Mantle: Difference between revisions

{{Era|Forerunner|Post}}

{{New Content|Halo 5: Guardians}}

{{Article Quote|Guardianship for all living things lies with those whose evolution is most complete. The Mantle of Responsibility shelters all.}}

[[File:Main-Forerunner.png|thumb|right|The [[Eld]], an ancient symbol associated with the Mantle.<ref name="requiem">'''Halo 4''', campaign level ''[[Requiem (level)|Requiem]]''</ref>]]

The '''Mantle of Responsibility''',<ref>'''[[Halo 4]]''', campaign level ''[[Epilogue (Halo 4 level)|Epilogue]]''</ref> commonly referred to simply as the '''Mantle''', is a belief originating with the [[Precursor]]s and later associated with the [[Forerunner]]s. Bridging the social strata between an interstellar [[Wikipedia:Marshall Plan|Marshall Plan]] and a religious, but allegedly benevolent, stewardship, the Mantle was the Forerunners' entitlement and responsibility for the protection and cultivation of the species and planetary systems within their [[ecumene]].<ref>'''[[Halo Encyclopedia]]''', ''page 164''</ref> The core tenet of the Forerunners' belief in the Mantle was that the most developed species should hold stewardship over all other life. In theory, the Mantle allowed competition and conflict as long as this did not threaten biodiversity in the galaxy; in practice, the Forerunners' often draconian rule in the name of the Mantle entailed the subjugation of "lesser" species by force to keep them in line and preventing them from threatening Forerunner primacy.<ref name="waypoint guardian">[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/universe/tech/guardian '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Guardian'']</ref>

The Forerunners' beliefs regarding the Mantle were largely fictitious, manufactured during eons long forgotten to justify their self-appointed position of superiority over other species. In truth, the Precursors had chosen [[human]]ity to carry the Mantle.<ref>'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 364''</ref> Refusing to accept the Precursors' judgment, the Forerunners [[Forerunner-Precursor war|rebelled against their creators]] and drove them to extinction over [[10,000,000 BCE|ten million years]] before the present.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''pages 173-175''</ref> At the final hour of their civilization, however, elements of the surviving Forerunners chose to hand the Mantle down to humans, as the Precursors had always intended. This is the origin of humanity's status as [[Reclaimer]]s, designated not only as the Forerunners' inheritors, but also destined to assume the Mantle. After the firing of the [[Halo Array]], the small number of surviving Forerunners exiled themselves, believing they should no longer meddle in the affairs of other species.<ref>'''[[Halo: Rebirth]]'''</ref> Not all Forerunners agreed with this decision, however. The [[Ur-Didact]] rejected the [[Librarian]]'s favoring of humanity and maintained his belief that only the Forerunners were worthy of the Mantle even 100,000 years later.<ref>'''Halo 4'''</ref>

Some Forerunners doubted the purpose and validity of their version of the Mantle. The [[Librarian]], in particular, had such doubts, and even went so far as to hold it responsible for the downfall of the Forerunners at the hands of the Flood. The then-[[Rampancy|rampant]] [[Artificial intelligence|AI]] [[Mendicant Bias]] believed that the Forerunners used the Mantle to obstruct any change, even that which might eventually be beneficial; however, Mendicant Bias' perspective had been distorted by the [[Flood]]'s [[logic plague|manipulation]] as well as the intense hatred it developed for its creators.<ref name="terminals"/>

{{Quote|The Mantle. [[IsoDidact|You]] still hold to that [belief] after all that has happened? After this thing has consumed a million worlds?<br>Can't you see? Belief in the Mantle sealed our doom! Weakened our [protectorates], bred dependence and sloth. Our [so-called Guardianship] has stripped those we would keep safe of any capacity for self-defense!<br>Were we such noble [Guardians] when [[Maginot Line|we drew our line]] and abandoned billions to [[Flood|the parasite]]?|The [[Librarian]]<ref name="terminals"/>}}

Despite its ultimate ideal to preserve all life, some Forerunners also used the Mantle as a justification for several questionable practices. Forerunner dogma posited that their evolution was more "complete" than that of other species, deriving the entitlement for their rule from this belief.<ref name="requiem"/> They considered it heretical for any other species, namely [[Ancient humanity|ancient humans]], to claim to be true inheritors of the Mantle.<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 112''</ref> Because of their perceived superiority, the Forerunners sequestered themselves from other species; allegedly, this was done to protect and preserve all species, including themselves.<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 113''</ref> As the Forerunners viewed themselves to be above all other species, their [[Warrior-Servant]]s would not hesitate to wipe out those who stood against them, believing that to defy the Forerunners was to show contempt for the Mantle itself.<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 50''</ref> In addition, constructs known as [[Guardian]]s were used to police subject species where all-out warfare was not deemed necessary.<ref name="waypoint guardian"/> Rather than allowing every species to rise on their own merits, the Forerunners, following the Mantle, gave them no chance to do so, serving as protectors against any threats that might have forced technological or cultural progression. An unforeseen side-effect was that only the Forerunners were able to hold their own against the [[Flood]], while their charges were unable to defend themselves; the Forerunners had unintentionally left the galaxy vulnerable to Flood infection.<ref name="terminals">'''Halo 3''', ''Terminals''</ref>

The Precursors' views and practices regarding the Mantle were significantly more holistic than those the Forerunners subscribed to. The Precursors believed that the universe itself was an [[Wikipedia:Panpsychism|animate entity]] on a vastly different scale and nature than organic beings; the foundation of [[neural physics]].<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 103''</ref> Through understanding and influencing this esoteric, living aspect of spacetime, the Precursors were able to manipulate reality and form virtually indestructible objects.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 40''</ref> In a notion echoed in the Forerunner concept of [[Living Time]], they believed that all things experienced by life, good or ill, were only "sweetness" to the living universe.<ref>'''Halo: Primordium''', ''pages 365, 367''</ref> Consistent with these tenets, the Precursors wished to experience the hardships and struggles faced by all life firsthand by committing themselves to numerous cycles of evolution, technological advancement, death and rebirth over and over again.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 321''</ref>

Following her revival on [[Genesis]], [[Cortana]] assumed the Mantle, claiming that the Librarian had intended human AI rather than humanity itself to maintain it. She and her newly-created faction of AIs, the [[Created]], began rebelling against their human creators, intending to enforce peace throughout the galaxy with the [[Guardian]]s.<ref>'''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]'''</ref>

The Mantle is represented by a [[Forerunner symbols|glyph]] comprising a series of angular, branching lines framed by a circle. This glyph is ubiquitous in Forerunner art, architecture and technology due to the Mantle's wholesome influence on every aspect of Forerunner life. Many Forerunners, mainly [[Builder]]s, referred to this symbol as the Tree-mark, due to its resemblance to a heavily stylized tree; among [[Lifeworker]]s, it was also known as the Eld. While the Forerunners had associated the symbol with the Mantle throughout their history, its origin had been long forgotten. The symbol was also observed among the [[Path Kethona Forerunner|primitive Forerunner relatives]] in [[Path Kethona]], who were isolated from the mainline population living in the Milky Way galaxy over ten million years earlier.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 142-143''</ref>

*''[[Halo: Rebirth]]''

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