Catalog
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| “ | The strength of Catalog lies in personal awareness of the nature of guilt.[1] | ” |
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Catalog[1] |
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Major source of information on Forerunners for modern humanity |
Catalog was a group of Forerunners charged with recording, observing, and uploading information to the Juridical network for Juridical legal cases at the Ecumene Council's direction.[2] There were many individuals identified as Catalog, all of whom were formally considered to be the same being as a peculiar cultural convention.[1]
Background[edit]
Role and jurisdiction[edit]
- "I do not judge. I record."
- — Catalog
Catalog's task was to record evidence related to a given case,[2] and to determine what would be passed on for the Juridicals to analyze. Catalog gathered information in a variety of ways, including direct observation via their various sensor equipment and taking the testimonials of individuals connected to the cases at hand. When on an official mission mandated by the Ecumene Council, no one, no matter their rank or position, was allowed to interfere with Catalog's investigation.[1] Catalog was almost constantly connected to the Juridical network, which it used to share information,[3] if it was disconnected from the network the next time it connected it would send what it had gathered and take what it can to supplement its understanding for the case it was on.[4] The Gravemind, upon capturing a member of Catalog, noted an "amusing" similarity between Catalog and itself; much like the Flood's pervasive collective consciousness, Catalog was an extension of a collective which shared memories and experience.[3]
Catalog was authorized to force a key deponent to divulge information through artificially-induced "calming encouragement" if they refused to willingly continue their testimony or otherwise co-operate.[5] When three Catalog units gathered to record a particularly significant event, they would become a "triad", forming a local personal network that shared all information; "one unit with three points of view".[6]
Physical appearance[edit]
Each individual Forerunner that volunteered[2] to become a Catalog was encased in a coffin-like mechanical carapace designed for optimum observation and recording, and allowing it to interview quickly and efficiently while contacting the network as often as necessary. This carapace was also capable of surviving in hard vacuum and other dangerous environmental conditions. The Catalog carapace possessed five legs and an array of optical recording devices it could extend or retract at will.[4] Some carapaces were supplied by the Builders, which according to the IsoDidact, could be used to undermine Catalog’s integrity and keep it a secret from Catalog itself.[1]
When assuming the carapace, the biological body of the Forerunner was reduced into a shrivelled, misshapen form,[7] described as a "half-alive husk".[2] The carapace also acted as a life-support system for the withered body within; if a member of Catalog chose to disconnect from the carapace, it would suffocate, which was considered an honorable death in the event of failure, though it would not be allowed to do so as Catalogs were considered too valuable.[5] Catalog were conspicuously distinct from ordinary Forerunners due to its exotic physical shape; it also made random internal "clicking and slopping" noises which some Forerunners, including the Ur-Didact, found disgusting.[4]
A Catalog unit was notably sensitive to discomfort during slipspace jumps, particularly ones in strained regions of space-time, with a Catalog taking an hour to recover in one case.[8]
Personality and behavior[edit]
Catalog were chosen from individuals[2] of all rates who had committed crimes and volunteered to assume the role as an act of penance.[1] Through extreme indoctrination and personality conditioning to root out the faintest bit of unethical conduct,[2] Forerunners who became Catalogs were stripped of individuality and personhood; each Catalog referred to themselves solely as "Catalog", used as a name, not as a title, as if to suggest that each instance of "Catalog" was completely indistinguishable from all others. Additionally, in translations, Catalog is referenced with the neutral pronoun "it". Some Forerunners occasionally referred to Catalog as individuals (e.g. a Catalog as opposed to Catalog), which was considered improper but forgivable. Committing to life as Catalog was known as "assuming the carapace". This process, which few outsiders truly understood, involved many oaths and heavy conditioning in preparation for the role.[1]
While Catalog generally appeared to outsiders as being identical in mannerisms and personality, each individual's distinct origins inevitably resulted in subtle differences between their behaviors, sometimes enough for an attentive outsider to be able to discern the rate of origin of an individual Catalog.[1] However, Catalog was not supposed to reveal its origins or its individual reasons for assuming the carapace to others, as its former identity was supposed to have been suppressed in favor of that of Catalog.[9]
Due to their excessive involvement with legal matters, Catalog often appeared somewhat paranoid in regards to potential crimes,[1] and had a tendency of phrasing and understanding everything in legal terms.[10] Catalog used the phrase "I am Catalog" as a personal mantra,[1][11] occasionally proclaiming it aloud to formally declare its presence.[4]
Known Catalogs[edit]
Catalog Triad #879[edit]
- Main article: Catalog Triad 879
Catalog Triad 879 was a triad of three Catalog which formed during the Forerunner-Flood war to investigate events around the IsoDidact, Ur-Didact, and the Librarian.[12]
Biography[edit]
Old Ecumeme Council[edit]
- "I am one of many. We are all the same. In theory."
- — Catalog[1]
During Master Builder Faber's control over the Old Council, many Catalog and other Juridicals were subverted to be part of the Builders' schemes, either willingly or covertly by the Builders, who supplied their carapaces. After the establishment of the New Council, corrupt Juridicals were exposed and punished.[1]
Forerunner-Flood war[edit]
Near the end of the Forerunner-Flood war, Catalog collected testimony from a number of influential Forerunners; the Librarian, IsoDidact, Ur-Didact and Faber, in order to find evidence of possible crimes against the Mantle.[1]
Catalog was assigned to Erde-Tyrene to collect testimony from the Librarian and the IsoDidact. This individual was formerly a Warrior-Servant,[1] and became Catalog after going against the orders of their mentor out of anger.[1] However, it took the carapace after the Master Builder's rule in the Council ended, and did not participate in the human-Forerunner wars.[1] After the IsoDidact departed to command defensive operations of the Orion complex, this Catalog recorded the Librarian's testimony about her journey to Path Kethona.
Another Catalog had been assigned to