Ark: Difference between revisions

The greater Ark was created some time following the end of the [[human-Forerunner wars]], when an extreme faction of [[Builders]], led by [[Master Builder]] [[Faber]], began working on the first Halo rings as their solution to the [[Flood]] threat. However, due to opposition by the [[Ur-Didact|Didact]] and the rest of the [[Promethean]]s, the construction of the Halos was delayed for thousands of years. After the Master Builder successfully eliminated his opposition and work on the Halos commenced, the [[Librarian]] went before the [[Ecumene Council]] and invoked the [[Mantle]], stating that a contingency plan was needed for galactic life in the event the Halo installations were ever used. This plan, known as the [[Conservation Measure]], entailed the incorporation of extensive biological preserves on the facilities of the Array, including the Halos and the Arks.<ref name="c273"/> The Builders saw this as an agreeable compromise as the inclusion of Lifeworker conservation preserves mitigated the otherwise destructive purpose of the Halos in the eyes of the Council and allowed them to compete with the Didact's [[shield world]]s.<ref name="s44">'''Halo: Silentium''', ''pages 44-45''</ref>

The first Ark ultimately constructed twelve Halo rings, each 30,000 kilometers in diameter, designed by the [[guild]] of [[Bornstellar's father]].<ref name="c273"/> However, the deficiencies with the greater Ark and its Halos were soon noted among the Builders, one of the most major being the excessive size of the original rings which made them unwieldy to transport and prone to instability. While plans were made for smaller, more efficient Halos, the greater Ark's Foundry was found to be incapable of producing installations of a different size. The Master Builder was reluctant to admit the shortcomings of the greater Ark and even had its critics persecuted, but eventually yielded and commissioned the creation of a second Ark and with it smaller but more powerful Halos; this construct was known as the lesser Ark, or Installation 00. While plans for the second Ark were created fairly early on, its construction was delayed for some time by the Council out of fear of making the Builders too powerful to be controlled.<ref name="s44"/> Despite the in many ways more impressive technology incorporated to the lesser Ark,<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''pages 311-312''</ref> Faber would always regard the original Ark and its Halos as his prize project.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 270''</ref>