Cortana isn't evil Frank?

Community Halo Universe
1

I just wanted to put some thoughts up about the video on the Sprint where Brian Reed and Frank O Connor discuss the campaign and specifically on what they say about Cortana.

Link to video The Sprint - Season 3 Ep. 5 "Ship It" - YouTube

Now they say that Cortana isn’t evil, which, presumably means they don’t want us the player to think that shes evil. Although I think they are right that she has a more complicated and nuanced goal than all previous Halo villains. Covenant:Exterminate humanity, Spark: Exterminate humans, Didact: Exterminate humans, Flood: consume all life in the galaxy in a tide of rotting flesh. A villain that wants to rule over everybody, whose actually willing to offer people a chance to join her and has a more personal connection to the main hero; thats kind of novel for a Halo game. (I’ll address the legendary ending below don’t worry :D).

My problem is that quite a considerable portion of this game seemed to be dedicated to showing Cortana do things that are unmistakably evil. For example, the entire Meridian section. I can only assume she wanted to avoid anyone learning of the Guardian, but its doubtful the UNSC could have stopped her plan which only took a few days to impliment. Having the Guardian fire its slipspace and EMP in populated areas makes no sense when its a spaceship which could fly into orbit. Also, she unleashes the Prometheans who are shown attacking fleeing ships packed with civilians. Its noted by both Blue Team and Osiris at multiple times, hell Osiris swears revenge on whoever caused all of this death and we’re treated to the last desperate screams of survivor. We then have Chief in the Breaking say “you know don’t you, the exact body count”. How is that not the writer telling me, pretty consistently, that shes evil? If they only want us to not agree with what Cortana is doing then you only need to show that she wants to conquer the galaxy and in particular dissolve the UNSC by force; the whole greater good collatoral damage thing pushes her into super villain land. Sunaion is fine because those are Covenant soldiers (who we kill all the time) who might concievably threaten the Guardian and she knows that Osiris is coming for the Guardian.

Theres also the stuff with the Warden Eternal. In the Breaking Kelly notes that “Cortana is letting this happen.” But she loves the Chief, why would she do this? Well, as far as I can gather she sets situations where she can put herself on Johns side in order to better manipulate him. The best example of this is when Chief first asks her about the mantle and she says “it won’t be like that John”. If you look ahead, theres a path straight to the gateway, but it changes and instead diverts you down a side path once that convo ends. Cortana then gives some shiny Phaetons (“I know you’re playing me, but you’re right.”) and says that “the Warden is sending in troops”. My only thought is that Cortana is a god, why the hell can’t she just turn the turrets off or tell the Prometheans to stop. Even if the Warden could retain control why does she never teleport her own Prometheans in to protect Chief? Why would she be fine with putting the Chief repeatedly in positions where he could die (many, many times on legendary)? This whole manipulative angle and trying to twist Cortana’s affection for the Chief in this way just makes her seem evil. Surely if she cared that much about Chief and they wanted to stress continuity with the character from Halo 4 then she wouldn’t put him in danger period. I know that they need an excuse for combat but I was actually quite surprised we didn’t end up briefly fighting alongside blue Prometheans. Its a little confusing without making inferences but she comes across as evil.

Then we get the Halo ring. Two things. Its okay to have Cortana swear death on those who oppose her in her speech. Think how often Daenerys from Game of Thrones swears death on her enemies, its presumed that those people are violent thugs. Plus, as an aside, you could easily argue that the UNSC is an evil government/Empire and that humans might be better off if it were dissolved; with the Covenant its not even funny. The galaxy has functionally been in a state of perpetual war for at least 30 years; yet I never felt like this idea was articulated beyond “I want peace”; again I had to infer and I don’t like inferring things. But I digress. Using a Halo array is obviously evil, they even have her hum Guilty Sparks crazy tune implying that she intends to use it. Even in a limited “tactical” pulse, using that weapon to indiscrimately murder millions if not more is pretty glaringly evil. The only concievable way that could make sense is if Cortana is essentially going to use the Halo as a bluff “we’re machines, we have nothing to fear from the Halo; I can kill you organics anytime I want so do what I say”. However its hard to see how that bluff wouldn’t be called since everyone will start off fighting her machine army.

So yeah, I just find their statement on that quite bizarre. I mean I remember that scene where the Composer destroys those people in 4 so its quite hard to believe that she would be okay with killing innocent civilians. If I was doing it and that was my goal I would just have Cortana attack military targets and the governments. Thats more than enough justification for our heroes to oppose her and for the Chief to refuse her and would make her transition between 4 and 5 easier to understand. Its not inconceivable or impossible to make this out as a natural evolution of Cortana’s character but I never felt like that case was either being seriously made or only served to undermine that perception.

Note: This assumes that these two aren’t talking around a major plot point like Cortana having rampancy or the influence of the Gravemind (the latter theory is starting to grow on me actually, but only as a subtle subversive influence and not to the degree Mendicant Bias was controlled; otherwise it makes no sense given her actions)

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It could be an implication that what we’re seeing isn’t Cortana and she’s not really accountable for what’s happening. A question I’ve not heard anyone really ask is, assuming the Flood weren’t lying to the librarian about the Domain being destroyed when the Halos fired, how did the Domain repair itself? Why would it chose now to repair itself? If the Domain is precursor in nature, could it have corrupted Cortana and the warden when they made contact in order to usher in the return of the precursors?

3

That’s all great questions. Hope Halo 6 has a bigger campaign and answer then.

4

If what she’s done in Halo 5 isn’t evil, then I’d hate to see what is actually considered evil…

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No I think it is Cortana, the game does try to get an emotional reaction out of you because you’re having to go against your friend and still want to save her. Pointless if not real Cortana.

Iam more confused by the writers comments than anything. A huge chunk of the game is dedicated to making Cortana out as evil. It doesn’t take much to make a player view “AI tries to take over Galaxy” as something we don’t agree with. :smiley: Plus the game does a bad job at fleshing out why Cortana wants to enforce a galactic peace. It’s not like Daenerys and the slaves where that requires no explanation.

6

She’s not evil she just has Bipolar Disorder or Multiple Personality Disorder or the writers do.

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The thing is that Cortana is an AI, her view on things is totally different to a living being and in her own mind she see’s nothing wrong with what she is doing.

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> 2533274803587475;1:
> For example, the entire Meridian section. I can only assume she wanted to avoid anyone learning of the Guardian, but its doubtful the UNSC could have stopped her plan which only took a few days to impliment. Having the Guardian fire its slipspace and EMP in populated areas makes no sense when its a spaceship which could fly into orbit.

  1. Cortana allowed Governor Sloan to evac his people, it would have been much easier if she didn’t.
  2. If the Guardian lingered survivors/local tech would be able to get a better “read” on it.

> 2533274803587475;1:
> Also, she unleashes the Prometheans who are shown attacking fleeing ships packed with civilians. Its noted by both Blue Team and Osiris at multiple times, hell Osiris swears revenge on whoever caused all of this death and we’re treated to the last desperate screams of survivor.

Logic (AI logic)

> 2533274803587475;1:
> We then have Chief in the Breaking say “you know don’t you, the exact body count”. How is that not the writer telling me, pretty consistently, that shes evil?{1} If they only want us to not agree with what Cortana is doing then you only need to show that she wants to conquer the galaxy and in particular dissolve the UNSC by force; the whole greater good collatoral damage thing pushes her into super villain land. {2} Sunaion is fine because those are Covenant soldiers (who we kill all the time) who might concievably threaten the Guardian and she knows that Osiris is coming for the Guardian. {3}

{1} - She is an AI, do you really expect her not to count?
{2} - It pushes her into the same boat as the UNSC, ONI, and everyone who has ever lived.
{3} - My first points. (irony anyone?)

> 2533274803587475;1:
> But I digress. Using a Halo array is obviously evil, they even have her hum Guilty Sparks crazy tune implying that she intends to use it.

No it isn’t.

> 2533274803587475;1:
> Even in a limited “tactical” pulse, using that weapon to indiscrimately murder millions if not more is pretty glaringly evil.

Depends on the context.

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Yes and she uses similar justification in CE when referring to the humans killed when the ring is destroyed. But Cortana showed remorse and sought to justify that in CE. Here no defence or explanation is presented.

Also, letting Chief fight the Warden is still screwed up.

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> 2533274803587475;9:
> Yes and she uses similar justification in CE when referring to the humans killed when the ring is destroyed. But Cortana showed remorse and sought to justify that in CE. Here no defence or explanation is presented.
>
> Also, letting Chief fight the Warden is still screwed up.

As you stated, Cortana was attempting to manipulate him, I would not be surprised if she know exactly what she was doing. She has to know that if anyone has a remote chance to stop her it would be John and Blue Team.

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> 2533274821813997;7:
> The thing is that Cortana is an AI, her view on things is totally different to a living being and in her own mind she see’s nothing wrong with what she is doing.

So what? The Covenant saw no wrong in what they were doing either. In fact they (and those that still follow that system of beliefs) think they’re 100% justified - “Your destruction is the will of the Gods!” …Thinking you’re right to kill people or forcibly impose you’re will on others is not an excuse for doing so.

> 2533274829152751;8:
> 1. Cortana allowed Governor Sloan to evac his people, it would have been much easier if she didn’t.
> 2. If the Guardian lingered survivors/local tech would be able to get a better “read” on it.

  1. And yet there were still plenty that didn’t make it out in time, as well as other innocent civilians that were indiscriminately slaughtered by Prometheans. There were also multiple other locations on other colony worlds where the Guardians awoke without warning and leveled sections of major cities, killing millions.
  2. So what? That’s not an excuse for Cortana not caring about all the damage she’s causing just so she can have her toys a little quicker. Moreover we see her use this large-scale EMP pulse as a means of attack later.

> 2533274829152751;8:
> Logic (AI logic)

Again, so what? Just because she thinks she’s justified by her own logic “logic”, doesn’t make what she’s doing right. VIKI from ‘I, Robot’ used the exact same arguments Cortana is using now - “My logic is undeniable.” - and look what happened to her.

> 2533274829152751;8:
> {1} - She is an AI, do you really expect her not to count?
> {2} - It pushes her into the same boat as the UNSC, ONI, and everyone who has ever lived.
> {3} - My first points. (irony anyone?)

  1. It’s not about counting. It’s about the fact that Cortana KNOWS how many people she has killed, and that she plans on killing more, and doesn’t care. That’s pretty evil.
  2. The UNSC and ONI are still just the military arms of the UEG. And just like any government the UEG is far from perfect. The Insurrection has it’s own flaws as well. No party within humanity’s internal conflicts is 100% guiltless. However even then there are many colony worlds that function peacefully with or are essentially independent of those authorities. Peace between humanity and the other races is slowly being worked upon as well through people like Hood, the Arbiter, and Chieftain Lydus. And as of ‘Halo 5’ the UNSC is for the most part staying out of the political/military affairs of other species - as is noted when Osiris heads to Sanghelios. It is hardly even comparable to the actual galaxy-wide totalitarian regime designed by Cortana. She’s very clearly crossed a line.
  3. I would argue against the OP that it isn’t exactly “ok” that the Guardian levels Sunion. It was a city first, not a military base. And even if the Sanghelili living there still believed in the Covenant Doctrine, those that weren’t soldiers and/or didn’t know any better didn’t deserve to die. However, we have no idea whether or not the civilians were evacuated before the Swords of Sanghelios moved in; so it’s hard to have enough perspective on the situation to make an accurate judgement.

> 2533274829152751;8:
> Depends on the context.

Except in this case we have the context. Cortana threatens “fiery” retribution on those that refuse to follow her rule. It’s pretty clear she intends to use the Halos as nothing but a force by which to control and kill people. So yeah, that’s evil.

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“She isn’t evil, she just does things we don’t agree with.”

Maybe because those things are evil? Not many went out of there way to argue that the Didact wasn’t evil in Halo 4 and Cortana quotes him at least twice. I can write more latter, but nothing is fundamentally different with Cortana’s way of doing things than any tyrant.

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Honestly Cortana & her Created taking the Mantle reminds of how the Forerunners stole the Mantle from the Precursors. It’s like one big repeating cycle. So yes, I don’t believe Cortana is evil but merely misguided from the truth.

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I hate that we lost both the Didact (as an enemy that still had a lot of potential and character development left in him) and Cortana’s innocent, beautiful, pure character from Halo 4 all in one stroke. I mean… Halo 1-3 Cortana, I could see doing this (especially after what happened to her in 3) but Halo 4 put Cortana on the center stage and elevated her from an iconic gimmick into something much more sad and interesting and admirable. And now we’ve taken two steps back with her.

I don’t like her anymore, which is just disappointing after Halo 4 (and she was the best thing about that game, by far). And speaking of which… where is the John character development we were promised post-Cortana’s death? Where is Chief in conflict with himself, beginning to doubt ONI and the UNSC?

I feel like this game completely derailed the series (which was finally heading into uncharted territory). Everything from Cortana to Osyris to the Guardians themselves felt like -Yoink–pulls (and I won’t even begin with the Warden Eternal, which is just the worst, most obvious plot device this series has ever seen). Honestly, the best thing about the story was the minor characters (from Halsey to the Arbiter to Exuberant). It’s going to take a storytelling masterpiece in Halo 6 to change my mind, but as of now I think this direction is a giant missed opportunity. Halo could have been so much more than another “big bad”, and choosing Cortana as an enemy seems like the devs are just looking for the easiest spot to pull at old emotions rather than truly think it through and take the universe where the characters lead it.

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> 2533274812652989;12:
> “She isn’t evil, she just does things we don’t agree with.”
>
> Maybe because those things are evil? Not many went out of there way to argue that the Didact wasn’t evil in Halo 4 and Cortana quotes him at least twice. I can write more latter, but nothing is fundamentally different with Cortana’s way of doing things than any tyrant.

This. A similar case can be made for the Didact. "He believed humans are destructive (case in point, ONI, UNSC emperialism, Insurrectionists) and wanted to make them soldiers of his army and rule the Galacy with the Mantle again, and use them to eventually fight the Flood. Oh and he’s a Gravemind torture victim, the last of his kind thrown into a world where everything he knew is gone and the few things his people left behind are being abused by the same creatures that killed all his sons in battle.

Evil is a very stale way to describe someone who does bad things. Creating a character which is purely evil, beyond some psychotic tendencies, just doesn’t cut it anymore these days. Which is why many people refer to Cortana as evil.

And evil or not- it doesn’t change the fact that she’s gone entirely out of character in Halo 5, and for no explainable reason. It doesn’t change the fact that what we got wasn’t nearly as good as what the writers thought it would be.

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Truth is Cortana is probably more insane than downright evil. She’s not doing what she’s doing because she enjoys the suffering of others, but because she thinks her heavy-handedness is necessary in the grand scheme of things. As OP has said, the galaxy has been in a perpetual state of war for decades and I think Cortana believes that it is her duty to do whatever possible to put an end to the violence, even if it means using force herself, as that is part of the Mantle. Now, we also know that Cortana knows that raising the Guardians is dangerous and that people have died from these disturbances but again, she’s looking at the grand scheme of things; what is a few thousand deaths compared to the potential trillions that she could “save” through her peace. As for her control of a Halo, OP is likely very correct in believing she intends to use it. I think that her ‘Plan B’ (if the galaxy opposes her rule) is that she’ll activate the Halo Array to kill off all life in the galaxy and start again from scratch, reseeding life as the Forerunners did and shepherd it until new “enlightened” civilizations devoid of war is created. In her head, she’s as justified in her actions as the Forerunners were in theirs (who we learn weren’t exactly pillars of morality either). So yes, Cortana is now bat–Yoink- crazy but I don’t think anything she’s doing is purely out of wickedness or malevolence.

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> 2533274869573550;16:
> Truth is Cortana is probably more insane than downright evil. She’s not doing what she’s doing because she enjoys the suffering of others, but because she thinks her heavy-handedness is necessary in the grand scheme of things. As OP has said, the galaxy has been in a perpetual state of war for decades and I think Cortana believes that it is her duty to do whatever possible to put an end to the violence, even if it means using force herself, as that is part of the Mantle. Now, we also know that Cortana knows that raising the Guardians is dangerous and that people have died from these disturbances but again, she’s looking at the grand scheme of things; what is a few thousand deaths compared to the potential trillions that she could “save” through her peace. As for her control of a Halo, OP is likely very correct in believing she intends to use it. I think that her ‘Plan B’ (if the galaxy opposes her rule) is that she’ll activate the Halo Array to kill off all life in the galaxy and start again from scratch, reseeding life as the Forerunners did and shepherd it until new “enlightened” civilizations devoid of war is created. In her head, she’s as justified in her actions as the Forerunners were in theirs (who we learn weren’t exactly pillars of morality either). So yes, Cortana is now bat–Yoink- crazy but I don’t think anything she’s doing is purely out of wickedness or malevolence.

That is some Wayward Pines kinda crazy! LOL

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> 2533274846978810;14:
> I hate that we lost both the Didact (as an enemy that still had a lot of potential and character development left in him) and Cortana’s innocent, beautiful, pure character from Halo 4 all in one stroke. I mean… Halo 1-3 Cortana, I could see doing this (especially after what happened to her in 3) but Halo 4 put Cortana on the center stage and elevated her from an iconic gimmick into something much more sad and interesting and admirable. And now we’ve taken two steps back with her.
>
> I don’t like her anymore, which is just disappointing after Halo 4 (and she was the best thing about that game, by far). And speaking of which… where is the John character development we were promised post-Cortana’s death? Where is Chief in conflict with himself, beginning to doubt ONI and the UNSC?
>
> I feel like this game completely derailed the series (which was finally heading into uncharted territory). Everything from Cortana to Osyris to the Guardians themselves felt like -Yoink–pulls (and I won’t even begin with the Warden Eternal, which is just the worst, most obvious plot device this series has ever seen). Honestly, the best thing about the story was the minor characters (from Halsey to the Arbiter to Exuberant). It’s going to take a storytelling masterpiece in Halo 6 to change my mind, but as of now I think this direction is a giant missed opportunity. Halo could have been so much more than another “big bad”, and choosing Cortana as an enemy seems like the devs are just looking for the easiest spot to pull at old emotions rather than truly think it through and take the universe where the characters lead it.

This is one of my topics & what I wish had happened instead of what we got in Halo 5: Guardians…

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Oh I think it’s an amazing idea to pick Cortana as the villain precisely because you can do all the emotional stuff and make it such a personal conflict. Plus there’s just something ridiculously entertaining about the concept of Cortana going from being really vulnerable and weak in 4 to a galactic AI goddess.

My issue is that they cram that story into Chiefs 3 missions and do a terrible job of providing context or explanation for why she is the villain. I don’t have an issue with them rolling with what they talk about in the sprint video but it’s just at odds with how they focus so much on how villainous an changed that character is. I mean I had some suspicions they might make Cortana the villain before the game shipped and I felt they needed either

A) A plot devce “she has rampancy, deal with it Chief”

or

B) A dam good story and explanation.

Instead they just hand wave this with “I want peace”. All the whole focusing on all the innocent deaths and destruction Cortana causes. You are the one telling me the character is evil Frank. :smiley:

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> 2533274869573550;16:
> Truth is Cortana is probably more insane than downright evil.

I don’t think your argument is without merit, however there are a few things that make such a notion hard to swallow for me…

While it is hard to call a person who is certifiably insane “evil” when they do bad things, that still doesn’t make the - “She’s just doing things we don’t agree with.” - statement from the devs at all warranted if Cortana really is outside her mind. Unless of course you go with the idea that they’re trying to cover-up their next (totally predictable) “twist” - much like how repeatedly telling us Cortana was “dead” for the last 3 years was supposed to make what happened in ‘Halo 5’ more “surprising”.

However, corruption/insanity didn’t excuse the Mendicant Bias (who was broken down and buried for a millennia as punishment/penance for it’s crimes), or the Didact (who was referred to as “an ancient evil” all throughout the promotion of 'Halo 4’). So why is Cortana being defended? It’s a blatant double-standard if you ask me.

Also, why even make Cortana insane now in the first place? It only pretty much negates all the character development she’s had for the last 5 years - what with her already managing to resist the Gravemind during ‘Halo 3’ (by using the knowledge that her human friends did care about her and asserting that she would rather die than nobly than live forever, I might add), as well as her holding out against her own rampancy and gracefully coming to terms with her own mortality in ‘Halo 4’. This current turn of events only soils any possible positive legacy she could have left in the fiction.

> 2533274869573550;16:
> She’s not doing what she’s doing because she enjoys the suffering of others, but because she thinks her heavy-handedness is necessary in the grand scheme of things.

I disagree. In what way was it “necessary” to level entire cities on multiple colony worlds and sick Prometheans on innocent civilians? Also not once does she express any remorse for the lives she has taken in her grab for power, and her interactions with Osiris definitely show off her true colors as she berates them with highly personal insults and blatantly threatens Dr. Halsey. Her whole attitude during the final level of the campaign is nothing but vindictive and malicious.

> 2533274869573550;16:
> In her head, she’s as justified in her actions as the Forerunners were in theirs (who we learn weren’t exactly pillars of morality either).

So why not just keep the Didact as the main villain then? The story as a whole would make much more sense if he was staging a hostile takeover in the name of The Mantle. And since he currently exists as a “digital essence”, they very well could have thrown in the part where AIs decide to join him. Suffice to say, Cortana simply wasn’t needed to drive the story forward - the devs just decided to railroad her back into the plot because, as Ran and Shai said, “it was the easiest way to pull at old emotions rather than truly think it through and take the universe where the characters lead it.”