- anton1792
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- Noble Legendary Member
"Find where the liar hides, so that I may place my boot between his gums!" - Rtas 'Vadum
I agree with Wolvers. People in this forum are bloating the Covenant up to be something so much more than what the story dictates. The most problematic issue with all the "Covenant/Elites are so much more intelligent" statements is this: If they are more intelligent, then why are they not the Reclaimers rather than Humanity? A more intelligent race has a better chance of finding the cure to the Flood, as are their chances of successfully interpreting the Mantle and applying it to the rest of the galaxy far higher in the long run. They would rise to power faster and thus secure the galaxy quicker from any threats, as well as having their own survival in the long run more assured than the others so that they can get a chance to obtain their responsibilities. Clearly this is not a position that you would give to average Joe. It is a serious responsibility that could make or break an entire galaxy. The species with the greatest potential would have to be chosen otherwise, if you do choose average Joe and they are wiped out by a more aggressive intelligent species, then the Mantle is doomed to be abandoned with no one to uphold it. But you people believe that it was given to a race who are, by all means, inferior in every way to the various other races in the galaxy that are by principle far more likely to do a better job, and are more likely to get the job in the first place over the competition from frauds? Either the Forerunners are a very stupid and blind sighted race who put no thought into their planning of the galaxy's future, or your interpretations are just skewed.
I would have to say that the Sangheili are out in the first round. If anything it would be between Humanity and the Prophets. Everyone else has some serious flaw that strikes them down. (Brutes - Blind rage, Grunts - Fear, Jackals - Averice, Drones - Apathy etc) For a start, the Sangheili are fascists. Their culture embodies much of what previous fascist states in the past have boasted:
~ Supremacy of the State and supremacy of the Race (Or in this case the species) to the point where it is profusely romanticized.
~ A contempt for the intellectual; Anti-intellectualism. (It is explicitly stated that the Sangheili view only the warrior as having any sort of honor.)
~ Over-emphasis on virility for men; painting them as warriors, and stereotypical feminine qualities for woman; painting them as basically staying at home to raise children. (Which is true for the Sangheili also...) And above all is the obsession with having a perfect fit "Master Race" almost, which leads to the views that outsiders are impure/weak/dangerous to the stability of the state, along with the sick, the infirm, the elderly, the retarded and the disabled. (Which sometimes leads to eugenics based upon involuntary euthanasia, which the Sangheili practice without shame on their own young who are deemed "too weak" at birth)
~ Views a warrior culture mentality with great admiration, and the conquest of others as necessary. This Imperialism leads to slavery which the Sangheili are quite happy to commit.
I am sorry but Humanity at large broke free of this medieval barbarism decades, maybe even centuries ago with the birth of the enlightenment in the west. The Sangheili are still chin deep in it thousands of years after they first traveled to the stars. Their ethics and morality appears to be so poorly developed that if it were on Earth it would be lumped in with Nazism. Add to it their credulity and ignorance, their pride and chauvinism and I cannot see how this is an intelligent race at all. They do what they are told to do and they say what they are told to say and they do not think about it, or the consequences. There is another thing like that, which can be so easily manipulated. We call it a puppet. More likely, they are apparent psuedo-intellectuals and the result of what happens when a very primitive and aggressive species are given technology, resources and influence that they are not ready to handle properly nor are supposed to have yet.
And to clear up one final thing with this banal idea, the Sangheili were, at most, a Tier 3 race before the Covenant. So do not say that they had advanced technology beyond Humans because they did not. Plasma weaponry, shields, gravity manipulation, advanced metallurgy, advanced slipspace navigation, power armour - the whole lot is taken from Forerunner designs during and after their war with the Prophets. Even their prized Energy Sword is stolen Forerunner technology.
I could go on about how the totality of their race being, not just religious, but religious fundamentalists being a strike to their so called intellect as well but I won't drag the religion debate into this fully. Suffice to say, it looks like they have had no great influential minds like Socrates, Spinoza or Russel. Or if they did then they have most likely all been killed by mad mobs like this or this. All ideas of badass and intelligent Sangheili certainly evaporate for me when you put two and two together and come to realize that the Sangheili did this for 27 years against Humanity.
And before I get hit with the "Humanity aren't always the best" comments: No, they are not. However if you can find me one other thing that Humanity at large (Not Spartans, Humanity at large. Spartans are too ridiculously small to represent anything) has that they can triumph against the Covenant then I will consider it. Not even this "Determination" theme that First Strike tells us is true because Human determination and ingenuity did not really win the war for them and was not ever going to, they got a big fat handout from the race that was butchering them. <sarcasm>What a wonderful message that is!</sarcasm>
[Edited on 10.10.2011 1:16 PM PDT]