Gravemind (Form)

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"I have beaten fleets of Thousands! Consumed a galaxy of flesh, and mind, and bone!"

- Gravemind

A Gravemind (Inferi sententia, meaning "the dead condemn you" ) (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker) is a major stage in the life cycle of The Flood. A Gravemind is born when a Proto-Gravemind reaches a certain critical mass. It is the Flood personified, and carries with it the genetic memory garnered from millennia of feasting and slumber, making it virtually omniscient. Since the intent of a Gravemind is to consume and absorb every sentient creature in the Galaxy, it is a collection of fallen Flood and other lifeforms. The Gravemind has complete control over other forms of Flood and can even speak through some.

Only one Gravemind has infested (in our galaxy) before the Gravemind that appeared in Halo 2. The first was stopped by the first activation of the Halo rings, by the Forerunners.

Potential for a Gravemind in Halo: Combat Evolved
In Halo: Combat Evolved a Proto-Gravemind was shown on the level Keyes and could have very well become a Gravemind, if the Covenant SpecOps had not destroyed it later on. Although it was unlikely because of the time difference of that level and the destruction of Installation 04.

The Gravemind in Halo 2
Due to the briefness of its appearances in Halo 2, only a small amount of data about it and the nature of the Flood parasite can be inferred. The Gravemind is made of countless bodies that were unsuitable as Combat forms or Carrier forms. The Art of Halo states that Gravemind is “literally built from the bodies of its enemies and its own fallen warriors reassembled into a massive, tentacled, and intelligent entity." This can also be assumed, because when he speaks he refers to the place he inhabits as an empty grave. A grave being a burial ground, where the dead are "stored", but since he is 'alive' he simply implies that where there should be many graves; there is just the Gravemind. Even his name, "Gravemind" suggests this, as he is the "mind" of the "grave". Gravemind is the controlling intelligence behind the parasitic Flood hive. In this way, he appears similar to a puppet master. Gravemind is located far beneath the Library of Installation 05 and has tentacles that reach for many miles. Gravemind also seems to harbor an intelligence approaching omniscience, since he appears to be capable of absorbing the knowledge of all Flood hosts.

The Gravemind we see in the game appears to be capable of utilizing Halo's teleportation grid to transport anything, and indeed himself (or at least a part of himself), anywhere on the ring and beyond to a limited distance. Being a Flood organism, how he uses the grid has been speculated on. The most common theory is that since he holds 2401 Penitent Tangent, Monitor of Delta Halo captive, that he can use it to access the teleportation field on Delta Halo. Players have speculated that this is the way that Gravemind gets aboard High Charity, while others say he rode in on the In Amber Clad that collided with it. Still, there is much more about this enigmatic character that we do not know. It can be seen that he somewhat has two mouths. An outer mouth like an elite and an inner mouth like a human. Gravemind more than once speaks in rhyme, specifically in Iambic Pentameter. In the post-credits end cinematic of Halo 2, Gravemind recites this verse to Cortana:


 * Silence fills the empty grave now that I have gone,
 * But my mind is not at rest, for questions linger on.
 * Now I will ask and you will answer.

Strangely enough, in Gravemind, the level named after him, there is no contact at all with him, apart from the cutscene he is introduced in, or his Flood minions.

It was believed up until these events in Halo 2, that the Flood was simply an unintelligent/non-sentient virus. Just like any other we see today, it exists simply to infect other organisms, to feed, and to carry on living. However, the origin of the spread is still unknown other than the hints from the ARG Iris, which states that Gravemind was formed and the Flood were discovered before the Forerunners encountered them.

Role in Halo 3
The Gravemind is one of the two primary antagonists in Halo 3, the other being the Prophet of Truth. His presence can be felt earlier in the game, as he speaks through Cortana in periodic visions to John-117 (damaged visions of Cortana). The Gravemind himself turns up later on in the game when first, a Covenant battle cruiser taken over by the Flood crash-lands on earth and promptly begins to infect the city of Voi. After the Master Chief and the Arbiter clean up the mess, High Charity (along with the Gravemind) arrives at The Ark via Slipspace jump. Master Chief and Arbiter take a detour through High Charity to retrieve Cortana, destroying the city in the process, and the Gravemind is seemingly killed. However, it is discovered that he is attempting to rebuild himself on the replacement Halo built by the Ark. He is presumably destroyed once and for all when the Chief activates the replacement Halo, destroying the Halo, the Gravemind and the Flood.

It should be noted that the Gravemind never appears in-game in his physical form, as he did in Halo 2. The most that is ever seen of Gravemind are a pair tentacles in the control room of the Ark. Despite it having a good amount of dialogue spoken directly to the Master Chief (and by extension, the gamer), Gravemind's head is never seen. It is possible that Gravemind had changed a great deal since the first time he met the Arbiter and the Chief. In the level Cortana, it was shown that he tried to stop the Arbiter and the Chief from escaping with Cortana in their possession.

Trivia

 * It is speculated that the voice in the Reversed Message is Gravemind's. This is likely, as the voices are very similar, and that it plays during the level Gravemind.
 * In several Forerunner data logs, the controlling intelligence of the Flood is referred to as a Compound mind.
 * In both Halo 2 and Halo 3, he says "We exist together now. Two corpses in one grave." Both sentences are said in Flood-infested High Charity.
 * The Gravemind resembles Audrey 2 from Little Shop of Horrors. He is a plant-like alien with tentacles who is fed (or in Gravemind's case absorbs) humans to grow and is bent on world (galactic with Gravemind) domination. This also draws parallel to Audrey 2 and his buds which are similar to Infection Forms. Also Audrey 2 uses his carer to get him 'food' so he can grow, Gravemind uses Master Chief and the Arbiter on High Charity to distract the Covenant while he spreads his minions essentially getting more 'food' to eat/absorb.
 * When you look closely at Gravemind in Halo 2, his "Teeth"(Orange-red spikes in mouth) will look like Master Chief's Visor and "Forehead" is the Chiefs Top part of the Helmet. Also, the arrangement of his mouth parts is somewhat similar to that of an Elite.
 * Originally, the Gravemind was meant to have skulls of various races as teeth, this was cut from Halo 2 and Halo 3 for unknown reasons.
 * Bungie staff and fans jokingly call it "the plant thing".
 * Occasionally in Halo 2 it's mouthpeices will go through eachother.

Halo 2

 * "This is not your grave, but you are welcome.. in it" - Opening sentence, said on Regret
 * "I? I am a monument to all your sins.." -Introducing itself, said on Gravemind
 * "This one is machine and nerve, and has its mind concluded. This one is but flesh and faith, and is the more deluded." -About the Master Chief and the Arbiter, respectively, said on Gravemind
 * "There is much talk, and I have listened, through rock and metal and time. Now I shall talk, and you shall listen.." Gravemind
 * "This one's containment... (gestures to 2401 Penitent Tangent)...and this one's Great Journey...(gestures to Regret)...are the same. Your Prophets have promised you freedom from a doomed existence, but you will find no salvation on this ring. Those who built this place knew what they wrought. Do not mistake their intent, or all will perish as they did before..." -said on Gravemind
 * "If you will not hear the truth, then I will show it to you. There is still time to stop the key from turning, but first it must be found.(gestures to the Arbiter.) You will search one likely spot...(gestures to the Master Chief.) ...and you will search another. Fate had us meet as foes, but this ring will make us brothers." -said on Gravemind
 * "Arrogant creature! Your deaths will be instantaneous while we shall suffer the progress of infinitude!" -said on High Charity
 * "We exist together now... two corpses... in one grave..." -said on High Charity (refering to him having Prophet of Regret in his possesion)
 * "Silence fills the empty grave, now that I have gone. But my mind is not at rest, for questions linger on. I will ask, and you will answer." -To Cortana, after Halo 2's credits roll.

Halo 3

 * "Do not be afraid. I am peace; I am salvation." -said on Floodgate
 * "I am a timeless chorus. Join your voice with mine, and sing victory everlasting." -said on Floodgate
 * "Lies for the weak! Beacons for the deluded!" - Said through the infected Prophet of Truth The Covenant
 * "You will be food, nothing more..." - said on The Covenant through The Prophet of Truth
 * "Now the gate has been unlatched, headstones pushed aside, corpses shift and offer room; a fate you must abide!" -said on The Covenant
 * "Child of my enemy, why have you come? I offer no forgiveness; for father's sins pass to his son. " -said on Cortana
 * "Of course, you came for Her. We exist together now, two corpses in one grave... "-said on Cortana
 * "And yet perhaps a part of her, remains." -said on Cortana
 * "Time has taught me patience! But basking in new freedom, I will know all that I possess!!!" -said on Cortana
 * "Submit! End her torment and my own!!!" -said on Cortana
 * "You will show me what she hides! Or I shall feast upon your bones!" -said on Cortana
 * "(Flood Roar) Now, At last I see, her secret is revealed!!" -said on Cortana (referring to the Index that Cortana possesses)
 * "Did you think me defeated!?" -said on Halo
 * "I have beaten fleets of Thousands! Consumed a galaxy of flesh, and mind, and bone!" -said on Halo
 * "Do I take life or give it? Who is victim, and who is foe?" -said on Halo
 * "Resignation is my virtue, like water I ebb and flow." -said on Halo
 * "Defeat is merely the addition of time to a sentence I never deserved. But you imposed." -said on Halo

Related Links

 * The Flood
 * Proto-Gravemind

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