Gravemind: Difference between revisions

When the Flood assimilate the entire ecosystem of a planet, a Gravemind will evolve into a [[Key Mind]]. These enormous nodes of the Flood collective consciousness possess tremendous processing power, being able to outsmart even the most powerful [[Forerunner]] artificial intelligences.<ref name="silentium">'''Halo: Silentium''', ''String 18''</ref> Theoretically, when the Flood infection has become too large for even the Key Minds to control — or when all life in the galaxy has been consumed — the Flood infection will reach the [[Intergalactic Stage]]. At this point, the Flood will use all resources that it has at its disposal to leave the galaxy, with the intent to create a new Gravemind elsewhere.

Although its consciousness is distributed throughout all Flood forms in range, a Gravemind is typically, if not always, centralized within a large "body" of Flood tissue derived from the initial proto-Gravemind. In most cases, this body is a shapeless, amorphous mass, typically with numerous tentacles that can reach many miles in length depending on the size of the Gravemind. The Gravemind can rearrange this body as it wishes; during the Flood invasion of ''High Charity'' during the Human-Covenant War, the Gravemind leading the assault transplanted itself into the station and almost completely engulfed it, converting itself and the station into a Flood hive.