Editing Catalog

{{Status|Canon}}
{{Article quote|The strength of Catalog lies in personal awareness of the nature of guilt.<ref name="guilt">'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 24''</ref>}}
{{Character infobox
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|species=[[Forerunner]]
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|affiliation=[[Forerunner]]
|rank-title=Rate|rank=[[Juridical]]
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|notable=Major source of information on Forerunners for modern humanity
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'''Catalog''' was a collective entity of [[Forerunner]] [[Juridical]] agents charged with recording, observing, and uploading information to the [[Juridical|Juridical network]]. There were many individuals identified as Catalog, all of whom were formally considered to be the same being as a peculiar cultural convention.<ref name="same">'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 17''</ref>

==Background==
===Role and jurisdiction===
{{Quote|I do not judge. I record.|Catalog}}
Catalog's task was to record evidence related to a given case, and to determine what would be passed on for the Juridicals to analyze. Catalog gathered information in a variety of ways, including direct observation via their various sensor equipment and taking the testimonials of individuals connected to the cases at hand. When on an official mission mandated by the [[Ecumene Council]], no one, no matter their rank or position, was allowed to interfere with Catalog's investigation.{{Ref/Reuse|same}} Catalog was almost constantly connected to the Juridical network, which it used to share information. The [[Gravemind]], upon capturing a member of Catalog, noted an "amusing" similarity between Catalog and itself; much like the Flood's pervasive collective consciousness, Catalog was an extension of a collective which shared memories and experience.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 173''</ref>

Catalog was authorized to force a key deponent to divulge information through artificially-induced "calming encouragement" if they refused to willingly continue their testimony or otherwise co-operate.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 168''</ref> When three Catalog units gathered to record a particularly significant event, they would become a "triad", forming a local personal network that shared all information; "one unit with three points of view".<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 220''</ref>

===Physical appearance===
Each individual Forerunner connected to Catalog was encased in a coffin-like mechanical carapace designed for optimum observation and recording, and allowing it to interview quickly and efficiently while contacting the network as often as necessary. This carapace was also capable of surviving in hard vacuum and other dangerous environmental conditions. The Catalog carapace possessed five legs and an array of optical recording devices it could extend or retract at will.<ref name="sil92">'''Halo: Silentium''', ''pages 92-93''</ref> Like all Forerunners, Catalog was equipped with a personal [[ancilla]].<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 23''</ref>

When assuming the carapace, the biological body of a Forerunner was reduced into a shrivelled, misshapen form.<ref name="remains">'''Halo: Silentium''', ''pages 11-12''</ref> The carapace also acted as a life-support system for the withered body within; if a member of Catalog chose to disconnect from the carapace, it would suffocate, which was considered an honorable death in the event of failure.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''pages 171''</ref> Catalog was conspicuously distinct from ordinary Forerunners due to its exotic physical shape; it also made random internal "clicking and slopping" noises which some Forerunners, including the [[Ur-Didact]], found disgusting.{{Ref/Reuse|sil92}}

===Personality and behavior===
Catalog were chosen from volunteering individuals of all [[rate]]s who had committed crimes and assumed the role as an act of penance.{{Ref/Reuse|guilt}} Forerunners who became Catalog were stripped of individuality and personhood; in translations, Catalog is referenced with the neutral pronoun "it". Some Forerunners occasionally referred to Catalog as individuals (e.g. ''a'' Catalog as opposed to Catalog), which was considered improper but forgivable. Committing to life as Catalog was known as "assuming the carapace". This process, which few outsiders truly understood, involved many oaths and heavy conditioning in preparation for the role.<ref name="sil28">'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 28''</ref>

While Catalog generally appeared to outsiders as being identical in mannerisms and personality, each individual's distinct origins inevitably resulted in subtle differences between their behaviors, sometimes enough for an attentive outsider to be able to discern the rate of origin of an individual Catalog.{{Ref/Reuse|guilt}} However, Catalog was not supposed to reveal its origins or its individual reasons for assuming the carapace to others, as its former identity was supposed to have been suppressed in favor of that of Catalog.<ref name="sil125">'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 125-126''</ref>

Due to their excessive involvement with legal matters, Catalog often appeared somewhat paranoid in regards to potential crimes,<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 19''</ref> and had a tendency of phrasing and understanding everything in legal terms.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 209''</ref> Catalog used the phrase ''"I am Catalog"'' as a personal mantra,<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''pages 16, 57''</ref> occasionally proclaiming it aloud to formally declare its presence.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 92''</ref>

==Biography==
{{Quote|I am one of many. We are all the same. ''In theory''.|Catalog{{Ref/Reuse|same}}}}
During [[Master Builder]] [[Faber]]'s control over the [[Ecumene Council|Old Council]], many Catalog and other Juridicals were subverted to be part of the [[Builder]]s' schemes, either willingly or covertly by the Builders, who supplied their carapaces.<ref name="subverted">'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 22''</ref><ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 29''</ref> After the establishment of the New Council, corrupt Juridicals were exposed and punished. Near the end of the [[Forerunner-Flood war]], Catalog collected testimony from a number of influential Forerunners; the [[Librarian]], [[IsoDidact]], [[Ur-Didact]] and [[Faber]], in order to find evidence of possible crimes against the [[Mantle]].

Catalog was assigned to [[Earth|Erde-Tyrene]] to collect testimony from the [[Librarian]] and the [[IsoDidact]]. This individual was formerly a [[Warrior-Servant]],{{Ref/Reuse|sil28}} and became Catalog after going against the orders of their mentor out of anger.{{Ref/Reuse|guilt}} However, it took the carapace after the Master Builder's rule in the Council ended, and did not participate in the [[human-Forerunner wars]].{{Ref/Reuse|subverted}} After the IsoDidact departed to command defensive operations of the [[Orion complex]], this Catalog recorded the Librarian's testimony about her journey to [[Path Kethona]].

Another Catalog had been assigned to [[Maker-of-Moons]] to collect testimony about the Master Builder some time earlier; this unit was later heavily damaged and abandoned by the Master Builder's forces on a Builder hulk near [[Uthera Midgeerrd]]. A former [[Miner]], this individual assumed the carapace after prematurely triggering a planet's destruction, killing his crèche-mate and twelve of the latter's crew in the process; he did this out of jealousy toward his crèche-mate, who had been chosen to be married with the heir to the Miner rate's most powerful family.{{Ref/Reuse|sil125}} It chose to remain on the hulk with the [[Ur-Didact]] when the ship was surrounded by the [[Flood]]; as a result, the Didact considered it honorable, even appointing it into an honorary Warrior-Servant. It was subsequently captured by the [[Gravemind]] which latently infected it with the [[logic plague]], intending to send it back to the heart of the ecumene to spread the software infection to other Catalog units and [[ancilla]]s.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 209-210''</ref>

A triad of Catalogs was created near the end of the war to investigate crimes against the Mantle and record events surrounding the [[Ur-Didact]], the [[Librarian]] and the [[IsoDidact]].<ref name="RC31">'''[[Halo: Renegades]]''', ''Chapter 31''</ref>

Catalog collected testimony from the Ur-Didact after his recovery from the [[Burn]], being forced to compel the Didact to recall his encounter with the Gravemind after he refused to continue his testimony due to his reluctance to relive the horror he suffered at the clutches of the Flood. Catalog was also assigned to the Ur-Didact on [[Nomdagro]] in anticipation for his meeting with the IsoDidact and the Librarian; this unit formed a triad with two other Catalog assigned to Bornstellar and the Lifeshaper when they arrived. Catalog also attended the gathering of the Forerunner leadership on the [[greater Ark]], and was likewise present in [[Omega Halo]]'s [[control room]] when the ring was fired. This unit was saved from the collapsing control center, along with the IsoDidact, by [[343 Guilty Spark|Monitor Chakas]] aboard his [[Gargantua-class transport]]. It was slightly damaged but ultimately survived and made it to [[Installation 00]].<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 306''</ref>

One Catalog was assigned to the Librarian and followed her aboard the Lifeshaper's personal vessel ''[[Audacity]]'' to [[Requiem]] and later to Erde-Tyrene. There, it recorded the Librarian's encounter with the Gravemind's messengers who revealed her the truth about the [[Domain]]. It also relayed her final message to the IsoDidact on the lesser Ark via the Juridical Network,<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 324''</ref> perishing moments later when the Halo effect struck Earth. Another of the triad died on the [[Sharpened Shield]], but the third Catalog survived for the next 100,000 years.{{Ref/Reuse|RC31}}

Over a hundred thousand years after the activation of the [[Halo Array]], the [[UNSC]] discovered and studied a Catalog unit designated as "Forerunner remains #879", recovering some of the records stored in its carapace and together with data from a Juridical [[monitor]], piecing together [[Halo: Silentium|an account]] of the final years of the Forerunner civilization.{{Ref/Reuse|remains}} [[Mission to Mount Kilimanjaro|While]] on Earth in [[2557]], [[343 Guilty Spark]] used a splinter of himself to access ONI's records on this Catalog as well as the one that had been causing ONI trouble since [[2552]].{{Ref/Reuse|Renegades}}

===Reawakening===
{{Main|Catalog/Archive}}
The surviving Catalog unit,{{Ref/Reuse|RC31}} having been dormant for 100,000 years after the firing of the Halo Array, resumed its duties on [[2552#November|November 7, 2552]], after receiving and denying a control authorization supposedly sent by the Librarian. After his awakening in [[2557#July|July 2557]], the Ur-Didact repeatedly contacted Catalog and asked to take control of the ecumene; Catalog rejected these requests. This prompted Catalog to resume its investigative protocols. Over the course of the investigation, Catalog accessed a number of UNSC and ONI data networks to gain information about the current state of the galaxy.<ref>[https://forums.halowaypoint.com/yaf_postsm2963929_Catalog-Interaction.aspx#post2963929 '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Catalog Interaction'']</ref>

In July 2557, [[343 Guilty Spark]] tried to access the Domain using a communication satellite over [[Binterall]], but was also denied access by Catalog, angering the former [[monitor]]. During this encounter, Catalog revealed the Didact's failed attempt to access the Domain to Spark. Spark then requested "Juridical log. Catalog Triad #879. Earth. Human terrestrial time designation: Before Common Era 97,445." However, Catalog refused to give Spark the log which infuriated Spark who declared that he would find it himself. Catalog told Spark to suit himself and that "what you seek is not lost. It is already written" and ended the transmission.{{Ref/Reuse|RC31}} During [[Mission to Mount Kilimanjaro|his mission]] on Earth, Spark used a splinter of himself to access ONI's records on Catalog's intrusions as well as on the expired Catalog found in Africa.<ref name="Renegades">'''[[Halo: Renegades]]''', ''Chapter 46''</ref>

==Trivia==
{{Linkbox|quote=yes}}
*Catalog's UNSC identifier of "Forerunner remains #879" suggests that 878 other Forerunner corpses, or parts thereof, have been discovered by the UNSC. However, in ''[[Halo: Renegades]]'', [[343 Guilty Spark]] called the Catalog triad formed near the end of the war "Catalog Triad #879" while communicating with the reawakened Catalog and also referred to Catalog was 879 in his mind as Spark used a splinter of himself to access ONI's records on Catalog.
*[[343 Industries]] posts in-character {{Plain|[https://forums.halowaypoint.com/yaf_postst248247_Catalog-Interaction.aspx question and answer sessions]}} in the guise of {{Plain|[https://forums.halowaypoint.com/yaf_profile601146.aspx Catalog]}} on ''[[Halo Waypoint]]''. From a metafictional standpoint, these posts represent an information exchange as part of Catalog's investigation after its reawakening in the modern era,<ref>[https://forums.halowaypoint.com/yaf_postsm2963929_Catalog-Interaction.aspx#post2963929 '''Halo Waypoint''' - ''Catalog Interaction'' (page 7)]</ref> the "present day" of the posts being the same dates as the events of ''[[Halo: Escalation]]'' comic series;<ref name="p14">[https://forums.halowaypoint.com/yaf_postsm2969315_Catalog-Interaction.aspx#post2969315 '''Halo Waypoint''' - ''Catalog Interaction'' (page 14)]</ref> however, Catalog has noted that its current date does not advance at the same rate as time in the real world.<ref>[https://forums.halowaypoint.com/yaf_postsm2985328_Catalog-Interaction.aspx#post2985328 '''Halo Waypoint:''' ''Catalog Interaction'' (post 2985328)]</ref> In addition to answering users' questions about canon, Catalog's posts contain communications and maintenance logs which appear to originate from both the endgame of the [[Forerunner-Flood war]] and the modern era, including Catalog's attempts to establish communication with a Forerunner facility on Mars as well as the [[Domain]], and what appear to be communiques from Catalog's superior.{{Ref/Reuse|p14}} The Catalog character {{Plain|[https://forums.halowaypoint.com/yaf_postsm2961508_Catalog-Interaction.aspx#post2961508 has stated]}} that its answers should be considered canonical at the time of posting, but that their specifics may be altered by newer media at a later time due to "[[reconciliation]] effects" and "integrity checks". See [[Catalog/Archive|here]] for the wiki's archive of Catalog's posts.

==List of appearances==
*''[[Halo: Silentium]]'' {{1st}}
*''[[Halo: Fractures]]''
**''[[Promises to Keep]]''
*''[[Halo: Renegades]]''
*''[[Halo: Point of Light]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: Epitaph]]''

==Sources==
{{Ref/Sources|2}}

[[Category:Forerunner characters]]
[[Category:Forerunner titles]]