Bungie Universe
This topic has moved here: Subject: Enkidu - Cortana Letters Revisted?
  • Subject: Enkidu - Cortana Letters Revisted?
Subject: Enkidu - Cortana Letters Revisted?
  • gamertag:
  • user homepage:
  • last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT

hey everyone i'm extremely new to this site and especially to these boards, but i've read the entire thread, and done some minimalist reading on the connections between halo and marathon, and while all these theories being tossed around are valid, i think theres one thing that wasnt mentioned that might be of some interest-- if you didnt read the First Strike book, you might want to ignore this....

when confronted with certain realizations, doesnt the good dr. halsey take a wounded spartan and the remaining shard of the mysterious time-warping crystal on some secret mission? now im not as immersed in all the halo mythology as i would like to be just yet, im working on it, but that might be signifigant ie. perhaps a slipspace jump in the altered slipstream created by the crystal would allow her to travel through time and perhaps effect events that have been going on in this enkidu transmissions? if im entirely stupid for this theory, please feel free to tell me so.











  • 05.02.2004 3:38 PM PDT
  • gamertag:
  • user homepage:
  • last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT

Sorry to ruin your theory, but she handed over the crystal to Locklear just before she left with Kelly. She didn't have any of it, as at that point it was still in one piece.

  • 05.02.2004 3:43 PM PDT
  • gamertag:
  • user homepage:
  • last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT

Ok i really am starting to agree with Zk315. We are all just throwing ideas and guesses at this(i am guilty myself) but when we do it is just taking us farther from the truth of what is going on with E. right now. I hope we get some new terminals soon. It would sure help in the understanding.

  • 05.02.2004 3:47 PM PDT
  • gamertag:
  • user homepage:
  • last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT

you are correct sir. lol i knew it wouldnt take long to be debunked. thats all i have then...

  • 05.02.2004 3:47 PM PDT
  • gamertag:
  • user homepage:
  • last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT

to respond to few and far betweens statements... sure she did not take the rock with her but she did take kelly.... also what about ackerson's secret project.... and didnt someone say somewhere in the novels that mendez was going to train the next batch of spartans.. so whos to say that this JD character (a spartanII) is beingtalked to by just a better version of the master chief (spartan III)

just a thought



[Edited on 5/2/2004 4:16:14 PM]

  • 05.02.2004 4:14 PM PDT
  • gamertag:
  • user homepage:
  • last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT

well we don't know who JD is yet (that's why their called JD) but we do know that they are being talked to by an AI originally from the UNSC Lebanon.

  • 05.02.2004 4:28 PM PDT
  • gamertag:
  • user homepage:
  • last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT

Posted by: Kane Dawnseer
Ok, here you go...

I was fabled before rings were. - Before Halo

I was legend before Leonidas was born. - Before Master Chief was created

I was epic before demons rode in the dawn sky. - Oni, Oni is the Japanese word for Demon or Ghost

I was myth before a sword awoke from a stolen rocky womb. - Myth... almost to obvious though

I was sentenced into darkness before Theseus found his foe. - The Minataur series

I was killed before my home was scourged by western winds of war. - operation Desert Storm

I was driven raving mad before dear Dot bounced off the cushioned walls. - Gnop, the pong clone Bungie made, their very first game

All this would suggest that, whoever this is, they were around from the very beginning.

Ok, going off of this, it is Halo itself, or some form there of. If you read the Bungie history it'll jump at you. Its basically saying that this was in the works for a long time. The idea of halo has been around forever, but never came to light till recently.

  • 05.02.2004 5:00 PM PDT
  • gamertag:
  • user homepage:
  • last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT

I got home from work to find my computer on (Not that uncommon, as I often rush out the door at the last minute) to find the original Cortana letters open. Now, that I didn't do, but I normally take things like this as a Sign. Either that, or I need to change my password so that my roomies can't get on. Let's hope for the former. Out of idle curiosity, I read through them, and found something interesting.

The original Cortana letters, at least the first one, has a rather... interesting undertone. Can somebody please read through the tones of these letters and then the Enkidu documents, and compare the tone? Because I personally find the two similar. If that's the case, then Enkidu may very well be a good guy still. Just a "smarter than you" good guy, who enjoys doing things to our brains that minors aren't allowed to do.

Again, random thoughts. I might say more later, if I can get my headache to fade a little.

  • 05.02.2004 5:06 PM PDT
  • gamertag:
  • user homepage:
  • last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT

yes Enkidu does sound a little like Cortana... just as Cortana sounded a little like Durandal.
All human AI's seem to have a similar tone - and all three could turn on you at any time... Enkidu might not have turned bad... he might just be being a little mischefievous..

  • 05.02.2004 5:39 PM PDT
Subject: T.S. Eliot
  • gamertag:
  • user homepage:
  • last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT

T.S. Eliot was referenced in the first Cortana letter.
Eliot wrote a series of Poems titled The Waste
Lands
.

"Nam Sibyllam quidem Cumis ego ipse oculis meis
vidi in ampulla pendere, et -blam!- illi pueri dicerent:
(something in greek) respondebat illa (more greek)
I don't know enough about latin to translate. HELP!


Notes:
-The narrator seems to be talking about war,
and the time Eliot wrote this wasn't long after WWI
-The word "she" is used a lot. Perhaps referring to
Cortana if you think in haloverse terms.

"Winter kept us warm, covering Earth in forgetful
snow, feeding A little life with dried tubers."

Don't know what tubers are, but the relation to
our planet Frigid is clear enough.

"And here is the one-eyed merchant, and this card,
Which is blank, is something he carries on his back,
Which I am forbidden to see. I do not find The Hanged
Man. Fear death by water. I see crowds of people,
walking round in a ring"

Not sure what is meant by "one eyed merchant",
but it sounds like it could be relevant to halo.
"Fear death by water?" The Flood anyone?
The last line explains itself.

"'That corpse you planted last year in your garden,
'Has it begun to sprout? Will it bloom this year?
'Or has the sudden frost disturbed its bed?"

Could this be a connection to Frigid? What kind
of corpes could be on Frigid? If this connects to
Enkidu's messages, then it is possible that Frigid
was once a garden, but war tore it apart and left
corpses buried. What will sprout from these corpses
I wonder?

The connections go on and on and on. I just
started reading and analyzing, so I'll have more
to add soon.
In the meantime, I think everyone should read more of
The Waste Lands
EDIT: Analyzing this poem is HARD!!!, I need all the
help I can get. I'm only getting more questions then
answers, but it ties in with the Enkidu terminals and
halo very well.



[Edited on 5/2/2004 7:17:48 PM]

  • 05.02.2004 6:22 PM PDT
  • gamertag:
  • user homepage:
  • last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT

Obviously the Cortana have lots of info relevant to halo... that's what they were about. Finding references to Enkidu is a little harder.

  • 05.02.2004 6:31 PM PDT
  • gamertag:
  • user homepage:
  • last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT

Posted by: GOD Halo Fan
Obviously the Cortana have lots of info relevant to halo...
that's what they were about. Finding references to Enkidu
is a little harder.


You're right, but I think that this can relate to Enkidu if we
keep digging. I just added something in latin and greek
that was in the poem, and maybe if we translate it, it
will reveal something.
Please stay with me on this! I would really appreciate it.

Addition:
The narrator of the first poem talks about a Hyacinth.
The Hyacinth is a flower, but in Greek myth it is a
symbol of the frailty of life.
In the Sumerian Myth of Gilgamesh, Gilga wishes to
be immortal, and when he reaches the man who is
immortal, he tells him to look for a plant. Gilgamesh
finds the plant, but loses it, and realizes that mortality
is also beauty. That's my Interpretation.
btw, Gilgamesh wishes for immortality because he
mourns Enkidu and fears death like his friend.

[Edited on 5/2/2004 6:48:37 PM]

  • 05.02.2004 6:35 PM PDT
Subject: Enkidu - Cortana Letters Revisted?
  • gamertag:
  • user homepage:
  • last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT

Posted by: sniperz53
to respond to few and far betweens statements... sure she did not take the rock with her but she did take kelly.... also what about ackerson's secret project.... and didnt someone say somewhere in the novels that mendez was going to train the next batch of spartans.. so whos to say that this JD character (a spartanII) is beingtalked to by just a better version of the master chief (spartan III)

just a thought




All valid but one, when mendez was going to train the next batch of spartans it was another batch of spartan II's. This is backed up by the fact that when all the remaining spartans where gathered on the P.O.A., MC said that he had not seen most of them during training. Soo they where Mendezes other batches.

  • 05.02.2004 6:37 PM PDT
  • gamertag:
  • user homepage:
  • last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT

Posted by: Spartan 127
Posted by: sniperz53
to respond to few and far betweens statements... sure she did not take the rock with her but she did take kelly.... also what about ackerson's secret project.... and didnt someone say somewhere in the novels that mendez was going to train the next batch of spartans.. so whos to say that this JD character (a spartanII) is beingtalked to by just a better version of the master chief (spartan III)

just a thought




All valid but one, when mendez was going to train the next batch of spartans it was another batch of spartan II's. This is backed up by the fact that when all the remaining spartans where gathered on the P.O.A., MC said that he had not seen most of them during training. Soo they where Mendezes other batches.



No, he said he hadn't seen them since training. The spartans were split and sent on various missions.

  • 05.02.2004 6:42 PM PDT
  • gamertag:
  • user homepage:
  • last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT

eMCee, it could be nothing, but in reference to the 'one eyed merchant' thing. When the poem from 'let me introduce myself' first sprung up, there were two opinions: It was shaped like either 343 Guilty Spark, or an eye.

Eye, one eyed merchant? Perhaps something tied in there?

[Edited on 5/2/2004 7:11:13 PM]

  • 05.02.2004 7:06 PM PDT
  •  | 
  • Exalted Mythic Member

January 30, 2004 (Warthog's Day)
The Master Chief emerged from his code. After seeing his dynamically lit realtime shadow, he went back for 9 more months of development.


Behold the power of the Originals, the Gods Axeone-Neurone.

Posted by: Hoju
eMCee, it could be nothing, but in reference to the 'one eyed merchant' thing. When the poem from 'let me introduce myself' first sprung up, there were two opinions: It was 343 Guilty Spark, or it was an eye.

Eye, one eyed merchant? Perhaps something tied in there?


As other evidence the html source has [color="white"]eye spy[/color] listed in the keywords for the poem page.

  • 05.02.2004 7:10 PM PDT
  • gamertag:
  • user homepage:
  • last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT

Also the "ASCII art" thing, meaning that the poem is definately something.

And I can't really see it being anything other than GS or an eye.

  • 05.02.2004 7:13 PM PDT
  • gamertag:
  • user homepage:
  • last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT

"Here, said she, Is your card, the drowned Phoenician
Sailor, (Those are pearls that were his eyes. Look!)
Here is Belladonna, the Lady of the Rocks, The lady
of situations."

This may mean nothing, but in the first poem by Eliot
there is a bit of talk about eyes. Still no where near
done reading, but thanks for the input.
In earlier halo theories related to the REAL histrory of the
spartans, some thought that the Covenant were the
Phoeneicians because the ancient Phoenecians
dealed in purple dye, and the Covenant seem to
like purple a lot. This would tie in with the one-eyed
merchant somewhat, but i don't have time to confirm
this right now.

[Edited on 5/2/2004 7:27:37 PM]

  • 05.02.2004 7:26 PM PDT
  • gamertag:
  • user homepage:
  • 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]

  • 05.02.2004 7:35 PM PDT
  • gamertag:
  • user homepage:
  • last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT

Hey eMCee, good find and nice translations. I'm with hojo on 343 GS:

Posted by: Hoju
eMCee, it could be nothing, but in reference to the 'one eyed merchant' thing. When the poem from 'let me introduce myself' first sprung up, there were two opinions: It was shaped like either 343 Guilty Spark, or an eye.

Eye, one eyed merchant? Perhaps something tied in there?


I think the refernce to the eye could be translated as 343GS. Infact i think it is. I have always thought of 343GS as an eye.

Also what does he cary on his back? is it the responsibility for setting off the halo? The responsibility for setting it off before the cheif came along? His guilt? Maybe the guilt is for setting it off?

I once read on an HBO forum post that "Guilty Spark" was a term for going crazy and killing one's family. Perhaps 343GS is responsible for whatever happened to the Forerunners, his family. Perhaps they are the frozen bodies here on Frigid?

  • 05.02.2004 7:50 PM PDT
  • gamertag:
  • user homepage:
  • last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT

Posted by: eMCee
"Here, said she, Is your card, the drowned Phoenician
Sailor, (Those are pearls that were his eyes. Look!)
Here is Belladonna, the Lady of the Rocks, The lady
of situations."

This may mean nothing, but in the first poem by Eliot
there is a bit of talk about eyes. Still no where near
done reading, but thanks for the input.
In earlier halo theories related to the REAL histrory of the
spartans, some thought that the Covenant were the
Phoeneicians because the ancient Phoenecians
dealed in purple dye, and the Covenant seem to
like purple a lot. This would tie in with the one-eyed
merchant somewhat, but i don't have time to confirm
this right now.


Didn't the Phoenecians paint giant eyes on their sheilds?

  • 05.02.2004 7:53 PM PDT
  • gamertag:
  • user homepage:
  • last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT

Here's a little theory I've got. You can feel free to dismiss this as wild speculation, because it is.

BUT...

Speaking as a writer / storyteller, I'm seeing a possible setup for something bigger than both Marathon and Halo. Thanks to Kane Dawnseer for pointing out this interesting information:

----------

I was fabled before rings were. - Before Halo

I was legend before Leonidas was born. - Before Master Chief was created

I was epic before demons rode in the dawn sky. - Oni is the Japanese word for demon or ghost

I was myth before a sword awoke from a stolen rocky womb. - Myth... almost too obvious though

I was sentenced into darkness before Theseus found his foe. - The Minotaur series

I was killed before my home was scourged by western winds of war. - Operation: Desert Storm

I was driven raving mad before dear Dot bounced off the cushioned walls. - Gnop, the pong clone Bungie made, their very first game

All this would suggest that, whoever this is, they were around from the very beginning.

----------

Here's a few little additional pieces that haven't been brought up just yet. Now, we know that Marathon and Halo aren't supposed to have anything in common, and they probably don't. At least, not YET. In the ancient Babylonian myth of Gilgamesh, Enkidu was a beast-man who lived in the wild until he was seduced and brought into civilization by a prostitute. 343GS aside, doesn't that sound a tad like the rampant A.I. Durandal from the Marathon games? If the loads of Thermopylae (look it up) references in Halo are any indication, Bungie has gotten a great deal of inspiration from ancient history and mythology.

Now, I believe that Marathon and Halo were originally conceived as seperate universes entirely. I don't think Bungie had any great revelations planned out in the beginning of Halo's development. But since there are so many common threads in the mythologies of ancient cultures (once again, look it up), I guess it was only a matter of time before someone at Bungie realized that the two series are connected. 343GS has a lot in common with Durandal (rampancy, being really old and grumpy, hijacking a space station). What little we know of the Forerunners sounds suspiciously like Marathon's Pfhor (being really ancient, building supernova doomsday weapons). I guess the writers were fishing from the same pond while crafting the two stories.

I think somebody at Bungie might've said "Hey, why don't we bring the two series together?" Perhaps Halo 2 will have more Marathon references in it, but this time they'll be more calculated. And after Halo 2?

----------

All this would suggest that, whoever this is, they were around from the very beginning.

----------

Now here's where my writer's instinct starts kicking in. Suppose someone at Bungie came up with an idea back in the 80's, say, before their first game Gnop. Some really kickass concept that would've made a great game, but wasn't feasible at the time so they scrapped it. When writing a story, I've sometimes found myself unwittingly including bits and pieces of an older, discarded one; perhaps someone at Bungie did the same. They might've had an bigger, more expansive universe in mind for Marathon, slimmed it down to fit into the game, and then crafted Halo from the unused ideas. But once they realized how similar the two really were, they might've decided not only to merge them, but to combine them to form the older, original concept in all its glory. Kind of a "narrative Voltron" thing going on.

It's also hard to ignore the fact that the Enkidu terminal itself closely resembles the computer terminals littered across Marathon. Green text on a black background. Witty rejoinders mixed in with pertinent information. Enkidu refers to the wireless networking standard 802.11g in its windows, while the Marathon terminals mentioned various ethernet protocols between their messages.

Is it possible that whatever comes after Halo 2 will finally bring the universes of Marathon and Halo together, and create a whole greater than the sum of its parts? Could the Enkidu terminal provide a glimpse into some top-secret project Bungie hasn't announced yet? Could the rampant A.I. 343GS and the Forerunners be remnants from Marathon, just waiting for the final piece of the puzzle to fall in place?

Maybe not. This is just a hunch, and most likely an incorrect one. I don't want to put that kind of nigh-messianic pressure on the guys at Bungie, who quite thoroughly rock and don't need me throwing a wrench in the works. But all the same, once I thought about it enough, I couldn't resist sharing it.

[Edited on 5/2/2004 8:50:40 PM]

  • 05.02.2004 8:42 PM PDT
  • gamertag:
  • user homepage:
  • last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT

Hey Regulus, Nice job but I have one question, did you come up with all this before or after you read all these post (plus the past three or four years worth of post at HBO too)? You haven't brought anything new up. You just made a very nice argument for something someone thought of a long time ago.

Personally on a side note, I think that Halo and Marathon will never merge. Never. Never at all. Never ever. As far as the terminal looking like the one on Marathon, take a look at the terminal screens on the PoA. The Enkidu screen terminal could fit in quite easy on any UNSC ship. So never, ever, and I mean never, will Marathon merge totally with Halo.

Now go read my big ass post above this!

[Edited on 5/2/2004 9:23:35 PM]

  • 05.02.2004 9:22 PM PDT
  • gamertag:
  • user homepage:
  • last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT

Your're probably right that they never will be merged. However, I'm sure that Bungie has been purposely making allusions to link the two together. They'll never come out and say it, but the Halo and Marathon universes are interconnected. They've known that they've been doing it from the beginning, too, I'm certain. Maybe by the end of Halo 2, they'll plop a giant Marathon allusion (bigger than any of the others) right in front of us.

  • 05.02.2004 9:31 PM PDT
  • gamertag:
  • user homepage:
  • last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT

Tartarus, I could not have done that any better. WOW.

Ok so i have some ideas to add.

for your number

2. Could it be possible that 343GS could do that teleporter thing to other planets. I think it is possible, because we know that the Halos are linked together some how because if one goes off they all do.

3. I dont think it is human AI it just does not seem to fit. Why would a Human AI take over another.

4. I dont think this is a copy because when the covenant copied an AI it seems to always have problems. But this AI sounds normal.

I think that E. has been taken over by something forerunner.

Something interesting though is that the AI that cortana cought and read its code looked just like her with errors. So I guess it could be cortana from the future but i dont think so.

  • 05.02.2004 9:33 PM PDT