000 Tragic Solitude: Difference between revisions

|began=Some centuries after [[97,445 BCE]]<ref name="promises"/>

|ended=[[2555|March 20, 2555]]<ref name="hitd345">'''[[Halo: Hunters in the Dark]]''', ''pages 345-348'' (Google Play edition)</ref><ref>[https://twitter.com/bsangel/status/711590383940075520 '''Twitter''': ''Today in Halo - 3/20/2555'']</ref>

|description=

|color=*Blue illuminations with silver casing<ref name="TSTATT">'''[[Halo Wars 2]]''', ''[[Phoenix Log]]: The Snake that Eats the Tail''</ref>

===Creation and early service===

{{Quote|I name you the protector and guardian of the Lesser Ark. You will keep it safe for the true inheritors of the Mantle. Any thoughtlessness, or cruelty, or arrogance is washed clean from you now. Yours is not—cannot be—a happy end. And thus I name you Tragic Solitude… for you shall be alone, and your noble sacrifice shall aid the Reclaimers… but in doing so, it shall break what is left of your heart.|The IsoDidact, upon 000 Tragic Solitude's creation.<ref>'''Halo: Fractures''', "Promises to Keep", ''page 105'' (Google Play edition)</ref>}}

After the [[Great Purification|firing]] of the [[Halo Array]], in the [[dark time]] that followed the [[reintroduction|repopulating]] of the [[Milky Way]], a group of surviving [[Forerunner]]s attempted to repair the [[Domain]] by venturing on a mission to the abandoned capital of [[Maethrillian]]. During their mission, they encountered [[Abaddon]], a [[Precursor]] construct who attempted to bring them to trial for the Halo Array's activation. While interacting with Abaddon, [[Splendid-Dust-of-Ancient-Suns]]—the former [[First Councilor]] of the [[Ecumene Council]]—felt an immense amount of guilt in the Forerunners' arrogance. Afterwards, Splendid Dust and other surviving Forerunners returned to [[Installation 00]], the primary installation of the Halo Array utilized to [[Conservation Measure|index and preserve]] biological diversity in the galaxy during the Forerunners' [[Forerunner-Flood war|war]] against the [[Flood]]. Seeking atonement for his actions, Splendid Dust wished to do something helpful for the [[human]]s that would succeed the Forerunners as the [[Reclaimer]]s and inheritors of the [[Mantle of Responsibility]], wanting to act as an interpreter for all the Forerunners had learned. After discussing this idea with the [[IsoDidact]] and [[Chant-to-Green]], he had himself [[Mind transfer|composed]] and became a [[monitor]]. The IsoDidact named Tragic Solitude the caretaker and protector of Installation 00, where he intended to atone by staying behind on the Ark and awaiting the arrival of the humans, while the rest of the surviving Forerunners departed the installation to begin their self-imposed exile.<ref name="promises"/>

Like most Forerunner [[ancilla]]s, Tragic Solitude was only given information relevant to his duties; in his case, protecting Installation 00.<ref name="hitd270"/> Over time, his memories as Splendid Dust would fade.<ref name="promises"/> Following the exodus of the surviving Forerunners, Tragic Solitude was left alone in isolation on Installation 00 for millennia. The long period of isolation had an adverse affect on the monitor and instilled a distrust and hatred of the Forerunners in the monitor, who felt betrayed by his creators.<ref name="hitd320">'''Halo: Hunters in the Dark''', ''pages 320-323'' (Google Play edition)</ref> In [[29,823 BCE]], Tragic Solitude dismantled a {{Class|Despair|fighter}} once apparently belonging to the [[Librarian]], placing the [[Space fighter|fighter]] back into its original [[design seed]] form. The monitor found himself tempted to launch the fighter from its stasis, but instead chose to busy himself with other tasks as per his instructions.<ref name="atb">'''Halo Wars 2''', ''Phoenix Log: A Tensed Bolt''</ref>

===Rampancy and revenge===

{{Quote|No, this is not vengeance. This is justice.|000 Tragic Solitude on his plans<ref>'''Halo: Hunters in the Dark''', ''page 278'' (Google Play edition)</ref>}}

In [[2554#August|August 2554]], {{UNSCShip|Rubicon}} arrived at Installation 00 for research and survey purposes. Tragic Solitude unleashed the installation's fauna and constructs on the [[remote contact team]]s deployed by ''Rubicon'' and destroyed nearly all teams. However, [[RCT-06]] returned with the remains of 343 Guilty Spark. Guilty Spark eventually took control of ''Rubicon''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s systems and left the installation for his own purposes. Meanwhile, Tragic Solitude oversaw the destruction of RCT [[Broadside]] at the hands of [[chaefka]]. The [[squad]]'s leader, [[Bobby Kodiak]], was heavily injured in the attack, but managed to escape the animals. Using the human's earpiece for communication, Tragic Solitude spoke to Kodiak and offered to save him if he surrendered himself to the monitor. With no other chance of survival, Kodiak accepted.<ref>'''Halo: Hunters in the Dark''', ''pages 5-8'' (Google Play edition)</ref> The monitor "healed" the soldier, but the outcome resulted in Kodiak becoming a cyborg with disfigured body. Tragic Solitude then forced Kodiak to initiate a countdown that would lead to the activation of the Halos.<ref name="hitd329">'''Halo: Hunters in the Dark''', ''pages 329-333'' (Google Play edition)</ref> On [[2555#January|January 14, 2555]], Solitude recorded a message wherein he questioned whether the humans should be allowed to obtain the Mantle. The monitor concluded that humanity must be dealt with for their seemingly purposeless, violent nature and began to further his plans to repair his installation.<ref name="TSTATT"/>

Initially after his creation, 000 Tragic Solitude held a very similar personality and voice to [[Splendid-Dust-of-Ancient-Suns]]. Tragic Solitude sought to atone for his self-declared acts of arrogance he had committed as Splendid Dust by remaining alone on [[Installation 00]] to aid the [[human]]s in the distant future. The [[IsoDidact]] figured that since Splendid Dust had lived his life as a politician used to frequently interacting with other individuals, Tragic Solitude would find it difficult to adjust to being alone for centuries, if not millennia. In time, Tragic Solitude would forget his memories as Splendid Dust and his voice would become more mechanical.<ref name="promises"/> When Installation 00 was finally revisited by others, Tragic Solitude watched in horror as the resulting [[Battle of Installation 00|battle]] heavily damaged his installation, ultimately giving him a desire for revenge.<ref name="mythos154"/> Following the damage incurred upon the Ark, Solitude concluded that conflict was only a temporary, thus unnecessary, ripple in an otherwise quiet galaxy that will always be quickly subsumed by the calm of the universe. The monitor concluded that the universe will always maintain its stillness and conflict was simply a petty matter created by other species in an effort to reach their futile goal: a "selfish, prideful" need for immortality, a goal that Solitude believed should be discouraged as it only led to suffering among those attempting to achieve it.<ref name="TSTATT"/>

Following his [[rampancy]], Tragic Solitude became self-obsessed and rather narcissistic, and subject to sudden mood and personality changes.<ref name="hitd270"/> Tragic Solitude was very dedicated to his role as the keeper of Installation 00. The monitor held that Installation 00 was the foundation for all life in the galaxy and the single most important vestige of those left behind by the [[Forerunner]]s. Without the Ark, Tragic Solitude believed that there was no life, hope, or peace left in the galaxy. Tragic Solitude considered it his ultimate duty to protect Installation 00 and repair it at all costs, even if it meant eradicating all species in the galaxy to protect it from further damage.<ref name="hitd308"/> Despite the monitor's lack of regard for humans and his desire to kill many of them, Tragic Solitude attempted to accommodate and displayed a sympathetic and apologetic nature towards several of them, most notably [[Olympia Vale]]. The monitor assumed a form that he felt would comfort Vale and later allowed her friends and allies to communicate among each other after realizing that the prospect of their inability to communicate upset her.<ref name="hitd270"/> Vale believed the monitor was insane, especially after witnessing Tragic Solitude's demented laugh after he learned that [[Huragok]] [[Drifts Randomly]] had seized control of his installation.<ref name="hitd320"/> During their conversations and debates during her capture, Vale noted that Tragic Solitude had always appeared to be formidable and domineering when he spoke. After the monitor's data banks were damaged and Drifts had seized his control, Tragic Solitude spoke in a strange and weak voice.<ref name="hitd335"/>