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Re: Problem with Cortana/Foe Hammer theory
Posted By: Mark Simmons <mark343gs@hotmail.com>	Date: 2/2/03 9:42 a.m.
In Response To: Problem with Cortana/Foe Hammer theory (B-Sharp) : However, we don't know that Cortana didn't communicate her intentions to : destroy Halo. Sure, we never actually hear her do so, but isn't it : possible (and even likely) that she is in constant communication with the : other UNSC forces on the halo and merely chooses when we get to hear her : conversations and when we don't? : There are several in game instances that support this, however I'll name a : few... The first, I believe, is on the level Halo when Cortana mentions : that the crew of the POA has been captured, and says that more people got : off than she originally thought... she then says something about : establishing an effective guerilla force to combat the covenant on the : surface (I would provide a direct quote but hbo and the story page seem to : be down at the moment). Anyway my point is, she's obviously getting this : information from somewhere even though we never hear it communicated to : her. : Another example is on SC after you clear out the second group of hunters, : bypass the security lock on the door and come back out of the structure : (past the first set of invisible elites), she says something along the : lines of "When I saw we were up against hunters I called in a : dropship carrying heavy weapons" (again, wish I could supply a direct : quote), this implies that she's in constant contact with the other UNSC : forces and only chooses what we get to hear and what we don't. That may be so. But, as the player, you are still being informed of the results of those exchanges, and therefore the exchanges themselves. The fact that some exchanges are relayed to you in that way does not prove the existance of a phantom communication from which you are given *no feedback*. A case in point, and a simple example; where does Cortana say anything remotely like the following to you: "I've managed to get through to Foe Hammer and have informed her of the situation. She's going to rendezvous with us near the Pillar of Autumn later...." ?? Nowhere, is the straight answer. And how difficult would that have been to include...? Not doing so, if there *had* been such a plot relevant exchange, is at odds with the way Bungie have scripted the game up until that point. As it is, there is no indication of any exchange with Foe Hammer regarding Cortana's plan. That was *one* of my points. : So did Cortana really lie to Foe Hammer? Okay. I've laid this out elsewhere, but I'll do so again for clarity. The above issue is not the only reason for me coming to the conclusion that Foe Hammer knew nothing of the plan and that there was a lie perpetrated on Contana's part. This is a two pronged issue. The second issue starts in the engine room onboard the PoA (and I'm rolling *right* back here to make the direction I'm coming from more obvious). Cortana says, quite clearly: "Good! Step one complete! We have a straight shot into the fusion reactor! We need a catalyst explosion to destabilize the magnetic containment field surrounding the fusion cells. Use an explosive. I recommend a grenade or rocket...." Note that she says, "We need a catalyst explosion to *destabilize* the magnetic containment field surrounding the fusion cells." (My emphasis in * *). Once you've hit one reactor, she says: "Fusion reactor number one *destabilizing*. Use explosives on the other three reactors. That should be enough to trigger a *wildcat* explosion of the engines." (Again, my emphasis in * *). So what do we conclude from this? Given the above comments by her, she obviously wants to achieve a 'destabilization' of the reactors and a 'wildcat explosion' of the engines. That's pretty clear, isn't it? After you've hit all four reactors, Cortana says (and note her tone of voice at this stage): "That did it! The engine's gone critical!" Good. So she acknowledges that we have sucessfully achieved her intend aim. Okay, moving on... Later, in the lift, after achieving the above, Foe Hammer says to Cortana: "Echo 419 to Cortana. Things are gettin' noisy down there. Everything okay?" and Cortana responds: "Negative, negative! We have a wildcat destabilization of the ship's fusion core. The engines must have sustained more damage than we thought!" Well, that sounds pretty disastrous, doesn't it? But hang on a second... Isn't that precisely what Cortana wanted...? Why is she making it sound as if she didn't expect it? *Surely* that's a: "Affirmative, Foe Hammer. Objective achieved. We now have a wildcat destabilization of the ship's fusion core." or even a: "Affirmative, Foe Hammer. We had to trigger the meltdown manually, but we now have a wildcat destabilization of the ship's fusion core." ...which is what you *would* have naturally expected *if Foe Hammer had been aware of the plan in advance*. So why the 'more damage than we thought' line...? Being light-hearted for a moment; what sort of crazy, whacked out lunatic slams a bunch of rockets into a fusion reactor core, and *then* sounds surprised at the amount of damage caused?? Jesus H. Christ on a bike... It's hardly going to be a controlled predictable meltdown, after doing something like that. Of course, being human, and therefore brighter, you or I would have quite naturally assumed the worst case scenario after such an outrageous act and legged it like billy-ho, expecting it to go at any moment. And this is supposed to be a 'smart' AI...? Hmmmm.... Okay. So what conclusions can we draw from all this? Well, for a start, it doesn't sound much like Foe Hammer has a clue as to what is really going on, or at least not what she seems to think is going on. And to finish, there's Cortana responding in the negative and billing this 'wildcat destabilization' as some sort of unexpected occurance. So what are we left with? Well, we know Cortana wanted a 'wildcat' 'destabilization' of the core, and she got precisely that. We also know that she describes it to Foe Hammer as some kind of unexpected disaster. Again, listen to her tone of voice during this statement. The question is, what *possible* reason could she have to present it like that...? ...unless she is purposefully misleading Foe Hammer as to the reasons behind the core meltdown. Which is, to all intents and purposes, a lie. Is that a lot clearer now? :-)) As I've also said before, *I could be wrong*. Part of me wants to be because, like many of us here, I like the character and would like to think her actions are whiter than white. It *is* possible that Bungie just made a logic blunder with the script, and that there is nothing untoward about Cortana's intent. That I find difficult to believe though. But it is still a possibility. As to *why* she does this...well, that's another matter to ponder. But she does it, none the less. It's there in black white. Both points. Put them together and what do you get? Mark

Message Index

Problem with Cortana/Foe Hammer theory	B-Sharp	2/2/03 2:25 a.m.
Re: Problem with Cortana/Foe Hammer theory	Mark Simmons	2/2/03 9:42 a.m.
Re: Problem with Cortana/Foe Hammer theory	Exogenesis	2/2/03 11:50 a.m.
Re: Problem with Cortana/Foe Hammer theory	Mark Simmons	2/2/03 2:41 p.m.
Re: Problem with Cortana/Foe Hammer theory	Warbow	2/2/03 1:11 p.m.
Re: Problem with Cortana/Foe Hammer theory	Mark Simmons	2/2/03 2:09 p.m.
Re: Problem with Cortana/Foe Hammer theory	B-Sharp	2/2/03 4:00 p.m.
Re: Problem with Cortana/Foe Hammer theory	Mark Simmons	2/2/03 5:19 p.m.
Re: Problem with Cortana/Foe Hammer theory	P_40E	2/2/03 5:53 p.m.
Re: Problem with Cortana/Foe Hammer theory	Mark Simmons	2/2/03 6:57 p.m.
If it makes it any easier...	Mark Simmons	2/3/03 8:25 a.m.
Re: Problem with Cortana/Foe Hammer theory	Mark LXIX	2/4/03 2:15 p.m.