Ur-Didact: Difference between revisions
→Fall from grace
| Line 56: | Line 56: | ||
As the Flood fleet and the star road tangle converged on the ship, the Didact and Catalog were swiftly taken prisoner. The Didact, completely immobilized in stasis by a powerful grappler field, was taken to a Flood-controlled ship and confronted by the Gravemind, recognized by the Didact as the same entity he had spoken to ten thousand years prior - the [[Primordial]]. The Gravemind invaded the Didact's mind and inflicted upon him unspeakable suffering in a horrific process described by the Didact as more of a malediction than a conversation. The mental torment inflicted by the Gravemind drove the Didact mad, manipulating him to become a pawn in the Gravemind's schemes. Subconsciously encouraged by the Gravemind, the Didact deduced that the Flood had consciously favored humans by deliberately receding ten thousand years earlier and that they were specifically targeting Forerunners as an act of revenge. By extension, he came to the conclusion the Librarian's favoring of humanity and her efforts to preserve as many humans as possible were goals shared by the Flood - something he saw as a profound betrayal.<ref name="string12">'''Halo: Silentium''', ''String 12''</ref> | As the Flood fleet and the star road tangle converged on the ship, the Didact and Catalog were swiftly taken prisoner. The Didact, completely immobilized in stasis by a powerful grappler field, was taken to a Flood-controlled ship and confronted by the Gravemind, recognized by the Didact as the same entity he had spoken to ten thousand years prior - the [[Primordial]]. The Gravemind invaded the Didact's mind and inflicted upon him unspeakable suffering in a horrific process described by the Didact as more of a malediction than a conversation. The mental torment inflicted by the Gravemind drove the Didact mad, manipulating him to become a pawn in the Gravemind's schemes. Subconsciously encouraged by the Gravemind, the Didact deduced that the Flood had consciously favored humans by deliberately receding ten thousand years earlier and that they were specifically targeting Forerunners as an act of revenge. By extension, he came to the conclusion the Librarian's favoring of humanity and her efforts to preserve as many humans as possible were goals shared by the Flood - something he saw as a profound betrayal.<ref name="string12">'''Halo: Silentium''', ''String 12''</ref> | ||
Afterwards, the Gravemind released the Didact and left him aboard an empty spacecraft, intentionally sending the ship where the Master Builder would find it. The Master Builder, thought dead after his trial at the Capital some years prior, had been salvaging any ships he found in his own small-scale operation to combat the Flood. Meeting with Faber, the | Afterwards, the Gravemind released the Didact and left him aboard an empty spacecraft, intentionally sending the ship where the Master Builder would find it. The Master Builder, thought dead after his trial at the Capital some years prior, had been salvaging any ships he found in his own small-scale operation to combat the Flood. Meeting with Faber, the Didact delivered him a painful message from the Gravemind, which had absorbed the Master Builder's family. Seemingly taking pleasure in conveying the news to his old enemy, the Didact stated that Faber and his Halos were to blame for their predicament.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''String 29''</ref> Faber delivered the Didact to the core of the ecumene, where both were deposed by the Juridicals. Against his strongest objections, the Didact - now known as the Ur-Didact - was forced to recall his encounter with the Gravemind, which he had already shunted away from his memory, as part of the interrogation, dealing further damage to his sanity.<ref name="string12"/> | ||
[[File:H4Terminal-DidactProcedure.jpg|thumb|250px|The Didact, accompanied by a fellow Promethean, after undergoing a failed procedure to gain an immunity to the Flood.]] | [[File:H4Terminal-DidactProcedure.jpg|thumb|250px|The Ur-Didact, accompanied by a fellow Promethean, after undergoing a failed procedure to gain an immunity to the Flood.]] | ||
Having been returned to power, the Ur-Didact continued his mission against the Flood onslaught. Convinced that his old strategies were no longer workable now that the Gravemind had learned everything, he desperately began to devise new methods of combating the Flood - going so far as applying the philosophy of the enemy. Failing to decipher Flood immunity via other means - including an experimental procedure which left him disfigured - he acquired a [[Composer]], a machine once designed to rid Forerunners of Flood infection via converting their essences to digital form but abandoned long since due to several functional defects. The Ur-Didact decided to use the Composer to transfer his Prometheans from their biological forms to mechanical warriors, known as [[Promethean Knight]]s. This, he believed, would allow them to fight the Flood without risking infection. While these new warriors scored isolated victories against the Flood, the continued advance of the parasite led the Ur-Didact to consider other options to expand his army.<ref name="h4terminals">'''Halo 4''', ''[[Terminal/Halo 4|Terminals]]''</ref> | Having been returned to power, the Ur-Didact continued his mission against the Flood onslaught. Convinced that his old strategies were no longer workable now that the Gravemind had learned everything, he desperately began to devise new methods of combating the Flood - going so far as applying the philosophy of the enemy. Failing to decipher Flood immunity via other means - including an experimental procedure which left him disfigured - he acquired a [[Composer]], a machine once designed to rid Forerunners of Flood infection via converting their essences to digital form but abandoned long since due to several functional defects. The Ur-Didact decided to use the Composer to transfer his Prometheans from their biological forms to mechanical warriors, known as [[Promethean Knight]]s. This, he believed, would allow them to fight the Flood without risking infection. While these new warriors scored isolated victories against the Flood, the continued advance of the parasite led the Ur-Didact to consider other options to expand his army.<ref name="h4terminals">'''Halo 4''', ''[[Terminal/Halo 4|Terminals]]''</ref> | ||