Editing Key mind

{{Status|Canon}}
[[File:Halo-2-Anniversary-Gravemind-2.png|thumb|300px|As the compound minds created by the Flood expand and grow, a Gravemind can consciously exert control over a wider area or divide its attention among many more intricate plots.]]
{{Quote|Entire planetary ecosystems have apparently undergone conversion to what are being referred to as Key Minds.|String 18, one of thirty-nine such abstracted pieces of sourced from a [[Catalog]] unit and damaged [[monitor]] associated with a single fossilized [[Juridical]].}}<ref name="ONIsilentium">'''Halo: Silentium''', ''ONIRF Trevelyan Top Secret''</ref>
'''Key minds''' are specialized [[Flood]] coordinating bodies created through the fusing of captured sentient entities with pure Flood cells.<ref>[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/news/deluge-delights '''Halo Waypoint''' - ''Deluge Delights'']</ref>

==Overview==
Key minds act as coordinators for nearby Flood forms, leveraging wisdom harvested from the parasites' hosts to expand, outwit, overwhelm, and consume other life.<ref name="Keyminds">'''Halo Wars 2''', ''[[Phoenix Logs]] — Keyminds''</ref> There are various types of key minds, from the relatively simple [[Proto-Gravemind]] agglomerations, to the apex [[Gravemind]] forms through which the parasite’s true intelligence can manifest. Specialized key minds are also assembled if the Flood is allowed to spread out of control, including mobile command forms and specialized meta-networks that harness the neurosystems of entire planetary population for the purpose of controlling Flood activities at an interstellar scale.
The Key Mind is an advanced form of Flood Gravemind.
Description
Key Minds are formed by the complete assimilation of planetary ecosystems by the Flood. They are larger and hold more intelligence than a regular Gravemind. They are capable of extraordinary strategic planning, such as controlling entire battle fleets, and are more than a match for metarch-class ancillas. The Key Mind basically a living planet composed of Flood biomass. Key Minds are distinguishable by their green and brown colors, as well as immense tentacles that flail around the creature. The atmosphere surrounding the Key Mind is composed almost entirely of Flood spores, and is extremely toxic.
Formation
When the Flood infects and assimilates every living thing on a planet, the individual forms merge together and form a sort of web over the entire surface of the planet. The Flood then proceeds to "digest" the planet, consuming the whole world and multiplying on a massive scale. This generates immense quantities of heat, causing the planet to literally "boil". The surface bubbles and rolls, while the atmosphere is superheated to temperatures high enough to melt any un-shielded vessel. The planet's local Gravemind then makes it's way to the core of the planet, where it assumes control of the whole mass. The newly formed Key Mind then sprouts immense tentacles all across it's surface. These tentacles are for absorbing solar radiation to provide energy to the Key Mind, as well as transmitting signals to other Flood minds. The tentacles can also serve as self defense.
Neurology
Key Minds by themselves have immense processing power, but when they begin to link up, they share their computational power, allowing the Flood to easily coordinate efforts across the Galaxy (or potentially many galaxies) in real-time. No species has ever been able to match the processing power of a Key Mind network.
Combat Strategy
The only known way to kill a fully grown Key Mind is to infuse the local star with iron, causing it to go supernova, vaporizing everything in the system. This was how Forerunners combated them.


The [[abomination]], an evolved form of the [[Flood Juggernaut|juggernaut]] command form, is a type of key mind war-form.<ref name="Abomination">'''Halo Wars 2''', ''[[Phoenix Logs]] — Abomination''</ref> The creation of key minds causes an infestation to transition from feral aggression to coordinated conversion. As the Flood grow in number, key minds combine and expand into larger, exponentially more intelligent networks. The appearance of these vile collectives typically indicates most local sentient hosts have been infected or consumed. Once a critical mass of key minds have been combined, the Flood's centralized intelligence can begin to emerge in their seething mass of corrupted flesh: a [[Proto-Gravemind]] that sifts through and feeds on the memories of every Flood-infected victim.{{Ref/Reuse|Keyminds}}

==History==
Near the end of the [[Forerunner]]s' [[Forerunner-Flood War|struggle]] against the [[Flood]], entire planetary ecosystems underwent conversion to the Flood.<ref name="silentium18">'''Halo: Silentium''', ''String 18''</ref> The moniker "Key Mind" was first used by Forerunners to refer to the Flood controlling these ecosystems. These Key Minds displayed extraordinary processing power and strategic planning abilities and appeared to be more than a match for even any [[Metarch-class ancilla|metarch-class]] [[ancilla]]. They were capable of seizing complete control of besieged sectors and sending converted battle fleets through unprecedented numbers of slipspace portals through the use of [[Precursor]] [[neural physics]].{{Ref/Reuse|silentium18}}

Many thousands of years after the war, in [[2531]], a Proto-Gravemind was encountered by the {{UNSCShip|Spirit of Fire}} on the Forerunner [[shield world]] [[Trove]] where it attempted to trick the human crew. The crew managed to kill the Proto-Gravemind<ref>'''[[Halo Wars]]''', campaign level ''[[The Flood (level)|The Flood]]''</ref> and later destroyed the planet itself.<ref>'''[[Halo Wars]]''', campaign level ''[[Escape (Halo Wars level)|Escape]]''</ref> Similarly, in [[2552]], a Proto-Gravemind was encountered by Spartan II [[John-117]] during the [[Battle of Installation 04]] on board the ''[[Truth and Reconciliation]]'' where it was attempting to use the knowledge of the assimilated Captain [[Jacob Keyes]] to fly the ship to Earth.<ref>'''[[Halo: Combat Evolved]]''', campaign level ''[[Keyes]]''</ref> It was destroyed by Covenant special ops teams before the ship was captured by human forces.<ref>'''[[Halo: The Flood]]'''</ref> Another Proto-Gravemind formed aboard the ''[[Infinite Succor]]'' during the same battle, but was destroyed by Covenant forces led by [[Rtas 'Vadum]] along with the ship.<ref>'''[[The Last Voyage of the Infinite Succor]]'''</ref>

Later that year, a Gravemind that had established itself on [[Installation 05]] boarded the [[Covenant]] capital, ''[[High Charity]]'', and overtook it.<ref>'''[[Halo 2]]''', campaign level ''[[Gravemind (level)|Gravemind]]''</ref><ref>'''[[Halo 3]]''', campaign level ''[[High Charity (level)|High Charity]]''</ref> It used the mobile station to pursue [[United Nations Space Command]] and Covenant forces to [[Installation 00]],<ref>'''[[Halo 3]]''', campaign level ''[[The Ark (level)|The Ark]]''</ref> where it was dealt a devastating blow by the firing of the incomplete [[Installation 08]] which destroyed the Gravemind and ended the Flood outbreak on the installation.<ref>'''Halo 3''', campaign level ''[[Halo (Halo 3 level)|Halo]]''</ref> In the years to follow, [[humans]] studying records from the [[Forerunner-Flood War]] realized that the complexity witnessed to give rise to the Key Minds wasn't exclusive to a new stage, but rather was pervasive at every stage of progression, especially leading to the formation of Proto-Graveminds.

In [[2559]], key minds were encountered again on [[Installation 00]] in the form of abominations and a Proto-Gravemind when the [[Banished]] forces occupying the installation accidentally released what remained of the Flood from ''High Charity's'' crash site where it had previously been confined. The Proto-Gravemind was destroyed by Banished forces before it could become a Gravemind and the installation's Sentinels were able to once more contain the Flood.<ref name="FR">'''[[Halo Wars 2]]''', campaign level ''[[Manifestation]]''</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:HW2 Abomination clear.png|An [[abomination]].
File:Proto-Gravemind.png|A Proto-Gravemind.
File:Keyes Protogravemind.jpg|A Proto-Gravemind.
File:HTMCC-H2A NoSalvationOnThisRing.png|A Gravemind.
</gallery>

==List of appearances==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-2}}
*''[[Halo: Combat Evolved]]'' {{1st}}
*''[[Halo: The Flood]]''
*''[[Halo 2]]''
*''[[Halo 3]]''
*''[[Halo Graphic Novel]]''
**''[[The Last Voyage of the Infinite Succor]]''
*''[[Halo Wars]]''
*''[[Halo Legends]]''
**''[[Origins]]''
{{col-2}}
*''[[Halo: Evolutions]]''
**''[[The Mona Lisa]]''
**''[[Human Weakness]]''
*''[[Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary]]''
**''[[Terminal (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary)|Terminals]]''
*''[[Halo: Cryptum]]''
*''[[Halo: Primordium]]''
*''[[Halo: Silentium]]''
*''[[Halo 2: Anniversary]]''
*''[[Halo Wars 2]]''
{{col-end}}

==Sources==
{{Ref/Sources}}

{{Flood}}
[[Category:Flood forms]]