Graham Alban
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- "I have taken my own life because the SPARTAN-II program is a crime against humanity, and I should have had the moral courage to refuse to work on it. I did not. I complied."
- — Graham Alban on his reason for committing suicide.[2]
Graham J. Alban, MD, MCNS, MCPP was a neuroscientist and psychologist who worked in the Office of Naval Intelligence's Special Projects division. He became disillusioned with the perceived injustices he found himself willingly committing through the SPARTAN-II program, leading to his suicide in 2532.[1] His brain was later used in the creation of the AI Black-Box.[3]
Biography
Suicide and brain donation
Dr. Alban expressed severe remorse for his actions in the SPARTAN-II program, calling the entire project "morally indefensible". He considered his actions (or rather, inaction) to be more reprehensible than Dr. Catherine Halsey's, on the basis of his insistence that unlike himself, Halsey was devoid of a sense of morality and that the guilt she displayed was only a facade. In March 2532,[1] Alban committed suicide in a way that he was confident would cause little damage to his brain. He asked Vice Admiral Margaret Parangosky to preserve his brain and use it to create an artificial intelligence that would be used to support and protect SPARTAN-IIs.[4]
Parangosky granted Alban's wish. In August 2552, over 20 years after his death, Alban's brain was used as the template for an AI: Black-Box (BBX-8995-1).[5] Black-Box would retain elements of his donor's personality, such as his hatred of Catherine Halsey and a deferential, apologetic demeanor toward Staffan Sentzke, the father of one of the abductees.
Personality and traits
Dr. Alban and then-Vice Admiral Parangosky regarded each other as friends, a sympathy the latter extended toward Black-Box. Alban was an atheist or agnostic, and believed that if God did exist, then He was an extremely neglectful father to have allowed humanity to behave in the way it does. He expressed in his suicide note that if he were surprised by the existence of either Heaven or Hell, then he would put in a good word for Parangosky at whichever gate he arrived in front of.[5]
Production note
According to Halo: Mortal Dictata, Dr. Alban's suicide occurred in 2523. However, his reference to the Covenant dates his suicide to 2525 or later. Author Karen Traviss has confirmed that his year of death is supposed to be 2532.[1]
Gallery
File with Alban's name on it of an image of an unidentified person's skeleton
A scan of someone's brain with Alban's name on it
Someone's spinal cord with Alban's name
More scans with Alban's name on it
List of appearances
- Halo: Mortal Dictata (First appearance)
- Hunt the Truth
