Editing Proto-Gravemind

{{Status|Canon}}

{{Flood infobox

The '''Proto-Gravemind''', also known as the '''Brain Form'''<ref>''Halo Encyclopedia (2011)'', page 167</ref> or the '''Proto-Compound Intelligence''',<ref>''[[Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary]]'', [[Library (feature)|Library]]''</ref> is an advanced [[Flood]] form created from the biomass of the most intelligent living organisms available, with the ultimate goal of creating a fully-functional [[Gravemind]]. Its creation allows the Flood to move from [[Feral Stage]] to [[Coordinated Stage]].<ref>''[[Bestiarum]]''</ref>

Rather than completely destroying a victim's consciousness, as a normal Flood form generally does, it interrogates its victims slowly, even speaking telepathically to them, and allowing their nervous systems to feed it information. The form tortures the host's mind with a loud buzzing sound, thus erasing all thought. Only after the host is stripped of all knowledge is the host killed by the Proto-Gravemind, although it is sometimes possible for a host to die before the Flood form has a chance to assimilate all of its memories.<ref name="novel">'''[[Halo: The Flood]]'''</ref><ref name="terminal">'''[[Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary]]''', ''[[Terminal (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary)|Terminal 9]]''</ref>

[[File:CEABrainFormDecay.png|350px|thumb|Various human faces from left to right: being absorbed, recently absorbed, absorbed, slightly decayed, moderately decayed, severely decayed.]]

Unlike all other known Flood forms, Proto-Graveminds are immobile and passive in combat. They have never been observed to move on their own, even when combat forms are fighting nearby. In fact, even when [[John-117]] punched through the side of the Proto-Gravemind present aboard the ''[[Truth and Reconciliation]]'' during the [[Battle of Installation 04]], the Flood form did not react at all; it is likely that until the transformation into a true Gravemind is complete, Proto-Graveminds are nothing more than an amalgamation of inactive bodies. In most instances, they use some of their hosts' legs as a means to support themselves, and one can see some of the bodies of the most recently assimilated, embedded in the Proto-Gravemind's mass, albeit deformed.{{Ref/Reuse|keyes}} As the corpses become more deformed, a Proto-Gravemind's appearance take on a large body of Flood tissue and biomass.{{Ref/Reuse|TML}}

Proto-Graveminds are capable of jamming or distorting radio signals within a significant radius around them. The means by which they do this is unknown; however, it may be related to the unexplained telepathy the Flood use to communicate with one another. During the [[Battle of Trove]], a Proto-Gravemind was shown to be capable of both jamming a real transponder signal and replicating it from its own position to draw in nearby human forces.<ref name="Flood">'''[[Halo Wars]]''', campaign level ''[[The Flood (level)|The Flood]]''</ref>

The Proto-Gravemind must grow incredibly in size to reach its next stage of evolution, known as a [[Gravemind]], a near-omniscient Flood form made of thousands of host bodies infused with the knowledge of each host that was used to make the Gravemind.<ref name="art">'''[[The Art of Halo]]'''</ref> While a smaller Proto-Gravemind could direct combat forms, a larger Proto-Gravemind could be in control of multiple [[Flood colony|Flood colonies]] for coordinated gestation and attack on nearby life forms. The Proto-Gravemind and Flood colonies also become interdependent on each other; sending colonies into a dormant state would weaken the local Proto-Gravemind, while destroying the Proto-Gravemind would kill the colonies.{{Ref/Reuse|Flood}} Graveminds are created once a Proto-Gravemind reaches a certain "critical mass" and develops a centralized intelligence.  

The first recorded Proto-Gravemind was discovered on the surface planet of the Forerunner [[shield world]] [[Trove]] during a massive Flood outbreak in [[2531]]. Judging by its huge size and its connection to several [[Flood Colony|Flood colonies]], it is likely that this Proto-Gravemind was on the verge of becoming a Gravemind. This Proto-Gravemind was destroyed by UNSC forces led by [[Sergeant]] [[John Forge]] and [[Spartan-II]] [[Red Team]]. It had been duplicating Professor [[Ellen Anders]]' transponder signal to lure in the UNSC forces and infect them. After the Proto-Gravemind was destroyed, the {{UNSCShip|Spirit of Fire}}'s forces were able to detect Anders' real signal{{Ref/Reuse|Flood}} and follow it into the shield world itself.<ref>'''[[Halo Wars]]''', campaign level ''[[Shield World (level)|Shield World]]''</ref><ref>'''[[Halo Wars]]''', campaign level ''[[Cleansing]]''</ref> Its remains were destroyed when the Etran Harborage was destroyed by the ''Spirit of Fire'' shortly thereafter.<ref>'''[[Halo Wars]]''', campaign level ''[[Escape (Halo Wars level)|Escape]]''</ref>

[[File:ProtoKeyes.png|thumb|250px|John-117 with the Proto-Gravemind onboard ''Truth and Reconciliation''.]]

During the [[Battle of Installation 04]] in [[2552]], John-117 found a Proto-Gravemind aboard the bridge of {{Pattern|Ket|battlecruiser}} ''[[Truth and Reconciliation]]''. The Proto-Gravemind would have allowed the Flood to use the ''Truth and Reconciliation'' to spread beyond Installation 04. It had assimilated [[Captain]] [[Jacob Keyes]] and attempted to learn from him the coordinates of [[Earth]]. Keyes fought with his willpower to prevent the Flood from gaining this information, burying the knowledge deep down within him and forcing the Proto-Gravemind to systematically discard every other memory he possessed.{{Ref/Reuse|terminal}} [[John-117]] arrived at the Proto-Gravemind just as the Flood form was about to finally extract the memory it wanted, and punched through the Captain's skull in order to retrieve his [[neural implants]], thereby robbing the Proto-Gravemind of the knowledge of [[Earth]]'s location for good. The Proto-Gravemind was destroyed shortly thereafter by the [[Covenant]] Special Ops as it was no longer present when human forces captured the ship.{{Ref/Reuse|keyes}}{{Ref/Reuse|novel}}

Yet another Proto-Gravemind was present on the [[prison ship]] ''[[Mona Lisa]]'' shortly after the destruction of Installation 04. Flood on board the ship were attempting to access the ship's FTL drive by collecting and absorbing the knowledge of UNSC pilots into this Proto-Gravemind. It was destroyed during [[Skirmish on Mona Lisa|the skirmish onboard]] when [[Ngoc Benti]] killed it with fragmentation grenades.{{Ref/Reuse|TML}}

After [[Voridus]] of the [[Banished]] [[Outbreak on Installation 00|released the Flood]] from [[High Charity]]'s crash site on [[Installation 00]] in [[2559]], a Proto-Gravemind quickly formed nearby. One of the tentacles blocked [[Pavium]]'s retreat<ref>'''[[Halo Wars 2: Awakening the Nightmare]]''', campaign level ''[[Fighting Retreat]]''</ref> and its existence caused the Flood to develop greater coordination and sophistication as time went on, in particular recognizing the threat posed by the controls to reactivate the Ark's Sentinel defense network.<ref>'''[[Halo Wars 2: Awakening the Nightmare]]''', campaign level ''[[The Archive]]''</ref> This Proto-Gravemind retained a measure of the deceased [[Gravemind]]'s intellect, but the Gravemind's new vessel had to feed and spread in order for the Gravemind to fully manifest once again.<ref name="IH2">'''[[Halo Wars 2]]''', ''[[Phoenix Logs]]'' - ''Proto-Gravemind''</ref> By the time Banished forces discovered the Proto-Gravemind, it was very close to becoming a new Gravemind.  Pavium and Voridus led an assault on the creature, aided by the Ark's reactivated Sentinel defense network and [[Eklon'Dal Workshop Antlion]]s the Banished constructed nearby. After severely damaging the Proto-Gravemind, impairing its impending transformation into a Gravemind with each attack, the Banished were able to clear out a nearby Sentinel lock and summon a [[Retriever Sentinel]]. With the help of the added firepower of the Retriever, the Banished were able to kill the Proto-Gravemind. With the Proto-Gravemind dead, the Banished and the Ark's Sentinels were finally able to contain the Flood outbreak.<ref>'''[[Halo Wars 2: Awakening the Nightmare]]''' campaign level ''[[Manifestation]]''</ref>

The Proto-Gravemind in the ''[[Halo Wars 2: Awakening the Nightmare]]'' level ''[[Manifestation]]'', which is far bigger and more powerful than the ''Halo Wars'' Proto-Gravemind, requires more complicated tactics to defeat. There is also a time limit as the player only has a certain amount of time until the Proto-Gravemind reaches critical mass and becomes a [[Gravemind]]. Each time the creature takes damage, the percentage until critical mass drops. First, the player needs to clear out a nearby Flood base and build a Banished Minibase with a [[Eklon'Dal Workshop Antlion]]. The player must spot the three nearby tentacles so that the Antlion can clear them out for the Banished forces to proceed to the creature itself. Before clearing out the tentacles completely, the player should build up their chosen forces to the maximum and upgrade them as far as possible. After reaching the creature, the player must clear out a nearby Flood base and plant a Minibase with a Antlion to attack the Proto-Gravemind, causing it to rise up out of the ground, rendering it vulnerable to attack. While fighting off defending Flood forces, the player must target the carapace on the side of the Proto-Gravemind and after blasting through it, blast the exposed sacs. After the sacs are destroyed, the Proto-Gravemind will expose its core which must then be targeted until it retreats and seals itself off. The player must repeat this twice, but on the third time, the Proto-Gravemind will not expose its core as it has become too strong and the Antlions no longer have an effect. On [[Pavium]]'s orders, the player must clear out a nearby Sentinel lock which will summon a [[Retriever Sentinel]] that will then be under the player's control. Dodging Flood attacks, the player must focus all Banished fire, bolstered by the Retriever, upon the Proto-Gravemind until it exposes its core. With the core exposed, target the core until the Proto-Gravemind is killed. This time, the Proto-Gravemind will not retreat when its health is depleted though the player must continue to avoid the Flood forces sent to defend it. Throughout this, the player must build new forces to replace those that they have lost to aid in the attack on the Proto-Gravemind.

*In the campaign level ''[[Keyes (level)|Keyes]]'', the original idea was for John-117 to burn Keyes's skull out of the Proto-Gravemind. However, the idea was scrapped when the [[M7057 flamethrower|flamethrower]] was removed from the Xbox version of the game due to time constraints.{{Ref/Reuse|art}}

File:HCEA Proto-Compound Intelligence.png|A proto-Gravemind in ''[[Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary]]''.  

File:Keyes Protogravemind.jpg|A Proto-Gravemind in [[Terminal (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary)|''Halo Combat Evolved: Anniversary''<nowiki>'s</nowiki> terminals]].

File:HW2 PhoenixLog Proto-Gravemind.png|A large Proto-Gravemind in ''[[Halo Wars 2]]''.

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

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[[Category:Flood forms]]

[[Category:Bosses]]