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| ==Features==
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| ===Structure===
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| [[File:HaloLatticework.jpg|thumb|250px|The foundational latticework of a Halo installation.]]
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| The Halos encountered in the modern times are 10,000 kilometers in diameter; this size is roughly similar to that of [[Earth]], which is 12,756 km in diameter. While the original twelve Halos had a diameter of 30,000 kilometers,<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 310''</ref> concerns about their structural stability and transport led to the second series of rings being reduced in size.<ref name="maker"/> The surface of each ring is 318 kilometers wide,<ref>'''Halo: The Essential Visual Guide''', ''page 6''</ref> and 22.3 kilometers thick.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 339'' (2001)</ref><ref>'''Halo: The Flood''', ''page 13'' (2003)</ref> The main structure of the ring is constructed of a superdense foundational material,<ref>'''Halo: The Flood''', ''page 340''</ref> with elaborate scaffolding and cantilever structures laid over it to support the artificial landmasses and the myriad tunnel networks and caverns that riddle the installation's internal structure.<ref name="halo3halo"/> Many of these tunnels are transit conduits meant for use by the ring's Sentinels, though some of them can be traversed by humanoid beings.<ref>'''[[Halo: Combat Evolved]]''', campaign level ''[[Halo (Halo: Combat Evolved level)|Halo]]''</ref>
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| The Halo rings achieve their "gravity" through a combination of centripetal force and [[artificial gravity]] generators. As the ring spins, centripetal force pushes all spinning bodies away from the center of rotation, though more exotic gravity manipulation is additionally required to achieve the rings' near-Earth gravity.<ref group="note">With only centripetal force the ring would spin around 19 times within a 24 hour period. With this in mind having a simple ground battle would be nearly impossible with the physics involved.</ref> The ring is uniform, and because of this, all points are the same distance from the center, therefore centripetal force applies evenly. When the {{UNSCShip|Pillar of Autumn}} was detonated, it blasted a large mass from Installation 04; no longer a full loop, the centripetal force applied in much greater strength on the newly formed weak point, causing the ring to rip apart.<ref>'''Halo: Combat Evolved''' campaign level, ''[[The Maw]]''</ref>
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| [[File:HW2-Banished ejected.png|thumb|left|250px|A section of landmass being ejected from [[Installation 09]].]]
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| The Halos are capable of repairing themselves to some degree, replacing damaged plates of foundation material and restoring biological sections.<ref>'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 77-78''</ref> Some of the 30,000 km-diameter Halos could also be reduced to a smaller size by shedding large portions of the foundation.<ref name="maker"/> In order to prevent the ring from falling apart during this process, it could generate a hard light hub with spokes which hold each of the foundation plates in place.<ref>'''Halo: Primordium''', ''pages 345-346''</ref> However, the self-reduction process was far from perfect and made the original Halos prone to instability and collapse.<ref name="maker"/> The newer Halos are capable of safely ejecting segments as well, as long as the process is overseen by a capable enough intelligence such as a [[monitor]].<ref name="HE10"/> Additionally, small, specifically defined parts of the Halos' terrain (along with the underlying foundation layers) can be jettisoned into space as a precautionary measure against Flood outbreaks.<ref name="cea t4">'''Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary''', ''[[Terminal/Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary|Terminal Four]]''</ref><ref name="Last Stand"/> In time, the ecosystems of these ejected sections can be restored by the Halos' automated systems.<ref name="cea t4"/>
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| Halos also possess [[hard light]] reinforcement to stabilize and protect them against tidal and gravitational forces from other objects.<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 311''</ref> One of the most extraordinary systems possessed by the Halos (at least the twelve original rings) is their ability to lock entire sections of the ring, or, if necessary, the entirety of it, into [[Slipspace bubble|reflective slipspace stasis]]. This suspends these sections in time and renders them invulnerable to damage from the outside, but consumes an enormous amount of energy.<ref>'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 331-332''</ref>
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| Each installation in the final Halo Array orbits a large, dense planet—most commonly a gas giant—which serves as a gravitational anchor.<ref name="gas giants"/> For example, Installation 04 and Installation 05 orbited [[Threshold]] and [[Substance]], respectively, which are both large gas giants, while Installation 03 is anchored to a large rocky planet.<ref name="h4composer"/>
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| ===Custodial===
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| [[File:343.JPG|right|thumb|250px|343 Guilty Spark, monitor of Installation 04.]]
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| The installations are designed to be run by advanced artificial intelligence constructs specially assigned by the Forerunners. The highest intelligence on each installation is a single monitor.<ref>'''Halo: Combat Evolved''', level ''[[343 Guilty Spark (level)|343 Guilty Spark]]''</ref> The monitor's task is to ensure that the installation's [[Sentinel]]s, which range from [[Constructor]]s to [[Sentinel Aggressor|Aggressors]] and [[Enforcer]]s, repair, maintain, and defend the ring from damage, contain Flood specimens, and ensure that their own installation is ready to fire on demand, including running activation simulations.<ref name="gravemind"/> Monitors also have access to their respective installation's defensive system.<ref>'''Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary''', ''Terminal 1''</ref>
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| The Sentinels encompass a broad category of less intelligent constructs which serve virtually any purpose necessary to ensure that the Halo functions properly and are capable of combating small Flood outbreaks. Should a major Flood outbreak occur, heavier automatons, such as the Enforcers and [[Sentinel Major]]s will be created. In the meantime, Constructors are also created to ensure that the Forerunner structures on the Installation are kept in optimal shape, and that they are not damaged by conflict or weather.<ref name="Icon">'''Halo 2''', level ''[[Sacred Icon]]''</ref>
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| Save for the monitor, all automatons can be constructed at specialized [[Sentinel manufacturing facility|production facilities]] that float high in the Halo's atmosphere. They seem to have access to copious amounts of materials for constructing an almost indefinite number of automatons.
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| ===Environment===
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| [[File:H2ABridge.jpg|thumb|left|250px|An environment on [[Installation 05]].]]
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| Although first and foremost designed as weapons of mass destruction, the Halos are also designed as habitats for transplanted lifeforms, including but not limited to humans. After [[Master Builder]] [[Faber]]'s plans were co-opted by the [[Librarian]], the Halos were given terrestrial surfaces to support catalogued specimens. The Master Builder intended to allow these specimens to be infected by Flood forms contained on the rings, and then subsequently terminated in order to test the Halos' effectiveness.<ref name="c313"/> The Halo installations support a wide range of environments, habitats, ecosystems, and climates. Installation 04 and Installation 05 supported warm, temperate forests<ref>'''Halo 2''', level ''[[Uprising]]''</ref> that were both deciduous and coniferous, swamps, and cold, snow covered tundra environments.<ref>'''Halo: Combat Evolved''', level ''[[Assault on the Control Room]]''</ref><ref>'''Halo 2''', level ''[[Quarantine Zone (level)|Quarantine Zone]]''</ref> Installation 00 had climate ranging all the way from tundra,<ref name="Cov">'''Halo 3''', level ''[[The Covenant (level)|The Covenant]]''</ref> to forest,<ref name="Cov"/> to desert.<ref>'''Halo 3''', level ''[[The Ark (level)|The Ark]]''</ref>
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| While the terrain of a Halo ring may appear to be naturally formed at first glance, it is actually artificially constructed. [[Strato-Sentinel]]s extract raw materials from the source, process them in transit, and deposit building materials at the Installation.<ref>'''[[The Art of Halo 3]]''', page 30</ref> Four huge terraforming factories then move across the face of the installation to "skin" it with landmasses and bodies of water. These factories also hold in the ring's nitrogen-oxygen atmosphere, which is then leaked out to the surface, eventually pouring through the superstructure, and tugged in place by centripetal force;<ref>'''The Art of Halo 3''', ''page 116''</ref> massive walls lining both sides of the ringworld prevent the atmosphere from leaking out into space.<ref>'''Halo: Primordium''', ''pages 40, 148''</ref> The installation's buildings are then built by Constructors and Sentinels. An intricate layer of metallic panels is laid down several meters below the surface of the terrain, upon which rock, soil, and eventually vegetation is added. Slopes, hills and mountains can be created by sculpting these panels.<ref name="halo3halo"/> Some features, such as landslides, are the result of time, and have been formed naturally. Others, such as the frigid conditions of the [[Quarantine Zone]] or the lake near the [[Temple (Installation 05)|Temple]] on [[Installation 05]] were artificially created.<ref>'''Halo 2''', campaign level ''[[Delta Halo]]''</ref> There are also numerous indigenous life-forms that live on the Halos; these were brought on the installations as part of the Lifeworkers' conservation project.
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| ===Facilities===
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| [[File:AnniversaryControlRoom.png|thumb|right|250px|The [[Control Room]] of Installation 04.]]
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| Each Halo has several assets that are uniform to all installations. Each contains a [[control room]] located somewhere upon its inner surface. The control room houses the installation's mainframe, known as [[the Core]], from which all of the Halo's systems can be operated. The Halo's main weapon can be activated inserting the [[Activation Index]] into the Core; on the other hand, the Core may also be used to disable the main weapon.<ref name="Last Stand"/> Each Halo also possesses a [[Library]], a large structure protected by [[Containment shield|an energy shield]] and a [[Sentinel wall|massive wall]], where the Index is housed and protected by Sentinels.<ref name="library"/><ref>'''Halo 2''', level ''[[Sacred Icon]]''</ref> The index itself is a semisolid [[holography|holographic]] representation of the data needed to activate the ring, and can only be directly inserted successfully by a Reclaimer.
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| Installations also possess [[Cartographer]] facilities, which contain the complete, real-time record and schematic of the installation,<ref>'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 295''</ref> including its inner passages and networks, to be used as a navigational reference for traversing the installation. [[Flood containment facility|Flood containment]] and [[Flood research facility|research facilities]] are also standard, used by the installation's monitor to conduct research on and observe the surviving Flood specimens; these are protected by Sentinels to prevent an outbreak.<ref name="Flood240">'''Halo: The Flood''', pages 240-242</ref>
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| ===Transportation===
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| [[File:HW2-Halo in slipspace.jpg|thumb|left|250px|Installation 09 exiting slipspace transit.]]
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| Facilities of the Halo Array contain advanced [[teleportation grid]]s, allowing instantaneous transportation for a Monitor or Reclaimer to any place on the installation. Under normal circumstances, these grids cannot be accessed by the Flood, though the Gravemind was able to use that of Installation 05 by controlling [[2401 Penitent Tangent]].<ref name="gravemind"/> For Sentinels, the installation is riddled with tunnel and cave networks for access and transportation.<ref name="Flood240"/>
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| The Halo installations are also equipped with drive engines spaced along their rim. In the event of an emergency, a Halo can maneuver itself to avoid damage from a collision or weaponry.<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum,''', ''page 314''</ref> While ideally moved through fixed [[slipspace portal|portals]], the rings are able to perform slipspace jumps under their own power. In the case of at least the original twelve rings, a failsafe measure implemented in the event of capture by hostile forces would transition the Halo into slipspace and place it on a collision course with a planet or other celestial body, ensuring the weapon's destruction rather than allowing it to fall in the wrong hands.<ref>'''Halo: Primordium''', ''pages 279, 339''</ref> At the moment of [[Installation 04]]'s destruction, at least [[Alpha Shard|one major fragment]] of the ring was moved into slipspace, likely as part of a similar failsafe.<ref name="wp shard">[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/universe/locations/halo-ring-fragment '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Alpha Shard'']</ref>
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| ===Firing method===
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| [[File:Installation_05.jpg|thumb|250px|Installation 05 as it aborts its firing sequence during the [[Battle of Installation 05]].]]
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| The seven installations in the final Halo Array function via form of lethal [[radiation]] designed to kill all [[sentience|sentient]] life in the installation's three-dimensional radius of 25,000 light-years; when fired in concert with the rest of the Array, this sterilizing effect covers the entire galaxy.<ref name="ENC">'''[[Halo Encyclopedia]]''', ''pages 170-174''</ref><ref name="terminal8">'''Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary''', ''[[Terminal/Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary|Terminal Eight]]''</ref>
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| When activated, the Halo rings release a burst of cross-phased supermassive neutrinos.<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 274''</ref> The burst possesses a harmonic frequency, which can be tuned to destroy the nervous system of any macroscopic organism that possesses one, even one as rudimentary as a notochord, as shown in the aftermath of a low-powered test firing of a Halo performed by [[Mendicant Bias]] in [[Charum Hakkor system|the system]] of Charum Hakkor. Fine tuning the pulse can also allow for selective extermination of lifeforms with varying degrees of neural complexity.<ref>[https://twitter.com/GrimBrotherOne/status/766840297498157056 '''Twitter''': ''Jeff Easterling on Twitter'']</ref> The Halo effect is able to target and eliminate most forms of neural structures, from biological nervous systems to esoteric [[neural physics]] constructs, although the effect does not extend to [[artificial intelligence]]s.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 310''</ref> Simpler life forms that do not possess a neural system, such as microbes, fungi, algae, mosses, and traditional plants are unaffected.<ref name="c131">'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''pages 131-133''</ref> While organisms aboard the twelve older rings were safe from the Halo effect itself due to its directional nature, any sentient being would still experience an uncomfortable sensation in the vicinity of the pulse.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''pages 272-273''</ref>
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| Like virtually all Forerunner technology, the Halos are powered by [[vacuum energy]]. When the main weapon is fired, vacuum energy is siphoned from local space-time to near-depletion.<ref name="s270"/> The pulse of the main weapon is amplified by a series of [[phase pulse generator]]s and channeled toward the Halo's center. A concentration of energy collects into the hub of the installation, which, when the weapon is fully charged, blasts outward in all directions.<ref name="terminal8"/>
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| The radiation is propelled at superluminal speeds and will eventually propagate at a near-infinite velocity. This was known to generate causal paradoxes when the rings first fired, with two of the Halos reporting pre-echoes of the combined activation ''before'' the rings had been fired.<ref name="sil326"/> Once activated from Installation 00, all installations will cumulatively trigger one another as their radiation fields intersect, amplifying the effects of each individual Halo.<ref name="s312"/> The energy discharge covers the Array's effective range and cleanses it of all affected sentient life.<ref name="terminal8"/> Individual Halos can also be fired independently from the rest of the Array; this is known as a "tactical pulse".<ref name="thecovenant"/>
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| In the event a Halo's activation is canceled, a burst of energy is fired from the control center into the hub, causing the energy collected there to violently implode, then dissipate harmlessly.<ref name="great journey"/>
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| The final Halo Array, comprising the six smaller Halos (and the reduced Installation 07) were designed to fire in all directions, within a spherical radius of 25,000 light-years;<ref name="radius"/> together, the rings were capable of killing all sentient life within three radii of the Milky Way's center.<ref name="radius"/> The original twelve Halos were designed to fire laterally, generating a cone-shaped field with a maximum effective range of hundreds of thousands light-years. When fired from the greater Ark to the [[Path Kethona|Large Magellanic Cloud]], the blast was wide enough to cover the entire 14,000 light-year-wide satellite galaxy.<ref name="s273"/> The rings could also be fired on a lower power setting, cleansing specific planets or systems within a relatively small area of effect.<ref name="c131"/>
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| ===Effects===
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| [[File:Killed by Halo Effect.jpg|thumb|250px|A creature is killed by the activation of the Halo Array and is instantly decayed by the Lifeworker solvent.]]
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| The nervous systems of all beings are targeted by the Halos and destroyed, rendering them useless to the Flood; however, the Halo effect does not disintegrate biomass, leaving the victims' bodies mostly intact.<ref>'''Halo 3''', ''Terminal 6'' (''"I toss around [37,654 tonne] dreadnoughts like they were fighters; dimly aware of the former crews being crushed to liquescence."'')</ref> Left untreated, lifeforms killed by the pulse will decay in great masses, which could lead to ecological devastation spread by a miasma of rotten biomatter. Therefore, [[Lifeworker]]s sprayed target biospheres with a [[solute]] that would cause any animal killed by the Array to instantly decay into its component molecules,<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''String Two''</ref> resulting in flash-desiccation.<ref name="terminal8"/> Due to the Forerunners' use of solute, 21st century paleo-archeological studies gave no indication of the mass extinction caused by the Array's firing. However, in [[2332]] the [[Ross-Ziegler Blip]] revealed a tiny aberration in Earth's fossil records.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''"From the Office of Dr. William Arthur Iqbal"'', ''page 519''</ref>
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| The only known ways to avoid the effects of the pulse are to seek shelter in a [[shield world]] or to escape outside the range of the Array.<ref name="great journey"/>
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| ===Protocol===
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| {{Main|Containment protocol}}
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| Each Halo ring can be activated individually by a [[Reclaimer]], also placing the other installations in standby mode, or they can all be activated simultaneously from Installation 00. In the event of a major Flood outbreak, an installation's monitor will seek out a Reclaimer if available, whom they will enlist to aid them. It will [[Slipspace translocation|teleport]] them to the installation's Library and will assist the individual in retrieving the Index. The monitor then stores the Index within its data arrays for safe transportation, lest the Reclaimer fall prey to the Flood before they can activate the installation. Once at the control room, the Reclaimer is given back the Index and must insert it into [[the Core]] in order to begin the activation sequence. At any point during the charging sequence, a Reclaimer is able to abort the firing by removing the Index from the Core.<ref name="great journey"/>
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| {{clear}}
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| ==Trivia== | | ==Trivia== |
| {{Linkbox|gallery=yes|gallerypage=Images of Halos}} | | {{Linkbox|gallery=yes|gallerypage=Images of Halos}} |
