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Covenant Hatred Revisited *Halo: FS Spoilers*
Posted By: FriendlyFire <kurt_bergeron@mac.com>	Date: 12/9/03 4:17 p.m.
In the most recent Halo novel a rather blatant question is posed by Cortana when the Covenant AI calls her improved Slipspace calculations heresy: Why would the Covenant AI consider her improvements/modifications to Slipspace jump calculations heresy? To approach that question let's have a look at the Merriam-Webster definition of heresy: Heresy: 1 a : adherence to a religious opinion contrary to church dogma b : denial of a revealed truth by a baptized member of the Roman Catholic Church c : an opinion or doctrine contrary to church dogma 2 a : dissent or deviation from a dominant theory, opinion, or practice b : an opinion, doctrine, or practice contrary to the truth or to generally accepted beliefs or standards As far as the Covenant is concerned, I believe that the 2nd meaning is more in line with their use of the word. So thus Cortana's question can be further refined as: What is it about her Slipspace calculations that goes against Covenant beliefs? We know that the Covenant revere the Forerunner and we also have very strong evidence supporting the fact that most, if not all, of their technology is borrowed Forerunner technology. Perhaps this is because a part of the Covenant doctrine is to attain an enlightenment that they believe can only be achieved by following in the footsteps of The Great Ones (a term used by the Prophet in the epilogue of FS). This is not unlike some earth customs where people will retrace the steps of great people (a pilgramage) in the hope of attaining the same enlightenment. This is further supported by the Prophet's words at the end of the book about setting out on some great journey to some sort of promised land. Perhaps the Covenant seek to become like the Forerunner or assert themselves as the Forerunners; in essence, becoming like what they revere (the ultimate goal of any religion). We also know that the Covenant are, as a rule, "immitative, not innovative" but maybe that's for a reason. If they believe that they need to follow in the Forerunner's footsteps then perhaps any deviation from their perceived view of the Forerunners (i.e. their technology) may be seen as a breech of doctrine. Then again, we know that the Covenant AI sent Cortana's Slipspace calculations to the Covenant warships so it would appear that they are not above implementing any improvements to their technology, even if said changes were considered heresy. This would help explain why the Covenant despise Humankind; as far as we know, all human technology was developed by humans. Although some technologies were based on captured Covenant technology, humans made custom improvements based on underlying understandings of principles developed on their own (e.g. Mjolnir shield technology, Cortana's optimizations to Covenant Plasma turret technology and her Slipspace calculations). Since this would deviate from the Covenant's understanding (read : decree) on how this technology should work, it's considered heresy. Basically, by the Covenant way of thinking, if they based their technology on that of the Forerunner's and they didn't come up with a paricular application of that technology then that technology is a breech of Covenant doctrine. The end result being that any technology or application of technology that the the Covenant haven't come up with is heresy. So back to the original question which inspired this whole line of thinking: Why are Cortana's calculations considered heresy? With the line of reasoning I've set forth, it would appear that humankind's breech of Covenant doctrine is simply our drive to innovate. Since we have developed our own technology we have spit in the face of their technology and therefore their beliefs.

Message Index

Covenant Hatred Revisited *Halo: FS Spoilers*	FriendlyFire	12/9/03 4:17 p.m.
Re: Covenant Hatred Revisited *Halo: FS Spoilers*	Andrew Nagy	12/9/03 4:31 p.m.
Re: Covenant Hatred Revisited *Halo: FS Spoilers*	Smegma	12/9/03 4:58 p.m.
Re: Covenant Hatred Revisited *Halo: FS Spoilers*	Wavehawk	12/9/03 10:05 p.m.