Editing Little Bit

{{Status|Canon}}

|began=Prior to [[97,445 BCE]] {{Ref/Reuse|h4terminals}}

|gender=Male personality {{Ref/Reuse|PoL}}

*[[Forerunner]] [[Ecumene]] {{c|formerly}}

*Caretaker of [[Trove]] {{c|formerly}}

'''"Little Bit"''' is a highly reduced fragment of the custodian [[ancilla]] of the [[Forerunner]] [[shield world]] known as [[Trove]]. After the destruction of its installation in [[2531]], the ancilla survived in this fragmented form amidst its debris field. He met the crew of the ''Ace of Spades'' in [[2557]] and was taken aboard the ship to fulfill the role of shipboard [[A.I.]] He was later captured by [[ONI]] though the ''Ace of Spades'' crew managed to get a copy of the information Little Bit had generated.

 

==Biography==

{{Quote|Kept running, kept jumping, kept copying... Piece to piece. Bit to bit.|Little Bit recalls what happened to its former self.}}

[[File:ShieldWorldDestruction2.png|thumb|left|200px|The star within the shield world goes supernova.]]

[[Trove]], also known as the Etran Harborage, was constructed as a military fortress for the [[Didact]]'s [[Warrior-Servant]]s and a refuge prior to the firing of the [[Halo Array]] in [[97,445 BCE]].{{Ref/Game|Id=h4terminals|H4|Detail=[[Terminal (Halo 4)|Terminals]]}}<ref name="h4guide">[http://www.halowaypoint.com/en-US/halo4guide ''Halo 4 Interactive Guide'']</ref>{{Ref/Novel|Id=SS19|SaS|Chapter=19}} The [[shield world]] was stocked with a fleet of {{Class|Sojourner|dreadnought}}s.{{Ref/Game|HW}} An ancilla was placed in charge of looking after the installation.

On [[2531#February|February 23, 2531]], the ancilla observed the arrival of the [[Covenant]] {{Pattern|Sinaris|heavy destroyer}} ''[[Proclamation's Tithe]]'' and the {{UNSCShip|Spirit of Fire}}, a modified {{Class|Phoenix|colony ship}} at his installation. He observed the [[Battle of the Trove|battle]] fought between the forces of the two vessels but was helpless to stop the [[human]]s from using a [[Shaw-Fujikawa translight engine]] to cause the [[astroengineering|artificial sun]] within the shield world to go supernova, destroying it. To avoid being completely destroyed as well, the ancilla frantically copied pieces of himself over and over again and transmitted them repeatedly to different sections of the world repeatedly as it came apart. As a result, only a small fragment of his original personality and memory remained intact. Despite being reduced as much as it was, the fragment was still able to watch the ''Spirit of Fire'' speed away from the explosion. It was the last thing he remembered before entering a state of dormancy.{{Ref/Novel|Id=SS17|SaS|Chapter=17}}

In [[2557#January|January 2557]], the [[salvager]] ship ''[[Ace of Spades]]'' visited the debris field of [[Trove]] in pursuit of answers regarding what had happened to the ''Spirit of Fire'' almost twenty-six years prior. The captain, [[Rion Forge]] disembarked along with her right hand, [[Cade]], upon a large piece of leftover debris to investigate it. Consequently, the leftover fragment of the world's ancilla was residing at that moment in a storage chip within a domed pedestal inside a structure nearby. When the two entered through a doorway, a blue light swept over both of them and the floor was lit up with blue-white light, revealing glyphs and patterns that led to the central console where the ancilla's fragment was.{{Ref/Reuse|SS16}} Symbols and shapes that decorated the console drew Rion to want to reach out to it, but she was restrained from doing so by Cade. Before long, the two humans were attacked by the [[Sangheili]], [[Gek 'Lhar]], who had arrived before them and had been lying in wait. Rion was thrown against the console and in order to pull herself to her feet she activated it by happenstance. It shone brightly and the ancilla's voice rang loudly with thankfulness for the presence of a [[Reclaimer]]. He continued to incessantly chatter until Cade was killed and the Sangheili had left, at one point vigorously cautioning against the use of [[M9 fragmentation grenade]]s in the confined space.{{Ref/Reuse|SS16}}

 

 

Shortly after, the ''Ace of Spades'' was captured by ONI who seized everything upon the ship, including Little Bit and everything that he had revealed. With Little Bit fighting ONI, [[Hahn]] forced [[Rion Forge]] to order Little Bit to comply with them. From Little Bit, ONI was able to learn the location of [[Trove]] and launch [[Mission to the Korinth Prior system|a mission]] to it. Later, ONI offered a deal to the ''Ace of Spades'' to return their salvage and belongings to them along with the information obtained from Little Bit in exchange for [[343 Guilty Spark]]. Before ONI tried and failed to turn the deal against them, the crew determined that they really did get a clean copy of Little Bit's projections and video files. Earlier, Spark suggested that he could find the ''Spirit of Fire'' and would be better for the job than Little Bit who was only an AI fragment while Spark was a full AI.{{Ref/Novel|Ren}}

 

While going through the data chip containing copies of Little Bit's projections, Spark discovered a strange subcode in the chip's crystal matrix, one that suggested that Little Bit had inadvertently sublayered traces of his own framework like puzzle pieces hidden within thousands of calculations. As a result, Spark and Niko undertake a months long effort to liberate the AI's code from the chip without damaging the projections.{{Ref/Novel|POL|Page=45}} Spark eventually succeeded in liberating a copy of Little Bit from the chip, although the original AI remained in ONI's custody. Little Bit began helping Spark run the ship, although he was badly affected by an ONI spy probe that had latched onto the ship. From Little Bit's knowledge stores, Spark identified a strange signal that he had been picking up for weeks as [[Guardian]]s.

 

Before Spark left with [[Bastion]], he fully repaired and upgraded Little Bit to act as the shipboard AI of the ''Ace of Spades''. Spark stated that Little Bit would make an excellent shipboard AI, much on par with humanity's [[smart AI]]s. After returning to [[Myer's Moon]], Rion and Little Bit argued daily with the AI remaining the calm voice of reason when Rion's patience thinned. Little Bit later ordered a delivery of fresh food, but had a sleep tonic added to the drinks in order to force Rion to get some sleep.{{Ref/Novel|Id=PoL|PoL}}

{{Quote|My purpose it to assist and monitor. I do not deviate. I cannot deviate. I do not infiltrate; I serve.|Little Bit responds to Kip's hesitation to trust it}}

When Little Bit first revealed himself, his disembodied voice was punctuated with static but was jubilant.{{Ref/Novel|Id=SS16|SaS|Chapter=16}} He was evidently very excited to have made contact with a [[Reclaimer]] but soon remembered that it had been Reclaimers that destroyed his world.{{Ref/Reuse|SS17}} There was desperation evident when it asked to be taken with the humans. His voice is noted to be high-pitched and metallic-sounding.{{Ref/Reuse|SS17}} The fact that he is no more than a vestige of his former self means that he has misplaced much of the data he once had access to. Though he cannot remember much, he does know that it is his duty to serve Reclaimers even if he may not understand why.{{Ref/Reuse|SS17}}

 

 

After being restored by Spark, the AI retained his predilection for absent-minded responses, something that [[Rion Forge]] suspected Spark had done intentionally. Spark suspected that Little Bit's strange behavior may have come from the trauma of trying desperately to escape from his dying world. In his restored state, Little Bit was more stable and was shown to greatly worry about and care for his crew to the point that he secretly had Rion drugged when she wasn't getting enough sleep. Working with the AI for a relatively short period of time convinced Spark that he would make a good and dutiful shipboard AI for the ''Ace of Spades''.{{Ref/Reuse|PoL}}

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