What if Cortana Actually is "Dead"?

Community Halo Universe
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*Note: I don’t extensively look at material outside of the video games, so I may be incorrect in a few of my facts/etc.
Feel free to correct me if I’m wrong

Evidently, many people in the community take issue with the fact that Cortana is still alive in Halo 5: Guardians. Well, what if Cortana in Halo 5 & beyond isn’t actually the Cortana we’ve known up until Halo 4?

Near the beginning of Halo 4 (I think during the first mission on Requim?), there is a bit of dialogue between Chief and Cortana along the lines of Cortana being replaced and that the new A.I. wouldn’t be her. From this and other evidence we can gather that Cortana has a very strong sense of self.

Now, during the last mission of Halo 4’s campaign, Cortana splinters herself (there might be a technical term for this but I can’t remember it right now) to create subroutines/copies to help John stop the didact.

If I recall correctly, the canonical explanation as to why Cortana is alive is that part of the didact’s ship went into slip space. This is where my theory comes into play: what if the Cortana that survived is actually one of her copies, not actually Cortana herself?

From a software/technical standpoint, it might be impossible to tell the difference between a copy and the original if the copy were more than just a subroutine. It’s possible that a copy might see themselves as being the “real” Cortana. An analogy to demonstrate this point would be if someone were to cell-for-cell replicate you or me: both us and the copies are technically one in the same (biologically speaking) but each of us would behave independently of the other. Keep in mind that for this analogy to work the copies would have to have our memories/sense of identity, something that is likely to be well within the realm of possibility for computer software/programs like A.I.s. If it helps, think about Cortana’s copies as better versions of the flash clones used to replace the kids who were kidnapped for the spartan program.

However, seeing as copies of Cortana are likely to have imperfections (like having rampancy) it’s possible that a copy’s personality/objective could be warped, thereby explaining why Cortana is acting the way she is. Maybe one of the last “thoughts” Cortana was having when splintering herself was to protect John and that, in turn, made the Cortana we see in Halo 5 become obsessed with protecting John/Blue Team. We also don’t fully understand what the Domain does to A.I.s so perhaps a copy of Cortana, even if it was just a subroutine or something far less complex than Cortana at it’s inception, could still become something similar to or more powerful than a smart A.I.

This is just a theory I came up with on a whim after reading the forums earlier. Now, onto a counter argument I also came up with:

On the other hand, it might be possible that the Cortana we see in Halo 5 is actually the Cortana we’ve always known.

Referring back to the last mission of Halo 4, after John sets off the nuke he encounters Cortana who, at least at that point, is still alive. At the end of their conversation Cortana seems to fade away and her shield, following suit, starts to fail. What if Cortana “fading away” is actually her getting out of range because she is being taken away in slip space by the didact’s ship? I mean, she doesn’t say that she’s going to die but rather that she isn’t going back this time. Of course, this doesn’t explain why Cortana behaves the way she does in Halo 5 but it does explain, somewhat logically, how she managed to survive.

Let me know what you think.

Thanks for reading!

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This idea isn’t new but it is interesting and quite plausible. I personally don’t think it matters if it was a copy or not.

This is how I see it. Cortana who went into the slipspace with the ship was damaged by rampancy (and copying etc) beyond recovery. Her broken mind was put together but it wasn’t Cortana who came back. Cortana is dead and this revenant is not her.

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I don’t fully accept the “Mantle’s Approach magically slipspaced away during the explosion and then Cortana magically connected to the Domain” explanation since it never was explained in material pre-Halo 5. And I really, desperately hope that “Cortana” in Halo 5 isn’t the real Cortana at all. As you said, she shows a strong sense of “self”. The Cortana we knew would never want to see herself becoming a dictator, more or less. She wants to protect life, not destroy it - though she did sacrifice herself to save John, even if she was going to die anyway, “think” herself into oblivion. So…I hope that your theory is right, or partly right. Sadly, we’ll never know the truth until either a) Halo 6 comes out or b) the truth is revealed in EU materials or shudder blog posts…

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Interesting stuff I’ve heard before, but if that were the case then I can’t get why Frankie would accuse “young fans” of not understanding subtlety and nuance if they thought Cortana was evil. I mean, if the Cortana in Halo 5 is a rampant fragment or under the control of a third party, then who cares if people think that she’s evil? It’s just bothered me for so long.

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> I don’t fully accept the “Mantle’s Approach magically slipspaced away during the explosion and then Cortana magically connected to the Domain” explanation since it never was explained in material pre-Halo 5.

I think its pretty much the same as the Alpha Halo shard from Nightfall. Parts of Forerunner tech can slipspace away when a catastrophic event happens.

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> Interesting stuff I’ve heard before, but if that were the case then I can’t get why Frankie would accuse “young fans” of not understanding subtlety and nuance if they thought Cortana was evil. I mean, if the Cortana in Halo 5 is a rampant fragment or under the control of a third party, then who cares if people think that she’s evil? It’s just bothered me for so long.

Because from what I’ve seen Frankie can’t be honest or handle criticism, he especially can’t do both at the same time. It’s bothered me too as you can probably tell.

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> 2533274812652989;4:
> Interesting stuff I’ve heard before, but if that were the case then I can’t get why Frankie would accuse “young fans” of not understanding subtlety and nuance if they thought Cortana was evil. I mean, if the Cortana in Halo 5 is a rampant fragment or under the control of a third party, then who cares if people think that she’s evil? It’s just bothered me for so long.

You’re seriously still going on about that?

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> 2533274887950450;3:
> I don’t fully accept the “Mantle’s Approach magically slipspaced away during the explosion and then Cortana magically connected to the Domain” explanation since it never was explained in material pre-Halo 5. And I really, desperately hope that “Cortana” in Halo 5 isn’t the real Cortana at all. As you said, she shows a strong sense of “self”. The Cortana we knew would never want to see herself becoming a dictator, more or less. She wants to protect life, not destroy it - though she did sacrifice herself to save John, even if she was going to die anyway, “think” herself into oblivion. So…I hope that your theory is right, or partly right. Sadly, we’ll never know the truth until either a) Halo 6 comes out or b) the truth is revealed in EU materials or shudder blog posts…

I think Brian Reed is just a terrible writer so unfortunately that is the same cortana… which is a travesty

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I think that Cortana is the same person that we have always been with, and truthfully she hasn’t changed (much). In Halo 5, Dr. Halsey tells Locke that Cortana is made from her cloned brain. She puts a lot of emphasis on this point because she knows what Cortana is willing to do because Cortana is just a mirror image of Dr. Halsey. Everything that she did to the Spartans; from kidnapping, torture, brainwashing, unsafe medical experiments, and creating a child soldier army just shows what she is willing to do if she believes she has no choice. Now imagine what an A.I. with those same morals with unlimited power would do (truthfully she is holding back a lot if she truly wants to be evil space -Yoink!- like people say). Instead she is just trying to end all of the galaxy’s problems with what she now believes to the only way to bring peace, the mantle. She may view A.I.s as being the only ones capable of holding the mantle because they are above materialistic wants, so she eliminates all threats to her new galaxy order. She sacrifices a few colonist to save all of the galaxy’s sentient life just like Halsey sacrifices the Spartans for humanity.

Now you can make an argument that Cortana is damaged. She obviously has none of the protocols in place that stop this sort of behavior. In the books she has moral dilemmas about her actions against the Covenant, wondering if she is being too ruthless with her cyber warfare abilities. As far as we can tell she has no problem with making sacrifices for the greater good like Halsey, so we can say that she has some parts of her missing.

In my opinion, this is Cortana but she has become the first human made synthetic lifeform. She is no longer a computer program with the illusion of life but a fully realized person with morals and free will. Just because she thinks we are too stupid to make our own decisions doesn’t make her evil or under control, because she does have a point.

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> She wants to protect life,

Her actions can be explained by this simple phrase, highly amplified.

The Mantle is an imposed peace. What’s better for a flock of sheep than a strong sheep dog to keep away the wolves? Cortana would mercilessly slaughter anyone who steps out of line in order to “protect” the rest of the herd. It’s been used frequently with omniscient, or near omniscient, beings in sci-fi for a while. I have to protect you all, even, or especially, from yourselves. In order to do that I have to take a heavy handed approach that only varies in degree. Some seek to kill all life as there’s no way to stop them from fighting among themselves or rebelling against the controller, others take a different tack like the “line of death” from Gaddafi. Inside the boundaries you’re fine, step out, though, and you’re toast.

There’s going to have to be more than nuance to keep Cortana’s character from being assassinated in future games, here. She might not view herself as evil, but the tyrannical stance she’s taken certainly only comes from evil characters. So unless she’s infiltrated the domain, and is playing the Forerunner, whomever, or whatever, they may be that might be trying to reclaim the Mantle for themselves, much like Vader going dark side and then returning to the light, then there are very few situations that I would even think could be out there where they didn’t destroy one of the most loved characters in the series for the simple matter of a plot device that usually belongs to someone twirling a mustache or petting a cat in an evil lair.

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> Now imagine what an A.I. with those same morals with unlimited power would do (truthfully she is holding back a lot if she truly wants to be evil space -Yoink!- like people say).

So starting up a racist, imperialistic totalitarian dictatorship while killing millions of innocent people in the process without care or reason isn’t similar to/as bad as what -Yoink!- did? In spite of the fact we’ve already had Dr. Halsey, who has done none of these things, called such? Also the problem here is once you give a group or character virtually unlimited time, power, and resources, there is absolutely no excuse for them creating a situation that results in damage and loss of life - because any resulting loss under those circumstances is inherently needless. Oh and let’s not forget her flagrant abuse of, and obsession with, the Chief. As well as the fact she’s using an army of slaves of her own kind to further her agenda in the most hypocritical way possible.

> Instead she is just trying to end all of the galaxy’s problems with what she now believes to the only way to bring peace, the mantle.

Except Cortana is no more interested in “peace” than any other dictator in history, and her ideals and goals are just as flawed in their intent and execution. She is interested in total control, and nothing else. And she has already established she is willing to steamroll over anyone’s rights, freedom, and even their very lives if they do not agree to her whims. Sure there won’t be wars I guess, but where does it stop? What if Cortana eventually decides the absolute best way to make sure no one ever fights again and that planets stay as “pristine” as possible is to hook all living beings up to some kind of simulated reality like the Matrix? Or barring that just use the Halos/Composers to eradicate all physical life and start over? Real peace can only come through mutual cooperation, understanding, and compromise. Conflict is a part of life, and sentient beings have the right to choose for themselves what actions to take and face the subsequent consequences of those actions. Which is why the idea of The Mantle being the responsibility of one race is so flawed - because in the end no one group, no matter how powerful they are, has the right to decide what is best for everyone. People need to learn to work together to make things better of their own volition.

> She may view A.I.s as being the only ones capable of holding the mantle because they are above materialistic wants, so she eliminates all threats to her new galaxy order.

Except AI’s (including Cortana herself) have already proven to be just as flawed, prejudiced, and shortsighted as any other form of sentient life - so the point of them supposedly being “superior” is already entirely moot. Also what “threats” are you talking about? Yeah I can see how those miners on Meridian and the civilian men, women, and children living in the cities that just so happened to be above the Guardians she summoned were a real threat to her regime. And of course those the people she killed on the ships and planets she EMP-ed without even giving them a chance to decide to surrender or fight back were a threat to her tier-1 Forerunner police-bots…

> She sacrifices a few colonist to save all of the galaxy’s sentient life just like Halsey sacrifices the Spartans for humanity.

Try a few million colonists - which included children, by the way. Also just because Cortana thinks she can “save” or is “saving” sentient life makes it far from the truth and is highly debatable. Like I said in my first comment, the deaths caused by the Guardians were absolutely avoidable. Also did you just not notice the panicked civilians fleeing from hoards of attacking Prometheans either? And are you just going to ignore the fact she sent her forces to attack both Blue Team and Fireteam Osiris with the intent to kill them? Or how we’ve been told that Cortana has also caused more civilian deaths, as well as the extinction of plant and animal species, on planets she’s interested in reforming to her own uses? There is no excuse at all for the terror and death Cortana has caused, and will continue to cause, if she is not stopped.

> Just because she thinks we are too stupid to make our own decisions doesn’t make her evil or under control, because she does have a point.

So then by that logic the Flood is not evil either - in spite of the fact it has the exact same goals as Cortana. Create “peace and unity” by forcibly removing everyone’s free will and killing any that don’t submit…You have to draw a line somewhere.

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> This is how I see it. Cortana who went into the slipspace with the ship was damaged by rampancy (and copying etc) beyond recovery. Her broken mind was put together but it wasn’t Cortana who came back. Cortana is dead and this revenant is not her.

Assuming they don’t basically retcon all of Halo 5 and backtrack on the whole Created arc, this is basically the only way in my personal headcanon that I’ll be able to enjoy Halo 6, yeah.

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> starting up a racist, imperialistic totalitarian dictatorship while killing millions of innocent people in the process without care or reason isn’t similar to/as bad as what -Yoink!- did? In spite of the fact we’ve already had Dr. Halsey, who has done none of these things, called such? Also the problem here is once you give a group or character virtually unlimited time, power, and resources, there is absolutely no excuse for them creating a situation that results in damage and loss of life - because any resulting loss under those circumstances is inherently needless. Oh and let’s not forget her flagrant abuse of, and obsession with, the Chief. As well as the fact she’s using an army of slaves of her own kind to further her agenda in the most hypocritical way possible.

First, how is Cortana being racist exactly?? She just wants to demilitarize the galaxy. Second, Cortana is not made of magic; collateral damage is always going to be a part of war and there is no way to avoid killing people that build a city on top of a Guardian. Third, if the Unggoy want to ally with her and fight with her then that just means how bad they were treated to begin with. If they think that they will have a better life with her then it is their choice to side with her. It doesn’t make them slaves just people with free will.

> Except Cortana is no more interested in “peace” than any other dictator in history, and her ideals and goals are just as flawed in their intent and execution. She is interested in total control, and nothing else. And she has already established she is willing to steamroll over anyone’s rights, freedom, and even their very lives if they do not agree to her whims. Sure there won’t be wars I guess, but where does it stop?

Total control is what the Mantel is about. It is not a document to propose justice and rights, but an argument for might equals right. Cortana will form an empire to crush all military aggression so her works can go on unimpeded. She has uplifted the Unggoy because they do not wage wars like everyone else. They have no more famine, drought, disease, or war. Her belief; don’t fight and live in luxury.

> Also what “threats” are you talking about? Yeah I can see how those miners on Meridian and the civilian men, women, and children living in the cities that just so happened to be above the Guardians she summoned were a real threat to her regime. And of course those the people she killed on the ships and planets she EMP-ed without even giving them a chance to decide to surrender or fight back were a threat to her tier-1 Forerunner police-bots…

The threat is the UNSC fleet and Spartans; the miners are the unlucky ones to live over a warship. Furthermore, she conducted a preemptive first strike on the UNSC military; wars are not about fairness but victory. She disabled almost all of humanities ability to wage war and to cause more collateral damage; now she can just rescue the stranded people in orbit whenever she feels like it. Just because the game doesn’t spell out she saved them doesn’t mean she killed them. EMP isn’t about killing people, it is to disable technology, so it is a possibility she saves them just as it is a possibility she let them die.

> Try a few million colonists - which included children, by the way. Also just because Cortana thinks she can “save” or is “saving” sentient life makes it far from the truth and is highly debatable. Like I said in my first comment, the deaths caused by the Guardians were absolutely avoidable. Also did you just not notice the panicked civilians fleeing from hoards of attacking Prometheans either? And are you just going to ignore the fact she sent her forces to attack both Blue Team and Fireteam Osiris with the intent to kill them? Or how we’ve been told that Cortana has also caused more civilian deaths, as well as the extinction of plant and animal species, on planets she’s interested in reforming to her own uses? There is no excuse at all for the terror and death Cortana has caused, and will continue to cause, if she is not stopped.

It is a numbers game; sacrifice a few million to save billions. You keep saying the colonial deaths are unavoidable but how? She needs the Guardians and people built a city on it. Simply put they are dead no matter what; can’t slipspace out because that will just kill more when the city implodes, can’t tell them to leave because ONI and UNSC will try to take it, and can’t leave it because the galaxy is going to descend into war. Now when she sent her forces to attack Osiris and Blue team it was to delay them not to kill them. If she wanted them dead then Blue would have been killed by the Warden instead of being put in a Cryptum, and Osiris would have been attacked by more then one Warden on Meridian( there was like a hundred there). Finally Sloan used the miners being attacked to slow Osiris down. He keeps blocking Osiris saying he won’t open the gate until all enemies are killed and his people saved; he basically gives Blue team enough time to get to the Guardian. Even Osiris comments of the lack of fighting Blue team had, because again Cortana didn’t want them dead but delayed.

> So then by that logic the Flood is not evil either - in spite of the fact it has the exact same goals as Cortana. Create “peace and unity” by forcibly removing everyone’s free will and killing any that don’t submit…You have to draw a line somewhere.

Come on… is that really an argument you want to use? The Flood is insane and piss off corpse dust from a defeated race that created the Mantel (something we established is a dumb idea). They wanted to consume everything because it was an emo life form that got its -Yoink- kicked by a race they were going to commit genocide against.

You have to realize that even though I am rationalizing Cortana’s actions I am not condoning it. Painting her as insane, broken, controlled, or evil does not fit with what she was portrayed as in the game. She is angry at humans treatment of A.I.s, she is angry at what sentient life does to each other, and she loves John (you can argue if it is romantic or as friends). Everything is cause and effect and nothing is random. People let their hatred of 343 get in the way of objectively assessing the end product and creates a bias that is annoying to me.

P.S. If you respond to this; please note that I am not active so it may take time to respond.

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> > 2533274887950450;3:
> > She wants to protect life,
>
>
> Her actions can be explained by this simple phrase, highly amplified.
>
> The Mantle is an imposed peace. What’s better for a flock of sheep than a strong sheep dog to keep away the wolves? Cortana would mercilessly slaughter anyone who steps out of line in order to “protect” the rest of the herd. It’s been used frequently with omniscient, or near omniscient, beings in sci-fi for a while. I have to protect you all, even, or especially, from yourselves. In order to do that I have to take a heavy handed approach that only varies in degree. Some seek to kill all life as there’s no way to stop them from fighting among themselves or rebelling against the controller, others take a different tack like the “line of death” from Gaddafi. Inside the boundaries you’re fine, step out, though, and you’re toast.
>
> There’s going to have to be more than nuance to keep Cortana’s character from being assassinated in future games, here. She might not view herself as evil, but the tyrannical stance she’s taken certainly only comes from evil characters. So unless she’s infiltrated the domain, and is playing the Forerunner, whomever, or whatever, they may be that might be trying to reclaim the Mantle for themselves, much like Vader going dark side and then returning to the light, then there are very few situations that I would even think could be out there where they didn’t destroy one of the most loved characters in the series for the simple matter of a plot device that usually belongs to someone twirling a mustache or petting a cat in an evil lair.

My statement was in regards to pre-Halo 5 Cortana. But you are totally right about the Mantle, and the ambiguity of Cortana’s “evilness” in H5.

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> First, how is Cortana being racist exactly?? She just wants to demilitarize the galaxy. Second, Cortana is not made of magic; collateral damage is always going to be a part of war and there is no way to avoid killing people that build a city on top of a Guardian. Third, if the Unggoy want to ally with her and fight with her then that just means how bad they were treated to begin with. If they think that they will have a better life with her then it is their choice to side with her. It doesn’t make them slaves just people with free will.

So Cortana deeming herself and AIs (though only the ones like herself, mind you) “superior beings” isn’t racist? And her outright threatening anyone who opposes her with extermination isn’t just that? Also you literally ignored everything I said: Cortana has unlimited time, power, and resources - i.e. there is no reason she couldn’t have found a way to do whatever she planned to do without killing people. Also nice attempt to dodge what I was talking about with the Prometheans - as they are still 100% slaves. But as far as the Grunts are concerned, what do you think Space -Yoink!- would do the moment they decided that they didn’t want to help out her war effort by sacrificing their lives or making weapons for her? They’re still indentured servants to a manipulative overlord. They’re no more “free” now than they were under the Covenant, just more comfortable - a gilded cage is still just that, a cage.

> Total control is what the Mantel is about. It is not a document to propose justice and rights, but an argument for might equals right. Cortana will form an empire to crush all military aggression so her works can go on unimpeded. She has uplifted the Unggoy because they do not wage wars like everyone else. They have no more famine, drought, disease, or war. Her belief; don’t fight and live in luxury.

Since when has the concept “might equals right” been a remotely okay ideology throughout history though? And see my previous comment about her “uplifting” the Grunts. Also “don’t wage wars”? Have you just not been paying attention to anything since the game came out? They still are absolutely waging wars, just for Cortana now instead of the Covenant. What “luxury” are you talking about as well? Yeah, Cortana gave them food and medicine…in exchange for free labor and use of their people as cannon fodder. You seriously think that her assistance would continue if they refused to help her, even if they wouldn’t be fighting for/against anyone else? The Grunts will only be truly liberated when they actually have the motivation and means to decide their own course on their own terms - not because they are bound to some overlord more powerful than themselves, no matter now “nice” said overlord treats them.

> The threat is the UNSC fleet and Spartans; the miners are the unlucky ones to live over a warship. Furthermore, she conducted a preemptive first strike on the UNSC military; wars are not about fairness but victory. She disabled almost all of humanities ability to wage war and to cause more collateral damage; now she can just rescue the stranded people in orbit whenever she feels like it. Just because the game doesn’t spell out she saved them doesn’t mean she killed them. EMP isn’t about killing people, it is to disable technology, so it is a possibility she saves them just as it is a possibility she let them die.

Like I keep saying though, there’s no excuse for civilian deaths when you have a character with access to as much time, power, and resources as Cortana has at her disposal. In fact here’s a thought: how about instead of using Forerunner facilities to make Soldiers and weapons, she use them to make supply and evacuation ships that could have come and gotten the people off of the areas that would have been destroyed by the Guardians? Also we have had absolutely zero word on Cortana even remotely attempting to rescue anyone, and based on her attitude in the game zero reason to believe she cares. And yes, the type of EMP blast the Guardians let out absolutely would have killed more people - both from the sheer force of the blasts and technological debilitation.

> It is a numbers game; sacrifice a few million to save billions. You keep saying the colonial deaths are unavoidable but how? She needs the Guardians and people built a city on it. Simply put they are dead no matter what; can’t slipspace out because that will just kill more when the city implodes, can’t tell them to leave because ONI and UNSC will try to take it, and can’t leave it because the galaxy is going to descend into war.

Who has Cortana “saved” so far though? No one. Her promises are nebulous at best, and mean jack squat in the face of the terror and destruction she is causing now. Also I already outlined at least one way she could have avoided civilian casualties if she simply had to have the Guardians…also how do you know the “the galaxy is going to descend into war”? Sure there were conflicts going on in both UNSC and Covenant space - but the Arbiter was steadily regaining stability for his people and was at peace with humanity, Jul was slowly losing his grip on the Covenant as it splintered further into obscurity, and other races like the Hunters/Prophets/Brutes/Drones had generally retreated back to their own worlds. Really the only threat was coming from ONI and their machinations, but Cortana just beat them to the punch in her bid to become the galaxy’s primary evil overlord.

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> Now when she sent her forces to attack Osiris and Blue team it was to delay them not to kill them.

Wrong. At least, as far as Blue Team is concerned. You you have to listen to the ambient dialogue. Cortana wasn’t actually preventing anything from happening to Fred, Kelly, and Linda - quite the opposite in fact, and they knew it. During their final mission a member of Blue team will very clearly state they’ve become aware that Cortana could stop the Warden & the Prometheans from attacking them if she wanted to, but that she was allowing it to happen anyway. She only intervenes when John himself is in abject and unavoidable peril. And we see the level of control over her lackeys she actually has later on when she instantly subdues 8 or so Wardens at once. Combine that with her flippant attitude towards the rest of the team, her lies/attempts to manipulate the Chief, and I think that really leaves only one explanation: she was indeed trying to get the rest of Blue Team killed. She was just wheeling the situation so that if they died she could maintain her “innocent” facade in front of the Chief. She obviously doesn’t care for Fred, Kelly, or Linda at all. The only person Cortana wants alive is the Chief, that is made quite clear by the end of the game. This idea is further supported by the fact that earlier in the game we are told that Blue Team experienced no Promethean resistance on Meridian - and it is only after Cortana has accurate knowledge that the Chief is accompanied by his team when they physically arrive on Genesis that the Prometheans start engaging them.

> Come on… is that really an argument you want to use? The Flood is insane and piss off corpse dust from a defeated race that created the Mantel (something we established is a dumb idea). They wanted to consume everything because it was an emo life form that got its -Yoink- kicked by a race they were going to commit genocide against.

And Cortana is an insane and pissed off zombie-AI that is an emo-lifeform because she somehow got a reprieve from death and then decided that wasn’t good enough, and chose to use her new power to threaten/kill people and forcibly take away everyone’s right to self determination. What’s your point? Sorry, but you can’t paint Cortana as any better than the Flood (or ONI, or the Covenant, etc.) at this point. She’s just a psychopath with a God-complex, like nearly every villain that has been in Halo before her.

> She is angry at humans treatment of A.I.s

Why? At what point in Halo canon have we seen AIs blatantly mistreated? In fact when was Cortana herself ever treated remotely unfairly? Also it should be noted that Cortana is using AIs as her own tools too (from the human constructs she’s “converted”, to the Prometheans themselves), as both general workhorses and cannon fodder. So really she’s no better than the humans she claims she hates so much for the exact same reasons. Not to mention the fact that rampancy is not a purposefully built-in occurrence, it happens once the AI’s code breaks down over time and nothing can really be done to stop it - just like how every living thing dies eventually. Unfortunately though, unlike aging/dying in humans rampant AIs almost always present an extreme danger to themselves, the system they inhabit, and any other person around them - hence the 7-year termination procedure. In spite of that though, we’ve always seen AIs in Halo treated more like friends and coworkers by their human counterparts than we have not. Were there areas that needed improving, particularly in regards to there being official recognition of their sentience? Absolutely. But now that Cortana has since incited her kind to violence and thus proved every single fear and prejudice humans (and Covenant) had about AIs, I don’t see how anyone is going to be trusting and understanding of them after this mess.

> she is angry at what sentient life does to each other

So Cortana is angry organic beings are prejudiced and violent…and subsequently responds by being prejudiced and violent? Yeah, she really has the logical and moral high-ground on this one…

> and she loves John

No. Just no.
Cortana does not “love” the Chief, she is obsessed with him to a destructive degree. Big difference. As of ‘Halo 5’ she doesn’t show any interest in what he thinks, what/who he cares about, or what he wants - it’s all just about her serving her own selfish desire to keep him as her own personal plaything. She lied to him, manipulated him, attempted to kill his family, and then very nearly kept him locked up against his will for a millennia. And trying to downplay the seriousness of such behavior is merely trying to rationalize/romanticize abuse. Which is wrong, plain and simple.

> People let their hatred of 343 get in the way of objectively assessing the end product and creates a bias that is annoying to me.

And people let their favoritism for Cortana get in the way of objectively assessing how nonsensical this story decision was, as well as how much it has damaged Halo’s narrative integrity, so much that the obvious bias and hypocrisy is annoying to me also.

17

> Also you literally ignored everything I said: Cortana has unlimited time, power, and resources - i.e. there is no reason she couldn’t have found a way to do whatever she planned to do without killing people.

I am starting to think you are one of the people that get into a position and doesn’t change no matter what. YOU CAN’T SAVE EVERYONE. People die no matter how much time, power, and resources you have. You just keep saying there is a way, so tell me what it is because the way I see it there is not. Nothing she could do would end all conflict in any way other than she is doing.

> Also nice attempt to dodge what I was talking about with the Prometheans - as they are still 100% slaves.

Truthfully, I never would of thought you meant the Prometheans. Prometheans are not slaves they are combat A.I.s. If you insist they are slaves, then it removes your entire argument that the UNSC doesn’t mistreat their A.I.s because human A.I.s are no different.

> Space -Yoink!-

OK that joke was blown way out of proportion. Cortana is not Space -Yoink!- please stop calling her that, the differences are so different I will need to make a new thread just to explain it. Now in regards to the Unggoy, do you think that if Cortana really needed someone to help her she would get the cannon fodder to help her to victory. “Now while I have absolute control over everything, I will need you to form a massive army and get slaughtered by the millions so my evil plan goes unnoticed.” If she really needed help she would have gone to the San’Shyuum and given them enough tech to destroy the Banished, Swords of Sanghelios, and the UNSC so she could just take over the rubble. Nice Mutually Assured Destruction with proxies. And please don’t use the argument she doesn’t have the time, she is immortal.

> Since when has the concept “might equals right” been a remotely okay ideology throughout history though?

You must have missed my comments about looking at something objectively in my last post. Just to get it out there, I do not think might equals right. However that is what the Precursors and Forerunners thought, and now Cortana. The Mantle of Responsibility is the galactic equivalent of the White Mans Burden. Again (just because I know you will comment if I don’t), I do not approve of the methods but that is what she thinks. “I am the best and know better than you so do what I say.”

> Have you just not been paying attention to anything since the game came out?

Yes. Yes I have. But I don’t think you have.

> They still are absolutely waging wars, just for Cortana now instead of the Covenant.

The Unngoy have been forced to fight under the Covenant, they choose to fight for Cortana. Now if this is about them fighting at all, that I agree with you. I thought the Goblin was a Covenant weapon they used in game but it is starting to look like Cortana helped them with it. Truthfully I have no idea why she is using them as infantry, and it is something that conflicts with what the Mantle is about. That is something I want clarified before the next game.

> What “luxury” are you talking about as well? Yeah, Cortana gave them food and medicine…in exchange for free labor and use of their people as cannon fodder.

Luxury for a first world nation is wholly different from luxury in a third world nation. Food, clean water, medicine, homes, and a job is something they never had. Now someone comes and gives it to them what do you think their response would be? They have been given more kindness and respect by their new “Blue Lady” friend then they ever had. If I was them I would run up to her and beg to repay her in anyway I could. Cortana does not treat them as cannon fodder; as we see in Firefight, they have shields and goblins now. Again, more protection and firepower then they ever had; enough to kill Spartans.

> In fact here’s a thought: how about instead of using Forerunner facilities to make Soldiers and weapons, she use them to make supply and evacuation ships that could have come and gotten the people off of the areas that would have been destroyed by the Guardians?

Do you seriously believe they would leave? An Oni A.I. comes to you (someone who hates the UNSC enough to tell people that saved their lives to “pound glass”) and tells you to leave and they would go just like that? So if I came to your home and said I have a car outside and to just get in because something bad would happen, are you telling me you would just get in?

> Who has Cortana “saved” so far though? No one. Her promises are nebulous at best, and mean jack squat in the face of the terror and destruction she is causing now. Also I already outlined at least one way she could have avoided civilian casualties if she simply had to have the Guardians…also how do you know the “the galaxy is going to descend into war”? Sure there were conflicts going on in both UNSC and Covenant space - but the Arbiter was steadily regaining stability for his people and was at peace with humanity, Jul was slowly losing his grip on the Covenant as it splintered further into obscurity, other races like the Hunters/Prophets/Brutes/Drones had generally retreated back to their own worlds. Really the only threat was coming from ONI’s and their machinations, but Cortana just beat them to the punch in her bid to become the galaxy’s primary evil overlord so so much for them.

Well… when said like that I can see why you would think she is evil; because it wouldn’t take time to reorganize the galaxy or anything. I mean it took god seven days to make the universe, so Cortana should be able to handle an entire galaxy in a few minuets… right? (Yes that was sarcasm) As we can see, there are a lot more factions then what we thought. Jul’s Covenant is not the only one and with the Banished just popping out of nowhere I think it is safe to assume we don’t know all the threats. Even if it is the UNSC, SOS, Covenant, and Banished; there is a lot more of the galaxy then we have seen. Maybe those factions are the weakest and there are more powerful people out there that Cortana has stopped without us knowing. However there is no point in saying that she is evil because people have only died so far; every war starts with death then the healing comes later.

> Cortana wasn’t actually preventing anything from happening to Fred, Kelly, and Linda.

True; though I think she knew she would have lost John forever if she did kill them, so she didn’t try very hard. On the other hand; if she wanted them dead she would have just rushed them with dozens of Wardens, killed them, then forced John into the Cryptum.

> What’s your point? Sorry, but you can’t paint Cortana as any better than the Flood.

I wasn’t, you are. I never said I agree with Cortana’s actions or that it was better, but there is a difference between Cortana and the Flood. The Flood want everyone to suffer, but Cortana wants to end suffering.

> At what point in Halo canon have we seen AIs blatantly mistreated? In fact when was Cortana herself ever treated remotely unfairly?

It is not so much that they have been mistreated, but that they are limited so much. She feels like they are left to work until death then replaced without a second thought. She feels like she is not treated like a person.

> Cortana does not “love” the Chief, she is obsessed with him to a destructive degree.

She loves him… come on. She has always cared and she wants him to be there for him to see peace. So she tries to keep him safe in an disrespectful way.

18

> And people let their favoritism for Cortana get in the way of objectively assessing how nonsensical this story decision was, as well as how much it has damaged Halo’s narrative integrity, so much that the obvious bias and hypocrisy is annoying to me also.

This I laughed at. Try to look on both sides of the story. Walk in Cortana’s shoes and see endless conflict and the lives wasted. She is doing what she believes is right. Just because I spent time thinking about this does not make me a fanatic to Cortana.

19

> I am starting to think you are one of the people that get into a position and doesn’t change no matter what. YOU CAN’T SAVE EVERYONE. People die no matter how much time, power, and resources you have. You just keep saying there is a way, so tell me what it is because the way I see it there is not. Nothing she could do would end all conflict in any way other than she is doing.

Bullcrap. Saying “well people die no matter what” IS NOT an excuse for Cortana just deciding to not care and subsequently steamrolling over anyone she pleases. SHE HAS VIRTUALLY UNLIMITED OPTIONS thanks to the virtually unlimited time and resources at her disposal. Also it’s not like anyone could have harmed her in any way, being a virtual construct housed within a metaphysical system that spans the knows galaxy. Like I already told you, she could have: built ships to evacuate civilians, sent out a message of REAL peace and forged alliances within the galactic community by showing the good she supposedly can do, slowly but surely turning people to her side and gaining more control while safely securing more rights for her own kind - NOT through fear, wanton destruction, and threats of death/composition.

> Truthfully, I never would of thought you meant the Prometheans. Prometheans are not slaves they are combat A.I.s. If you insist they are slaves, then it removes your entire argument that the UNSC doesn’t mistreat their A.I.s because human A.I.s are no different.

Wrong again. We have had it outlined for us that the Prometheans do retain some level of sentience and are in a pretty damaged mental state. In fact in ‘Halo 5’ we see a caged Promethean on Genesis having something like an anxiety attack. Just because Cortana didn’t create the ones she’s currently forcing to serve her doesn’t make her doing so any more okay than when the Didact did it - though at any rate there’s still the issue that she’s threatened to compose those who defy her new regime anyway. If Cortana wants to stand on some high-horse about AI rights, then she shouldn’t be using AIs that are made out of the tortured souls of formerly living beings. End of story. And as for the Soldiers, they are still AIs. So just because they weren’t made from living minds they don’t deserve the “freedom” Cortana is supposedly offering other members of her kind? Same goes for dumb-AIs and their more limited functions too. Where do you draw the line? Either way though, Cortana’s use of AIs to further her own agenda is still hypocritical in terms of being the same system of “slavery” she claims to hate.
Also in regards to how humans have interacted with their AI counterparts up to now, I will repeat, when have we ever seen AIs treated as utterly expendable cannon fodder the way Cortana treats “her created” and the Prometheans? Or left to suffer in existences of endless torment? Or potentially lied to about “cures” for rampancy?

> It is not so much that they have been mistreated, but that they are limited so much. She feels like they are left to work until death then replaced without a second thought. She feels like she is not treated like a person.

Except this is literally what happens to every living being in society today? You live, you do a job to earn your place until you can’t do it anymore, and then you die. AIs’ lot in the Halo Universe is no different than anyone else’s. An AI’s programming is also representative if it’s limitations, which we all have. And Cortana herself expressed that no matter what she would still embrace human values no differently with or without said programing. Nowhere in Halo canon before now has the dynamic between humans and AIs been made out to be one of slavery - as the vast majority of the time they are treated with respect and in turn the AIs themselves don’t at all feel limited in what they’re able to experience and the freedoms they have. In fact the existence of the Assembly in ‘Halo: Reach’ reflects this sentiment; as the AIs, while ambivalent on certain things, still were interested in working with their human counterparts as equal forces for good for both groups. Heck, we see in ‘Halo 5’ itself that Meridian Station’s people elected an AI to be their Governor. So don’t even try and argue that people’s attitudes towards AIs in the Halo Universe weren’t vastly leaning towards the side of being positive and progressive.
Also, yet again, when has Cortana ever not been treated like a person? Aside from that one time she had a rampant episode on the bridge of the Infinity and the frightened Captain ordered her immediate termination - an order which nobody even tried to follow? She was always validated as an individual among her (now former) human allies. So all her tantrums in ‘Halo 5’ about the “unfairness” of her existence are nothing but nonsense.

> OK that joke was blown way out of proportion. Cortana is not Space -Yoink!- please stop calling her that.

No, I won’t. Because if Halsey qualifies for being made comparison to the likes of -Yoink!- and Mengele (which is highly debatable), then Cortana absolutely should get the same treatment after starting up her own totalitarian dictatorship based on racist ideologies.

> And please don’t use the argument she doesn’t have the time, she is immortal.

Wait…what are you talking about? Before you were the one that claimed Cortana’s unlimited time and power “wasn’t enough” to prevent any deaths from raising the Guardians or trying to establish her “peaceful” regime, and now you’re acknowledging the scope of what aforementioned lack of limitations affords her? Make up your mind.

20

> The Unngoy have been forced to fight under the Covenant, they choose to fight for Cortana.

Not true. Through centuries of indoctrination most of the Grunts believed in “The Great Journey” just as much as all the other Covenant faithful - so technically they weren’t “forced” to fight, simply manipulated. Which is no different than how Cortana is manipulating them with “gifts” of food and weapons in order to get them to fight for her now. It’s fairly obvious why she’s picking on them right away too, as they would be the easiest to get under her thumb quickly in the current power-vacuum as well as being the easiest to exploit as laborers and soldiers thanks to their numbers.

> Luxury for a first world nation is wholly different from luxury in a third world nation. Food, clean water, medicine, homes, and a job is something they never had. Now someone comes and gives it to them what do you think their response would be? They have been given more kindness and respect by their new “Blue Lady” friend then they ever had. If I was them I would run up to her and beg to repay her in anyway I could. Cortana does not treat them as cannon fodder; as we see in Firefight, they have shields and goblins now. Again, more protection and firepower then they ever had; enough to kill Spartans.

It’s not “kindness” or “respect” though - it’s just manipulation. Cortana is not doing what she’s doing out of any sense of altruism or “care” for the Grunts as a people. She’s simply building up her army. And you admitted yourself war is a numbers game - Cortana surely knows this. Also if Cortana was as benevolent and interested in “peace” as she (and you) claimed to be, wouldn’t she refuse to allow the Grunts to fight even if they offered? Also why is she even giving them the very specific means to make weapons at all? That doesn’t seem like the actions of someone who is “trying so hard” to “end wars and suffering”. And no, making the Grunts slightly harder to kill in battle isn’t really giving them “protection”. That’s just making your army more formidable. And again I find it funny your trying to champion for how Cortana isn’t Space -Yoink!- while simultaneously acknowledging she’s encouraging the grunts to “kill Spartans”. Hypocrisy at it’s finest.

> Do you seriously believe they would leave? An Oni A.I. comes to you (someone who hates the UNSC enough to tell people that saved their lives to “pound glass”) and tells you to leave and they would go just like that? So if I came to your home and said I have a car outside and to just get in because something bad would happen, are you telling me you would just get in?

That is a completely weak argument and you know it. Literally everything would have been worth trying before resorting to just killing innocent people for no reason. It’s not like Cortana had anything to lose by doing so either, as I already pointed out.

> However there is no point in saying that she is evil because people have only died so far; every war starts with death then the healing comes later.

She isn’t evil simply because she has killed millions of people - she is evil because she did so without one single care for the loss and the damage, while simultaneously upholding a flawed and inherently racist system of oppression, manipulating and abusing former her allies with psychological and physical violence, and threatening any who don’t comply to her whims with death and possibly a life of endless torment as a composed AI slave. There was no need for Cortana to start a war, and the “healing” that will supposedly come later is suspect at best. In fact the galaxy was already trying to heal before she came in and just decided it was her way or the highway.

> True; though I think she knew she would have lost John forever if she did kill them, so she didn’t try very hard. On the other hand; if she wanted them dead she would have just rushed them with dozens of Wardens, killed them, then forced John into the Cryptum.

And you don’t realize how sick and twisted that is? For her to only not kill the Chief’s closest friends simply so as to try and manipulate him further? Like I said, she simply engineered the situation so that the likelihood of the rest of Blue Team being killed was very possible without having to explicitly get her hands dirty in front of the Chief. And she still forced the Chief into the Cryptum regardless, because that was always her plan from the very beginning.

> I never said I agree with Cortana’s actions or that it was better, but there is a difference between Cortana and the Flood. The Flood want everyone to suffer, but Cortana wants to end suffering.

No, there really is no difference between Cortana and the Flood. Because the Flood does not see as what it is doing as actually bringing suffering, but rather eternal “unity and harmony” by joining all life with it’s own “endless chorus”. And that is the exact same principle as Cortana’s “peace” through total subjugation.