As we all know from the Terminal videos from Halo 4, The Composer has the ability to compose living tissue into data and reincarnate it into, what I call “digitized tissue” and is also stated or hinted that data can be turned into “digitized tissue” as Cortana was, allowing her to fondle the Chief’s chest-plate.
Question now is, if the portal under the Didact in the final mission was indeed sending all composed beings back to Requiem, or to the artifact recovered by Infinity (which they kept) is it slightly possible that a small fragment of Cortana and all the Humans composed during the New Phoenix incident, be trapped within the artifact since when it first reacted Thorne noticed the images being projected were that of New Phoenix, meaning everyone composed at that time either passed throught the artifact or are temporarily or permanentely stored in it?
Just a thought that flew in