- dibbs089
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- Elder Mythic Member
Posted by: ROBERTO jh
Born states our perspective of the Forerunner story is warped; not entirely true, but not entirely untrue.I think you are misinterpreting the quote. How could he possibly be commenting on the validity of our (future humanity's) perspective of the story when he isn't around to know what our perspective is? The terminals all have a notice at the top which states "RECORDED VERBATIM", I don't think those interpretations can be false if they are literally the same as the actual words spoken at the time.
As for the discrepencies/oddities/history lesson, bear with me...
When was Mendicant created and for what purpose?
In the terminals Mendicant was created with the sole purpose of observing and then eventually engaging the Gravemind. D: We have the answer. We've built Mendicant Bias. It's a contender class [AI], unlike anything we've ever achieved. And we've observed a pattern it can exploit.The parasite has formed a Compound Mind. When it reaches a certain mass, the Mind is able to recoil its disparate parts to create a [tactical shield]. This is a simple matter of mass preservation. The thing has no compunction about sacrificing parts of the whole. But when the core of the Mind is threatened, it reacts violently and quickly. (Source Terminal Three) Additionally, Mendicant was created at least after plans for the Halo Array were discussed (most likely, but not necessarily, after they had been built) It's a dangerous plan that carries more risk than the Array, but I believe it can work(Source Terminal Three). This shows the Mendicants primary purpose was not to take charge of the Array but to observe and combat the Flood.
The book seems to comply with when Mendicant was created (prior to Didact entering the Cryptum). When Mendicant enters the Council Chambers, Didact labels him as "Our bastard child, his and mine" (pg. 300). Implying that he had a hand in creating Mendicant, which he only could have done prior to entering the Cryptum (1,000 years prior to the story). Additionally, in the book, it seems Mendicant was created as a means to defend the Forerunner's empire in times of emergency and to control some aspects of some of the Halo installations, "My designers built in latent control of all systems in the capital, should an emergency arise" (pg. 302) "[He was] designed to coordinate control of some of the installations. Also given the power, in emergencies, to coordinate the entire galaxy's response to attack" (pg. 307) instead of being created to study and observe the Flood.
It seems then that in the terminals Mendicant was created to study and eventually combat the Flood. We do not know how long after he was created that he was sent on this mission, but we do know that he was in contact with the an intelligence seeking to turn him (presumably the Gravemind), at the very earliest, three years into the mission. "[29,478 hours] have passed since I left the [Maginot] sphere and entered contested space" and (From the same entry, Terminal One) "Is this the noble sacrifice my creators spoke of? Where is the nobility in these streets paved with greasy carbon and dun ash? [My mouth is speaking at another's behest] - that is not my voice; that is the other."
In the book it seems Mendicant sat essentially dormant for close to 1,000 years before conducting the test at Charum Hakkor, 43 years prior to the events in the book, and releasing the captive.
Discrepancy in Didact's age / Time spent fighting the Flood
In the terminals it seems Mendicant was only active for 300 years (and that the Didact never went into the Cryptum). In Terminal Three, right after Didact states that he created Mendicant Bias (which we proved had to occur before he entered the Cryptum) the Librarian, in response to the plan, states, Have you learned nothing in these last [300 years[?]]? The thing will laugh at your efforts! It seems then that the Forerunner were fighting the Flood 300 years prior Didact entering the Cryptum. However, in Terminal Seven, as Mendicant crosses the line Didact (who, if we follow the book would now be Bornsteller) states And [300 years] of our society's failure and miscalculation makes me your executioner. But this occurred after he entered the Cryptum. Shouldn't it be 1,300 years of our societies failures? It seems in the terminals that the Forerunner war against the Flood lasted 300 years whereas in the book it has lasted over 1,300 years.