled let me introduce myself
After this happens, the next chronological terminal entry to come in is signed by Enkidu, but is not recognized by the Lebanon's computer. Instead it is identified ***INCOMING MESSAGE FROM [UNKNOWN]***
This is proof that what or who we are speaking to is NOT the same Enkidu that we knew before it landed on Frigid. we must all agree that now, the true identity of this "new" Enkidu is unknown. So who is the new Enkidu you ask? We have some options:
1) The Enkidu AI has been taken over or mixed with an AI left behind by the Covenant.
Here is the evidence for this scenario:
A defeated Covenant frigate had been in orbit around the planet Frigid and had mined something out of a glacier. However, were they inside the structure? I conclude yes. This "new Enkidu states in the terminal entry It's A Cold Day Here In Hell... that The place was built to last, I'll give it that. Roomy, too. Might be a vermin problem, though. The previous owners didn't clean out their cupboards very well. (Maybe they left in a hurry.)Vermine? This sounds just like what took place on the Halo. the Covenant went in, discovered the flood, and tried to get off of the halo fast (and scared) without cleaning up. I quote the game Halo, Cortana speaking to the cheif on the opening of the level Keyes, The Covenant network is in absolute chaos. From what I've been able to piece together, their leadership ordered all ships to abandon Halo when they found the Flood...
2) The "new" Enkidu has been taken over or mixed with a Foreunner AI, possibly 343GS.
Here is the evidence for this scenario:
We have seen Cortana absorb a large amount of forerunner data on the Halo. This amount of data made her somewhat abrasive and hurt her abilities to function "perfectly". So far we have not seen any truly major defects occur in her character, but it makes you think about what absorbing forerunner data would do to a normal ship AI like Enkidu.
Another possibility is that somehow this new entity is or contains 343GS or some other forerunner monitor like him. I feel though that I do not need to go into the evidence for this as this has been a very popular idea. Much of the evidence on the surface of the riddle seems to point to 343GS (the shape of the poem as an example) but if it is 343GS, how did he get from the halo ring and back in time for the all of the events to occur that he would be involved with. More simply, how could he almost appear to be in two separate places at the same time?
3) This "new" Enkidu has mixed or been taken over by another Human AI like Cortana.
Here is the evidence for this scenario:
This is the hardest scenario to argue because we have no idea how Cortana could have been placed in this structure on Frigid. However, these Enkidu terminal entries are very similar in structure and voice to the Cortana Letters of the past. The Enkidu terminal, let me introduce myself is actually signed in a similar manner to one of the old Cortana letters. That signature is A friend(?) of a friend. The only difference of the two is the question mark in parenthesis. It is not included in the Cortana Letters signature.
Another possibility is that ONI embedded a separate AI entity in Enkidu that would only surface once it was injected within a forerunner terminal. This is however pure side speculation as we have no idea what the Lebanon's mysterious mission was.
4) This "new" Enkidu AI is mixed with or taken over by a Covenant copied Cortana or Forerunner AI.
Here is the evidence for this scenario:
SAY WHAT!? A covenant AI that has been copied/ made from either Cortana or a Forerunner AI like 343GS?!
OK Let me explain. In the book First Strike Cortana gets aboard the Covenant ship Ascendant Justice and Infiltrates its computer system. Within the computer she encounters a Covenant AI that she seems to recognize. This AI appears to be copied over and over. So where did the Covies get this AI? Possibly it is copied from some Forerunner AI they encountered in the past, or It is a replica of who we know as Cortana or 343GS. This theory unfortunately rides on pure speculation of time travel. This time travel is related to the crystal on reach. I won't explain it if you haven't heard about it, but imagine that a copied Cortana or 343GS could be copied and with the gaining of a time travel crystal, the future Covies could go back and give the past covies the copied AI (Cortanan or 343GS).
You are probably thinking right now, well how did the Covies get their hands on 343 GS or Cortana to copy her?
They could have gotten 343GS from halo where they copy him multiple times, transmit the copy through space to the next nearest ship. This Covenant communication system was described in First Strike. Cortana learned about it after taking over the Ascendant Justice. Then they would put him on covenant ships, and later send him back in time where would then be left by the Frigate on Frigid.
As far as Cortana, at the end of First Strike Cortana copies herself and the copy goes with the Chief to blow up the Covenant control Center, The Unyielding Hierophant. Towards the end of the assault, Cortana has had to copy herself over and over. Perhaps somehow the ships nearby were transmitted some of the copies of Cortana, she continues to copy, then she was later set back in time to past Covenant with the aid of the crystal. Events occur and then the frigate leaves a copy behind on Frigid. The only weird thing is that if this scenario were true, we couldn't tell if she was friend or foe. Had she simply piggy backed on covenant ships, or was she completely assimilated?
Thes are the possible scenarios to help determine who This "new" Enkidu is, but what about question two?
2) Is the "new" Enkidu friend or foe?
Way back I showed that whatever took over/mixed with the first Enkidu, presented its identity in the form of a riddle following the "RF network" link up to the structure's terminal. This riddle, let me introduce myself was signed in a way to make it known that the identity was not clear about its relationship to JD. The question mark in the signature of this riddle that follows the word friend displays this fact.
Later in the Enkidu terminal entry It's A Cold Day Here In Hell... the "new" Enkidu directly confronts JD with this question of Enkidu being a friend or foe to him/her. I know that you're wondering about me. I wish I could believe it was concern for my health, but of course it's your own hide that worries you... The "new" Enkidu then gives a clue to how to answer this question: ...you're asking the wrong question. You should be asking, "Igigi, or Anunnaki?" I'm not sure I could answer. But I don't need to. You're the one with the secret decoder rings. Why don't you go find out, hmm?
I'm not going to try and list all the possibilities for friend or foe here because we have already got lots of input on the epic of Gilgamesh, the past Cortana letters, Halo game dialog, Halo books, etc. (plus I'm running out of characters). The best source I believe is the actual Enkidu terminal. Its rendition of the epic of G. doesn't even match the real one. Basically, the answer is under our noses.
[Edited on 5/2/2004 7:55:35 PM]