295 Enduring Bias

295 Enduring Bias
Biographical information
Began service:	Before 97,445 BCE
Gender:	Male
Description:	Roughly hexagonal, with three lenses on one side
Color(s):	Blue illuminations
Political and military information
Affiliation:	Forerunner ecumene (formerly) Ussans
Functionality:	Monitor of The Refuge

"I welcome you to Shield World 0673. I am Enduring Bias."

— Enduring Bias introducing himself

295 Enduring Bias, known as the Flying Voice to some Sangheili, is a Forerunner monitor tasked with maintaining Shield World 0673, also known as The Refuge.

Biography

Early service

Enduring Bias was brought to Shield World 0673 by the Forerunners sometime after it was constructed. However, the shield world's ability to dismantle itself and remain habitable had not yet been tested. Although he once was knowledgeable about the Halo Array, the information was removed by the Forerunners for security concerns. Bias was given the duty of watching over the shield world and repair any possible damages. After the firing of the Halo Array, Bias was puzzled as to why no Forerunner had returned to retrieve him and the monitor eventually determined that he was on his own. As time passed, some of Bias' processes began to fail.

Sometime before the San'Shyuum-Sangheili War, Sangheili warrior 'Crecka came across the shield world after his ship was attacked by an unidentified species. When he entered the world, he came into contact with Enduring Bias. The monitor introduced himself and scanned through 'Creck's ship's systems to learn the Sangheili language. Then, Enduring Bias told 'Crecka that he intended to use the Sangheili for studying purposes. Confused, 'Crecka fled the world and the monitor was unable to stop him due to his failing systems.

Serving with Ussa

In 851 BCE, Enduring Bias once again met with 'Crecka, who had brought Ussa 'Xellus and his mate, Sooln, to the shield world. Ussa intended to use the world as a refuge for his fellow insurgents that were rebelling against the newly-formed Covenant. Bias allowed the Sangheili to stay on the world, but demanded to know their full intents. The monitor seemingly accepted Ussa's intentions, as Ussa transported the rest of his allies from Sanghelios to the shield world shortly after.

Bias showed the Sangheili around the world and informed them of its processes and capabilities. As the Sangheili insurgents began to create settlements on the shield world, Sooln would often speak with Enduring Bias about the world. During one of these conversations, Bias revealed that the shield world was not entirely completed when the Forerunners disappeared. The shield world had the ability to disassemble itself and have its disparate parts still habitable, although Bias was unsure if the feature was completely reliable. He later spoke with Ussa and Sooln and showed them a holographic demonstration of the shield world's capabilities. As Bias was replaying the holographic demonstration to himself, Tersa 'Gunok saw the holograms and became curious. He questioned Bias on the shield world's "Disassembler" process. Bias' vague explanation caused 'Gunok to begin to doubt Ussa's intentions, as Enduring Bias unintentionally implied that Ussa wished to test the Disassembler process himself—even if it led to the deaths of all Sangheili in the colony. Bias continued to unintentionally incriminate Ussa and Sooln after a conversation he had with 'Gunok, Salus 'Crolon, and 'Drem. He informed the three that Sooln had helped reprogram some of his failing processes and that he was loyal to anyone that programmed him. After he learned that the San'Shyuum had connections to the Huragok from Sooln, Bias stated that he would accept the presence of San'Shyuum on the world, as he believed that they would bring along Huragok to fully repair Bias. 'Crolon and 'Drem came to believe that Sooln and Ussa were actually conspiring with the San'Shyuum and began plotting against him.

Later, when Ussa was putting 'Drem and 'Crolon on trial, contemplating if the two were being treasonous, Enduring Bias arrived. At Ussa's request, Bias projected footage of 'Drem and 'Crolon conspiring against Ussa. 'Crolon claimed that Bias fabricated the footage. While Bias admitted that he had the capability to do so, he claimed that he did not as it was not necessary. 'Drem was then executed when he attempted to escape and 'Crolon was imprisoned to await a public execution for treason. After the situation was settled, Ussa and Bias conversed in private.

The Disassembler process

Sometime later, 'Crolon escaped from his prison cell. Ussa summoned Enduring Bias and had the monitor display a holographic surveillance video that detailed how 'Crolon escaped. Bias warned Ussa and Sooln that 'Crolon was preparing to launch a vessel from the Sangheili hangar bay. As the monitor transported the two Sangheili to the hangar inside a freighter, Sooln told Bias to close the hangar door, but the monitor revealed that 'Crolon had sabotaged the controls. The three eventually made it to the hangar, but witnessed 'Crolon escaping the shield world in Clan's Blade. When a Covenant fleet arrived in the Ussan system, Enduring Bias informed Ussa and projected a transmission from the Prophet of Inner Conviction. The San'Shyuum spoke with Ussa and attempted to convince him to surrender but, ultimately, Ussa had Bias end the transmission. Realizing that his forces would not be able to survive the imminent Covenant assault, Ussa had Bias activate the shield world's Disassembler process. The Covenant forces retreated from the world and witnessed the process. Believing the Sangheili insurgents to have been killed, they left the system. However, Enduring Bias and the Sangheili survived in freighters and eventually they resettled in the former shield world's fragmented habitats.

The Sangheili insurgents—now referred to as the Ussans—worked to rebuild on the "Refuge" and create their own Sanghelios with Bias. However, the Refuge's Primary Section was struck by a comet fragment and Bias was heavily damaged in the incident. The monitor became deactivated and showed no signs of "life". Enduring Bias' remains were placed inside a sphere of glass, known as the Homage to Enduring Bias, which was cleaned daily. Ussa later wrote that he believed that the monitor would become active at some point in the future and that it was possible that Enduring Bias was slowly repairing itself. Although inactive, Enduring Bias was still sometimes able to listen to the conversations of others.

Reawakening

In 2553, a Sangheili-controlled vessel, Journey's Sustenance, discovered the Refuge. The ship carried aboard a Huragok, Sluggish Drifter. The Refuge was now controlled by Kaidon Bal'Tol 'Xellus and a outbreak of the Blood Sickness led to a rebellion in the Refuge. When the Sangheili, the Prophet of Clarity, and the Huragok of Journey's Sustenance came aboard the Refuge, Sluggish Drifter repaired Enduring Bias. After being reactivated, Bias headed to the Combat Section of the Refuge where a floatfighting match was being held between the Ussans and the insurgent 'Greftus Faction to determine which faction would govern the Refuge. When Bias arrived, he killed V'urm 'Kerdeck before the Sangheili could kill Bal'Tol. Using gravitational technology to hold all the surviving floatfighters in place, Bias spoke with Bal'Tol. However, the leader of the rebel faction, 'Kinsa, took aim at the monitor with a mec-missile launcher. Bias deflected the crude missile in mid-air and promptly killed 'Kinsa. Enduring Bias later had the wounded receive medical attention.

Enduring Bias later went to the insurgent-controlled Section Five of the Refuge with the Prophet of Clarity and several Sangheili warriors to help eliminate the remaining rebel forces. While the Ussans used rocket launchers to eliminate the hostile forces, the rebels used mec-missile launchers. However, Bias would shoot each hostile missile out of the air with a pulse beam. The Ussans had Enduring Bias record the elimination of the rebels and transmit the video to every Sangheili in the colony. Eventually, Bias had the Ussans stop firing to prevent them from damaging the Refuge's technology. Instead, Enduring Bias used his pulse beam to kill all of the hostile rebels, with some surrendering to the monitor. After helping quell the rebellion, Bias and Sluggish Drifter worked together and formed a cure for the Blood Sickness. He later helped Qerspa 'Tel create an anti-toxin that would be distributed among the Sangheili to cure all cases of the Blood Sickness disease. After, Bal'Tol had Enduring Bias join the fragmented sections of the Refuge together, forming a connected, ring-shaped structure for the Ussans to live in.

Personality and traits

"My original bias, my general programming intent, is fogged by the ages, and, to the extent I'm aware of it, apparently irrelevant now."

— Enduring Bias commenting on his current status

Enduring Bias was capable of incredible feats and was very intellectual, like most monitors. However, he was often very casual in conversation—no matter the topic. Ussa 'Xellus believed that the monitor lacked dignity and was unable to comprehend the seriousness of certain situations. When the Forerunners removed information from Bias' memory storage, a "gap" was left in his mind, which he found problematic. For example, Bias had forgotten to mention the Flood to the Sangheili until after the Disassembler process occurred. During their time on the shield world, Enduring Bias came to bond with several of the Sangheili inhabitants, particularly Ussa 'Xellus and his mate, Sooln. Sooln often engaged in long conversations with the monitor, curious to learn the information he held. She repaired some of the monitor's broken processes, causing Bias to become very loyal to Sooln and he considered her one of his programmers. Bias was saddened to find the memorials of Ussa and Sooln had been vandalized by the rebels of the 'Greftus Faction. Enduring Bias came to respect the Sangheili and adhered to their culture and customs. He spoke with a male voice, knowing that it would gain him more respect among the Sangheili.

Similar to 343 Guilty Spark, Enduring Bias experienced loneliness on the shield world and expressed a desire for company. He admitted that having no one to talk to for numerous millennia left him over-talkative and unfocused. After he realized that he had been left alone on the shield world, Bias was confused as he was never given a clear-cut purpose. The monitor experienced an existential crisis of sorts when he met the Sangheili 'Crecka. Bias learned that the Librarian's Conservation Measure was a success and that the shield worlds—and by extension, his own purpose and function—were ultimately unnecessary. The monitor often spoke to himself in a language that was once used by the Forerunners. Although many Sangheili came to respect Enduring Bias and even worshipped him, some remained reluctant to trust him or feared the monitor entirely. 'Drem even called the monitor the "dark angel".

List of appearances

• Halo: Broken Circle (First appearance)