Jul 'Mdama: Difference between revisions

|5='Mdama telling Dr. Magnusson about his beliefs on the Forerunners.

Jul 'Mdama's hatred for humanity initially stems not from any religious issues, but from a fear that humans will eventually overrun the galaxy and ultimately drive the Sangheili to extinction. He compares humans to the [[Flood]] in this regard. When Thel 'Vadam proposes making peace with the humans, 'Mdama is skeptical and insists humans can't be trusted. His distrust and antipathy for humanity is only reinforced by his subsequent abduction and captivity by [[ONI]]. After the death of his wife, however, 'Mdama's primary motivation for destroying humanity changes from a matter of species survival to personal vengeance for their (indirect) role in her demise. Despite his hatred and distrust for humanity as a whole, 'Mdama is still willing to work with certain human individuals, such as [[Catherine Halsey]], when necessary. <ref>''[[Spartan Ops]]: [[S1/Exodus|S1E10 ''Exodus'']]</ref>

Although 'Mdama often displays typical Sangheili aggression and does not hesitate to use force or the threat of force to accomplish his goals, he can be both patient and highly manipulative at times. During his captivity on Onyx, 'Mdama placates his human captors by behaving according to their expectations of his species, while simultaneously gleaning information on ONI's plans whenever possible. He also convinces [[Prone to Drift]] to give him key information about the Ur-Didact, then later forces Prone to aid him in his escape by threatening to detonate his explosive vest and damage the installation - something he anticipates Prone is unwilling to risk. Later, during the Requiem campaign, 'Mdama deliberately allows the crew of the ''Infinity'' to take possession of the [[Requiem slipspace artifacts|slipspace artifact]] - playing on their assumption that the Covenant want the artifact for themselves. The artifact later enables his forces to invade ''Infinity'' and abduct Catherine Halsey, and also physically binds ''Infinity'' to Requiem. Prior to attacking ''Infinity'', 'Mdama attempts to gain Halsey's trust by sending her anonymous messages offering information about the Prometheans. He further appeals to her scientific curiosity by delivering to her the [[Didact's Gift|"soul"]] of a [[Promethean Knight]]. He is surprised - but not too upset - when Halsey contacts him and reveals that she knew his identity all along.  

'Mdama is mostly disillusioned with the Covenant's religion. Not only does he no longer believe in the [[Great Journey]], but he has come to accept the fact that the Forerunners were never gods. While he would ''like'' to believe they were gods, he sees the fact that the Forerunners made mistakes as proof that they were not gods. He further reasons that the Forerunners never expected or intended to be worshiped as gods in the first place. As such, 'Mdama has no qualms with exploiting or even destroying Forerunner artifacts to achieve his goals. He has also broken other taboos, such as acquiring and using human weapons.  

Despite his personal loss of faith in the Forerunners as gods, 'Mdama has managed to put on a convincing public image of a devout religious leader in the eyes of his followers. 'Mdama's awareness of the many loopholes and contradictions regarding Sangheili honor allows him to bend or circumvent cultural rules without sullying his reputation. On [[Hesduros]], he garners support from the colonists there by touting his knowledge of the Forerunners and later playing on the colonists' belief that the "gods" had sent him. Though uncomfortable with this charade, he rationalizes it by telling himself that not only is the deception necessary, but the only thing he is ''truly'' lying about is his own faith (or lack thereof) - something he considers a personal issue.