Editing Janus Key

{{Era|Forerunner|Post}}

[[File:H4-JanusKey-ScanRender.png|thumb|100px|The assembled Janus Key.]]

{{quote|We did not create so much without a means to catalog it all.|The [[Librarian]]'s imprint to [[Catherine Halsey]]<ref name="Key">'''Spartan Ops:''' ''[[S1/Key|S1E9 Key]]''</ref>}}

Created in order to catalog the Forerunners' vast technological advancements, the key was placed within the [[Librarian's Rest]] inside the [[shield world]] [[Requiem]]; there, it would remain under the care of the [[Librarian]]'s locally stored memory. The device was to be presented to the [[Ur-Didact]] after he returned from [[Cryptum|stasis]] so he could give it to [[human]]ity to spur their technological advancement. However, the Didact turned on humanity when he was awakened in [[2557|July 2557]], renewing his quasi-genocidal campaign which had been halted [[100,000 BCE|one hundred millennia prior]].

[[2558|Six months after]] the Didact's [[New Phoenix Incident|attack on Earth]] was foiled, the Librarian's stored personality gave the key to [[Catherine Halsey|Dr. Catherine Halsey]], instructing her to take the key to the [[Absolute Record]]. After Halsey reawakened in the [[Jul 'Mdama's Covenant faction|Covenant]]-controlled [[Copernicus Base]], [[Jul 'Mdama]] took half of the artifact and escaped with the doctor. As she was being carried away, she threw the other half of the key to [[SPARTAN-IV Program|Spartan]] [[Gabriel Thorne]].<ref name="Key"/> Thorne eventually gave his half to [[Henry Glassman|Dr. Henry Glassman]] for further study.<ref>'''Spartan Ops:''' ''[[S1/Exodus|S1E10 Exodus]]''</ref>

In July 2558, five months after the [[Requiem Campaign]], Glassman continued his inspection of the Janus Key onboard the {{UNSCship|Infinity}}. At the same time, Dr. Halsey, who allied herself with Jul 'Mdama, plotted to acquire the other half of the Janus Key. She and 'Mdama constructed a decoy Forerunner artifact for ''Infinity'' to find on the surface of the planet [[Aktis IV]]. Upon its discovery, a deceived Dr. Glassman requested ''Infinity'' to transport the key down to the planet, to examine how the two artifacts would interact. Captain Lasky dispatched a Pelican and a Broadsword to deliver the key to the site. As the aircraft approached their destination, they were both shot down by Covenant anti-air artillery. The attack, however, was not issued on Jul 'Mdama's order. The premature attack was instead carried out by [[Sali 'Nyon's Covenant faction|defectors of 'Mdama's own faction]]. ''Infinity's'' half of the Janus Key immediately fell into the hands of Jul 'Mdama's leading detractor, a self-proclaimed Sangheili prophet named [[Sali 'Nyon]].<ref>'''Halo: Escalation''', ''[[Halo: Escalation Issue 14|Issue #14]]''</ref> However, a [[Sangheili Minor]], disillusioned with 'Nyon's rebellion, stole his half of the Janus Key and departed on a [[Type-32 Ghost]]. The Minor contacted a Zealot serving under 'Mdama, and promised to provide the stolen Janus Key half and 'Nyon's location of his hideout. The Zealot reluctantly agreed and prepared to establish a rendezvous point.<ref name="HE15">'''Halo: Escalation''', ''[[Halo: Escalation Issue 15|Issue #15]]''</ref>

*The Janus Key is similar in purpose to the [[Domain|quasi-extant]] [[Organon]], which some Forerunners believed would activate all [[Precursor]] technology in the galaxy.

File:H4-SO-S1E9-Librarian-Cinematic06.jpg|The Librarian presenting the disassembled Janus Key to Dr. Halsey.

File:H4-SOps-Halsey-Librarian.jpg|A holographic map of star systems produced by combining the Janus Key.

<references/>