Sparkast Revelation about the Prometheans

Games Other Halo
#1

WARNING: Long post, but an important read for those with good understanding of the Forerunner novels.Several new theories generated within this thread have been added to the OP. Read the OP again to stay informed on all running theories.

In the post-E3 Sparkast, Frank O’Connor made several statements that significantly alter my understanding of the Prometheans from the Forerunner novels. Read the quotes below, followed by my analysis.

Quote #1
“Prometheans are a race of warrior knights within the forerunner society. The things that you think you know about that class in the books may evolve or change as you play the game. They are Forerunner Warrior-Servants…they are super powerful warriors… they were mostly outfitted and trained and ultimately in some ways designed genetically and mechanically to fight the Flood."

Quote #2
“The Prometheans are covered in the Greg Bear novels, from Cryptum, Primordium, and soon, Silentium (working title). Their role or class is part of 343i’s Halo 4 story. Bluntly, the final chapter of that novel comes out after the game for a very good reason because some of that is revealed there.”

Additional quote from the Promethean Knight character description:
“While these Prometheans are significantly different from the legendary Forerunner Warrior-Servants of ages past, these Knights are no less harrowing.”

The things that you think you know about that class (Prometheans) in the books may evolve or change…Something VERY dramatic must occur in Silentium in order to properly explain this evolution of the Prometheans. The legendary Promethean Class Warrior-Servants of ages past were organic, living, extremely lethal Forerunner warriors. To my knowledge, the original Prometheans were not “designed” or “mechanical”. If my memory is correct, Bornstellar described the Prometheans as over 4 meters tall, with arms the size of tree trunks. I believe 343 Guilty Spark also stated Forerunner Warrior armor was 12 times the strength of MJOLNIR Powered-Assault Armor.

Theory #1
The running theory in this thread is that this new rate of Promethean classes are a mixture of AI, non-organic, and non-AI. Cortana clearly recognizes the Crawlers as Non-Organic Defense AI. However, when the Master Chief is confronted by the Knight and Watcher, Cortana can only say that the Knight is non-organic. This by extension may suggest that Knight is also non-AI, classifying the Knight as both non-AI and non-organic. This leads to another running theory…

Theory #2
It is possible that the original Prometheans were defeated in the Forerunner-Flood War, and the Didact used The Composer to insert the consciousness of fallen Prometheans into this new rate of Prometheans, tasked with defending the shield world installations. The Knights may be classified as Promethean consciousness, non-AI, and non-organic. Quite a combo, and very similar to the Forerunner War Sphinxes. This may be the only possible explanation why this new rate of mechanical warriors earn the title of Promethean. Which leads to another running theory…(this thread is a theory generator)

Theory #3
The previous theories also provide evidence for why some Promethean classes disintegrate/incinerate, and some do not. The classes that can be infected disintegrate/incinerate, and the classes that cannot be infected simply cease functioning. The Crawlers are Non-Organic Defense AI, designed to combat the flood in close quarters combat, and cannot be infected. If our theorizing is correct, the Knights are both non-organic and non-AI, but still can be infected in the sense that the flood can infect the Promethean consciousness within the armor. This would explain why the Knights disintegrate/incinerate upon death.

I take issue with Frankie recognizing this new rate of Prometheans as Forerunner Warrior-Servants. These new Prometheans are clearly a new beast altogether, designed specifically to combat the flood, but Frankie directly compares them to the legendary Prometheans of ages past in the quotes above.

Let me know your thoughts.

#2

Erm, you do realize that the Prometheans in Halo 4 are defense AI, not the actual Prometheans, right?

#3

> Erm, you do realize that the Prometheans in Halo 4 are defense AI, not the actual Prometheans, right?

That is exactly the issue at hand. Frank essentially confirms in the Sparkast that the Promethean Knights are not simply defense AI, but rather are actual Prometheans that were designed genetically and mechanically to fight the flood.

Also, Cortana only recognizes the Promethean Crawlers as Defense AI. She does not repeat this when the Master Chief encounters the Promethean Knight and Watcher.

#4

> > Erm, you do realize that the Prometheans in Halo 4 are defense AI, not the actual Prometheans, right?
>
> That is exactly the issue at hand. Frank essentially confirms in the Sparkast that the Promethean Knights are not simply defense AI, but rather are actual Prometheans that were designed genetically and mechanically to fight the flood.
>
> Also, Cortana only recognizes the Promethean Crawlers as Defense AI. She does not repeat this when the Master Chief encounters the Promethean Knight and Watcher.

The Character Bios say that the Knights are different than the Promethean Warrior-Servants and that they are fully weaponized. I believe it was also stated multiple times that they are Defense AI, not only in game, but by members of 343. I also understand the controversy you brought up, because bsangel once called them Promethean warriors. Bad wording on 343’s part make it unclear.

#5

After Master Chief kills the first Promethean Knight, Cortana says “Whatever it is, it is not organic”. She clearly has difficulty determining what exactly it is, presumably because it is both mechanical and organic, as confirmed in the Sparkast. She does not determine the Knight to be Defense AI, as she clearly does with the Crawler.

If you look harder, read the books, listen to the Sparkast, you will notice these inconsistencies that I have pointed out. Frank labels the Promethean Knights as Forerunner Warrior-Servants, although they are clearly a different creature/machine.

Remember, everything that 343i states is carefully worded and stated for a reason.

#6

> > > Erm, you do realize that the Prometheans in Halo 4 are defense AI, not the actual Prometheans, right?
> >
> > That is exactly the issue at hand. Frank essentially confirms in the Sparkast that the Promethean Knights are not simply defense AI, but rather are actual Prometheans that were designed genetically and mechanically to fight the flood.
> >
> > Also, Cortana only recognizes the Promethean Crawlers as Defense AI. She does not repeat this when the Master Chief encounters the Promethean Knight and Watcher.
>
> The Character Bios say that the Knights are different than the Promethean Warrior-Servants and that they are fully weaponized. I believe it was also stated multiple times that they are Defense AI, not only in game, but by members of 343. I also understand the controversy you brought up, because bsangel once called them Promethean warriors. Bad wording on 343’s part make it unclear.

The character bios do say that the Promethean Knights are significantly different than the legendary Warrior-Servants of ages past, but this does not confirm that the Knights are an entirely new Defense AI. The description leaves open the possibility of further clarification, which Frank provided when he stated that Prometheans were sometimes genetically and mechanically designed to combat the flood.

The point of this thread was to debunk the common misunderstanding that the Promethean Knights are just advanced Defense AI. Frank recognizes the Promethean Knights are Forerunner Warrior-Servants within the Forerunner society, and although they have been significantly altered, they are ONE AND THE SAME.

#7

I think Frankie is talking about other Prometheans we will encounter during Halo 4. It doesn’t seem to directly imply the knights at all.

I think you’re putting 2 and 2 together but there may be more enemies within the classes which differ from the original organic Prometheans.

Hope I was clear enough.

#8

> WARNING: Long post, but an important read for those with good understanding of the Forerunner novels.
>
> In the post-E3 Sparkast, Frank O’Connor made several statements that significantly trouble my understanding of the Prometheans from the Forerunner novels. Read the quotes below, followed by my analysis.
>
> “Prometheans are a race of warrior knights within the forerunner society. The things that you think you know about that class in the books may evolve or change as you play the game. They are Forerunner Warrior-Servants…they are super powerful warriors… they were mostly outfitted and trained and ultimately in some ways designed genetically and mechanically to fight the Flood."
>
> “The Prometheans are covered in the Greg Bear novels, from Cryptum, Primordium, and soon, Silentium (working title). Their role or class is part of 343i’s Halo 4 story. Bluntly, the final chapter of that novel comes out after the game for a very good reason because some of that is revealed there.”
>
> Additional quote from the Promethean Knight character description:
> “While these Prometheans are significantly different from the legendary Forerunner Warrior-Servants of ages past, these Knights are no less harrowing.”
>
> The things that you think you know about that class (Prometheans) in the books may evolve or change…Something VERY dramatic must occur in Silentium in order to properly explain this evolution of the Prometheans. The legendary Promethean Class Warrior-Servants of ages past were organic, living, extremely lethal Forerunner warriors. If my memory is correct, Bornstellar described the Prometheans as over 4 meters tall, with arms the size of tree trunks. I believe 343 Guilty Spark also stated Forerunner Warrior armor was 12 times the strength of MJOLNIR Powered-Assault Armor.
>
> These Promethean Knights in Halo 4 DO NOT match this description. The character description states the Knights are approx. 10 feet tall, which is several feet shorter than true Prometheans. The character description also states that these Knights are no less harrowing than the legendary Forerunner Warrior-Servants of ages past. I do not believe this to be true. Although Master Chief gets roughed up in the E3 Campaign Demo, he still survives the encounters with relative ease. The Master Chief would pose no challenge to the armor strength and lethal nature of true Prometheans.
>
> I honestly just have trouble with Frank essentially stating that these Prometheans ARE true Prometheans. The in-game character models simply are not what I was expecting (or hoping for). I was hoping that the Promethean Knights were A.I. defense units, and that the Master Chief would meet the real Prometheans later in the story. It does not look like that it is how the story will play out after hearing the Sparkast…
>
> The discussion questions I leave you guys with may have no answer until Halo 4 or Silentium is released, but please let me know your thoughts.
>
> 1) Did the Promethean Class Forerunner Warrior-Servants exist in the Forerunner Military prior to any knowledge of the Flood?
>
> 2) Is there any quotes in the Forerunner novels that I missed that confirm Frank’s statement that the Prometheans were “mostly outfitted and trained and ultimately in some ways designed genetically and mechanically to fight the Flood”?
>
> 3) The events of the Halo series take place 100,000 years after the Forerunner novels. Is it possible that The Didact and his loyal army of true Prometheans still exist as they were 100,000 years ago? Or is it the inevitable that they are significantly altered?

Midway through H ce the flood was released and the nature of the campaign got much more difficult. It was a shocking change midstream. i would expect nothing less in the first game of this saga.

#9

> I think Frankie is talking about other Prometheans we will encounter during Halo 4. It doesn’t seem to directly imply the knights at all.
>
> I think you’re putting 2 and 2 together but there may be more enemies within the classes which differ from the original organic Prometheans.
>
> Hope I was clear enough.

But Frankie does seem to directly imply the Knights. He says specifically, “Prometheans are a race of warrior knights within the forerunner society.” The character description of the Knight also directly compares it to the legendary Promethean-Class Warrior Servants of ages past.

This may just be me, but when I imagine a Promethean as described in the Forerunner novels, I imagine the description of The Didact. I use this mental image as my reference point when comparing ancient Prometheans to these Promethean Knights.

#10

in the end of Halo 4 demo there were some blue prometheans if you noticed them … maybe they were the ones Frankie was talking about ?

#11

i was thinking that these promethean knights were like AI who had like the minds of the prometheans from 100 00 years ago. kinda like the war sphinxes in the greg bear books

#12

> in the end of Halo 4 demo there were some blue prometheans if you noticed them … maybe they were the ones Frankie was talking about ?

I did notice the blue Prometheans, and I have several theories that may explain the difference in color. However, I believe that the blue Prometheans are the same as the orange Prometheans, just under a different control/leadership. The orange Prometheans may at some point be turned or repurposed, turning their color configuration blue.

In past Halo games, orange Forerunner technology is associated with hostile and rampant, while blue Forerunner technology is associated with neutral or friendly.

#13

> i was thinking that these promethean knights were like AI who had like the minds of the prometheans from 100 00 years ago. kinda like the war sphinxes in the greg bear books

I like this theory. It is possible that at the conclusion of the Forerunner-Flood war, the Composer put the minds of many Prometheans into these constructs. This may be the only possible explanation for calling this new mechanical Forerunner class Prometheans.

#14

Well in context of a first person shooter, why have the behemoths that you say are the true Prometheans as a boss, or in context of halo games, like a scarab battle in H3 but with a smarter, different enemy.

They didn’t just create 3 new enemy classes and then turn to production and say “ship it” there is more that we are still missing, give it time.

#15

> Well in context of a first person shooter, why have the behemoths that you say are the true Prometheans as a boss, or in context of halo games, like a scarab battle in H3 but with a smarter, different enemy.
>
>
> They didn’t just create 3 new enemy classes and then turn to production and say “ship it” there is more that we are still missing, give it time.

i might be wrong but i think i read somewhere that their would be 7 enemy classes in halo 4. but that could also include the covenant classes. elite, grunt, jackal, crawler, watcher, and knight. am i missing one?

#16

> Well in context of a first person shooter, why have the behemoths that you say are the true Prometheans as a boss, or in context of halo games, like a scarab battle in H3 but with a smarter, different enemy.
>
>
> They didn’t just create 3 new enemy classes and then turn to production and say “ship it” there is more that we are still missing, give it time.

The underlying problem is that we should not be fighting the Prometheans at all. While a real Promethean would make a challenging boss battle in the context of an FPS, the Prometheans are not the real enemy. Frankie even stated in the most recent bulletin that the ancient evil has not yet been revealed.

I believe the Precursors, set on vengeance and annihilation of the Forerunners, are the true enemy. The Forerunners believed it was their duty to uphold the mantle, but it was never so. The Precursors, creators of both Forerunners and Humans and viewed as gods, decided to annihilate the Forerunners. The Forerunners fought back against their gods, and apparently won, destroying most Precursors except for a few that escaped beyond their reach. Although there is very little information on the actual events of the Forerunner-Precursor war, it can be assumed that the Precursors are going to return in some form to finish the job of annihilating the Forerunners.

#17

I believe the Knight is also a defense AI as Cortana does state that’s it not organic.

Though it’s a possibility that the real Prometheans are just merely controlling these machines. We do see a Cryptum fly towards the Infinity (and past Master Chief) in the E3 demo, so maybe a Forerunner (or The Didact) is using the machines in a hostile manner. What’s usually in the Cryptum? A Forerunner.

Also seen near the end that they change color from orange to blue. This could merely indicate higher rank but i have another radical theory to consider; Cortana goes rampant (which she will) and takes control of the Promethean constructs (blue AI=Blue enemies) later in the Campaign in order to keep Master Chief from leaving Requiem. After all, during this segment you do see a crazed Cortana shortly after you see the blue Promethean Knights.

#18

Im pretty certain that these things shown in the trailer are cyborgs. Probably aren’t the true prometheans but are the more machine like versions of them. Much like the chief is altered, these enemies are also.

#19

> > Well in context of a first person shooter, why have the behemoths that you say are the true Prometheans as a boss, or in context of halo games, like a scarab battle in H3 but with a smarter, different enemy.
> >
> >
> > They didn’t just create 3 new enemy classes and then turn to production and say “ship it” there is more that we are still missing, give it time.
>
> The underlying problem is that we should not be fighting the Prometheans at all. While a real Promethean would make a challenging boss battle in the context of an FPS, the Prometheans are not the real enemy. <mark>Frankie even stated in the most recent bulletin that the ancient evil has not yet been revealed.</mark>
>
> I believe the Precursors, set on vengeance and annihilation of the Forerunners, are the true enemy. The Forerunners believed it was their duty to uphold the mantle, but it was never so. The Precursors, creators of both Forerunners and Humans and viewed as gods, decided to annihilate the Forerunners. The Forerunners fought back against their gods, and apparently won, destroying most Precursors except for a few that escaped beyond their reach. Although there is very little information on the actual events of the Forerunner-Precursor war, it can be assumed that the Precursors are going to return in some form to finish the job of annihilating the Forerunners.

whoever said the ancient evil was a faction? Youre right to say that it hasnt been revealed but thats a vague answer which i believe is directed towards the promethean classes. The ancient evil could be a person in particular. all the clues point to didact, but theres also quite a bit of logic as to why faber is the ancient evil.

I also came up with a theory to the prometheans, as stated earlier I also believe each may hold the very soul of a promethean just like the war sphinxes, and just like guilty spark.

#20

But who is to say that The Didact is evil? He is ancient, but by my understanding he certainly is not evil. I do believe The Didact and the Master Builder will both play significant roles in the plot, but I do not believe either are the ancient evil.