- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
I don't think Cortana is rampant. Honestly, I think the UNSC is way to smart to have a field AI as smart as her have no safe-guard for rampancy. However, I do not think she is herself. If you remember in Halo 2, Gravemind had control of Penitent Tangent (among others). What's to say that the cutscene after the credits wasn't a hint?
In the aforementioned cutscene, Gravemind's tentacle reaches towards Cortana, like a probe. Asking questions is easy, but absorbing her info is much easier. I think that Cortana still has some controls (which is why she contacted Master Chief), but that Gravemind is speaking through her. Listen - during the announcement trailer, you hear Gravemind in her voice. This is most prominent as her lines end.
I'm open to theory. Maybe she is using Gravemind as a way of communicating? Who knows?