Halo 4 ending - Cortana CLONES? (theory)

Games Other Halo
1

First off, this topic is in regards to the ending of Halo 4’s campaign so there WILL be spoilers. If you are still yet to complete the campaign, avoid reading any further.

At the end of the game, we are led to believe that Cortana splits her rampant self into fragments, and uses these fragments against the Didact. However, I think I have an alternate view on this which could answer the question of ‘Is Cortana gone for good?’

About mid-way through the campaign, Cortana is briefly taken away from the chief by the Librarian, who then speaks to the Chief and tells him about the Didact and the composer. In the very brief time that the Librarian borrowed Cortana for, it’s highly possible that she saved backup copies of the Cortana AI model. Picture it as copying the file Cortana.AI from a USB drive and pasting it into the Forerunner mainframe. It’s highly possible that she saved hundreds, if not thousands of backup copies. After all, Cortana is something pretty special.

Now, you might think, how can a forerunner data system read/understand a human AI?Well, the thing is… Cortana isn’t entirely human in origin. If you played Halo Reach, you’ll know that the Cortana AI model was based off of forerunner technology that was recovered from an artefact beneath Sword Base.

Back to the ending of Halo 4…
While Cortana claims to be fragmenting herself into many different parts, she may well have been lying. She knew what the Librarian did, and tapped into the system to call upon the clone copies of herself. She then used these to help Chief defeat the Didact. This leaves a few new questions…

Why did the Librarian make copies of Cortana?
Aside from the fact that Cortana is unique and cool, I don’t really know. It’s possible that she had foreseen what would happen, or she was just being careful.

Why would Cortana lie to Chief?
Again, this is a hard one to explain. But it’s possibly got something to do with helping Chief realise his humanity.

What happened to the real Cortana?
This is what I’m interested to know. Was the Cortana that spoke to chief inside the tech-box in the final cutscene a clone? It could well have been. And that means that Cortana is still out there somewhere…

Please discuss this theory, point out flaws, and maybe help answer the unanswered questions.

2

she hitched a ride with the didact, in his armor. only left a small part of herself to say good bye to chief incase she didnt make it.

or she went in the beem that was digitizing the humans from new phoenix.

either way you can bet your bottom dollar she will be back.

3

> she hitched a ride with the didact, in his armor. only left a small part of herself to say good bye to chief incase she didnt make it.
>
> or she went in the beem that was digitizing the humans from new phoenix.
>
> <mark>either way you can bet your bottom dollar she will be back.</mark>

I don’t care if I get flamed for this or not, but if Cortana gets brought back unless it’s in a Flashback or something like that, that would just ruin the impact of Halo 4’s story.

4

> > she hitched a ride with the didact, in his armor. only left a small part of herself to say good bye to chief incase she didnt make it.
> >
> > or she went in the beem that was digitizing the humans from new phoenix.
> >
> > <mark>either way you can bet your bottom dollar she will be back.</mark>
>
> I don’t care if I get flamed for this or not, but if Cortana gets brought back unless it’s in a Flashback or something like that, that would just ruin the impact of Halo 4’s story.

I think I agree with you to an extent, but it’d be nice to see that she at least left something memorable behind. Perhaps she made a secret adjustment to chief’s armour that will benefit him in a later halo game. Or something small like that, that’ll make Chief think of her.

5

> > she hitched a ride with the didact, in his armor. only left a small part of herself to say good bye to chief incase she didnt make it.
> >
> > or she went in the beem that was digitizing the humans from new phoenix.
> >
> > <mark>either way you can bet your bottom dollar she will be back.</mark>
>
> I don’t care if I get flamed for this or not, but if Cortana gets brought back unless it’s in a Flashback or something like that, that would just ruin the impact of Halo 4’s story.

This, this so much

6

> In the very brief time that the Librarian borrowed Cortana for, it’s highly possible that she saved backup copies of the Cortana AI model. Picture it as copying the file Cortana.AI from a USB drive and pasting it into the Forerunner mainframe. It’s highly possible that she saved hundreds, if not thousands of backup copies.

Even if that is the case (and there is zero evidence to back it up), the backups would only be copies of a near-rampant Cortana, which would be pretty useless.

> Perhaps she made a secret adjustment to chief’s armour that will benefit him in a later halo game. Or something small like that, that’ll make Chief think of her.

An “adjustment to Chief’s armor” is just an excuse the devs use for changing the way Master Chief looks. The only times “adjustments” were made were in Halo 2 and Halo 4, when MC’s armor underwent major redesigns.

7

> First off, this topic is in regards to the ending of Halo 4’s campaign so there WILL be spoilers. If you are still yet to complete the campaign, avoid reading any further.
>
> At the end of the game, we are led to believe that Cortana splits her rampant self into fragments, and uses these fragments against the Didact. However, I think I have an alternate view on this which could answer the question of ‘Is Cortana gone for good?’
>
> About mid-way through the campaign, Cortana is briefly taken away from the chief by the Librarian, who then speaks to the Chief and tells him about the Didact and the composer. In the very brief time that the Librarian borrowed Cortana for, it’s highly possible that she saved backup copies of the Cortana AI model. Picture it as copying the file Cortana.AI from a USB drive and <mark>pasting it into the Forerunner mainframe.</mark> It’s highly possible that she saved hundreds, if not thousands of backup copies. After all, Cortana is something pretty special.
>
> Now, you might think, how can a forerunner data system read/understand a human AI?Well, the thing is… Cortana isn’t entirely human in origin. If you played Halo Reach, you’ll know that the Cortana AI model was based off of forerunner technology that was recovered from an artefact beneath Sword Base.
>
> Back to the ending of Halo 4…
> <mark>While Cortana claims to be fragmenting herself into many different parts, she may well have been lying.</mark> She knew what the Librarian did, and tapped into the system to call upon the clone copies of herself. She then used these to help Chief defeat the Didact. This leaves a few new questions…
>
> Why did the Librarian make copies of Cortana?
> Aside from the fact that Cortana is unique and cool, I don’t really know. It’s possible that she had foreseen what would happen, or she was just being careful.
>
> Why would Cortana lie to Chief?
> Again, this is a hard one to explain. But it’s possibly got something to do with helping Chief realise his humanity.
>
> What happened to the real Cortana?
> This is what I’m interested to know. Was the Cortana that spoke to chief inside the tech-box in the final cutscene a clone? It could well have been. And that means that Cortana is still out there somewhere…
>
> Please discuss this theory, point out flaws, and maybe help answer the unanswered questions.

The Domain was destroyed, so the only place copies could go would be Requiem, and remember that this happened

She has no reason to lie to Chief, when faced with certain death you’d be 100% honest

8

> I don’t care if I get flamed for this or not, but if Cortana gets brought back unless it’s in a Flashback or something like that, that would just ruin the impact of Halo 4’s story.

I disagree - it is quite conceivable that Halo 4’s story is but a piece of a larger story arc.

If a form of Cortana is brought back, if done correctly, it will in no way ruin the emotional impact of Halo 4’s story - well for me, at least.

9

What I think is 343i put themselves cleverly in a position where they could easily bring Cortana back or keep her missing/dead, or even corrupt. It’s just the way they continue on with her in the story I’m concerned about.

10

Halo 4 Essential Visual Guide.

Master Chief, pg.10

> Although the Spartan would prevail, the conflict would not come without loss: Cortana, the Chief’s artifical construct and ally, would perish in battle.

Cortana, pg.11

> During a battle aboard the Didact’s ship, Cortana would ultimately perish, sacrificing her life to stop this new enemy.

11

> > she hitched a ride with the didact, in his armor. only left a small part of herself to say good bye to chief incase she didnt make it.
> >
> > or she went in the beem that was digitizing the humans from new phoenix.
> >
> > <mark>either way you can bet your bottom dollar she will be back.</mark>
>
> I don’t care if I get flamed for this or not, but if Cortana gets brought back unless it’s in a Flashback or something like that, that would just ruin the impact of Halo 4’s story.

That kind of depends on how she comes back. If the final cutscene of the final game is a de-digitized (Composer finally working backwards) Cortana being introduced to a now retired John, well, that would hold some value.

I personally have a hard time buying that Cortana’s part in events is simply over. The Didact’s line about her being an “evolved ancilla” struck me as odd. The only thing I could think of was that she was becoming metastable. And if you listen to Halsey’s log at the beginning of Requiem, she states that Cortana should be able to last much longer that a standard AI due to being developed from living tissue. There’s just way too much effort spent developing her character in this game alone for Cortana to simply be dead. Bringing her back will be a daunting task from a writer’s perspective, but I don’t think we’ve seen the last of her.

12

I don’t we will be seeing her in 5. These are going to be dark days ahead. MC is going find himself in a place he’s never been, without her, well since CE that is.

343i left it open enough to bring her back. I speculate the chief and Halsey will be reunited with Catherine on her deathbed or in chiefs arm dying and as a last second thing give chief a new version of cortana. Just spit balling.

13

> > she hitched a ride with the didact, in his armor. only left a small part of herself to say good bye to chief incase she didnt make it.
> >
> > or she went in the beem that was digitizing the humans from new phoenix.
> >
> > <mark>either way you can bet your bottom dollar she will be back.</mark>
>
> I don’t care if I get flamed for this or not, but if Cortana gets brought back unless it’s in a Flashback or something like that, that would just ruin the impact of Halo 4’s story.

Not necessarily, for me at least.

Cortana’s “death” could be a transformative for the character. Cortana V.2 could be seen as an evolution.

Regarding the Chief, her death is impactful because he is alone. Spartan Ops shows us that the UNSC and ONI may not be this noble force that they advertised themselves as.

Is he more machine than man? He is going to be travelling that journey of discovery alone.

The Chief has saved the galaxy in the first trilogy. He has saved Earth once more in Halo 4. The Flood are coming back, but he is truly solo now…

14

I hate the fact that Halo 4 ends with Cortana’s death scene. It tore at my heart strings. As Cortana said her goodbyes to the Master Chief, I couldn’t help but feel hurt, angry and betrayed by 343 Industries. 343 promised that The Reclaimer Trilogy would help evolve the relationship between Chief and Cortana. I find it a little hard to do this when one of them is ‘dead’.

So it got me thinking. What if 343’s big plan for Cortana isn’t just death but something more. I call it “The Cortana Resurrection Theory” which is really just an obnoxious way of saying, “Please 343 don’t kill off Cortana.”

The beginning of the ‘Cortana death sequence’ takes place on the Didact’s ship above a slip space event during the climax of Halo 4. The Didact is about to unleash a dreadful weapon known as the Composer that we see the Didact use against the people of Ivanoff Research Station. The purpose of the Composer is to convert organic beings into the digitized Forerunner Promethians.

Let’s take a few steps back. Earlier in the game, Master Chief meets the Librarian. The Librarian discusses many points of interest with the Chief. Points such as the Didact, her million years of planning that have led to the events currently taking place and the part most importantly to my theory. The Librarian states that the Composer is a weapon capable of transforming living beings into mindless digital A.I. known as the Promethians. She then continues to say that a reversal of that process used to create the Promethians had been attempted in the past but had only resulted in abominations.

Being that Cortana was created by flash cloning Halsey’s brain she was, in essence, at one point human. What if a reverse Composition process is perfected and Cortana is brought back to life as a human? I know that this draws parallels to the fairy Pinocchio but maybe this is where 343 is drawing some creative inspiration from. But this theory explains 343 statement of evolving the relationship between Master Chief and Cortana.

15

> I hate the fact that Halo 4 ends with Cortana’s death scene. It tore at my heart strings. As Cortana said her goodbyes to the Master Chief, I couldn’t help but feel hurt, angry and betrayed by 343 Industries. 343 promised that The Reclaimer Trilogy would help evolve the relationship between Chief and Cortana. I find it a little hard to do this when one of them is ‘dead’.

They did develop their relationship more, you don’t think Cortana’s death could cause Chief to reflect on his relationship with Cortana and human/AI relations as a whole? Not talking romance or anything, just what it means to be human.

> So it got me thinking. What if 343’s big plan for Cortana isn’t just death but something more. I call it “The Cortana Resurrection Theory” which is really just an obnoxious way of saying, “Please 343 don’t kill off Cortana.”
>
> The beginning of the ‘Cortana death sequence’ takes place on the Didact’s ship above a slip space event during the climax of Halo 4. The Didact is about to unleash a dreadful weapon known as the Composer that we see the Didact use against the people of Ivanoff Research Station. The purpose of the Composer is to convert organic beings into the digitized Forerunner Promethians.
>
> Let’s take a few steps back. Earlier in the game, Master Chief meets the Librarian. The Librarian discusses many points of interest with the Chief. Points such as the Didact, her million years of planning that have led to the events currently taking place and the part most importantly to my theory. The Librarian states that the Composer is a weapon capable of transforming living beings into mindless digital A.I. known as the Promethians. She then continues to say that a reversal of that process used to create the Promethians had been attempted in the past but had only resulted in abominations.
>
> Being that Cortana was created by flash cloning Halsey’s brain she was, in essence, at one point human. What if a reverse Composition process is perfected and Cortana is brought back to life as a human? I know that this draws parallels to the fairy Pinocchio but maybe this is where 343 is drawing some creative inspiration from. But this theory explains 343 statement of evolving the relationship between Master Chief and Cortana.

That still implies Cortana is alive, which she is not.

16

> Well, the thing is… Cortana isn’t entirely human in origin. If you played Halo Reach, you’ll know that the Cortana AI model was based off of forerunner technology that was recovered from an artefact beneath Sword Base.
[/quote]

> Completely untrue. Cortana was created from a cloned brain of Halsey three years prior to Reach to assist in OPERATION:RED FLAG.

17

The game portion of the Halo story is about Master Chief and Cortana. It’s hard to believe they would eliminate Cortana in part 1 of the second trilogy.

Master chief made a promise. He tends to keep them.

18

> The game portion of the Halo story is about Master Chief and Cortana. It’s hard to believe they would eliminate Cortana in part 1 of the second trilogy.
>
> Master chief made a promise. He tends to keep them.

His most recent promise was to “find out which one of us is the machine”. This promise can be kept whether or not Cortana is still alive, and I feel as though the question will be a large focus of the saga. Cortana, or no Cortana, Chief needs to find the humanity in him, before it’s gone completely. AI’s aren’t people, they don’t ‘die’. Can the same be said for Spartans?

19

I’m 60% certain that both the Didact and Cortana will return in unique Promethean bodies, as the humans of new phoenix did so its only logical. maybe cortana take the place that the Arbiter had in Halo 3 as the second player.

20

> I’m 60% certain that both the Didact and Cortana will return in unique Promethean bodies, as the humans of new phoenix did so its only logical. maybe cortana take the place that the Arbiter had in Halo 3 as the second player.

  1. The Didact cannot be Composed as he is immune from the Composer due to several mutations he received in an attempt to find a cure against the Flood. He could not come back as a Promethean Knight.

  2. Cortana cannot come back as Promethean because she has been confirmed dead.