Proto-Gravemind
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| Proto-Gravemind | |
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| General overview | |
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Distinctions: |
Large, with tentacles connecting the being to its surroundings |
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Height: |
Variable depending on creation stage |
The Proto-Gravemind, also known as the Brain Form[1] or the Proto-Compound Intelligence,[2] is an advanced Flood form created from the biomass of the most intelligent living organisms available, with the ultimate goal of creating a fully-functional Gravemind. Its creation allows the Flood to move from Feral Stage to Coordinated Stage.[3]
Overview[edit]
Creation and physiology[edit]
Proto-Graveminds are created when the Flood has amassed sufficient bodies and minds to become sentient. In order to create a viable "mind", large numbers of Flood forms and corpses are merged into a globular mass, which uses the combined knowledge derived from each host. They are usually formed in order to handle advanced tasks, such as piloting a starship, in which case Flood forms will merge as many hosts as possible with that knowledge, such as former pilots and officers. The Proto-Gravemind is stationary, and likely directs nearby combat forms to pilot the ships, similar to the way a fully-formed Gravemind will direct Flood forms to execute battle strategies or other complex tasks.[4][5]
Rather than completely destroying a victim's consciousness, as a normal Flood form generally does, it interrogates its victims slowly, even speaking telepathically to them, and allowing their nervous systems to feed it information. The form tortures the host's mind with a loud buzzing sound, thus erasing all thought.[6][7] Only after the host is stripped of all knowledge is the host killed by the Proto-Gravemind, although it is sometimes possible for a host to die before the Flood form has a chance to assimilate all of its memories.[4]
Unlike all other known Flood forms, Proto-Graveminds are immobile and passive in combat. They have never been observed to move on their own, even when combat forms are fighting nearby. In fact, even when John-117 punched through the side of the Proto-Gravemind present aboard the Truth and Reconciliation during the Battle of Installation 04, the Flood form did not react at all; it is likely that until the transformation into a true Gravemind is complete, Proto-Graveminds are nothing more than an amalgamation of inactive bodies. In most instances, they use some of their hosts' legs as a means to support themselves, and one can see some of the bodies of the most recently assimilated, embedded in the Proto-Gravemind's mass, albeit deformed.[4] As the corpses become more deformed, a Proto-Gravemind's appearance take on a large body of Flood tissue and biomass.[5]
Proto-Graveminds are capable of jamming or distorting radio signals within a significant radius around them. The means by which they do this is unknown; however, it may be related to the unexplained telepathy the Flood use to communicate with one another. During the Battle of Trove, a Proto-Gravemind was shown to be capable of both jamming a real transponder signal and replicating it from its own position to draw in nearby human forces.[8]
Further evolution[edit]
The Proto-Gravemind must grow incredibly in size to reach its next stage of evolution, known as a Gravemind, a near-omniscient Flood form made of thousands of host bodies infused with the knowledge of each host that was used to make the Gravemind.[9] While a smaller Proto-Gravemind could direct combat forms, a larger Proto-Gravemind could be in control of multiple Flood colonies for coordinated gestation and attack on nearby life forms. The Proto-Gravemind and Flood colonies also become interdependent on each other; sending colonies into a dormant state would weaken the local Proto-Gravemind, while destroying the Proto-Gravemind would kill the colonies.[8] Graveminds are created once a Proto-Gravemind reaches a certain "critical mass" and develops a centralized intelligence.
Only two Graveminds are known to have ever been created; however, they seem to have the same memories, since the Gravemind present during the Human-Covenant War possessed detailed knowledge concerning the Forerunner-Flood war and even described the actions of the previous Gravemind during that time period as if they were its own.[10]
A small Proto-Gravemind onboard the Truth and Reconciliation.
A mid-sized Proto-Gravemind on the surface of the Etran Haborage .
A large Proto-Gravemind, maturing into a Gravemind, on Installation 00.
History[edit]
Proto-Graveminds have been encountered several times, in varying stages of size and potency.
The first recorded Proto-Gravemind was discovered on the surface planet of the Forerunner shield world Trove during a massive Flood outbreak in 2531. Judging by its huge size and its connection to several Flood colonies, it is likely that this Proto-Gravemind was on the verge of becoming a Gravemind. This Proto-Gravemind was destroyed by UNSC forces led by Sergeant John Forge and Spartan-II Red Team. It had been duplicating Professor Ellen Anders' transponder signal to lure in the UNSC forces and infect them. After the Proto-Gravemind was destroyed, the UNSC Spirit of Fire's forces were able to detect Anders' real signal[8] and follow it into the shield world itself.[11][12] Its remains were destroyed when Trove was destroyed by the Spirit of Fire shortly thereafter.[13]
During the Battle of Installation 04 in 2552, John-117 found a Proto-Gravemind aboard the bridge of Ket-pattern battlecruiser Truth and Reconciliation. The Proto-Gravemind would have allowed the Flood to use the Truth and Reconciliation to spread beyond Installation 04. It had assimilated Captain Jacob Keyes and attempted to learn from him the coordinates of Earth. Keyes fought with his willpower to prevent the Flood from gaining this information, burying the knowledge deep down within him and forcing the Proto-Gravemind to systematically discard every other memory he possessed.[7] John-117 arrived at the Proto-Gravemind just as the Flood form was about to finally extract the memory it wanted, and punched through the Captain's sku