Gravemind (Form)

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The Gravemind (voiced by Dee Bradley Baker) is an alien entity of The Flood in Halo 2. Gravemind remains mostly unknown; 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 either made of countless bodies that were unsuitable as Combat or Carrier forms or maybe the last forerunner Flood form in existence. 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."

Gravemind is the controlling intelligence behind the parasitical Flood hive. In this way, he appears similar to a puppetmaster. Gravemind is located far beneath the Library of Installation 05, and has tentacles that reach for kilometers. Gravemind also seems to harbor an intelligence approaching omniscience, since he appears to be capable of absorbing the knowledge of all Flood hosts. Whether there is more than one Gravemind is open to speculation, it is possible that on each Halo ringworld, assuming each one has a Flood infestation, a controlling Gravemind could be formed.

Also, 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 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 trochaic 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. This could be the start of a partnership between Cortana and the end of her alliance with the Master Chief.

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. The only time you actually may see him is in the broken window with the tentacles dangling there. Also the Reversed Message is played during the part where you free the Marines, which could be him because there were no Elites there.

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. He also is 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. The Gravemind also has control over the crashed In Amber Clad and all of its Pelicans, and may be able to repair the In Amber Clad like The Flood were doing to the Pillar of Autumn in Halo 1. During High Charity, you can see Flood-controlled Pelicans flying around High Charity.

Related Links

 * The Flood
 * Brain Form