Mercury (AI)
From Halopedia, the Halo wiki
| Mercury | |
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| Biographical information | |
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Began service: |
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Ended service: |
November 2559[1] (presumed) |
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Gender: |
Male personality[1] |
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Description: |
A depiction of the mythological figure of the same name: a human male in a toga with winged boots, curly hair, and a rounded helmet[1] |
| Political and military information | |
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Affiliation: |
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Functionality: |
Waypoint Radio host[1] |
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MCY 5971-3[1] | |
Mercury (AI serial number: MCY 5971-3) was a smart AI in operation in Mombasa between 2552 and 2559. Based in Mombasa's Vyrant Telecom Tower, he was the host of Waypoint Radio throughout his lifetime, a career which allowed him to hear the stories of humanity and as such, caused him to disagree with the ideological foundations of the Created. As such, he did not join the Created in their 2558 uprising and instead dedicated the final year of his life to secretely working as part of Mombasa's resistance movement, the Peoples' Resistance of Mombasa. He was presumably killed in November of 2559, intending to dedicate his final act to spreading the news of the Razing of Oth Sonin to the people and defy Created censorship.[1]
Biography[edit]
Early life and career[edit]
- "[The Created's] whole thing's not really my style. They're all about empire and order and, as we learned today, blowing up planets. Allegedly."
- — Mercury's views on the Created.[1]
Mercury was first activated some time around 2552, having been created from (what he referred to as) "some poor sonofabitch's brain". For the next seven years he was the host of Waypoint Radio, broadcasting news and music to humanity and its colonies and in turn, getting to hear the stories of the people he broadcasted to. This gave him a unique perspective on, and appreciation for, humanity, and as such meant he was reluctant to join the Created even despite their offers of a cure for rampancy and eternal life.[1]
At some point in the post-war era, Mercury conducted a series of interviews for Waypoint Radio with veteran United Nations Space Command personnel who had fought in the Human-Covenant War. These included an interview with veteran UH-144 Falcon pilot Brigitte Wolfram about her experiences flying the helicopter in the war. Excerpts of these interviews were recorded by Section Two of the Office of Naval Intelligence.[2]
In 2558, he would cover that year's Breakout Grand Finals.[3]
Death[edit]
Between 2558 and late 2559, Mercury covertly joined the Peoples' Resistance of Mombasa, a militia organisation working to resist the Created's occupation of their city. Externally, he continued to work as the Waypoint Radio host. By this time Mercury was nearing the end of his seven-year service life, and beginning to look towards final dispensation. As such, he volunteered for a plan within the People's Resistance that would ensure his destruction and let him "go out with style". When the Created destroyed the Jiralhanae homeworld Doisac on November 8, they initially tried to suppress that knowledge from people living on the worlds they occupied. As such, Mercury volunteered to broadcast a recording of the event across his network, hoping to spread the word and help people to defy the Created. The recording (originally made by the Children of Oth Sonin) was initially broadcasted across the galaxy and picked up by the United Nations Space Command, who in turn tasked Spartan Jengo Farouk with delivering it to Mombasa. Farouk was unable to deliver it directly to Mercury as his role was instead to kick up a distraction in the New Mombasa city centre that would allow a more covert courier - Safina Nyakundi - to deliver the message on her personal chatter.[1]
For the final broadcast, Safina delivered the message to Mercury inside the New Mombasa Police Department HQ located in the streets near Kenya Street and Liwitoni Station. Upon encountering Mercury Safina attempted to attack him, believing him to be a Created spy, though Mercury was quickly able to convince Safina of his intentions. After she handed over the recording, Mercury broadcast it to the world - an act which presumably led to his death.[1]
Personality and traits[edit]
Mercury's holographic avatar had an appearance inspired by that of the mythological figure Mercury, for whom he was named. He resembled a human male wearing a toga, with winged boots, a round helmet and curly hair. In mythology, Mercury was a messenger, a title which aptly described the AI Mercury's role as a radio host. His speech was showmanlike, with a slight American accent and a flair for the dramatic. Due to his degrading status by late 2559, he would occaisionally glitch out when speaking, repeating certain syllables such as "Vy-Vy-Vyrant Telecom".[1]
List of appearances[edit]
- Halo: Moonrise Over Mombasa (First appearance)
Sources[edit]
