- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
With all this ruckus surrounding Enkidu, I decided
to take a look back at the Cortana Letters and
attempt to make connections between the two.
To begin with, Cortana quotes William Blake's
The Marriage of Heaven and Hell. In it, he
argues that for good to exist, evil must exist.
It's hard to explain, but if you think you just
might get it.
I looked at the first Cortana Letter unassuming
that this was really her speaking, because it
is impossible for her to have been all of these
places. (Or is it?)
"I have walked the edge of the Abyss."
The abyss is hell, but I think this could have
many more allegorical meanings.
"I have governed the unwilling."
Blake argues that those who restrain sin only
do so because they desire less. In the halo
verse, the Covenant claim that they don't
sin. (see the Halo Transmissions on the
Marathon Story Page) They no doubt refer
to the Forerunner as their gods, but the way
they speak to us would suggest that humans
have sinned against the Forerunner.
Blake also asserts that the "restrainer" (or
fear of desire) governs the unwilling. The
Covenant are helplessly bound to the will
of their Gods, and the Humans resist.
Who are the "unwilling" that "Cortana"
governs? I would say the Covenant are the
unwilling because they desire to be free
of the Forerunner less, and shame the
humans for their "sin." This wouldn't make
any sense coming from the Cortana we know
however, because how could she govern the
Covenant?
"I have witnessed countless empires break
before me. I have seen the most courageous
soldiers fall away in fear."
Your guess is as good as mine.
"[I was there with the Angel at the tomb]"
Swedenborg was the Angel at the tomb in
Blake's The Marriage of Heaven and Hell.
Swedenborg did philosophical work on
basically Infinity, and what it is. It goes far
too in depth for the kind of analysis I have
time for, but as we all know, A.I.s have a
knack for that Infinity thing.
As for connections to Enkidu, both of their
stories are about fighting against the creator
and tradition. Enkidu rewrites the story by
saying that Gilgamesh never stood up to the
will of the gods, and Enkidu wept, meaning
that he was sorry that he couldn't use the
strength of Gilgamesh to challenge the Gods.
It seems that Enkidu has found new muscle
in the form of JD, and intends to challenge
the might of the gods again.