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This topic has moved here: Subject: My Halo 3 deduction/speculation... using logic and... stuff!!!
  • Subject: My Halo 3 deduction/speculation... using logic and... stuff!!!
Subject: My Halo 3 deduction/speculation... using logic and... stuff!!!
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This all seems the most logical stuff to me.
Of course, it's all hypothesis. I may be completely wrong. Or, of course, I may be completely right (in which case this might constitute as being spoilerish). Nonetheless, it's fun to speculate.


-The Ark will have to be activated to stop the Flood.
Evidence: How else can you stop the onslaught of the flood? They're in control of High Charity. The Forerunner couldn't stop them. MC can't stop them all. Arbiter can't stop them all. The only way to stop them is to activate Halo, wipe out their food and starve them.
The Cortana letters and trailer help point towards this - Cortana references the world ending like THIS, not with a whimper but a bang, and she makes reference to how she witnesses the salvation of mankind - i.e., the ark's use.
The Flood claim to be a monument to all our sins. That's pretty biblical language there, and feels like it reaffirms how we will have to start again and be saved by MC.

-When the Ark is activated, Covenant races along with human races will be saved inside the Ark.
This seems like the ideal ending. Reconciliation between the warring species. Peace. Cleansing. Etc.

-The Ark protects those inside it from the effects of the Halos.
This is an obvious one. The Ark in the Bible is a haven from the flood, saving the non-sinful so they may start again on a replenished and cleansed Earth. The same applies here.

-The Forerunner are indeed humans and activated the Halos.
They then left the Ark and built up civilisation again - the last 100,000 years of human history.
How did they lose their technology? Well, their weren't many of them, and Earth was not already colonised. There are many legends and myths (particularly in India and the like) of an ancient advanced race of humans with vimanas and things. Society can lose technology.
Master Chief will discover inside the Ark the exact truth about humanity's extended history, as there will certainly be records and somesuch.

Evidence towards this exists primarily in-game through the Monitors: Humans are referred to as reclaimers, 343 comments on "all our lost time", makes reference how Master Chief (and his species) have activated the Halos before, asks why MC uses older weaponry and suiting as if MC knew about more advanced tech, Halos have environments suited perfectly for humans (as opposed to the weird environ' and plantlife found on High Charity, suited toward some Covenant races), etc etc. The evidence is abundant.

-The Ark may well take off from Earth and find another planet for the saved people.
I say this 100% because it would be more neat if the saved species start again on another planet, rather than them exiting onto a ruined and desolate Earth piled high with corpses. However, the game probably won't show them exit the Ark, as the activation is the end of the game. And there's the fact they'll need to stay inside the Ark for a long time - until the Flood are killed. How long it will take for the Flood to starve is unknown. Maybe it will take only 40 days. ;)

-MC's story will be an attempted protection of Earth and eventually trying to stop the activation of the Ark, before he realises he has the activate the Ark.
Seems pretty obvious, simply following my other points and how Halo 2 ended.

-Arbiter's story: Obviously, he is with Keyes and Johnson. However, the end of Halo 2 only pointed his story thread towards Earth, but he WON'T go there (at least immediately) because it would ruin the point of having both Arbiter and MC as playable characters. He will need to have something else to do. I don't know what. Possibly he will pointlessly try to fight against the Flood... maybe on High Charity, maybe not. I wouldn't be surprised if he stays on Delta Halo or goes to a different Halo, just to make the whole "Halo 3" title slightly neater than it might otherwise be.
The other option is that the Arbiter simply takes a leadering position in the Covenant civil war, but this is unlikely as it rather sidelines Keyes and Johnson.

-The Covenant civil war: I think it will *eventually* serve only to show the more fracturing and warring of different races which is eventually reconciled at the end of the game with the activation of Halo and refuge in the Ark. This strengthens the theme of cleansing and reconciliation which is so important with the whole monument to sins stuff.

-Cortana and Gravemind. I think the inprisonment of Cortana by Gravemind will serve only to show the increased power of the Flood; their massively increased knowledge and their massively increased threat. I don't think Cortana will ever escape Gravemind's clutches.
However, Cortana is an independent and strong mind. Possibly the two will unite. Nonetheless, it will only serve to aid the Flood and demonstrate their unstoppable threat to the galaxy, convincing MC et al that the Ark must be activated.

-How does it come to the conclusion I've said?
Obviously, the Covenant will have to agree to the activation of the Ark and the reconciliation between all species. I think they will do this after they dicover humans are forerunners, and after they discover the Flood is utterly unstoppable. [Note: I believe the Prophet of Truth is a genuine religious nut who becomes massively demoralised and such once he realises the true nature of the Forerunners, Halos and the Ark.]
The Flood may well attack Earth utilising High charity's slipspace abilities and Cortana's navigation abilities.
Or the Flood may well just sweep across all Covenant worlds.

The only real loose end I've got is Arbiter. I think I've placed him quite well, but he doesn't really seem too relevant to the plot... only to futher demonstrate the Flood's power to reaffirm completely that the Ark must be activated.
It's very probable the Arbiter serves as the keystone in the eventual Human-Covenant reconciliation/peace, which will give his character some weight I suppose.
Oh, and the other loose end is Halo 04, which can't utilise it's destructive power. Maybe they'll just ignore that, or pretend there's nothing in it's radius of interest.

A few links of mild interest:
http://www.ufoarea.com/aas_vimanas.html
http://www.ufoarea.com/aas_abydos.html
http://traxusiv.wordpress.com/
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noah%27s_Ark
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Rift_Valley

  • 05.26.2006 3:21 AM PDT
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I think a well timed bump is in order.

  • 05.26.2006 4:49 AM PDT
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Posted by: Mr Minutes
I think a well timed bump is in order.


A well timed thread lock is on its way...

  • 05.26.2006 6:00 AM PDT
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Why will it be locked? I wasn't aware speculation was against the rules.

  • 05.26.2006 6:22 AM PDT

Quick as a razor, sharp as a bullet.

yah it's been locked
that's how i posted this

  • 05.26.2006 7:12 AM PDT
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Yeah but they want it all to fit neatly under one thread. Rules are kind of silly but rules are rules so be careful.

Maybe the Arbiter goes to that other excavation site on the Alien planet (forgot name but begins with a "C")

Does anyone know what that is called or has anyone figured out what the 3 mile wide artifact is.

Maybe it has to be activated as well and the beams hit together and who knows.

I just read about it in my Halo 2 SE booklet.

  • 05.26.2006 7:15 AM PDT
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Coral you mean? Thats what the next halo book is about 'The Ghosts of Coral' i think its called

  • 05.26.2006 7:17 AM PDT
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Yeah what of it? I think that is a big part of the game. Surely there is where the forerunners will appear or something has to happen.

  • 05.26.2006 7:25 AM PDT

Quick as a razor, sharp as a bullet.

is it me or was this thread locked a minute ago

  • 05.26.2006 7:42 AM PDT
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"Maybe the Arbiter goes to that other excavation site on [Coral]"

Such a thing would take quite a lot of exposition to just put into the game, but it's more than possible. As long as the artefact on Coral is important enough, that is.

  • 05.26.2006 8:45 AM PDT
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Just seeing one last time if anyone else has any thoughts on what I've brought up, as it feels rather underdiscussed currently (though it's all more than probably covered elsewhere).

  • 05.27.2006 10:10 AM PDT