- Jordan117
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- Exalted Legendary Member
I made a thread awhile back about the possibility of time travel in Halo 3, based on several clues. Well here's that argument again, but this time with more evidence:
1) In Halo:CE, the Monitor says "Last time, you asked me, if it was my choice, would I do it? Having considerable time to ponder your query, my answer has not changed. There is no choice. We must activate the ring." This dialogue implies that 343GS talked to the Chief the first time Halo was activated -- 100,000 years ago.
2) In the trailer, Cortana says "I know you. Your past. Your future." She obviously knows Chief's past because she worked with him. But the future? Time travel offers an explanation: say that at some point in Halo 3, the Chief somehow goes back in time thousands of years, to the time just before Halo was first activated. He would probably encounter the Flood/Gravemind at some point. The Flood would then carry the memory of the Chief with them in a sort of collective/communal memory, which the current Gravemind would also share. When Gravemind melds/allies with/takes over Cortana as implied in Halo 3, then Cortana would also become aware or be told about the Chief's time-travelling. She would therefore know what the present-day Chief is going to do, because it already happened, millenia in the past.
3) NEW EVIDENCE: Gravemind's "secret message" in Halo 2 (the one playing backward in the background of one cinematic) says:...I have walked among men and angels for three thousand years. Time has no end... no beginning... no purpose.
I wander the earth, seeking forgiveness for my horrible crimes against God and man.
I live to see death, destruction, over the light, but the light cannot be extinguished.
I live in a prison of my own demise.
I am lost in time... (repeats)
If the time-travel theory is correct, then these words take on new meaning. The time-travel scenario given is potentially an infinite loop: Chief is forced to go back in time, where he first activates Halo, then millenia later he fights the battles of the previous games, meets Gravemind, etc., until he has to travel back again. If all this is true, then the only beings that would be aware of the infinite loop would be Gravemind and, later on, Cortana. This explains why Gravemind thinks time has "no beginning" or "end" or "purpose". and why he feels "lost in time".
4) Yes, time travel is possible in Halo. Consider the time-bending crystals found in the books, or the time-warping properties of Slipspace. Time travel isn't impossible.
5) Lastly, this scenario is a very elegant way to end the franchise. There is no clear winner or loser, no ultimate fate. Just the same events playing and replaying, cycling and recycling, with only Gravemind/Cortana above it all, powerless to do anything but watch and guide the infinite cycle...
What do you think?
[Edited on 5/16/2006]