Meridian Divide Plothole?

Community Halo Universe
1

I read the book a couple years ago but remember being really confused as to why the kids in there were working with the UNSC to stop the Covenant from getting Forerunner artifacts.

The story is supposed to take place a few months after the invasion of Meridian which was in 2548? I thought the first time the UNSC was made aware of the Forerunners was in Halo CE (other than Halo Wars, but they had no way of informing the rest of the UNSC) Am I missing some historical plot moment when ONI just knew about this and told some random teenagers but not the Spartan 2s? Lol

I enjoyed the book but I just remember thinking “why do they just nonchalant know about the Forerunners a few years before we discover them?”

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> Am I missing some historical plot moment when ONI just knew about this and told some random teenagers but not the Spartan 2s? Lol
>
> I enjoyed the book but I just remember thinking “why do they just nonchalant know about the Forerunners a few years before we discover them?”

Surely the book’s theme is all part of Halo 5’s “Memories of Reach” on Meridian.

The Spartan II’s and III’s were themselves just kids who were turned into Supersoldiers. Originally, the Spartans were designed to fight the Insurrectionists like on Meridian, not to fight the Covenant or know about Forerunner stuff.

So ONI kept all the Forerunner stuff secret even from the UNSC, as part of ONI’s secret advanced weapons research. Even in Halo: Reach set in 2552 (corrected from “2549”), remember when we get into Halsey’s Lab at ONI Sword Base and the Spartan-III’s of Noble Team out about the Forerunners for the first time?.

Meanwhile, in this Halo 5’s Enemy Lines mission Intel, despite it being forbidden, like a curious kid, Grunt Kit Piplimp “sneaks into the Temple” and finds out about links to the Sunaion Guardian…

So, there’s a common theme here of “Memories of Reach” in Halo 4, 5 and Meridian Divide about ONI secret research programs, e.g. how they found out about the Meridian Guardian, and ONI using kids and teenagers to help fight their wars as they did with the Spartans…

“Memories of Reach” are dotted throughout Halo 5. Here in Halo Reach, two Pelicans leave ONI Sword Base and fly out over the glassfields of Reach, complete with an “unwanted escort” before the base is destroyed by a Nuke…

Now we see two Pelicans fly in over the glassfields of Meridian, and with all these “Memories of Reach” in Halo 5, even Tanaka isn’t surprised about an “unwanted escort” as we enter Apogee (Meridian’s version of ONI Sword Base) before the base is destroyed by the Guardian rising…

So the question is, “When did ONI first find out about the Guardian under their old Meridian “Sword Base” / Apogee Station?”

Finally, this further shows how Halo 5 is riddled with these types of references, hints and clues, but if players miss them or don’t “get” them, they’ll miss a lot of of what 343i’s Morgan Lockhart described as “hidden world and character details” that reveal a deeper hidden story in the plot’s “layers” (script, pictures, music hints). Further, it shows how the Lore books, comics and videos (like Meridian Divide) hint to remind us “So what ‘Hunt The Truth’ clues did you miss about the hidden plot(s) in Halo 5?”.

Hope this helps. :slight_smile:

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> 2535466834539387;2:
> > 2535445298029652;1:
> > .
> >
> > Am I missing some historical plot moment when ONI just knew about this and told some random teenagers but not the Spartan 2s? Lol
> >
> > I enjoyed the book but I just remember thinking “why do they just nonchalant know about the Forerunners a few years before we discover them?”
>
> Surely the book’s theme is all part of Halo 5’s “Memories of Reach” on Meridian.
>
> The Spartan II’s and III’s were themselves just kids who were turned into Supersoldiers.
>
> But ONI kept all the Forerunner stuff secret, even from the UNSC, all as part of their advanced weapons research. Even in Halo: Reach set in 2549, remember when we get into Halsey’s Lab at ONI Sword Base and the Spartan-III’s of Noble Team out about the Forerunners for the first time?Meanwhile, in this Halo 5’s Enemy Lines mission Intel, despite it being forbidden, like a curious kid, Grunt Kit Piplimp “sneaks into the Temple” and finds out about links to the Sunaion Guardian…
>
> Hope this helps. :slight_smile:

Halo Reach took place in 2552. However it is true that we found forerunner stuff at the end of Reach, but even Halsey didn’t know what it was. She just notes that it’s alien and beyond our comprehension. In the Meridian Divide the UNSC explicitly notes that it’s a Forerunner artifact.

I do think you’re right about the theme idea though, I didn’t know about the Halo 5 Enemy Lines stuff.
Thanks!

4

> 2535445298029652;3:
> > 2535466834539387;2:
> > > 2535445298029652;1:
> > > .
> > >
> > > Am I missing some historical plot moment when ONI just knew about this and told some random teenagers but not the Spartan 2s? Lol
> > >
> > > I enjoyed the book but I just remember thinking “why do they just nonchalant know about the Forerunners a few years before we discover them?”
> >
> > Surely the book’s theme is all part of Halo 5’s “Memories of Reach” on Meridian.
> >
> > The Spartan II’s and III’s were themselves just kids who were turned into Supersoldiers.
> >
> > But ONI kept all the Forerunner stuff secret, even from the UNSC, all as part of their advanced weapons research. Even in Halo: Reach set in 2549, remember when we get into Halsey’s Lab at ONI Sword Base and the Spartan-III’s of Noble Team out about the Forerunners for the first time?Meanwhile, in this Halo 5’s Enemy Lines mission Intel, despite it being forbidden, like a curious kid, Grunt Kit Piplimp “sneaks into the Temple” and finds out about links to the Sunaion Guardian…
> >
> > Hope this helps. :slight_smile:
>
> Halo Reach took place in 2552. However it is true that we found forerunner stuff at the end of Reach, but even Halsey didn’t know what it was. She just notes that it’s alien and beyond our comprehension. In the Meridian Divide the UNSC explicitly notes that it’s a Forerunner artifact.
>
> I do think you’re right about the theme idea though, I didn’t know about the Halo 5 Enemy Lines stuff.
> Thanks!

You’re right, Halo Reach was 2552 so I’ve corrected it; I think I’ve had Cortana’s creation date in mind a lot lately for other posts! I haven’t read Meridian Divide itself, I only know the ideas in it from Halopedia. I’m going off Halsey in The Package in Halo Reach saying it’s “knowledge, a birthright from an ancient civilisation”, and (perhaps wrongly) assumed she already knew it as “Forerunner” tech… :slight_smile: