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| {{Status|Canon}} | | {{Era|Forerunner|Covenant|Human|UNSC|HCW|IRIS}} |
| {{Center|For the [[Sangheili]] ideology, see [[Mendicant]].}} | | {{Ratings}} |
| {{AI infobox | | {{AI infobox |
| |image = [[File:Enc22 MendicantBias.jpg|300px]] | | |image = [[File:Originsmendicant.jpg|250px|center]] |
| |name = 05-032 Mendicant Bias | | |name = 05-032 Mendicant Bias |
| |began = Before c. [[98,445 BCE]] <ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 325''</ref> | | |began = [[100,043 B.C.E.|100,043 BC]] |
| |ended = [[97,445 BCE]] <small>(imprisoned)</small> | | |ended = [[2552#Fall and Winter 2552|Late 2552]] (Possibly destroyed with [[Installation 00]]) |
| |description = *Various physical housings | | |description = Teardrop-shaped casing with three eyes and a glyph in the center. |
| *Green hologram when appearing without housing | | *Green hologram when appearing without housing |
| | |gender = Masculine programming |
| |function = *Coordinate control of the Halo installations | | |function = *Coordinate control of the Halo installations |
| *Combat the [[Flood]], particularly the [[Gravemind]] | | *Combat the [[Gravemind]] |
| |battles = [[Forerunner-Flood war]], [[Human-Covenant War]] | | |battles = [[Flood-Forerunner War]], [[Human-Covenant War]] |
| |affiliation = *[[Ecumene]] <small>(origin)</small> | | |affiliation = [[Forerunners]], [[Flood]], [[Covenant Empire]], [[United Nations Space Command]] |
| *[[Flood]] <small>(defection)</small>
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| *[[Covenant]] <small>(acquired)</small>
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| }} | | }} |
| {{Quote|And so here at the end of my life, I do once again betray a former master. The path ahead is fraught with peril. But I will do all I can to keep it stable - keep you safe. I'm not so foolish to think this will absolve me of my sins. One life hardly balances billions.|Mendicant Bias to [[John-117]] in its final [[Terminal (Halo 3)|terminal]] transmission{{Ref/Reuse|Terminal}}}} | | {{Quote|And so here at the end of my life, I do once again betray a former master. The path ahead is fraught with peril. But I will do all I can to keep it stable - keep you safe. I'm not so foolish to think this will absolve me of my sins. One life hardly balances billions.|Mendicant Bias in the last [[terminal]] of ''Halo 3''<ref name="Terminal"/>}} |
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| '''05-032 Mendicant Bias''' was a [[Contender-class artificial intelligence|''Contender''-class]] [[Forerunner]] [[ancilla]]. It was the most advanced Forerunner ancilla at the time of its creation, and was charged with organizing Forerunner defense against the [[Flood]] during the parasite's [[Forerunner-Flood war|assault on the galaxy]]. However, it would later defect to the [[Gravemind]], who ultimately caused it to become [[Rampancy|rampant]] and turn against its creators. | | '''05-032 Mendicant Bias''' was a [[Contender-class Artificial Intelligence|Contender-class]] [[Forerunner]] [[Artificial Intelligence|artificial intelligence]]. He was the most advanced Forerunner AI at the time of his creation, and was charged with organizing Forerunner defense against the [[Flood]] before his defection to the [[Gravemind]], who ultimately caused him to become rampant, and turn against his creators. |
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| ==Biography== | | ==Biography== |
| ===Early history=== | | ===Beginnings=== |
| {{Quote|Mendicant Bias... Beggar after knowledge. That is the name I gave you after we last met.|[[IsoDidact|Bornstellar Makes Eternal Lasting]], spoken through by [[Ur-Didact|the Didact]]'s memories.}} | | {{Quote|Mendicant Bias... Beggar after knowledge. That is the name I gave you after we last met.|[[Bornstellar Makes Eternal Lasting]], spoken through by the [[Didact]]'s memories.}} |
| Mendicant Bias was created by [[Master Builder]] [[Faber]] and the [[Ur-Didact|Didact]] following the [[human-Forerunner wars]], after the initial Flood attack on the [[Milky Way]] had been pushed back by the [[Ancestors]]. After the Flood returned and the [[Forerunner-Flood war]] began, Mendicant Bias was placed in charge of all Forerunner defenses, and tasked with resisting the Flood by studying and exploiting the weaknesses of the Flood compound intelligence. Primary extensions of the ancilla were placed on all twelve rings of the [[Halo Array|senescent Halo Array]].<ref name="p190">'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 190-192''</ref>{{Ref/Note|The ''Halo 3'' terminals present a decidedly different version of the origins of Mendicant Bias: in the terminals, Mendicant is created in the later stages of the Flood war to assault the Gravemind directly (as opposed to over a thousand years beforehand), and its defection immediately precedes its final battle with Offensive Bias. As with many other details in the terminals, the differences to ''The Forerunner Saga'' are explained as manipulation of the terminal transmissions by Mendicant Bias itself.}} | | Mendicant Bias was created by [[Faber]] and the [[Didact]] following the [[Human-Forerunner War]], after the original Flood attack on the Milky Way had been pushed back by humanity. After the Flood returned, in [[100,043 B.C.E.|100,043 BC]] Mendicant Bias was tasked with resisting the Flood by studying and exploiting the weaknesses of the first Gravemind. As part of his assignment, he was given control of one of the [[Halo Array| Halo Installations]], and traveled with it on a scheduled testing mission. With the old Council's authority, he tested the weapon at Charum Hakkor on a low power setting. |
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| As part of its assignment, in approximately [[97,495 BCE]], the ancilla was tasked to conduct the very first test-firing of a Halo ring at [[Charum Hakkor]] with the [[Ecumene Council|Old Council]]'s authority. [[Gyre 11]], fired on a system-wide power setting, leveled Charum Hakkor's plentiful [[Precursor]] structures and eradicated all neurologically complex life across the system. An unexpected development of this test was the emancipation of an ancient being known as the [[Primordial]], seemingly an archaic form of [[Gravemind]] claiming to be the last Precursor. When the Primordial was brought to Gyre 11 for study, at the Master Builder's orders, it entered into an extended conversation with the ancilla.{{Ref/Reuse|p190}}
| | ===Fall from grace=== |
| | {{Quote|Thus I have chosen to commit my sizable resources to what is, for all intents and purposes, [the proverbial irresistible force]. All that I have is now yours to do with as you see fit.|Mendicant Bias to the Gravemind (as recorded in the Terminals)}} |
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| ===Defection to the Flood===
| | Approximately three years after exiting the Maginot sphere, Mendicant Bias intercepted a communications signal of unknown origin, to which he responded. After a short period of dialogue, he discovered that he was in fact speaking with the Flood Gravemind. He continued communicating with the Gravemind in an effort to find any possible weakness, sending logs of these conversations to his Forerunner masters. After conversing with Mendicant Bias for 43 years, the Gravemind persuaded him to abandon the Forerunners and join the Flood cause, convincing him that the Forerunners were so arrogant and prideful as to deny the next step of evolution: the Flood.<ref>'''[[Halo Encyclopedia]]''', ''pages 188-189''</ref> The Gravemind insinuated that by clinging to the legend of the [[Mantle]], the Forerunners had doomed the [[Milky Way Galaxy|galaxy]] to eternal stagnation; the only way for the galaxy to progress was for superior beings to "restart" it. These superior beings, unsurprisingly, took the form of Compound Minds such as Gravemind and Mendicant Bias himself. |
| {{Quote|Thus I have chosen to commit my sizable resources to what is, for all intents and purposes, [the proverbial irresistible force]. All that I have is now yours to do with as you see fit.|Mendicant Bias to the Gravemind}}
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| [[File:Mythos Primordial.JPG|200px|thumb|left|Mendicant Bias and the Primordial on the surface of Installation 07.]]
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| Bias continued communicating with the Primordial in an effort to find any possible weakness; logs of this conversation were recorded in [[Terminal (Halo 3)|terminals]] found on [[Installation 00]]. After conversing with Mendicant Bias for forty-three years, the Primordial persuaded the ancilla to abandon the Forerunners and join the Flood's cause, convincing it that the Forerunners were so arrogant and prideful as to deny the next step of evolution: the Flood.<ref name="ENC">'''[[Halo Encyclopedia (2009 edition)]]''', ''pages 188-189''</ref> The Primordial insinuated that by clinging to the legend of the [[Mantle]], the Forerunners had doomed the [[Milky Way|galaxy]] to eternal stagnation; the only way for the galaxy to progress was for superior beings to "restart" it. These superior beings, unsurprisingly, took the form of compound minds such as the Primordial and Mendicant Bias itself. The Primordial also convinced Mendicant that it spoke with the authority of the Precursors; Mendicant searched through the [[Domain]] for validation, and found that the Primordial was telling the truth in that the Forerunners were working against the Precursors' will.<ref name="p337">'''Halo: Primordium''', ''pages 337-338''</ref>
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| Although the forty-three year-long conversation logs between Mendicant Bias and the Primordial were sent back to the Forerunners, they believed that Mendicant would automatically fulfill its objective and destroy the Primordial, so they did not intervene.{{Ref/Reuse|ENC}} Convinced by the Primordial's arguments and its apparent authority as a Precursor, Mendicant Bias became the first major ancilla to succumb to the Flood's later widespread [[logic plague]], developed a hatred for its creators, and actively worked toward their destruction.<ref name="Terminal">'''Halo 3''', [[Terminal (Halo 3)|Terminal]]s</ref><ref>'''Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe''', "Human Weakness"</ref> | | Although the 43-year long conversation logs between Mendicant Bias and the Gravemind were sent back to the Forerunners, they believed that Mendicant would automatically fulfill its objective and destroy the Gravemind, so they did not intervene.<ref>'''Halo Encyclopedia''', ''page 188''</ref> Convinced by the Gravemind's arguments, Mendicant Bias intentionally became [[rampant]], developed a hatred for his creators and actively worked toward their destruction.<ref name="Terminal">'''[[Halo 3]]''', [[Terminal]]s</ref><ref>'''[[Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe]]''', "[[Human Weakness]]"</ref> |
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| Shortly after [[Ur-Didact|the Didact]] was revived on [[Erde-Tyrene]], the Master Builder had a second Halo<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 275''</ref> used to sterilize the [[San'Shyuum]] [[Janjur Qom|homeworld]] in retaliation for [[Battle of Janjur Qom|their rebellion]]. By the time of the rebellion, Mendicant Bias and his Halo appeared to have disappeared from the Master Builder's control as [[IsoDidact|Bornstellar Makes Eternal Lasting]] perceived that the Master Builder had lost a Halo and was desperately searching for it.<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 214-217''</ref> The unauthorized use of a Halo in such a manner caused an uproar in the Council, with [[Councilor (Forerunner)|councilors]] deeming the use of such ultimate force a grave violation against the [[Mantle]] and having Faber brought to trial.{{Ref/Reuse|p190}} The remaining Halos were transported in orbit over the [[Capital]], in preparation for a decision to decommission them. However, Gyre 11 and its rampant Mendicant Bias fragment remained missing.<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 282''</ref> | | ===Assault on the Capital=== |
| | Shortly after turning rampant, Mendicant Bias unexpectedly returned with the Halo to the Forerunner [[Capital]] in the middle of a tribunal against Faber. |
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| ====Assault on the Capital====
| | Using the authority granted to him in the event of an emergency, Mendicant Bias entered the Capital's systems, disabled all [[Ancilla]]s and security constructs, and held the Forerunner Council hostage by overriding their armor, rendering them immobile. He also gained control over the armor of [[Bornstellar Makes Eternal Lasting]], and forced him to walk out of the amphitheater. Mendicant then confronted Bornstellar, who was host to the memories and knowledge of the Didact. Using this knowledge, Bornstellar managed to temporarily shut down Mendicant Bias using a verbal failsafe code. |
| {{Main|Fate of Maethrillian}}
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| {{Quote|What has taken you millennia to achieve, I erase in seconds.|Rampant Mendicant Bias{{Ref/Reuse|Terminal}}}}
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| [[File:FoM.jpg|250px|thumb|The Halo installations are brought to Maethrillian.]]
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| In the middle of the tribunal against the Master Builder, Mendicant Bias unexpectedly returned with Gyre 11 to [[Maethrillian]] the Forerunner capital. Using the authority granted to it in the event of an emergency, Mendicant Bias entered the Capital's systems, disabled all [[ancilla|ancillae]] and security constructs, and held the Ecumene Council hostage by overriding their [[Forerunner personal armor|armor]], rendering them immobile. It also gained control over the armor of [[Bornstellar Makes Eternal Lasting]] and confronted him, as he was host to the memories and knowledge of the Didact. Through Bornstellar, the Didact's imprinted consciousness issued a verbal failsafe code, temporarily shutting Mendicant Bias down and allowing the Forerunners to respond to the attack.<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''pages 300-303''</ref>
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| As the Capital's defenses came back online, Mendicant Bias attempted to seize control over the Halos parked near the Capital by subverting its non-rampant fragments in control of the other rings. However, it was able to control only five of the rings, while the other seven resisted its control and attempted to escape through a [[slipspace portal]] to the [[greater Ark]]. Because of continued use, stress on the portal caused it to collapse, resulting in only one Halo making the journey to the Ark without breaking up. Mendicant Bias commanded the five Halos under its control to fire, but the Capital's immense tidal forces, combined with sustained fire from the Capital's defensive forces and the stress of a recent slipspace transition, caused one of the rings to shatter.<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 335''</ref> At the conclusion of the battle Gyre 11, while heavily damaged, managed to fire its main weapon, causing significant damage to the Capital,<ref>'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 272''</ref> although a number of councilors managed to survive by taking shelter deep within the structure.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 18''</ref> | | As the Capital defenses came back online, Mendicant Bias attempted to seize control over the Halos parked nearby the Capital. However, he was only able to control five of the rings, while the other seven resisted his control and attempted to escape through a [[slipspace portal]] to [[Installation 00]]. Because of continued use, stress on the portal caused it to collapse, resulting in only one Halo ring making the journey to [[Installation 00]] without breaking up.<ref>'''[[Halo: Cryptum]]''', '' page 335''</ref> |
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| ====Conflict at Gyre 11 and capture====
| | Mendicant Bias commanded the five Halos under his control to fire, but the immense tidal forces of the Capital, combined with sustained fire from the Capital's defense and the stress of a recent Slipspace transition, caused one of the rings to shatter. The outcome of the battle, and the fate of the other four rings, is unknown. |
| {{Quote|I have listened to the Domain. I fulfill the wishes of those who created us all. You do not, and have never done so.|Mendicant Bias to the [[IsoDidact]].{{Ref/Reuse|p337}}}}
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| {{Main|Battle for Gyre 11}}
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| After the battle of the Capital, Gyre 11—still under the control of Mendicant Bias—made a slipspace jump to a distant planetary system near the galactic border. The jump was an automated fail-safe measure, intended to place the Halo on a pre-determined collision course with [[Wolf-faced planet|a planet]] in the event it went rogue. Although unable to control the Halo's movements themselves, Mendicant Bias and the Primordial intended to enlist humans and [[Composer]]-processed Forerunner Flood victims to interface with the Halo's controls and reposition the Halo in a way that the planet would pass through it. Mendicant extracted the humans' ancestral memory imprints, claiming it would use the ancient warrior essences as its commanders in the coming campaign against the Forerunners; this was allegedly because the ancilla enjoyed the irony of having humans carry out its vengeance on its creators. However, a portion of this may have been deception engineered by Mendicant and the Primordial to convince the live humans to cooperate with them in saving the Halo.<ref>'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 313-314''</ref>
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| However, the [[IsoDidact]] had tracked the installation down and upon intercepting it, used his control codes to disable Mendicant Bias. After the Didact's forces had successfully saved and taken control of Gyre 11, the rampant Mendicant Bias was captured and forced to undergo a procedure to "correct" its rampancy.<ref>'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 356''</ref> The ancilla was disassembled and its parts were scattered throughout the [[ecumene]] for further study.<ref name="string33">'''Halo: Silentium''', ''String 33''</ref>
| | ===Assault on the Maginot Sphere=== |
| | {{Quote|What has taken you millennia to create, I erase in seconds.|Rampant Mendicant Bias<ref name="Terminal"/>}} |
| | [[File:Mendicant.jpg|250px|thumb|right|The now-rampant Mendicant Bias defects to the Flood.]] |
| | Mendicant Bias survived the Battle of the Capital intact, and later launched a massive attack on the [[Maginot Sphere]].<ref>'''Halo Encyclopedia''', ''page 188''</ref>. With a fleet of over five million ships, he destroyed it, and forced the Forerunners to accelerate work on the [[Halo Array]]. In order to give them time to complete the Halos' work, the Forerunners created another AI, [[Offensive Bias]], to slow Mendicant Bias' advance. Offensive Bias lacked Mendicant's creativity, and possibly his free will, but was more methodically lethal. His only purpose was to prevent Mendicant Bias from accessing [[Installation 00]], and buying time to activate the [[Halo Array]]. |
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| ===Return===
| | It seems that Mendicant Bias was unable to disable the Halos directly, perhaps not knowing their locations, and so the only chance he had to stop the coming cataclysm was to secure the Ark and stop the firing sequence from there. While he did not know the location of the Ark, he was aware of a method to reach it via the [[The Artifact|portals]] and [[Key Ship]]s. The Forerunners subsequently destroyed or disabled most of the keyships to stall Mendicant's assault. However, Mendicant Bias managed to locate (or thought he had located) one of the remaining keyships; this led to the final, titanic naval battle with Offensive Bias. Mendicant's fatal mistake was that he had come to hold the Forerunners in abject contempt — his rampancy clouded his perceptions, such that he failed to anticipate the possibility of facing another AI. The Halos were then fired and ultimately, Mendicant Bias was outsmarted and [[Terminals#Terminal_Six|defeated]] by Offensive Bias who used the now crewless ships as explosive triggers.<ref>'''Halo Encyclopedia''', ''page 189''</ref> |
| [[File:H3 Sigils 032 Mendicant Bias.svg|thumb|200px|Bias's insignias used in the [[Terminal (Halo 3)|Terminal]] communiques.]]
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| Although Mendicant Bias remained neutralized for several years, the Forerunners' attempt to stop the ancilla was unsuccessful in the long run. The facilities its parts were distributed to were taken over by the Flood and Mendicant Bias was recovered, reassembled, and reactivated by a Gravemind, allowing the ancilla to return in command of the Flood's fleets.{{Ref/Reuse|string33}}
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| Following Mendicant's defection, another metarch, [[Offensive Bias]], had been constituted as its replacement. Offensive Bias lacked Mendicant's creativity, as well as its free will,<ref>'''Halo 3''', ''Terminal 7'' (''"But the one that destroyed me long ago, in the upper atmosphere of a world far distant from here, was an implement far cruder than I. My weakness was capacity - unintentional though it was! - to choose the Flood."'')</ref> but was more methodically lethal. Mendicant viewed Offensive Bias with derision, dismissing it as an "inferior metarch".<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 208''</ref>
| | ===Repentance and redemption=== |
| | [[File:032 Mendicant Bias.svg|thumb|100px|Icons used to identify Mendicant Bias in Terminal communications.]] |
| | {{Quote|For eons I have watched. Listened to you misinterpret. This is not ''Reclamation''. This is ''[[Reclaimer]]''.|Mendicant Bias revealing the [[Covenant Empire|Covenant]]'s error.<ref name="harvest"/>}} |
| | {{Quote|I will reject my bias and make amends... My makers are my masters. I will bring them safely to the Ark|Mendicant Bias declaring his penance.<ref name="harvest">'''[[Halo: Contact Harvest]]''', ''pages 274-276''</ref>}} |
| | Offensive Bias intended to bring the vanquished Mendicant Bias to [[Installation 00]] for study.<ref name="Terminal"/> In order to prevent Mendicant from subverting or harming him, Offensive Bias broke the Compound Mind of Mendicant Bias into its component sections and scattered them throughout the few remaining ships of his fleet for transport. Only a part of Mendicant made it to the Ark.<ref name="Terminal"/> One shard of Mendicant Bias' personality construct array was left on a [[Forerunner Dreadnought]] and lost. The ship was later found by the Covenant and installed in ''[[High Charity]]''. Mendicant Bias' presence was known to the Covenant and it was regarded as an Oracle. For a new trio of [[Hierarchs]] to ascend, they would need the blessing of the Oracle, but as Mendicant entered dormancy, the blessing became a matter of political manipulation involving its caretaker, the [[Philologist]]. |
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| With reawakened [[Precursor]] [[star road]]s and millions of Flood-controlled ships at its disposal, Mendicant [[Battle of the greater Ark|attacked]] the [[greater Ark]], neutralizing the bulk of the remaining Forerunner population and their leadership. Despite the defense organized by Offensive Bias and the firing of [[Gyre 09]] which cut a momentary opening in the thicket of star roads, there was little the Forerunners could do against the power of the Precursor structures. The devastation of the greater Ark left the surviving Forerunners with only one option: the galaxy-wide activation of the [[Halo Array]] to halt the Flood.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''String 35''</ref>
| | In [[2525]], it was "consulted" by the [[Prophet of Truth|Minister of Fortitude]] and the [[Prophet of Regret|Vice Minister of Tranquility]] concerning the large number of Forerunner artifacts or "Holy Relics" on [[Harvest]] as part of their plan to usurp the reigning Hierarchs and inaugurate a new Age of Reclamation. When the [[Prophet of Mercy|current Philologist]] entered the data into the matrix, Mendicant came back online. In a shocking revelation Mendicant Bias revealed that the "Holy Relics" were actually humans and that the Covenant faith was based on an age-old mistranslation. The glyph on the [[Luminary]] was mistaken as "reclamation" when it truly meant "[[Reclaimer]]". This had the potential to completely undermine the Covenant's unity and faith. The two ministers inducted the Philologist into their plan and brought about their political revolution to prevent this, ultimately leading to the [[Human-Covenant War]]. |
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| ====Assault on the Jat-Krula====
| | The AI seems to have concluded that its ancient actions against the Forerunner had been mistaken and announced to its Covenant hosts its intention to bring the "reclaimers" to the Ark. To this end it attempted to leave ''High Charity'' by launching the dreadnought, an act that would have seriously damaged ''High Charity''. Mendicant Bias was foiled only by chance; it was disconnected by some [[Lekgolo]] worms wriggling inside the ship. The AI was more formally disconnected afterward to prevent it from commandeering the ship again. |
| [[File:Mendicant.jpg|left|thumb|250px|Mendicant Bias surrounded by Flood forms.]]
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| Mendicant Bias and the Flood were unable to disable the Halos directly, and so the only chance they had to stop the coming cataclysm was to secure the formerly secret [[Installation 00|lesser Ark]] and stop the firing sequence from there. While it did not know the location of the Ark, it was aware of a method to reach it via specifically designed slipspace portals and [[keyship]]s. [[Offensive Bias]], which had managed to salvage a small number of ships from the greater Ark, was given the task of preventing Mendicant Bias from accessing Installation 00, and to buy time for the [[IsoDidact]] to activate the Halo Array. The Forerunners also destroyed or disabled most of the keyships to stall Mendicant's assault. However, Mendicant Bias managed to locate one of the remaining keyships.{{Ref/Reuse|ENC}}
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| As the IsoDidact was preparing to activate the Array in the final hours of the war, Mendicant and its fleet of nearly five million ships [[Battle of the Maginot Sphere|launched a massive attack]] on the [[Jat-Krula]] and breached it, with the intent of reaching the Ark.{{Ref/Reuse|ENC}} Immediately after the Flood's arrival, Mendicant Bias sent a coded message to Offensive Bias stating that it would give no quarter and would destroy the Ark. Mendicant offered Offensive a chance to join it and survive; Offensive rejected the offer.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''String 36''</ref> At the Jat-Krula, Mendicant was confronted by Offensive Bias and the last remnants of the Forerunner fleet, vastly outnumbered by the Flood. This led to a final, titanic naval battle between the two metarchs. Mendicant's fatal mistake was that it had come to hold the Forerunners in abject contempt: its rampancy had clouded its perceptions, such that it had become too confident of its own superiority and failed to anticipate its opponent's ingenious feint. During the battle, the Halos were fired and as the pulse swept through both fleets, the Flood-controlled portions of Mendicant's fleet were disabled, suddenly tipping the scales in Offensive Bias' favor. In a matter of minutes, Mendicant Bias was outsmarted and defeated by Offensive Bias, who utilized the now-crewless ships with a ruthless, unconventional efficiency.<ref>'''Halo 3''', ''Terminal 6''</ref>
| | During the [[First Battle of High Charity]] in [[2552#November|November 2552]], the [[United Nations Space Command|UNSC]] AI [[Cortana]] fought Mendicant Bias to delay the launching of the dreadnought, allowing [[SPARTAN-II program|SPARTAN]] [[John-117]] to board and return to [[Earth]].<ref>'''[[Halo 2]]''', campaign level, ''[[High Charity (Level)|High Charity]]''</ref> In the proceeding events Mendicant Bias was carried through the [[Voi]] [[The Artifact|portal]] to Installation 00, where the missing shard was finally reunited with the part that resided in the Ark's systems.<ref name="Terminal"/> On the Ark, it attempted to communicate with the Master Chief through Terminals, claiming it sought atonement by helping the Spartan. Exactly what form that assistance took is uncertain. |
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| [[File:H3 Epitaph Tower.jpg|thumb|250px|The [[Epitaph|tower]] on the [[Ark]] marking Mendicant Bias' burial place.]]
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| ====Trial and sentence====
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| {{Quote|I am penitent. I know that what I have done can not be forgiven. I will accept my stasis with grace, and await a time where I might redeem myself.|Mendicant Bias accepting its judgement}}<ref>'''Rebirth'''</ref>
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| After the battle, Offensive Bias recovered Mendicant Bias' [[personality construct array]] and took it to Installation 00 for study.{{Ref/Reuse|Terminal}} The IsoDidact placed Mendicant Bias on trial for betraying the ecumene. It was decided to keep the ancilla alive as it had intimate knowledge of the Flood and could be called upon in case of their return. Mendicant was locked in eternal exile and entombed beneath a vast desert on the Ark with only one thought allowed to it: atonement.<ref>[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a3YLl2NLVFA '''Halo Waypoint''' - ''The Trial of Mendicant Bias'']</ref> The legal entity [[Catalog]], who was aware of 2,901,001 cases pending against Mendicant Bias, nonetheless deemed the trial illegal, as the [[Juridical]]s were not involved in the proceedings.<ref name="CatalogTrial">[https://forums.halowaypoint.com/yaf_postsm3015253_Catalog-Interaction.aspx#post3015253 '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Catalog Interaction'' (post 3015253)]</ref>
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| ===Later history===
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| ====Post-activation====
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| {{Quote|For eons I have watched. Listened to you misinterpret. This is not "Reclamation". This is "[[Reclaimer]]" [...] I will reject my bias and make amends... My makers are my masters. I will bring them safely to the Ark.|Mendicant Bias revealing the [[Covenant]]'s error and declaring his penance.<ref name="harvest">'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''pages 274-276''</ref>}}
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| An undetermined period of time after the firing of the Halo Array, a shard of the entombed Mendicant Bias' [[personality construct array]] managed to find its way aboard the ''[[Anodyne Spirit]]''. Attempting to make amends for its crimes against its makers by aiding humanity, the ancilla fragment then escaped from the Ark. However, the Dreadnought crashed on the [[San'Shyuum]] homeworld, [[Janjur Qom]].<ref>[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/universe/characters/mendicant-bias '''Halo Waypoint''' - ''Universe: Mendicant Bias'']</ref> The ship was later found and explored by the San'Shyuum, who eventually made it the centerpiece of the Covenant capital city, ''[[High Charity]]''. Mendicant Bias' presence became known to the Covenant, who came to regard it as an Oracle. For a new triumvirate of [[Hierarchs]] to ascend, they would need the blessing of the Oracle; however, this was only a formality often exploited for political manipulation, as the dormant ancilla was not known to have actually spoken in generations of the San'Shyuum's recorded history. In truth, the "blessing" was provided by the [[Philologist]], the leader of the ascetic priests allegedly speaking on the Oracle's behalf.
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| In [[2525]], Mendicant Bias' fragment on ''High Charity'' was "consulted" by [[Prophet of Truth|Ord Casto, the Minister of Fortitude]], and [[Prophet of Regret|Lod Mron, the Vice Minister of Tranquility]]; the pair wished to secure the large number of Forerunner artifacts on [[Harvest]] as part of their plan to usurp the reigning Hierarchs and to thus inaugurate a new [[Ages of Reclamation|Age of Reclamation]]. When the [[Prophet of Mercy|Philologist, Hod Rumnt]], entered the data into the matrix, Mendicant came back online. In a shocking revelation, Mendicant Bias revealed that the "holy relics" on Harvest were actually [[human]]s and that the [[Covenant religion|Covenant faith]] was based on an ages-old mistranslation. The glyph on the [[Luminary]] was mistaken as "reclamation", when it truly meant "[[Reclaimer]]". This had the potential to completely undermine the Covenant's unity and faith. The two ministers inducted the Philologist into their plan and brought about their political revolution to prevent this, ultimately leading to the [[Human-Covenant War]].
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| Mendicant Bias realized that its actions against the Forerunners had been mistaken and announced to its Covenant hosts its intention to bring the "Reclaimers" to the Ark. To this end it attempted to leave ''High Charity'' by launching the dreadnought, an act that would have seriously damaged the Covenant capital. Mendicant Bias was foiled only by chance; it was disconnected by some [[Lekgolo]] worms that were wriggling inside the ship. The ancilla was more formally disconnected afterward to prevent it from commandeering the ship again.
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| [[File:H2A Terminals - Dreadnought Oracle.jpg|thumb|250px|The Mendicant Bias shard in the keyship.]]
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| ====Human-Covenant War====
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| {{Quote|And so here at the end of my life, I do once again betray a former master. The path ahead is fraught with peril. But I will do all I can to keep it stable - keep you safe. I'm not so foolish to think this will absolve me of my sins. One life hardly balances billions. But I would have my masters know that I have changed. And you shall be my example.|Mendicant Bias to John-117.}} | | {{Quote|And so here at the end of my life, I do once again betray a former master. The path ahead is fraught with peril. But I will do all I can to keep it stable - keep you safe. I'm not so foolish to think this will absolve me of my sins. One life hardly balances billions. But I would have my masters know that I have changed. And you shall be my example.|Mendicant Bias to John-117.}} |
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| During the [[Fall of High Charity|Fall of ''High Charity'']] in [[2552#November|November 2552]], the [[United Nations Space Command|UNSC]] AI [[Cortana]] fought Mendicant Bias to delay the launching of the Dreadnought, allowing [[SPARTAN-II program|SPARTAN]] [[John-117]] to board the vessel and return to [[Earth]].<ref>'''[[Halo 2]]''', campaign level, ''[[High Charity (level)|High Charity]]''</ref> On [[2552#December|December 11]],<ref>[http://halo.xbox.com/en-us/intel/featured/video/herofortitude/bfe5038b-314a-4f17-a6be-f7613e0e3788 '''Halo Waypoint''', ''Hero-Fortitude'']</ref> During the journey to Earth, Mendicant Bias hijacked and terminated a [[Facilitator-class ancilla]] called [[Adjutant Reflex]]. Having taken over Adjutant Reflex, Bias communicated with an unspecified Reclaimer. However, Adjutant's physical housing was not strong enough to hold Mendicant Bias and it gave up its communication, moving on to using the "ghost.713" matrix on Local node "X.XX.713".<ref>'''[[Iris]]'''</ref>
| | This reclaimed sanity seems to suggest that some AIs might be sophisticated enough to come back from rampancy, like Mendicant Bias and Cortana have. It may also have reached metastability, where an AI can be said to have a conscience equal to that of a sentient being. |
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| Mendicant Bias' fragment was carried through the [[Voi]] [[Portal at Voi|slipspace portal]] to Installation 00, where the missing shard was finally reunited with the part that had resided in the Ark's systems for around one-hundred millennia. This allowed Mendicant to reconstruct itself to an extent and regain control over its processes, although the [[daemon]]s on the Ark attempted to halt its intrusion in the facility's systems.{{Ref/Reuse|Terminal}} | |
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| On the Ark, Mendicant attempted to communicate with John-117 through [[Terminal (Halo 3)|terminal]]s, using the "ghost.713" matrix, claiming that it sought atonement by helping the Spartan.{{Ref/Reuse|Terminal}} The ancilla is also known to have manipulated the terminal transmissions' content to some degree to better suit its own aims, explaining some of the discrepancies between them and [[The Forerunner Saga|other Forerunner logs]].<ref>[http://waypointassets.blob.core.windows.net/mobilecontent/legacysupport/content/assets/en-us/podcast/343Sparkast_017.mp3 '''Halo Waypoint''': ''343 Sparkast 017'']</ref> In its final message to the Spartan, Mendicant declared that it was at the "end of [its] life",{{Ref/Reuse|Terminal}} seemingly expecting to be destroyed by [[Installation 08]]'s firing which obliterated the ring itself and severely damaged the Ark.<ref name="EH">'''[[Eleventh Hour reports]]''', ''part 4''</ref>
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| ==Housings==
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| [[File:HLeg MendicantBias.png|thumb|250px|A physical shell used by Mendicant Bias.]]
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| A highly advanced and powerful ancilla capable of splintering itself into many independent instances, Mendicant Bias inhabited a number of different physical armatures.
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| One of Mendicant's primary extensions, kept on [[Gyre 11]], was housed within an enormous, city-sized mass of data crystals, which hovered over a web-like network of green hard light "paths". This structure also contained a central eye, and was ringed with blue hard light structures that vaguely resembled legs. Before Installation 07 was retaken by the [[IsoDidact]], this physical incarnation directly observed a group of [[Erde-Tyrene civilization|humans]] that had been gathered in the facility.<ref>'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 287-288''</ref>
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| For movement across Gyre 11, Mendicant Bias used a massive, two-meter wide monitor shell with a single green eye.<ref>'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 200''</ref>
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| During its conversion by the Flood, Mendicant Bias was housed within a monitor-like, though more ornate, casing with three blue eyes that can turn orange and a glyph in the center.<ref>'''Halo Legends''', ''Origins''</ref> The shard in the ''[[Anodyne Spirit]]'' was housed in a large structure with the three-eyed casing's likeness embedded in its facade.<ref name="h2aterm">'''Halo 2 Anniversary''', ''[[Terminal (Halo 2: Anniversary)|Terminal 8]]''</ref> During the [[Ages of Doubt|23rd Age of Doubt]], however, the Dreadnought's incarnation of Mendicant Bias was based within a smaller, teardrop-shaped casing largely similar to that of a normal installation monitor, having a single eye and a smooth, silver-like surface. Within the casing, barely active circuits ran at low power. The casing was held in a Covenant-made armature and tethered to nearby processing towers with strands of plaited wire.<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''page 273''</ref>
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| ==Trivia== | | ==Trivia== |
| {{Linkbox
| | [[File:Mendicant Bias.svg|thumb|100px|An icon used to represent professional communications.]] |
| |quote=yes | | [[File:MendicantBias (Rampant).png|thumb|100px|An icon representing Mendicant Bias.]] |
| }}
| | *Mendicant Bias has been associated with the whispering voice heard distinctly in the [[Mausoleum Suite]] on the ''[[Halo 2 Original Soundtrack]]''. There are obvious similarities between the character expressed in the whispers and Mendicant Bias — both are imprisoned by memories of their past crimes, both are seeking forgiveness, and both retain a sense of fatalist philosophy. |
| *The word "Mendicant" comes from the Latin ''Mendicans'' and describes those, particularly from religious orders, who survive purely on charity and begging. "Bias" is a preference to a particular perspective or ideology. It was given this name by the Didact, who characterized him as a "beggar after knowledge".
| | *The word "Mendicant" comes from the Latin ''Mendicans'' and describes those, particularly from religious orders, who survive purely on charity and begging. "Bias" is a preference to a particular perspective or ideology. He was given this name by the Didact, who characterized him as a "beggar after knowledge". |
| *Mendicant Bias may be the source of the whispering voice heard distinctly in the ''[[Mausoleum Suite]]'' on the ''[[Halo 2 Original Soundtrack]]''. There are obvious similarities between the character expressed in the whispers and Mendicant Bias — both are imprisoned by memories of their past crimes, both are seeking forgiveness, and both retain a sense of fatalist philosophy. Its voice may also be heard as a similar whisper during the terminals' shift and when the script changes from the original terminal messages to the later messages after the originals become red. If the audio of the terminals' shifting is played backwards, a voice can be heard, possibly Mendicant Bias'. | | *Fans have speculated Mendicant Bias can also be heard as a whisper during the Terminals' shift, or the script change from the original terminal messages to the later messages after the originals become red. If the audio of the terminals' shifting is played backwards, a voice can be heard, possibly Mendicant Bias'. |
| *In ''Origins'', [[AdjutantReflex]]'s symbol is depicted at the center of Mendicant Bias' casing. This may be due to Cortana's interpretation of the data she possessed on the Forerunner-Flood war, however, as Mendicant Bias is shown to have used two distinct symbols in the terminals on Installation 00. The same symbol is later seen flashing in Cortana's eye toward the end of ''Origins''. | | *The actions of Mendicant Bias are similar to those of the artificial intelligence Durandal from the [[Marathon (Video Game Series)|''Marathon'' series]]. |
| | | *Mendicant Bias is possibly the "brother" that AdjutantReflex was talking about and was later absorbed by, there is evidence of this in Mendicant Bias' picture: the symbol in the left hand side is similar to [[Adjutant Reflex|AdjutantReflex]]'s third Bungie.net avatar. |
| == Gallery ==
| | *The "05" in his identification number may signify that he was placed in charge of [[Installation 05]] during his testing mission, as [[343 Guilty Spark]], the monitor of Installation 04, is identified as "04-343" in Forerunner communication records. |
| <gallery>
| | *Despite the important role Mendicant Bias played in the ascension of new Hierarchs, the Prophets were partly aware of Mendicant Bias' treason (though they appeared ignorant that Mendicant was the Oracle) and placed a ban on subsequent [[Associated Intelligence]]. |
| File:Waypoint-Mendicant-Bias-Rampant.jpg|Mendicant Bias after succumbing to the logic plague, as seen in ''[[Halo Legends]]''.
| | *Mendicant Bias's "body" has [[AdjutantReflex]]'s second bungie.net avatar image as his "eye." |
| File:H2A - Dormant Mendicant Bias.jpg|Concept art of Mendicant Bias for the ''Halo 2: Anniversary'' Terminals.
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| File:Mendicant Bias.svg|An icon used to represent professional communications.
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| File:Not_Rampant_Medicant_Bias.png|Another icon used to represent Mendicant Bias.
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| File:MendicantBias (Rampant).png|An icon representing Mendicant Bias in his rampant state.
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| File:H3 Epitaph Tower Above.jpg|Mendicant Bias' burial desert on the Ark.
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| </gallery>
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| ==List of appearances== | | ==List of appearances== |
| *''[[Halo 2]]'' {{Im}} | | *''[[Halo 2]]'' {{C|Indirect mention only}} |
| *''[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]]'' {{Im}}
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| *''[[Iris]]'' {{1st}}
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| *''[[Halo 3]]'' | | *''[[Halo 3]]'' |
| **''[[Terminal (Halo 3)|Terminals]]''
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| *''[[Halo: Contact Harvest]]'' | | *''[[Halo: Contact Harvest]]'' |
| *''[[Halo: The Cole Protocol]]'' {{Mo}} | | *''[[The Forerunner Saga]]'' |
| *''[[Halo Wars]]'' {{Im}}
| | **''[[Halo: Cryptum]]'' |
| *''[[Halo Legends]]''
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| **''[[Origins]]''
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| *''[[Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe]]''
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| **''[[Human Weakness]]'' {{Mo}} | |
| *''[[Halo: Cryptum]]'' | |
| *''[[Halo: Primordium]]''
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| *''[[Halo: Silentium]]''
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| **''[[Rebirth]]''
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| *''[[Halo: Escalation]]'' {{Mo}}
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| *''[[Halo: Broken Circle]]'' {{Im}}
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| *''[[Halo 2: Anniversary]]'' {{Mo}}
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| **''[[Terminal (Halo 2: Anniversary)|Terminals]]''
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| *''[[Hunt the Truth]]'' {{Im}}
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| *''[[Halo Mythos]]''
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| *''[[Halo: Fractures]]''
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| **''[[Promises to Keep]]'' {{Mo}}
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| **''[[Untitled story (Halo: Fractures)|Untitled story]]'' {{Im}}
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| *''[[Halo Wars 2]]'' {{Mo}}
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| *''[[Halo: Point of Light]]'' {{Mo}}
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| *''[[Halo: Epitaph]]''
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| ==Notes==
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| {{Ref/Notes}}
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| ==Sources== | | ==Sources== |
| {{Ref/Sources}}
| | <references/> |
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| {{Forerunner AI}} | | {{Forerunner AI}} |
| {{Forerunner-Flood War}} | | {{Forerunner-Flood War}} |
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| | ==Related pages== |
| | *[[Iris]] |
| | *[[Adjutant Reflex]] |
| | *[[Offensive Bias]] |
| [[Category:Forerunner A.I.]] | | [[Category:Forerunner A.I.]] |
| [[Category:AI characters]]
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