- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
Second is the plot twisting Cortana/Gravemind relationship. There are going to be so many theories coming out there from now until the Halo 3 launch day that it will be hard to dertemine what is fiction to fact. Even if you did read all the books, played all the games, there is no specific pattern that Bungie is following to determine Cortana's fate. Could be a Cortana evil clone? Or has Gravemind actually bypassed all of Cortana's primary protocols (one of the is the protection of Earth) to ally herself with Gravemind, to forget about the Master Chief and disregard all that they have fought for? I like to think that Cortana will put up more of a fight before giving up Earth.
The more information Cortana received within the books, the more hostile and chaotic she became. The flood, according to Gravemind have "defied gods and demons", and thus, they will have a great deal of information to assimilate. Cortana could well have tapped into that reservoir and been practically destroyed by it (as she nearly was in First Strike). Additionally, given that she knows she is reaching the end of her 7 year life could mean she has become a self-serving individual, and perhaps Gravemind offered her the chance for immortality. On the other hand, she, like Dr. Halsey, whom she is a facsimile of (and shares many quirky personality traits with), may have seen a greater truth (link to Kelly, and perhaps Sgt. Johnson's immunity to the flood?) and could simply be using Gravemind to get to Earth and stop the war.
The last of the Spartans
Just to point out: he isn't.
Finally the Master Chief. Alas for a true hero to be a true hero the hero must die for what he is fighting for. The last of the Spartans will fall after fighting most of the war on his own, but it was always a losing battle. The Covenant have conquered Earth and the Flood are right behind him. There is always a way that gave the advantage to John, he always found a way to win. But now without Cortana, options are running out fast, he has to save Earth or all of his Spartans will have died a death that has no meaning, and the Master Chief will never allow that to happen.
The games have never really been about winning the war with the covenant. The whole story revolves around the flood and the activation of the halos, hence the name Halo. The war with the covenant is a story device that stops it being so clean-cut like Resident Evil's humans vs. zombies (which is btw, just how the game plays for the most part, there are of course other factions in that particular series as well), to give it more depth, and to give you an idea of just how powerful Master Chief is. Yes he has to die, but given the nature of the force he is fighting, so may everything else in the galaxy. Catch my drift?