Is Cortana part of Humanity's test?

Community Halo Universe
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One of the biggest (if not the biggest) controversy in Halo is Cortana becoming the villain in Halo 5: Guardians. The choice hit the fanbase in quite the negative way, I was one of them. There are 2 major issues people have with Cortana becoming the villain. The 1st issue of this direction is that it’s a total 180 for her character. She never had the mindsets that she did in Guardians. The other issue people had is that she came back after her perfect death in Halo 4. She went out just right, and there was no reason to continue her story. People were hoping that Halo: Tales from Slipspace - Dominion Splinter would explain how she found the Domain and her sudden change of character. However, the story didn’t explain these 2 things; she coincidentally finds the Domain (could be because she was aboard Mantle’s Approach), takes over Warden Eternal and declares she will lead the galaxy going forward. This made people even more annoyed that there is no explanation as to why Cortana is now behaving the way she is.

However, could there be something else behind this? Could Cortana be part of a bigger plan than even she knows? Could Cortana be part of Humanity’s test to obtain the Mantle? Could it be possible that Abaddon is secretly controlling Cortana, as an obstacle to overcome and receive what was meant to be ours? First, let’s look at who Abaddon is and its history. Abaddon is a Precursor intelligence that resided in the Domain, teaching the early Forerunners how to access the Domain. Over millions of years, Abaddon would fall into legend, becoming what the Forerunners believed to be the Organon. When the Forerunners returned to Maethrillian to reboot the Domain, they encountered Abaddon. It said that the Forerunners would be judged for their crimes against the Mantle. There is something here that very could destroy this entire theory: Growth-Through-Trial-of-Change placed a deadbolt on the device of the core of Abaddon, seemingly ending it. She then sacrifices herself to reboot the Domain, possibly taking the role that Abaddon had. This very much could mean that Abaddon is gone forever, and can’t be around currently in the story. However, this is a Precursor construct we’re talking about, which is said that a Precursor AI to Forerunner AI is like a Keyship to a wooden raft. So, maybe they believed that they had destroyed Abaddon, based on their Forerunner understanding.

Now we head back to Cortana. Could it be possible that Abaddon wasn’t destroyed, and is affecting events currently? I believe it’s possible that Cortana is under the influence of Abaddon, without her even knowing. I don’t think it was Abaddon’s plan for Cortana to find the Domain, that was by chance. I think possibly Abaddon planted these ideas in Cortana when she entered the Domain, believing them to be cooked up by her alone. Abaddon would let her seemingly take control and then late her do her thing. However, Abaddon (knowing the Precursors chose Humanity for the Mantle) is using Cortana as part of the test. If we will unify the galaxy against a great threat such as Cortana, who has a skewed view on the Mantle. I don’t know if when Cortana has been defeated if one of the heroes will be the ones to end her, or Abaddon will burn her from the Domain, ending her once and for all. While she would be a big part of the test, this would not be the last part. The final part of the test will be the full return of the Flood.

What do you think, is Cortana being used by Abaddon as part of Humanity’s test for the Mantle? The biggest piece of evidence against this theory is what Growth-Through-Trial-of-Change did. Like I said above, it’s entirely possible, (due to it being a Precursor entity) that it wasn’t destroyed and is now hoping to get Humanity on the right path towards what we were supposed to obtain millions of years ago. This is just a theory of course and want to know what you guys think.

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I hope they introduce the Precursors, and if not at least their AI or technology. They can’t be killed, of course, they’re too powerful. I think your idea is awesome, I really want to see that happen (it probably won’t, 343i doesn’t care about the Precursors). If Abaddon is in Halo 6, wouldn’t they need to set up for Halo 7? Unless the campaign is really long with enough time to introduce and explain Abaddon and the Precursors, I just don’t see it happening. I hope it will have to do something with the Precursors, or at least real, living Forerunners. This is one of the best theoretical stories for Halo 6 though, great stuff.

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> I hope they introduce the Precursors, and if not at least their AI or technology. They can’t be killed, of course, they’re too powerful. I think your idea is awesome, I really want to see that happen (it probably won’t, 343i doesn’t care about the Precursors). If Abaddon is in Halo 6, wouldn’t they need to set up for Halo 7? Unless the campaign is really long with enough time to introduce and explain Abaddon and the Precursors, I just don’t see it happening. I hope it will have to do something with the Precursors, or at least real, living Forerunners. This is one of the best theoretical stories for Halo 6 though, great stuff.

We’ve actually met a Precursor in the games. Gravemind is actually the Primordial.

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Yes I believe Cortana is part of the Precursors’ test of humanity, though I don’t think she’s being actively controlled as a puppet. Rather she’s been manipulated into becoming what she currently is. Listening closely to what she says in Halo 5, she’s actually repeating things the Ur-Didact and Gravemind had said before, bringing me to the conclusion that these ideas had been planted in her head long before her rampancy, and that they only took root and dominated her personality after the fragment containing her humanity was lost at the end of Halo 4.

My personal position regarding the Flood is that they’re best understood as the player-character in a videogame, where the Precursors are the player. The Flood acts out whatever the will of the Precursors is as if such action had been its own idea, but when left on its own without Precursor influence, it acts on its own in accordance with what it was designed to be, much like how the player-character in a videogame behaves during cutscenes.

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> 2533274840469109;3:
> > 2533274920707928;2:
> > I hope they introduce the Precursors, and if not at least their AI or technology. They can’t be killed, of course, they’re too powerful. I think your idea is awesome, I really want to see that happen (it probably won’t, 343i doesn’t care about the Precursors). If Abaddon is in Halo 6, wouldn’t they need to set up for Halo 7? Unless the campaign is really long with enough time to introduce and explain Abaddon and the Precursors, I just don’t see it happening. I hope it will have to do something with the Precursors, or at least real, living Forerunners. This is one of the best theoretical stories for Halo 6 though, great stuff.
>
> We’ve actually met a Precursor in the games. Gravemind is actually the Primordial.

Yeah I know that, and actually I take back what I said, I think they do mention Abaddon in Halo 5 (I’m not sure).

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> 2533274920707928;5:
> > 2533274840469109;3:
> > > 2533274920707928;2:
> > > I hope they introduce the Precursors, and if not at least their AI or technology. They can’t be killed, of course, they’re too powerful. I think your idea is awesome, I really want to see that happen (it probably won’t, 343i doesn’t care about the Precursors). If Abaddon is in Halo 6, wouldn’t they need to set up for Halo 7? Unless the campaign is really long with enough time to introduce and explain Abaddon and the Precursors, I just don’t see it happening. I hope it will have to do something with the Precursors, or at least real, living Forerunners. This is one of the best theoretical stories for Halo 6 though, great stuff.
> >
> > We’ve actually met a Precursor in the games. Gravemind is actually the Primordial.
>
> Yeah I know that, and actually I take back what I said, I think they do mention Abaddon in Halo 5 (I’m not sure).

I think you might be getting it mixed up with Bastion (we still don’t know what it is). Abaddon was introduced in Halo: Fractures - Promises to Keep.

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> 2533274840469109;6:
> > 2533274920707928;5:
> > > 2533274840469109;3:
> > > > 2533274920707928;2:
> > > > I hope they introduce the Precursors, and if not at least their AI or technology. They can’t be killed, of course, they’re too powerful. I think your idea is awesome, I really want to see that happen (it probably won’t, 343i doesn’t care about the Precursors). If Abaddon is in Halo 6, wouldn’t they need to set up for Halo 7? Unless the campaign is really long with enough time to introduce and explain Abaddon and the Precursors, I just don’t see it happening. I hope it will have to do something with the Precursors, or at least real, living Forerunners. This is one of the best theoretical stories for Halo 6 though, great stuff.
> > >
> > > We’ve actually met a Precursor in the games. Gravemind is actually the Primordial.
> >
> > Yeah I know that, and actually I take back what I said, I think they do mention Abaddon in Halo 5 (I’m not sure).
>
> I think you might be getting it mixed up with Bastion (we still don’t know what it is). Abaddon was introduced in Halo: Fractures - Promises to Keep.

According to Halopedia, Abaddon was mentioned in Halo 5. I don’t know where or when, since the exposition and dialogue are so boring but it’s mention is probably there somewhere.

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I always assumed that humanities “test” would be that they would succeed where the Forerunners failed and defeat the Flood. This would “prove” that humanity could overcome both the Forerunners and Precursors. Its never implied the test is for humanity to control its AI; something it was happily doing long before Halo 5 and that the Forerunners did.

They’ve said they want the story to be relatively straight forward and simple. To explain that an ancient precursor AI connected to the Flood manipulated Cortana into a warped method of testing humanity that the Flood are part of; it feels too convoluted and would be throwing a lot of information at the player. Plus it runs counter to common assumptions that the Flood are just this evil abomination and aren’t altruistic entities trying to uplift humanity; you could drive a train through those plot holes.

I think the temptation is to think that because Cortana going mental has had such vast repercussions for the galaxy that it has to have an equally profound reason. it doesn’t. I think its as simple as her not being fully cured of rampancy. Players know what rampancy is, they saw her going crazy in Halo 4, all 343 has to do is say that the Domain stabilized Cortana’s mind; but that she hasn’t fully recovered. This is why her personality is a bit twisted in Halo 5 and we aren’t told this because its intended to be a major reveal later on in Halo 6. Until then, 343 want players to think that Cortana is doing this under her own volition.

I mean come on, the last time we saw her in Halo 4 she was a raving lunatic. Then she comes back says “I am cured Chief, help me take over the galaxy!” and you’re telling me that doesn’t ring alarm bells?