Halo 5 story line - inconsistencies

Games Halo 5: Guardians
1

So I’ve been wondering about several things in the halo 5 story line.

The domain - it was stated by the gravemind that the domain itself was a precursor construction and as such was susceptible to the halo array firing. That said, the halo array should have destroyed the domain and all information stored in it. Yet Cortana (and the Warden Eternal) claim that it still exists and that Cortana has acces to it.

Some people think that Cortana is no longer rampant, seeing her behaviour throughout the game makes me rethink that… It seems that Cortana is still very much rampant albeit in a more collected way. She is still emotionally unstable, still makes erratic (impulsive decisions) and is no longer serving anyone but herself

I am also deeply disturbed by some of her words, which seem to be directly copied by the Didacts last words (halo 4 epilogue).

Didact:
We are forerunners, guardians of all that exists
the roots of the galaxy have grown deep under our careful tending
where there is life, the wisdom of our countless generations saturates the soil
our strength is a luminous sun, towards which all intelligence blossoms
And the impervious shelter beneath which is has prospered.
I stand before you, accused of the sin, of assuring forerunner ascendancy
Of attempting to save us, of this fate where we are forced to receed.

Cortana (last mision during gameplay when she adresses the intelligent species of the galaxy):
Our strenght shall serve as a luminous sun toward which all intelligence may blossom
And the impervious shelter beneath which you will prosper.

So here are my thoughts:
The domain is a galaxy wide “network” that should have been destroyed but apparently is not. If it was destroyed, how is it still accesible. Now we all know the flood is capable of communicating with itself over distance, what if the methods of communication are actually the same. Also the domain seemed to be disrupted when the flood infestation grew, making me believe that the flood actually had some influence on the domain.

Both the domain and “flood network” (by lack of a better name) are:

  • Used to store and distribute information
  • Accesible over large ranges
  • Possibly both using neural physics?
  • Both Precursor creations

The fact that cortana is behaving the way she is, makes me believe entering the domain has corrupted here (opposed to fixing her rampancy as she stated) similar to the logic virus that affected forerunner AI’s during the Forerunner-Flood war. Cortana now believes that her current actions are the logical/natural way for the universe to evolve much like the Gravemind convinced Mendicant bias that the flood infestation was the natural way for the universe to evolve.

This is just a rough draft, your thoughts?

2

I like a lot of that. I think that if the Flood are revealed to be ‘pulling Cortana’s strings’ in Halo 6, that would be a pretty epic way of the story coming full circle.

Also, all the way through the game, whenever Cortana mentioned that the Domain had cured her rampancy, I never once believed her. As you pointed out, her current behaviour is much more in line with AI rampancy than in Halo 4.

Good stuff, and an enjoyable read.

3

> 2665299958044434;2:
> I like a lot of that. I think that if the Flood are revealed to be ‘pulling Cortana’s strings’ in Halo 6, that would be a pretty epic way of the story coming full circle.
>
> Also, all the way through the game, whenever Cortana mentioned that the Domain had cured her rampancy, I never once believed her. As you pointed out, her current behaviour is much more in line with AI rampancy than in Halo 4.
>
> Good stuff, and an enjoyable read.

Not the flood pulling her strings, but the flood, the didact, and cortana all influenced by the same corrupting power (domain) that makes them believe they are the solution for the universe, would indeed be a good move

4

There is seriously no need for another hate thread

5

> 2533274809039766;1:
> The domain - it was stated by the gravemind that the domain itself was a precursor construction and as such was susceptible to the halo array firing. That said, the halo array should have destroyed the domain and all information stored in it. Yet Cortana (and the Warden Eternal) claim that it still exists and that Cortana has acces to it.

Just wanted to clear this up. The domain was created by the forerunners. The Didact is one of the only remaining forerunners left due to being imprisoned for so long. The Didact is the commander of the forerunners military, and he is in control of the Prometheans. this is why the Warden Eternal is still able to access it/clam that it exists.

6

> 2533274858572140;4:
> There is seriously no need for another hate thread

This i hardly a hate thread, I love halo, I’ve read every book, I’ve played most of the games, and the games I don’t have I’ve seen all the cutscenes etc… Just discussing the storyline…

> 2638492817424472;5:
> > 2533274809039766;1:
> > The domain - it was stated by the gravemind that the domain itself was a precursor construction and as such was susceptible to the halo array firing. That said, the halo array should have destroyed the domain and all information stored in it. Yet Cortana (and the Warden Eternal) claim that it still exists and that Cortana has acces to it.
>
>
> Just wanted to clear this up. The domain was created by the forerunners. The Didact is one of the only remaining forerunners left due to being imprisoned for so long. The Didact is the commander of the forerunners military, and he is in control of the Prometheans. this is why the Warden Eternal is still able to access it/clam that it exists.

Actually, if you have read the books, you would know that the domain was originally created by the Precursors, the forerunners use it but are themselves clueless about the true nature of the domain. It has been stated several times that the forerunners did not have full understanding about the domain and it’s workings.
The image of the lord of admirals (gravemind) discussed with the librarian that the domain would be destroyed when the halo array fired and the Didact would spend his hybernation without any access to the domain because of this.
The librarian had hoped that the time the didact spent in the cryptum (with access to the domain) would call him to his senses and change his view on humanity. Clearly this did not happen (since the domain was gone)

What we know about the domain (From halo lore)

  • Created by the precursors
  • Accessed by precursors and forerunners
  • Claimed to use neural physics (negated by activation of the halo arrays, just like the star roads (Halo silentium))
  • Supposedly destroyed by the Halo Array
  • repository off knowledge from millions of years (predating the forerunners)
  • Individuals could only retrieve information already known to them or otherwise available to them
  • thought to be self-aware, unable to communicate other then mimicing/memories experiences from previous users