UPDATE: The new Canon Fodder answers some of the questions about the new Promethean Soldiers my other question (at the bottom) is still open to discussion.
We know from the Halo 4 terminals that early Promethean Knights were composed Forerunners. The Didact, having run out of them fighting the Flood, harvested the defeated humans to make more Promethean Knights (and also to punish them).
Fast forward to Halo 4. The Promethean Knights fought in the campaign are presumably composed early humans (I always found it interesting that human Knights look the same as Forerunner Knights, but I digress). The Promethean Knights fought in Spartan Ops are presumably composed modern humans from New Phoenix (or some mix of old and modern humans, doesn’t really matter).
In Halo 5, the new Promethean Soldiers that are introduced look very different. Does anybody have a canonical explanation for why these new Promethean enemies look so different? Theories are welcome, but any “evidence” supporting your theory is encouraged, but not required.
BONUS QUESTION: What does it mean for a Promethean Knight to “die”? Is their digital essence transferred elsewhere, or do they truly cease to exist altogether?
I’m going to assume that the Promethean Knights in Spartan Ops are still the old composed ancient humans because it still takes place on Requiem. Remember, that the knights don’t “die” when they’re killed, their program is transferred to a new body and they continue on (just like Ultron and his army).
The Soldiers are more likely the new humans from New Phoenix which is why they speak English and they’re smaller. The older knights on Requiem probably came from humans that didn’t speak our modern English language, and they were probably bigger and lived longer (which is why they could stand up to the Forerunners thousands of years ago).
Could be possible of different variants of Prometheans depending on what was composed. Knights are the only known Promethean biped during the events of Halo 4.
Grim will most likely give an explanation in a canon fodder later. But it’s most likely just for variety and gameplay purposes.
> 2533274795233660;3:
> I’m going to assume that the Promethean Knights in Spartan Ops are still the old composed ancient humans because it still takes place on Requiem. Remember, that the knights don’t “die” when they’re killed, their program is transferred to a new body and they continue on (just like Ultron and his army).
>
> The Soldiers are more likely the new humans from New Phoenix which is why they speak English and they’re smaller. The older knights on Requiem probably came from humans that didn’t speak our modern English language, and they were probably bigger and lived longer (which is why they could stand up to the Forerunners thousands of years ago).
> 2533274795233660;3:
> I’m going to assume that the Promethean Knights in Spartan Ops are still the old composed ancient humans because it still takes place on Requiem. Remember, that the knights don’t “die” when they’re killed, their program is transferred to a new body and they continue on (just like Ultron and his army).
>
> The Soldiers are more likely the new humans from New Phoenix which is why they speak English and they’re smaller. The older knights on Requiem probably came from humans that didn’t speak our modern English language, and they were probably bigger and lived longer (which is why they could stand up to the Forerunners thousands of years ago).
Some of the Knights in Spartan Ops were from the New Phoenix incident at the end of Halo 4, which proves that no matter what being is Composed, its digital essence can be thrown into a Knight vessel. Odds are that Soldiers are just a different class of Promethean.
The term “knight” is typically more defensive, hence why the Knights in Halo 4 are guarding Requiem. “Soldier” is more offensive, and these new enemies may be a Promethean assault force of sorts, which would explain why they are attacking Sanghelios.
> 2533274795233660;3:
> I’m going to assume that the Promethean Knights in Spartan Ops are still the old composed ancient humans because it still takes place on Requiem. Remember, that the knights don’t “die” when they’re killed, their program is transferred to a new body and they continue on (just like Ultron and his army).
>
> The Soldiers are more likely the new humans from New Phoenix which is why they speak English and they’re smaller. The older knights on Requiem probably came from humans that didn’t speak our modern English language, and they were probably bigger and lived longer (which is why they could stand up to the Forerunners thousands of years ago).
Then how would you explain the Warden Eternal? He has a very similar design to the soldiers and claims to be the keeper of the Domain. I doubt that’s a job they would give to a random composed human
Halo: Hunters in the Dark introduced the Armiger, a biped human/Forerunner looking machine that apparently acted as support drones for Forerunner warriors and now act as defenders of Forerunner installations, at least on the Ark. The Soldiers may be something akin to this.
Its not as if the Soldiers replacing the Knights entirely, we see some more of the original style knights in Spartan Ops. The soldiers seem to be different from the Knights in that they talk and reference the ‘Humans’ so it leads me to believe they are at least not composed humans. My guess is that they are controlled in a similar way to the War sphinx’s in Cryptum that retain some of the mental patterns and personalities of their users.
My guess is that the warden personalized his army with new designs that could talk to let people know what they’re doing is either right or wrong, whereas didact didn’t need to implement language in his designs as they just did everything he commanded, which was pretty much to always kill something. I imagine if the situation weren’t so hostile as on the trailer, the soldiers would say that locke was prohibited from continuing to the guardian, and would have attacked when he pushed through.
I’m going to hazard a guess and say that whoever is making or controlling the prometheans is a bit more adaptable than the didact and therefore uses them for other things. I guess none of us know but we will find out eventually.
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> > 2533274795233660;3:
> > I’m going to assume that the Promethean Knights in Spartan Ops are still the old composed ancient humans because it still takes place on Requiem. Remember, that the knights don’t “die” when they’re killed, their program is transferred to a new body and they continue on (just like Ultron and his army).
> >
> > The Soldiers are more likely the new humans from New Phoenix which is why they speak English and they’re smaller. The older knights on Requiem probably came from humans that didn’t speak our modern English language, and they were probably bigger and lived longer (which is why they could stand up to the Forerunners thousands of years ago).
>
>
> Some of the Knights in Spartan Ops were from the New Phoenix incident at the end of Halo 4, which proves that no matter what being is Composed, its digital essence can be thrown into a Knight vessel. Odds are that Soldiers are just a different class of Promethean.
>
> The term “knight” is typically more defensive, hence why the Knights in Halo 4 are guarding Requiem. “Soldier” is more offensive, and these new enemies may be a Promethean assault force of sorts, which would explain why they are attacking Sanghelios.
These are actually both excellent theories, both of you. Thanks for sharing. DSight, I’m just wondering if what you’re saying about how Knights “die” is accurate. I always figured that the Knights were made completely of hardlight (the synthesis of digital and physical), and that when they lose enough of their physical integrity, they “die” both digitally and physically. Kind of like a laptop that gets run over by a truck– destruction of hardware = destruction of the software.
If your theory about how Knights “die” is accurate, I feel like the Didact would not have needed to compose humans, because he never would have run out of Forerunner Knights. I hope that made sense.
Anyone else want to weigh in on this discussion on the nature of how a Promethean Knight “dies”?
> 2533274812652989;8:
> Halo: Hunters in the Dark introduced the Armiger, a biped human/Forerunner looking machine that apparently acted as support drones for Forerunner warriors and now act as defenders of Forerunner installations, at least on the Ark. The Soldiers may be something akin to this.
Spoilers man! Some people aren’t that far into the book!
> 2533274812652989;8:
> Halo: Hunters in the Dark…
> …introduced the Armiger, a biped human/Forerunner looking machine that apparently acted as support drones for Forerunner warriors and now act as defenders of Forerunner installations, at least on the Ark. The Soldiers may be something akin to this.
Please use spoiler tags! The book just came out a few days ago, and I’m still reading it
> 2535417899972539;12:
> > 2533274810150284;6:
> > > 2533274795233660;3:
> > > I’m going to assume that the Promethean Knights in Spartan Ops are still the old composed ancient humans because it still takes place on Requiem. Remember, that the knights don’t “die” when they’re killed, their program is transferred to a new body and they continue on (just like Ultron and his army).
> > >
> > > The Soldiers are more likely the new humans from New Phoenix which is why they speak English and they’re smaller. The older knights on Requiem probably came from humans that didn’t speak our modern English language, and they were probably bigger and lived longer (which is why they could stand up to the Forerunners thousands of years ago).
> >
> >
> > Some of the Knights in Spartan Ops were from the New Phoenix incident at the end of Halo 4, which proves that no matter what being is Composed, its digital essence can be thrown into a Knight vessel. Odds are that Soldiers are just a different class of Promethean.
> >
> > The term “knight” is typically more defensive, hence why the Knights in Halo 4 are guarding Requiem. “Soldier” is more offensive, and these new enemies may be a Promethean assault force of sorts, which would explain why they are attacking Sanghelios.
>
>
> These are actually both excellent theories, both of you. Thanks for sharing. DSight, I’m just wondering if what you’re saying about how Knights “die” is accurate. I always figured that the Knights were made completely of hardlight (the synthesis of digital and physical), and that when they lose enough of their physical integrity, they “die” both digitally and physically. Kind of like a laptop that gets run over by a truck– destruction of hardware = destruction of the software.
>
> If your theory about how Knights “die” is accurate, I feel like the Didact would not have needed to compose humans, because he never would have run out of Forerunner Knights. I hope that made sense.
>
> Anyone else want to weigh in on this discussion on the nature of how a Promethean Knight “dies”?
Well the first time Cortana and the Chief meet a Knight on Requiem and he kills one, she says that just before they die, their data is purged from the body. The knight can then be revived by a watcher so they can be rebuilt in a new body and carry on. The process isn’t automatic but requires a watcher.
> 2533274795233660;16:
> > 2535417899972539;12:
> > > 2533274810150284;6:
> > > > 2533274795233660;3:
> > > > I’m going to assume that the Promethean Knights in Spartan Ops are still the old composed ancient humans because it still takes place on Requiem. Remember, that the knights don’t “die” when they’re killed, their program is transferred to a new body and they continue on (just like Ultron and his army).
> > > >
> > > > The Soldiers are more likely the new humans from New Phoenix which is why they speak English and they’re smaller. The older knights on Requiem probably came from humans that didn’t speak our modern English language, and they were probably bigger and lived longer (which is why they could stand up to the Forerunners thousands of years ago).
> > >
> > >
> > > Some of the Knights in Spartan Ops were from the New Phoenix incident at the end of Halo 4, which proves that no matter what being is Composed, its digital essence can be thrown into a Knight vessel. Odds are that Soldiers are just a different class of Promethean.
> > >
> > > The term “knight” is typically more defensive, hence why the Knights in Halo 4 are guarding Requiem. “Soldier” is more offensive, and these new enemies may be a Promethean assault force of sorts, which would explain why they are attacking Sanghelios.
> >
> >
> > These are actually both excellent theories, both of you. Thanks for sharing. DSight, I’m just wondering if what you’re saying about how Knights “die” is accurate. I always figured that the Knights were made completely of hardlight (the synthesis of digital and physical), and that when they lose enough of their physical integrity, they “die” both digitally and physically. Kind of like a laptop that gets run over by a truck– destruction of hardware = destruction of the software.
> >
> > If your theory about how Knights “die” is accurate, I feel like the Didact would not have needed to compose humans, because he never would have run out of Forerunner Knights. I hope that made sense.
> >
> > Anyone else want to weigh in on this discussion on the nature of how a Promethean Knight “dies”?
>
>
> Well the first time Cortana and the Chief meet a Knight on Requiem and he kills one, she says that just before they die, their data is purged from the body. The knight can then be revived by a watcher so they can be rebuilt in a new body and carry on. The process isn’t automatic but requires a watcher.
Ah yes, I remember that now. So the question is, is that data purge sent to some external place (perhaps a fragment of the Domain?), then accessed remotely by the Watcher and used to reconstruct the Knight? Or, is the orange pixel dust that hangs around for a moment after they die the actual data, and if a Watcher gets there fast enough, they can “capture” the data before it dissipates and reconstruct the Knight? I lean toward the second theory because it points to a sense of “finiteness” in that a Watcher can’t just roll up and crank out 50 non-killable Knights that is pulls up from the Domain. Seems too powerful.
The new Canon Fodder gives some insight on Promethean Soldiers, so that solves the dilemma about their differences, seeing that Soldiers are completely manufactured, and it looks like composed beings end up going into Knights, not Soldiers.
I’m putting Knights as the Didact’s personal force of composed beings that have specific coding that accepts said beings are now enslaved and so are specified for his personal use in the Flood War.
The “soul” of a Knight is the digitized essence of a composed being contained within a hardlight-holographic matrix.
