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{{Era|FS}}
{{Status|Canon}}
{{Ratings}}
{{New content|Halo: Shadows of Reach}}
The '''Menachite Forerunner Complex'''<ref>Conjectural description</ref> is an underground facility built into [[Menachite Mountain]] by the [[Forerunners]] to house the [[Forerunner Crystal]].
{{Cleanup}}
{{Conjectural title|1}}
{{Megastructure infobox
|image=[[File:HR-HighNoon-Map.jpg|300px]]
|description=
|location=[[Menachite Mountain]], [[Highland Mountains]], [[Eposz]], [[Reach]]
|type=[[Slipspace portal]] generator
|function=Generation of a [[portal]] to [[Installation 00]]
|caretaker=
|constructed=
|destroyed-title=Status
|destroyed=Inactive as of [[2559|October 12, 2559]]
|diameter=Unknown, but very large{{Ref/Novel|Halo: Shadows of Reach|Chapter=Epilogue}}
}}
{{quote|We did not discover the full extent of those ruins and likely never will.|Dr. [[Catherine Halsey]]<ref>'''Halo: Ghosts of Onyx''', ''page 270''</ref>}}
The '''Menachite portal complex''',<ref>Conjectural description</ref> referred to as a "temple" by the [[Covenant]],<ref>'''Halo: First Strike''', ''page 194''</ref> and the '''Portal under the Mountain''' by the Covenant and [[Banished]], is an underground [[slipspace portal]] facility built into [[Menachite Mountain]] on [[Reach]] by the [[Forerunners]]{{Ref/Novel|Id=SoR21|HSoR|Chapter=21}} The complex housed a [[Menachite Forerunner crystal|unique slipspace crystal]].


==Layout==
==Design==
The outside of the complex resembles granite rock, with passages allowing access along the wall. The wall has a long stretch of glyphs trailing along the wall that twist into a spiral mosaic and vanish into ever-smaller curls. The glyphs are part of the wall's material, described as being composed of glittering mica inclusions in the granite matrix. The glyphs themselves are a series of squares, triangles, bars, and dots, and blur out of focus when someone looks at them directly.<ref>''[[Halo: First Strike]]'', page 139: ''Fred followed the trail of odd symbols along the left-hand stone wall until they twisted into a spiral mosaic and vanished into ever-smaller curls. The symbols were part of the rock, composed of glittering mica inclusions in the granite matrix. There were a series of squares, triangles, bars, and dots, similar to Covenant calligraphy he had seen--but at the same time it was simpler, cleaner, and when Fred focused on them, the characters seemed to blur around the edges and fade from his stare. He blinked, and the symbols were there again.''</ref>
===Portal structure===
[[File:PortalGeneratorPanorama.jpg|thumb|300px|A view of the portal generator and beam emitters.]]
The Menachite complex was constructed and buried under Menachite Mountain, located amidst the [[Highland Mountains]] in the [[Viery Territory]], Reach. When fully exposed, following the [[glassing]] of the mountain atop the complex, the larger complex slightly resembles the [[Portal at Voi]] on [[Earth]]. The structure is circular with a large ornate projector in the centre for projecting the slipspace portal itself. Eleven [[Beacon tower]] stations on the complex's perimeter, each at the foot of an individual mountain, project beams into the middle to assist in powering the portal via unknown mechanisms. In ancient times, the Forerunners used the [[Menachite Forerunner crystal]] to power it,{{Ref/Novel|Id=Sacrifice|HSoR|Detail= Adjunct - [[Sacrifice]]}} but the crystal's removal did not prevent the portal's use. However, unlike the Portal at Voi, this portal would only remain active for as long as the local charge lasted. Once it dissipated, the portal would close once again.


When [[SPARTAN-104]]'s blood touched the wall, a transformation occurred.<ref>''Halo: First Strike'', page 141: ''Fred felt a hot pain in the tip of his finger. He drew his bare hand away and a tiny track of blood smeared the rock.''</ref> The glyphs began to emit a soft red glow comparable to heated metal. The glow spread outward from point at which his blood touched the wall, and the colors in the center began warming to orange and then to yellow-gold. A single white glyph, a triangle, became visible in the center of the spiral. Despite the emission of light, the glyphs did not radiate heat. When SPARTAN-104 touched this glyph with his bare fingertip, all the glyphs along the entire wall glowed white with brilliant illumination. After a moment, the wall itself rumpled and transformed into a corridor leading into the complex.<ref>''Halo: First Strike'', page 141: ''The symbols in the rock emitted a faint illumination of their own: a soft reddish glow like heated metal. The light intensified and spread across the spiral on the wall, starting from where his blood had fallen; those symbols warmed to a pleasant orange, then yellow-gold. A new symbol in the center of the spiral appeared that hadn't been there just a second ago... or perhaps it had been, but had lain just beneath the surface. It heated and became increasingly visible, a single triangle that glowed white. Fred was inexorably drawn to this central figure. He reached for it; there was no heat. He slowly stretched and and touched the symbol with his exposed fingertip. Warm white light raced along the spiral of symbols, then traced a path down the hallway and into the distance. The entire cavern seemed sudden alive with radiance and shadow. Even with the step-down luminosity filters in his helmet, Fred had to blink and squint. The wall before him rumpled and seams appeared at the central figure, dozens of lines that curved in a radial pattern--and then pulled away to reveal a corridor behind.''</ref>
===Underground complex===
Part of the underground complex was situated under the site of CASTLE Base. Thanks to [[Titanium]] mining operations in Reach's early history prior to the establishment of CASTLE facility, parts of the complex were exposed in underground tunnels known to and studied by the [[Office of Naval Intelligence]].  


The corridor was twenty meters in height, leading inward at a straight line that gently sloped deeper into the ground. Golden light shined from the ceiling.<ref>''Halo: First Strike'', page 143: ''The golden light faded from the ceiling''</ref> The floor was paved with asymmetric blue tiles patterned in a way comparable to waves lapping on a shore. The utterly smooth walls were inlaid with centered four-meter tall gold glyphs made of similar shapes of triangles, squares, bars, and circles. When the glyphs began to softly glow, SPARTAN-104 felt himself attracted to them, but resisted his impulse to approach them on an intuitive suspicion that they were dangerous.<ref>''Halo: First Strike'', page 142: ''Fred wanted to stare at the gold symbols and the light that cast, but something warned him that this would be dangerous.''</ref> His radiation counter briefly pulsed, supporting his hesitation.<ref>''Halo: First Strike'', page 142: ''This new corridor was twenty meters high--large enough for a titan to stride down its length. It vanished into the distance, a straight line that gradually sloped deeper into the earth. The floor was paved with asymmetric blue tiles patterned to look like waves lapping upon a shore. Four-meter-tall symbols of gold were centered and inlaid into the mirror-smooth walls. These giant triangles, squares, bars, and circles began to emit the same soft light... and Fred felt his foot shuffle forward. He stopped, shook his head, and looked away. He checked his radiation counter; it pulsed, and then fell back to a normal background count.''</ref>
====Entrance====
The outside of the complex resembles granite rock, with passages allowing access along the wall. The wall has a long stretch of glyphs trailing along it that twist into a spiral mosaic and vanish into ever-smaller curls. The glyphs are part of the wall's material, described as being composed of glittering mica inclusions in the granite matrix. The glyphs themselves are a series of squares, triangles, bars, and dots, and blur out of focus when someone looks at them directly.<ref>'''Halo: First Strike''', ''page 139''</ref>


Further down the corridor, the ceiling stops shining golden light and fades to total black. Pinpoint lights emerge imitating stars, which twinkle realistically.<ref>''Halo: First Strike'', page 143: ''The hallway changed as they continued down its length. The golden light faded along the ceiling, and inky black covered its expanse; tiny stars winked on and twinkled.''</ref> In addition, silver-grey orbs that represent moons pockmarked with craters spin in wide orbits across the ceiling. Along the walls, tall green bamboo-like stalks appear.<ref>''Halo: First Strike'', page 143: ''Moons wheeled overhead; silver-grey orbs, pockmarked with meteorite impacts, spun in wide orbits. Along the walls, tall green bamboo-like grass sprouted and grew up the curved surfaces.''</ref> Dr. [[Halsey]] determined that these apparitions were semisolid holograms with no visible emitters.<ref>''Halo: First Strike'', page 143: ''Dr. Halsey brushed her fingertips along the wall, and the grasses wavered at her touch. "Semisolid holography," she said without halting. "No visible emitters.''</ref>
When [[Frederic-104]]'s [[blood]] touched the wall, a transformation occurred.<ref name="blood">'''Halo: First Strike''', ''page 141''</ref> The glyphs began to emit a soft red glow comparable to heated metal. The glow spread outward from point at which his blood touched the wall, and the colors in the center began warming to orange and then to yellow-gold. A single white glyph, a triangle, became visible in the center of the spiral. Despite the emission of light, the glyphs did not radiate heat. When SPARTAN-104 touched this glyph with his bare fingertip, all the glyphs along the entire wall glowed white with brilliant illumination. After a moment, the wall itself rumpled and transformed into a corridor leading into the complex.{{Ref/Reuse|blood}}


Throughout the length of the corridor, the holography undergoes three transformations to depict different scenes, each sharing the golden glyphs along the walls. After the initial scene, it changes to depict an arid moonscape with deep craters and sterile light. It then transforms into a volcanic world with active streams of lava flowing along the walls. The realism of this scene is enhanced with realistic distortion of the air, which wavers as it would in the presence of extreme heat.<ref>''Halo: First Strike'', page 143: ''The holographic environment cycled to an arid moonscape: deep craters and sterile light; it became a volcanic world with lava flowing alongside them. The air wavered with heat. In each transformation the golden symbols remained on the walls, leading them through the illusions.''</ref>
The corridor was twenty meters in height, leading inward at a straight line that gently sloped deeper into the ground. Golden light shined from the ceiling.<ref name="ceiling">'''Halo: First Strike''', ''page 143''</ref> The floor was paved with asymmetric blue tiles patterned in a way comparable to waves lapping on a shore. The utterly smooth walls were inlaid with centered four-meter tall gold glyphs made of similar shapes of triangles, squares, bars, and circles. When the glyphs began to softly glow, SPARTAN-104 felt himself attracted to them, but resisted his impulse to approach them on an intuitive suspicion that they were dangerous.<ref name="gold">'''Halo: First Strike''', ''page 142''</ref> His radiation counter briefly pulsed, supporting his hesitation.{{Ref/Reuse|gold}}


The corridor empties onto a landing overlooking an approximately circular room with a diameter of three kilometers, the center of which contains a flickering pedestal<ref>''Halo: First Strike'', page 144: ''And in the center of the floor was a pedestal flickering with a faint light.''</ref> that holds the Forerunner Crystal.<ref name="crystal">''Halo: First Strike'', pages 145/146: ''Fred snapped on his heads-up display, and sapphire-blue light filled his vision. They stood before the source of the glow in the middle of the room. There was a pedestal made of the same gold material as the symbols in the corridor, and floating above it was a fist-sized crystal, tapered to a point at either end.''</ref> The landing is on one of twelve tiered levels that have no railings and encircle the room. The floor, approximately one hundred meters beneath the landing, is made of innumerable blue tiles that appear to shift around into patterns SPARTAN-104 describes as "frustratingly familiar".<ref>''Halo: First Strike'', page 144: ''The corridor emptied onto a landing that overlooked the largest room Fred had ever seen.''; ''They stood on one of a dozen tiered levels that encircled the room; there was no railing. Fred leaned over the edge. It was at least one hundred meters to the floor below. The room was approximately circular and three kilometers in diameter. The floor was blue and seemed to shift as a billion tiny tiles flexed and rearranged themselves into frustratingly familiar patterns.''</ref> Unlike the floor in the corridor, these tiles form squares, circles, bars, and triangles.<ref>''Halo: First Strike'', pages 144/145: ''The floor of the great room wasn't the same tile as in the corridor above. It was still blue tile, but these were squares and circles and bars and triangles.</ref> The ceiling is a dome with a holographic golden sun, blue sky, and cottony clouds that morph into geometric shapes such as spheres, pyramids, bars, and cubes.<ref>''Halo: First Strike'', page 144: ''The ceiling was a dome with a holographic golden sun, blue sky, and cottony clouds that morphed into spheres, puffy pyramids, bars, and cubes.''</ref>
Further down the corridor, the ceiling stopped shining golden light and faded to total black. Pinpoint lights emerged imitating stars, which twinkled realistically.{{Ref/Reuse|ceiling}} In addition, silver-gray orbs that represented moons pockmarked with craters spun in wide orbits across the ceiling. Along the walls, tall green bamboo-like stalks appeared.{{Ref/Reuse|ceiling}} [[Catherine Halsey|Dr. Halsey]] determined that these apparitions were semisolid holograms with no visible emitters;{{Ref/Reuse|ceiling}} in actuality, [[hard light]] decor present in most Forerunner constructs.<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum'''</ref>


When Dr. Halsey and her Spartans approached the pedestal, they experienced spatial disorientation in which their path was distorted. Despite their attempts to reach the center as a close group, they found themselves heading off in separate directions. SPARTAN-104 described feeling a sense of vertigo as if he was walking on the ceiling instead of the floor.<ref>''Halo: First Strike'', page 145: ''The Spartans formed up around the doctor again, but Fred's instincts warned him that this wasn't a good idea. He couldn't get his bearings straight. The room was big, large enough that it felt as if they were outside. It threw him off. He had an odd sense of vertigo, almost as if the floor was tilting and he was now walking on the roof. Dr. Halsey increased her pace, but the distance to the center of the room didn't seem any closer; in fact, they seemed more distant from the center than when they had started out from the edge of the room. Fred turned down the gain on his display until everything was a faint black-and-white blur. He focused on his motion tracker and saw that the Spartans and Dr. Halsey were now separated across two dozen meters.</ref> A test of rolling a ball bearing on the ground showed the floor initially sloped toward the center, but shifted around as the ball bearing rolled until it came to a total stop.<ref>''Halo: First Strike'', page 145: ''She set the bearing on the floor and gave it a gentle push. The bearing rolled, then curved, and spiraled back to a stop.''</ref> [[SPARTAN-087]] was able to intuitively determine the true direction toward the pedestal, ostensibly the opposite direction.<ref>''Halo: First Strike'', page 145: ''The Spartans set their hands on each other's shoulders and marched, not toward the center of the room but to a spot that Kelly had picked, apparently back the way they had come.''</ref> The pedestal in the center is made of the same gold material as the symbols in the corridor. Above it floated the Forerunner Crystal, which spun and pulsed a bright glow of sapphire-blue light.<ref name="crystal"/>
Throughout the length of the corridor, the holography underwent three transformations to depict different scenes, each sharing the golden glyphs along the walls. After the initial scene, it changed to depict an arid moonscape with deep craters and sterile light. It then transformed into a volcanic world with active streams of lava flowing along the walls. The realism of this scene was enhanced with realistic distortion of the air, which wavered as it would in the presence of extreme heat.{{Ref/Reuse|ceiling}}


==References==
====Main chamber====
<references/>
The corridor empties onto a landing overlooking an approximately circular room with a diameter of three kilometers, the center of which contains a flickering pedestal<ref name="room">'''Halo: First Strike''', ''page 144''</ref> that holds the Forerunner crystal.<ref name="crystal">'''Halo: First Strike''', ''pages 145-146''</ref> The landing is on one of twelve tiered levels that have no railings and encircle the room. The floor, approximately one hundred meters beneath the landing, is made of innumerable blue tiles that appear to shift around into patterns SPARTAN-104 describes as "frustratingly familiar".{{Ref/Reuse|room}} Unlike the floor in the corridor, these tiles form squares, circles, bars, and triangles.<ref>'''Halo: First Strike''', ''pages 144-145''</ref> The ceiling is a dome with a holographic golden sun, a dozen moons,<ref>'''Halo: First Strike''', ''page 185''</ref> blue sky, and cottony clouds that morph into geometric shapes such as spheres, pyramids, bars, and cubes.{{Ref/Reuse|room}}


[[Category:The Forerunner]]
When Dr. Halsey and her Spartans approached the pedestal, they experienced spatial disorientation in which their path was distorted. Despite their attempts to reach the center as a close group, they found themselves heading off in separate directions. SPARTAN-104 described feeling a sense of vertigo as if he was walking on the ceiling instead of the floor.<ref name="vertigo">'''Halo: First Strike''', ''page 145''</ref> A test of rolling a ball bearing on the ground showed the floor initially sloped toward the center, but shifted around as the ball bearing rolled until it came to a total stop.{{Ref/Reuse|vertigo}} [[Kelly-087]] was able to intuitively determine the true direction toward the pedestal, ostensibly the opposite direction.{{Ref/Reuse|vertigo}} The pedestal in the center is made of the same gold material as the symbols in the corridor. Above it floated a [[Forerunner crystal]], which spun and pulsed a bright glow of sapphire-blue light.{{Ref/Reuse|crystal}}
 
Although assumed by Dr. Halsey to be an effect of the crystal artifact,<ref>'''Halo: First Strike''', ''pages 204, 214'' (2003)</ref> the spatial distortion effects near the center of the main chamber may have been generated by a [[baffler]], a Forerunner device used to create geometric distortions to hide an artifact or a location, or a [[dazzler]], a Forerunner device employing a camouflage technique that causes visual and auditory delusion.<ref>'''[[Halo: Cryptum]]''', ''page 41''</ref>
 
==History==
===Construction and discovery===
The Menachite portal complex was created in prehistory by the Forerunners to allow for transportation to the extragalactic [[Installation 00]]. After humans colonized Reach, they tunneled into the mountain for purposes of mining its rich [[titanium]] content. The [[Office of Naval Intelligence]] took over the mountain after the mine was built and installed [[CASTLE Base]] into the tunnels originally created for the mine. Colonel [[James Ackerson]] of ONI knew of the existence of the Menachite Forerunner Complex, and made uncovering its secrets a secret project. He was, however, unable to learn of its entrance. The entrance was later discovered by [[Frederic-104]] by accident and his group gained entry into the complex.
 
===Fall of Reach===
When the [[Covenant]] invaded Reach, they began digging into the mountain in search of the crystal. Dr. Catherine Halsey, along with SPARTANs [[Vinh-030|030]], [[Isaac-039|039]], [[William-043|043]], [[Kelly-087|087]], and 104, fled the endangered CASTLE Base and into the remaining mine tunnels. There they discovered the outer part of the complex and managed to gain entrance. Just after they took the Forerunner crystal, Covenant forces successfully blasted their way into the complex, and Covenant infantry killed Isaac and Vinh, although the others managed to retreat into a deep tunnel. After some time, [[John-117]] along with a small human force assaulted the main chamber with a captured [[Spirit]] dropship. They managed to rescue the remaining SPARTANs and Dr. Halsey, and then outran thousands of Covenant soldiers trying to capture the crystal.
 
Following the [[Fall of Reach]] in [[2552]], the [[Covenant]] [[Hierarchs]] had tasked [[Tartarus]] with discovering the "Portal under the Mountain," as they called it. After the destruction of the [[Menachite Forerunner crystal|Holy Light]]—a [[slipspace flake]] taken by [[Spartan-II]] [[Blue Team]] from the Forerunner structure beneath Menachite Mountain—during the [[Massacre at Eridanus Secundus|battle]] at [[Eridanus Secundus]], Tartarus sent eight squadrons to comb the area for any remains. Three shards of the slipspace flake were found and presented to the [[Prophet of Truth]] on [[High Charity]]. When Truth left High Charity, he brought the shards aboard the [[Anodyne Spirit|Forerunner Dreadnought]]. Since the [[Portal at Voi|portal]] on [[Earth]] was found first, the need to search Reach for a portal that would take Truth to the Ark was eliminated.{{Ref/Novel|Id=SOR3|HSoR|Chapter=3}}
 
===Post-War===
In [[2559]], War Chief [[Escharum]] received a message from [[Atriox]], still embroiled in a [[Second Ark Conflict|conflict]] on the Ark, informing him of the existence of the Portal under the Mountain as well as his plan to return to the [[Milky Way|galaxy]]. Atriox ordered Escharum to find the portal and activate it in preparation of his arrival. Escharum, in turn, sent the [[Keepers of the One Freedom]], the [[Legion of the Corpse-Moon]], and the [[Clan of the Ravaged Tusks|Ravaged Tusks]]—all [[Covenant remnants|factions]] that had recently joined the Banished—to search for the portal and report back to him when they had found it.{{Ref/Reuse|SOR3}}
 
[[File:SlipspacePortal intro.jpg|thumb|300px|The Portal under the Mountain.]]
By following Blue Team to [[CASTLE Base]], [[Castor]], a [[Dokab]] of the Keepers, discovered the location of the portal, as the human military facility sought by the Spartans had been built atop the Forerunner facility. Escharum joined the Keepers in the activation of the portal. Using the three shards of [[Menachite Forerunner crystal]] which had been [[Raid on Anodyne Spirit|recovered]] from the Forerunner Dreadnought on the Ark, Atriox passed through the portal and returned to the galaxy. Castor and his Keepers then defected from the Banished, taking Atriox's [[Eklon'Dal Workshop Lich]] through the portal to the Ark, where they intended to light the [[Halo Array|rings]] and begin the [[Covenant religion|Great Journey]].{{Ref/Novel|HSoR|Chapter=21}} Soon after they passed through the portal, it collapsed inward on itself.{{Ref/Novel|HSoR|Chapter=Epilogue}}
 
==Trivia==
*The Menachite complex serves as the basis for the non-canon ''[[Halo Interactive Strategy Game]]'' level, ''[[The Hidden Artifact of Reach]]''. During the level, the Covenant - lead by the [[Prophet of Candor]] - attack a Forerunner complex to retrieve a crystal from under CASTLE Base.
*[[High Noon]], the remake of [[Hang 'Em High]] for the [[Anniversary Map Pack]], is set within the portal facility, as confirmed in a post by [[Jeff Easterling]].{{Ref/Site|Id=Reddit|D=01|M=6|Y=2020|URL=https://www.reddit.com/r/halo/comments/jentx3/shadows_of_reach_spoiler_discussion/g9qe2l1/?context=1000|Site=Reddit|Page=Halo Shadows of Reach Spoiler Discussion Thread|Quote=Been waiting to see who might catch this. ;)|Quotee=Jeff Easterling}}{{Ref/Site|D=01|M=6|Y=2020|URL=https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/news/point-taken|Site=Halo Waypoint|Page=Canon Fodder - Point Taken|Quote=That’s right, the location of the map High Noon is none other than the recently-revealed portal complex on Reach}}
 
==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Highnoon 01.jpg|A view of the portal facility.
File:Highnoon 06.jpg|Another angle of the facility.
</gallery>
 
==List of appearances==
*''[[Halo: First Strike]]'' {{1st}}
*''[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: Reach]]''
**''[[Anniversary Map Pack]]''
*''[[Halo: Shadows of Reach]]''
**''[[Sacrifice]]'' {{Im}}
*''[[Halo: Divine Wind]]'' {{Mo}}
 
==Sources==
{{Ref/Sources}}
 
{{Forerunner|array}}
[[Category:Forerunner buildings]]
[[Category:Reach locations]]

Latest revision as of 19:41, January 30, 2024

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Menachite portal complex
HR-HighNoon-Map.jpg
General overview

Location:

Menachite Mountain, Highland Mountains, Eposz, Reach

Operation overview

Type:

Slipspace portal generator

Function:

Generation of a portal to Installation 00

Status:

Inactive as of October 12, 2559

Structural information

Diameter:

Unknown, but very large[1]

 

"We did not discover the full extent of those ruins and likely never will."
— Dr. Catherine Halsey[2]

The Menachite portal complex,[3] referred to as a "temple" by the Covenant,[4] and the Portal under the Mountain by the Covenant and Banished, is an underground slipspace portal facility built into Menachite Mountain on Reach by the Forerunners[5] The complex housed a unique slipspace crystal.

Design[edit]

Portal structure[edit]

A view of the portal generator and beam emitters.

The Menachite complex was constructed and buried under Menachite Mountain, located amidst the Highland Mountains in the Viery Territory, Reach. When fully exposed, following the glassing of the mountain atop the complex, the larger complex slightly resembles the Portal at Voi on Earth. The structure is circular with a large ornate projector in the centre for projecting the slipspace portal itself. Eleven Beacon tower stations on the complex's perimeter, each at the foot of an individual mountain, project beams into the middle to assist in powering the portal via unknown mechanisms. In ancient times, the Forerunners used the Menachite Forerunner crystal to power it,[6] but the crystal's removal did not prevent the portal's use. However, unlike the Portal at Voi, this portal would only remain active for as long as the local charge lasted. Once it dissipated, the portal would close once again.

Underground complex[edit]

Part of the underground complex was situated under the site of CASTLE Base. Thanks to Titanium mining operations in Reach's early history prior to the establishment of CASTLE facility, parts of the complex were exposed in underground tunnels known to and studied by the Office of Naval Intelligence.

Entrance[edit]

The outside of the complex resembles granite rock, with passages allowing access along the wall. The wall has a long stretch of glyphs trailing along it that twist into a spiral mosaic and vanish into ever-smaller curls. The glyphs are part of the wall's material, described as being composed of glittering mica inclusions in the granite matrix. The glyphs themselves are a series of squares, triangles, bars, and dots, and blur out of focus when someone looks at them directly.[7]

When Frederic-104's blood touched the wall, a transformation occurred.[8] The glyphs began to emit a soft red glow comparable to heated metal. The glow spread outward from point at which his blood touched the wall, and the colors in the center began warming to orange and then to yellow-gold. A single white glyph, a triangle, became visible in the center of the spiral. Despite the emission of light, the glyphs did not radiate heat. When SPARTAN-104 touched this glyph with his bare fingertip, all the glyphs along the entire wall glowed white with brilliant illumination. After a moment, the wall itself rumpled and transformed into a corridor leading into the complex.[8]

The corridor was twenty meters in height, leading inward at a straight line that gently sloped deeper into the ground. Golden light shined from the ceiling.[9] The floor was paved with asymmetric blue tiles patterned in a way comparable to waves lapping on a shore. The utterly smooth walls were inlaid with centered four-meter tall gold glyphs made of similar shapes of triangles, squares, bars, and circles. When the glyphs began to softly glow, SPARTAN-104 felt himself attracted to them, but resisted his impulse to approach them on an intuitive suspicion that they were dangerous.[10] His radiation counter briefly pulsed, supporting his hesitation.[10]

Further down the corridor, the ceiling stopped shining golden light and faded to total black. Pinpoint lights emerged imitating stars, which twinkled realistically.[9] In addition, silver-gray orbs that represented moons pockmarked with craters spun in wide orbits across the ceiling. Along the walls, tall green bamboo-like stalks appeared.[9] Dr. Halsey determined that these apparitions were semisolid holograms with no visible emitters;[9] in actuality, hard light decor present in most Forerunner constructs.[11]

Throughout the length of the corridor, the holography underwent three transformations to depict different scenes, each sharing the golden glyphs along the walls. After the initial scene, it changed to depict an arid moonscape with deep craters and sterile light. It then transformed into a volcanic world with active streams of lava flowing along the walls. The realism of this scene was enhanced with realistic distortion of the air, which wavered as it would in the presence of extreme heat.[9]

Main chamber[edit]

The corridor empties onto a landing overlooking an approximately circular room with a diameter of three kilometers, the center of which contains a flickering pedestal[12] that holds the Forerunner crystal.[13] The landing is on one of twelve tiered levels that have no railings and encircle the room. The floor, approximately one hundred meters beneath the landing, is made of innumerable blue tiles that appear to shift around into patterns SPARTAN-104 describes as "frustratingly familiar".[12] Unlike the floor in the corridor, these tiles form squares, circles, bars, and triangles.[14] The ceiling is a dome with a holographic golden sun, a dozen moons,[15] blue sky, and cottony clouds that morph into geometric shapes such as spheres, pyramids, bars, and cubes.[12]

When Dr. Halsey and her Spartans approached the pedestal, they experienced spatial disorientation in which their path was distorted. Despite their attempts to reach the center as a close group, they found themselves heading off in separate directions. SPARTAN-104 described feeling a sense of vertigo as if he was walking on the ceiling instead of the floor.[16] A test of rolling a ball bearing on the ground showed the floor initially sloped toward the center, but shifted around as the ball bearing rolled until it came to a total stop.[16] Kelly-087 was able to intuitively determine the true direction toward the pedestal, ostensibly the opposite direction.[16] The pedestal in the center is made of the same gold material as the symbols in the corridor. Above it floated a Forerunner crystal, which spun and pulsed a bright glow of sapphire-blue light.[13]

Although assumed by Dr. Halsey to be an effect of the crystal artifact,[17] the spatial distortion effects near the center of the main chamber may have been generated by a baffler, a Forerunner device used to create geometric distortions to hide an artifact or a location, or a dazzler, a Forerunner device employing a camouflage technique that causes visual and auditory delusion.[18]

History[edit]

Construction and discovery[edit]

The Menachite portal complex was created in prehistory by the Forerunners to allow for transportation to the extragalactic Installation 00. After humans colonized Reach, they tunneled into the mountain for purposes of mining its rich titanium content. The Office of Naval Intelligence took over the mountain after the mine was built and installed CASTLE Base into the tunnels originally created for the mine. Colonel James Ackerson of ONI knew of the existence of the Menachite Forerunner Complex, and made uncovering its secrets a secret project. He was, however, unable to learn of its entrance. The entrance was later discovered by Frederic-104 by accident and his group gained entry into the complex.

Fall of Reach[edit]

When the Covenant invaded Reach, they began digging into the mountain in search of the crystal. Dr. Catherine Halsey, along with SPARTANs 030, 039, 043, 087, and 104, fled the endangered CASTLE Base and into the remaining mine tunnels. There they discovered the outer part of the complex and managed to gain entrance. Just after they took the Forerunner crystal, Covenant forces successfully blasted their way into the complex, and Covenant infantry killed Isaac and Vinh, although the others managed to retreat into a deep tunnel. After some time, John-117 along with a small human force assaulted the main chamber with a captured Spirit dropship. They managed to rescue the remaining SPARTANs and Dr. Halsey, and then outran thousands of Covenant soldiers trying to capture the crystal.

Following the Fall of Reach in 2552, the Covenant Hierarchs had tasked Tartarus with discovering the "Portal under the Mountain," as they called it. After the destruction of the Holy Light—a slipspace flake taken by Spartan-II Blue Team from the Forerunner structure beneath Menachite Mountain—during the battle at Eridanus Secundus, Tartarus sent eight squadrons to comb the area for any remains. Three shards of the slipspace flake were found and presented to the Prophet of Truth on High Charity. When Truth left High Charity, he brought the shards aboard the Forerunner Dreadnought. Since the portal on Earth was found first, the need to search Reach for a portal that would take Truth to the Ark was eliminated.[19]

Post-War[edit]

In 2559, War Chief Escharum received a message from Atriox, still embroiled in a conflict on the Ark, informing him of the existence of the Portal under the Mountain as well as his plan to return to the galaxy. Atriox ordered Escharum to find the portal and activate it in preparation of his arrival. Escharum, in turn, sent the Keepers of the One Freedom, the Legion of the Corpse-Moon, and the Ravaged Tusks—all factions that had recently joined the Banished—to search for the portal and report back to him when they had found it.[19]

The Portal under the Mountain.

By following Blue Team to CASTLE Base, Castor, a Dokab of the Keepers, discovered the location of the portal, as the human military facility sought by the Spartans had been built atop the Forerunner facility. Escharum joined the Keepers in the activation of the portal. Using the three shards of Menachite Forerunner crystal which had been recovered from the Forerunner Dreadnought on the Ark, Atriox passed through the portal and returned to the galaxy. Castor and his Keepers then defected from the Banished, taking Atriox's Eklon'Dal Workshop Lich through the portal to the Ark, where they intended to light the rings and begin the Great Journey.[20] Soon after they passed through the portal, it collapsed inward on itself.[21]

Trivia[edit]

Gallery[edit]

  • A view of the portal facility.

    A view of the portal facility.

  • Another angle of the facility.

    Another angle of the facility.

List of appearances[edit]

Sources[edit]

  1. ^ Halo: Shadows of Reach, Epilogue
  2. ^ Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, page 270
  3. ^ Conjectural description
  4. ^ Halo: First Strike, page 194
  5. ^ Halo: Shadows of Reach, chapter 21
  6. ^ Halo: Shadows of Reach: Adjunct - Sacrifice
  7. ^ Halo: First Strike, page 139
  8. ^ a b Halo: First Strike, page 141
  9. ^ a b c d e Halo: First Strike, page 143
  10. ^ a b Halo: First Strike, page 142
  11. ^ Halo: Cryptum
  12. ^ a b c Halo: First Strike, page 144
  13. ^ a b Halo: First Strike, pages 145-146
  14. ^ Halo: First Strike, pages 144-145
  15. ^ Halo: First Strike, page 185
  16. ^ a b c Halo: First Strike, page 145
  17. ^ Halo: First Strike, pages 204, 214 (2003)
  18. ^ Halo: Cryptum, page 41
  19. ^ a b Halo: Shadows of Reach, chapter 3
  20. ^ Halo: Shadows of Reach, chapter 21
  21. ^ Halo: Shadows of Reach, Epilogue
  22. ^ Reddit, Halo Shadows of Reach Spoiler Discussion Thread: "Been waiting to see who might catch this. ;)" - Jeff Easterling (Retrieved on Jun 1, 2020) [archive]
  23. ^ Halo Waypoint, Canon Fodder - Point Taken: "That’s right, the location of the map High Noon is none other than the recently-revealed portal complex on Reach" (Retrieved on Jun 1, 2020) [archive]

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