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  • Subject: Enkidu - Cortana Letters Revisted?
Subject: Enkidu - Cortana Letters Revisted?
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not off hand, but maybe someone could send an email to hammy over at marathon story page.

  • 05.06.2004 11:01 PM PDT
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Posted by: Zk315
The forerunners SHOULD have had more of an insight than that

Yeah, but these are the people who built a weapon of mass destruction that wipes out all life in the galaxy in order to save it from the flood, who in turn, wipe out all life in the galaxy. Idiot savants, perhaps?


I have to agree with you ZK315 and i'm going to add some of my thinking to this as i have been thinking a lot about it.

Just because the Forerunners attained a superior level of technology than anything else in the univse, it doesn't make them perfect. And just because a collection of races decides to get together and make them into holly sacred beings, doen't mean that they were. Its kinda like Elvis. His music lives on, but he has been lifted to a higher level of exsistence because he is simply is not here anymore. I'm sure that if he was, he and his music would be much less impressive (*squelch* thought of 80-year old Elvis signing Jail house Rock in a tight, sparkling jump suit). Yet, people worship him. Just do a google search on how many people visit Graceland a year and you'll see.

If forerunners where sentient beings just like ourselves, I'm sure they are prone to the same kind of behavior and mistakes that we humans make. Perhaps they had their own gods. Perhaps the Flood were even them. I mean think about it. Why would you build something to wipe out all life in the entire universe, yet make sure that a selection of species were saved? 343GS in Halo:
"Of course, samples were kept here after the last catastrophic outbreak...for study."
and..
"The installation was specifically built to study and contain the Flood. Their survival as a race was dependent upon it. I am grateful to see that some of them survived to reproduce."
We humans have also made and utilized some very horrible things in our history because at the time, they made sense. Some of those things made sense at the time even though they could spell the end for all of humanity as we know it. Perhaps the Forerunners at some time felt that the flood was a sensible choice for whatever situation they were trying to adapt to. Now they are not her. Perhaps their Cuban Missle Crisis didn't end the same way that ours did.

  • 05.07.2004 1:50 AM PDT
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I just finished reading Terminal 12 and i found something crazy. i was looking at the source code for the page and saw something in the META tags: INDEX cards and stern glares. now, besides the blatant index thing, where do you find index cards, and if your noisy, stern glares? A LIBRARY! seem familiar? now this might be weird, but i think that whoever is sending these things just dropped us a HUGE hint. it might be a red herring though. here are the META tags:

<meta HTTP-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/HTML; charset=ISO-8859-1">
<meta name="generator" content="index_cards_and_stern_glares">
<meta name="keywords" content="Marathon, Halo, Bungie, Enkidu, fanfic, process interrupts, a little knowledge is">

i hope I've helped a little.

[Edited on 5/7/2004 2:06:45 AM]

  • 05.07.2004 1:57 AM PDT
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even more strangeness. this is probably a long ways away from anything useful, but just for kicks and giggles i decided to search for Process interupts. here is an exerpt of what i found:

Interrupts

· Each computer has the ability to process interrupts.
· These interrupts can stop the microprocessor, and make it execute other subroutines.
· If no interrupts are received, the computer will always run the same program
· When interrupts are received, they are processed as urgent, or non-urgent.
· When an interrupt is processed, a small subroutine is run, and then execution returns to the original point in the interrupted program.
· If interrupts are not used, then the computer must continuously scan all of its inputs to see if any are critical. But this is not practical for real time processing.

this is the page in its entirety: Computer Control Of Process

  • 05.07.2004 2:05 AM PDT
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Sorry for the multiple posts folks. i just found somthing else. in the upper left hand corner of the main terminal page it says: NETWORK EXPANDING
MAPPING NEW PACKET ROUTES. when before it said: NETWORK DISRUPTED. in number 11 it said: NETWORK NOMINAL. it seems to me that enkidu has found a way to stabalize his network... also, he is even expanding it. this would suggest that there is an existing network out there and that he is expanding his over it or somthing. this would lend credibility to the theory of a forerunner instalation. sorry if i have re-posted any ideas.

EDIT: I cant belive i missed this one. Shhh! inside voices please? sounds like somthing you would hear in a librery. which leads me to belive that this might be there to throw us off the track, this is too obvious for Bungie :P

[Edited on 5/7/2004 2:43:08 AM]

  • 05.07.2004 2:11 AM PDT
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I disagree with the idiot savant theory, because you have to compare cultures. There probably wasn't anything at that point which amounted to what they considered culture. They were killing off heathens that wouldn't be too horribly missed. Like killing primates or something.

THEORY (You have been warned)

343GS seemed to be able to manipulate energy. The Index seemed to be energy that could take a solid form. This gives rise to a theory of mine: the weapons systems of Halo have an odd maximum range, and how do you know if a planet has life that can sustain the Flood. It all has to do with energy and matter. Should a ball of energy be given the ability to shift matter to energy (which is easier to transport, manipulate, etc.) and then intelligence… Well, you’ve got yourself a handy little thing. From what I can figure out, this is 343GS. Now, apply this same thought process to Halo. After all, unless you’re going to send the energy through slipstream, then there’s no point in firing it. It can’t move FTL, and at that range, things can change. A lot. I mean, a heck of a lot. So, have intelligent energy bursts, to check the planet, and then say “Oh, we’ve got some viable targets for infection here. Let’s wipe out those specific targets.”

Okay, now that my theory is out of the way, I realize now that I might have just justified the bio-weapon theory. But, I did see some good debating, which is what I wanted. I deal with idjits all day at work, so I like to see some thought put behind words, even if I’m arguing for the wrong side.

Moving right along, let’s assume for one moment that it isn’t flood, and a weapons cache. First off, how do they KNOW that it’s a weapons cache, and how do they even know they can operate any of the weapons?

Incidentally, I re-read some of the stuff, and had the following thought: JD might not have any experience with Covenant weapons. Enkidu sounds genuinely surprised that he could be so efficient with them. Right now, I’m thinking that JD is like the guy in the Library. He’s gonna die, but he’s going to do things that nobody thought possible before he goes. And yes, I’m still sticking to my theory that it’s the station that we hear about briefly in the video.

You know, I know that I’m wrong with this, but this could almost be an elaborately planned training exercise. ONI are real *CENSORED* when you get down to it.

Though, I wonder how the Covenant could interrupt a transfer that Enkidu reportedly couldn’t interrupt that far down. It is his station, after all.

  • 05.07.2004 2:18 AM PDT
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I haven't been posting a lot lately because I'm busy, but I have been paying attention to the stuff you guys are coming up with. Here is an update of what I think as of Enkidu message post #12.

1)JD is one of the three spartans on a distant mission that were mentioned in The Fall of Reach. JD and the other two Spartans were on a secret mission for ONI as hinted at in the prologues. Enkidu has threatened to tell Cpt. Mathers about who JD's masters were (ONI in meaning - which are not trusted by regular military), but now JD has become the tool of Enkidu and enkidu thinks he is JD's master. More proof that JD is a Spartan is the wicked ability to weild covenant firearms as described by Enkidu.

2)JD is not an Elite. I will not discuss this any further as it is a ludicrous idea.

3) Frigid is some kind of planet that holds an extensive and important forerunner structure. This structure is an instalation that houses some kind of dangerous species (flood or something new) but it is not another ring world. I theorized earlier that this new ring world installation was encased in ice, but many of you pointed out where would all the water come from and also the expanding ice would crush or damage the ring. The proof that this installation holds flood or something else is the reference to the "weapons cache". The marines refered to the flood holding cells (via cortana) as the "weapons cache" in the game halo. what exactly is causing the tremors,I don't know

3)The previous occupants are that of the forerunners. In #10 Enkidu talks about them leaving behind tools. these tools are sentinels I believe. why they left in a hurry leaving a mess behind i don't know.

4)The "friends" are the covenant. This should be obvious by now.

5)The thing calling itself Enkidu is not the real Enkidu. The real Enkidu still exsist within the network but has been overrunn by this new rampant AI. the proof that the real Enkidu lives is in #8 as it spells out "Enkidu Lives!". At times the rampant AI seems to have multiple personalities. Still, who this rampant AI exactly is I don't know. Possibilties are and could also be a mix of more than one:
-A rampant evil Enkidu
-The old good Enkidu
-Cortana
-Rampant evil Cortana
-343GS
-A piggy backed ONI AI on a mission to get into the structure's network and secure it

On the last idea I might add that the ONI AIs are ussually straight foreward and very limited, so perhaps they copied Cortana and used her to piggy back on Enkidu to the network. This cortana has gone rampant. No matter what enkidu is it is outwardly evil and dangerous. Not a frined indeed to JD. Enkidu is desiring power over the situation and is simply using JD to accomplish its goals. Perhaps though, its goals are better for the whole than the individuals involved...

Well thats it. I think I addressed everything I could think of for now. Please feel free to add to or argue these points and such, but these are my opinions and you know what they say, "Opinions are like -blam!-s. everyone has one and everyone thinks everyone elses stinks!"

  • 05.07.2004 2:36 AM PDT
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i think that the tremors might be caused by, if flood or somthing more vulruent is the case, a battle, or the "weapons cache" trying to get out. now, all this rides on the flood theory, so it might be wrong.

  • 05.07.2004 2:45 AM PDT
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link to the AotCR level transcript
http://halosm.bungie.org/story/level_transcripts/lv05_assault .html

At the bottom is where Cortana mentions Keyes is searching for a Weapons Cache...

  • 05.07.2004 2:52 AM PDT
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Msg Pierce-
Yeah i kinda think that is definately a Library references you found there. The "crude embedded message" in the Enkidu terminal that mentioned the book repository was in reference also to the Library as well as JFK events. Definately yes, Its all about the Library.

Dragoonite-
Nice write up, but correct me if I miss understood you. How can you use the flood as a percise weapon? Its impossible. Once the Flood is loose, its loose, and there is no controlling it. Remmeber 343GS saying:
"The Flood are already hard at work repairing your vessel. Its parasitic nature belies the Flood's intelligence." The flood isn't mustard gas which thins and vanishes after the aimed shell has been fired and exploded. The Flood are smart and have a desire to multiply. Once out they are out and going about their own free will.

I do agree though that at the technological level that the forerunners were at, we humans probably seemed like ants to them a 100,000 years ago. We were completly meaningless, invisible and very normal while the flood were conscious in some way that grabbed the Forerunner's attention. Perhaps the Flood DNA was useful to them so they studied it. We saw that it had regenerative properties after it mixed with Sgt. Johnson. Perhaps they thought that the flood were their answer to imortality...

Finally, I like your thought that this whole Enkidu thing is actually an ONI training excercise. That would be a hell of a plot twist!

Peace out, I'm going to bed now.

  • 05.07.2004 3:03 AM PDT
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thanks for adding that link about the weapons cache GOD Halo Fan!

Now its off to bed! Scat!

  • 05.07.2004 3:05 AM PDT
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so, then perhaps, the USNC marines here are essentally repeating history... or not, as this is only 1 month after the fall of reach (the event not the book).

[Edited on 5/7/2004 3:06:38 AM]

  • 05.07.2004 3:06 AM PDT
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GOD Halo Fan - The books reveal that it was a Covenant lying to Keyes that caused him to think it was a weapons cache. Just thought that you might like to know.

Tartarus - Ah, but I was referring to the Halo weapon used to destroy sentient beings. That's why I went off on that "intelligent energy" stuff. Sorry, like I've said before, I don't always think clearly. To the Forerunners, we probably were ants. Ants capable of being taken by the Flood. As we hadn't achieved any form of, what they would consider, culture, what would the universe loose by us dying off? Since they were the only big culture, why worry at all about it? Something else, eventually, would come along, after the Flood had been eradicated. Have the "intelligent energy" stop by each planet and say "Flood fodder! Exterminate! Anhiliate! Destroy!" It would also explain the range a lot better than the nothing that we have now.

As for the ONI training exercise... Well, I get odd ideas when I have insomnia. heh...

Actually, I just remembered something: Somebody before mentioned Mk 1 Mjolner armor. (Kant spel) That's impossible, as everything before the one that he has in Halo is impractical for combat. They require HUGE amounts of energy, and they didn't have a good enough system to deliver it on the battlefield. Now, if ONI got ahold of Mjolner armor and not just Section 3... Ooooh, I don't like that thought one little bit.

  • 05.07.2004 3:19 AM PDT
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I've only read half of the 38 or so pages on this subject, and I'm relatively new to the whole Bungie thing, but I have played the game, read the books, and I am a genius (Hence the 343 GS avatar :-P) But looking at the poem in "please allow me to introduce myself," I've done a little thinking. Bear with me.

"I was...
...fabled before rings were... legend before Leonidas was born... epic before demons rode in the dawn sky... myth before a sword etc."

I've been considering the fact that human AI's, or at least the smart ones, are essentially ripped from a human's mind, destroying the brain it's created from. Perhaps 343 GS and other such constructs are based on a similar fashion. Perhaps the model for GS was a hero of some sort in the Forerunner race, before the need for Halo installations? Who better than monitor and guard a threat than a proven hero?

"...sentenced into darkness before Theseus found his foe..." Don't know about that one.

"...killed before my home was scourged by western winds of war." The AI part of GS could have been taken and planted before the Flood overtook the Forerunners, maybe hinting at their absence.

"I was driven raving mad before dear Dot bounced off the cushioned walls." GS is clearly insane. Certainly he went nuts before Pong, or rather Gnop. He's been alone for a long time.

"I transgressed in sacred orchards to serve the folly of a hero." Sacred Orchards. Well, Halo has a lot of plant life. As for the folly of a hero, maybe my hero of theory screwed up something (maybe drew the shortest straw, for all we know) and earned the place as monitor.

"I called on kings and deities to account for their misdeeds." Guilty Spark. The spark of guilt that caused the wildfire that would be a desperate attempt to atone for a grievous mistake? The Covenant certainly have elevated the Forerunners to godhood

"I died of humble fevers with craven whimpers on my lips." I dunno, but Spark hums and talks to himself a lot... That, and fevers cause madness, right?

"I set off an outburst that echoed through the ages." The previous firing of Halo.

"That outburst echoes still; It shall echo evermore." The repurcussions of the firing (hinting another reason for the lack of Forerunner?).

"AS SHALL I." GS just won't die when you shoot him!!

Anyway, after typing all this, it's 6:40 AM, so I guess I'll go wander the site and read stuff. It's not my first crackpot theory on Halo stuff, but it's the first I've ever bothered to write down. Tear it apart how you will, people. Food for thought, right?

[Edited on 5/7/2004 3:47:00 AM]

  • 05.07.2004 3:43 AM PDT

Ive read a lot of these theories on the enkidu text. I have an idea about this text involving a "so called" story of halo2 that i found a while ago, dont get me wrong ( i know its not the real story cause bungie said that they wouldnt release anything etc etc, you get the point. But who ever wrote this text has got me thinking, a lot of the text has things that relate to this enkidu and other things that ive been reading in here. Just a couple of posts ago some one mentioned that there were tremors on halo combat evolved, in the story that i read it says that the control "moduel, if you will" is a massive ball of light that is heavily protected by the covenant. This wierd thing may have been the thing to cause the tremors. Heres a link to the story www.geocities.com/noir_hawk/ , have a look, tell me if youve seen this sotry before, maybe some one from bungie really did leak this. or a spy... shock/horrow

  • 05.07.2004 5:43 AM PDT
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thanks for the info dagoonite. i, sadly, don't have the books yet [ :( ] so i guess i missed that bit. thanks. BTW does anyone think that all those library hints are to throw us off, or are actual clues?

  • 05.07.2004 6:13 AM PDT
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Does anyone really believe that human beings were around 100,000 years ago? I think not.
A reminder; the Flood's true form is the virus. Not the big biped tentacle dudes, just the virus. You can't cure a virus, but you can make a vaccine. A vaccine would have a little bit of the virus in it, but you would be able to survive it. You would be sort of like Sarge with a little bit of it floating around dead inside of you, this leads me to believe Tartarus was correct in saying that the Flood could lead to immortality for the Forerunner. Also, because the Flood is a virus you would have to wipe out it's food to stop it. You try to purge the galaxy of a virus, we can't even purge a freakin cold let alone something this nasty. So let's not be so hard on the Forerunner because of a lack of foresight or whatnot. They did all they could.

  • 05.07.2004 6:40 AM PDT
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If you believe in evolution humans were around 100,000 years ago, if you don't... well that's a different story...

  • 05.07.2004 6:47 AM PDT
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Remember the crystal found on Reach?
Some posters here seem to think there may be another one of those crystals on Frigid. I remembered someone using the term anti-gravity describing the effect the crystal had, it might of been Cortana but I'm not certain. Anyway, I wanted to know what you could do with a crystal that caused anti-gravity so I did a search. If you were to somehow manage to create a wormhole you would need what scientists call "exotic material" to keep it open. The reason being you need something that causes an anti-gravity effect, it's called "exotic material" because we don't have any. If there is another crystal like that on Frigid, it might explain why they're sending so many reinforcements and possibly digging machines.

  • 05.07.2004 6:50 AM PDT
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Posted by: GOD Halo Fan
If you believe in evolution humans were around 100,000 years ago, if you don't... well that's a different story...

I see.

  • 05.07.2004 7:07 AM PDT
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Shoot me for this theory but for some reason I don't think it's the flood. Has anyone suggested (I know it's been hinted at) that there is a completely NEW race the Forerunners created/studied. I know it sounds off the wall, but why would you just want to create/study ONE species in different parts of the galaxy. Why not several different ones?

  • 05.07.2004 7:20 AM PDT
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Posted by: Abolitionofman
Shoot me for this theory but for some reason I don't think it's the flood. Has anyone suggested (I know it's been hinted at) that there is a completely NEW race the Forerunners created/studied. I know it sounds off the wall, but why would you just want to create/study ONE species in different parts of the galaxy. Why not several different ones?


That is exactly my theory, well along the lines of it anyway. But it's a fairly long one though I'l cut it down.

Ok the backbone of my theory relies on the fact the Forerunner were trying to create the perfect race. Now just hear me out, sine we know that there are at least four Halo installations that means that Forerunner have tried at least 4 times to create this perfect species to carry on the history of the Forerunner. Their fouth attempt was obviously a failure (The Flood) they had addapted to fast and were very rebelious and broke loose. But being the inlightened speices the Foreunner are they put a fail safe on every one of their Installations incase any of these species rebelled and got free, in this case the fail safe (different fail safe for different species) would wipe out the Flood's food. Now keeping in mind that 343 GS stated that specimens of the Flood were kept on Halo 04 for study since the last catostrphic outbreak, this means that the Flood have gotten out before and so the Forerunners had triggered Halo whipping out all living organisms that were "edible" how ever hundred thousand years ago (perhaps this caused of the extinciton of the dinosaurs on Earth). But as the Forerunner learned from a trial and error process they became increasingly close to creating a perfect race, which could be used for carrying on the Forerunners ways, thoughts and technology (worried that they would be facing extinction themselves). In this Enkidu case however maybe The Forerunner first tried on desolate planets. Who knows.

There is much more that i have on that theory about how the Covenant were eventually created and rebelled. And how the Forerunner possibly even created the primitive human. Anyway I'm sure none of you are interseted on that for this topic.
Thats it for me happy huntin guys.

  • 05.07.2004 7:51 AM PDT
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If this sounds totally wrong or dumb don't be suprised.


it said "I led off an out burst..blah blah" means first firing of Halo,right.
then
"That outburst still echoes." means Halo still alive
then "It shall echoe ever more." even after its destruction


Halo- built by Forerunners , a weapon agaisnt the flood, housing for the flood

were the forerunners afraid of becoming long gone? so they lock the flood up? or did they create the flood and it went all wrong?and the prophets? what about them? what was their intension of exploring Halo?{sorry i can't spell} weren't they afraid of the flood?

  • 05.07.2004 8:07 AM PDT
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The whole Forerunner creating humanity/Covenant species thing reminds me too much of the Starcraft series:

'Xel-Naga - Forerunner
Protoss - Covenant
Zerg - Flood

etc...

I discount it for that reason alone, just because i don't want a ripped off storyline.

However, the idea of different installations to study different things, such as whatever the weapons on Frigid is, is right on the money. My guess is that it isn't the Flood, but something worse, that the Covenant will get to first, and we'll have to take back. I can't wait...

  • 05.07.2004 8:11 AM PDT
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Okay, his a little of the Maraton terminal link but I have noticed something while i was revisting the transcripts of the levels on HBO Please read and I will explain below:

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
343 GUILTY SPARK:

(pauses) More or less. Technically, this installation's pulse has a maximum effective radius of twenty-five thousand light years. But, once the others follow suit, this galaxy will be quite devoid of life, or at least any life with sufficient biomass to sustain the flood. (pause) But you already knew that. I mean, how couldn't you?

343 GUILTY SPARK:

Last time, you asked me, if it was my choice, would I do it? Having considerable time to ponder your query, my answer has not changed.

(Master Chief takes Cortana's disk out of the console, and inserts it into his head.)

343 GUILTY SPARK:

There is no choice. We must activate the ring.
343 GUILTY SPARK:

If you are unwilling to help, I will simply find another. Still, I must have the index. Give your construct to me, or I will be forced to take her from you.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Now the last time Halo was fired, it was about 100,000 years ago. My question is, why is 343GS telling John 117 that:[this galaxy will be quite devoid of life, or at least any life with sufficient biomass to sustain the flood. (pause) But you already knew that. I mean, how couldn't you?] and then right after this line comes this: [Last time, you asked me, if it was my choice, would I do it? Having considerable time to ponder your query, my answer has not changed.]

343 GS is telling us that someone similar to John 117 was the one that initiated the index and proceeded with defence protocols. Also, 343GS states that last time you (person from the last firing) asked if it was 343 GS choice. This raises some questions for me, sorry if my argument is weak but I am new at this.

Now 100,000 years is the equivilent of a blink of an eye in regards to Human evolution. At 100,000 years in the past we had just started to walk upright and if the first firing did take place the earth must have been destroyed. If this happened then were did the humans come from? This to me is conflicting iformation, please respond.

  • 05.07.2004 8:15 AM PDT