Archive:Halo Waypoint/2014 to 2020/Universe/Tech

Active Camouflage

T-3 Refraction Dissonance Modifier/Camouflage

Manufacturer: Merchants of Qikost

Usage: Armor Optimization

Length: 2.5in (6.3cm)

Width: 12.1in (30.6cm)

Height: 4.4in (11.3cm)

Summary

Active Camouflage is a refraction dissonance modifier that can bend light around the surface of an individual or structure. It was deemed an essential alien technology early on during the Human-Covenant War, and extensively researched by ONI. Over the course of the conflict, it was wielded impressively by many Sangheili—usually those found in Special Operations or Zealot classes. However, ONI’s breakthroughs here have led to ad hoc compatibility with particular armor and BDU types, the most prominent and notable being that of Mjolnir, as worn by Spartans. When Active Camouflage is equipped, a soldier can effectively pass through an area undetectable save for a slight refractive shimmer while mobile.

History

The Sangheili and the San’Shyuum experimented with various active camouflage systems even before the Writ of Union pooled their knowledge of sensor masking and optical camouflage techniques. While active camo devices eventually incorporated some reverse engineering of Forerunner technology, Covenant devices represent a distinct branch of “baffler” systems.

Artemis Tracking System

VISR Extension

Manufacturer: Ohana Prescient Systems

Usage: Situational Awareness

Firmware Revision: 0.7

Summary

The Artemis Tracking System, or ATS, is an advanced scanning system currently under development for use by Spartan soldiers and ONI operatives. In its current - and unfinished - version, the Artemis highlights enemies and scans the surrounding area for technological artifacts known to be of tactical utility (such as weapon storage crates) or of interest to intelligence analysts.

Provisional access to the ATS has been granted to specific operatives with the permission of Spartan Commander Palmer to aid in the search for missing UNSC assets. Though ONI technicians have approved it for field testing, various bugs and defects limit system functionality outside of a narrow range of approved Mjolnir integrations.

Bubble Shield

Z-4190 Temporal Protective Enfolder/Stationary Shield

Manufacturer: Unknown/Forerunner Origin

Usage: Single Use Dissipative cover

Duration: 20 seconds

Weight: 45.1lbs (20.5kg)

Summary

The Bubble Shield is a ‘dissipative’-style deployable shield system of Forerunner origin, used by Warrior-Servants to create temporary fortifications using a sphere of interlocking hexagonal force enfolder elements. A crude (by Forerunner standards) copy of the technology was later employed by the Covenant, based (ironically) on captured ONI prototypes recovered after the fall of Reach.

Due to its size, mass, and relatively short power cell duration, along with low rates of production, the Bubble Shield saw limited use during the latter days of the Covenant War. ONI itself manufactured a small number of the devices until 2555, when it refocused its shield research efforts towards Mjolnir-compatible emitters.

Biofoam

Hemostatic Medical Polymer

Legal Status: OTC (UEG)

Drug Class: Morphophetamine

Delivery: Canister, Medical Biofoam

Application: Single use canister

Delivery

Biofoam is supplied in single-use canisters of varying size, prefilled with an expansion agent and liquid polyethyltriphosphate. When the two mix and are exposed to air they immediately produce a foaming reaction. The foam strongly adheres to tissues while also releasing encapsulated medical compounds that promote clotting, disinfects the wound, and numbs pain. After a short time the foam will set, becoming a semirigid porous mass internally, while forming a hardened skin on those areas exposed to air.

Possible Side Effects

In extremely rare cases, edema - caused by excess fluid trapped in the body's tissues - and allergic reactions have been documented.

Cytoprethaline

Prescription Medication

Legal status: Rx-only (UEG)

Drug class: Cellular Anticrystalline

Delivery: Syringe

Routes: Subcutaneous

Summary

Cryostorage apparatuses such as cryotubes (or “cryochambers”) are stasis compartments found within human space-faring vessels that allow passengers to endure protracted journeys while preserved at sub-zero temperatures. In order to prevent damage to cell membranes due to the formation of ice crystals, a chemical called cytoprethaline is injected into subjects before they are sealed into the chamber and enter hibernation. This is a vital step in order to ensure healthy and safe transportation across space. Although cytoprethaline has become a standard part of 26th-century interstellar life, it is not without its risks. One such danger is the opportunity for chemical allergies, which can see suffering subjects endure debilitating health after awaking from sleep. One particularly notable case was Thomas Lasky, who suffered allergic reactions to such severity that he was offered a medical discharge.

Possible Side effects

Allergic reaction: Blistering, peeling, or red skin rashes. Itching or hives, swelling of face, hands, or feet. Swelling or tingling in throat or mouth. Trouble breathing, shortness of breath, chest tightness, cold sweat, and bluish-colored skin. Sudden or severe headache, dizziness, problems with speech or walking.

Composer

Forerunner Sublimation Device

Affiliation: Forerunner

Manufacturer: Builder Rate

Usage: Sublimation Device

Length: 126.7ft (38.6m)

Width: 94.2ft (28.7m)

Height: 681ft (207.6m)

Summary

The Composer is a Forerunner device used to transform or ‘compose’ a sentient being into a collection of data through a painful and irreversible process charitably called ‘sublimation’. The data –referred to as an ‘essence’ by Forerunners – could then transferred into machine storage for safekeeping or later interrogation and analysis. The Didact would use this device to make his Promethean warriors immune to the Flood by combining their composed essences with specialized Forerunner combat constructs to create the Promethean Knights. Later, he would also harvest human essences to create larger numbers of Knights that could be enthralled to his service.

Technology

The Composer is one of the few non-Precursor devices that exploit neural physics, the peculiar science of that most ancient of species which defied Forerunner understanding, even after millions of years of study. The high-energy fields of entangled sympathies emitted by the Composer envelop any living being with a sufficient complexity to resonate with the device. The Composer breaks down their bodies into digital templates in a manner that eluded the full understanding of even its creators. The resulting imprints, or essences, were remarkably similar to high-level ancilla, and stored mentalities could even be given consciousness by emulating their original biological neural structure.

Cryptum

Warrior Keep

Affiliation: Forerunner

Manufacturer: Unknown/Forerunner Origin

Usage: Stasis Hold

Length: 282.4ft (86.1m)

Width: 282.5ft (86.1m)

Height: 281.7ft (85.9m)

Summary

Often referred to as a “Warrior Keep,” a Cryptum is a Forerunner apparatus that sustains and protects a physical being, while they are in a deep state of meditation referred to as “xankara.” This state can be maintained for many millennia, effectively locking away the being in an immobile and inert state. During their time in the galaxy, Forerunners used this form of exile for most of their rates, when other punishments were deemed too severe. The most notable usage was with Prometheans (hence the name “Warrior Keep”), and, in particular, the renowned and formidable Didact.

Covenant Drop Pods

T-55 Individual Breaching Carapace

Manufacturer: Lodam Armory

First Observed: 2554

Crew: 1 Operator

Summary

Covenant drop pods are designed to deploy troops from a capital ship to positions behind enemy forces or at key choke points, in an effort to dynamically modify combat or strategically gain the upper hand. Drop pods vary in size and shape, though they generally provide conveyance for a 1-4 personnel, distributing individual soldiers or small groups directly into a combat area.

Function

Drop pods are fired from a capital ship or localized deployment, typically from an orbital or suborbital position. Launching toward the surface as a means to circumvent enemy movement or sever supply lines, the pods breach the atmosphere (if necessary) and close in on the target area before forward thrusters are activated, braking the craft just before impact. The effect is typically disorienting for the enemy, allowing pods to violently strike the target, immediately ejecting troops before the opposition can recover from the event.

Variants

T-55 Individual Breaching Carapace (IBC): Bearing only a slight resemblance to the sleek drop pods used during the Covenant’s primacy, the T-55 IBC is emblematic of the classic Sangheili design. Aerodynamically streamlined for speed and maneuverability, this variant has seen frequent use in the protracted feud between Sangheili clans, primarily due to the conflict’s wildly territorial nature. Manufacturing cost and deployment methodology, however, has restricted single-personnel drop pods to Sangheili warriors alone.

T-55 Squad Breaching Carapace (SBC): Distinct from other squad deployment craft, the T-55 SBC has four bays and is capable of deploying up to the same number of Covenant personnel. Unlike the IBC, which requires the operator to lay against a gravity stabilizer for protection, the SBC deploys personnel standing upright, locking them into place with gravity-based floor anchors. Upon impact, the carapace’s doors slide open and the anchors are released, immediately deploying the troops.

Guardian

Protectors of the Mantle

Affiliation: Forerunners

Manufacturer: Unknown

Usage: Security and Enforcement

Height: 4,635 Ft (1,412 Meters)

Origin

The Mantle of Responsibility was the predominant philosophical system adhered to by the Forerunners, guiding and informing governance of the entire galaxy based on the belief that the most developed species was charged with the stewardship of all life. The tenets of the Mantle, however, allowed for competition and conflict as long as it did not threaten galactic biodiversity. Since such threats existed, the Forerunners designed Guardians to police lesser star systems and enforce the Mantle’s edicts on noncompliant or overly-bellicose species.

Function

Guardians had numerous roles and functions in service of the Mantle, but the primary one was the monitoring and subjugation of all local power networks. If necessary, Guardians could instantaneously neutralize these networks through a series of debilitating attenuation pulses. The deployment of multiple Guardians allowed the constructs to strategically coordinate their strike, rendering all but the most sophisticated foe completely inefficacious. This method of control was largely unchallenged.

History

Guardians were developed and deployed many millennia before the Flood appeared, and were just one of the tools that the Forerunners used to ensure their power and influence in the galaxy. Utilized throughout Forerunner history to audit any potentially belligerent sentients, Guardians could swiftly quash revolts or be deployed in advance as an imposing threat of force, but they were useless against the rise the parasite. Before activating Halo as a final defense, the Forerunners buried remaining Guardians on isolated shelter worlds, where they would remain dormant until called upon to serve the Mantle once again.

Emergence

In October 2558, Guardians began emerging on the shelter worlds, a hundred thousand years after they had been abandoned. Their awakening a sign the Mantle has been reclaimed and that the Domain once again blazes with knowledge and purpose.

Halo Array

Weapons of Last Resort

Installation 03: Gamma Halo

Installation 04: Alpha Halo

Installation 05: Delta Halo

Installation 07: Zeta Halo

Summary

One hundred millennia ago, the Forerunners designed an array of ringworlds, collectively called Halo, to destroy the merciless Flood. The Halo Array was the focus of the Covenant faith for thousands of years. It eventually led to the culmination of long hidden Forerunner plans for humanity to reclaim their role as caretakers of the galaxy.

The Halos were massive ringworld weapons, their interior surface capable of providing sanctuary for a broad range of life. Initially, twelve rings were created by Builders at the greater Ark, but their size and effectiveness were soon questioned when they began to accrue enormous temporal reconciliation debts and could not be moved easily. Not long after this, the Forerunners designed yet another Ark, one much smaller, distributing seven equally sized rings which would become the extant Halo Array. The Forerunners ultimately fired these rings in an effort to purge the galaxy of the Flood. However, the rings also contained dormant specimens of the parasite in the hope that if it were to ever return, a cure could be found to prevent its spread.

Janus Key

Forerunner Cartographer

Manufacturer: Unknown/Forerunner Origin

Half Key Length: 5.5in (14cm)

Half Key Width: 1.2in (3cm)

Half Key Height: 1.4in (3.5cm)

Usage: Galactic Cartographer

Full Key Length: 5.6in (14.2cm)

Full Key Width: 1.2in (3cm)

Full Key Height: 1.9in (4.9cm)

Summary

Long hidden on the shield world of Requiem, the Janus Key is a Forerunner artifact of extraordinary importance. It remained concealed until it was discovered by Spartan teams deployed to counter Covenant excavation sites. According to the Librarian, this artifact was intended to provide real-time locational data to all Forerunner technologies, giving the holder incredible power upon bringing the key to the location referred to as the Absolute Record.

Sources

• Halo Waypoint: Tech