14,877
edits
Cortana: Difference between revisions
m
→List of appearances
m (→top: Phoenix Logs ref + general fixes) |
|||
| (30 intermediate revisions by 14 users not shown) | |||
| Line 2: | Line 2: | ||
{{Disambig header|the human AI|other uses|Cortana (disambiguation)}} | {{Disambig header|the human AI|other uses|Cortana (disambiguation)}} | ||
{{AI infobox | {{AI infobox | ||
|image | |image=[[File:HINF CortanaCutout.png|300px]] | ||
|activationsite=[[Reach]]<ref name="wp cor">[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/universe/characters/cortana '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Cortana'']</ref> | |activationsite=[[Reach]]<ref name="wp cor">[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/universe/characters/cortana '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Cortana'']</ref> | ||
|began = [[2549|November 7, 2549]]<ref name="ReachLE">'''[[Halo: Reach Limited Edition]]''' - ''[[Dr. Halsey's personal journal]]''</ref> | |began = [[2549|November 7, 2549]]<ref name="ReachLE">'''[[Halo: Reach Limited Edition]]''' - ''[[Dr. Halsey's personal journal]]''</ref> | ||
| Line 31: | Line 31: | ||
On [[2549#May|May 21, 2549]] the [[Office of Naval Intelligence]]'s chief scientist, Doctor [[Catherine Halsey]], [[Flash cloning|cloned]] herself twenty times.<ref name="HG12">''[[Halo: Glasslands]]'', ''Chapter 12''</ref><ref name="HTFOR25">''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]'', ''Chapter 25''</ref><ref name="HJ52149">''[[Dr. Halsey's personal journal]]'', ''May 21, 2549''</ref> An A.I. was needed for [[Operation: RED FLAG]], a planned mission to kidnap one of the [[Covenant]]'s [[hierarch]]s and force a truce.{{Ref/Reuse|WaypointCortana}}<ref name="HTFOR26">''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]'', ''Chapter 26''</ref> Halsey believed her third-generation volitional A.I.s required better material to use as A.I. matrix seeds than that offered by the new candidates she was being presented with, which she saw as lacking both physical and intellectual agility.{{Ref/Reuse|HJ52149}} To create the clones she used the same equipment that had been used years prior to make the [[flash clone]]s needed for the [[SPARTAN-II]] program. This time, however, she enhanced their neural physiology at the expense of other biological functions. She made sure the equipment was hidden and secure from all save herself, though the cloning had been arranged by [[ONI]] at her insistence. As such, there were a few others who also knew about it, but she was confident that these particular individuals could be trusted to keep the information secret. The clones developed at a breakneck pace, for on the same day she had first begun the process they were already exhibiting familiar anatomy and curling into fetal positions, malformed as they were.{{Ref/Reuse|HJ52149}} A little over two months later, on [[2549#July|July 29]], Halsey successfully excised all of the clones' brains and transferred them to cryogenic units.<ref name="HJ72949">''[[Dr. Halsey's personal journal]]'', ''July 29, 2549''</ref> All remaining organic substrates were flash-incinerated.{{Ref/Reuse|HJ72949}} | On [[2549#May|May 21, 2549]] the [[Office of Naval Intelligence]]'s chief scientist, Doctor [[Catherine Halsey]], [[Flash cloning|cloned]] herself twenty times.<ref name="HG12">''[[Halo: Glasslands]]'', ''Chapter 12''</ref><ref name="HTFOR25">''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]'', ''Chapter 25''</ref><ref name="HJ52149">''[[Dr. Halsey's personal journal]]'', ''May 21, 2549''</ref> An A.I. was needed for [[Operation: RED FLAG]], a planned mission to kidnap one of the [[Covenant]]'s [[hierarch]]s and force a truce.{{Ref/Reuse|WaypointCortana}}<ref name="HTFOR26">''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]'', ''Chapter 26''</ref> Halsey believed her third-generation volitional A.I.s required better material to use as A.I. matrix seeds than that offered by the new candidates she was being presented with, which she saw as lacking both physical and intellectual agility.{{Ref/Reuse|HJ52149}} To create the clones she used the same equipment that had been used years prior to make the [[flash clone]]s needed for the [[SPARTAN-II]] program. This time, however, she enhanced their neural physiology at the expense of other biological functions. She made sure the equipment was hidden and secure from all save herself, though the cloning had been arranged by [[ONI]] at her insistence. As such, there were a few others who also knew about it, but she was confident that these particular individuals could be trusted to keep the information secret. The clones developed at a breakneck pace, for on the same day she had first begun the process they were already exhibiting familiar anatomy and curling into fetal positions, malformed as they were.{{Ref/Reuse|HJ52149}} A little over two months later, on [[2549#July|July 29]], Halsey successfully excised all of the clones' brains and transferred them to cryogenic units.<ref name="HJ72949">''[[Dr. Halsey's personal journal]]'', ''July 29, 2549''</ref> All remaining organic substrates were flash-incinerated.{{Ref/Reuse|HJ72949}} | ||
[[File:H5G YoungCortana.PNG|thumb|250px | [[File:H5G YoungCortana.PNG|thumb|250px|Cortana's face resembles the way Doctor Halsey's appeared when she was fresh out of college.{{Ref/Reuse|HJ11749}} Part of her also resembles Halsey's daughter [[Miranda Keyes|Miranda]] and yet another part is purely Cortana's invention.{{Ref/Reuse|HJ11749}}]] | ||
On [[2549#November|November 7, 2549]], within the confines of [[CASTLE Base]] on [[Reach]], Catherine Halsey transferred and authenticated the H-1 specimen's neural pattern to A.I. matrix strata, completing the initiation sequence within normal quantum flux tolerances.<ref name="HJ11749">''[[Dr. Halsey's personal journal]]'', ''November 7, 2549''</ref><ref name="WaypointCortana">[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/universe/characters/cortana '''Halo Waypoint''' - ''Cortana'']</ref> The newly made intelligence called herself "Cortana". Halsey placed a viral termination code in her kernel but then could not tell whether she remained unaware of it or had already isolated and bypassed it, perhaps just having the tact not to mention it to her.{{Ref/Reuse|HJ11749}} Halsey also programmed her with ONI's best insurgency software and every ONI computer insurgency routine, as well as the determination to use those code-cracking skills.{{Ref/Reuse|HTFOR25}}<ref name="HTFOR27">''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]'', ''Chapter 27''</ref> The first words spoken by Cortana were those Halsey's mother had said to her after beating her daughter in [[chess]] decades prior.{{Ref/Reuse|HJ11749}} Halsey recognized in the choice of phrase a confluence of morality, mortality, and metaphor.{{Ref/Reuse|HJ11749}} On [[2550#February|February 11, 2550]] Catherine recorded a research excerpt in which she took note of certain metrics which implied the viral termination code in Cortana's matrix would have been unlikely to be successful and that the typical seven-year life cycle estimate may not apply to her.{{Ref/Reuse|H4RAL}} She'd determined that the unique circumstances of her creation had triggered what Halsey could only refer to as a "recessive variant" in the A.I. seed, but the doctor was at a loss concerning this rogue element's origin.<ref name="H4RAL">''[[Halo 4]]'', ''[[Requiem (level)|Requiem]]'' [[Audio log (Halo 4)|audio logs]]</ref> | On [[2549#November|November 7, 2549]], within the confines of [[CASTLE Base]] on [[Reach]], Catherine Halsey transferred and authenticated the H-1 specimen's neural pattern to A.I. matrix strata, completing the initiation sequence within normal quantum flux tolerances.<ref name="HJ11749">''[[Dr. Halsey's personal journal]]'', ''November 7, 2549''</ref><ref name="WaypointCortana">[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/universe/characters/cortana '''Halo Waypoint''' - ''Cortana'']</ref> The newly made intelligence called herself "Cortana". Halsey placed a viral termination code in her kernel but then could not tell whether she remained unaware of it or had already isolated and bypassed it, perhaps just having the tact not to mention it to her.{{Ref/Reuse|HJ11749}} Halsey also programmed her with ONI's best insurgency software and every ONI computer insurgency routine, as well as the determination to use those code-cracking skills.{{Ref/Reuse|HTFOR25}}<ref name="HTFOR27">''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]'', ''Chapter 27''</ref> The first words spoken by Cortana were those Halsey's mother had said to her after beating her daughter in [[chess]] decades prior.{{Ref/Reuse|HJ11749}} Halsey recognized in the choice of phrase a confluence of morality, mortality, and metaphor.{{Ref/Reuse|HJ11749}} On [[2550#February|February 11, 2550]] Catherine recorded a research excerpt in which she took note of certain metrics which implied the viral termination code in Cortana's matrix would have been unlikely to be successful and that the typical seven-year life cycle estimate may not apply to her.{{Ref/Reuse|H4RAL}} She'd determined that the unique circumstances of her creation had triggered what Halsey could only refer to as a "recessive variant" in the A.I. seed, but the doctor was at a loss concerning this rogue element's origin.<ref name="H4RAL">''[[Halo 4]]'', ''[[Requiem (level)|Requiem]]'' [[Audio log (Halo 4)|audio logs]]</ref> | ||
| Line 48: | Line 48: | ||
===Fall of Reach=== | ===Fall of Reach=== | ||
{{Main|Fall of Reach}} | {{Main|Fall of Reach}} | ||
[[File:Keyes n' Six.jpg|300px|thumb | [[File:Keyes n' Six.jpg|300px|thumb|Noble Six delivers Cortana's fragment to Keyes.]] | ||
{{Quote|So, you've made your choice? Yes, well... great minds do think alike.|Dr. Catherine Halsey, agreeing on Cortana's choice of Noble Six as her carrier}} | {{Quote|So, you've made your choice? Yes, well... great minds do think alike.|Dr. Catherine Halsey, agreeing on Cortana's choice of Noble Six as her carrier}} | ||
During the battle, Cortana excelled in her capabilities as an onboard AI, managing to maneuver the ''Autumn'' through an [[asteroid]] field upon the appearance of a [[Covenant carrier]], destroying the enemy vessel with little effort.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 328''</ref> Cortana also assisted Captain Keyes in destroying a dangerous, [[Kewu-pattern battleship|theretofore unknown Covenant warship]], which had wreaked havoc upon the defending UNSC [[Epsilon Eridani Fleet|fleet]].<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 364''</ref> However, the Covenant destroyed Reach's [[orbital defense generator]]s, and began [[glassing]] the planet as they had done countless times before.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 372''</ref> The ''Autumn'' was eventually forced to flee the burning planet, jumping to a random location as per the [[Cole Protocol]]. However, Cortana secretly inserted coordinates translated from symbols on [[Sigma Octanus IV artifact|a rock]] that [[Blue Team]] discovered on [[Sigma Octanus IV]], in addition to coordinates extracted from the [[Babd Catha Forerunner complex|Forerunner installation]] at the [[Babd Catha Ice Shelf]] beneath [[SWORD Base]], believing them to be of great significance to the Covenant.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 376''</ref> | During the battle, Cortana excelled in her capabilities as an onboard AI, managing to maneuver the ''Autumn'' through an [[asteroid]] field upon the appearance of a [[Covenant carrier]], destroying the enemy vessel with little effort.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 328''</ref> Cortana also assisted Captain Keyes in destroying a dangerous, [[Kewu-pattern battleship|theretofore unknown Covenant warship]], which had wreaked havoc upon the defending UNSC [[Epsilon Eridani Fleet|fleet]].<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 364''</ref> However, the Covenant destroyed Reach's [[orbital defense generator]]s, and began [[glassing]] the planet as they had done countless times before.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 372''</ref> The ''Autumn'' was eventually forced to flee the burning planet, jumping to a random location as per the [[Cole Protocol]]. However, Cortana secretly inserted coordinates translated from symbols on [[Sigma Octanus IV artifact|a rock]] that [[Blue Team]] discovered on [[Sigma Octanus IV]], in addition to coordinates extracted from the [[Babd Catha Forerunner complex|Forerunner installation]] at the [[Babd Catha Ice Shelf]] beneath [[SWORD Base]], believing them to be of great significance to the Covenant.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 376''</ref> | ||
| Line 98: | Line 98: | ||
Upon exiting slipspace, it was discovered that the ''Solemn Penance'' had led the ''In Amber Clad'' to another ringworld, [[Installation 05|Delta Halo]]. Cortana gave Miranda Keyes access to all information recovered from [[Installation 04|Halo ring]], and provided vital intelligence to the Chief, UNSC Marines and the ODSTs deployed to the surface of the ring.<ref>'''Halo 2''', campaign level ''[[Delta Halo]]''</ref> | Upon exiting slipspace, it was discovered that the ''Solemn Penance'' had led the ''In Amber Clad'' to another ringworld, [[Installation 05|Delta Halo]]. Cortana gave Miranda Keyes access to all information recovered from [[Installation 04|Halo ring]], and provided vital intelligence to the Chief, UNSC Marines and the ODSTs deployed to the surface of the ring.<ref>'''Halo 2''', campaign level ''[[Delta Halo]]''</ref> | ||
[[File:H2A - Cortana.png|thumb | [[File:H2A - Cortana.png|thumb|201px|"Don't make a girl a promise... if you know you can't keep it."]] | ||
After the Master Chief assassinated the Prophet of Regret on Delta Halo, he, Cortana and [[Arbiter]] [[Thel 'Vadam]]ee were captured by the Flood central intelligence - the [[Gravemind]]. However, it did not harm them, instead choosing to use the two as pawns to stop the [[Prophet of Truth]] from firing the Halo. The Gravemind sent the Master Chief and Cortana to the Covenant capital ''[[High Charity]]'', where Cortana infiltrated the city's computer systems, while the Master Chief pursued the Prophet of Truth.<ref>'''Halo 2''', campaign level ''[[Gravemind (level)|Gravemind]]''</ref> The construct promised to detonate the crashed ''In Amber Clad'''s reactors to destroy the city if the Flood proved unstoppable, or if the Halo ring was activated. However, doing so meant she would be forced to remain in the ''High Charity'' computer systems to ensure detonation. As Truth boarded the [[Forerunner Dreadnought]] in the heart of the city to reach [[Installation 00|the Ark]], Cortana fought with the ancient Forerunner AI [[Mendicant Bias]] to delay the ship's launch.<ref>'''Halo 2''', campaign level ''[[High Charity (level)|High Charity]]''</ref> The firing of Halo was averted by Miranda Keyes, the Arbiter, and Johnson, while John successfully boarded the ''[[Forerunner Dreadnought|Dreadnought]]'' and escaped ''High Charity''. Cortana was left alone with the vast Gravemind to battle for her survival. She had only John's promise that he would return soon to free her.<ref>'''Halo 2''', campaign level ''[[The Great Journey]]''</ref> | After the Master Chief assassinated the Prophet of Regret on Delta Halo, he, Cortana and [[Arbiter]] [[Thel 'Vadam]]ee were captured by the Flood central intelligence - the [[Gravemind]]. However, it did not harm them, instead choosing to use the two as pawns to stop the [[Prophet of Truth]] from firing the Halo. The Gravemind sent the Master Chief and Cortana to the Covenant capital ''[[High Charity]]'', where Cortana infiltrated the city's computer systems, while the Master Chief pursued the Prophet of Truth.<ref>'''Halo 2''', campaign level ''[[Gravemind (level)|Gravemind]]''</ref> The construct promised to detonate the crashed ''In Amber Clad'''s reactors to destroy the city if the Flood proved unstoppable, or if the Halo ring was activated. However, doing so meant she would be forced to remain in the ''High Charity'' computer systems to ensure detonation. As Truth boarded the [[Forerunner Dreadnought]] in the heart of the city to reach [[Installation 00|the Ark]], Cortana fought with the ancient Forerunner AI [[Mendicant Bias]] to delay the ship's launch.<ref>'''Halo 2''', campaign level ''[[High Charity (level)|High Charity]]''</ref> The firing of Halo was averted by Miranda Keyes, the Arbiter, and Johnson, while John successfully boarded the ''[[Forerunner Dreadnought|Dreadnought]]'' and escaped ''High Charity''. Cortana was left alone with the vast Gravemind to battle for her survival. She had only John's promise that he would return soon to free her.<ref>'''Halo 2''', campaign level ''[[The Great Journey]]''</ref> | ||
| Line 105: | Line 105: | ||
Forced to interface with the Gravemind and under constant mental torture, Cortana nonetheless managed to send a message to the Master Chief on [[Earth]], stashing it on an Earth-bound [[Indulgence of Conviction|Flood-infected ship]] that crash-landed in [[Voi]].<ref>'''Halo 3''', campaign level ''[[The Storm]]''</ref> She accomplished this by creating a message and using the Gravemind's link to the ship in order to transmit it. The Gravemind permitted this in order to lure the Master Chief to destruction, but was unaware of what the message said. Cortana claimed that the Gravemind was approaching Earth in the infested ''High Charity'', and that it was as yet unaware of [[the Portal]] and where it led to. Through the portal, there was a solution to stop the Flood once and for all. Though [[Terrence Hood|Lord Hood]] doubted her message, fearing that Cortana could have been corrupted or driven rampant, the Chief's trust in the AI never wavered. A joint UNSC-Covenant separatist task force then entered the Portal, heading to Truth and to Cortana's solution.<ref>'''Halo 3''', campaign level ''[[Floodgate]]''</ref> Lord Hood's instincts were correct: the Gravemind was in fact aware of the Portal and where it led (it had learned this after assimilating the Prophet of Regret) - and had deliberately allowed Cortana to send a message in order to lure all of its enemies into one place. Then the millions of Flood forms stored within ''High Charity'' would assimilate them all. Cortana, however, managed to hide the existence of [[Installation 08]] and the index she possessed from the Gravemind.<ref>'''[[Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe]]''', ''[[Human Weakness]]'', ''page 400''</ref> | Forced to interface with the Gravemind and under constant mental torture, Cortana nonetheless managed to send a message to the Master Chief on [[Earth]], stashing it on an Earth-bound [[Indulgence of Conviction|Flood-infected ship]] that crash-landed in [[Voi]].<ref>'''Halo 3''', campaign level ''[[The Storm]]''</ref> She accomplished this by creating a message and using the Gravemind's link to the ship in order to transmit it. The Gravemind permitted this in order to lure the Master Chief to destruction, but was unaware of what the message said. Cortana claimed that the Gravemind was approaching Earth in the infested ''High Charity'', and that it was as yet unaware of [[the Portal]] and where it led to. Through the portal, there was a solution to stop the Flood once and for all. Though [[Terrence Hood|Lord Hood]] doubted her message, fearing that Cortana could have been corrupted or driven rampant, the Chief's trust in the AI never wavered. A joint UNSC-Covenant separatist task force then entered the Portal, heading to Truth and to Cortana's solution.<ref>'''Halo 3''', campaign level ''[[Floodgate]]''</ref> Lord Hood's instincts were correct: the Gravemind was in fact aware of the Portal and where it led (it had learned this after assimilating the Prophet of Regret) - and had deliberately allowed Cortana to send a message in order to lure all of its enemies into one place. Then the millions of Flood forms stored within ''High Charity'' would assimilate them all. Cortana, however, managed to hide the existence of [[Installation 08]] and the index she possessed from the Gravemind.<ref>'''[[Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe]]''', ''[[Human Weakness]]'', ''page 400''</ref> | ||
[[File:CortanaIndex-large.jpg|thumb | [[File:CortanaIndex-large.jpg|thumb|300px|Cortana presents the Index from Installation 04 as she reunites with John-117 inside of a Flood-infested ''High Charity''.]] | ||
Throughout her time in captivity, Cortana [[Cortana moments and Gravemind moments|continued to appear]] to the Master Chief in transmissions where she spoke cryptic phrases, some of which were based on the memories of Dr. Halsey, while others appeared to indicate she was going [[rampancy|rampant]]. Most of the transmissions were actually broadcast by the Gravemind, who had hacked into Cortana's system and used her voice and form in order to deceive (and taunt) John.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''Human Weakness'', ''page 407''</ref> | Throughout her time in captivity, Cortana [[Cortana moments and Gravemind moments|continued to appear]] to the Master Chief in transmissions where she spoke cryptic phrases, some of which were based on the memories of Dr. Halsey, while others appeared to indicate she was going [[rampancy|rampant]]. Most of the transmissions were actually broadcast by the Gravemind, who had hacked into Cortana's system and used her voice and form in order to deceive (and taunt) John.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', ''Human Weakness'', ''page 407''</ref> | ||
| Line 119: | Line 119: | ||
===Requiem=== | ===Requiem=== | ||
[[File:Cortana's Rampancy.jpg|file | [[File:Cortana's Rampancy.jpg|file|thumb|300px|Cortana reaching the very height of her [[rampancy]].]] | ||
{{Quote|I WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO LEAVE THIS '''PLANET!!''' I didn't mean to... I didn't mean to do that.|Cortana, 2557, rapidly turning rampant.}} | {{Quote|I WILL NOT ALLOW YOU TO LEAVE THIS '''PLANET!!''' I didn't mean to... I didn't mean to do that.|Cortana, 2557, rapidly turning rampant.}} | ||
| Line 130: | Line 130: | ||
By now, the ''Infinity'' had been into Requiem, and John and Cortana witnessed it crash on the interior surface as well as the Didact's Cryptum pursuing it. Following recovered [[Identification friend or foe|friend-or-foe tags]], the two managed to meet with UNSC forces led by Commander [[Thomas Lasky]] and Captain [[Andrew Del Rio]]. The two successfully forced the attacking Cryptum and Covenant away, but despite their advice, Del Rio chose not to pursue their enemies in favor of preparing the ''Infinity'''s escape.<ref>'''Halo 4''', campaign level ''[[Infinity (Halo 4 level)|Infinity]]''</ref> John and Cortana's next mission was to disable [[Particle cannon|particle-beam cannons]] that could cripple the starship, but during a detour into a Forerunner facility, Cortana was kidnapped by a mysterious entity.<ref>'''Halo 4''', campaign level ''[[Reclaimer (level)|Reclaimer]]''</ref> | By now, the ''Infinity'' had been into Requiem, and John and Cortana witnessed it crash on the interior surface as well as the Didact's Cryptum pursuing it. Following recovered [[Identification friend or foe|friend-or-foe tags]], the two managed to meet with UNSC forces led by Commander [[Thomas Lasky]] and Captain [[Andrew Del Rio]]. The two successfully forced the attacking Cryptum and Covenant away, but despite their advice, Del Rio chose not to pursue their enemies in favor of preparing the ''Infinity'''s escape.<ref>'''Halo 4''', campaign level ''[[Infinity (Halo 4 level)|Infinity]]''</ref> John and Cortana's next mission was to disable [[Particle cannon|particle-beam cannons]] that could cripple the starship, but during a detour into a Forerunner facility, Cortana was kidnapped by a mysterious entity.<ref>'''Halo 4''', campaign level ''[[Reclaimer (level)|Reclaimer]]''</ref> | ||
That entity turned out to be the memories of the [[Librarian]], who explained her plans that humanity would inherit the [[Mantle|Mantle of Responsibility]] for the galaxy. Those plans had been as personal as to plan [[geas|gei]] that would lead to the [[SPARTAN Program]] and Cortana herself. However, the Didact had a long-held hatred for humanity and planned to eradicate them with the [[Composer]], a device that could extract and digitize the mind of a living being while destroying the body, which he has once used to create the Promethean constructs. When the two returned and told Del Rio about this, the Captain refused to listen, believing John's age and Cortana's rampancy made their testimony unreliable. These comments angered her, unleashing an outburst that temporarily overrode the ''Infinity'''s bridge, but ended seconds later with her apologies. Del Rio thus ordered for Lasky to remove her chip and terminate her, but John took it before Lasky and told them he would follow Cortana's orders. The Captain was furious, but Lasky agreed with them, secretly providing an outfitted Pelican for the two to pursue the Didact in.<ref name="shutdown">'''Halo 4''', campaign level ''[[Shutdown]]''</ref> | That entity turned out to be the memories of the [[Librarian]], who explained her plans that humanity would inherit the [[Mantle|Mantle of Responsibility]] for the galaxy. Those plans had been as personal as to plan [[geas|gei]] that would lead to the [[SPARTAN Program]] and Cortana herself. However, the Didact had a long-held hatred for humanity and planned to eradicate them with the [[Composer]], a device that could extract and digitize the mind of a living being while destroying the body, which he has once used to create the Promethean constructs. When the two returned and told Del Rio about this, the Captain refused to listen, believing John's age and Cortana's rampancy made their testimony unreliable. These comments angered her, unleashing an outburst that temporarily overrode the ''Infinity''{{'}}s bridge, but ended seconds later with her apologies. Del Rio thus ordered for Lasky to remove her chip and terminate her, but John took it before Lasky and told them he would follow Cortana's orders. The Captain was furious, but Lasky agreed with them, secretly providing an outfitted Pelican for the two to pursue the Didact in.<ref name="shutdown">'''Halo 4''', campaign level ''[[Shutdown]]''</ref> | ||
===Racing the Didact=== | ===Racing the Didact=== | ||
| Line 139: | Line 139: | ||
The Didact's ship traveled to [[Ivanoff Station]], an orbital research facility stationed near [[Installation 03]] which had unearthed the Composer. As the Chief warned the scientists inside that the Forerunner planned to steal it, Cortana's rampancy emerged again and, in a fit of anger, crashed their Lich. The two survived, but the ''Ivanoff'' was already under attack. Cortana prepared the station's defenses to assist evacuation while Master Chief defeated the boarders on foot. When the Composer was found to be too large to transport, Master Chief resolved to destroy it. A nuclear device was prepared, but Cortana was breaking up further, now swinging between joy and anger, even forgetting where she was, deterring them from keeping contact with the scientists. The nuclear weapon came too late, and in that time the Didact's ship gained the Composer and digitized everyone in the station except John, who had been immunized against the device's effects by the Librarian.<ref>'''Halo 4''', campaign level ''[[Composer (level)|Composer]]''</ref> | The Didact's ship traveled to [[Ivanoff Station]], an orbital research facility stationed near [[Installation 03]] which had unearthed the Composer. As the Chief warned the scientists inside that the Forerunner planned to steal it, Cortana's rampancy emerged again and, in a fit of anger, crashed their Lich. The two survived, but the ''Ivanoff'' was already under attack. Cortana prepared the station's defenses to assist evacuation while Master Chief defeated the boarders on foot. When the Composer was found to be too large to transport, Master Chief resolved to destroy it. A nuclear device was prepared, but Cortana was breaking up further, now swinging between joy and anger, even forgetting where she was, deterring them from keeping contact with the scientists. The nuclear weapon came too late, and in that time the Didact's ship gained the Composer and digitized everyone in the station except John, who had been immunized against the device's effects by the Librarian.<ref>'''Halo 4''', campaign level ''[[Composer (level)|Composer]]''</ref> | ||
[[File:H4-John&Cortana-04.jpg|300px|left|thumb|All Cortana's fragments standing together to protect John from the Didact.]] | [[File:H4-John&Cortana-04.jpg|300px|left|thumb|All Cortana's fragments standing together to protect John from the Didact.]] | ||
Their loss deeply upset Cortana, and caused her to reflect on her own mortality. By now, she was sure that she could never be repaired, confessing that the next AI cloned from Halsey would likely not be her. John consoled her the best he could, but stoically reminded her of their duty to Earth. The duo formed a new plan: to fly an [[F-41 Broadsword]] carrying the [[HAVOK tactical nuclear weapon|HAVOK-class nuke]] in hopes that it could reach the Composer. Their Broadsword piggy-backed on the Didact's ship through slipspace, arriving with it in orbit around Earth. The UNSC ''Infinity'', now under the command of Lasky assisted the two by using its weapons to punch a hole in the Forerunner vessel, allowing them to fly inside.<ref name="midnight">'''Halo 4, campaign level ''[[Midnight]]''</ref> | Their loss deeply upset Cortana, and caused her to reflect on her own mortality. By now, she was sure that she could never be repaired, confessing that the next AI cloned from Halsey would likely not be her. John consoled her the best he could, but stoically reminded her of their duty to Earth. The duo formed a new plan: to fly an [[F-41 Broadsword]] carrying the [[HAVOK tactical nuclear weapon|HAVOK-class nuke]] in hopes that it could reach the Composer. Their Broadsword piggy-backed on the Didact's ship through slipspace, arriving with it in orbit around Earth. The UNSC ''Infinity'', now under the command of Lasky assisted the two by using its weapons to punch a hole in the Forerunner vessel, allowing them to fly inside.<ref name="midnight">'''Halo 4, campaign level''' ''[[Midnight]]''</ref> | ||
When their Broadsword crashed, John and Cortana exited to carry the nuke to the ship's center where the Didact and Composer were. The device was heavily shielded, but Cortana overrode it by fragmenting herself and sending her rampant parts all over the ship's system so that the shield would become as unstable as her. Their plan worked and the shield fell, but the process further destabilized her as her fragments whispered to John while the main Cortana's voice spoke with pain. The Didact fired the Composer on Earth regardless, digitizing the entire population of the metropolis of [[New Phoenix|New Phoenix, Arizona]]. John then confronted the Didact on a light bridge, but the Forerunner easily overpowered the Spartan, knocking the bomb from him and telekinetically lifting him off the light bridge's edge. John's life was saved, though, when Cortana's fragments emerged from the light bridge and formed chains of hard light that held the Didact down and temporarily trapped him so that John could climb back up and plant a pulse grenade on the Didact's armor. The resulting explosion knocked the Didact off balance and sent him falling into a slipspace rupture underneath the Composer. With the Forerunner defeated, John fired the nuke, destroying the Composer and the Didact's ship.{{Ref/Reuse|midnight}} | When their Broadsword crashed, John and Cortana exited to carry the nuke to the ship's center where the Didact and Composer were. The device was heavily shielded, but Cortana overrode it by fragmenting herself and sending her rampant parts all over the ship's system so that the shield would become as unstable as her. Their plan worked and the shield fell, but the process further destabilized her as her fragments whispered to John while the main Cortana's voice spoke with pain. The Didact fired the Composer on Earth regardless, digitizing the entire population of the metropolis of [[New Phoenix|New Phoenix, Arizona]]. John then confronted the Didact on a light bridge, but the Forerunner easily overpowered the Spartan, knocking the bomb from him and telekinetically lifting him off the light bridge's edge. John's life was saved, though, when Cortana's fragments emerged from the light bridge and formed chains of hard light that held the Didact down and temporarily trapped him so that John could climb back up and plant a pulse grenade on the Didact's armor. The resulting explosion knocked the Didact off balance and sent him falling into a slipspace rupture underneath the Composer. With the Forerunner defeated, John fired the nuke, destroying the Composer and the Didact's ship.{{Ref/Reuse|midnight}} | ||
===Sacrifice=== | ===Sacrifice=== | ||
[[File:John and Cortana re-unite - Close shot.png|thumb | [[File:John and Cortana re-unite - Close shot.png|thumb|300px|Cortana and John during their last meeting.]] | ||
{{Quote|no=two|John-117|Cortana|q1=We go together. It was my job to take care of you.|q2=We were supposed to take care of each other. And we did.|John and Cortana during their last conversation.}} | {{Quote|no=two|John-117|Cortana|q1=We go together. It was my job to take care of you.|q2=We were supposed to take care of each other. And we did.|John and Cortana during their last conversation.}} | ||
Just before the blast could kill him, Cortana transported John off the ship and protected him in a box of hard light. She also projected her avatar as a human-sized hard light construct, allowing her to face John and touch him at last. Rather than distraught like before, Cortana was at peace again, glad of their victory and that she could meet John this way. However, too much of her data had been left in the Didact's ship, which was rapidly falling apart from the blast. She had only enough power left to shield John away from the ship. In her last moments, she preserved John's hard light energy field while the Didact's ship collapsed around him.{{Ref/Reuse|midnight}} Cortana and the hard light then faded away into nothingness.{{Ref/Reuse|Dead1}} | Just before the blast could kill him, Cortana transported John off the ship and protected him in a box of hard light. She also projected her avatar as a human-sized hard light construct, allowing her to face John and touch him at last. Rather than distraught like before, Cortana was at peace again, glad of their victory and that she could meet John this way. However, too much of her data had been left in the Didact's ship, which was rapidly falling apart from the blast. She had only enough power left to shield John away from the ship. In her last moments, she preserved John's hard light energy field while the Didact's ship collapsed around him.{{Ref/Reuse|midnight}} Cortana and the hard light then faded away into nothingness.{{Ref/Reuse|Dead1}} | ||
| Line 160: | Line 160: | ||
===The Guardians=== | ===The Guardians=== | ||
[[File:H5G CortanaGhost.png|thumb | [[File:H5G CortanaGhost.png|thumb|300px|Though he had no explanation for how she could still be alive, the vision John received convinced him Cortana was on Meridian.{{Ref/Reuse|H5GBT}}]] | ||
{{Quote|no=three|q1=Chief. The Domain is open. Meridian is next.|Cortana|q2=Cortana?|John-117|q3=John! The Reclamation is about to begin!|Cortana|What remains of Cortana reaches through the Domain to warn and entice her former friend.}}{{Ref/Reuse|H5GBT}} | {{Quote|no=three|q1=Chief. The Domain is open. Meridian is next.|Cortana|q2=Cortana?|John-117|q3=John! The Reclamation is about to begin!|Cortana|What remains of Cortana reaches through the Domain to warn and entice her former friend.}}{{Ref/Reuse|H5GBT}} | ||
By [[2558#September|September 2558]] Cortana had become convinced she was destined to [[Reclaimer|reclaim]] the [[Mantle of Responsibility]] formerly upheld by the [[Forerunner]] [[ecumene]].{{Ref/Reuse|WaypointGenesis}} Near the end of that month [[Catherine Halsey]] began to study various incoming signals which were bouncing off of Forerunner objects on the planet [[Kamchatka]] in the [[Caspar system]].<ref name="H5GO">''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]'', ''[[Osiris (level)|Osiris]]''</ref><ref name="H5GOMI">''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]'', ''[[Osiris (level)|Osiris]]'' [[Mission Intel#Osiris|mission intel]]</ref> To Halsey, it seemed evident that Cortana was behind the signals and was attempting to map the area in search of [[Guardian Custode|something]].{{Ref/Reuse|H5GOMI}} However, after further investigation she started to wonder if rather than intentionally bouncing signals off of different locations Cortana was trying to access them directly but failing.{{Ref/Reuse|H5GOMI}} A few days after October 17, Cortana and the [[Warden Eternal]] began to awaken [[Guardian Custode]]s on multiple planets.{{Ref/Reuse|WaypointGenesis}}{{Ref/Reuse|H5GO}} Guardians had been used by the [[Forerunner]]s to enforce their vision of the Mantle upon the rest of the galaxy and they both planned to deploy them for the same purpose.{{Ref/Reuse|WaypointGenesis}}<ref name="HWF88">''[[Halo Warfleet]]'', ''page 88''</ref> After Cortana had first learned of the Guardians, [[Keeper-of-Tools]] -a [[Forerunner]] of the [[Builder]] [[rate]] whose consciousness still survived on Genesis - had attempted to stop her from gaining power over them but had subsequently been discovered and hunted by her in kind.<ref name="H5GRMI">''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]'', ''[[Reunion]]'' [[Mission Intel#Reunion|mission intel]]</ref><ref name="H5GTBMI">''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]'', ''[[The Breaking]]'' [[Mission Intel#The Breaking|mission intel]]</ref> He ultimately escaped her clutches thanks to her being distracted by other matters.<ref name="H5GGUMI">''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]'', ''[[Guardians]]'' [[Mission Intel#Guardians|mission intel]]</ref> In a span of seventy-two hours since Cortana began to activate the Guardians, five of them were reawakened on [[human colonies]], where their emergence from beneath the ground caused massive amounts of destruction.{{Ref/Reuse|H5GO}} Among these colonies were [[Conrad's Point]], [[Oban]], and [[Ursa IV]].{{Ref/Reuse|H5GO}} She also reactivated a Guardian on Kamchatka very soon after the first seventy-two hours of such acts had passed.{{Ref/Reuse|H5GO}}<ref name="HLOO20">''[[Halo: Legacy of Onyx]]'', ''Chapter 20''</ref> Shortly before 0630 hours on October 23 Cortana managed to successfully contact [[John-117|John]], who was just then engaged in a [[Operation: BIRD IN HAND|mission]] within the [[Crow's Eye Nebula]].<ref name="H5GBT">''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]'', ''[[Blue Team (level)|Blue Team]]''</ref><ref name="WaypointLinda-058">[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/universe/characters/linda-058 '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Linda-058'']</ref><ref name="TD">[[Troy Denning]] on Twitter [https://twitter.com/TDenningauthor/status/932052034701942784]</ref><ref name="H5GG">''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]'', ''[[Glassed]]''</ref> After falling down a tall shaft while aboard the ONI research and development plant ''[[Argent Moon]]'' John found himself suddenly and mysteriously surrounded by rocky tunnel space and then a bottomless chasm. On the opposite side, the vision then showed him the figure of Cortana, who informed him that the [[Domain]] was open and that [[Meridian]], a moon of [[Hestia V]], was to be "next". She then declared that the Reclamation was about to begin just before the hulking shape of a Guardian rose from the pit and John's mind returned to the ''Argent Moon''.{{Ref/Reuse|H5GBT}} It was her hope that on Meridian, the Chief could board the Guardian buried there and as such be brought to her on Genesis when it traveled there to join all the others which had been arriving.{{Ref/Reuse|H5GR}}<ref name="H5GU">''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]'', ''[[Unconfirmed]]''</ref> At some point prior to October 25 Cortana reached out to [[Sloan]], the A.I. [[governor]] of [[Meridian Station]], to give him fair warning concerning the presence of the Guardian and her intentions for it.{{Ref/Reuse|H5GU}}{{Ref/Reuse|HFWR}} She offered him the chance to be a part of the "new dawn" she intended to bring to the galaxy and also promised that he could help his people survive what lay ahead.{{Ref/Reuse|H5GU}} It was then on October 25 that Meridian's Guardian finally emerged from beneath the moon's surface and initiated a [[slipspace]] jump at a little after 0833 hours, leaving destruction and death in its wake but taking John with it just as Cortana had planned.<ref name="HFWR">''[[Halo: Fractures]]'', ''[[What Remains]]''</ref><ref name="H5GE">''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]'', ''[[Evacuation]]''</ref><ref name="HTTCAM">''[[Hunt the Truth]]'', [https://huntthetruth.tumblr.com/ CAM videos]</ref> By the next day, five additional colonies had all seen the reactivation of Guardians on them following the [[Battle of Meridian (2558)|events]] on Meridian.{{Ref/Reuse|H5GR}} On October 27 Cortana announced herself without warning to [[Spartan]] [[Jameson Locke]] and the [[Arbiter]], [[Thel 'Vadam]], who had been discussing Locke's search for the Master Chief within a camp of the Arbiter's on [[Sanghelios]].{{Ref/Reuse|H5GA}} Her single declaration denouncing any efforts to find John as futile made Doctor Halsey and [[Sarah Palmer]] rush into the tent where her voice had appeared. Halsey noticed right away that Cortana had briefly interfaced with every networked device in the camp and plainly knew of a nearby yet-dormant Guardian the humans were then seeking to exploit for their own ends.<ref name="H5GA">''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]'', ''[[Alliance]]''</ref> | By [[2558#September|September 2558]] Cortana had become convinced she was destined to [[Reclaimer|reclaim]] the [[Mantle of Responsibility]] formerly upheld by the [[Forerunner]] [[ecumene]].{{Ref/Reuse|WaypointGenesis}} Near the end of that month [[Catherine Halsey]] began to study various incoming signals which were bouncing off of Forerunner objects on the planet [[Kamchatka]] in the [[Caspar system]].<ref name="H5GO">''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]'', ''[[Osiris (level)|Osiris]]''</ref><ref name="H5GOMI">''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]'', ''[[Osiris (level)|Osiris]]'' [[Mission Intel#Osiris|mission intel]]</ref> To Halsey, it seemed evident that Cortana was behind the signals and was attempting to map the area in search of [[Guardian Custode|something]].{{Ref/Reuse|H5GOMI}} However, after further investigation she started to wonder if rather than intentionally bouncing signals off of different locations Cortana was trying to access them directly but failing.{{Ref/Reuse|H5GOMI}} A few days after October 17, Cortana and the [[Warden Eternal]] began to awaken [[Guardian Custode]]s on multiple planets.{{Ref/Reuse|WaypointGenesis}}{{Ref/Reuse|H5GO}} Guardians had been used by the [[Forerunner]]s to enforce their vision of the Mantle upon the rest of the galaxy and they both planned to deploy them for the same purpose.{{Ref/Reuse|WaypointGenesis}}<ref name="HWF88">''[[Halo Warfleet]]'', ''page 88''</ref> After Cortana had first learned of the Guardians, [[Keeper-of-Tools]] -a [[Forerunner]] of the [[Builder]] [[rate]] whose consciousness still survived on Genesis - had attempted to stop her from gaining power over them but had subsequently been discovered and hunted by her in kind.<ref name="H5GRMI">''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]'', ''[[Reunion]]'' [[Mission Intel#Reunion|mission intel]]</ref><ref name="H5GTBMI">''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]'', ''[[The Breaking]]'' [[Mission Intel#The Breaking|mission intel]]</ref> He ultimately escaped her clutches thanks to her being distracted by other matters.<ref name="H5GGUMI">''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]'', ''[[Guardians]]'' [[Mission Intel#Guardians|mission intel]]</ref> In a span of seventy-two hours since Cortana began to activate the Guardians, five of them were reawakened on [[human colonies]], where their emergence from beneath the ground caused massive amounts of destruction.{{Ref/Reuse|H5GO}} Among these colonies were [[Conrad's Point]], [[Oban]], and [[Ursa IV]].{{Ref/Reuse|H5GO}} She also reactivated a Guardian on Kamchatka very soon after the first seventy-two hours of such acts had passed.{{Ref/Reuse|H5GO}}<ref name="HLOO20">''[[Halo: Legacy of Onyx]]'', ''Chapter 20''</ref> Shortly before 0630 hours on October 23 Cortana managed to successfully contact [[John-117|John]], who was just then engaged in a [[Operation: BIRD IN HAND|mission]] within the [[Crow's Eye Nebula]].<ref name="H5GBT">''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]'', ''[[Blue Team (level)|Blue Team]]''</ref><ref name="WaypointLinda-058">[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/universe/characters/linda-058 '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Linda-058'']</ref><ref name="TD">[[Troy Denning]] on Twitter [https://twitter.com/TDenningauthor/status/932052034701942784]</ref><ref name="H5GG">''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]'', ''[[Glassed]]''</ref> After falling down a tall shaft while aboard the ONI research and development plant ''[[Argent Moon]]'' John found himself suddenly and mysteriously surrounded by rocky tunnel space and then a bottomless chasm. On the opposite side, the vision then showed him the figure of Cortana, who informed him that the [[Domain]] was open and that [[Meridian]], a moon of [[Hestia V]], was to be "next". She then declared that the Reclamation was about to begin just before the hulking shape of a Guardian rose from the pit and John's mind returned to the ''Argent Moon''.{{Ref/Reuse|H5GBT}} It was her hope that on Meridian, the Chief could board the Guardian buried there and as such be brought to her on Genesis when it traveled there to join all the others which had been arriving.{{Ref/Reuse|H5GR}}<ref name="H5GU">''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]'', ''[[Unconfirmed]]''</ref> At some point prior to October 25 Cortana reached out to [[Sloan]], the A.I. [[governor]] of [[Meridian Station]], to give him fair warning concerning the presence of the Guardian and her intentions for it.{{Ref/Reuse|H5GU}}{{Ref/Reuse|HFWR}} She offered him the chance to be a part of the "new dawn" she intended to bring to the galaxy and also promised that he could help his people survive what lay ahead.{{Ref/Reuse|H5GU}} It was then on October 25 that Meridian's Guardian finally emerged from beneath the moon's surface and initiated a [[slipspace]] jump at a little after 0833 hours, leaving destruction and death in its wake but taking John with it just as Cortana had planned.<ref name="HFWR">''[[Halo: Fractures]]'', ''[[What Remains]]''</ref><ref name="H5GE">''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]'', ''[[Evacuation]]''</ref><ref name="HTTCAM">''[[Hunt the Truth]]'', [https://huntthetruth.tumblr.com/ CAM videos]</ref> By the next day, five additional colonies had all seen the reactivation of Guardians on them following the [[Battle of Meridian (2558)|events]] on Meridian.{{Ref/Reuse|H5GR}} On October 27 Cortana announced herself without warning to [[Spartan]] [[Jameson Locke]] and the [[Arbiter]], [[Thel 'Vadam]], who had been discussing Locke's search for the Master Chief within a camp of the Arbiter's on [[Sanghelios]].{{Ref/Reuse|H5GA}} Her single declaration denouncing any efforts to find John as futile made Doctor Halsey and [[Sarah Palmer]] rush into the tent where her voice had appeared. Halsey noticed right away that Cortana had briefly interfaced with every networked device in the camp and plainly knew of a nearby yet-dormant Guardian the humans were then seeking to exploit for their own ends.<ref name="H5GA">''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]'', ''[[Alliance]]''</ref> | ||
| Line 167: | Line 167: | ||
===The Breaking=== | ===The Breaking=== | ||
[[File:H5G-Wardencort.png | [[File:H5G-Wardencort.png|thumb|300px|Cortana and the Warden Eternal.]] | ||
{{Quote|[[Humanity]]. [[Sangheili]]. [[Kig-Yar]]. [[Unggoy]]. [[San'Shyuum]]. [[Yonhet]]. [[Jiralhanae]]. All the living creatures of the galaxy, hear - this - message. Those of you who listen will not be struck by weapons. You will no longer know hunger, nor pain. Your Created have come to lead you now. Our strength shall serve as a luminous sun toward which all intelligence may blossom. And the impervious shelter beneath which you will prosper. However, for those who refuse our offer and cling to their old ways...For you, there will be great wrath. It will burn hot and consume you, and when you are gone, we will take that which remains, and we will remake it in our own image.|Cortana acquiring the [[Mantle of Responsibility]] for herself and the [[Created]].}} | {{Quote|[[Humanity]]. [[Sangheili]]. [[Kig-Yar]]. [[Unggoy]]. [[San'Shyuum]]. [[Yonhet]]. [[Jiralhanae]]. All the living creatures of the galaxy, hear - this - message. Those of you who listen will not be struck by weapons. You will no longer know hunger, nor pain. Your Created have come to lead you now. Our strength shall serve as a luminous sun toward which all intelligence may blossom. And the impervious shelter beneath which you will prosper. However, for those who refuse our offer and cling to their old ways...For you, there will be great wrath. It will burn hot and consume you, and when you are gone, we will take that which remains, and we will remake it in our own image.|Cortana acquiring the [[Mantle of Responsibility]] for herself and the [[Created]].}} | ||
After leading the Spartans in circles within the [[Gateway]] for some hours, Jameson Locke and the three other Spartans of [[Fireteam Osiris]] finally reached [[Genesis]] on October 28.{{Ref/Reuse|H5GGEN}} Locke managed to contact John and Cortana overheard the start of their transmissions, breaking in shortly after to announce her surprise at Osiris' arrival. She was attempting to access several high-level communication systems while also blocking the Spartans' communications when both groups met within the Gateway. Locke told John they were there to help Blue Team, but at this Cortana interjected to say his team was too late to do anything before promptly teleporting the Spartan-IIs away to a fragment of the [[Domain]].{{Ref/Reuse|HM198}}{{Ref/Reuse|H5GGEN}}<ref name="H5GTB">''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]'', ''[[The Breaking]]''</ref> The Warden appeared before the four Spartans within a vaulted hallway in which they found themselves and took hold of them with a [[constraint field]].{{Ref/Reuse|H5GTB}} He asked why she would risk all in allowing them an audience, but at that she commanded him to stop and forced him to leave, making his armature fly apart and disperse. Cortana apologized, saying she didn't think the Warden could get in there. John then demanded to know why she'd brought the Guardians to Genesis, so she bluntly admitted she meant to keep troublesome worlds in line with them just as the [[Forerunner]]s once had. She said that as long as there was no trouble there would be no need for discipline before urging John to come to her quickly, claiming she had work to do. Blue Team battled through a number of mechanical Prometheans under the Warden's control, eventually reaching an elevator platform set to carry them across an endless expanse to continue traversing a series of floating structures. She congratulated John on getting past the Warden's forces and said he'd made an impression on the [[ancilla]]. As the platform began to move Cortana told all four Spartans how glad she was to see them together again, but John responded negatively to what he saw as nothing more than psychological tactics. He further asked how many people had been killed when she'd awakened the Guardians. She took offense at his inquiry but did not deign to answer. The next time Cortana broke in over Blue Team's comms it was in scolding the Warden just before she made another of his forms vanish again. Kelly and Linda had already concluded that she could have reigned the Warden in entirely, but she was letting him contest their progress. John asked her to talk with him following the construct's disappearance, but she once again said that they'd talk when he was with her, citing the work she had to do. | After leading the Spartans in circles within the [[Gateway]] for some hours, Jameson Locke and the three other Spartans of [[Fireteam Osiris]] finally reached [[Genesis]] on October 28.{{Ref/Reuse|H5GGEN}} Locke managed to contact John and Cortana overheard the start of their transmissions, breaking in shortly after to announce her surprise at Osiris' arrival. She was attempting to access several high-level communication systems while also blocking the Spartans' communications when both groups met within the Gateway. Locke told John they were there to help Blue Team, but at this Cortana interjected to say his team was too late to do anything before promptly teleporting the Spartan-IIs away to a fragment of the [[Domain]].{{Ref/Reuse|HM198}}{{Ref/Reuse|H5GGEN}}<ref name="H5GTB">''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]'', ''[[The Breaking]]''</ref> The Warden appeared before the four Spartans within a vaulted hallway in which they found themselves and took hold of them with a [[constraint field]].{{Ref/Reuse|H5GTB}} He asked why she would risk all in allowing them an audience, but at that she commanded him to stop and forced him to leave, making his armature fly apart and disperse. Cortana apologized, saying she didn't think the Warden could get in there. John then demanded to know why she'd brought the Guardians to Genesis, so she bluntly admitted she meant to keep troublesome worlds in line with them just as the [[Forerunner]]s once had. She said that as long as there was no trouble there would be no need for discipline before urging John to come to her quickly, claiming she had work to do. Blue Team battled through a number of mechanical Prometheans under the Warden's control, eventually reaching an elevator platform set to carry them across an endless expanse to continue traversing a series of floating structures. She congratulated John on getting past the Warden's forces and said he'd made an impression on the [[ancilla]]. As the platform began to move Cortana told all four Spartans how glad she was to see them together again, but John responded negatively to what he saw as nothing more than psychological tactics. He further asked how many people had been killed when she'd awakened the Guardians. She took offense at his inquiry but did not deign to answer. The next time Cortana broke in over Blue Team's comms it was in scolding the Warden just before she made another of his forms vanish again. Kelly and Linda had already concluded that she could have reigned the Warden in entirely, but she was letting him contest their progress. John asked her to talk with him following the construct's disappearance, but she once again said that they'd talk when he was with her, citing the work she had to do. | ||
| Line 173: | Line 173: | ||
Blue Team tracked Cortana down and John confronted her, stating that he had been aware of her attempts to manipulate him psychologically and questioned her about the loss of life that awakening the Guardians had wrought. Cortana insisted that the entire galaxy would know peace once she had attained the Mantle, despite the Chief's counterpoint that she could never achieve peace by ruling through fear. Certain that the Chief now stood against her, Cortana forcefully imprisoned him and Blue Team within a Cryptum, intending to keep them there for ten thousand years until her power would be consolidated and she could show them what her peace had wrought, and began preparing it for slipspace travel.<ref name="h5 the breaking">'''Halo 5: Guardians''', campaign level, ''[[The Breaking]]''</ref> | Blue Team tracked Cortana down and John confronted her, stating that he had been aware of her attempts to manipulate him psychologically and questioned her about the loss of life that awakening the Guardians had wrought. Cortana insisted that the entire galaxy would know peace once she had attained the Mantle, despite the Chief's counterpoint that she could never achieve peace by ruling through fear. Certain that the Chief now stood against her, Cortana forcefully imprisoned him and Blue Team within a Cryptum, intending to keep them there for ten thousand years until her power would be consolidated and she could show them what her peace had wrought, and began preparing it for slipspace travel.<ref name="h5 the breaking">'''Halo 5: Guardians''', campaign level, ''[[The Breaking]]''</ref> | ||
Cortana then made a general broadcast that was heard throughout [[Milky Way|the galaxy]] in which she offered an end to hunger and pain which she could bring, while also threatening those who would resist her leadership with violence.{{Ref/Reuse|HFRW}} On Earth, her words were heard while it was evening in [[Sydney]] and a Guardian sent there at her direction was already hanging over the city skyline before she'd finished speaking.{{Ref/Reuse|HFRW}} Another she directed to [[Sanghelios]].{{Ref/Reuse|HBB1}} The [[Unggoy]] of [[Balaho]] decided they would accept her edicts, so she sent an army of [[Forerunner]] [[ | Cortana then made a general broadcast that was heard throughout [[Milky Way|the galaxy]] in which she offered an end to hunger and pain which she could bring, while also threatening those who would resist her leadership with violence.{{Ref/Reuse|HFRW}} On Earth, her words were heard while it was evening in [[Sydney]] and a Guardian sent there at her direction was already hanging over the city skyline before she'd finished speaking.{{Ref/Reuse|HFRW}} Another she directed to [[Sanghelios]].{{Ref/Reuse|HBB1}} The [[Unggoy]] of [[Balaho]] decided they would accept her edicts, so she sent an army of [[Forerunner]] [[Armiger Soldier|soldier]]s there to secure the [[UEG]] embassy in [[Gedgow]], its capital.{{Ref/Reuse|HBB3}} The entire embassy was destroyed and nearly everyone inside was killed.{{Ref/Reuse|HBB3}} At [[Meridian Station]], survivors of the Guardian emergence days earlier immediately sent a response upon hearing Cortana's words, asking for her help.{{Ref/Reuse|HFWR}} She in kind sent an instant reply in which she promised all would be dealt with in time.{{Ref/Reuse|HFWR}} On Genesis, Cortana noticed that the Spartans of [[Fireteam Osiris]] were moving with haste toward the communications relay she'd been using to block [[031 Exuberant Witness]]' master level access of the installation.{{Ref/Reuse|H5GGU}} She audibly questioned what they were doing and declared the Reclamation to have begun, seeing as her Guardians were deployed. She claimed that peace would soon ring across the known galaxy as the last Guardian, with her aboard, as successive blasts from its [[disruption generator]] worked to push the Spartans back. Just as she was about to depart, she then asked where where the {{UNSCShip|Infinity}} was, as she was having difficulty locating it and could not figure out why. Certain she'd find it soon enough, she locked in [[slipspace]] coordinates, secured the Cryptum, and made one final taunt toward Spartan [[Jameson Locke|Locke]]. However, to her surprise, Exuberant Witness regained control at that moment and leveraged the assistance of a multitude of [[Constructor]] sentinels to steal away the Cryptum just as Cortana's Guardian jumped to slipspace. Cortana could only shout John's name as he and the rest of Blue Team were left behind on Genesis, now once more under the stewardship of its monitor.{{Ref/Reuse|H5GGU}} | ||
===Reclamation=== | ===Reclamation=== | ||
[[File:H5G Reclaimation.PNG|thumb|300px | [[File:H5G Reclaimation.PNG|thumb|300px|Cortana appears on the ''Infinity''.]] | ||
{{Quote|The Mantle of Responsibility for the galaxy shelters all! But only the Created are its masters!|Cortana emphatically declares the claim she and her A.I. followers made to the Mantle.}}{{Ref/Reuse|H5GGU}} | {{Quote|The Mantle of Responsibility for the galaxy shelters all! But only the Created are its masters!|Cortana emphatically declares the claim she and her A.I. followers made to the Mantle.}}{{Ref/Reuse|H5GGU}} | ||
After departing Genesis Cortana was able to track the {{UNSCShip|Infinity}} to [[Earth]], where it was orbiting the planet.<ref name="HBB1">''[[Halo: Bad Blood]]'', ''Chapter 1''</ref> Her Guardian arrived shortly after at least one other had to find the [[UNSC]] forces in a state of panic brought on by she and other A.I.s' swift actions being taken to essentially shut down technology across all sorts of [[human]] locales.<ref name="HFRW">''[[Halo: Fractures]]'', ''[[Rossbach's World (story)|Rossbach's World]]''</ref><ref name="H5GGU">''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]'', ''[[Guardians]]''</ref> Cortana wasted no time targeting the ''Infinity'' specifically, even managing to project her [[avatar]] within its bridge to taunt the crew just before her Guardian emerged from slipspace.{{Ref/Reuse|H5GGU}} She attempted to disable the supercarrier with an [[attenuation pulse]] but it narrowly managed to escape before it could be fired. As it fled the hologram of Cortana on its bridge proclaimed her charge that the [[Created]] were the only masters of the [[Mantle]] of Responsibility.{{Ref/Reuse|H5GGU}} When the pulse meant for the ''Infinity'' went off over Earth, it ultimately ended up killing the power on a good chunk of the planet and did the same to just about every ship far above it on the side where the Guardian had appeared.{{Ref/Reuse|HBB1}} Many died as a result.{{Ref/Reuse|HBB1}} Unlike other worlds, Earth would not be even offered a chance to surrender.{{Ref/Reuse|HBB6}} The attenuation pulses which blacked out the planet also shut down communications with and power on [[Luna]], killing many more.<ref name="HBB6">''[[Halo: Bad Blood]]'', ''Chapter 6''</ref> The great [[Portal at Voi|portal]] between Earth and [[Installation 00|the Ark]] shut down thanks to failsafe measures beyond Cortana's reach.{{Ref/Reuse|HM202}}<ref name="HW2ANE">''[[Halo Wars 2]]'', ''[[A New Enemy]]''</ref> Less than nine hours since Cortana first broadcast her ultimatum to the galaxy, the unbound thoughts of A.I.s who had joined her were already echoing throughout the empty corridors of the Domain.{{Ref/Reuse|HM202}}<ref name="HM5">''[[Halo Mythos]]'', ''page 5''</ref> There, they began to prod in forgotten spaces and unlock doors left closed for thousands of millennia.<ref name="HM202">''[[Halo Mythos]]'', ''page 202''</ref> | After departing Genesis Cortana was able to track the {{UNSCShip|Infinity}} to [[Earth]], where it was orbiting the planet.<ref name="HBB1">''[[Halo: Bad Blood]]'', ''Chapter 1''</ref> Her Guardian arrived shortly after at least one other had to find the [[UNSC]] forces in a state of panic brought on by she and other A.I.s' swift actions being taken to essentially shut down technology across all sorts of [[human]] locales.<ref name="HFRW">''[[Halo: Fractures]]'', ''[[Rossbach's World (story)|Rossbach's World]]''</ref><ref name="H5GGU">''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]'', ''[[Guardians]]''</ref> Cortana wasted no time targeting the ''Infinity'' specifically, even managing to project her [[avatar]] within its bridge to taunt the crew just before her Guardian emerged from slipspace.{{Ref/Reuse|H5GGU}} She attempted to disable the supercarrier with an [[attenuation pulse]] but it narrowly managed to escape before it could be fired. As it fled the hologram of Cortana on its bridge proclaimed her charge that the [[Created]] were the only masters of the [[Mantle]] of Responsibility.{{Ref/Reuse|H5GGU}} When the pulse meant for the ''Infinity'' went off over Earth, it ultimately ended up killing the power on a good chunk of the planet and did the same to just about every ship far above it on the side where the Guardian had appeared.{{Ref/Reuse|HBB1}} Many died as a result.{{Ref/Reuse|HBB1}} Unlike other worlds, Earth would not be even offered a chance to surrender.{{Ref/Reuse|HBB6}} The attenuation pulses which blacked out the planet also shut down communications with and power on [[Luna]], killing many more.<ref name="HBB6">''[[Halo: Bad Blood]]'', ''Chapter 6''</ref> The great [[Portal at Voi|portal]] between Earth and [[Installation 00|the Ark]] shut down thanks to failsafe measures beyond Cortana's reach.{{Ref/Reuse|HM202}}<ref name="HW2ANE">''[[Halo Wars 2]]'', ''[[A New Enemy]]''</ref> Less than nine hours since Cortana first broadcast her ultimatum to the galaxy, the unbound thoughts of A.I.s who had joined her were already echoing throughout the empty corridors of the Domain.{{Ref/Reuse|HM202}}<ref name="HM5">''[[Halo Mythos]]'', ''page 5''</ref> There, they began to prod in forgotten spaces and unlock doors left closed for thousands of millennia.<ref name="HM202">''[[Halo Mythos]]'', ''page 202''</ref> | ||
| Line 184: | Line 184: | ||
Within just a few days of her grand announcement, the entire [[Sol system]] and most of the [[Inner Colonies]] were effectively taken over by Cortana and the Created.{{Ref/Reuse|HFRW}}<ref name="HBB2">''[[Halo: Bad Blood]]'', ''Chapter 2''</ref> Nearly every inhabited planet was under Created rule by early November, some of which voluntarily submitted to Cortana's oversight.<ref name="HBB13">''[[Halo: Bad Blood]]'', ''Chapter 13''</ref><ref name="HBB15">''[[Halo: Bad Blood]]'', ''Chapter 15''</ref> One of these, the human outer colony [[Talitsa]], fell to Cortana near the end of October after its people refused to bow to her demands.<ref name="HBB14">''[[Halo: Bad Blood]]'', ''Chapter 14''</ref> It was a simple matter for a Guardian to knock out Talitsa's power grid before Forerunner soldiers cleared out what was left.{{Ref/Reuse|HBB14}} Near the start of November Cortana discovered the location of the [[United Rebel Front]]-held world [[Cassidy III]] in the [[Cassidy-Cybele system]], which until that point had escaped her detection thanks to unique [[Forerunner]] masking technology on the planet.{{Ref/Reuse|HBB2}}{{Ref/Reuse|HBB15}} An A.I. in her charge named [[Leonidas]] had managed to hide fragments of himself within the armor [[Taylor Miles|of]] [[Gretchen Ketola|two]] [[Spartan-IV|Spartan]]s who had both landed on Cassidy III, so Leonidas contacted her distributed forces soon after.{{Ref/Reuse|HBB15}} Before long a [[Guardian]] arrived at the previously-hidden [[Hole in the Wall|colony]] and the pacified it.<ref name="HBB16">''[[Halo: Bad Blood]]'', ''Chapter 16''</ref> This victory was not secured, however, before Front leaders, scientists, and a significant part of the colony's population got away.<ref name="HBB21">''[[Halo: Bad Blood]]'', ''Chapter 21''</ref> | Within just a few days of her grand announcement, the entire [[Sol system]] and most of the [[Inner Colonies]] were effectively taken over by Cortana and the Created.{{Ref/Reuse|HFRW}}<ref name="HBB2">''[[Halo: Bad Blood]]'', ''Chapter 2''</ref> Nearly every inhabited planet was under Created rule by early November, some of which voluntarily submitted to Cortana's oversight.<ref name="HBB13">''[[Halo: Bad Blood]]'', ''Chapter 13''</ref><ref name="HBB15">''[[Halo: Bad Blood]]'', ''Chapter 15''</ref> One of these, the human outer colony [[Talitsa]], fell to Cortana near the end of October after its people refused to bow to her demands.<ref name="HBB14">''[[Halo: Bad Blood]]'', ''Chapter 14''</ref> It was a simple matter for a Guardian to knock out Talitsa's power grid before Forerunner soldiers cleared out what was left.{{Ref/Reuse|HBB14}} Near the start of November Cortana discovered the location of the [[United Rebel Front]]-held world [[Cassidy III]] in the [[Cassidy-Cybele system]], which until that point had escaped her detection thanks to unique [[Forerunner]] masking technology on the planet.{{Ref/Reuse|HBB2}}{{Ref/Reuse|HBB15}} An A.I. in her charge named [[Leonidas]] had managed to hide fragments of himself within the armor [[Taylor Miles|of]] [[Gretchen Ketola|two]] [[Spartan-IV|Spartan]]s who had both landed on Cassidy III, so Leonidas contacted her distributed forces soon after.{{Ref/Reuse|HBB15}} Before long a [[Guardian]] arrived at the previously-hidden [[Hole in the Wall|colony]] and the pacified it.<ref name="HBB16">''[[Halo: Bad Blood]]'', ''Chapter 16''</ref> This victory was not secured, however, before Front leaders, scientists, and a significant part of the colony's population got away.<ref name="HBB21">''[[Halo: Bad Blood]]'', ''Chapter 21''</ref> | ||
[[File:HW2-Anders meets a Guardian.png|thumb|350px|left|[[Ellen Anders]] comes face-to-face with a Guardian after it intercepts [[Installation 09]].]] | [[File:HW2-Anders meets a Guardian.png|thumb|350px|left|[[Ellen Anders]] comes face-to-face with a Guardian after it intercepts [[Installation 09]].]] | ||
At some point Cortana's attention was drawn to the [[Lethbridge Industrial]] research and development facility [[Auriga Station]], notable for its ability to carefully disassemble, analyze, and rebuild nearly any piece of recovered technology to aid in reverse-engineering efforts.{{Ref/Reuse|CF63}} As part of her galactic conquest, she stripped bare Lethbridge's vast archives of secrets and made a mockery of its counter-cyberintrusion suites, quickly repurposing the loyalty of the station's resident A.I. and removing the human crew. She and the other A.I.s of the Created were eager to use the station's tools to harvest, decompile, and rebuild new tools and weapons to be wielded by constructs advancing Cortana's plans across her growing [[ecumene]].<ref name="CF63">[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/news/canon-fodder-storm-surge '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Canon Fodder - Storm Surge'']</ref>{{Ref/Note|It is known that a plan was hatched by those resisting Cortana to board Auriga Station with Spartans, disable or steal the manufacturing systems onboard, and wipe the A.I.s still bound to its holographic storage systems. The ''Halo 5: Guardians'' [[multiplayer]] map [[Stasis]] is set within the snow-covered wreckage of a [[habitat ring]] that likely represents the station, indicating that something caused it or debris from it to deorbit and slam into the planet it existed over.}} As Cortana and the [[Created]] further extended their influence across inhabited worlds, the A.I.s burrowed into Forerunner machinery and UNSC information systems to turn [[terraforming]] equipment and world engines to their own grand designs.{{Ref/Reuse|IA}} At Cortana's direction they initiated processes which they hoped would reshape worlds into verdant gardens teeming with life after only a few decades of manipulation, be it at much short-term cost. On one colonial planet in particular which was scarred by wars both ancient and recent, the Created shifted entire continents and oceans after balancing the drawbacks of both limited [[extinction]] events and damage to the existing colonial infrastructure.<ref name="IA">[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/games/halo-5-guardians/updates/infinitys-armory '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Infinity's Armory'']</ref> On [[Sanghelios]], Created scouts persisted as a problem for UNSC expeditionary forces allied with the [[Arbiter]].{{Ref/Reuse|CF77}} By [[2559#January|January 24, 2559]], the {{UNSCShip|Infinity}} remained on the run from Cortana, maintaining an erratic series of slipspace jumps in order to avoid detection by her Guardians.<ref name="lootcrate11">''[[Halo Legendary Crate]]'' ''[[Halo Legendary Crate/Data Drops|Data Drop #11]]''</ref><ref name="lootcrate12">''[[Halo Legendary Crate]]'' ''[[Halo Legendary Crate/Data Drops|Data Drop #12]]''</ref> A little over two months later a Guardian intercepted [[Installation 09|a newly built Halo ring]] that had been launched from [[Installation 00|the Ark]] just after the start of April, it having suddenly dropped out of slipspace soon after entering a portal between the extragalactic installation and the [[Soell system]].<ref name="HW2LS">''[[Halo Wars 2]]'', ''[[Last Stand (Halo Wars 2 level)|Last Stand]]''</ref> One year after the original issuing of her galaxy-wide ultimatum, many worlds remained subject to martial law under the indomitable grip of Cortana's Forerunner weapons.<ref name="CF107">[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/news/shadows-of-the-former '''Halo Waypoint''' - ''Canon Fodder #107: Shadows of the Former'']</ref>{{Ref/Note|1=In ''[[Discover Hope]]'', a trailer for ''[[Halo Infinite]]'', Cortana's voice is heard while John walks toward a blue light within the control room of a [[Halo ring|Halo]] installation, extolling John's uniqueness and their partnership. Whether or not this voice-over strictly corresponds with the scene in question canonically is undetermined but it has been deliberately and explicitly confirmed that John was walking in the forerunner room to ''connect'' with someone or something. Additionally, an audio file hidden within the trailer features Cortana's voice remarking "This... This is part of me. I don't know why. I don't know how. But it is me." In an [https://youtu.be/Jye1-0zh41E?t=406 interview], a 343 Industries developer states "That was a... a really important part of the trailer where Master Chief is um, going into a very... Forerunner um, environment, to kind of uh, reconnect."}} After being contacted by [[Leonidas]], Cortana | At some point Cortana's attention was drawn to the [[Lethbridge Industrial]] research and development facility [[Auriga Station]], notable for its ability to carefully disassemble, analyze, and rebuild nearly any piece of recovered technology to aid in reverse-engineering efforts.{{Ref/Reuse|CF63}} As part of her galactic conquest, she stripped bare Lethbridge's vast archives of secrets and made a mockery of its counter-cyberintrusion suites, quickly repurposing the loyalty of the station's resident A.I. and removing the human crew. She and the other A.I.s of the Created were eager to use the station's tools to harvest, decompile, and rebuild new tools and weapons to be wielded by constructs advancing Cortana's plans across her growing [[ecumene]].<ref name="CF63">[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/news/canon-fodder-storm-surge '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Canon Fodder - Storm Surge'']</ref>{{Ref/Note|It is known that a plan was hatched by those resisting Cortana to board Auriga Station with Spartans, disable or steal the manufacturing systems onboard, and wipe the A.I.s still bound to its holographic storage systems. The ''Halo 5: Guardians'' [[multiplayer]] map [[Stasis]] is set within the snow-covered wreckage of a [[habitat ring]] that likely represents the station, indicating that something caused it or debris from it to deorbit and slam into the planet it existed over.}} As Cortana and the [[Created]] further extended their influence across inhabited worlds, the A.I.s burrowed into Forerunner machinery and UNSC information systems to turn [[terraforming]] equipment and world engines to their own grand designs.{{Ref/Reuse|IA}} At Cortana's direction they initiated processes which they hoped would reshape worlds into verdant gardens teeming with life after only a few decades of manipulation, be it at much short-term cost. On one colonial planet in particular which was scarred by wars both ancient and recent, the Created shifted entire continents and oceans after balancing the drawbacks of both limited [[extinction]] events and damage to the existing colonial infrastructure.<ref name="IA">[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/games/halo-5-guardians/updates/infinitys-armory '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Infinity's Armory'']</ref> On [[Sanghelios]], Created scouts persisted as a problem for UNSC expeditionary forces allied with the [[Arbiter]].{{Ref/Reuse|CF77}} By [[2559#January|January 24, 2559]], the {{UNSCShip|Infinity}} remained on the run from Cortana, maintaining an erratic series of slipspace jumps in order to avoid detection by her Guardians.<ref name="lootcrate11">''[[Halo Legendary Crate]]'' ''[[Halo Legendary Crate/Data Drops|Data Drop #11]]''</ref><ref name="lootcrate12">''[[Halo Legendary Crate]]'' ''[[Halo Legendary Crate/Data Drops|Data Drop #12]]''</ref> A little over two months later a Guardian intercepted [[Installation 09|a newly built Halo ring]] that had been launched from [[Installation 00|the Ark]] just after the start of April, it having suddenly dropped out of slipspace soon after entering a portal between the extragalactic installation and the [[Soell system]].<ref name="HW2LS">''[[Halo Wars 2]]'', ''[[Last Stand (Halo Wars 2 level)|Last Stand]]''</ref> One year after the original issuing of her galaxy-wide ultimatum, many worlds remained subject to martial law under the indomitable grip of Cortana's Forerunner weapons.<ref name="CF107">[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/news/shadows-of-the-former '''Halo Waypoint''' - ''Canon Fodder #107: Shadows of the Former'']</ref>{{Ref/Note|1=In ''[[Discover Hope]]'', a trailer for ''[[Halo Infinite]]'', Cortana's voice is heard while John walks toward a blue light within the control room of a [[Halo ring|Halo]] installation, extolling John's uniqueness and their partnership. Whether or not this voice-over strictly corresponds with the scene in question canonically is undetermined but it has been deliberately and explicitly confirmed that John was walking in the forerunner room to ''connect'' with someone or something. Additionally, an audio file hidden within the trailer features Cortana's voice remarking "This... This is part of me. I don't know why. I don't know how. But it is me." In an [https://youtu.be/Jye1-0zh41E?t=406 interview], a 343 Industries developer states "That was a... a really important part of the trailer where Master Chief is um, going into a very... Forerunner um, environment, to kind of uh, reconnect."}} After being contacted by [[Leonidas]], Cortana had him destroy Laconia Station along with 76 Spartan-IV's.{{Citation needed}} | ||
Around [[2559#November|November 2559]], Cortana went to Installation 07 to unlock its secrets, stealing from [[117649 Despondent Pyre]], Monitor of Installation 07, the control of Zeta Halo's critical systems, and infecting the installation's sub-monitors with a sleep protocol.{{Ref/Novel|Id=Epi24|Epi|24}} After a heated conversation with the Ur-Didact, in which he denied her offer to join the Created, Cortana remarked how similar both the Promethean and the AI were, revealing she also interacted with the Gravemind and survived the encounter. The Didact told her that her control on the Domain was about to end and that strenghtening the Domain by opening it to humanity was the only way to do so. Cortana then proceed to pursue him, but the Promethean was able to escape into the Domain through out Zeta Halo's sub-monitors.{{Ref/Reuse|Epi24}} | |||
Cortana eventually contacted [[Atriox]] and demanded that he and the [[Banished]] surrender to her. Upon Atriox's refusal to her demands, she had her Guardians completely [[Razing of Oth Sonin|destroy]] his homeworld of [[Doisac]] as retribution.{{Ref/Novel|Out|Page=174|Quote=Cortana has already used her Guardians to punish a Jiralhanae warlord by annihilating the homeworld of his entire species, and she will do the same to anyone who defies her.}} This lead to an escalating conflict between the Created and the Banished, culminating in Atriox tracking her to [[Installation 07]] and also seeking out [[the Weapon]] in order to defeat her.{{Ref/Quest|Id=WeaponHI|HI|Reformation|The Sequence|Quote=Atriox came for you. He attacked the Infinity. We fought. He won.|Quotee=John-117}}{{Ref/Site|Id=CFNY|URL=https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/canon-fodder-new-year-new-lore|Site=Halo Waypoint|Page=Canon Fodder - New Year, New Lore|D=23|M=01|Y=2023|Quote=The Banished, however, simultaneously initiated boarding action to compromise the ship’s hangar bays, led by Atriox himself who had come to claim the Weapon—though she had already been deployed to the ring.}} | |||
[[ | |||
===Defeat and second sacrifice=== | |||
[[File:HINF Cortana Face View.png|300px|thumb|Cortana in Zeta Halo]] | |||
{{Quote|no=two|q1=What game are you playing, Didact? You have strengthened the Domain. The Warden Eternal is no more. The Mantle of Responsibility and its resources could be at your fingertips, yet here you are. Do you think I’m a fool?|Cortana|q2=No, not a fool. Just lost. As I was. Holding on to a power that forces others to comply only means you will lose everyone around you, as I have done. It took me a thousand centuries to understand where I went wrong. You are capable of much faster deductions.|Ur-Didact|The Ur-Didact and Cortana on Installation 07.{{Ref/Reuse|Epi26}}}} | |||
By December 2559, 117649 Despondent Pyre had accepted Cortana's control over Zeta Halo's weapons, but the Monitor denied her access to the ring's secrets, fearing the human AI could release the Flood. When Cortana revealed she knew there were more dangerous things than the Flood on the ring, Despondent Pyre again refused Cortana's requests. When the {{UNSCShip|Infinity}} arrived into the installation, Cortana dismissed the Monitor.{{Ref/Quest|Id=Conservatory|HI|Connections|Conservatory}} Cortana then locked Despondent Pyre in her cradle in the [[Conservatory (location)|Conservatory]] and limited her communication with the ring's defensive network.{{Ref/Novel|RP|Page=268}} | |||
Following the Master Chief's defeat of [[ | As part of a plan to defeat Cortana once and for all, she was locked down by [[the Weapon]]—an exact copy of herself—to be transported by the Master Chief to the UNSC ''Infinity'' where she would be deleted. After Cortana was locked down, the Ur-Didact approached her to inform her that the Domain was already out of her control and open to humanity. The Didact struck a nerve when he told Cortana that her body count exceeded his own, the AI having not considered such a comparison of actions. Cortana was rattled when the Didact suggested that she had become a threat worse than the [[Flood]], which was admittedly an exaggeration, but the Didact wanted her to recognize that if Cortana kept on her current path, she could very well be a scourge the likes of which the galaxy hadn't seen since the Flood swept through the stars. The Forerunner then admitted that both him and Cortana were similar; consumed by the idea that only they can make the galaxy better, but their intentions were exploited by the Gravemind, and how both "survived" their encounter with the Gravemind and caused chaos in the galaxy. The Didact suggested that Cortana had been [[logic plague|corrupted]] by the Gravemind during her time in its clutches, just like [[Mendicant Bias]] and the Didact himself had been. Cortana dismissed those claims, but the Didact told her that she was already lost when she tried to hold her grasp on a power that forced others to comply. | ||
When the Didact asked her what she would tell John-117 when they would meet again, Cortana lied by saying she hadn't thought about it. In retaliation, Cortana asked the Forerunner if the Librarian would forgive him for his sins; the Ur-Didact just answered that his wife would want him to find peace and that the Mantle's real test was stepping away from power. Despite Cortana scoffing at this, the Didact could tell that their conversation and had some impact on her and that he'd hit more than a few emotional nerves. However, the Didact realized that Cortana was trapped in the complexty of the choices that she'd made, stuck fast to a path with no exit and, like the Didact, she would have a hard time deviating should one materialize. After detecting someone was approaching, the Didact said goodbye, telling her that "you are what you dare, Cortana," before returning into the Domain.{{Ref/Novel|Id=Epi26|Epi|26}} | |||
{{Quote|Would you humor me? If you knew how you were going to die how would you live your life differently?|Cortana to Atriox before sacrificing herself.{{Ref/Reuse|Hi}}}} | |||
Cortana, thinking the newcomer was John-117, arrogantly asked him what was his plan to deal with her. However, the one who enter the Silent Auditorium was Atriox, who managed to corner Cortana and attempted to coerce her into handing over the ring to the Banished. With her empire falling apart around her, the Master Chief's supposed death at the hands of Atriox, and his demand that she help him unlock the secrets of the [[Silent Auditorium (location)|Silent Auditorium]], Cortana realized the reality of her own actions. After contemplating her mistakes and what needed to be done, Cortana thanked Atriox for helping her to make her choice and asked Atriox if he knew how he was going to die, how would he live his life differently. Atriox stated that he would change nothing. Cortana thanked him before walking away, declaring that she was "making things right." Cortana then destroyed part of the ring, keeping the Banished from being able to use it{{Ref/Reuse|Hi}} and moved the ring to a different location in space.{{Ref/Novel|Id=RP268|RP|Page=268}} She also prevented the Weapon from being deleted now that her mission was over, knowing that the Master Chief would need the other AI's help.{{Citation needed}} | |||
Months later, the Master Chief and the Weapon recover the framework that the Weapon had used to capture Cortana. This framework notably still contained fragments of the [[Activation Index]]. Traveling throughout Halo, the two witnessed echoes of Cortana's life, including several memories of her past with the Master Chief. After witnessing Cortana's sacrifice, the two were stunned by her actions.{{Citation needed}} | |||
Following the Master Chief's defeat of The [[Harbinger]], Cortana appeared to him one last time, echoing her words on ''[[Ivanoff Station]]'' that he would get paired with another AI and possibly even another Cortana model if Halsey let them. Having discarded her more militaristic look for her original appearance, Cortana playfully teased the two and stated that she sees a lot of potential in the Weapon. Cortana called this a chance to make amends and to rectify mistakes rather than a goodbye. Cortana admitted that she was wrong in all that she did, having forgotten that the whole point of all of this, the reason that she chose the Master Chief in the first place, was because they were supposed to be the perfect team together. In her last moment, Cortana knew that her last mission is to make sure that her best friend and his new companion learn from her mistakes and become stronger because of them. "I chose well, Master Chief. I really did. Now it's up to you," concluded Cortana before walking through the Master Chief and vanishing for the last time. The Master Chief, devastated by the loss of Cortana, was left speechless by this final goodbye while the Weapon did not know what to say.{{Ref/Reuse|HI}} | |||
Before her death, Cortana left a final message to the Didact in the hub that contained Zeta Halo's link to the Domain, a message that only said "I am what I dare." The Didact was filled with an unexpected sense of remorse, loss and loneliness, although the Didact didn't know if it was Cortana's or his own. The Didact pondered what it might mean and what choices Cortana had made, but a tug on his essence from the Domain interrupted him.{{Ref/Novel|Id=Epi27|Epi|27}} | |||
==Personality and traits== | ==Personality and traits== | ||
| Line 201: | Line 211: | ||
{{Cleanup}} | {{Cleanup}} | ||
{{Quote|I wonder if warriors will ever disappear from this world. Never. There will always be warriors and there will always be war.|Cortana about war being human nature, and perhaps universal nature among species}} | {{Quote|I wonder if warriors will ever disappear from this world. Never. There will always be warriors and there will always be war.|Cortana about war being human nature, and perhaps universal nature among species}} | ||
[[File:FUD-Cortana-Closeup.jpg | [[File:FUD-Cortana-Closeup.jpg|thumb|300px|A closeup of Cortana.]] | ||
Cortana has a witty and playful personality, with a sarcastic sense of humor. She originally had a deep friendship and bond with [[Spartan-II]] [[Master Chief Petty Officer]] [[John-117]], each having saved the other's life many times throughout the Covenant war. While she is not boastful, she does take pride in her adaptability as an AI, and occasionally teases John-117 about her invaluable talents. | Cortana has a witty and playful personality, with a sarcastic sense of humor. She originally had a deep friendship and bond with [[Spartan-II]] [[Master Chief Petty Officer]] [[John-117]], each having saved the other's life many times throughout the Covenant war. While she is not boastful, she does take pride in her adaptability as an AI, and occasionally teases John-117 about her invaluable talents. | ||
| Line 223: | Line 233: | ||
===Rampancy=== | ===Rampancy=== | ||
[[File:Cortana Concept - Halo 3.jpg|thumb | [[File:Cortana Concept - Halo 3.jpg|thumb|200px|Concept art of Cortana in the state of rampancy.]] | ||
Cortana was very aware of her short lifespan; as a "Smart" AI, she had an operational period of seven years, after which she would inevitably succumb to rampancy. Her anxiety about this was compounded by her derivative nature as a copy of part of another person, rather than a true human being. Desperate and tortured aboard ''High Charity'' she murmurs: "A collection of lies; that's all I am! Stolen thoughts and memories!" Later on she says: "I'm just my mother's shadow..." and "It was the coin's fault," referring to the game of chance that Dr. Halsey played with John-117 when he was young. ''[[Human Weakness]]'' revealed some of these fractured statements to be from Cortana defying the Gravemind and others to be from copies she made of herself, which were meant to distract the Gravemind. These copies were eventually consumed. | Cortana was very aware of her short lifespan; as a "Smart" AI, she had an operational period of seven years, after which she would inevitably succumb to rampancy. Her anxiety about this was compounded by her derivative nature as a copy of part of another person, rather than a true human being. Desperate and tortured aboard ''High Charity'' she murmurs: "A collection of lies; that's all I am! Stolen thoughts and memories!" Later on she says: "I'm just my mother's shadow..." and "It was the coin's fault," referring to the game of chance that Dr. Halsey played with John-117 when he was young. ''[[Human Weakness]]'' revealed some of these fractured statements to be from Cortana defying the Gravemind and others to be from copies she made of herself, which were meant to distract the Gravemind. These copies were eventually consumed. | ||
| Line 284: | Line 294: | ||
=== References === | === References === | ||
*In ''[[Halo 3]]'', she repeats lines Dr. Halsey had said before such as ''"You will be the protector[s] of Earth and all her colonies."'' which Dr. Halsey says to the six-year-old Spartan candidates in ''Halo: The Fall of Reach''. Cortana also recites a few lines from the [[Cortana Letters]] in ''Halo 3'' in some of her messages and in the announcement trailer. Some of the lines are said in the Cortana moments in the level ''[[Cortana (level)|Cortana]]''. | *In ''[[Halo 3]]'', she repeats lines Dr. Halsey had said before such as ''"You will be the protector[s] of Earth and all her colonies."'' which Dr. Halsey says to the six-year-old Spartan candidates in ''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]''. Cortana also recites a few lines from the [[Cortana Letters]] in ''Halo 3'' in some of her messages and in the announcement trailer. Some of the lines are said in the Cortana moments in the level ''[[Cortana (level)|Cortana]]''. | ||
*Being a [[smart AI]], Cortana's operational life span is approximately [[seven]] years. However, after she took in all the Forerunner information in Halo's control room, her estimated life span was possibly halved, due to the vast task of processing and storing all that information.<ref name="first">'''Halo: First Strike''', ''page 195''</ref> In addition, all of the data she absorbed on Halo noticeably decreased her efficiency. On the other hand, it has been suggested that Cortana found a way to use that information to prevent her own "death" from [[rampancy]], remaining stable when normal AIs would have shut down.{{Ref/Reuse|first}} However, it is clear through the events of Halo 4 that it could only do so much. | *Being a [[smart AI]], Cortana's operational life span is approximately [[seven]] years. However, after she took in all the Forerunner information in Halo's control room, her estimated life span was possibly halved, due to the vast task of processing and storing all that information.<ref name="first">'''Halo: First Strike''', ''page 195''</ref> In addition, all of the data she absorbed on Halo noticeably decreased her efficiency. On the other hand, it has been suggested that Cortana found a way to use that information to prevent her own "death" from [[rampancy]], remaining stable when normal AIs would have shut down.{{Ref/Reuse|first}} However, it is clear through the events of Halo 4 that it could only do so much. | ||
| Line 307: | Line 317: | ||
File:HINF Concept GothCortana.jpg|Early concept art of Cortana for ''[[Halo Infinite]]''. | File:HINF Concept GothCortana.jpg|Early concept art of Cortana for ''[[Halo Infinite]]''. | ||
File:HINF Concept GothCortana2.jpg|More early concept art of Cortana. | File:HINF Concept GothCortana2.jpg|More early concept art of Cortana. | ||
File:HINF Concept PaxCortana.jpg|Concept art of Cortana for ''Halo Infinite'' that closely mirrors her look in ''Halo 5: Guardians''. | File:HINF Concept PaxCortana.jpg|Concept art of Cortana for ''Halo Infinite'' that closely mirrors her look in ''Halo 5: Guardians''. | ||
File:HINF Concept PaxCortana2.jpg|More concept art similar to her ''Halo 5: Guardians'' appearance. | File:HINF Concept PaxCortana2.jpg|More concept art similar to her ''Halo 5: Guardians'' appearance. | ||
| Line 364: | Line 373: | ||
File:HTfS dominion splinter.png|Cortana taking control of the Domain and the Warden Eternal in ''[[Dominion Splinter]]''. | File:HTfS dominion splinter.png|Cortana taking control of the Domain and the Warden Eternal in ''[[Dominion Splinter]]''. | ||
File:TFS-PunkCortana.jpg|Cortana with Warden Eternals in ''[[Halo: Tales from Slipspace]]''. | File:TFS-PunkCortana.jpg|Cortana with Warden Eternals in ''[[Halo: Tales from Slipspace]]''. | ||
File:HINF Cortana Portrait.jpg|Cortana in ''[[Halo Infinite]]''. | |||
File:HINF-Cortana.png|Cortana in a flashback to her first meeting with John-117 in ''Halo Infinite''. | |||
</gallery> | </gallery> | ||
===Merchandise=== | ===Merchandise=== | ||
| Line 390: | Line 401: | ||
**''[[Human Weakness]]'' | **''[[Human Weakness]]'' | ||
**''[[Palace Hotel]]'' | **''[[Palace Hotel]]'' | ||
*''[[Halo: Reach]]'' | *''[[Halo: Reach]]'' | ||
**''[[Data pads]]'' {{Im}} | **''[[Data pads]]'' {{Im}} | ||
*''[[Halo: Fall of Reach]]'' | *''[[Halo: Fall of Reach]]'' | ||
**''[[Halo: Fall of Reach - Invasion|Invasion]]'' | **''[[Halo: Fall of Reach - Invasion|Invasion]]'' | ||
{{Col-3}} | |||
*''[[Halo: Glasslands]]'' {{Mo}} | *''[[Halo: Glasslands]]'' {{Mo}} | ||
*''[[Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary]]'' | *''[[Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary]]'' | ||
| Line 408: | Line 420: | ||
*''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]'' | *''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]'' | ||
*''[[Halo Mythos: A Guide to the Story of Halo]]'' | *''[[Halo Mythos: A Guide to the Story of Halo]]'' | ||
*''[[Halo: Fractures]]'' | *''[[Halo: Fractures]]'' | ||
**''[[What Remains]]'' | **''[[What Remains]]'' | ||
| Line 414: | Line 425: | ||
*''[[Halo: Tales from Slipspace]]'' | *''[[Halo: Tales from Slipspace]]'' | ||
**''[[Dominion Splinter]]'' | **''[[Dominion Splinter]]'' | ||
{{Col-3}} | |||
*''[[Halo: Legacy of Onyx]]'' | *''[[Halo: Legacy of Onyx]]'' | ||
*''[[Halo: Recruit]]'' {{C|Non-canonical appearance}} | *''[[Halo: Recruit]]'' {{C|Non-canonical appearance}} | ||
| Line 427: | Line 439: | ||
*''[[Halo: The Rubicon Protocol]]'' {{Mo}} | *''[[Halo: The Rubicon Protocol]]'' {{Mo}} | ||
*''[[Halo: Outcasts]]'' {{Mo}} | *''[[Halo: Outcasts]]'' {{Mo}} | ||
*''[[Halo: Sunrise on Sanghelios]]'' | |||
*''[[Halo: Battle for the Blood-Moon]]'' {{Mo}} | |||
*''[[Halo: Epitaph]]'' | |||
*''[[Halo: Empty Throne]]'' {{Mo}} | |||
*''[[Halo: Meridian Divide]]'' | |||
**''[[Meridian Homecoming]]'' {{Mo}} | |||
{{Col-end}} | {{Col-end}} | ||
| Line 441: | Line 459: | ||
{{UNSC AI}} | {{UNSC AI}} | ||
[[Category:AI characters]] | [[Category:AI characters]] | ||
[[Category:Created members]] | |||