Glassing

Community Halo Universe
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> 1: Introduction

There appears to be some disparity regarding the nature of the Covenant’s ability to Glass a planet (Both in canon and community). On one hand there is the Halo Reach Data Pads, and a few other sources (such as Halo: Evolutions and Halsey’s Journal), which seem to indicate that they do not actually Glass a planet in totality, while a few of the older books seem to suggest otherwise.

So can the Covenant actually Glass an entire planet within the relatively short time frames described in the older novels or is it just localised and a significantly weaker process as suggested by the Data Pad AI?

Given the scope of the Human-Covenant war, the energy output of Covenant weaponry and the Covenant’s own energy and logistical limitations, there is more than sufficient evidence and reason to believe that the answer is in fact no, despite what the limited first hand accounts of certain characters may say. (This word “limited” is important later on)

> 2: Reasoning

The sole reason which initially gave rise to this idea is the conclusion drawn by the Data Pad AI in that it apparently takes 1 Covenant ship (CCS class) 15 seconds to Glass one acre of land. [1] With that ratio, it takes 30 years for 2000 Covenant ships to Glass an Earth sized planet.

From this, other reasons become apparent.

Firstly, that statement implies that there are 2000 Covenant ships over one planet for 30 years. Given that sort of logistical requirement, it is hard to imagine that the Covenant possesses anywhere near the number of ships required to Glass an entire planet -multiple planets- and wage a multi-system war all at once within the space of 27 years. [2] Furthermore, the rate at which colonies were supposedly Glassed is too quick to support the idea. [2] It would imply that they had much greater than 2000 ships over each colony attacked, or that they could discharge massive amounts of energy in a small space of time which would make them absolutely undefeatable in space. [1] The former is unfeasible, and the latter is not true at all.

The Covenant do not have enough ships to Glass a planet in a space of time that is less than or equal to (or anywhere near, actually) 30 years [2]. There is no reason to take up the assumption, like some people have (E.g. Halopedia), that the Covenant fleet was “many times larger than anticipated” to the extent required, and so there is no reason to assume that the required number of ships came along to do the job quicker. In order to do it in one week (As some people, along with Halopedia, still think is possible. Reach’s glassing was probably the primary source of this idea), the Covenant would need 3.12 million vessels over one colony; a number that they do not have. [3]

> 3: Evidence and reasoning

[1] - So where does this come from, this whole idea about “15 seconds to Glass 1 acre”?

> Data Pad 10
> [^] Importantly, the Covenant does not possess the capacity to accomplish ‘glassing’ on a global scale and wage a multisystem war simultaneously. This is reinforced by hard data regarding their capabilities revealed during fleet engagements with the UNSC. A single Covenant capital ship (CCS-class) is capable of ‘glassing’ approximately one acre of a planet’s surface after an average of fifteen seconds of sustained fire. Understandably this action takes considerably less time when applied to open desert, and considerably longer when applied to deep ocean (> 1.8 km) [^]

The underlined part. Now, how can that be assumed? How do they know this?

Firstly, consider the weapon that is used primarily as the main tool for Glassing. The Energy Projector. It is seen being used again and again, e.g. The Return animated version, Halo 3: Floodgate, Halo 3 ODST: Coastal Highway, Halo Wars Intro, Halo Reach: New Alexandria, etc. This weapon is also used in fleet engagements. It is also in fleet engagements that the determination of the Covenant’s Glassing abilities were found. This weapon, whilst powerful in its own right, is either one of the following:

1 - Insufficient energy output to actually Glass an acre any quicker than 15 seconds.

2 - Poor functionality in that it can only be fired for short durations, followed by a recharge time. Thus the 15 seconds. So even though the Energy Projector’s output may be sufficient to glass an Acre in, let us say 1 second, it may have a cool-down period of 14 seconds thus your 15.

We know from Halo 3 ODST: Coastal Highway that point 2 is not true, leaving only point 1. We see that it can be used for an extended duration. As for point 1 then, the glassing beam has to cross through several kilometres of atmosphere, so by the time it reaches the ground it is “cooler”, unlike in the vacuum of space where there is no interference. That will not account for all of it though. Against ships, it is made into a needle thin energy stream (Battle of Reach), and so is far more potent. When Glassing however, it has a significantly larger cross-section. That means the same energy over more area, decreasing its effectiveness. It is like a 10W tungsten bulb. It is not very bright because its energy is being output in all directions, or in other words it has a low light intensity. However, if you take that 10W and pump it out via a laser and it is a very different story. That 10W output becomes a highly focused and coherent beam with a very high intensity.

2

So what is to stop them from simply increasing the energy output of the weapon to compensate? Well, if they could do that then there is nothing stopping them from doing that to the rest of their weapon systems. It should be noted at this point that Glassing is not reserved for the Energy Projector exclusively but can (And is) also performed by plasma torpedoes. The orbital defence generators on Reach were glassed via this method. Plasma Torpedoes are also used in ship-to-ship combat. Over Jericho VII, Master Chief witnessed how the planet was “glassed” from plasma being fired from the ships lateral lines. It is also from the lateral lines where plasma fired upon enemy ships comes from. I have outlined that the Energy Projector is also used in ship-to-ship battles in addition to glassing. So if they did have the capability to vastly increase the power output of their weapons then space battles would be over in seconds for Humanity, as the weapons used for glassing are also used in combat. This point also reinforces how the assembly could know about the Covenant’s glassing capabilities: Weapons used in glassing are used in space battles also.

(I am also aware of the debatable identity between the Energy Projector and “The Excavation Beam”, which some say is used for glassing rather than the Energy Projector. Assuming that they are different for the moment, there is no difference to my premise as a whole as other weapon systems perform both tasks. I outlined those ones above. However, given the description of the Energy Projector’s energy stream and the visual appearance of the “Excavation Beam” itself, I believe that they may be the same weapon. But like I said, this is largely inconsequential.)

Another point I would like to make is how the Data Pad AI mention that their findings are based on “Hard Data”. That to me sounds like “empirical evidence” that is reliable and clear, not sporadic and dubious. Now, returning to the fact that increasing weapon power would spell instant doom for Human fleets:

> Data Pad 10
> The implications for their own internal politics are also instructive e.g., what effect might the Covenant leadership’s assertion have on any client species in their coalition? We aren’t the only beings that would be terrified by the idea of absolute destruction of a planet’s surface - nor would we be the only ones to realize the futility of attempting to resist a force that has such power at its disposal. [^]

The Data Pad AI suggest this idea here. If the Covenant could churn out that much energy in such a short period of time in order to Glass a planet in weeks, or even a few months or years, it would be completely pointless to try to resist them in battle. Another person to make the same conclusion on their own is Dr. Catherine Halsey:

> Halsey’s Journal: September 9, 2549; 2nd page
> "Glassed" - an evocative, if not entirely accurate term.

> Halsey’s Journal: September 9, 2549; 3rd page
> There is perennial mystery of whether the Covenant glasses the entire surface of a world or merely uses those ungodly weapons to destroy all meaningful resistance, saving the rest of the planet for other purposes.
> The energy required to quickly dispatch a planet is…well, if they continuously had that magnitude of power at their disposal, there would be no Human-Covenant ship-to-ship battles.
> They would win. Instantly. Without exception.

There are Human-Covenant ship-to-ship battles. The Covenant do not win them instantly, and there are certainly exceptions to them winning at all. The conclusion is simple. The Covenant’s apparent ability to output the necessary energy to Glass a planet in such a short space of time is false.

Keep the first Halsey quote in mind as well, because we will come back to it later.

[2] - So how many ships do the Covenant have roughly? Well, an absolute bare minimum can be gleaned from looking at the loses that the Covenant sustained over the years:

  • Chi Ceti: 1
  • Second Battle of Harvest: 1
  • Alpha Aurigae: 12
  • Harvest Campaigns: At least 1
  • XI Bootis A: 8
  • Groombridge-1830: 3
  • First Battle of Arcadia: 1 or 2 (I shall only use 1 though)
  • The Rubble: 1
  • 18 Scorpii: 1
  • Psi Serpentis: 300
  • Algolis: 1
  • The Package: 1
  • TORPEDO: 7
  • Sigma Octanus IV: 3
  • Deliver Hope Trailer: 1
  • UPPERCUT: 2
  • Reach: 212 (+ Unknown number that show up after Jorge is killed)
  • Line Installation 1-4: ~12
  • Alpha Halo: Unknown. At the end of CE, Cortana says “An entire armada obliterated”.
  • Aftermath of Alpha Halo: 7
  • Second “Battle” of Reach: 20
  • Eridanus Secundus: 1
  • FIRST STRIKE: 485, UH
  • Earth: (Much) Greater than 15.
  • Cleveland: 1
  • High Charity: Unknown. Probably high.
  • Onyx: 54
  • Joyous Exultation: “Hundreds”. Two massive combined fleets numbering in the hundreds, 60% wiped out.
  • The Ark: 30
  • The Great Schism: Unknown. After the war, only minor skirmishes were fought, and by 2559, Covenant ships become quite rare. The Return describes the Sangheili issue with ships. Skirmishes imply small scale engagements, so it is unlikely on the same scale as the battles for Earth or Reach so loses would not be as significant. However, over time those loses might have come out to be a large number.
    Total that we know: ~1180

Factor in the implied number at High Charity, Joyous Exultation, The full Battle of Earth (Unknown exactly how many of Truths fleet was destroyed there), the undocumented Harvest Campaigns and all the other battles from the war that have unknown Covenant ship casualties, it is safe to assume that the Covenants loses were probably in the 1500 - 2000 range.

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If the NOVA at Joyous Exultation wiped out 60% of a fleet of “hundreds” which represented most, if not all, of the Sangheili fighting forces (Halo Encyclopaedia, Pg 201), then the remaining 40% will also only be in the “hundreds”. (If even that) It essentially levelled the playing field between Loyalist and Sangheili forces, so the Loyalist fleet is also likely in the “hundreds” (Again, if even that) that is equal to the 40% Sangheili remnant. So before the NOVA, the total remaining Covenant forces was in the area of 140% of a fleet of “hundreds” that initially surrounded the planet. “Hundreds” is smaller than “thousands”. Thousands of ships would not be described in terms of hundreds for the same reason we do not describe 3000 as “thirty hundred”. It is redundant. At most, these remaining fleets (The entirety of the Covenant fleets that is) numbered perhaps around the 2000 for those reasons.

By the time 2559 was rolling in, at the end of the Great Schism, Covenant ships were becoming increasing precious due to scarce numbers and yet the bulk of their ships appear to have been lost to the Human-Covenant war as opposed to the Great Schism’s scattered skirmishes. The numbers lost in the Human-Covenant war is rather low, but the sense of desperateness after the Great Schism with relevance to ship numbers is there.

Then we have to consider what the Prophet of Regret said to Ripa 'Moramee in Halo Wars about the Covenant not having enough of its own to ensure victory. They required the Forerunner fleet. Later years saw the Covenant trying to exploit plans such as the Exodus Project and acquire powerful technology such as The Knowing, Line installation 1-4, The Ark and Halo. It seems that the Hierarchs were beginning to wonder if they could win, and so were always trying to find an endgame device to guarantee victory.

The general idea is that it looks like the Covenant perhaps do not have as much ships as there made out to be. Even if the Covenant had, let us say, 10’000 ships (which sounds inaccurate given the impression from the above paragraphs), it would take all of them 6 years to Glass a colony. Which is another point: The rate that which colonies came under attack is too fast for Glassing to take place.

Data Pad 14

4 years, 8 colonies.

Using the hypothetical 10’000 ship count, it takes 6 years to Glass each colony with all your ships. Send 1250 to each one and there is no difference. No matter which way you slice it, it is always the same. 48 =/= 4, the Covenant do not have that many ships anyway and cannot discharge ridiculous energy amounts that quickly, so the colonies are not glassed. If they wanted to glass a planet in a week, like what was once thought, then the Covenant would need 3.12 million ships all over one colony.

Never has 2000 Covenant ships ever been seen invading a colony. The largest fleet ever seen invading a Human world was the one at Reach (300+) and the largest fleet ever seen was the one that guards High Charity during Halo 2, described with a ship count in the “hundreds”. No fleet has ever been seen that numbered in the “thousands”.

[3] - The 3.12 million is just from the 2000 ships = 30 years.
2000 ships = 30 years
60’000 ships = 1 year so
60’000 ships = 52 weeks
3’120’000 ships = 1 week.

Now, remember the first Halsey quote? Time to recall it.

> Halsey’s Journal: September 9, 2549; 2nd page
> "Glassed" - an evocative, if not entirely accurate term.

The inaccuracy is down to Human nature. We like to exaggerate. The Data Pad AI suggest more thorough reasoning though:

> Data Pad 10
> [^] Moving forward, this Committee recommends the formal adoption of the descriptor ‘glassing’ to portray the aftermath of planetary assault by the Covenant. It is the opinion of this Committee that this term will capitalize on the three weaknesses evident in the majority of our creators:passive curiosity, absence of a solid methodological foundation, and the inability to grasp even simple phenomena when applied on a planetary scale. [^]

As it can be seen there, Glassing is being used as a hyperbole for the actual process. It was a belief of the AI that it would strengthen Humanity’s resolve. The reason it works is because most people do not understand the actual process, and so are susceptible to exaggeration and propaganda.

  • Passive curiosity: People will not follow up on what they hear, but simply believe what they see on a TV screen or on a sheet of paper as they go about their daily lives. This lack of actual interest helps in the perpetuation of false rumours.

  • Absence of a solid methodological foundation: People are not critical of what they hear. They hear the term Glassing or they see what looks to be like a giant explosion on the surface of a planet, and jump to conclusions. There is no deductive logical reasoning or investigation.

  • Inability to grasp even simple phenomena when applied on a planetary scale: Most people have insufficient knowledge of science to accurately describe what is taking place. So they are labile to misconception from the start.
    Some however, like Halsey, who are intelligent enough to at least guess otherwise, are not so easily swayed. This founds the bedrock of why all these “first hand accounts”, from limited viewpoints throughout the series are not entirely accurate.

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An additional point, this one from Evolutions: The Return:

> Pg 494
> The Covenant used smaller plasma bombardments frequently to easily destroy Human cities and armies, …

So some sort of reference to the Covenant regularly utilising smaller bombardments to destroy meaningful resistance. Whilst not an explicit statement that this is all they do, the implication is showing slightly.

> Pg 494 - 495
> But rarely, the High council would order a world’s absolute annihilation. This only happened in times of particular religious significance, as the effort involved in covering an entire planets surface in such a powerful assault was enormous, requiring hundreds of ships and massive amounts of energy…massive even for the Covenant.

So Glassing an entire planet, or even anywhere near to it, puts enormous strain on the Covenants resources to the point where it is a rarity. In this case, it is still questionable as to whether it is 100%. It is likely that this is a case similar to the second Assault on Arcadia, described in Halsey’s Journal. She wonders why it suffered such an extreme fate and wondered if there was any religious or political significance. The Shipmaster makes note of particular religious circumstances evoking such extremism. It is possible that this one of those circumstances.

> Halsey’s Journal: September 9, 2549; 2nd page
> I watched the entire event: the Covenant arrive via Slipspace, the plasma bombardment, the careful immolation of every vital part of the planet. Such a massive fleet. Much larger than what they usually use to eradicate one of our colonies.

Some key words to emphasize here: “Every vital part”. Not the same as “Every single part”. It implies that again the Covenant took to only targeting specific regions rather than blanket the planet in plasma. Why not? Because they cannot. This “absolute annihilation” seems hyperbole in a sense too.

If you look at what Arcadia’s function was after the initial attack - a bread basket for the UNSC - it would make sense for the Covenant to target vital parts of a planet. That could possibly mean grain belts, forests, fresh water bodies etc. Harvest saw some potent bombardment as well. It was another bread basket. If the Covenant wish to destroy a colony and ensure it remains useless to the UNSC, they need to ensure that they successfully destroy its function. Population centres = Cities; Farming worlds = “Vital areas”.

In both cases they only destroy what they need to, probably because that is all they can do. If you look at Kholo, an instance that certainly looked like an overly religious event that gets the special annihilation treatment, the planet did not appear to be absolutely annihilated either. It still had bodies of water, rivers and some degree of life, (Grass) as well as a breathable atmosphere.

So what about these first hand accounts, such as John watching the Glassing of Jericho VII in TFoR, or Fred reflecting on his observations of Glassing in First Strike or the crew of the Midsummer Night watching the Glassing of Charybdis IX?

One can draw on the 3 points about Human Nature that the AI said would make the term “Glassing” a hyperbole. John is watching an event and concluding in his mind what he thinks is happening, and not necessarily what is. It is the same with most of these instances. The reasons for this have already been stated.

The Charybdis IX incident is an interesting point to consider, because the Prophet of Regret also reflects on it.

> The Cole Protocol: Pg 152
> Energy rolled over the square buildings that the humans loved to cluster near one another on the ground. That made it all that much easier for the Covenant to destroy them.

Like the Shipmaster from The Return said, they frequently targeted cities as it was easier and within their means to do so. Here is, most probably, an example of this. Yet, see how easy it would be for the crew of the Midsummer Night to perhaps assume the whole planet destroyed?

Given their limited viewpoint, feeding on each others fear and panic and succumbing to rumours previously told (Originally started by the Data Pad AI) and allowing that to fuel their premature conclusiveness, it is easy to see how they would. An idea is hard to kill. Yet! Commander Zeng, after the video recording, spoke with righteous fury saying how there would be consequences for those responsible. It strengthened his resolve and that of his crew. Just like the AI predicted would happen.

As for the Shipmaster in The Return himself, he is likely to have a greater understanding of the outcome of “Glassing” than a Minor or Major, who are quite likely under the impression that global destruction is a result of Glassing given the 3 reasons that the AI state and also how completely labile the Sangheili and other Covenant races are on the whole. The Shipmaster however, knows different, as he has seen first hand and knows the technology and its limitations. John and the other Spartans however do not. And what does the Shipmaster say? That “absolute annihilation” is rare and incredibly taxing for the Covenant.

Final point: The Prophet of Truths speech in Halo 3.

“Your world will burn until its surface is but glass…”

This is simply propaganda. It would not make sense for him to divulge that he cannot actually devastate the entire surface of a planet and thus his Covenant’s own technological shortcomings for 2 reasons. Firstly, it is war. He is going to want to demoralize his opponents, not give them cause to fight harder. (Which knowledge of an actual weaker Covenant might bring at this point)

The second reason is hinted in the Data Pads again:

> Data Pad 10
> The implications for their own internal politics are also instructive e.g., what effect might the Covenant leadership’s assertion have on any client species in their coalition? We aren’t the only beings that would be terrified by the idea of absolute destruction of a planet’s surface - nor would we be the only ones to realize the futility of attempting to resist a force that has such power at its disposal. [^]

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The propaganda is not just solely directed at Humanity, but inwardly within the Covenant as well. It may act as a deterrent for uprisings from the client species, thus keeping them in check. For Truth, or any other really, to divulge the true power of the Covenants most powerful tool of destruction would give the other client races more complacency within the Covenant.

Given how labile the races are, it is not difficult to imagine that the concept of Glassing is in fact propaganda coming straight from the Hierarchs. It explains why the Covenant client races and lesser Sangheili believe that their Covenant actually has the power to do this.

Now, if these Data Pad AI were in fact wrong about their conclusions on the Covenant’s ability to Glass a planet, then where is the revision? Surely they would correct and update such an analysis given the amount of new intelligence that becomes available? If Halsey was able to watch the second invasion of Arcadia, then the AI would obviously have had access to this material as well. After all, they are ultimately guiding Humanity on every level. No piece of virtual intelligence is beyond their reach. Let us not forget how much time has passed for such an amendment to take place. This attack on Arcadia takes place in 2549, some 23 years after the initial conclusion is made. That is plenty of time for more accurate information to be gathered from space battles, satellites observing the “Glassing” events and other sources, and for any changes -if necessary- to be implemented.

Amendments have occurred to the archives before for other things. An instance is seen in Data Pad 13. The bottom two paragraphs are amendments. Look at the dates. The last one was made 14 years after the initial parameters were set. The length of time that has passed since the original analysis was made is clearly not an issue here.

There are no amendments in Data Pad 10, or any other references to Glassing anywhere else afterwards, so perhaps they were in fact correct.

This was a contribution from another user on B.net.

> Posted by: Opogjijijp
> There is also evidence in Halo 3. Lord Hood speaks of the Covenant ‘glassing’ half of Africa, but when we see it later in the game, both a wide view from space and the ground around the Ark, it’s quite clear that it hasn’t been literally glassed. The same could easily apply to planets. Somebody who has fled a planet after witnessing the destruction of major population centers may speak of the entire world being glassed, but that doesn’t mean it has be literal.

It is evidently clear that this is in fact a retcon. However, it can be explained and quite easily fit into existing canon. It also helps to clear up the fact of how Humanity would be able to last more than a few seconds against a power that could discharge a level of energy equal to several trillion kg of antimatter in the space of a few hours, or even a week. They would be outputting 256 times more energy than the Sun produces in a second.

In support of the idea that this is a retcon, there used to exist a line in First Strike that explicitly stated that the Covenant can actually glass a planet in entirety in short time periods. This line is now gone with the 2010 reprints, replaced with a much more ambiguous phrase that has the room for interpretation. In the original copy of First Strike it said:

> Page 105: “When the Covenant destroys a planet, they typically move their large warships closer and blanket the world with a series of crisscrossing orbits to ensure that every square millimetre of the surface is covered with plasma bombardments.”

In the 2010 reprint that is now:

> Page 130: “When the Covenant destroys a planet, they typically move their large warships closer and blanket the world with a series of crisscrossing orbits to ensure that nothing could ever survive on its surface.”

Additionally, in the orginal there was a sentence:

> Page 102: “Before I jumped to Slipspace, I witnessed the poles destroyed, and approximately two thirds of the planets surface was on fire.”

Which is now changed to:

> Page 128: “Before I jumped to Slipspace, I witnessed the poles destroyed, and a significant portion of the planet’s surface was on fire.”

The room for interpretation needed to implement the above retcon has been provided by ridding the previous definite, explicit references to total glassing.

6

Common Responses:

One objection made to me was how the cutscene in the Level Long Night of Solace seemed to indicate the power of the Covenant’s weaponry as it looked like a powerful enough explosion.

Well, the Data Pad AI said it best:

- Absence of a solid methodological foundation.

It looks like a powerful explosion but what is happening beneath is uncertain. The look and colour of the explosion may be an atmospheric effect being caused by high energy plasma passing through the atmosphere, such as aurora. (Inability to grasp even simple phenomena when applied on a planetary scale…) Like what was also pointed out, Covenant weaponry simply cannot be that powerful.

Another is the multiplayer map Condemned which was released as part of the Defiant Map pack. If one looks out one of the windows, you can see like what appears to be the entire surface of Reach in a completely molten state.

These map packs were designed by a third party developer, Certain Affinity. As such, canonical representations cannot always be taken literally. There is a certain degree of artistic license in these things.

Others have decried this by saying that it is an atmospheric effect, and that the orange areas are actually reflections off of the oceans. I have not looked into this, I cannot say if this is true or not, but I think the artistic license argument is sufficient enough.

The cover from Karen Traviss’s new novel Glasslands shows what appears to be a typical “marble planet” image of what a glassed planet may have looked like after being glassed in the “old canon”.

Cover art is not necessarily canon. This was also a problem for other novels, like The Fall of Reach’s new cover art or the art for Headhunters in Halo: Evolutions. You can either take an awesome but not quite canonically accurate cover art or an okay-ish but canonically accurate cover art. Cover art is supposed to grab a persons attention, so I think canonical accuracy takes a backseat here.

7

The Humans have no understanding of the covenant “Glassing” is cleansing a planet from possible infection from the flood and has been taken as a religious act if you play halo 3 half a continent is glassed by less then a dozen ships in a matter of hours and plasma does not “cool down” in an atmosphere seeing as space is cooler then the planet and that the plasma is encased in a magnetic field and as for the covenant winning all of the space battles they allways win them they have never lost a single battle they where commited to winning all of the planets they “attacked” where not fully glassed because they had forerunner relics on them and if you read halo first strike the humans came out with the “NOVA” a bomb which could destroy a planet is it not ignorant to assume that the covenant have a weapon that can glass a whole planet? and just dont use it all the time for a religious reason why didnt the UNSC build more NOVAS? cortana mentions in Ghost of onyx that the UNSC should NOVA bomb Delta halo which implies they have more then one of them if you watched the return like you mentioned you whould have seen that the prophet was in attendance when a planet was glassed and only when the prophet is pleased by the battle does he grant permission to glass the planet and you should remember that over 2/3 of reach was glassed in less then 2 weeks and reach was one of the largest human colonies

8

You see people, one should really read and make sure they understand the post before replying.

> The Humans have no understanding of the covenant

So what? Assuming that this is true for the moment (Which it is not entirely. ONI was able to surmise at the Covenant’s imitativeness at least before Reach fell. You also do not have to understand the Covenant in order to understand the principles involved in reducing a planet to a molten ruin), we are not dealing with Humans here as the source of this information. It is a group of nearly omniscient AIs that have access to every level of Human civilisation, who are also much more intelligent that a Human.

> “Glassing” is cleansing a planet from possible infection from the flood and has been taken as a religious act

No, it is not solely used to rid a word of a Flood infection. The Flood have only been a major threat twice to the Covenant during the Human-Covenant war. And it is a religious act, it is explicitly stated as such. There is no misunderstanding about that. The entire war is a religious act.

> if you play halo 3 half a continent is glassed by less then a dozen ships in a matter of hours

Lord Hood likes to exaggerate, especially when he said the fleet at Reach was 50x the size of Regret’s fleet. I will take his word with a grain of salt when contradictory information presents itself. Also, if you read my post you would have saw how Opog remarked that the area around Kilimanjaro did not looked glassed, and there was certainly no signs of a nuclear winter from having half of an entire continent reduced to a near molten state. The amount of ash and smoke from such an event would be catastrophic to the climate.

> and plasma does not “cool down” in an atmosphere seeing as space is cooler then the planet and that the plasma is encased in a magnetic field

In space there are no gases. Space acts like an insulator in that hot things stay hot for a while because they can only dissipate thermal energy through radiation. In an atmosphere, the plasma lance has to plough through kilometres of gas, which will steal its energy through conduction and convection. The magnetic field is irrelevant because it is present in both environments.

> and as for the covenant winning all of the space battles they allways win them they have never lost a single battle they where commited to winning

The battles for Harvest.
All the battles that Cole won, including his last stand at Psi Serpentis.
Admiral Patterson’s victory against 20 Covenant vessels to his 9.

So yes, there are exceptions. And even more where the Covenant themselves struggled to win, such as Reach and Earth. With planet glassing weaponry, there would be no such things at all.

> all of the planets they “attacked” where not fully glassed because they had forerunner relics on them

Do you have any evidence to say that this is the case the entire time? Regardless, I am positing that Forerunner relics have got nothing to do with it, and have given reasons for why that is the case. Simply stating the converse of that does not do anything.

> and if you read halo first strike the humans came out with the “NOVA” a bomb which could destroy a planet is it not ignorant to assume that the covenant have a weapon that can glass a whole planet?

What has the UNSC got to do with anything? You are arguing from final consequences in that “The Covenant have to stronger otherwise the UNSC will be stronger, and that can’t happen.” But of course no reason is given as to why, and like I said, the UNSC are not a part of any of the reasons I have up there. The UNSC are innovative, the Covenant imitative. It was only a matter of time before the UNSC began to surpass the Covenant in some areas. Examples include:

Power Armour. (Was better before contact with the Covenant)
Shielding technology (Mjolnir)
In-atmosphere fighter craft (And btw, the Longsword was always better than the Seraph for this)
Artificial Intelligence. (Again, better before contact with the Covenant)

So yes, it is a bit ignorant to just assume that the Covenant’s last weapon must be more powerful than the UNSC’s.

> and just dont use it all the time for a religious reason

No evidence?

> if you watched the return like you mentioned you whould have seen that the prophet was in attendance when a planet was glassed and only when the prophet is pleased by the battle does he grant permission to glass the planet

And how does this mean that the Covenant have the technological and logistical capacity to glass an entire world?

> and you should remember that over 2/3 of reach was glassed in less then 2 weeks and reach was one of the largest human colonies

You didn’t even bother reading anything did you? No, you can no longer say that 2/3 of Reach was glassed because that line was retconned with the new editions of the novel.

9

Minun jumalani, man… That’s one of the best essays that I’ve ever read on an element of the Halo universe! It’s fairly airtight, as well as idiot-proof.

I do have one question that I didn’t see mentioned, however. I seem to remember reading something about how the Covenant would fire off a large plasma “bowling ball,” and pretty much guide it around the planet’s surface to burn and destroy anything in it’s path. Do you remember reading anything regarding this, and did you mention it in the above essay? It’s possible that I missed it’s mentioning…

10

> I do have one question that I didn’t see mentioned, however. I seem to remember reading something about how the Covenant would fire off a large plasma “bowling ball,” and pretty much guide it around the planet’s surface to burn and destroy anything in it’s path. Do you remember reading anything regarding this, and did you mention it in the above essay? It’s possible that I missed it’s mentioning…

Hmm, I do not recall any such instances to be honest. Are you perhaps thinking of the scene at the beginning of First Strike where Fred sees a plasma torpedo zoom overhead?

11

It’s possible that I am, or that I was misreading the excerpt. Halopedia somewhat describes what I may be mistaking in this;

“Once discharged, the plasma rounds are guided towards the surface, contained in a magnetic bubble and controlled by the ships automation through miles of atmospheric interference until it strikes its intended target.”

12

> It’s possible that I am, or that I was misreading the excerpt. Halopedia somewhat describes what I may be mistaking in this;
>
> “Once discharged, the plasma rounds are guided towards the surface, contained in a magnetic bubble and controlled by the ships automation through miles of atmospheric interference until it strikes its intended target.”

What Halopedia appears to be describing here is the lance approaching the planets surface from the ship up in orbit, not really anything moving over the surface.

The instance in First Strike had the plasma torpedo fire from the vessel which immediately proceeded to its target and exploded when it hit. Nothing indicated that it was used as a bowling ball of sorts I don’t think, or that it significantly deviated from its trajectory.

13

What about orbital bombardment:Orbital bombardment An orbital lance strikes Reach’s surface. The first and the most commonly used method, is when the Covenant’s large warships aim their plasma turrets, toward the planet’s surface and build up plasma along their lateral lines. The plasma is then discharged in lances from the warship as it continues to orbit the planet - contained within a magnetic bubble, the lances are guided towards the surface by the ships automation, striking an area and converting the top soil and other surface geology into a mineral called lechatelierite that is similar to glass[3], hence its name. The process also vaporizes any bodies of water the planet may possess, or at least reduces the remaining water to small, ash-choked pools. The ecosystem of a planet is also disposed of through this process. This is repeated until every square centimeter of the planet is destroyed; depending on the planet, the technology and the number of ships in the Covenant fleet, it can take the Covenant a minimum of some hours, or up to two days to glass a planet.[4] The impact of the plasma bolt is similar to that of a nuclear detonation on a much different scale. When the plasma bolt impacts the surface, the magnetic field sustaining and guiding the plasma collapses, and, depending on how powerful the release of energy is, the initial zone of impact is obliterated instantly. The areas outside of the initial impact zone are affected by the heat wave generated by the blast; depending on the range, those closest outside of the blast zone are instantly killed by the intense heat. As thermal expansion takes over, the resulting flames fan out and create a pyroclastic surge[5], which will continue to burn the areas it comes into contact with until it has cooled enough that it cannot harm the surface.
Subsequently, the atmosphere is saturated with soot and ash thrown up from the initial impact, subjecting the planet to a nuclear winter. As the initial impact area cools, the surface is covered by extensive areas of molten soil, and is comparable to active volcanic sites in some parts of the world, on a larger scale depending on the extent. The destructive process leaves the planet unable to recover to its former state. As a result of the destruction, the atmospheres of most planets have been known to boil away from the process[6], though not all planets suffered this, with the most notable exception being Reach

14

> -Snip-

Why are you quoting Halopedia to me? That article on glassing is completely wrong and outdated almost.

15

> > -Snip-
>
> Why are you quoting Halopedia to me? That article on glassing is completely wrong and outdated almost.

IMMA FIRIN MAH LAZOR!!!

16

Regarding the artistic license argument for Condemned, an interview with 343i Producer Dan Ayoub in the vidoc for the Defiant map pack takes place where Ayoub explicitly states they chose Condemned and the other maps because they fit canon. Certain Affinity had so many ideas that they could only choose the ones that fit canon, and the entire idea and original concept for Condemned originated with 343’s approval.

CA also worked closely with 343i to ensure the canonical validity of the three maps, saying “one of our biggest concerns was ‘how do we fit this with the fiction?’” All concepts and designs for the maps were run by 343i before devolopment started–Frankie himself even heavily implied all of the maps and ideas were created by 343i themselves when he said that 343i was in control of the kinds of maps they needed.

Its foolish to think 343i didn’t look at that concept painting of glassed Reach for Condemned (as seen in the vidoc). But they obviously approved it. And while yes the cover art for Glasslands isn’t canon in itself, they approved that one too. Hell, the title itself Glasslands leans more towards complete destruction as well.

17

Just a thought, sustained fire bombing, as seen in Tokyo and Dresden, has an effect that begins to ignite the atmosphere, which adds to the heat and area scorched. This maelstrom is strong enough that it creates hurricane force winds, and reaches incredibly high temperatures.

Now, while Covie plasma bombardment may be insufficient on its own, have other external variables been factored in? They may only need to ignite a small portion of the atmosphere to start it, and then use plasma to guide the process.

I believe that this is what was being described in Evolutions (The Return).

18

> Regarding the artistic license argument for Condemned, an interview with 343i Producer Dan Ayoub in the vidoc for the Defiant map pack takes place where Ayoub explicitly states they chose Condemned and the other maps because they fit canon. Certain Affinity had so many ideas that they could only choose the ones that fit canon, and the entire idea and original concept for Condemned originated with 343’s approval.
>
> CA also worked closely with 343i to ensure the canonical validity of the three maps, saying “one of our biggest concerns was ‘how do we fit this with the fiction?’” All concepts and designs for the maps were run by 343i before devolopment started–Frankie himself even heavily implied all of the maps and ideas were created by 343i themselves when he said that 343i was in control of the kinds of maps they needed.
>
> Its foolish to think 343i didn’t look at that concept painting of glassed Reach for Condemned (as seen in the vidoc). But they obviously approved it. And while yes the cover art for Glasslands isn’t canon in itself, they approved that one too. Hell, the title itself Glasslands leans more towards complete destruction as well.

So what you are telling me is that 343 Industries cannot make their mind up? Why did they remove that line from First Strike if they wanted exactly what was in Condemned as you see it?

As for the Glasslands cover, yes they approved it, because it is cover art - to grab a readers attention. The title Glasslands, as a play on the term glassing, sounds better than Almost Glasslands.

> Just a thought, sustained fire bombing, as seen in Tokyo and Dresden, has an effect that begins to ignite the atmosphere, which adds to the heat and area scorched. This maelstrom is strong enough that it creates hurricane force winds, and reaches incredibly high temperatures.
>
> Now, while Covie plasma bombardment may be insufficient on its own, have other external variables been factored in? They may only need to ignite a small portion of the atmosphere to start it, and then use plasma to guide the process.
>
> I believe that this is what was being described in Evolutions (The Return).

As far as I recall, there was no mention of maelstroms in The Return, or any mention to any external factors affecting the process. Of course I may have missed it. If so could you tell me a page number, and I will look at it…

19

> > Regarding the artistic license argument for Condemned, an interview with 343i Producer Dan Ayoub in the vidoc for the Defiant map pack takes place where Ayoub explicitly states they chose Condemned and the other maps because they fit canon. Certain Affinity had so many ideas that they could only choose the ones that fit canon, and the entire idea and original concept for Condemned originated with 343’s approval.
> >
> > CA also worked closely with 343i to ensure the canonical validity of the three maps, saying “one of our biggest concerns was ‘how do we fit this with the fiction?’” All concepts and designs for the maps were run by 343i before devolopment started–Frankie himself even heavily implied all of the maps and ideas were created by 343i themselves when he said that 343i was in control of the kinds of maps they needed.
> >
> > Its foolish to think 343i didn’t look at that concept painting of glassed Reach for Condemned (as seen in the vidoc). But they obviously approved it. And while yes the cover art for Glasslands isn’t canon in itself, they approved that one too. Hell, the title itself Glasslands leans more towards complete destruction as well.
>
> So what you are telling me is that 343 Industries cannot make their mind up? Why did they remove that line from First Strike if they wanted exactly what was in Condemned as you see it?
>
> As for the Glasslands cover, yes they approved it, because it is cover art - to grab a readers attention. The title Glasslands, as a play on the term glassing, sounds better than Almost Glasslands.
>
>
>
> > Just a thought, sustained fire bombing, as seen in Tokyo and Dresden, has an effect that begins to ignite the atmosphere, which adds to the heat and area scorched. This maelstrom is strong enough that it creates hurricane force winds, and reaches incredibly high temperatures.
> >
> > Now, while Covie plasma bombardment may be insufficient on its own, have other external variables been factored in? They may only need to ignite a small portion of the atmosphere to start it, and then use plasma to guide the process.
> >
> > I believe that this is what was being described in Evolutions (The Return).
>
>
> As far as I recall, there was no mention of maelstroms in The Return, or any mention to any external factors affecting the process. Of course I may have missed it. If so could you tell me a page number, and I will look at it…

I brought this up because your reasoning is partially flawed. You only take into account the actual plasma bombardment, not any extraneous factors. If there were a perfect walled section of one acre, then this would be a true statement. But air moves in, adds to the heat and causes a phenomena known as a fire storm. This is what happened to both Tokyo and Dresden when the allies bombed them. The winds reached such a high velocity that people were sucked into the flames from blocks away. The area, more than an acre mind you, was glassed. Oppenheimer, the head scientist in charge of the Manhattan Project, worried that detonating an atom bomb would ignite the Earth’s atmosphere, killing everything and vitrifying the surface. It was deemed unlikely, but mathematically possible.

The second flaw is that a CCS Battleship can only glass one acre at a time. While it may take 15 seconds per acre, the ship may be able to do multiple acres at once. Remember in Reach, a CCS covered the whole sky. So your projections may be off by the assumptions you made when making them.

Note: My apologies, I was thinking of a passage in Forst Strike when Fred and Kelly notice moving clouds of fire in the distance, and for some reason transplanted that into the Return.

20

> I brought this up because your reasoning is partially flawed. You only take into account the actual plasma bombardment, not any extraneous factors. If there were a perfect walled section of one acre, then this would be a true statement. But air moves in, adds to the heat and causes a phenomena known as a fire storm. This is what happened to both Tokyo and Dresden when the allies bombed them. The winds reached such a high velocity that people were sucked into the flames from blocks away. The area, more than an acre mind you, was glassed.

You are assuming that the AI have not taken into consideration external factors already in making this assumption. They are AI, their job is to think - Why would they not take such external factors into consideration already when they made that prediction? Indeed there is evidence that they have taken some measure in dealing with external factors already, such as terrain type.

> The second flaw is that a CCS Battleship can only glass one acre at a time. While it may take 15 seconds per acre, the ship may be able to do multiple acres at once. Remember in Reach, a CCS covered the whole sky. So your projections may be off by the assumptions you made when making them.

What do you mean it covered the whole sky?

If it did any more than one acre at once then its glassing capabilities would no longer be 1 acre in 15 seconds, but X acres in 15 seconds.

If there is miscommunication here then I apologise.