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Portal at Voi: Difference between revisions
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Shortly before the firing of the [[Halo Array]], the [[Forerunner]] known as the [[Librarian]] ordered the construction of the portal beneath a savannah in what would later become [[Kenya]]. The Librarian knew that the portal would not be completed before the Halos were fired, and thus construction would continue for at least a century after [[Earth]] was [[Conservation Measure|reseeded]]. She had it built with the hope that humanity would one day use it to reap the benefits of the legacy the Forerunners left on the [[Installation 00|lesser Ark]]. A [[Gargantua-class transport]] sent by [[343 Guilty Spark]] at her request, along with the necessary components mined from the Earth, was used to build the portal.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''String 37''</ref> At least two varieties of [[sentinel]]s, [[Retriever]]s and [[Assembler Sentinel|Assembler]]s, were deployed from the transport and were also important to its construction. | Shortly before the firing of the [[Halo Array]], the [[Forerunner]] known as the [[Librarian]] ordered the construction of the portal beneath a savannah in what would later become [[Kenya]]. The Librarian knew that the portal would not be completed before the Halos were fired, and thus construction would continue for at least a century after [[Earth]] was [[Conservation Measure|reseeded]]. She had it built with the hope that humanity would one day use it to reap the benefits of the legacy the Forerunners left on the [[Installation 00|lesser Ark]]. A [[Gargantua-class transport]] sent by [[343 Guilty Spark]] at her request, along with the necessary components mined from the Earth, was used to build the portal.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''String 37''</ref> At least two varieties of [[sentinel]]s, [[Retriever]]s and [[Assembler Sentinel|Assembler]]s, were deployed from the transport and were also important to its construction. | ||
When humans and other lifeforms were reintroduced to Earth, they emerged at the planet above the portal in Africa.<ref>'''[[ | When humans and other lifeforms were reintroduced to Earth, they emerged at the planet above the portal in Africa.<ref>'''[[Rebirth]]'''</ref> However, work on it would continue for multiple generations. Its continual construction was witnessed by humans, including an African elder named [[N'chala]], who was oblivious to its purpose and considered the sentinels to either be gods or to be under their direction.<ref name="cradle">'''[[Halo 3: The Cradle of Life]]'''</ref> The artifact eventually came to be entirely buried in the earth. | ||
=== Discovery === | === Discovery === | ||
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{{References|section}} | {{References|section}} | ||
[[File:Excessionsatellite.png|250px|thumb|Satellite imagery of the portal being uncovered.]] | [[File:Excessionsatellite.png|250px|thumb|Satellite imagery of the portal being uncovered.]] | ||
The massive structure that opens the | The massive structure that opens the portal—at least the portion that has been uncovered—is 117 kilometers in diameter. When the portal is inactive, it appears as nothing more than a slightly convex metal disc of a Forerunner alloy. Glyphs can be seen from high above in the metal framework of the construction. At the very center, there is one shaped like a circle pierced by four spokes, which subdivide it into eight sections. The portal is powered by its own internal source, which lies far below what can be seen of it on the surface. There are extensive passageways that stretch down into the earth all throughout it. These passageways link information systems, engines, and control stations. Immediately beneath the domed shape of the structure's exterior, one can view it from a perspective where it appears concave from a sort of observation deck paneled with glass. At the base beneath the hinge of each pylon there are numerous consoles and instrument panels covered with Forerunner runes. | ||
The portal can only be opened in response to a specific set of data. This data was carried by [[Anodyne Spirit|the specific]] [[keyship]], which the Covenant called the Forerunner Dreadnought, that was designed to interface with the portal structure. Even without the actual keyship itself, however, the portal can be activated by a [[Huragok]] named [[Drifts Randomly]], because it has internalized the necessary information from the keyship. Before the portal fully opens, there is a not-yet-understood process which builds up to the final opening. During this process, a great [[portal storm|electrical storm]] is generated above it due to the creation of such a vast, stable slipspace rupture in atmospheric conditions. Gusts of wind inside such a storm can exceed two-hundred miles per hour. When the time finally comes for the portal to open, the fourteen pylons will rise and the center of the disc will sink further into the ground. A giant beam of energy will shoot up from the center of this disc. The portal itself, taking the shape of a sphere, will be supported by beams emitted from each of the raised pylons. It takes approximately 24 days for any ship entering the portal to arrive at the Ark. | The portal can only be opened in response to a specific set of data. This data was carried by [[Anodyne Spirit|the specific]] [[keyship]], which the Covenant called the Forerunner Dreadnought, that was designed to interface with the portal structure. Even without the actual keyship itself, however, the portal can be activated by a [[Huragok]] named [[Drifts Randomly]], because it has internalized the necessary information from the keyship. Before the portal fully opens, there is a not-yet-understood process which builds up to the final opening. During this process, a great [[portal storm|electrical storm]] is generated above it due to the creation of such a vast, stable slipspace rupture in atmospheric conditions. Gusts of wind inside such a storm can exceed two-hundred miles per hour. When the time finally comes for the portal to open, the fourteen pylons will rise and the center of the disc will sink further into the ground. A giant beam of energy will shoot up from the center of this disc. The portal itself, taking the shape of a sphere, will be supported by beams emitted from each of the raised pylons. It takes approximately 24 days for any ship entering the portal to arrive at the Ark. | ||
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Since the portal was first uncovered and the war with the Covenant ended, the [[United Nations Space Command]], and specifically the [[Office of Naval Intelligence]], has sought to further understand the structure that had been buried under their feet. Having found a way to access the artifact's many information systems, engines, and control stations,<ref>'''Halo: Hunters in the Dark''', ''page 76''</ref> ONI constructed numerous facilities around and within the artifact in order to research it, staffed by roughly two hundred and twenty-seven engineers, technicians, and security personnel.<ref>'''Halo: Hunters in the Dark''', ''page 109''</ref> One notable facility is termed [[Research Center Alpha (Earth)|Research Center Alpha]], which lies at the base of one of the portal's pylons and can only be traveled to via an elevator from the surface. Science personnel were stationed at other pylons as well, such as [[Pylon Five]].<ref>'''Halo: Hunters in the Dark''', ''page 113''</ref> Branching out across the undercarriage of the machine was an ONI-fabricated network of scaffolding and gantries, allowing access to deeper and higher sections of the underground.<ref>'''Halo: Hunters in the Dark''', ''page 77''</ref><ref>'''Halo: Hunters in the Dark''', ''page 82''</ref> Before the portal was reactivated, the UNSC had to illuminate any portion of the structure explored with floodlights, but once it came to life again, this was no longer necessary.<ref>'''Halo: Hunters in the Dark''', ''page ??''</ref> | Since the portal was first uncovered and the war with the Covenant ended, the [[United Nations Space Command]], and specifically the [[Office of Naval Intelligence]], has sought to further understand the structure that had been buried under their feet. Having found a way to access the artifact's many information systems, engines, and control stations,<ref>'''Halo: Hunters in the Dark''', ''page 76''</ref> ONI constructed numerous facilities around and within the artifact in order to research it, staffed by roughly two hundred and twenty-seven engineers, technicians, and security personnel.<ref>'''Halo: Hunters in the Dark''', ''page 109''</ref> One notable facility is termed [[Research Center Alpha (Earth)|Research Center Alpha]], which lies at the base of one of the portal's pylons and can only be traveled to via an elevator from the surface. Science personnel were stationed at other pylons as well, such as [[Pylon Five]].<ref>'''Halo: Hunters in the Dark''', ''page 113''</ref> Branching out across the undercarriage of the machine was an ONI-fabricated network of scaffolding and gantries, allowing access to deeper and higher sections of the underground.<ref>'''Halo: Hunters in the Dark''', ''page 77''</ref><ref>'''Halo: Hunters in the Dark''', ''page 82''</ref> Before the portal was reactivated, the UNSC had to illuminate any portion of the structure explored with floodlights, but once it came to life again, this was no longer necessary.<ref>'''Halo: Hunters in the Dark''', ''page ??''</ref> | ||
== Trivia == | == Trivia == | ||
*Before ''[[Halo: The Essential Visual Guide]]'' established a definitive diameter for the portal, there was some confusion regarding its size. This was due to a conflict between the in-game sizes of the Forerunner Dreadnought in ''Halo 2'' and ''Halo 3'', with the latter depicting the ship as being far smaller than its former incarnation. Based on the map geometry in ''Halo 3'', the Portal could be estimated to be approximately 25 kilometers in diameter.<ref>[http://carnage.bungie.org/haloforum/halo.forum.pl?read=845588 '''halo.bungie.org''': ''Artifact Sizing *Minor H3 Spoilers*'']</ref> However, this figure is contradicted by the geography of the Portal's surroundings; since the structure stretches from the edge of where the metropolis of [[New Mombasa]] used to be all the way to the edge of what was formerly Voi, a distance of well over 100 kilometers. The canonical size of the portal can be derived by referencing the in-game measurements of the Forerunner Dreadnought as it appears in ''Halo 2''.<ref>'''[[Halo 2]]'''</ref><ref>'''[[Halo 3]]'''</ref><ref>'''[[Halo 3: ODST]]'''</ref><ref>[http://nikon.bungie.org/misc/sloftus_scalecomparison/?display=HighCharity '''Halo.bungie.org''': ''Determining the Real Sizes of Objects in Halo'']</ref> The sizes of the portal and the Dreadnought in ''Halo 3'' were taken as a liberties resulting from to engine limitations; generating map geometry for over a 117 km<sup>2</sup> area would have been extremely taxing, if not impossible, for the game engine. | *Before ''[[Halo: The Essential Visual Guide]]'' established a definitive diameter for the portal, there was some confusion regarding its size. This was due to a conflict between the in-game sizes of the Forerunner Dreadnought in ''Halo 2'' and ''Halo 3'', with the latter depicting the ship as being far smaller than its former incarnation. Based on the map geometry in ''Halo 3'', the Portal could be estimated to be approximately 25 kilometers in diameter.<ref>[http://carnage.bungie.org/haloforum/halo.forum.pl?read=845588 '''halo.bungie.org''': ''Artifact Sizing *Minor H3 Spoilers*'']</ref> However, this figure is contradicted by the geography of the Portal's surroundings; since the structure stretches from the edge of where the metropolis of [[New Mombasa]] used to be all the way to the edge of what was formerly Voi, a distance of well over 100 kilometers. The canonical size of the portal can be derived by referencing the in-game measurements of the Forerunner Dreadnought as it appears in ''Halo 2''.<ref>'''[[Halo 2]]'''</ref><ref>'''[[Halo 3]]'''</ref><ref>'''[[Halo 3: ODST]]'''</ref><ref>[http://nikon.bungie.org/misc/sloftus_scalecomparison/?display=HighCharity '''Halo.bungie.org''': ''Determining the Real Sizes of Objects in Halo'']</ref> The sizes of the portal and the Dreadnought in ''Halo 3'' were taken as a liberties resulting from to engine limitations; generating map geometry for over a 117 km<sup>2</sup> area would have been extremely taxing, if not impossible, for the game engine. | ||
*In the "Behind the Scenes" section of the ''Halo 2'' Collectors Edition, there is a sketch of the portal. | *In the "Behind the Scenes" section of the ''Halo 2'' Collectors Edition, there is a sketch of the portal. | ||
*The fourteen pylons of the portal structure may be a reference to the number 7, as 7+7=14. The entire structure also appears to be constructed of seven identical parts, those being seven pairs of pylons. The Portal is also 117 kilometers in diameter, which is a direct reference to [[ John-117]]. | *The fourteen pylons of the portal structure may be a reference to the number 7, as 7+7=14. The entire structure also appears to be constructed of seven identical parts, those being seven pairs of pylons. The Portal is also 117 kilometers in diameter, which is a direct reference to [[John-117]]. | ||
*Originally, the structure that ended up being the portal had been intended to be the Ark itself. Interestingly, the UNSC assumed the portal was the Ark as it neared activation in ''Halo 3''. | *Originally, the structure that ended up being the portal had been intended to be the Ark itself. Interestingly, the UNSC assumed the portal was the Ark as it neared activation in ''Halo 3''. | ||
*The pylons bear a striking resemblance to the monoliths around the Atmosphere Processor in the film ''[[List of References to Aliens in Halo|Aliens]]''. | *The pylons bear a striking resemblance to the monoliths around the Atmosphere Processor in the film ''[[List of References to Aliens in Halo|Aliens]]''. | ||
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**''[[From the Office of Dr. William Arthur Iqbal]]'' {{Mo}} | **''[[From the Office of Dr. William Arthur Iqbal]]'' {{Mo}} | ||
*''[[Halo: Silentium]]'' | *''[[Halo: Silentium]]'' | ||
*''[[ | *''[[Rebirth]]'' | ||
*''[[Halo: Broken Circle]]'' {{Mo}} | *''[[Halo: Broken Circle]]'' {{Mo}} | ||
*''[[Halo 2: Anniversary]]'' | *''[[Halo 2: Anniversary]]'' | ||