Gravemind (Form)

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"I'd rather not piss this thing off."

- Master chief John-117

A Gravemind (inferi sententia) (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. 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 them.

Only one Gravemind has manifested before the Gravemind that appeared in Halo 2. The first was stopped by the first activation of the Halo rings, by the Forerunners.

The Gravemind in Halo 2
Little is known of the Gravemind in Halo 2; however, due to its short appearances in Halo 2, only a small amount of data about it and the nature of the Flood parasite can be inferred. Gravemind is made of countless bodies that were unsuitable as Combat forms or Carrier forms. The Art of Halo: Creating a Virtual World 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 the empty grave. A grave being a burial ground, were the dead are "stored", but since he is 'alive' he simply infers that were there should be many graves; there is just the Gravemind. 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 has control of Penitent Tangent, Monitor of Delta Halo, and 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. Gravemind more than once speaks in rhyme, specifically iambic heptameter. In the post-credits end cinematic of Halo 2, Gravemind recites this verse to Cortana:


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

His interest in her is unknown.

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.

However things turn out, the Gravemind appears to be a very dangerous creature as Halo 2 ends. He has assimilated the Prophet of Regret possibly giving him full knowledge of Covenant history, locations of Covenant worlds, and Covenant fleet positions. Consequent to his capture of a Hierarch, he is also aware of the location of Earth. The Flood appear to be in control of High Charity as well as several Covenant ships at the end of Halo 2. Also, with the new abundance of bodies on Installation 05, coupled with the Flood's apparent ability to adapt rapidly to enemies, and their capture of 2401 Penitent Tangent, they could easily gain complete control of Installation 05. Gravemind is in a good position to infest the entire galaxy if immediate action is not taken.

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.

He, himself, turns up later in the game when first, a Covenant battle cruiser crash-lands on earth and promptly begins to infect Voi. After 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 it 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 killed when Chief activates the replacement Halo, destroying the Halo, the Gravemind, and the flood.

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.
 * The current Gravemind may have had a burgeoning disgust for the Forerunners telling the Arbiter to not mistake what they had created. The idea of the halos being a tool of salvation may have disgusted it, since it was the weapon used to try and destroy its race.
 * In several Forerunner data logs, the controlling intelligence of the Flood is referred to as a "Compound Form", implying perhaps Gravemind is the name of the current incarnation.

Halo 2

 * "I am a monument to all of your sins.." -said on Gravemind
 * "This one is machine and nerve, and has its mind concluded." {a tentacle wraps around Master Chief's head, then indicates the Arbiter} "This one is but flesh and faith, and is the more deluded.{turns the Arbiter upside down}." -said on Gravemind
 * "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
 * "Fate had us meet as foes, but this ring will make us brothers!" -said on Gravemind

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
 * "Now the gate has been unlatched, headstones pushed aside. Corpses shift and offer room; a fate you must abide." -said on The Covenant
 * "Time has taught me PATIENCE! I am asking a new freedom, I WILL KNOW ALL THAT I POSSESS!!! -said on Cortana
 * "SUBMIT! END HER TORMENT AND MY OWN!!!! -said on Cortana
 * "Child of my enemy, why have you come? I offer no forgiveness for father's sins, passed to his son. " -said on Cortana
 * "DO YOU THINK ME DEFEATED!?' -said on Halo
 * "Defeat is merely the addition of time to a sentence I never deserved. But you, do." -said on Halo
 * "Do I take life or give it? Who is victim, and who is foe?" -said on Halo

Related Links

 * The Flood
 * Brain Form