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This topic has moved here: Subject: If you've finished Cryptum like me, come here. (MAJOR SPOIL)
  • Subject: If you've finished Cryptum like me, come here. (MAJOR SPOIL)
Subject: If you've finished Cryptum like me, come here. (MAJOR SPOIL)

Brains beats brawn get used to it

Fear the Red Comet

Variety is the spice of life.
Long live games.
Death to all fanboys.


Posted by: XxZ SxX

Posted by: Joeaxamus
Yes one is broken, that's the one that Master Cheif blew up in Halo CE, Installation 04. At that point in the timeline only six halos were ready to fire. I think the six that were floating around the Ark when Bornstellar/Didact woke up are the ones which are used to kill the Flood, I've got a hunch that the Halo which MB and the Captive are on is 05. I could be wrong, but it seems like what should happen.


if bungie has any say or 343 wont let them and they at least aren't total idiots, i bet money it'll be 07.

that aside, but related, did anyone think the description of the Ark being lit by "hard light"/plasma going from the center of the halo rings above each "petal" to the teardrop in the center?

where'd that go in halo 3? what lights it then??


Presumably non-existent because there are no more Halos positioned at each petal.

  • 01.07.2011 7:13 PM PDT

What shocked me most is that humanity found a cure, That was just mind-blowing. I mean, first we learn that the office of naval intelligence experimented on flood, and now we learn that we once had a cure. My response: *HEAD ASPLODES*

  • 01.07.2011 9:02 PM PDT

"Of all the Sciences cultivated by mankind, Astronomy is acknowledged to be, and undoubtedly is, the most sublime, the most interesting, and the most useful." -John Taylor, Pittsburgh Academy


that aside, but related, did anyone think the description of the Ark being lit by "hard light"/plasma going from the center of the halo rings above each "petal" to the teardrop in the center?

where'd that go in halo 3? what lights it then??


There is an artificial star above the Ark. You can best see it on the last level of Halo 3, where it is angled such that you can see it's actual structure.

As much as I enjoyed Cryptum (and eagerly await the sequels), I do, to a certain extent, share Lord Snakie's feelings, at least as far as 343i/Micro$oft intends to milk Halo for all it's worth, a la Star Wars. It just seems like the universe is becoming too vast to maintain internal consistency. It's like the Star Wars extended universe. And yes, I had my own notions about what Forerunner society was like, as we all did, and of course they turned out to be all wrong. But to me, it didn't have that ineffable "Halo-ness" that other novels had. Perhaps that's simply because this is a retelling of Born's experiences, but the universe in which it is set feels oddly out-of-place with the lore. Aside from that, I found it a very enjoyable read (I actually read the whole thing in one day. I started as soon as I retrieved it from my mailbox this morning and only stopped to go out and run errands. I just couldn't put it down!)

Also, did anyone else think that the last lines implied that the Precursors may have engineered the Flood as a kind of revenge against the Forerunners? (I think this may have been mentioned in this thread previously, but that was my initial impression after finishing. I just stared at that page, mouth agape, thinking oh my god... ) That kind of takes away the Lovecraftian-Horror the Flood had going for them, coming from parts unknown, landing on a distant world on the edge of the galaxy and bringing the Forerunner civilization down onto it's knees in a few century's time...

  • 01.07.2011 9:09 PM PDT

From what i understand, the Precursors created the Forerunners, it says so in the last page of the book. The precursors probably didnt think the forerunners would rise up against them and were most likely defenseless as it was described as "ruthlessly destroyed". The precursors probably reached a point in their existence that they didnt think they needed to control other races. After the Forerunners over-threw the Precursors they made sure not to let any species grow too strong because they didnt want what they had done to happen to them. They disguised this as The Mantle. For an unknown reason, there was one Precursor who was locked away, inside a very powerful containment wall. He is referred to as The Captive in the book. Described as having an upright stature, large, 4 arms, 2 legs, a flat face with multiple eyes and a long scorpion like tail with barbs that is based at the back of its neck. Near the end of the Precursors existence, they created a bio-weapon, the flood. It was very cleverly instigated and disguised as well, no one could have seen or predicted it. In an organic powder form, found in giant ancient ships, humanity tested the powder. It was harmless to humans and only had an effect on domestic, at the time, a positive effect . After generations of breeding with this mutagen in their genes, the first true flood was born. After fighting for many years, humanity found a cure. It would fight fire with fire. Humanity genetically programmed 1/3 of its population and essentially sacrificed them to the flood. In doing so, humanity counter infected the flood and was able to push it to the edge of the galactic arm and out of our galaxy. During this Human-Flood war, humanity was also fighting with the Forerunners, fighting a double sided war. It was no wonder we lost to the forerunners. Had it been a fair fight it might not have turned out the way it did.

Most people i hear arguing think the Captive is the gravemind because of how he looks, and while possible, i dont think that is the case. I think all precursors looked like the captive. The descriptions in the book didnt make him seem like he had been infected. After the captive was released, he could have been swallowed by the flood, escaped or even killed when the ring was fired. One thing that is sure, the Precursors must have been immensely powerful beings, both in strength and mentally. The captive was millions of years old, much older than any forerunner. Which probably means they discovered immortality and never died from old age. Whatever the case, the biggest mystery in this book isnt the flood, the forerunners or humanity, its the precursors. They may have been brought to their knees by their own creations, but they left a parting gift that would haunt the universe till the end of time.

  • 01.07.2011 10:25 PM PDT
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One day... I am gonna grow wings... A chemical reaction... Hysterical and useless... hystecial and let down and hanging around... crushed like a bug in the ground.

Now that I have a better understanding of this I will put my two cents in.

My belief is that the captive is NOT the Gravemind as per say. But he took over/combined with the gravemind with his infinitely expansive knowledge.

The Gravemind existed before the final pages of Cryptum, but it was not the Gravemind we know of today.

Rather a lesser (Although still powerful) Gravemind that eventually gained the knowledge of the last Precursor and in doing so became the one we know today.

On a side note "I am a monuement to all your sins" and "Why would you hesitate to do what you've already done." makes a whole lot more sense now.

  • 01.07.2011 10:49 PM PDT

Oh hey there

Posted by: petarded2
It's a metaphor for the 07s' lack of identity. too old to be newfa­g, yet too new to be oldfa­g, we wander b.net in search of a home, forever trying to be something we are not.

So the Precursor created the Forerunner millions of years ago. But the Forerunner rose up and destroyed them and created the Mantle as a way to ensure that they would stop any other species from rising up and doing the same thing they did to them.

The Precursor in their final days created the Flood to destroy the Forerunner through biological warfare and it was discovered by humans who found a way to destroy it. But during their war with the flood they were forced to move into Forerunner territory and the Forerunner deevolved them when they defeated them.

On the planet where the final battle took place the Forerunner had apparently locked away the last Precursor, which I still have no idea why they did this if someone would like to explain this to me, and Didact spoke to it and found out the true origins of the Forerunner and the Flood. He then realized that by destroying the Humans and SanShyuum they destroyed their only hope of destroying the Flood.

Didact fought against the Council and the creation of the Halos and eventually went into exile when they wouldn't heed his warnings about the Flood and kept it hidden from the majority of the population.

Enter the story of the terminals and Mendicant Bias, although now instead of the Gravemind corrupting him it is The Captive who is the last Precursor. Bias then facilitates the spread of the Flood and the destruction of the Forerunner empire.

Wow so many questions answered in one book.

[Edited on 01.07.2011 11:48 PM PST]

  • 01.07.2011 11:36 PM PDT
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Posted by: Shishka
Everything will be gone long before me. When the first living thing was born, I was here, waiting. When the last living thing dies, my job is finished. I'll put the chairs on the tables, turn out the lights and lock the universe behind me when I leave.

I just finished it and DAMN. Really, just mindblowing. Take almost everything you thought you knew about the Halo universe, and throw it out the window (in a good way, not like Halo Reach).

They could've just published the last paragraph of the book and everyone's theories would've been shot to -blam!-, lol.

  • 01.08.2011 12:34 AM PDT

Brains beats brawn get used to it

Fear the Red Comet

Variety is the spice of life.
Long live games.
Death to all fanboys.


Posted by: SGT lemon 25
What shocked me most is that humanity found a cure, That was just mind-blowing. I mean, first we learn that the office of naval intelligence experimented on flood, and now we learn that we once had a cure. My response: *HEAD ASPLODES*


From the sound of it, they didn't so much make a cure but made a new virus to fight the Flood. The carriers of the cure had to be sacrificed to the Flood to infect them. Least that's how I took it. I could be wrong though. This just seems to be one of those books where multiple reads are necessary to fully grasp what's going on.

  • 01.08.2011 12:38 AM PDT
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Posted by: Shishka
Everything will be gone long before me. When the first living thing was born, I was here, waiting. When the last living thing dies, my job is finished. I'll put the chairs on the tables, turn out the lights and lock the universe behind me when I leave.

Posted by: StealthSlasher2
Posted by: SGT lemon 25
What shocked me most is that humanity found a cure, That was just mind-blowing. I mean, first we learn that the office of naval intelligence experimented on flood, and now we learn that we once had a cure. My response: *HEAD ASPLODES*


From the sound of it, they didn't so much make a cure but made a new virus to fight the Flood. The carriers of the cure had to be sacrificed to the Flood to infect them. Least that's how I took it. I could be wrong though. This just seems to be one of those books where multiple reads are necessary to fully grasp what's going on.
I'm pretty sure Humanity just created another virus that could beat out the Flood's virus, and then spread it throughout the Flood.

But yea, definitely going to have to read this book a few times to understand everything.

[Edited on 01.08.2011 12:41 AM PST]

  • 01.08.2011 12:40 AM PDT
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One day... I am gonna grow wings... A chemical reaction... Hysterical and useless... hystecial and let down and hanging around... crushed like a bug in the ground.

Posted by: ODST27
Posted by: StealthSlasher2
Posted by: SGT lemon 25
What shocked me most is that humanity found a cure, That was just mind-blowing. I mean, first we learn that the office of naval intelligence experimented on flood, and now we learn that we once had a cure. My response: *HEAD ASPLODES*


From the sound of it, they didn't so much make a cure but made a new virus to fight the Flood. The carriers of the cure had to be sacrificed to the Flood to infect them. Least that's how I took it. I could be wrong though. This just seems to be one of those books where multiple reads are necessary to fully grasp what's going on.
I'm pretty sure Humanity just created another virus that could beat out the Flood's virus, and then spread it throughout the Flood.

But yea, definitely going to have to read this book a few times to understand everything.


Have any of you read, "The Similrilian" the crazy ass prequel to the Lord of the Rings.

Well Cryptum I think can be compared to that. Not making much sense yet giving away so much knowledge,

  • 01.08.2011 12:47 AM PDT

We believe that the universe is unbounded: this is not the same as infinite: the 2-D surface of a sphere, wrapped around a 3rd dimension, has a finite size, but has no end. If you start off in a given direction on the surface of a sphere, you could return to your start point without having to turn around -- you simply go all the way around. But wouldn't that mean the universe has an escape velocity like the earth?

Posted by: StealthSlasher2

Posted by: SGT lemon 25
What shocked me most is that humanity found a cure, That was just mind-blowing. I mean, first we learn that the office of naval intelligence experimented on flood, and now we learn that we once had a cure. My response: *HEAD ASPLODES*


From the sound of it, they didn't so much make a cure but made a new virus to fight the Flood. The carriers of the cure had to be sacrificed to the Flood to infect them. Least that's how I took it. I could be wrong though. This just seems to be one of those books where multiple reads are necessary to fully grasp what's going on.


Actually, thats correct.

~B2

  • 01.08.2011 1:46 AM PDT

All the old gravemind quotes make alot of sense now lol
"I am a monument to all your sins"
" a fathers sins passed down to his son"

  • 01.08.2011 6:16 AM PDT
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Posted by: AngasBoy
Posted by: ODST27
Posted by: StealthSlasher2
Posted by: SGT lemon 25
What shocked me most is that humanity found a cure, That was just mind-blowing. I mean, first we learn that the office of naval intelligence experimented on flood, and now we learn that we once had a cure. My response: *HEAD ASPLODES*


From the sound of it, they didn't so much make a cure but made a new virus to fight the Flood. The carriers of the cure had to be sacrificed to the Flood to infect them. Least that's how I took it. I could be wrong though. This just seems to be one of those books where multiple reads are necessary to fully grasp what's going on.
I'm pretty sure Humanity just created another virus that could beat out the Flood's virus, and then spread it throughout the Flood.

But yea, definitely going to have to read this book a few times to understand everything.


Have any of you read, "The Similrilian" the crazy ass prequel to the Lord of the Rings.

Well Cryptum I think can be compared to that. Not making much sense yet giving away so much knowledge,

Is it really as confusing as The Silmarillion?

I mean, that still makes it a good read, but that means it's a "what just happened" book.

  • 01.08.2011 7:33 AM PDT

↓▲↓
▲▲

Gee, I sure wish I knew what 'Cryptum' was before I entered this thread...

  • 01.08.2011 8:09 AM PDT

Maps:
Crossroads
Confinement
Plaza
Conduit
Remnants (building stage)

Also was the captive the soon to be gravemind?

edit: never mind answered above.

[Edited on 01.08.2011 10:42 AM PST]

  • 01.08.2011 10:40 AM PDT

I am a monument to all your sins

I reallllly need to pick up this book

  • 01.08.2011 2:04 PM PDT
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I've only just finished Contact Harvest, and now feel like I'll read the rest of the Halo books, does anyone know if it would matter if I skipped straight to Cryptum? Or should I continue reading them in cronological order?

Thanks.

  • 01.08.2011 2:24 PM PDT

~Thomsn0w

Posted by: ddd777
I've only just finished Contact Harvest, and now feel like I'll read the rest of the Halo books, does anyone know if it would matter if I skipped straight to Cryptum? Or should I continue reading them in cronological order?

Thanks.

Cryptum is set quite a few years before we were born. Never mind the Chief etc :P

  • 01.08.2011 3:13 PM PDT
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Posted by: Shishka
Everything will be gone long before me. When the first living thing was born, I was here, waiting. When the last living thing dies, my job is finished. I'll put the chairs on the tables, turn out the lights and lock the universe behind me when I leave.

Posted by: ddd777
I've only just finished Contact Harvest, and now feel like I'll read the rest of the Halo books, does anyone know if it would matter if I skipped straight to Cryptum? Or should I continue reading them in cronological order?

Thanks.
It doesn't really matter since Cryptum takes place 100,000 years before any of the other Halo books/games.

  • 01.08.2011 3:15 PM PDT

"Of all the Sciences cultivated by mankind, Astronomy is acknowledged to be, and undoubtedly is, the most sublime, the most interesting, and the most useful." -John Taylor, Pittsburgh Academy

Also, did anyone notice this?

"Each Halo was about thirty thousand kilometers in diameter, a slender ribbon tied up in a perfect circle..." -pg. 310


Aren't Halos about ten thousand kilometers in diameter? Although it is possible that the modern Halos are "newer" models (since none seemed to survive the assault on the Capital, and the one that fled arrived in pieces) and have different dimensions than the originals. Could this be simply a typo?

[Edited on 01.08.2011 5:42 PM PST]

  • 01.08.2011 5:37 PM PDT

Signatures are for squares.

Just finished reading this book, I absolutely loved it. I had to chug through the first chapters, leading up to finding Didact's Cryptum. But that point onward I couldn't put it down.

As to the Gravemind=Captive arguments, I don't believe that the Gravemind is the Captive. We know MB spent 43 years with the Captive on that Halo, but we also know he spent 43 years with the Gravemind. I believe that all three of them were on that ring. And by the end of their time, the Precursor allowed himself to be absorbed by the Gravemind.

I have too much I want to comment on, I need some time to better process everything. So much information...

  • 01.08.2011 5:39 PM PDT
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One day... I am gonna grow wings... A chemical reaction... Hysterical and useless... hystecial and let down and hanging around... crushed like a bug in the ground.


Posted by: privet caboose
Just finished reading this book, I absolutely loved it. I had to chug through the first chapters, leading up to finding Didact's Cryptum. But that point onward I couldn't put it down.

As to the Gravemind=Captive arguments, I don't believe that the Gravemind is the Captive. We know MB spent 43 years with the Captive on that Halo, but we also know he spent 43 years with the Gravemind. I believe that all three of them were on that ring. And by the end of their time, the Precursor allowed himself to be absorbed by the Gravemind.

I have too much I want to comment on, I need some time to better process everything. So much information...


Finally someone I agree with.
The Gravemind became the Captive and the Captive became the Gravemind.
When the MB first met the captive he was notthe Gravemind but by the time he left and turned on the Forerunners he was.
He merged/took over the Graveminds concious.

  • 01.08.2011 6:13 PM PDT

if im understanding this correctly then the forerunners, and only the forerunners, are the ones that killed the precursors.. so why would the precursors create the flood; something that will kill ALL sentient life every where? it seems like an ultra advanced and seemingly omnipotent race wouldnt intentionally screw over the known universe. it seems too petty.

the only way i see this making any sense is if precursors were the only sentient life originally, and than they created the forerunners, and thennn the forerunners went nuts and created a ton of other sentient life just for the hell of it. and so the precursors didnt give two -blam!-s about killing everything ever. maybe that was the key disagreement b/w the forerunners and precursors that started their war.

  • 01.08.2011 10:51 PM PDT

I tell you, we're here on Earth to fart around, and don't let anybody tell you different.

something i feel needs to be clarified:

There is no possible way the Forerunners captured and put the Captive where he was for 2 reasons:

1: They didn't know/care about those planets or the humans until [relatively] recent expansion.

Humans couldn't have either, because of point 2:

THE CAPTIVE WAS INSIDE A PRECURSOR-TECH "PRISON"

this means that the Precursors put him there. Period. Because the Forerunners, Humans, etc. obviously cant build Precursor tech. Or they would be other places.

in other news, someone needs to make a thread with a list of "general consensus" points, such as that the Gravemind and Captive were initally separate, but then (probably with a large amount of willingness) the Captive was absorbed by/combined with the Gravemind into a new "Super-Gravemind" (the one from the games) extremely more powerful than previous ones.

  • 01.09.2011 12:00 AM PDT

"Concise and devoid of elegance...what I have come to expect from human communication"-Endless Summer


Posted by: Terminus
It became clear to me halfway through this book that the 'Captive' is the Gravemind... and the Gravemind is a Precursor.




DA -blam!-?!
NEED BOOK NOW!!!!!!!!!!! -boom-

[Edited on 01.09.2011 12:10 AM PST]

  • 01.09.2011 12:09 AM PDT