Installation 04: Difference between revisions

From Halopedia, the Halo wiki

No edit summary
(→‎Astronomy: Added full information on The Halos, left section and a link to full article.)
Line 35: Line 35:


==Astronomy==
==Astronomy==
{{merge|The Halos}}
{{clear}}
{{clear}}
''See full article:''[[The Halos#Astronomy|The Halos]]
The "Ringworld" of Halo is much smaller than [[Wikipedia:Larry Niven|Larry Niven's]] [[Ringworld]]. While the diameter of Niven's ringworld is close to the diameter of Earth's orbital of 300,000,000 km, the 10,000 km diameter of Halo is much closer to the diameter of Earth itself, which is 12,756 km. Ringworld has a star similar to our sun in its center, and Halo is orbiting a planet, but does not encircle it.
The "Ringworld" of Halo is much smaller than [[Wikipedia:Larry Niven|Larry Niven's]] [[Ringworld]]. While the diameter of Niven's ringworld is close to the diameter of Earth's orbital of 300,000,000 km, the 10,000 km diameter of Halo is much closer to the diameter of Earth itself, which is 12,756 km. Ringworld has a star similar to our sun in its center, and Halo is orbiting a planet, but does not encircle it.
[[Image:Lagrange Point.png]]
Besides the very beautifully sculpted landscape on Halo's surface, the sky is also worthy of attention. Depending on the viewpoint, you can see the star, a moon (called [[Basis]]), a gas giant (called [[Threshold]]), and the band of Halo itself, which looks like a street into the sky.
In the course of [[Halo: Combat Evolved|Halo 1]], neither Threshold nor Basis is reachable, all action takes place on or in the Halo. In [[Halo 2]] there is a multiplayer [[Burial Mounds (Level)|level]] on [[Basis]], and there is a campaign level in Threshold's atmosphere. That level is set on a [[Forerunner]] gas mining facility.


[[Category: Places]]
[[Category: Places]]
[[Category: The Forerunner]]
[[Category: The Forerunner]]

Revision as of 17:08, June 21, 2007

Installation 04 being destroyed
A piece of the ring
File:AlphaHaloview1.jpg
Halo with Threshold in the background

Installation 04 is one of a series of gigantic ring worlds (the Halos from which the series gets the name) apparently left behind by the enigmatic, technologically-advanced, and apparently extinct Forerunners.

The Covenant reverentially describe Installation 04 as either the First Holy Ring, or the First Sacred Ring. 04 is also known colloquially among Halo fans as Alpha Halo.

Details

Planet of Orbit: Threshold

Monitor: 343 Guilty Spark

Status: Destroyed

Background

The purpose of Installation 04, along with its sister installations, was to prevent the parasitic lifeforms known as the Flood from consuming the Galaxy's sentient life. In the event of a galaxy-wide Flood outbreak, the seven installations could be triggered to annihilate all sentient life, thereby preventing the Flood from taking control of the galaxy.

Installation 04, until destroyed, was controlled by the Forerunner artificial intelligence construct (Monitor), 343 Guilty Spark.


Climate

The climate of Installation 04 is very similar to Earth's climate. There have been hurricanes over the oceans on the ring.[1] One anomaly is the warm rain that fell one night. [2]

History

v • d • e
 
The Forerunners

v • d • e
 
Halo Array
Arks
Senescent array
Gyre 01 • Gyre 02 • Gyre 03 • Gyre 04 • Gyre 05 • Gyre 06 • Gyre 07 • Gyre 08 • Gyre 09 • Gyre 10 • Gyre 11 • Gyre 12
Neoteric array
Other

v • d • e
 
Installation components

v • d • e
 
Other installations
Other megastructures
Other facilities

v • d • e
 
Technology
AI suppressor • Ancilla • Anti-gravity gondola • Assembler vats • Astroengineering • Baffler • Combat skin ((War sphinx • Seeker)) • Confinement bubble • Confinement field • Constraint field • Console • Coordinate key • Dazzler • Design seed ((Upgrade seed)) • Durance ((Didact's Gift)) • Encephalon • Energy core • Engineering unit • Entanglement dish • Flarecore • Gas canister • Guardian • Hard light (Light bridge) • Grappler • Huragok • Interdiction web • Lifeworker beacon • Mind transfer • Modular Dispersal Technology • Observation pane • Personal armor • Power core • Relic core • Sharquoi • Slipspace bubble • Slipspace core (Flake) • Slipspace field pod • Slipspace translocation ((Personal slipspace unit • Teleporter • Teleportation grid • Slipspace portal)) • Smartmatter • State-shifter • Stasis field • Verivorr • Weapon rack • Z-9930 Terminal

v • d • e
 
Ships
Civilian starships
Small craft and weapon-ships
Escorts
Unknown type

v • d • e
 
Sentinels
Types
Related facilities

v • d • e
 
Weaponry
Infantry weapons
Grenades
Mounted weapons
Battlefield equipment

v • d • e
 
Artifacts

Ancient History

Installation 04 was built by the Forerunners approximately at 98,665 BC (It was 101,217 years old in 2552 AD). It is unclear why the gas giant Threshold was specifically chosen to be the planet which Installation 04 orbited, but it is supposed that the large number of Forerunner machines already operational in Threshold (namely the network of Gas Mines), may have played a role in their decision. It could also be because it was the only planet in the system that had enough gravity to hold Halo in place.

The Installation was activated sometime thereafter, and all Forerunner and Flood (save those in captivity in the Halos) were killed. Installation 04 lay dormant for millenia, with 343 Guilty Spark and his Sentinels keeping the Flood confined in the Flood Containment Facilities and keeping the infrastructure of the Halo in perfect working order.

Destruction

The Covenant discovered the location of Installation 04, after The Covenant fleet of Particular Justice followed the single UNSC cruiser, the UNSC Pillar of Autumn, which was fleeing from the Battle of Reach. It is assumed that the Covenant knew about the Ring before as the Prophets all have a holographic representation of them on their headdresses and Cortana saying that she used the coordinates received by the beam in The Fall of Reach. Due to the Covenant's faster slipspace capabilities they arrived before the Autumn. The Pillar of Autumn arrived around September 19, 2552 and was promptly shot down by warding Covenant space forces. At around the same time, the Covenant ground forces on 04 accidentally unleashed the Flood from captivity. The ensuing four-day melee that took place all over the ring was called the Battle of Installation 04. Humans, Flood, and Covenant fought massive battles against one another as the Forerunner Constructs tried to control the outbreak by activating the Halo. In the end, a single human called the Master Chief detonated the Autumn's fusion reactors, destroying the Halo.

Only a handful of humans and Covenant survived the battle. 343 Guilty Spark floated through space until he met a group of Covenant on Threshold. Inspired by his words, they began a heretic rebellion against the greater Covenant. Installation 04's destruction is seen as the first step in the chain of events that led to the Civil War of the Covenant.

There is now a large field of debris where Installation 04 was, though a few large chunks of the ring remain. Some smaller pieces of the Installation 04 have landed on Basis and others have burnt up in re-entry heat within Threshold's atmosphere.

Despite the enormous amount of damage, places of the ring-world seem to remain inhabitable somehow, possibly due to the Forerunner technology that built it.

Astronomy

See full article:The Halos

The "Ringworld" of Halo is much smaller than Larry Niven's Ringworld. While the diameter of Niven's ringworld is close to the diameter of Earth's orbital of 300,000,000 km, the 10,000 km diameter of Halo is much closer to the diameter of Earth itself, which is 12,756 km. Ringworld has a star similar to our sun in its center, and Halo is orbiting a planet, but does not encircle it.

  1. ^ Halo: The Flood page 14
  2. ^ Halo: The Flood page 107
Retrieved from "https://www.halopedia.org/index.php?title=Installation_04&oldid=50491"