Something I just thought of. Wouldn’t it make more sense if The Covenant just engineer a virus or other pathogen that would target only humans? They could spread it other every human planet and finish the war fast with minimal loss.
> Something I just thought of. Wouldn’t it make more sense if The Covenant just engineer a virus or other pathogen that would target only humans? They could spread it other every human planet and finish the war fast with minimal loss.
That would require them to do something beyond just exterminating the human race. The thought of using such weapons may be as abhorrent as it is for us, but there is either too much work in getting enough subjects, both live and otherwise for the development as well as the work itself in making the weapon.
Its also an incredible hazard to them as well as they could screw up and do tremendous harm to themselves should they make a mistake and their own weapon is effective against themselves, since they would be working in an innovative manner which is directly the opposite of their usual imitative way of developing tech.
> Its also an incredible hazard to them as well as they could screw up and do tremendous harm to themselves should they make a mistake and their own weapon is effective against themselves, since they would be working in an innovative manner which is directly the opposite of their usual imitative way of developing tech.
I think if humans can be careful enough to have Level 5 bio-labs, then the Covenant could as well. Containment/quarantine protocols are pretty simple to enact. But you’re right, it comes down to the Covenant being imitative.
The Human-Covenant war has been relatively short. The Covenant really doesn’t know too much about us, so figuring out what a biological hazard to us would be quite tricky to them. Remember in Contact Harvest the Jackals weren’t sure what would be aboard the human ship.
For them to research and develop a biological weapon would be be expensive in time and resources. At the time they thought simply their technology and numbers would give them the upper hand and “were it so easy” the battle would have been won. They didn’t count on humans being stubborn or having Spartans, ODST’s, or the ability to point out their weaknesses and exploit them.
There is also the possibility that biological warfare is a completely foreign concept to them. Or in the year 2552 there’s no need for biological warfare because there is always an antidote.
> > Its also an incredible hazard to them as well as they could screw up and do tremendous harm to themselves should they make a mistake and their own weapon is effective against themselves, since they would be working in an innovative manner which is directly the opposite of their usual imitative way of developing tech.
>
> I think if humans can be careful enough to have Level 5 bio-labs, then the Covenant could as well. Containment/quarantine protocols are pretty simple to enact. But you’re right, it comes down to the Covenant being imitative.
and after thousands of years of being imitative it would be pretty difficult to change.
The Covenant rely on imitation, so unless there was already something for them to work with in this area, for them to extrapolate on, then they really would not consider it. The would have to completely start from scratch and conduct proper research, which they don’t do.
Or that Humanity’s medical knowledge and technology is simply too advanced for the concept to be of any use. It would not surprise me when they treat cancer like the common cold in the 26th century. Even nowadays scientists are pioneering a new method of treatment that could cure every known virus strain. Biological warfare in the future would probably be obsolete.
The Coveys aren’t inventive; they copy technology from Forerunner artifacts. So, unless the Forerunner used biological weapons against their enemies, it is unlikely that the Covenant would use resources on something that they would have to build from scratch.
> The Covenant rely on imitation, so unless there was already something for them to work with in this area, for them to extrapolate on, then they really would not consider it. The would have to completely start from scratch and conduct proper research, which they don’t do.
>
> Or that Humanity’s medical knowledge and technology is simply too advanced for the concept to be of any use. It would not surprise me when they treat cancer like the common cold in the 26th century. Even nowadays scientists are pioneering a new method of treatment that could cure every known virus strain. Biological warfare in the future would probably be obsolete.
If Midnight in the Heart of Midlothian is any indication, cancer is treated like the common cold as Baird gets put under for two days for them to irradiate and remove the cancerous tissue.
Also to use the Mass Effect universe for an example of why biological weapons are a dangerous research subject, it doesnt take much of a mistake to get people killed. There are people in the med bay on Noveria that are sick because they got exposed to a biological agent they were working on when the facility they were in had to shut down to contain a larger mess.
> If Midnight in the Heart of Midlothian is any indication, cancer is treated like the common cold as Baird gets put under for two days for them to irradiate and remove the cancerous tissue.
I meant that the attitude towards the ailment is like that of the attitude towards the common cold, not the literal medical treatment.
My mistake for using confusing terms I guess.
Apart from the fact than they are just imitative rather than imaginative, could be that they could damage Forerunner cells as well if Forerunners and humans are made from such a similar estructure…
That simple idea would be a very strong force against that.
They probably never considered it. The Elites would probably find it dishonorable and the Prophets likely didn’t care enough/thought highly enough of their tech that it was unnecessary.
And as others have said, with bio-weapons, it can rapidly get out of control.
Why use bio-weaponry when you have orbital bombardment?
> > If Midnight in the Heart of Midlothian is any indication, cancer is treated like the common cold as Baird gets put under for two days for them to irradiate and remove the cancerous tissue.
>
> I meant that the attitude towards the ailment is like that of the attitude towards the common cold, not the literal medical treatment.
>
> My mistake for using confusing terms I guess.
My statement remains the same.
Same story, Baird asks what cancer is and its pretty much treated like any other basic infection that people can treat with ease. Most med techs at that time probably dont understand how the disease works like a 21st Century doctor would now.
> > > If Midnight in the Heart of Midlothian is any indication, cancer is treated like the common cold as Baird gets put under for two days for them to irradiate and remove the cancerous tissue.
> >
> > I meant that the attitude towards the ailment is like that of the attitude towards the common cold, not the literal medical treatment.
> >
> > My mistake for using confusing terms I guess.
>
> My statement remains the same.
>
> Same story, Baird asks what cancer is and its pretty much treated like any other basic infection that people can treat with ease. Most med techs at that time probably dont understand how the disease works like a 21st Century doctor would now.
Thats the average med tech, an actual doctor with years of experience and study would know.
The Covenant might also have associated bio-weaponry with the Flood, which they’d hate.
> The Covenant might also have associated bio-weaponry with the Flood, which they’d hate.
They did not discover The Flood until late in the war. Remember there was almost 30 years of war, plenty of time to create a virus to wipe out Humanity.
Using a bio-weapon would be similiar to using a poison on your enemy and I am fairly certain that using things like poisons would be considered cowardly and even dishonorable, at least on the Sangheili side of things. I doubt the Brutes would go with it either, as they wouldn’t get to get their hands dirty directly. Rest of the ‘lower’ species likely wouldn’t care either way.
As for the San’Shyuum, no idea: the thought likely never crossed their mind considering they were focused so much on Forerunner tech. And it doesn’t look like the Forerunners bothered wtih bio-weapons either, from what we know about them so far (they probably would have felt such a thing would be abhorrent to the Mantle), unless you consider ‘forced de-evolution’ a form of bio-weapon…
Now…on the human side of things: I would not be surprised at all if ONI had a project working on such a thing to use on the Covenant…
> Something I just thought of. Wouldn’t it make more sense if The Covenant just engineer a virus or other pathogen that would target only humans? They could spread it other every human planet and finish the war fast with minimal loss.
Someone’s been watching “Curiosity” on Discover Channel, haven’t they?
I just watched the special on alien invasions, and asked the same question. I would imagine that, if there was a reason, it would have to do with the Covenant not being innovative when it comes to technology. Remember, all their tech is copied from Forerunner tech. That alone would lead me to believe they might not have the proper tech to engineer a bio-weapon.
Another possible reason is the Sangheili. An honor bound, warrior race would want the pleasure of killing humanity in direct combat, be that on ground or in space.
In the end, the actual reason is much like that of “why does humanity use ballistic weaponry?”. It’s because Halo is a game, and reality can conflict with the needs of a game very easily.
> > Something I just thought of. Wouldn’t it make more sense if The Covenant just engineer a virus or other pathogen that would target only humans? They could spread it other every human planet and finish the war fast with minimal loss.
>
> Someone’s been watching “Curiosity” on Discover Channel, haven’t they?
>
> I just watched the special on alien invasions, and asked the same question. I would imagine that, if there was a reason, it would have to do with the Covenant not being innovative when it comes to technology. Remember, all their tech is copied from Forerunner tech. That alone would lead me to believe they might not have the proper tech to engineer a bio-weapon.
>
> Another possible reason is the Sangheili. An honor bound, warrior race would want the pleasure of killing humanity in direct combat, be that on ground or in space.
>
> In the end, the actual reason is much like that of “why does humanity use ballistic weaponry?”. It’s because Halo is a game, and reality can conflict with the needs of a game very easily.
The Covenant isnt innovative. They are imitative.
Why would they need biological weapons? they’re kicking our -Yoink- anyway with their current arsenal.