- DonVinzone1
- |
- Exalted Mythic Member
The answer is complicated.
Let me explain.
Yes, "the" Gravemind was destroyed.
That is; we destroyed this particular physical Gravemind.
However:
No, because the Flood is a shared intellect. In other words: the thoughts, experiences and possibly "personal" characteristics (as in: emotions towards specific races etc) live on.
The Gravemind the Forerunners defeated lived on in mental form, came back in a new physical shape in the form of the Gravemind we fought (which is why he could talk about "his" past as if he really was there...while he physically wasn't), and the next one will include the H2/3 Graveminds traits and thoughts.
In short: a Gravemind can only be killed in a physical way, but is invincible due to their shared "being".
New ones always build upon the previous ones.
EDIT:
Also: there can be multiple Graveminds at once. We know "the" Gravemind is tens of thousands of years old, yet the Flood still formed proto Graveminds in Wars and CE.
My guess is every single isolated Flood outbreak will produce a single Gravemind, and once they can get out of their isolation, the most advanced (ergo: dominant) Gravemind will have any other lesser Gravemind merged with it.
Graveminds are nothing more than huge biological AI that, unlike "regular" Flood can think for themselves. That's why they are needed.
EDIT 2:
Also keep in mind that Halos "starve" the Flood in theory. Forerunners seem to have been spending a lot of time researching the Flood spores on the Halos. Why?
Well, because the Halos destroy anything organic that is big enough to be potential hosts. No hosts = no Flood.
But that also means this: spores have no "body". They're basically "dead" as in; they're no sentient beings.
Of everything we know of how the Halos work, the spores seem to be the hole in the maze, the escape plan of the Flood so to speak.
I believe they are not affected by the Halos, which means the Flood WILL always come back, no matter what.
In the end, unless the Precursors know something we don't (yet), the Flood do seem invincible due to Graveminds and spores.
[Edited on 10.12.2012 7:08 AM PDT]