Installation 00: Difference between revisions

{{Era|Forerunner|Covenant|Human|UNSC|HCW|Post}}

{{quote|multi=yes|Miranda Keyes|343 Guilty Spark|q1=Where would someone go to activate the other rings?|q2=...Why, the Ark, of course.|[[343 Guilty Spark]] to [[Commander]] [[Miranda Keyes]]}}

'''Installation 00''', also known as '''the Ark''' and sometimes translated as '''Waypoint''',<ref name="CatalogWaypoint">[https://web.archive.org/web/20141014090727/https://forums.halowaypoint.com/yaf_postst248110_Query--Catalog-old.aspx'''Halo Waypoint''': ''Query: Catalog (old)''], [https://web.archive.org/web/20141013192621/https://forums.halowaypoint.com/yaf_postsm2963929_Catalog-Interaction.aspx#post2963929 '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Catalog Interaction'']</ref> is a [[Forerunner]] installation from which the entirety of the [[Halo Array]] can be activated.<ref>'''[[Halo 2]]''', campaign level ''[[The Great Journey]]''</ref> Installation 00 also functions as a potential safe haven from the Halo Array's strategic pulse, and as a facility to construct replacement Halos if necessary. The Ark is situated [[Intergalactic space|outside]] the [[Milky Way|galaxy]], about 2¹⁸ (262,144) light years from the galactic center.<ref name="The Ark">'''[[Halo 3]]''', campaign level ''[[The Ark (level)|The Ark]]''</ref> Although later universally known as "the Ark", Installation 00 was originally one of two installations identified as [[Ark]]s, the other being the older [[greater Ark]]. Due to this, Installation 00 was also referred to as the '''lesser Ark''' to differentiate it from the much larger greater Ark, whose foundry produced the original array of rings 30,000 kilometers in diameter, as opposed to the 10,000 kilometer-wide foundry of Installation 00.<ref>'''[[Halo: Primordium]]''', ''pages 343-344''</ref>

The Ark was designed with a number of functions, one of which is to remotely activate the Halo rings from outside the array's blast radius. Installation 00 can be placed on standby mode via a fail-safe system that is activated by an aborted firing such as the one that occurred at the end of the [[Battle of Installation 05]]. In addition to serving as the firing control center for the Halo array, Installation 00 functioned as an automated factory to construct Halo installations, thereby ensuring that the Halo Array was always ready to fire.<ref name="Covenant">'''[[Halo 3]]''', campaign level ''[[The Covenant (level)|The Covenant]]''</ref><ref name="Halo">'''[[Halo 3]]''', campaign level ''[[Halo (Halo 3 level)|Halo]]</ref> While originally designed solely as a construction and control center for the Halos, due to the [[Librarian]]'s influence, the Ark was given a secondary function as a safe haven for life in the galaxy in the case of a galaxy-wide activation of the Halos; this is also the source of the name "the Ark".<ref name="c274">'''[[Halo: Cryptum]]''', ''page 274''</ref> Knowing that the Array would defeat the [[Flood]] through sterilizing the galaxy of any neurologically complex life, the Forerunners planned to preserve all life by storing it on the Arks and other preservation facilities. According to this plan, known as the [[Conservation Measure]], the Librarian was to index every [[Sentience|sentient]] species in the [[ecumene]] and bring specimens of each to the Ark. These sentient species would be stored on the Ark and would later be reseeded on their original homeworlds after the Halo Array had been activated.<ref name="Terminals">'''Halo 3''', [[Terminal (Halo 3)|Terminals]]</ref>

{{Clear}}

{{quote|Every vessel we can fill, we send to the Ark. I dare not cease the mission. Not now, not until I've done all I can. Each one of these souls is finite and precious. And I'm close. Close to saving them all.|A message from the [[Librarian]] to the [[IsoDidact]]}}

Like the rest of the newer, more efficient Halo Array, Installation 00 was constructed sometime between [[98,445 BCE]] and [[97,445 BCE]] under orders of [[Master Builder]] [[Faber]], to address problems with the [[greater Ark]] and its larger Halos. While plans for the second Ark had existed for some time, its construction was delayed by the [[Old Council]] to avoid the Builders from gaining too much power.<ref>'''[[Halo: Silentium]]''', ''page 45''</ref> The lesser Ark, as it was known at the time, was designed to produce smaller but much more powerful Halo rings, which could be transported more efficiently and could deal far more widespread damage. Until the very last days of the [[Forerunner-Flood war]], the lesser Ark, its new Halos, and its location were kept a well-guarded secret; only the most top-tier Forerunners knew of its existence, and the only one who knew the exact coordinates of the installation was Faber. Whereas the greater Ark acted as the Forerunners' final line of defense and command center, the lesser Ark would serve the function of a last fallback point where its own array of rings could be swiftly distributed to their designated locations across the galaxy and fired to cleanse the galaxy of all sentient life as a last resort.<ref>'''[[Halo: Silentium]]''', ''String 33''</ref>

[[File:HM-IsoDidact.png|thumb|150px|right|The IsoDidact activates the Halo Array from Installation 00's citadel.]]

Immediately following the [[Prophet of Regret]]'s botched [[Battle for Earth|invasion of Earth]] on [[2552#October|October 20, 2552]], the [[Prophet of Truth]] dispatched a [[Jiralhanae]]-led [[Truth's fleet|fleet]] to continue the assault and to uncover what he believed to be the Ark. By [[2552#November|November 17]], the [[Covenant]] had uncovered the structure they had spent the last month unearthing. Truth, through his [[Forerunner Dreadnought]], activated the device, which was actually just a [[Portal at Voi|portal-generating structure]] which led to Installation 00.

Truth led his fleet through the portal; after defeating a Flood invasion of the town of [[Voi]], a joint [[United Nations Space Command]] - [[Fleet of Retribution|Sangheili]] strike force followed the Prophet's forces.<ref name="Floodgate">'''[[Halo 3]]''', campaign level ''[[Floodgate]]''</ref> Upon their arrival on [[2552#December|December 11]],{{Ref/Reuse|Fortitude}} the latter force were attacked by the Covenant, which held a 3:1 numerical advantage.{{Ref/Reuse|The Ark}} Despite this, the [[Sangheili]] [[Fleet of Retribution]] crushed Truth's forces.

After engaging the Covenant across the installation, [[SPARTAN-II program|Spartan]] [[John-117]] and [[Arbiter]] [[Thel 'Vadam]] entered [[Installation 00 Citadel|the citadel]], where they found Truth, who had become infected by the Flood and deactivated the array. Soon after 'Vadam killed the Prophet, effectively destroying the Covenant and ending the war, he, the Master Chief, and [[343 Guilty Spark]], the former [[monitor]] of [[Installation 04]], discovered that a [[Installation 08|replacement Installation 04]] was being constructed by the Ark's [[Foundry (location)|Foundry]].{{Ref/Reuse|Covenant}} The Spartan and the Arbiter soon rescued the AI [[Cortana]], who held Installation 04's [[Activation Index]], from the Flood-infested Covenant capital city, [[High Charity]].<ref>'''[[Halo 3]]''', campaign level ''[[Cortana (level)|Cortana]]''</ref> They, with [[Sergeant Major]] [[Avery Johnson]], assaulted the Halo's [[Control Room]] to activate the ring, destroying both the Flood and the remaining Covenant forces. They succeeded, though Johnson was killed by the monitor. While Guilty Spark refused to allow ''his'' new Halo to be destroyed, he also implied that he was protecting the Ark. The partially constructed installation's activation tore the ring apart and severely damaged the Ark.{{Ref/Reuse|Array}}{{Ref/Reuse|Brutes}}{{Ref/Reuse|Halo}}{{clear}}

[[File:HaloLegends-Origins-ArkHalo.png|250px|thumb|right|Installation 08 fires over the Ark, severely damaging it.]]

The [[ UNSC Rubicon]] carried several [[remote contact team]]s, who landed on the damaged Ark and attempted to find the source of the mysterious signal. After about eight days, contact with all teams was lost; only one team, [[RCT-06]], returned, having sustained heavy casualties and carrying with them a device of unknown nature. The armature's origin was subjected to debate, but it was believed by the team to be the source of the beacon picked up by the initial investigative group.{{Ref/Reuse|EH}} The device, actually a broken, barely active [[monitor]], began to relate its past life as a human: [[Chakas]]. Though the ship's ONI attaché initially doubted the veracity of the monitor's account, the science team leader pointed out that it was consistent with the "[[Halo: Cryptum|Bornstellar Relation]]" found on [[Onyx]].

The last of its ground team, [[Bobby Kodiak]], was left stranded when the ''Rubicon'' left, and mortally wounded by attacking [[chaefka]]. It was then that he was contacted by the Ark's monitor, [[000 Tragic Solitude]], who had survived the Ark's devastation and sought to repair the station and get revenge. Offering him a chance to live, Tragic Solitude rescued Kodiak and mended his body with cybernetics, turning him into a cyborg and putting him under the monitor's control. For the following two years, Tragic Solitude partially repaired the Ark and prepared for an attack on the galaxy. Tragic Solitude was able to repair the Ark end of the [[Portal at Voi]] and increase its power so that the portal would transport objects near-instantaneously between Earth and the Ark, but he couldn't activate the portal as the firing of Installation 08 had severed the monitor's control over it.<ref name="Hunters">'''''[[Halo: Hunters in the Dark]]'''</ref>{{clear}}

[[File:Hunters in the Dark full cover.jpg|thumb|right|300px|[[N'tho 'Sraom]] and [[Frank Kodiak]] engage [[morolaath]] during Operation: FAR STORM.]]

{{Quote|And now the Ark's defenses stir, sensing the [[Banished|shadow of a threat]] that moves in spaces [[Cortana|Her]] eyes cannot see, intent on seizing the great factory of the Forerunners.|[[Curator]] on the Created and the Banished<ref name="Mythos202">'''[[Halo Mythos]]''', ''page 202''</ref>}}

In [[2559#October|October 2559]], Banished forces [[Raid on Anodyne Spirit|raided]] the ''[[Anodyne Spirit]]'' for the shards of the [[Menachite Forerunner crystal]] recovered from [[Reach]] before Atriox managed to send a message to [[War Chief]] [[Escharum]] in the Milky Way ordering him to locate the [[Menachite portal complex|Portal Under the Mountain]] on Reach.<ref name="Sacrifice">''[[Sacrifice]]''</ref> Atriox's stated intention was to open a slipspace portal between the Ark and Reach in order to bring more Banished reinforcements to the Ark. At the same time, [[Blue Team]] visits Reach on [[Operation: WOLFE|a mission]] of their own and inadvertently lead the Banished and their allies the [[Keepers of the One Freedom]], [[Legion of the Corpse-Moon]] and the [[Ravaged Tusks]] to the portal complex. Using one of the [[Ferret]]s, secretly undercover in the Keepers, as a [[Reclaimer]], the Keepers were able to open the portal which Atriox used the crystal shards to connect to the Ark. Atriox and several of his top officers flew through the slipspace portal to Reach in a [[Banished Lich]], but Atriox chose to depart in Escharum's [[intrusion corvette]] in favor of a more important mission, leaving behind thousands of Banished forces to continue to hold the Ark in his absence rather than returning to the Ark with reinforcements.

[[File:HW2 Ark2.png|300px|thumb|right|The Ark's surface.]]

Installation 00 resembles a massive flattened dish with a series of eight curved arms, known as spires, four large and four small, arranged around its rim, similar to the petals of a flower. The entire upper surface is [[Terraforming|terraformed]], with oceans, forests and deserts.{{Ref/Reuse|The Ark}}{{Ref/Reuse|Covenant}} Installation 00 is {{Convert|127530|km|mi|sigfig=5}} in diameter and thus one of the largest known Forerunner constructs.{{Ref/Reuse|vis}} Spread throughout the installation are hundreds of refugia, artificial biomes designed to sustain diverse flora and fauna as part of the Conservation Measure. Each of these refugia are separated by massive quarantine walls.<ref name="mythos ark">'''[[Halo Mythos]]''', ''pages 122-123''</ref> Twelve refugia are located on the central hub, while an additional twenty are located on the arms of the structure.<ref name="Refugia">'''[[Halo Wars 2]]''', ''[[Phoenix Logs]]'' - ''Refugia''</ref> The various refugia are intended to mimic common planetary environments - one such refugia known as the Halo Refugia<ref name="HaloRefugia">'''[[Halo Wars 2]]''', ''[[Phoenix Log]]'' - ''Halo Refugia''</ref> bore a notable similarity to Earth's climate, though much more extreme; mountains are higher, chasms are deeper and the sea and sky are a deeper blue.{{Ref/Reuse|HaloRefugia}}

[[File:FOR-ArkAI-logo2.png|thumb|left|240px|The avatar icon of [[000 Tragic Solitude]]{{Ref/Reuse|Terminals}}]]

Similar to most Forerunner installations, the Ark had its own [[monitor]], [[000 Tragic Solitude]], charged with the facility's defenses. For the most part, Solitude reacted little when humanity and the Covenant arrived at the Ark, though when 343 Guilty Spark attempted to access the Ark's systems during the Battle of Installation 00, Tragic Solitude threatened to add the monitor to the facility's targeting ledger if he persisted.<ref>'''Halo 3''', ''Terminal 3''</ref> After the Ark was severely damaged by the destruction of Installation 08, the latest on a line of destroyed Forerunner relics, Solitude grew bitter and viewed all sentients in the galaxy as incapable of being peaceful.{{Ref/Reuse|Hunters}} The arrival of the Human-Covenant War to the installation additionally prompted the activation of [[Terminus]]', structures that are designed to perform tireless cataloging, recording of indexing of events in an attempt to prepare countermeasures and defences for future possible scenarios. These records are cross-references with existing records of historical events and battles to perform simulations and predictions of potential outcomes - losing a terminus would result in a massive loss of operational capability for the installation.<ref name="Terminus">'''[[Halo Wars 2]]''', ''[[Phoenix Logs]]'' - ''Terminus''</ref>

Another method of defense are [[particle cannon]]s upon the Ark's surface. After discovering the location of one through one of the Ark's Cartographers,{{Ref/Reuse|The Cartographer}} the smart AI [[Isabel]] had Professor [[Ellen Anders]] use it to attack the {{Class|CAS|assault carrier}} ''[[Enduring Conviction]]''. The cannon alone wasn't powerful enough to destroy the ship, but after thirty minutes of sustained fire could take down its shields and leave the ship vulnerable to other methods of attack.{{Ref/Reuse|Hold the Line}}<ref>'''[[Halo Wars 2]]''', ''[[Phoenix Logs]]'' - ''Enduring Conviction Battle Reports''</ref>

The Ark also possesses a Sentinel defense network that coordinates Sentinels to assemble and attack anything deemed a threat to the Ark. [[Isabel]] utilized the network to destroy the ''Enduring Conviction'' by firing the assault carrier's [[energy projector]] at the Ark, alerting the Sentinels in the area.<ref name="Under the Dark">'''[[Halo Wars 2]]''', campaign level ''[[Under The Dark]]''</ref> Prior to the launch of [[Installation 09]], the security protocols was heightened to finalize the preparation for the launch to its original site and as the part of protocol, the Sentinels release [[Retriever Sentinel]] to cleanse the Installation from the threat, including the UNSC and the Banished.<ref>'''[[Halo Wars 2]]''', campaign level ''[[The Halo]]''</ref> During [[Operation: SPEARBREAKER|an operation]] led by Major Vaughan, a Controller Sentinel attacked anyone it deemed a threat, even the UNSC, due to constant abuse of the teleportation network before the ''Spirit of Fire's'' arrival.<ref>'''[[Halo Wars 2: Operation: SPEARBREAKER]]''</ref> [[Voridus]] managed to shut down the Sentinel defense network around [[High Charity]]'s crash site, but at the price of the [[Flood]] being released from the ruined city after he breached the [[containment shield]] with a [[Banished Scarab]]. When the network was reactivated, the Sentinels resumed their duties and aided the Banished in defeating the Flood, enabling them to enact the containment protocol once again.{{Ref/Reuse|Awakening the Nightmare}}

 

 

 

 

 

While under repair by [[Retriever Sentinel]]s, there would be a new shift in the Ark's surroundings as the Sentinels repaired and rebuilt the Ark. Dense forests sprang up from pit-black, barren terrain over the course of a week and a particularly virulent strain of weed was checked by the reintroduction of voracious, insectoid parasites before it could strangle the budding plants nearby.{{Ref/Reuse|Healing of Old Wounds II}} The Ark showed itself to be remarkably adaptable to change, with giant tectonic plates rearranging, shifting and unfolding to form a new pathway across a chasm.{{Ref/Reuse|Healing of Old Wounds III}} Having begun in [[2557]], the process was completed by the arrival of the ''Spirit of Fire'' in [[2559]], leaving the Ark fully repaired and habitable again, though wreckage from the [[Battle of Installation 00]] persisted across the Ark's surface.{{Ref/Reuse|HW2}}

There is [[Menachite portal complex|another slipspace portal]] on [[Reach]] similar to the [[Portal at Voi]] that the [[Keepers of the One Freedom]] and some of the Banished were able to access in [[2559#October|October 2559]] when combined with Atriox using the shards of the [[Menachite Forerunner crystal]] on the Ark's end.{{Ref/Reuse|Sacrifice}} However, this portal only remained open as long as the local charge remained rather than remaining continuously open like the Portal at Voi. It closed within a fairly short period of time, but remained open long enough for a [[Banished Lich]] to make a two-way trip through the slipspace portal, making it to Reach and the Ark respectively.{{Ref/Novel|Id=Chapter 21|HSoR|Chapter=21}}{{Ref/Novel|Id=Epilogue|HSoR|Chapter=Epilogue}}

|fr={{Explain|''L'Arche''|The Ark}} and {{Explain|''Installation 00''|(Same as English)}} in almost every media.<br>

{{Explain|''La petite Arche''|The little Ark}} in ''Halo: Silentium''.

|es={{Explain|''El Arca''|The Ark}} and {{Explain|''Instalación 00''|Installation 00}} in almost every media.<br>

|de={{Explain|''Die Arche''|The Ark}} and {{Explain|''Installation 00''|(Same as English)}}

*In early conceptual stages, artist [[Paul Russel]] did not want to make the Ark significantly larger than a Halo ring. One of his early concepts of the Ark design incorporated a cradle for a Halo installation in the center, with four sleek arms one one side of the ring, along with several beams leading to a central hub structure situated on the other side.<ref>[https://picasaweb.google.com/114253662089061571624/Halo3TheLostCity#5573889897215738578 '''Picasa''': ''Paul Russel > Halo 3: The Lost City 16/16'']</ref>

*The Ark as a concept has existed since the development of ''Halo: Combat Evolved''.<ref>[[:File:HCE_Ark_Concept.jpg|Halo: Combat Evolved concept art]]</ref><ref>[https://twitter.com/game_fabricator/status/1088274744456159232 Marcus Lehto on Twitter].</ref> Bungie artist [[Marcus Lehto]] produced several sketches of structures for the Ark concept, that would later go on to be refined and considered during the development of ''Halo 2''.<ref>[[:File:H2_Ark_Concept.jpg|Halo: 2 concept art]]</ref> These concept images both depict the Ark as a structure within the ground, a concept later instead used for the design of the [[Portal at Voi]] in ''Halo 3''.

File:H3_Installation00_Full.jpg|The Ark in ''Halo 3''

File:HOSFM Installation 00 forerunner symbol.png|The [[Forerunner symbols|symbol]] representing Installation 00.  

File:Hunters in the Dark full cover.jpg|The partially destroyed installation in 2555 on the cover of ''[[Halo: Hunters in the Dark]]''

**''[[Halo 5: Guardians Limited Edition|Limited Edition]]'' {{Mo}}