Cortana's Chip Not Lost

Community Halo Universe
1

Playing through the Halo 4 campaign, I noticed that there’s times where the Chief leaves a “data pillar” without recovering Cortana’s chip; if it was ever truly physically inserted into the pillar. Most notable to me is when Cortana is snatched from the system after shutting down the Particle Cannons. Chief never retrieved her chip, he just went off immediately to try and find her.

This has lead to a theory. I’m not sure if this has been discussed in the past, and searches turned up too much and nothing specific to it. I theorize that Cortana used the sensors in the Chief’s glove to go from the chip to the pillar. This would explain how the Chief was able to simply leave the control panel for the Particle Cannons without recovering anything, and would explain how he still has Cortana’s chip.

2

That sounds reasonable. Why did I not think of this, its not like he hasnt done it before.
Me, inside your head, now.
Need I say more?

3

I hope that this doesn’t crush your theory or anything, but Trailers are almost NEVER canon. And because of that, we can’t make any definite assumptions that are based from it.

4

Absolutely true. I highly doubt the forerunners made pedestals specifically designed to hold UNSC AI chips. That’s like finding USB ports on alien technology. I think it makes more sense that he takes out the chip, and makes contact with the pedestal to allow Cortana to interface with it, like at the end of halo 3 when cortana activated the halo.

5

What the user above me said. ^^

I think it’s safe to say you’re 100% right, OP. :slight_smile:

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It would be quite perplexing if Forerunner technology was so easily integrated with Human technology, especially A.I. chips.
Sure, you could say that the port changed it’s shape to fit the chip, but that still doesn’t account for a universal compatibility.

7

I have honest to God thought of this before, never made a post. I agree 100% with you OP. 343i do have some tricks up their sleeve, who knows what’s next.

Just like Breaking Bad, lol.

8

He does pull out the chip. but chief just touches the pillar with it.

Like Halo 3’s ending. Cortana just walks out of the thing and put’s in the Index.

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Halo 2 and 3 showed that she did not need to be where the chip was. It is quite possible Chief had the chip with him the whole time.

Also, the pedestal that was destroyed was not the one that he inserted her in to.

10

Maybe its just regular chip?
But that would be just plain stupid.

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Oh wait it is without Cortana!
So this doesnt really matter at all!

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> Halo 2 and 3 showed that she did not need to be where the chip was. It is quite possible Chief had the chip with him the whole time.
>
> Also, the pedestal that was destroyed was not the one that he inserted her in to.

Valid points. I’m liking this thread so far.

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> I hope that this doesn’t crush your theory or anything, but Trailers are almost NEVER canon. And because of that, we can’t make any definite assumptions that are based from it.

Never said anything about a trailer, friend.

Something else that I noticed in the campaign; when you’re defending that one choke-point on the Mantle’s Approach where Cortana pulls up two Focus Turrets to help you defend it, the Chief never “inserted” Cortana into the pillar there that she appears on. Yet he recovers her from it. How else would this be possible, unless her chip was not physically being used?

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He inserted her there I’m fairly sure.

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> > I hope that this doesn’t crush your theory or anything, but Trailers are almost NEVER canon. And because of that, we can’t make any definite assumptions that are based from it.
>
> Never said anything about a trailer, friend.
>
> Something else that I noticed in the campaign; when you’re defending that one choke-point on the Mantle’s Approach where Cortana pulls up two Focus Turrets to help you defend it, the Chief never “inserted” Cortana into the pillar there that she appears on. Yet he recovers her from it. How else would this be possible, unless her chip was not physically being used?

No he didnt recover her, its just regular ship. It doesnt glow so theres no cortana =regular chip.

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I hope the chip is ok. It’ll be so cool have Chief carry the empty chip around during the next campaign.

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Necro?

The “chip” is just a housing for an “A.I”. Kinda like a “house” for a human. (I don’t think this will help any cortona resurrection ideas). Other then that its a good theory…

In regards to the chief carrying it around… What about all the other dog tags he SHOULD be carrying around? seems exclusive…

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> He inserted her there I’m fairly sure.

Nope. You show up through the portal and immediately begin defending that point. Cortana’s spherical form appears on the pillar, but the Chief never physically inserted her into it.

> No he didnt recover her

One of the very last things the Chief does in that area is pull Cortana from the system before making his escape.

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> > He inserted her there I’m fairly sure.
>
> Nope. You show up through the portal and immediately begin defending that point. Cortana’s spherical form appears on the pillar, but the Chief never physically inserted her into it.
>
>
>
> > No he didnt recover her
>
> One of the very last things the Chief does in that area is pull Cortana from the system before making his escape.

I’m about to find out for myself. Hold.

EDIT: FINAL LEVEL SPOILERS! Just played the whole level, on normal, but what I saw was the following:

The first terminal, where Didact says “Is this your secret. This, evolved ancilla” Chief simply put the chip on the terminal, she appears as a glowing circle, activates a portal, Chief DOES NOT recover her, and jumps into portal.

Next you fight a few crawlers, go thru another pillar, go thru more Prometheans, go thru another portal, pick your weapons of choice, go thru another portal, wreck some more Prometheans, go thru a portal to the Crawler holdout part (She’s stil in the system searching for Composer) she takes control of defense turrets, She then appears on the terminal in which you retrieve her with the chip you’ve had the whole time (although Chief puts his hand onto the terminal BEFORE he touches his head, implying that this is an error of 343i or the chip went from that first terminal way back to this one magically), you then ride the lift to the Composer area, you actually insert the chip into the terminal, Cortana splits her rampant parts, you pull the Chip out while those rampant parts are now in the system while she is still with you in the chip, I went left to Knight tower first instead of right, you once again put the chip into the terminal, she splits more, you retrieve the chip and her, go thru another towel and man-cannon to a third tower, wreck some Prometheans, you once again insert the chip and her into the terminal, she splits more and disables the field around Didact. After Didact activates Composer Chief attempts to grab the chip and just as this happens the terminal is vanished (did he grab it or no?) This is the big question here as she’s talking/whispering to you, but did the Chief indeed retrieve the chip and if so is part of her in there?

So you ride a man-cannon to the final tower, kill some Prometheans and rid the lift up to the Didact, she pops out all over, you “Defeat” the Didact, then there’s the epic cutscene after you daddy slap the bomb causing a chain reaction.

So basically, who knows the full truth to all this?

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> The first terminal, where Didact says “Is this your secret. This, evolved ancilla” Chief simply put the chip on the terminal, she appears as a glowing circle, activates a portal, Chief DOES NOT recover her, and jumps into portal … She then appears on the terminal in which you retrieve her with the chip you’ve had the whole time (although Chief puts his hand onto the terminal BEFORE he touches his head, implying that this is an error of 343i or the chip went from that first terminal way back to this one magically)

This is what leads to the theory that the Chief is not actually removing the data chip from his helmet.

Let me illustrate it this way. The Chief puts his glove (which does have electronics throughout it,) to the back of his helmet and Cortana “hitches a ride” in the circuits of his glove. When he puts that in proximity to the pillar, Cortana transits from his glove/the Mjolnir armor to the pillar. He uses the same process to recover her.

When he puts her in the system and then recovers her, she’s ejecting her rampant fragments into the system. That wouldn’t work too well if she’s in there with them, so the Chief has to recover her as soon as they’re off, but according to this theory she goes from Mjolnir to the system of the Mantle’s Approach in the same manner.

What sparks this theory is the instance where the Chief “leaves” Cortana in one pillar and recovers her in a completely different one. This would be impossible if he had left the chip behind as well, and only possible if he had the chip with him the entire time. A similar instance happens prior to this in the Forerunner complex after the Chief shuts down the Particle Cannons.

Not only this, but from the beginning of Halo 3, we know that Cortana can be in a system independent of her data chip. While she’s on High Charity, the Chief has her data chip with him. This theory refutes the belief or claim that Cortana’s data chip was destroyed when the last pillar she appears on is destroyed.