In Response To: The Theory that Starts a NEW Discussion (Summary a (Metatron)
: A SHORT SUMMARY is available at the bottom of the theory for those who need
: to see what this theory is all about before investing your time reading
: it. For those of you who know that my theories don’t disappoint, prepare
: to be flabbergasted. You’re about to embark on a journey that should
: forever alter your cycle of thoughts concerning the Halo universe:)
: For the nonbelievers: All the Halo books are derived from the Halo Bible. The
: Halo Bible contains the back story to every single event and character in
: the Halo universe. The different bookl's events and characters are taken
: from the Halo Bible. If you look at it this way, the books were actually
: written by those few at Bungie and Eric Trautmann, keeper of the Halo
: Bible! Nylund and Dietz (Authors of the books) really wrote an already
: planned out storyline. Each author’s talents were used to write intense
: dialog for the characters, and to describe events with vivid detail, all
: of which was mapped out in the Halo Bible. So, before you start yelling
: foul ball, take this information into consideration. Bungie/Trautmann
: wrote the ENTIRE storyline to the Halo universe, and Nylund and Dietz were
: used to “spice up” that which had already been planned out. This means
: that the books are an intricate part of the Halo universe/storyline, and
: that they hold important insight into the storyline of Halo 2. If you're
: interested in finding out more on this, go to HBO and do a search for Eric
: Nylund, Eric Truatmann, or The Halo Bible:)
: If you still hold the belief that the books aren't going to effect the game,
: then your saying that Bungie is going to alienate the thousands of people
: who HAVE paid for and read the books. That doesn't make sense???
: Oh yea, I am in no way implying that those who haven't read the books will be
: lost in Halo 2. I'm sure you know, as most should, that Halo 2 doesn't
: start with the Covenat attack on Earth. Logically, it starts at some point
: between the destruction of Halo, and the Covenant attack on Earth. What
: information do we have that follows the events after the destruction of
: Halo, but before the Covenant attack on Earth? I'm sure you see where I'm
: going with this. While I doubt that the first levels of Halo will be the
: ENTIRE book of First Strike, it isn't an unreasonable position to hold
: that the important aspects of First Strike will be told to the player in
: the beginning levels of, if not throughout, Halo 2:)
: The Theory
: The Spartan II program is said to be the culmination of Dr. Halsey’s life.
: The project took years of planning, and an investment of endless upon
: endless hours of study and preparations. To gain funding and support for
: her program, Dr. Halsey had to put up with the bickering of the UNSC
: military higher ups. The Spartan II program started off with 75 subjects,
: children. They were stolen from their parents in secret UNSC black ops
: missions, and then replaced with flash clones of themselves so the parents
: wouldn’t know. These children would grow to be the best humanity had to
: offer, and some began to take notice... Ackerson.
: Col. Ackerson had plans of his own. He had special weapons projects, and, as
: mentioned on p.103,105 of FS, he had a backup plan on par with the
: Spartans. These projects of Ackerson competed directly against Dr.
: Halsey’s Spartan II program for funding. Of course, the Spartan II program
: continued its’ success, and it garnered more support from the UNSC higher
: ups. The relationship between Col. Ackerson and Dr. Halsey could best be
: described as sour one. Neither like each other, but they both recognized
: each others importance in the struggle against the Covenant.
: So, you’re probably saying to yourself, “Yea... I know all that”. Well, lets
: take what you already know and apply it to some thoughts I have. I think
: you’ll be pleasantly surprised;)
: In the beginning of The Fall of Reach (p.55-59) we’re told the specifics of
: the augmentations that will be given to the Spartans. Deja, an AI, decodes
: a transmission that contains the details of the augmentations, which was
: sent from Admiral Jeromi onboard the UNSC Research Station Hopeful. Deja
: states this while decoding the transmission: “The encryption scheme is
: extremely complex, I don’t even know why they bother. Who else but Beta-5
: Division even has the resources to use this data?”(p.54) Once the
: transmission is decoded, we learn of the immense risks the augmentation
: procedures carry, including: bone pulverization, elephantiasis, suppressed
: -blam!- drive, permanent blindness, Parkinson’s disease, Fletcher’s
: disease, and 5% of the test subjects may experience a fatal cardiac volume
: increase. (p 57 TFoR). After Dr. Halsey reads this information, “she
: erases all traces of it, and sends Deja to track the file pathways all the
: way back to the Hopeful in order to destroyed Admiral Jeromi’s notes and
: files relative to the procedures.”(p.58)
: The next chapter (Ch.7) begins with the Spartans that survived the
: augmentations giving a farewell to their fallen comrades... those who
: didn’t survive the augmentations. On p.60, we’re told that the “fallen”
: Spartan’s bodies where burned, their remains put into ash canisters, and
: then those canisters were shot into the darkness of space. We’re told that
: there are 33 surviving Spartans, including the MC, who can remain in the
: program. “There were a dozen others who lived, but were no longer able to
: sever as soldiers”(p.61). We’re told of this dozen’s “injuries”, which
: include all the risks mentioned above. There were 33 Spartans able to stay
: in Dr. Halsey’s program, and a dozen (12) others who lived, but were to
: injured to continue in the program. Add those numbers up, and you’ll find
: that 30 Spartans, 40% of the group, died from the augmentations
: (33+12+30=75 Spartans).
: I found something to be very strange about all this. In the augmentation
: transmission, the only risk mentioned pertaining to death is that 5% of
: the subjects may experience “fatal cardiac volume increase. 5% of the 75
: Spartans is only 3.75, not 30. Of course, no one else would know that only
: 5% of the Spartans, not 40%, should die from the augmentations, because
: Dr. Halsey herself erased ALL records pertaining to the augmentation
: procedures and risks. There were no bodies to confirm the 30 Spartans
: deaths, because they were all “burned to ashes”and ejected into space. On
: that note, imagine you’re the founder and lead scientist of a program
: that’s taken your life’s work and dedication to realize. At the near peek
: of your program, which, again, has taken your life’s dedication, 40% of
: the subjects in your program die because of procedures performed on them
: while in your program. Would you, being the founder and lead SCIENTIST of
: the program, dispose of those dead subjects by burning their bodies, and
: ejecting canisters containing their ashes into space, effectively erasing
: those subjects from existence, and culmination of your work? Or, would you
: study those dead subjects to figure out your mistakes, in order to learn
: how to better prepare for the next batch of subjects?
: I find it improbable that 30 Spartans died from the augmentations. There were
: 12 Spartans present at the “farewell ceremony” who showed the extreme side
: effects of the augmentations: bone pulverization, elephantiasis, permanent
: blindness, Parkinson’s disease, and Fletcher’s disease. However, when it
: comes to the 5% of the Spartans that may have experienced a fatal cardiac
: volume increase, there are 30 canisters filled with the ashes of 40% of
: the Spartans! This could be an indicator to PART of Dr. Halsey’s secret
: mission at the end of First Strike.
: Dr. Halsey: “There was so much to do and so little time left for her, the
: Spartans, and the human race. She could do something , though. She’d save
: them one person at a time, starting with Linda, then Kelly, and then a
: handful of very important others. Of course, it meant betraying everyone
: who trusted her— but if that was the only way Dr. Halsey could save
: herself, and her soul, then she’d do it." (p.249)
: Dr. Halsey states: “betray everyone who trusted her”. Does that sound
: familiar to you? It stuck out like a sore thumb to me... the level TWO
: BETRAYALS. We’re aware that 343 GS betrayed the MC, but what is the other
: betrayal, and who performs it? You might say, “don’t even go there,
: because Dr. Halsey can’t go to Halo... it’s destroyed”. Well, you’d be
: wrong if you think that;)
: Halo is destroyed on September 22, 2552; however, because of the time warping
: issues caused by the artifact found on Reach, Dr. Halsey actually leaves
: for her secret mission on September 13, 2552. This is a whole 9 days
: before Halo is destroyed, and 6 days before the Pillar of Autumn even
: reaches Halo (Sept.19, 2552). READ THOSE STATEMENTS AGAIN! Another thing I
: should point out is that Locklear destroys the artifact on the same date
: that Dr. Halsey goes on her secret mission. This is significant, because
: on the date Locklear destroys the artifact (Sept. 13), the Spartans,
: Admiral Whitcomb, Dr. Halsey, and the artifact itself have yet to be
: “rescued” from Reach. Remember, the MC doesn’t rescue the artifact, and
: those on Reach until September 23, 2552, which is 10 days AFTER the
: artifact is destroyed by Locklear. This means that on the date Dr. Halsey
: leaves for her secret mission there are actually TWO of everything that is
: onboard the Ascendent Justice. There are two artifacts, two Ascendent
: Justices, and two of every person aboard the Ascendent Justice...
: including the Master Chief! The artifact has, in effect, created a “time
: loop” in which it can’t be destroyed. This also means that the artifact,
: which was thought to be destroyed, can still control space and time around
: the MC’s actions!
: Now that I’ve got your attention pointed in the direction of the artifact,
: here’s a short run down it’s space and time bending properties: Pages 242
: - 249 FS
: After Dr. Halsey talks with the MC about Johnson’s condition on the captured
: Covenant flagship The Ascendant Justice (p. 242 - 245), Cortana and Dr.
: Halsey engage in an interesting conversation. One that pertains to the
: artifact found on Reach.
: Cortana and Halsey analyze some discrepancies found between the Spartan’s on
: Reach time logs, and the MC’s time logs from Halo (p.247). Cortana states,
: “The time stamps are off by an average of three weeks. I hypothesize that
: this was caused by my gravity - influenced slipspace transition.” Halsey
: then smiles and says, “I’m disappointed, Cortana. That’s a guess... and an
: incorrect one at that.” Cortana then reviews her analysis of the logs and
: come to an agreement that indeed her analysis is wrong. Cortana then
: challenges Dr. Halsey to explain the discrepancies in the time logs, and
: this (many of you may be confused here) is said between the two: “Plot the
: temporal irregularities (time log discrepancies) on a space-time surface.
: Then call up my file on the spatial distortion generated by the alien
: artifact (the artifact from Reach).On the displays appeared sets of nearly
: identical curved membranes that stretched about a central location and
: time: Reach and the recovery of the strange artifact. That thing not only
: bends space, Dr. Halsey whispered to herself, but bends time as well.
: That’s not possible, Cortana said. How could the artifact on Reach affect
: us on Halo - light years away? Don’t think of it as a physical distance,
: Dr. Halsey replied absentmindedly, staring at the monitors. You and John
: were on an event path intersecting the crystal. She moved the curves (on
: the monitors that deal with the alien artifact) over one another; the time
: and space surfaces were a perfect match. You had to be there at that place
: and time to recover us and remove the crystal - time and space warped to
: make that event occur. Cortana gave a derisive laugh. That’s circular
: logic, Doctor. It directly contravenes several well-established theories—
: And it fits the know data. Dr. Halsey shut down the files containing here
: analysis. I see now why the Covenant are so interested in this object.
: They mustn’t be allowed to get their hands on it. Not them, and certainly
: not Section Three, either.”(p.247-248)
: Before I get into Halsey’s secret mission, I have to ask myself, why does the
: artifact have the MC and Cortana “on and event path intersecting the
: itself”? In laymen terms, what makes the MC and Cortana “so special”?
: Well, the MC is the Reclaimer. You’re probably thinking, “Yea, so! There
: were other Reclaimers. Why weren’t they “selected” by the artifact on
: Reach?” The answer to that may lye in the Index. Do you remember what
: happens when the MC places the Index in the control panel in the level TWO
: BETRAYALS? After Cortana spouts off about 343 GS betraying the MC , she
: “waved the Index, and added the data contained within it to her
: memory.”(p.256 TF) Remember, Cortana tells 343 GS “I have the Index, so
: you can just float and sputter”. This means that Cortana has effectively
: become the Index, and whoever has Cortana is THE Reclaimer. I don’t have
: to tell you who the ONLY person is that has the capability of
: “carrying/storing” Cortana in their mind/armor... the MC! This is why he
: is THE Reclaimer, and possibly why the artifact has the MC and Cortana
: (Index), and only them, on an event path intersecting itself.
: Taking all this into account, we can see that the artifact won’t allow itself
: to be destroyed; therefore, we should also see that the MC’s actions can
: still be affected by it. Remember, at the end of First Strike the date is
: only September 13, 2552... 9 days before the destruction of Halo, and 6
: days before the Pillar of Autumn reaches Halo. Of course, at the end of FS
: the MC and his crew are no longer aboard the Ascendent Justice, because
: the Admiral Whitcomb uses it as a decoy, and crashes it into the
: Unyielding Hierophant so that the MC can escape. NOTE: The Ascendent
: Justice is still in existence. At the time Whitcomb destroys the Ascendent
: Justice, it’s also en route to Halo. The MC and his crew are aboard the
: Human ship the Gettysburg at the end of First Strike, and are heading back
: to Earth. However, and this is important, Cortana states before they jump
: into slipspace, “I’m attempting to attune the Ascendant Justice’s
: slipspace drive to the Gettysburg’s mass and profile. We pulled the
: slipspace matrix out of our piggybacked ship (Ascendant Justice) and
: slapped it into the Gettysburg.”(p.329) This statement means that the
: Gettysburg now has the slipspace capabilities of the Ascendent Justice,
: and maybe even a little better capabilities due to the Gettysburg’s small
: size, in comparison to the Ascendant Justice. What does this mean? Well,
: it took the Pillar of Autumn 18 days to make it from Reach to Halo, but it
: only took the Ascendent Justice a little under 13 hours to make the same
: trip! The MC is on a course for Earth at the end of First Strike; however,
: he has PLENTY of time to go back to Halo... for whatever reasons. One
: thing to remember is, the artifact found on Reach has created a time loop
: so that it can’t be destroyed. It’s quite possible that the artifact on
: Reach could interfere with the MC again, in order to stop it’s
: destruction. Another plausible thought is that the MC figures out Dr.
: Halsey’s secret mission, which, as she says, will betray everyone she
: loves, including the MC. It could be that the MC has to go back to Halo in
: order to try and prevent the betrayal of Dr. Halsey, which, again, would
: occur before the PoA visits Halo. This could possibly explain why 343 GS
: says to the MC: “But you already knew that. I mean, how couldn't you? And,
: “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.” Oh, by
: the way. AIs measure time in milli/nano seconds. It takes no time at all
: for an AI to perform complex thoughts, such as slipspace calculations. So,
: a “considerable amount of time” for an AI, such as 343 GS, to give an
: answer a simple question, which he’s already given an answer, could be
: considered days, and not years;)
: Back to Dr. Halsey’s secret mission. At this point in time, I’m fairly
: certain of a few things concerning the “good” doctor. One, she’s not as
: one dimensional as most of us have made her out to be. Admiral Whitcomb
: thinks these’s thoughts about her while aboard the Ascendent Justice:
: “He’d read enough reports of her “projects” that he’d found it impossible
: to relate to her. If half the rumors he’d heard about her were true, she’d
: been mixed up in every black op from here to Andromeda. He didn’t trust
: her.” (p.225 FS) Dr. Halsey has some BIG secrets, and I’m going to say
: that one of those secrets is that the 30 ash canisters that where shot
: into space after the Spartans received their augmentations wasn’t 30 dead
: Spartans. As I showed at the beginning of this theory, it seems unlikely
: that 40% of the Spartans (30) would die from the augmentations, because
: the risks show that only 5% may die (3.75). On top of that, the Spartan
: program is a scientific project, which was funded by the military. If
: there was a failure of this magnitude (40%) in the program, being that
: it’s based on science, the bodies of the failed subjects would be kept for
: study. I believe that when the Spartans were told, “CPO Mendez will be
: departing to train the next group of Spartans”(p.99 TFoR), that Mendez may
: have been taken to do something with these 30 “dead” Spartans.
: This leads me to another point, Ackerson’s S-III file. Among the various data
: contained in the file was information pertaining to the experimental
: procedures used to enhance the Spartan’s strength, agility, and mental
: resiliency.(p.131 FS) How did Ackerson get his hands on this information,
: because we’re told that Dr. Halsey destroyed it. Could it be that the
: complex encryption sequence used on the transmission containing the
: augmentations info was in fact a precaution that had to be taken because
: of Ackerson? The only way I could see him gaining “specifics” on the
: procedures performed on the Spartans is if he was listing in on Halsey...
: keeping a watchful eye on her, through whatever means, because he knew she
: was up to something secretive. If Ackerson knew of the procedures
: performed on the Spartans, then he would have know that only 5% of them
: should have died, not 40% of them(30). It could be that the S-III file is
: Ackerson’s pieces to the puzzle that is Dr. Halsey. There is a 512
: alphanumerical string attached to the S-III file that is a star chart
: reference, and CPOMZ is next to this long string. Put two and two
: together, and you could see that this is where Ackerson believes the 30
: “dead” Spartans were trained at, and may still be. This would mean that
: Mendez was sent to this location, which, as Kalmiya says, isn’t in UNSC
: controlled space (p.130). But, where is this 512 alphanumeric location?
: In the past, I’ve speculated that the 512 alphanumeric string could possibly
: be Halo. There is another location, though, that holds my interest... the
: rebel asteroid base. This is what we know about the rebel asteroid base.
: On the first mission the Spartans went on, which was to extract Col.
: Robert Watts from the asteroid base, we’re told several interesting
: things. One, “John took out the panic button. He triggered the green mode
: transmission and tossed it into an empty locker. If they didn’t make it
: out, at least the UNSC fleet would know where to find the rebel
: base.”(p.92 TFoR) While the Spartans are leaving the asteroid, we’re told
: “the insurgent base looked like any other rock in the asteroid belt... but
: this rock was venting atmosphere and starting to rotate erratically.”
: (p.93 TFoR) So, why is it that when the Ascendent Justice is looking for
: the base in First Strike, the only one’s who know of it’s existence is the
: MC , the other Spartans, and Dr. Halsey? Not only do the Spartans leave a
: beacon pointing to the location of asteroid, but the asteroid vents
: atmosphere into space, which causes it to rotate erratically. Now, if the
: asteroid is dependent on its rotation for gravity, as we’re told on p.253
: FS, then there would have been HEAVY casualties inside the asteroid city,
: because of a gravity fluctuations. I find it improbable that the UNSC
: wouldn’t know about the asteroid base if they had sent their prized
: Spartans there, who, when briefed after the mission, could have given a
: first hand account of the asteroids general location, if all else failed.
: When Dr. Halsey sees the 512 alphanumeric string, she absentmindedly whispers
: aloud, “this longer portion is a star chart reference.”(p.130 FS) Notice,
: she doesn’t have to compare the long string to star chars, or analyze it
: to find it’s meaning. Halsey is VERY familiar with this location, so
: familiar that she even knows the location by a huge 512 alphanumeric
: string. After Halsey blurts out this statement, Kalmia states, “Yes,
: Doctor, but it’s not a destination to any location in UNSC-controlled
: space.” (p.130 FS) Is it a coincidence that the rebel asteroid base isn’t
: in UNSC controlled space, but is in fact controlled by the rebel forces
: who occupy the area?
: What I’m getting at here, is this. If Halsey did in fact have a secret
: project for those 30 “dead” Spartans, one that didn’t involve the UNSC,
: then the perfect place to hide the project would be the asteroid base.
: This may be why Gov. Jiles acts so familiar with Dr. Halsey, and why Jiles
: men act as if they know who the MC is. While I still believe Ackerson is
: up to something, it’s possible to see that part, if not all, of the S-III
: file was information Ackerson was gathering on Halsey, because he knew
: that SHE was also up to something secretive... possibly more competition
: for his secret weapons programs.
: Bringing all this back to Halo 2, what are my predictions on it? Well, it's
: quite possible that the whispers of visiting another Halo in Halo 2 will
: be Halo 04.... AGAIN! Halsey mentions that there is little time to perform
: her secret mission. This may be because part of her mission involves going
: to Halo, and she knows that she only has a few days before Halo is
: destroyed. She then mentions that “she’d save them one person at a time,
: starting with Linda, then Kelly, and then a handful of very important
: others.” The handful of very important others may be reference to the 30
: Spartans that were thought to be dead, but were actually relocated for a
: secret project of her own. Of course, those 30 Spartans wouldn’t still be
: at the asteroid base. I actually believe that these 30 “dead” Spartans may
: be carrying out secret mission for particular individuals... the Ch. 30
: transmission may pertain to this. But, that is a whole other subject,
: which we can get into later. It may be that the second betrayal in level
: TWO BETRAYALS is 343 GS being betrayed, because he already explained the
: procedures concerning Halo to the MC in the past, who, at the time of the
: game, hasn't yet gone back in time to have the conversation. The question
: I’m still left pondering after all this is, how will Dr. Halsey betray all
: those she loves?
: MAKE SURE YOU UNDERSTAND THIS CONCEPT
: When talking about characters changing the past, or future, you get into a
: blurry area. I thought about this a LOT before I wrote this theory.
: Obviously, something involving the artifact warping time does indeed
: occur. However, I was extreamly careful not to say things like,
: "Halsey could stop the destruction of Halo!" This could not
: happen, because we, the reader, already have a record of Halos
: destruction. Most importantly, if Dr.Halsey did, and this is an example,
: stop the destruction of Reach, then the characters in the book would have
: no memory of that event happening, because the event would have never
: happened. Dr. Halsey wouldn't have a memory of the destruction of Reach if
: she did indeed stop it 9Example) However, the effects of Halsey's actions,
: or anyone elses, could possible have already been told to us. For
: instance, 343 GS's recollection of a question the MC asked him. The MC, as
: far as we know of, hasn't gone back and asked 343 GS a question; however,
: we know that the MC does ask 343 GS a quesiton, because 343 GS tells you,
: the player, about it. So, the MC going back to Halo before it's
: destruction wouldn't change the events that already happend (impossible),
: but would fit the puzzle surrounding the events:)
: Please, feel free to post your questions and arguments against my theory. It
: is, after all, just a theory:)
: Thanks for reading,
: -Metatron (Eagle 117)
: SUMMARY: The artifact found on Reach creats a time loop, one in which it
: can’t be destroyed. Because of this time loop, at the end of First Strike
: Halo has yet to be destroyed. The date Dr. Halsey leaves for her secret
: mission there are two of everything and everyone who is aboard the
: Ascendent Justice. The 30 Spartans who “died” because of the augmentations
: are actually alive. Dr. Halsey had them trained/brought to the rebel
: asteroid base after the Spartans first mission for a secret project of her
: own. The MC will go back to Halo 04 at some point in or after Halo 2.
: There’s a LOT more to it than this, so try not to post an argument unless
: you’ve read the actual theory:)
Holy crap. It's everyting I've ever wanted and more. Great job...and I WILL DWELL ON THIS!!
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