Editing Portal at Voi

{{Status|Canon}}

|destroyed=Non-operational

|diameter={{Convert|117|km|mi|sp=us}}{{Ref/Reuse|evg}}

When humans and other lifeforms were reintroduced to Earth, they emerged at the planet above the portal in Africa.<ref>'''[[Rebirth]]'''</ref> However, work on it would continue for multiple generations. Its continual construction was witnessed by humans, including an African elder named [[N'chala]], who was oblivious to its purpose and considered the sentinels to either be gods or to be under their direction.<ref name="cradle">'''[[Halo 3: The Cradle of Life]]'''</ref> The artifact eventually came to be entirely buried in the earth.

[[File:The coming Storm.jpg|300px|thumb|The Portal, viewed during the day, prior to its activation.]]

By at least the nineteenth century, the portal was entirely submerged beneath the land occupied by the city of Mombasa and the town of Voi. Additionally, at least a portion of the portal was covered by a man-made lake at some point between the early 21st and mid-26th centuries. At some point after the dawn of the 24th century, the UNSC's [[Office of Naval Intelligence]] discovered a small section of the portal structure located below the metropolis of [[New Mombasa]], and constructed a major facility known as the [[ONI Alpha Site (location)|ONI Alpha Site]] in the city in order to conduct covert research on the artifact.<ref name="vis">'''[[Halo: The Essential Visual Guide]]''', ''page 132''</ref> In [[2551]], toward the end of the [[Battle of Meridian]], a luminary was discovered by the Covenant on [[Meridian|the colony]]. This luminary would later be presented to the [[Prophet of Regret]] and reveal to him the location of the portal. In [[2552#October|October of 2552]], a seismic anomaly originating with the portal was discovered in a survey conducted by New Mombasa's urban infrastructure AI, the [[Superintendent]], for [[Daniel Endesha|Dr. Endesha]], revealing the location and full extent of the structure to him.<ref>'''[[Halo 3: ODST]]''', ''[[Sadie's Story]]''</ref>

 

The [[UNSC]] attempted to attack the keyship, falsely presuming the portal to be the Ark itself, but was stopped by Covenant {{Pattern|Skar'wa|Mantis}}'. A small force in the city of Voi, consisting of [[John-117]], [[Thel 'Vadam]], [[Marines]], and factory workers from a [[Traxus Industries]] facility, neutralized an anti-aircraft battery to clear a path for a [[Battle Group Victory|handful]] of [[Charon-class light frigate|frigates]] and numerous [[C712 Longsword|Longswords]]. These then made several attacks on the Dreadnought with [[MAC]] cannons and [[ASGM-10 missile]]s, but to no effect. At that moment, the gateway finally activated, opening a large [[Slipstream space|slipspace]] rift above the Portal which led to the real Ark. Truth and his fleet advanced through the rift and were pursued by the [[Fleet of Retribution]] and the {{UNSCShip|Forward Unto Dawn}}. The activation of the portal was achieved by Truth using the shards of [[Menachite Forerunner crystal|the crystal]] that had once been used to power the [[Menachite portal complex|portal complex]] on [[Reach]].{{Ref/Novel|Id=Sacrifice|HSoR|Detail= Adjunct - [[Sacrifice]]}}

{{Quote|There are more secrets locked under our feet than we dare speculate on.|Doctor [[William Iqbal]] in a letter from the Department of Xenoarchaeological Studies at [[Edinburgh University]] to security-cleared faculty and onsite graduate students.{{Ref/Reuse|evo}}}}

When [[Installation 08]] was prematurely fired on December 11, 2552, it tore itself to pieces, doing an enormous amount of damage to the Ark. This sudden destruction caused the portal to collapse while the ''Forward Unto Dawn'' was still traveling through it back to Earth. The ship was torn in to two large pieces at this time and only the fore half made it back to Earth, crashing into the Indian Ocean. The ''Dawn'' did not exit at the point in Earth's atmosphere where it would have had the portal remained wholly intact, but instead emerged from [[slipspace]] in Earth's orbit, just narrowly allowing [[Thel 'Vadam]] a destination to land. From that point onward, the portal remained inert and inaccessible. In March of [[2553]] following a ceremony honoring the fallen of the [[Human-Covenant War]] held near the site, the Excession was isolated from the rest of the [[East African Protectorate]] and heavily guarded. Civilian [[Xenoarchaeology|xenoarchaeologists]] were hired by the [[Office of Naval Intelligence]] to study the artifact. While closed, it was still drawing power from an unknown source and the majority of the passageways below it were still unexplored.{{Ref/Reuse|evo}} It was suspected that the portal had additional as-of-yet undiscovered functions besides simply creating a gateway between Earth and the Ark.{{Ref/Reuse|evo}}

 

In [[2555]], scientists exploring [[Installation 07]] discovered a countdown sequence and it was determined that it was originating from the Ark. It suddenly became of paramount importance that the portal be reactivated. The UNSC reached out to the [[Swords of Sanghelios]] and a Huragok named [[Drifts Randomly]] that had worked onboard the [[Forerunner Dreadnought]] was brought to Earth. After a few days, it was able to open the portal using data from the keyship it had internalized. A joint UNSC and Swords of Sanghelios team was sent through the portal to [[Operation: FAR STORM|prevent]] the activation of the [[Halo Array]]. The countdown was part of a ploy by the Ark's monitor, [[000 Tragic Solitude]], to make the humans on Earth reactivate the portal so that he could send [[Retriever Sentinel]]s to mine the [[Sol system]] for materials to repair damage done to his installation. Tragic Solitude explained to [[Olympia Vale]] that the firing of [[Installation 08]] damaged the portal and severed his ability to control it from the Ark. Though Tragic Solitude repaired the portal on the Ark end, it required activation on the Earth end to return to its previous state.<ref name="HITD266">'''[[Halo: Hunters in the Dark]]''', ''page 266''</ref> He also increased the portal's power and astrogation systems to send and receive objects much faster despite the fact that doing so was an extraordinary exertion of power and information and could well compromise many of his systems.<ref name="HITD305">'''[[Halo: Hunters in the Dark]]''', ''page 305''</ref> As a result travel through the portal was far faster than before.{{Ref/Reuse|HITD}}

 

Many Retrievers poured through the portal and the [[UNSC Home Fleet]] [[Invasion of Earth|engaged them in battle]]. However, the team on the Ark was able to force Tragic Solitude to recall the Retrievers and the rogue monitor was destroyed by [[Bobby Kodiak]]. Around a day later, a UNSC fleet traveled through the portal to the Ark to investigate the aftermath of Operation: FAR STORM and rescued the survivors.<ref name="HITD">'''[[Halo: Hunters in the Dark]]'''</ref> Afterwards, the UNSC used the now-active portal to send researchers to the Ark by [[2557]] where they were able to effect repairs by directing the Retrievers to strip-mine lifeless systems.<ref>'''[[Halo Wars 2]]''', ''[[Phoenix Logs]]''</ref>

Following the [[Created]] [[Subjugation of Earth|takeover of Earth]], Installation 00's failsafe measures seemingly closed the portal once again, keeping the Ark safe from Cortana's iron fist.<ref name="Mythos202">'''[[Halo Mythos]]''', ''page 202''</ref> Since the portal closed without warning, the UNSC science personnel on the Ark were stranded there, with no way to contact the rest of the UNSC. A month later, the Ark was [[Attack on Installation 00|invaded]] by the mercenary group known as the [[Banished]], who massacred the UNSC personnel there. Months later, the long-lost {{UNSCShip|Spirit of Fire}} was pulled to the Ark through unknown means.<ref>'''[[Halo Wars 2]]''', campaign level ''[[The Signal]]''</ref> Professor [[Ellen Anders]] was unable to reactivate the portal from the Ark end and instead came up with the idea of launching [[Installation 09]] to send a [[distress beacon]] to human space.<ref>'''[[Halo Wars 2]]''', campaign level ''[[Hold the Line]]''</ref> Following the departure of Anders and the Halo ring, Captain [[James Cutter]] felt that the portal should remain closed until the ''Spirit of Fire'' could fully evaluate the Banished threat to it. Cutter ordered [[Isabel]] to start investigating the portal's controls in case they needed to open or close it again.<ref>'''[[Halo Wars 2]]''' - ''[[Phoenix Logs]]'' - ''Beyond the Edge''</ref> Nevertheless, the Banished sought out another portal - [[Menachite portal complex|the one]] on [[Reach]] - by retrieving the shards of the [[Menachite Forerunner crystal|crystal]] from the ''[[Anodyne Spirit]]'' that had allowed the [[Prophet of Truth]] to open Earth's portal.{{Ref/Reuse|Sacrifice}}

The massive structure that opens the portal—at least the portion that has been uncovered—is 117 kilometers in diameter. When the portal is inactive, it appears as nothing more than a slightly convex metal disc of a Forerunner alloy. Glyphs can be seen from high above in the metal framework of the construction. At the very center, there is one shaped like a circle pierced by four spokes, which subdivide it into eight sections. The portal is powered by its own internal source, which lies far below what can be seen of it on the surface. There are extensive passageways that stretch down into the earth all throughout it. These passageways link information systems, engines, and control stations. Immediately beneath the domed shape of the structure's exterior, one can view it from a perspective where it appears concave from a sort of observation deck paneled with glass. At the base beneath the hinge of each pylon there are numerous consoles and instrument panels covered with Forerunner runes.

 

 

The portal constructs have unmediated slipspace cores bound to them that generate stable, pre-computed slipspace routes between synchronised endpoints. Due to the fact that these devices have fixed endpoints, destination flexibility is sacrificed for safety, speed, and security.<ref name="WF11">''Halo: Warfleet'', p.11</ref>

Since the portal was first uncovered and the war with the Covenant ended, the [[United Nations Space Command]], and specifically the [[Office of Naval Intelligence]], has sought to further understand the structure that had been buried under their feet. Having found a way to access the artifact's many information systems, engines, and control stations,<ref>'''Halo: Hunters in the Dark''', ''page 76''</ref> ONI constructed numerous facilities around and within the artifact in order to research it, staffed by roughly two hundred and twenty-seven engineers, technicians, and security personnel.<ref>'''Halo: Hunters in the Dark''', ''page 109''</ref> One notable facility is termed [[Research Center Alpha (Earth)|Research Center Alpha]], which lies at the base of one of the portal's pylons and can only be traveled to via an elevator from the surface. Science personnel were stationed at other pylons as well, such as [[Pylon Five]].<ref>'''Halo: Hunters in the Dark''', ''page 113''</ref> Branching out across the undercarriage of the machine was an ONI-fabricated network of scaffolding and gantries, allowing access to deeper and higher sections of the underground.<ref>'''Halo: Hunters in the Dark''', ''page 77''</ref><ref>'''Halo: Hunters in the Dark''', ''page 82''</ref> Before the portal was reactivated, the UNSC had to illuminate any portion of the structure explored with floodlights, but once it came to life again, this was no longer necessary.<ref>'''Halo: Hunters in the Dark''', ''page ??''</ref>

== Trivia ==

*Before ''[[Halo: The Essential Visual Guide]]'' established a definitive diameter for the portal, there was some confusion regarding its size. This was due to a conflict between the in-game sizes of the Forerunner Dreadnought in ''Halo 2'' and ''Halo 3'', with the latter depicting the ship as being far smaller than its former incarnation. Based on the map geometry in ''Halo 3'', the Portal could be estimated to be approximately 25 kilometers in diameter.<ref>[http://carnage.bungie.org/haloforum/halo.forum.pl?read=845588 '''halo.bungie.org''': ''Artifact Sizing *Minor H3 Spoilers*'']</ref> However, this figure is contradicted by the geography of the Portal's surroundings; since the structure stretches from the edge of where the metropolis of [[New Mombasa]] used to be all the way to the edge of what was formerly Voi, a distance of well over 100 kilometers. The canonical size of the portal can be derived by referencing the in-game measurements of the Forerunner Dreadnought as it appears in ''Halo 2''.<ref>'''[[Halo 2]]'''</ref><ref>'''[[Halo 3]]'''</ref><ref>'''[[Halo 3: ODST]]'''</ref> The sizes of the portal and the Dreadnought in ''Halo 3'' were taken as a liberties resulting from game engine limitations; generating map geometry for an area over 117&nbsp;km across would have been extremely taxing, if not impossible, for the game engine.

*The fourteen pylons of the portal structure may be a reference to the number 7, as 7+7=14. The entire structure also appears to be constructed of seven identical parts, those being seven pairs of pylons. The Portal is also 117 kilometers in diameter, which is a direct reference to [[John-117]].

*Originally, the structure that ended up being the portal had been intended to be the Ark itself. Interestingly, the UNSC assumed the portal was the Ark as it neared activation in ''Halo 3''.

*The [[Apex|portal]] encountered in the first chapter of [[Spartan Ops]] [[S1/Invasion|Episode 7]] is nearly identical in design to that of the portal at Voi; with pylons that withdraw downward when the portal is deactivated.

*The term "Excession" may have been inspired by the same term used in the "Culture" series of books by science-fiction author Iain M. Banks; namely the book [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Excession Excession]. In the book, the Excession is described as an "Outside Context Problem", a term coined by Banks to describe an unforeseen and incomprehensible challenge, such as a technologically advanced civilization encountering a far superior one, often disrupting the former’s entire way of life.

File:Halo 3 - The Artifact.jpg|An overhead view of the portal.

File:H3 VoiPortal details.jpg|A view of the details on the portal.

File:Ark2.jpg|The portal fires a beam as it activates.

File:H3_VoiPortal_Above.jpg|The portal as viewed from above, while active.

File:Storm1.jpg|The keyship is piloted through the portal after having activated it, with two {{Class|Charon|light frigate}}s in the foreground.

*''[[Rebirth]]''

**''[[Terminal (Halo 2: Anniversary)|Terminals]]''

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