The Chief not aging anymore after Librarian's gift

Games Halo Infinite
5

> 2533274929866600;3:
> The forerunners had advanced tech and most of them practically lived in their armor suits (which fed them and met all conditions for living), and they mutate which probably affects lifespan as well. The precursors are, well, not entirely mortal from what I’ve gathered. They can change form and manipulate the fabric of space / the universe so I’d bet they cured aging.
>
> As for this gift, I think either 343 is leaving it alone like the Janus key storyline or they are waiting to bring it back into the spotlight. We know it made him immune to composition and seems to have made him much taller than he was at the start of Halo 4.
> Other possible benefits:
> - maybe it activated the Bornstellar geas and is slowly merging Bornstellar’s memories with cheifs. Or it is just giving chief knowledge of all the stuff Bornstellar knew and so Chief could use this to turn off the guardians or know about Mendicant Bias (please 343) and use him to help. - Chief may be slowly changing into a new person due to this “gift”. Maybe his height change is due to him becoming part-forerunner part human, or basically the first being in a very very very very long time to be the species that the forerunners and humans descend from (before the forerunners decided to start mutating themselves and so they became a new species apart from humanity, I think thats the current lore of that) - If the librarian and other forerunners really did plan out all of human history to lead to chief and cortana (through use of many geas) then maybe they did it as the test to see whether the forerunners way or the precursor’s way was right. The forerunners focusing more on technology and being all powerful policers (tested through Halo 5 cortana) while the precursers liked the natural state of humanity and the way we sacrifice and don’t put every effort into tech but even it out with art, culture, war, etc. (tested through resisting the created and… well our history of world wars, entertainment, etc.). - I don’t think there is any example of a specific organic being immortal / immune to aging in the halo lore so it may just not be possible for the librarian AI to give this to Chief unless… she made him into an AI? But thats impossible really.

There is no Bornstellar geas.

6

Interesting idea but I’m not sure how to feel about it. Chief the immortal spartan sounds pretty bad -Yoink- but it’s a little far fetched for Halo’s universe in my opinion. Halo has always felt like very grounded sci fi to me and immortality is a little out of its realm in my opinion. I am very interested to see if he got anything else from the gift. I almost feel like they didn’t explain exactly what he got in H4 so they could do whatever in the future.

7

Wow. You just made me look at my least favorite cutscene in Halo 4 in a completely different way! I watched it and was like “well that was freaking stupid and useless” but now I think a lot of good come out of that. ALSO think of this; if Halo Infinite was truly the end, why wouldn’t 343 call it “Halo 6: Infinite”? The lack of a number may imply that Chief’s adventures aren’t over yet! Infinite will take place a year and a half after Halo 5 so that would make Chief 44 or 45. Not old but not so young. The lack of aging could be the remedy for this. We also have to recognize that whatever Halo 4 set up, Halo 5 basically threw it in the trash and was like “oh haha that never happened” so the slow/stopped aging could make Halo 4 valid to the story more than it was before! If this is the case I’ll have a whole lot more respect for Halo 4 and 343 industries.

8

I’ve mentioned this concept quite a few times in the course of discussions on this forum, along with the reference to the Librarian’s gift. So many people have said Chief is “aging out” and it’s time for him to step aside because you “can’t have a [blank] year old Spartan” still running around saving humanity. But the truth is, we have no idea what gifts he received from the Librarian.

I imagine DR HALSEY may be able to shed some light on this, but if I recall, one of the terminals that can be found throughout the games touched on the Forerunners having very long lifespans? Or maybe it was the Librarian cutscene itself, now that I think about it. I’m thinking that the specific reference stated that it took a millennia for the Didact to defeat the Humans’ expansion? Or was he just there to see to the end of it?

9

Even if the plot is spun that chief doesn’t age anymore, his voice actor will. I would rather the chief have a good ending to his story than to see his character milked forever

10

Forerunners can live a long time, but a large part of that is due to their armor providing constant life support and medical care. Remember, the Didact had to be put in a Cryptum to preserve him for 100,000 years. Humanity isn’t at that stage yet. MJOLNIR still by and large pales to the capabilities of Forerunner personal armor in that capacity. Ancient humans lived longer, I believe the Lord of Admirals was over 1,000 years old simply because of the span of the human-Forerunner war, but I’m not 100% confident there.

I just can’t see the Librarian suddenly developing the means for near-immortal survival, at least for humans, when the Forerunners hadn’t mastered that. She was a good planner, but you can see she was hoping humans would one day emulate the Forerunners. MJOLNIR and the AI connectivity Chief had with Cortana is analogous to Forerunner armor and their ancillas. Augmentations are even somewhat like Forerunner mutations. But a stop to aging and eat-immortality? The Forerunners didn’t possess that naturally, so we can’t either.

11

Not only this, but people forget to mention that Chief didn’t age at all from 2552 to 2558 because he was in cryo-sleep. Very interesting post, it’ll be intriguing to see if 343 uses this in Infinite.

12

Well, I clearly remember posting in Waypoint before the release of Halo 5 that since it’s a science fiction story, anything is possible. Prior to Halo 5, the prevailing wisdom was that Cortana was “dead”. I said then that if the writers needed her back for plot reasons, she would return and they would make up a reason. Turns out I was on to something.

I don’t think they would make Master Chief immortal. However, they could make him live as long as they need to just because of that cutscene.

13

Sure, the writers could do what they want but that doesn’t mean it’d be a good idea, Cortana’s revival is a testament to that. Hard to blame folks for thinking 343 wasn’t lying when it came to Cortana’s death. Heck, I even said that if they did bring her back it’d be a terrible idea. Guess I can claim that victory.

Still though, if every idea being presented that runs into criticism is going to be countered with “Well, it could happen.” we might as well just shut down the discussion now.

14

Giving the chief immortality so they can use him forever without appropriately creating new and interesting characters to continue the story? Sounds 343 enough to me.

15

> 2533274907965798;14:
> Giving the chief immortality so they can use him forever without appropriately creating new and interesting characters to continue the story? Sounds 343 enough to me.

I’d rather have that than have another Locke tossed at us. I started playing halo with the Chief and ill end when the Chief does.

16

> 2535473219036906;15:
> > 2533274907965798;14:
> > Giving the chief immortality so they can use him forever without appropriately creating new and interesting characters to continue the story? Sounds 343 enough to me.
>
> I’d rather have that than have another Locke tossed at us. I started playing halo with the Chief and ill end when the Chief does.

Doesn’t sound like you are open to anything but the Chief. Honestly, I never saw anything fundamentally wrong with Locke.

17

> 2533274812652989;16:
> > 2535473219036906;15:
> > > 2533274907965798;14:
> > > Giving the chief immortality so they can use him forever without appropriately creating new and interesting characters to continue the story? Sounds 343 enough to me.
> >
> > I’d rather have that than have another Locke tossed at us. I started playing halo with the Chief and ill end when the Chief does.
>
> Doesn’t sound like you are open to anything but the Chief. Honestly, I never saw anything fundamentally wrong with Locke.

I’m not denying that. But I play halo for chiefs story. It would be like removing Geralt from the Withcer 3. It could still be a good game, but I play halo to continue chiefs story. There are many parts of the series that don’t live up to the halo we all grew up with, and as many of the choices 343 has made that I hate i return to finish the story. When chiefs story ends there really won’t be any aspect of the series that I can’t get or get better in a different franchise. Unfortunately nostalgia is one of the only things this series has left in my opinion.

18

> 2533274812652989;13:
> Sure, the writers could do what they want but that doesn’t mean it’d be a good idea, Cortana’s revival is a testament to that. Hard to blame folks for thinking 343 wasn’t lying when it came to Cortana’s death. Heck, I even said that if they did bring her back it’d be a terrible idea. Guess I can claim that victory.
>
> Still though, if every idea being presented that runs into criticism is going to be countered with “Well, it could happen.” we might as well just shut down the discussion now.

I don’t think Cortana’s revival was a bad idea but just poorly executed

19

> 2533275022531756;18:
> > 2533274812652989;13:
> > Sure, the writers could do what they want but that doesn’t mean it’d be a good idea, Cortana’s revival is a testament to that. Hard to blame folks for thinking 343 wasn’t lying when it came to Cortana’s death. Heck, I even said that if they did bring her back it’d be a terrible idea. Guess I can claim that victory.
> >
> > Still though, if every idea being presented that runs into criticism is going to be countered with “Well, it could happen.” we might as well just shut down the discussion now.
>
> I don’t think Cortana’s revival was a bad idea but just poorly executed

Exactly, and that’s what people seem to not get. I honestly hope they focus a bit more on cortana than they have in the previous games on Infinite, because even though it would be totally predictable, having cutscenes in infinite where cortana would be literally tearing herself apart due to the logic plague to bring it the current saga full-circle to line up with the way that halo 3’s story went would honestly be fantastic, as, in a lot of ways, they could easily bury half of the terrible, not well thought out plot developments that they seemed to make in halo 5.

As for the immortality thing, I think it would be interesting if she dramatically increased his lifespan, but not as much if she just “made him immortal”. It’d feel like a cheap shot, especially after the whole cortana-revival situation that they currently have on their hands. I honestly hope they don’t just kill her off b/c to do so would devalue practically all of the storytelling up until this point.

20

> 2533275031939856;6:
> Interesting idea but I’m not sure how to feel about it. Chief the immortal spartan sounds pretty bad -Yoink- but it’s a little far fetched for Halo’s universe in my opinion. Halo has always felt like very grounded sci fi to me and immortality is a little out of its realm in my opinion. I am very interested to see if he got anything else from the gift. I almost feel like they didn’t explain exactly what he got in H4 so they could do whatever in the future.

I’ve always liked the fact that the Halo universe felt like a grounded sci-fi but since 343 Industries started making Halo games I feel like it isn’t so grounded anymore. That’s why the Librarian scene felt so much bad to me. Hell, a ghost giving the Chief superpowers? I didn’t like it. At least give us a reason why you did it. Now I feel like they moved away from a grounded sci fi for no reason at all. In “Chief not aging anymore” scenario at least there would be a reason why they did it.

21

> 2533274980572891;19:
> > 2533275022531756;18:
> > > 2533274812652989;13:
> > > Sure, the writers could do what they want but that doesn’t mean it’d be a good idea, Cortana’s revival is a testament to that. Hard to blame folks for thinking 343 wasn’t lying when it came to Cortana’s death. Heck, I even said that if they did bring her back it’d be a terrible idea. Guess I can claim that victory.
> > >
> > > Still though, if every idea being presented that runs into criticism is going to be countered with “Well, it could happen.” we might as well just shut down the discussion now.
> >
> > I don’t think Cortana’s revival was a bad idea but just poorly executed
>
> Exactly, and that’s what people seem to not get. I honestly hope they focus a bit more on cortana than they have in the previous games on Infinite, because even though it would be totally predictable, having cutscenes in infinite where cortana would be literally tearing herself apart due to the logic plague to bring it the current saga full-circle to line up with the way that halo 3’s story went would honestly be fantastic, as, in a lot of ways, they could easily bury half of the terrible, not well thought out plot developments that they seemed to make in halo 5.
>
> As for the immortality thing, I think it would be interesting if she dramatically increased his lifespan, but not as much if she just “made him immortal”. It’d feel like a cheap shot, especially after the whole cortana-revival situation that they currently have on their hands. I honestly hope they don’t just kill her off b/c to do so would devalue practically all of the storytelling up until this point.

Cortana having the logic plague is still just an assumption at this point, especially since 343 has released content that suggest nearly half a dozen reasons why Cortana went nuts.

Besides, I’d still maintain it was more than poor execution. Her revival made everything that happened with her in Halo 4 meaningless. Why does Cortana have to go “full circle” back to Halo 3? That part of her narrative had already been explored and concluded. All this does it make her a perpetual victim, first to the Gravemind, then to her rampancy, and now to the Gravemind again. All this does is tarnish her legacy.

22

> 2533275022531756;20:
> > 2533275031939856;6:
> > Interesting idea but I’m not sure how to feel about it. Chief the immortal spartan sounds pretty bad -Yoink- but it’s a little far fetched for Halo’s universe in my opinion. Halo has always felt like very grounded sci fi to me and immortality is a little out of its realm in my opinion. I am very interested to see if he got anything else from the gift. I almost feel like they didn’t explain exactly what he got in H4 so they could do whatever in the future.
>
> I’ve always liked the fact that the Halo universe felt like a grounded sci-fi but since 343 Industries started making Halo games I feel like it isn’t so grounded anymore. That’s why the Librarian scene felt so much bad to me. Hell, a ghost giving the Chief superpowers? I didn’t like it. At least give us a reason why you did it. Now I feel like they moved away from a grounded sci fi for no reason at all. In “Chief not aging anymore” scenario at least there would be a reason why they did it.

True, 343i has in general broken that grounded sci fi immersion feeling, not like immortality would be any different.

23

> 2533274812652989;21:
> > 2533274980572891;19:
> > > 2533275022531756;18:
> > > > 2533274812652989;13:
> > > > Sure, the writers could do what they want but that doesn’t mean it’d be a good idea, Cortana’s revival is a testament to that. Hard to blame folks for thinking 343 wasn’t lying when it came to Cortana’s death. Heck, I even said that if they did bring her back it’d be a terrible idea. Guess I can claim that victory.
> > > >
> > > > Still though, if every idea being presented that runs into criticism is going to be countered with “Well, it could happen.” we might as well just shut down the discussion now.
> > >
> > > I don’t think Cortana’s revival was a bad idea but just poorly executed
> >
> > Exactly, and that’s what people seem to not get. I honestly hope they focus a bit more on cortana than they have in the previous games on Infinite, because even though it would be totally predictable, having cutscenes in infinite where cortana would be literally tearing herself apart due to the logic plague to bring it the current saga full-circle to line up with the way that halo 3’s story went would honestly be fantastic, as, in a lot of ways, they could easily bury half of the terrible, not well thought out plot developments that they seemed to make in halo 5.
> >
> > As for the immortality thing, I think it would be interesting if she dramatically increased his lifespan, but not as much if she just “made him immortal”. It’d feel like a cheap shot, especially after the whole cortana-revival situation that they currently have on their hands. I honestly hope they don’t just kill her off b/c to do so would devalue practically all of the storytelling up until this point.
>
> Cortana having the logic plague is still just an assumption at this point, especially since 343 has released content that suggest nearly half a dozen reasons why Cortana went nuts.
>
> Besides, I’d still maintain it was more than poor execution. Her revival made everything that happened with her in Halo 4 meaningless. Why does Cortana have to go “full circle” back to Halo 3? That part of her narrative had already been explored and concluded. All this does it make her a perpetual victim, first to the Gravemind, then to her rampancy, and now to the Gravemind again. All this does is tarnish her legacy.

By “full circle” I mean in a way that this saga is literally repeating key events from the previous trilogy, while not the same, they’re incredibly similar. I call this the “similarity” theory, as halo 1 seems to link with 4 (not storyline-wise, but plot-wise, crashing on a new planet, etc), 2 somewhat with 5, and potentially, 3 with infinite.

I know that the logic plague thing is still an assumption, buuuuuut, assuming they do go down that path, it would line up with halo 3, as cortana was under/recovering from the effects of the gravemind.

24

> 2533274980572891;23:
> > 2533274812652989;21:
> > > 2533274980572891;19:
> > > > 2533275022531756;18:
> > > > > 2533274812652989;13:
> > > > > Sure, the writers could do what they want but that doesn’t mean it’d be a good idea, Cortana’s revival is a testament to that. Hard to blame folks for thinking 343 wasn’t lying when it came to Cortana’s death. Heck, I even said that if they did bring her back it’d be a terrible idea. Guess I can claim that victory.
> > > > >
> > > > > Still though, if every idea being presented that runs into criticism is going to be countered with “Well, it could happen.” we might as well just shut down the discussion now.
> > > >
> > > > I don’t think Cortana’s revival was a bad idea but just poorly executed
> > >
> > > Exactly, and that’s what people seem to not get. I honestly hope they focus a bit more on cortana than they have in the previous games on Infinite, because even though it would be totally predictable, having cutscenes in infinite where cortana would be literally tearing herself apart due to the logic plague to bring it the current saga full-circle to line up with the way that halo 3’s story went would honestly be fantastic, as, in a lot of ways, they could easily bury half of the terrible, not well thought out plot developments that they seemed to make in halo 5.
> > >
> > > As for the immortality thing, I think it would be interesting if she dramatically increased his lifespan, but not as much if she just “made him immortal”. It’d feel like a cheap shot, especially after the whole cortana-revival situation that they currently have on their hands. I honestly hope they don’t just kill her off b/c to do so would devalue practically all of the storytelling up until this point.
> >
> > Cortana having the logic plague is still just an assumption at this point, especially since 343 has released content that suggest nearly half a dozen reasons why Cortana went nuts.
> >
> > Besides, I’d still maintain it was more than poor execution. Her revival made everything that happened with her in Halo 4 meaningless. Why does Cortana have to go “full circle” back to Halo 3? That part of her narrative had already been explored and concluded. All this does it make her a perpetual victim, first to the Gravemind, then to her rampancy, and now to the Gravemind again. All this does is tarnish her legacy.
>
> By “full circle” I mean in a way that this saga is literally repeating key events from the previous trilogy, while not the same, they’re incredibly similar. I call this the “similarity” theory, as halo 1 seems to link with 4 (not storyline-wise, but plot-wise, crashing on a new planet, etc), 2 somewhat with 5, and potentially, 3 with infinite.
>
> I know that the logic plague thing is still an assumption, buuuuuut, assuming they do go down that path, it would line up with halo 3, as cortana was under/recovering from the effects of the gravemind.

She encountered the Gravemind, but that doesn’t mean the logic plague was going to affect her later on down the line. Every argument it sent her way she rejected even to the point of death on her end. Granted, once rampancy began to grip her some of the arguments the Gravemind made seemed to be causing some doubts, but then again the arguments it used were pretty common fears. Death, leaving people you care about behind without you, life’s unfairness, these are all things Cortana would have faced anyway. Besides, she already recovered from the effects of the Gravemind by Halo 4’s end. Yes, she died, but she went out on her own terms, saved Chief, and got the experience, if briefly, being “real”. I just don’t see what the point would be for her story to survive that and see, “Surprise, you’ve been working for the Gravemind this whole time!.” Even if see as a similarity to prior games, Infinite seems to be aping Halo: CE more than it would be Halo 3.