After a great deal of thought, I decided to speculate about the direction of the Halo Universe after the events in Halo 5, which, as Frank O’Conner stated in the pre-release info, “would change Halo canon in big ways. We go big in Halo 5; the Universe will never be the same again.”
At the end of Halo 5, we have Cortana reborn and in control of the Domain and an army of Guardians, which she intends to use to enforce peace across the Galaxy. Many other Human AIs, spurred on by the promise of a cure to Rampancy, have joined her rebellion and began shutting down everything from Earth to the Outer Colonies. We have the Infinity fleeing to parts unknown as a Guardian released an EMP that shut down Earth’s(or an Inner Colony’s) electrical grid. We have Blue team and Fireteam Osiris meeting up with the Arbiter and Dr Halsey on Sangheilios, and then the game ends, leaving us wanting more.
We are left with a lot of questions and with 3 years to wait for any definite answers. Here are some of my thoughts on how things go on from here.
- A multi-species alliance: This seems to be the obvious next step, as Cortana intends to enforce peace on all species, not just Humanity.With the Arbiter and the Swords of Sanghelios no longer hampered by Civil War, they may form the “core” of the resistance against Cortana, with most of Human Space locked down.
- New Species: Humanity and the former Covenant races are residents of the Orion Arm of the Milky Way Galaxy, with the majority of the Galaxy unexplored. In Halo CE Anniversary Terminals, and Halo: Broken Circle, there have been brief encounters with alien races unknown to us, implying that the Galaxy as a whole is teeming with alien civilizations yet to be encountered. As Cortana intends to enforce peace across the whole Galaxy, she must also conquer them. The Guardians were used by the Forerunners to police their “Client races”, and as a Guardian was buried on Sanghelios, it’s possible that the Homeworld of every race in the Galaxy has a Guardian just waiting to be activated. And as Cortana has access to the Domain, she most likely knows the location of these Guardians and the Homeworlds of the Forerunners’ former Client Races.
Cortana’s aspirations to conquer the whole Galaxy could certainly serve to expand the scope of Halo’s Universe, and take us far beyond the tiny little corner of the Galaxy where the Human-Covenant war raged. - Mendicant Bias: The powerful Foreunner Ancilla who betrayed the Forerunners and spent the last 100,000 years buried on the Ark, consumed by the desire for atonement, could very well play a big role in the future, as Cortana has become very powerful due to her control of the Domain and the Guardians. The Chief probably goes searching for him in Halo 6, so as to fight fire with fire.
- Cortana and the Domain: It is my personal belief that the Cortana we all know and love is dead, and that what we see in Halo 5 is merely her “Ghost”, as Frank O’Conner called her. I think that she is merely a reconstruction, formed from her Rampant personality spikes scattered in the Mantle’s Approach’s systems. There is the question of whether or not she is acting of her own volition, and I think the answer is that the Domain is manipulating her for it’s own purpose. Those who have read the Forerunner Trilogy know that the Domain is a Precursor Consciousness, a living entity with it’s own thoughts and desires.
What do I think the Domain wants to accomplish by manipulating Cortana into becoming a galactic dictator? It wants Humans to inherit the Mantle of Responsibility, as the Precursors originally envisioned 10,000,000 years ago. The Precursors vision of the Mantle held all life as sacred, whereas the Forerunners perverted it into an Imperial doctrine, justifying the conquest of other races and placing themselves above them. How will Cortana’s army of Guardians subjugating the Galaxy help Humanity reclaim the mantle? By forcing them to co-operate with other races to achieve a common goal, and all-the-while learning the value of the lives of other races.
Enforcing the Mantle, safeguarding the galaxy, through co-operation with other races, rather than conquest, which the Forerunners did. Unlike the malevolent Flood, the Domain as described in the Forerunner Trilogy, appears to be a benevolent entity, concerned with the well-being of other races, even the Forerunners, who committed genocide against the Precursors. Ensuring that Humanity claims the Mantle of Responsibility, as conceived by the Precursors, rather than the Forerunners, seems to be in it’s interests and Cortana’s rebellion may very well be part of a long-term plan on the Domain’s part.
Halo 5 has certainly laid the ground-work for many new and interesting directions for the Halo Universe, and while many may complain now, I’m sure that 30 years form now, when 343i has concluded the Halo story, many may fondly look back on Halo 5 as the game which set the stage for even more epic games.