User:Forgottenlord/Cortana

''This is a drafting page for an update to the page Cortana. The update is for an overhaul of the introduction and biography sections (include the section "Cortana and the Spartans". With exception to the References and Appearances sections, all other sections listed on this page are there for reference only."

"Don't make a girl a promise...if you know you can't keep it."

- Cortana

Cortana, UNSC AI number 0452-9 is a major character in the Halo series. Cortana is a third-generation smart AI, meaning that she has no limit on what she can learn or do though at the cost of a limited lifespan of a mere 7 years. (Dr Halsey's brain here) for the purpose of infiltrating Covenant systems and helping the Spartans. She chose John-117 to be the Spartan who would carry her into battle.

In her short career, Cortana has served on the, and Cairo Station, captured the Covenant Flagship Ascendant Justice, and infiltrated the networks of Alpha Halo, Unyielding Hierophant and High Charity. She is currently isolated on High Charity which is under the rule of the Gravemind

Cortana is one of the most analyzed characters by Halo fans. Her actions and behaviors have lead many to believe that she may have gone rampant. It is believed that she will play a major role in the plot of Halo 3.

In the games, she is voiced by actress Jen Taylor. It has been confirmed that Taylor will reprise the role of Cortana in Halo 3.

Destruction of Installation 04
Knowing that the Flood could not be allowed escape Alpha Halo but at the same time, Cortana devised a plan that was to be effective at stopping the plague. She theorized that if they were to set off a blast large enough, they could destabilize the ring enough that it would be destroyed and the Flood would die with it. To create such an explosion, she came up with overloading the 's reactors. However, to achieve this, they would need two things:
 * 1) Captain Keyes' override codes which were in his neural implants.
 * 2) To get to the bridge of the Pillar of Autumn.

Keyes, however, was back on board the Truth and Reconciliation being interrogated by a Flood brain form. Even worse, the Covenant were just as scared of the Flood leaving the installation as Cortana was and had sent their best troops to try and retake the ship before the Flood could fix it and take off. With fewer UNSC supplies and transports being available, and considering the risk of insertion, Cortana chose to try and tap into the Halo's transportation grid using the Master Chief's shield's power unit as a power source.

Despite Keyes giving John multiple orders to abort the mission, Cortana pushed the Spartan onward. By the time they reached Keyes, however, he was dead. Retrieving the neural implants, they stole a Banshee from the Covenant and flew towards the Pillar of Autumn, barely making it before the Banshee failed.

The fought their way through the Pillar of Autumn to its Bridge and Cortana made a final visit to the Pillar of Autumn's network. She set the Pillar of Autumn's engines to go critical, but then became aware that 343 Guilty Spark was also aboard the ship. The Monitor was able to pull Cortana's files and deactivated the Engines' overload sequence, before blocking Cortana out. John then gave the suggestion of destroying the engines directly.

After destroying the 4 sections, the pair fled through the Pillar of Autumn while Cortana tried to find some form of transportation off the Halo. She succeeded in reaching Foehammer, but the pilot was finally shot down by Covenant forces on final approach to their rendezvous. Changing her plans, she noticed a Longsword fighter sitting in the hanger of the Pillar of Autumn and suggested it as an escape vehicle. The Spartan was barely able to escape before the Engines exploded, taking the entire Installation with it.

Adrift over Threshold
Despite the victory, the pair found a small problem with their plan. The Longsword fighter had no Slipspace engine and they, initially, could detect no other survivors. After an extensive time floating adrift, they spotted seven Covenant warships come around the moon, Basis. Using the bounces of the Covenant sensors, they were able to locate 3 cryotubes that they opted to recover.

However, the Covenant warships had also spotted the cryotubes and while the Spartan was recovering them, it saw the activity and prepared to fire on the small fighter. However, a Pelican shot out and attacked the ship, distracting the Covenant forces long enough for John to get back onto the ship with the tubes. After escaping the pursuit of the warships to the far side of Basis, the two UNSC ships met up, and they discovered that her crew consisted of Sergeant Avery J. Johnson, Lieutenant Haverson, Corporal Locklear, and Warrant Officer Polaski. The Master Chief came up with a plan to capture the Covenant flagship. Cortana's part in the plan was to disrupt the Covenant warship's weapons and communications equipment.

From there, she was taken by John-117 and inserted directly into the Covenant ship's network. It was here where she first detected the Covenant AI. In the first few seconds of fiddling with the Covenant systems and finally realizing she didn't have the capacity to both take over the ship's network and hunt the Covenant AI, Cortana finally recognized just how much information she had absorbed on Halo and how much that hindered her capacity to perform. Instead, she did what she could to block its signals and focused on ways to help the UNSC forces moving through the warship.

Working on tasks ranging from route plotting to creating ghost signalss for opposing forces to decrypting messages between the Covenant fleet, Cortana did what she could for the Spartan and his team. Eventually, she found the controls for the life support systems and depressurized large sections of the ship, killing most of the Elite hunting parties throughout the ship.

However, it was at this point that the UNSC team had made it on to the bridge. In response, the other ships in the fleet opened fire on the vessel. Cortana, wishing to gain back maneuverability, had the Spartan give her access to the navigation controls. However, while she was distracted with them, the Covenant and the AI had disconnected her from the Slipspace generators.

Escape from Threshold
Cortana maneuvered the ship away from the enemy fleet's fire while the Master Chief went to secure the Slipspace generator. Eventually, she tried to take it into Threshold's atmosphere, hoping to disrupt the plasma. While this helped her avoid hits, it also ended up modifying the atmosphere in such a way that the ship eventually ended up too deep to escape under her own power.

By the time the slipspace generators came back online, Cortana came to the conclusion that she had doomed them to a fateful end, unable even to get a slipspace jump away from the planet. However, at the urging of the Spartan, she made her attempt at finding a slipspace route, only to find out that it was actually a fairly simple process for the Covenant technology. She quickly devised a route and moved them away from the planet.

It was then that she discovered that the Covenant AI had crept up on her and had watched her progress. When it declared her work a "heresy", she realized that the Covenant had probably never done a jump either to or from a planet's atmosphere, despite them likely having access to that capability.

When Lieutenant Haverson asked the Master Chief to relieve Tactical Command, Cortana sided with the Lieutenant. However, she quickly shot down Haverson's idea to return directly to Earth, citing Subsection 7 of the Cole Protocol. However, the Master Chief was quick to come up with an alternative destination, one that Lieutenant Haverson accepted: Reach

Second Battle of Reach
The trip to Reach taxed Cortana's systems extensively, so much so that she had twice given the Master Chief incorrect ETAs for their arrival. During the trip had the UNSC troops set up traps for the various Elite Raiding parties while sealing off many sections of the ship to try and secure their core territory. Eventually, they arrived at the Epsilon Eridani system.

When they opted to move into orbit around Reach, she relayed messages to the nearby Covenant ships to pretend that they were still under Covenant control and was successful in her deception. When John determined that there were Spartans on the surface, Cortana analyzed the tactical data and determined an extraction point so that they could launch a rescue mission. The Spartan took all the survivors from Installation 04 down to the surface with him, leaving Cortana alone with the ship (which she soon discovered was named Ascendant Justice).

However, while alone, Cortana tried to perform many tasks but found that she was trying to do way too much at once. By the time she realized it, though, the Covenant AI had taken advantage of her distractions and stunned her before using the comm systems to alert the surrounding fleet of the Ascendant Justice's capture. It also transmitted data pertaining to Cortana's successful Slipspace jump in the atmosphere of Threshold.

Cortana was able to capture the AI, but not before the damage had already been done. She dismantled the AI, pulling it apart line-by-line, and left it for further analysis at a later point. She then turned her attention to the incoming Covenant warships. However, as they warmed up their weapons, Cortana demonstrated her improved understanding of Covenant weaponry and was able to fire first. Using only the forward 3 turrets, she was able to destroy 3 Covenant warships with a single shot (though possessing a Continuous beam).

However, still outmatched against the ships in orbit, Cortana determined that the risk was too great to continue to fight. She jumped from the battle and moved to the outer reaches of the Epsilon Eridani system to plan her next move.

Once out in the far reaches of the system, she shut down the majority of the Ships' systems and started analyzing the situation. First, she looked for Translation software from the Covenant AI, trying to find a way to get more technical information about what was going on from the enemy forces. After locating them, she analyzed the code and determined improvements to her own translation software. Incorporating them, she was quickly able to confirm the Master Chief's assessment that there were Spartans still alive on Reach.

After this, she continued her dissection of the Covenant AI. She quickly realized that its core was actually that of a UNSC AI. She also realized that it had been designed through the copying of its code multiple times, though errors were introduced after every iteration. Intrigued, she looked for the copying code and tested it on her translation software. She determined that there were minor errors, but the copying routine was rather successful. Activating the copy, she soon learned about a Covenant fleet assembling before heading to Earth.

She would return in-system with a plan for the Extraction. Dropping out of Slipspace in the middle of the Debris field, she started searching for a ship with an in-tact fusion reactor. After analyzing the potential candidates, she picked the Gettysburg and connected with her, utilizing the Gettysburg's service drones and the Ascendant Justice's Engineers. Her plan was to jump to the Extraction point, charge the Slipspace drive with the Gettysburg's Reactor, and then jump out of system as soon as the UNSC team was aboard.

Her jump to the rendezvous point was successful and she recovered the UNSC personnel before the Covenant forces had been able to react to her presence. However, she needed 5 seconds to charge her slipspace drive, enough time that the Covenant might have the ability to fire upon her. She took the initiative and fired at the 4 nearest Cruisers, destroying 2. Then, she jumped into Slipspace

Slipspace Bubble
However, a Forerunner Crystal in the possession of Dr. Halsey at the time sent Cortana's attempt to jump into a Slipspace anomaly. Within the anomaly, Cortana could only get a clear reading on the nearest thousand kilometers. Furthermore, 14 Covenant warships were able to follow and fired at her. She tried to fire back.

As it were, the anomaly made it so that the shots from both sides did not proceed in a straight line, turning or jumping to other points in space without explanation. 3 shots took down one of the Covenant warships and several more grazed the Ascendant Justice. Whitcomb took command of the situation and tried to get Cortana to turn to engage the enemy forces, but when she fired her engines, the main power conduit blew.

The Spartans along with Polaski rushed out to repair the conduit. Once repaired, Cortana flew the ship to the Admiral's instructions and was able to take out two of the Covenant Warships before needing to leave the Slipspace bubble that was ripping them apart. However, by this point, the rest of the Covenant fleet had taken so much damage that pursuit wasn't a reasonable option, if it was an option for them any longer.

Eridanus Secundus
The Slipspace jump had taken them far out into territory that had been ceded to the Covenant. Of the Spartan team, only John, Will, Fred and Grace had survived - though all 4 of them were unconscious.

Space Battle
During John-117's debriefing on Cairo Station, Cortana was put into Cairo's computer. It was from here that she detected whispers indicating that something was coming through Slipspace. During a ceremony in which medals were given to the Spartan, Johnson and Captain Keyes (accepted by his daughter, Commander Miranda Keyes), a fleet of 15 ships arrived over Earth, near Cairo's battle cluster. Lord Hood gave Cortana command of the MAC cannon and ordered the Master Chief to repel any borders.

When the Athens and the Malta, the other two stations in the battle cluster, both exploded, Cortana determined that each had been destroyed by a bomb. Hood determined that a bomb would definitely be aboard the Cairo and ordered it to be found. This was later confirmed by Cortana when she detected a bomb being brought aboard in Hanger C-01. By transferring to John-117's suit, she was able to defuse the bomb.

Before she had left the Cairo network, she had attempted but failed to halt either of the two Carriers that composed the core of the Covenant fleet. It is unknown if she was able to destroy any other ships while on the Cairo, particularly with the rest of the Battle cluster destroyed.

Battle of New Mombassa
"The message just repeats. 'Regret, Regret, Regret.'"

- Cortana

Cortana was still with the Master Chief when he exited Cairo station, destroyed a Covenant carrier, and hitched a ride on In Amber Clad (Commander Keyes' vessel) to New Mombassa where the other carrier had landed. As they began deploying, she picked up a Covenant signal and was able to deduce that the Prophet of Regret was in command of the attack. This interpretation sparked a particular interest in Lord Hood and ordered John-117 to capture the Prophet.

Cortana continued to monitor the tactical data and Covenant communications, but she was unable to make further major contributions to the battle. After the Master Chief destroyed a Scarab that had been rampaging through New Mombassa, they joined up with In Amber Clad and were aboard the Frigate followed the Prophet through Slipspace from inside the city.

Appearance and Personality
Like all AIs, Cortana has no physical body but can display an avatar on any Holotank she has access too. Her avatar bears a striking resemblence to Dr. Halsey, who's brain was the base for Cortana. Her avatar goes under a significant change between Halo:CE and Halo 2 and trailers suggest that it was further changed in Halo 3.

In Halo:CE, purplish skin, short hair, and blue to green symbols scrolling down her body. In Halo 2, she has longer hair, a more realistic and figure, making her more human, and a slightly different shade of purple.

Skills
Cortana was designed to infiltrate Covenant systems. As such, she has been given every intrusion technique and cryptology concept ONI had available. The end result is she is the most successful AI when it comes to hacking systems and the only system that has, thus far, proven difficult for her to invade is the Forerunner ship, believed to contain a Forerunner AI. Additionally, she was trained to translate the Covenant language, though the UNSC did not have extensive information about the language, a skill she supplemented with the translation program she acquired from the Covenant AI on the Ascendant Justice.

Cortana also had an advanced understanding of Slipspace and physics - an understanding that allowed her to improve the operation of the Slipspace drives and Plasma Cannons on the Ascendant Justice. With these improvements, she was able to destroy 6 ships with the Ascendant Justice, despite being heavily outnumbered and was able to perform a Slipspace jump from inside Threshold's atmosphere.

Old Intro
Cortana, UNSC AI number 0452-9, (voiced by actress Jen Taylor) is a character in Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2. Cortana is a smart A.I., meaning she has the ability to perform processes at blinding speed like a normal AI, but also making her capable of assuming a personality akin to a human civilian. She is "smart" artificial intelligence, but the drawback is she will overthink herself to death in 7 years. She is the artificial intelligence behind the, although she does not have absolute control; Captain Keyes retains some exclusive powers, which he can execute through his neural implants. This is likely used as a failsafe should insanity ever occur.

Cortana has no physical body, but she can communicate through comm systems and project a holographic image of herself from appropriate projectors, such as Holotanks. Her chosen avatar is that of a female human with purplish skin, short hair, and blue to green symbols scrolling down her body. It is mentioned in Halo: Fall of Reach that she looks like a younger Dr Catherine Halsey. Her appearance changes noticeably from Halo: Combat Evolved to Halo 2; she has longer hair, a more realistic figure, making her more human, a more feminine figure, and a slightly different shade of purple.

Cortana can be transferred among various computer systems. In Halo: Combat Evolved she needed a Data Crystal Chip to move in and out of various networks, including the Master Chief's MJOLNIR armor. In Halo 2, she merely needs to be touching another system to access it; however, this is most likely a product of the Master Chief's upgraded armor.

Cortana was designed to infiltrate computer systems and she is very good at that task. She has become so intelligent that she understands Covenant technology more than it's makers. So far, she has not encountered a security program she was not able to defeat. In addition, she is proficient with UNSC military hardware and can run military ships or stations by herself. Indeed, the UNSC's primary use of AIs is to oversee targeting of point-defense weaponry used in space battles. For Cortana, this is merely an additional capability.

Cortana was actually created using a cloned brain of Dr. Catherine Halsey, the SPARTAN project creator. A side effect of her origins is that she is said to resemble a younger Doctor Halsey physically, with a similar attitude ‘only unchecked by military and social protocol’. Cortana's primary mission was to assist the SPARTANs in their mission to capture a Covenant Prophet and return him to Reach for interrogation.

Cortana has a smart, witty personality and a good sense of humor. She has hardwired loyalty to humanity and the UNSC but seems to be genuinely loyal in any case. Her current loyalty is somewhat in question, however.

Cortana and the Spartans
One of her primary missions was to assist the Spartans in the capture of the Covenant High Prophets, and then to negotiate either a truce or peace treaty.

Cortana has no physical form, unlike 343 Guilty Spark's avatar. However, she maintains the ability to communicate a strong female voice through available communications systems and, if possible, project a holographic image of herself. Originally, the core of Cortana was contained in a disk which could be inserted into most systems; however, the MJOLNIR Mark VI armor system is apparently equipped to allow her to transfer from system to system with a mere touch of the palm. Cortana was designed to infiltrate any security system, and once she is physically inside, there is little that can stop her from taking absolute control.



Cortana was made to share the SPARTANS' MJOLNIR suits. Later the Master Chief is set to escape with her from the attacked ship, guiding him through his various mission tasks on Halo. Master Chief's reaction speed is greatly increased by this, as Cortana resides in the space between his mind and his suit and further boosts his already inhuman reaction speed.

She frequently jokes about having a relationship with the Master Chief and it is often implied that the two characters have developed some form of attachment. In The Fall of Reach, she says to Dr. Halsey that the Master Chief is 'attractive in a primitive animal sort of way' while examining a photo of him.

Cortana and Rampancy
Cortana displays many signs of oncoming rampancy. Whether these symptoms are transient and can be ignored, her programming (being part of the Halo universe and not the similar but distinct Marathon universe) allows for these, or she is actually becoming rampant for good or evil, is the topic for considerable debate. Several instances of potential rampancy are discussed below; these are classified as such by the definition of rampancy derived from the Marathon universe.

Rampancy in Halo: Combat Evolved
Fans have speculated that Cortana begins showing signs of rampancy late in the game. During the course of the game, Cortana spends 12 hours in Installation 04's core computer. When first merged with the core she shows signs of uncontrollable knowledge and is unable to focus on the task at hand. When the Chief asks her questions, she becomes irritable and aggressive to his questions. Under the Marathon definition of rampancy, this outside stimuli combined with what is assumed to be an extremely large network would allow a rampant AI ample opportunity for growth. And to support this theory John mentioned in the book, Halo: The Flood that she did seem to take up more space. This is either a sign of rampancy or the fact that she has the combined knowledge of the Forerunners and the Index.

Rampancy in Halo 2
There is circumstantial evidence in Halo 2 which suggests that Cortana is in the stages of rampancy.

As the Arbiter and Miranda Keyes are attempting to disengage Delta Halo by removing the Index, Cortana is on High Charity in a position to detonate the ship and destroy the Covenant city. Cortana does not do this, even though Miranda's effort to pull the Index out of the energy stream was done apparently in the nick of time.

A small cinematic sequence after the credits at the end of Halo 2 shows Cortana conversing with the Gravemind creature, who is presumed to be the controlling intelligence behind the Flood. When it says it has questions, she says, "All right, shoot." However, Cortana says this in a fairly aggressive way. Considering the nature of the Flood, her actions seem extraordinary and very difficult to interpret. However, rampant AIs typically concoct plans which are surprisingly beneficial to those who think the plan will doom them. Cortana's ever-growing abilities may enable her to remain loyal to the intent of the UNSC -- to protect humanity -- while seeming to disobey their direct orders by allying herself with the "enemy."

A last possible hint of rampancy is a quote Cortana says in the game level, Delta Halo. As soon as the first Pelican comes in for support with a Warthog, Sgt. Johnson states that he can see a view of a building in the middle of a lake. Cortana replies, "Yeah, I saw it too. It looked like a temple.  If I were a megalomaniac, and I'm not, that's where I'd be." One could say that she quickly defended herself from her own statement, leading one to believe that she may soon be viewed as a rampant AI, however it may just be a humorous statement aimed at any opinion the player and/or Master Chief may have formed about her personality, similar to the jokes between her and the Chief in Halo: The Flood.

Rampancy in Halo 3
In the Halo 3 Announcement Trailer, Cortana says: "This is the way the world ends." Perhaps she is falling into some form of melancholia and believes that there is no hope of shutting the rings down for good, or that ending the threat of the rings and/or the Flood will require Earth to be sacrificed. More likely, she has in some way been compromised or placed fully under the control of Gravemind. This theory can be substantiated, since in the Halo Graphic Novel and in Halo: The Flood it is shown that the Flood absorb the knowledge of their hosts (for instance Keyes) in order to accomplish a goal. Thus, as long as one of the Flood infected a host with knowledge of 'smart AIs', it is possible that Cortana is entirely under the Flood's control. Alternatively, it could be the other way around; Cortana may have absorbed all of the Gravemind's knowledge and has become transcendent.

To further affirm this theory, Frankie wrote on Bungie.net: "Her reprised role in Halo 3 will probably be a challenging one, since Cortana’s circumstances are considerably darker and more terrifying than in prior appearances. One thing you already know from Halo 2 – she’s not with the Chief now, but rather, in the clutches of the Gravemind on the ruinous High Charity."

Furthermore, during the Halo 3 Announcement Trailer, what sounds like Gravemind's voice can be heard in the background for the first two lines (I have defied Gods and Demons, and, I am your shield; I am your sword) saying the exact same lines as Cortana. This is further proof that she may be under the control of Gravemind, although none of this has been confirmed.

On a second point, it has been suggested that Cortana's emphasis on the word "This" in her line "This is the way the world ends." is a rejection of T.S. Eliot's poem "The Hollow Men". In "The Hollow Men", Eliot says "This is the way the world ends, not with a bang but a whimper." Some think that Cortana is rejecting that statement, thinking the world will end with a very big bang.

Cortana's role in Halo 3
The May 2006 announce trailer for Halo 3 contains a flickering and corrupted image of Cortana's face several times while she says the words:

"I have defied gods and demons.

I am your shield, I am your sword.

I know you; your past, your future.

This is the way the world ends."

It has been speculated that the "shield" she is referring to could possibly be the Dyson Sphere which can protect the humans from the deadly pulses from the Halos, as well as from the Flood infestation, while the "sword" could be the Halos themselves which could destroy the Covenant and thereby starve the Flood. The "past" may also refer to the Forerunners and their technology, which are also the "future" as they hold the only hope of defeating the Flood.

Whether Cortana is experiencing rampancy is up for debate.

One storyboard listed on Bungie's website also shows Cortana seemingly screaming in pain.

In the December 2006 TV commercial, after the Master Chief pulls on his helmet, a voice sounding much like Cortana's says "Chief, leave me". - Although some debate this as "Chief, don't leave me," or alternately, "Chief, believe me" as it is hard to hear.

Trivia

 * On the Halo 3 Beta in the map High Ground inside the forst one of the bunkers contains a screen that observes a corridor but occasionally changes into Cortana's face for a short time.
 * In the The Legends of Charlemagne, a version of ancient European Mythology written by American author Thomas Bulfinch in the 1850's, there is a story about a Danish prince named Ogier who after pleasing the Emperor in battle was given knighthood and a sword which a fairy, named Morgana, had inscribed, "My name is Curtana, of the same steel and temper as Joyeuse and Durindana", Joyeuse being the name of Charlemagne's sword and Durindana the name of Charlemagne's knight, Orlando's sword.
 * Now in context with the Halo Universe. Cortana is like Master Chief's sword (In the Halo 3 Trailer she even says, "I am your shield, I am your sword") always coming to his aid and more of an object or weapon than a person.
 * Also in the Bungie game, Marathon, there is an A.I. named Durandal which is the English name of "Durindana" which in the above legend is one of the swords which "gives birth" to Cortana.  So in the same vein you could say Bungie is saying that the Durandal (A.I.) is the like the father of the Cortana (A.I.).

Appearances
Halo: Fall of Reach Halo: Combat Evolved (first appearance) Halo: PC Halo: The Flood Halo: First Strike Halo 2 Halo: Ghosts of Onyx (transmission)