Guardian Custode
From Halopedia, the Halo wiki
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- 031 Exuberant Witness: "A single Guardian can effectively police a solar system. This show of force is unsettling."
- Olympia Vale: "I'm sorry, 'police'? 'Show of force'?!"
- 031 Exuberant Witness: "Indeed. Guardians are how the Forerunners enforced peace on the lower systems."
- — 031 Exuberant Witness and Olympia Vale, after Cortana called several Guardians to Genesis.[2]
Guardian Custodes,[3] commonly known simply as Guardians, are powerful Forerunner constructs built to enforce the Mantle within the ecumene.[1] Custodes are part of a wider category of policing constructs known as Peacemakers. Along with the Preceptors, the Guardians were classified as tier-two Peacemakers that were largely used to enforce order among the Forerunners' lesser subject species rather than Forerunner-inhabited systems,[3] achieved through the utilization of EMP blasts that disarm conventional military forces and the firing of lethal beams that can kill the populace of cities or destroy entire worlds as a last resort.[6][4]
Manufactured by the Minoris Assembler Vats, the Guardians were controlled by ancilla and operated through their connection to the Domain.[3] In October 2558, Cortana took control of the Guardians to enforce the will of her Created until her demise, leaving them deactivated.[2][7][4][8][9]
Overview[edit]
Design details[edit]
- "Whoa. They built them big, didn't they? Figure that's the Guardian?"
- — Spartan Edward Buck, upon first spotting a Guardian.[10]
The body of the Guardian Custode is variable and ever-changing, shaping itself to awe, inspire, and maximize effectiveness of all defensive systems. Generally, Guardians have a segmented body and elaborate, phoenix-like wings consisting of multiple segments - very similar in appearance to Abaddon, the knowledge engine of the Precursors. They possess a head that is vertically roughly elliptical, topped with a broad, vaguely conical protrusion and a roughly humanoid face similar to that of the Promethean constructs. The appearance of the Guardians unnerved many Forerunners, though all attempts to change their look were unsuccessful.[3][4] The Guardians are enormous constructs, measuring just over 1,412 meters (4,635 feet) in height,[1] with a mass of two hundred million metric tons.[3]
They are capable of concealing themselves underground,[11] underwater,[12] and under lava, and are also capable of traveling through slipstream space.[13] The wings of the Guardians, known as "focus wings", contain energy condensers which draw power from the surrounding quantum vacuum. They also contain effectors which magnify the Custode's electromagnetic pulse.[3] Guardian shielding is capable of withstanding the attack from a human frigate's Magnetic Accelerator Cannon, as well as numerous missiles.[14] Guardians had the authority to plant assembler vats on the worlds they monitored, which would eventually grow and expand to staging areas and factories for the lesser Sentinels and weapon-ships that served them.[3]
The constructs have no crew and instead each Guardian is controlled by an ancilla who inhabits the Custode. These ancillas have limited personality and empathy, having grown strange and aloof. Service as a Guardian and deep synchronization with the Domain reshaped the minds of the ancillas into a form that was considered best suited to serve the Mantle of Responsibility and enforce the prime directives that had first been outlined when even the Forerunners were young. Guardians were connected to the Domain's overwatch network, which allowed them to reflexively counter many threats to the ecumene long before they gained the attention of Warrior-Servant commanders.[3] When later used by human Smart AIs of the Created, the AIs found the Guardians to be disturbing and their inner workings beyond understanding - with the residing ancillas uncooperative to Created influence. During this time, the Guardians were under the sole control of Cortana, with only a very limited amount of power relinquished for Created AIs - provided they still followed Cortana's overall directives. Despite this, some of the AIs in question made use of the Guardians' links to the Domain to enhance their own knowledge and understanding.[4]
Guardians were closely attuned to the ecumene's legal authorities, with the Domain ensuring that the constructs were often available to assist or monitor their activities. Through their connection to the Domain, the Guardians recorded the feats and struggles of those under their protection into the archives of the Domain. Occasionally, Guardians would take independent action to serve a greater purpose when the Domain resonated with these events.[3]
Armaments[edit]
