Canon

Installation 04

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Installation 04 redirects here. For other uses, see Installation 04 (disambiguation).
Installation 04
The Fleet of Particular Justice at Installation 04. Screenshot from Halo 2 Anniversary level The Heretic.
General overview

Location:

Soell system, in orbit around Threshold,[1] Orion Arm,[2] Milky Way

Gravitational anchor:

Threshold/Basis[1]

Operation overview

Type:

Halo Installation

Function:

  • Galactic sterilization[3]
  • Flood containment and research[3]

Attached AI(s):

Monitor 343 Guilty Spark

Date of construction:

97,445 BCE[3]

Date of destruction:

September 22, 2552

Structural information

Diameter:

10,000 kilometers (6,214 mi)[1]

Surface width:

318 kilometers (198 mi)[1]

Gravity:

0.992 G (approx)[1]

Surface temperature:

-23°C to 40°C (-9°F to 104°F) (controlled)[1]

Atmospheric composition:

1 (N2, O2)[1]

 

"Whoever controls Halo controls the fate of the universe."
— Captain Jacob Keyes

Installation 04, also known as Alpha Halo, or simply Halo,[4] was one of seven ring-shaped superweapons that comprised the Forerunners' Halo Array. It was located in the Soell system in the Orion Arm and was the closest Halo ring to the human sphere.[2]

The Covenant reverentially described Installation 04 as either the First Holy Ring or the First Sacred Ring. After its destruction at the end of the Battle of Installation 04, the Ark started to construct a replacement for Installation 04. After the replacement was destroyed, the Ark constructed yet another replacement.

Overview[edit]

Press kit image for Halo: Combat Evolved featuring Installation 04.
Installation 04.

The purpose of Installation 04, along with its brethren, was to preclude and thwart the parasite forms known as the Flood from consuming all sentient life in the galaxy by destroying all sentient life to prevent eventual consumption. In the event of a Flood outbreak, one of the seven installations could be triggered (in turn triggering the remaining Halos) to annihilate all sentient life within a radius of 25,000 light years. In the event of an unexpected shutdown, all remaining rings would go into a "standby state", in which they could be fired at once from the Ark if need be.

Installation 04, until its destruction by John-117, was controlled by the Forerunner artificial intelligence construct (Monitor), 343 Guilty Spark.

Astronomical Features[edit]

Installation 04 orbited the massive gas giant Threshold, and was suspended in the Lagrange point between Threshold and its largest natural satellite, Basis. The installation had a 24-degree axial tilt from Threshold's orbital plane. Due to this, any given point on the surface of the ring received sunlight from the star Soell for half of the time it was on the sunny side of Threshold, and none when was on the dark side. This created a somewhat unusual day-night cycle for the ring, in which it was dark three-fourths of the time and had no sunrise or sunset similar to those of a planet.[5]

With a diameter of 10,000 km and a surface width of 318 km, the ring has a surface area of 9,990,000 km2.

Environmental Features[edit]

The climate of Installation 04 was very similar to Earth's climate. The weather was, however, extremely unpredictable - rain and snowfall could occur at random, leading Cortana to wonder if the weather was intentionally irregular, or if it followed a pattern, such as snow being deliberately triggered at the control room to slow the Flood.[6][7] Rain was observed stopping as if at the flip of a switch.[8] There have been hurricanes over the oceans on the ring.[9] "Blood-warm" rain occurred during the UNSC occupation of Alpha Base.[6]

Locations[edit]

A view depicting one of Installation 04's many beam emitters in Halo: Combat Evolved.