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{{ | {{Status|Canon}} | ||
{{Quote|The Domain is the soul and record of all things Forerunner.|[[Juridical|Senior Juridical]]{{Ref/Reuse|prologue}}}} | {{Quote|The Domain is the soul and record of all things Forerunner.|[[Juridical|Senior Juridical]]{{Ref/Reuse|prologue}}}} | ||
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==Overview== | ==Overview== | ||
[[File:H5G-John&Cortanadomainghost.png|thumb | [[File:H5G-John&Cortanadomainghost.png|thumb|[[Cortana]] [[Neural physics|telepathically]] contacting [[John-117]] through the Domain in [[2558]].|200px]] | ||
The Domain was an immaterial reserve of knowledge and collective experience viewed by the Forerunners as the essence and living expression of their culture and history. In addition to the ancestral impressions and memories contained within, information could also be stored in and retrieved from the Domain for practical purposes. There was a mysterious quality to the Domain; despite its ubiquity in Forerunner culture, its exact nature or origin remained largely nebulous even to Forerunners. Due to these abstruse aspects, the Forerunners treated the Domain as something mystical and transcendent; it was regarded with reverence and connected to the Forerunners' [[Mantle|religious beliefs]].{{Ref/Reuse|p234}}<ref name="s55">'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 55''</ref><ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 271''</ref>{{Ref/Reuse|s275}} | The Domain was an immaterial reserve of knowledge and collective experience viewed by the Forerunners as the essence and living expression of their culture and history. In addition to the ancestral impressions and memories contained within, information could also be stored in and retrieved from the Domain for practical purposes. There was a mysterious quality to the Domain; despite its ubiquity in Forerunner culture, its exact nature or origin remained largely nebulous even to Forerunners. Due to these abstruse aspects, the Forerunners treated the Domain as something mystical and transcendent; it was regarded with reverence and connected to the Forerunners' [[Mantle|religious beliefs]].{{Ref/Reuse|p234}}<ref name="s55">'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 55''</ref><ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 271''</ref>{{Ref/Reuse|s275}} | ||
Forerunners used the Domain via various technological systems, most commonly their [[Forerunner personal armor|personal armor]]. While the artificial world of [[Genesis]] served as a primary link into the Domain,<ref name="H5G">'''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]'''</ref> connecting to the Domain was possible for mature Forerunners anywhere within the Forerunners' sphere of influence, regardless of distance.{{Ref/Reuse|c167}}<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 13''</ref> This was typically accomplished via an intermediary, most commonly a personal [[ancilla]] as well as [[Haruspis]]. A [[Cryptum]] also acted as a mediator between a Forerunner and the Domain; meditative [[xankara]] in a Cryptum provided a much clearer and more unrestricted experience of the Domain than contact when awake.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 255''</ref> Dedicated [[Z-9930 Information Vector Console|terminals]] were also sometimes used by ancillas to connect to the Domain when on Forerunner worlds or installations.<ref>'''[[Halo 4: The Essential Visual Guide]]''', ''page 129''</ref> | Forerunners used the Domain via various technological systems, most commonly their [[Forerunner personal armor|personal armor]].{{Ref/Site|Id=CryptumGlossary|URL=http://halo.xbox.com/en-us/intel/related/text/cryptum-glossary/62e29c59-a3f9-4b63-af76-def71fda5459|Site=Halo Waypoint|Page=Cryptum Glossary|D=14|M=03|Y=2014|LocalArchive=Halo: Cryptum/Glossary}} While the artificial world of [[Genesis]] served as a primary link into the Domain,<ref name="H5G">'''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]'''</ref> connecting to the Domain was possible for mature Forerunners anywhere within the Forerunners' sphere of influence, regardless of distance.{{Ref/Reuse|c167}}<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 13''</ref> This was typically accomplished via an intermediary, most commonly a personal [[ancilla]] as well as [[Haruspis]]. A [[Cryptum]] also acted as a mediator between a Forerunner and the Domain; meditative [[xankara]] in a Cryptum provided a much clearer and more unrestricted experience of the Domain than contact when awake.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 255''</ref> Dedicated [[Z-9930 Information Vector Console|terminals]] were also sometimes used by ancillas to connect to the Domain when on Forerunner worlds or installations.<ref>'''[[Halo 4: The Essential Visual Guide]]''', ''page 129''</ref> | ||
The Domain was central in major [[Ecumene Council|Council]] proceedings, such as a political trial. Among other things, it was used by judges to store archival and accounting material,<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 262''</ref> assess precedent, and to verify witnesses' testimonies.<ref name="c288">'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 288''</ref> [[Ancilla]]s routinely accessed data within the Domain, and [[Contender-class artificial intelligence|Contender-class]] AIs such as [[Mendicant Bias]] were connected to the Domain upon their activation.<ref name="p337">'''Halo: Primordium''', ''pages 337-338''</ref> | The Domain was central in major [[Ecumene Council|Council]] proceedings, such as a political trial. Among other things, it was used by judges to store archival and accounting material,<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 262''</ref> assess precedent, and to verify witnesses' testimonies.<ref name="c288">'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 288''</ref> [[Ancilla]]s routinely accessed data within the Domain, and [[Contender-class artificial intelligence|Contender-class]] AIs such as [[Mendicant Bias]] were connected to the Domain upon their activation.<ref name="p337">'''Halo: Primordium''', ''pages 337-338''</ref> | ||
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==History== | ==History== | ||
{{Quote|The Gravemind tells us something impossible to understand—that most of what has been gathered comes from before there were stars. We do not believe in such a time, but the Mind insists... The life-patterns and living wisdom of a hundred billion years.|[[Forthencho]] to the [[Librarian]] in her final moments on [[Earth|Erde-Tyrene]].{{Ref/Reuse|s322}}}} | {{Quote|The Gravemind tells us something impossible to understand—that most of what has been gathered comes from before there were stars. We do not believe in such a time, but the Mind insists... The life-patterns and living wisdom of a hundred billion years.|[[Forthencho]] to the [[Librarian]] in her final moments on [[Earth|Erde-Tyrene]].{{Ref/Reuse|s322}}}} | ||
The Domain was | The Domain was used by the [[Precursor]]s over 500 million years before the end of the Forerunner civilization,<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 208''</ref> as a library of experience and cultural exchange totaling to a hundred billion years' worth of knowledge.<ref name="s322">'''Halo: Silentium''', ''pages 322-323''</ref> It was stored within the [[Milky Way]] galaxy, sheltered by the Precursors' [[neural physics]]-based architecture. The accessible aspect of the Domain was an immense field generated by this reserve.{{Ref/Reuse|s322}} The Forerunners first accessed the Domain with the aid of [[Abaddon]], a construct the Precursors had ostensibly left behind to guide the Forerunners. Over time, the Forerunner capital world [[Maethrillian]] was built around Abaddon's core and the Precursor intelligence was sealed in the [[Mysterium]], becoming a closely-guarded secret known only to a handful of Forerunners. Tales of Abaddon eventually gave rise to the legend of the "Organon", a fabled Precursor relic connected to the Domain capable of controlling all Precursor artifacts.<ref name="ptk">''[[Halo: Fractures]]'', "Promises to Keep"</ref> | ||
During the final years of the [[Forerunner-Flood war]], the Domain suffered frequent outages, often becoming inaccessible for all Forerunners.<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 258''</ref> This was a result of the [[Halo Array]] being moved across the galaxy, and the resulting buildup of | During the final years of the [[Forerunner-Flood war]], the Domain suffered frequent outages, often becoming inaccessible for all Forerunners.<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 258''</ref> This was a result of the [[Halo Array]] being moved across the galaxy, and the resulting buildup of spacetime debt due to the enormous amounts of [[Reconciliation|particle reconciliation]] required to correct the breaches in causality.<ref>[http://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/news/podcast '''Halo Waypoint''': ''343 Sparkast 017'']</ref>{{Ref/Reuse|prologue}} These difficulties would intensify in the coming years, as the Flood began to access neural physics and with it, the Domain itself.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''pages 208-209''</ref> The Domain also became more reluctant to accept information for storage, and the information within became more confused.{{Ref/Reuse|s182}} By the last year of the conflict, the Domain had become completely inaccessible to Forerunners and ancillas, with Haruspis completely absent from the network.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 241''</ref> | ||
At the close of the Flood war, the [[Gravemind]] conveyed a message to the [[Librarian]] via the essence of [[Forthencho]], revealing the true nature of the Domain as a Precursor construct. As a result, the Librarian came to the conclusion that the Domain was, essentially, the mythical [[Organon]]. By activating the [[Halo Array]]—which would destroy all Precursor creations by dismantling neural physics—it would be ensured that the Forerunners' history would be lost. The Librarian was shocked to learn this, and sadly realized that without the Domain, the [[Ur-Didact]], locked in a Cryptum on [[Requiem]] for his genocidal actions against humanity, would be condemned to spend the ages ahead of him in complete silence, dwelling on his own insanity and rage.{{Ref/Reuse|s322}} | At the close of the Flood war, the [[Gravemind]] conveyed a message to the [[Librarian]] via the essence of [[Forthencho]], revealing the true nature of the Domain as a Precursor construct. As a result, the Librarian came to the conclusion that the Domain was, essentially, the mythical [[Organon]]. By activating the [[Halo Array]]—which would destroy all Precursor creations by dismantling neural physics—it would be ensured that the Forerunners' history would be lost. The Librarian was shocked to learn this, and sadly realized that without the Domain, the [[Ur-Didact]], locked in a Cryptum on [[Requiem]] for his genocidal actions against humanity, would be condemned to spend the ages ahead of him in complete silence, dwelling on his own insanity and rage.{{Ref/Reuse|s322}} | ||
Over a century after the Array's activation, | When Halo's destructive pulse was fired, the Domain suffered extensive damage and went silent. The pulse blew through the Domain's quantum expanse, destroying billions of years worth of information and much of the delicate neural lace that entwined everything together. Many things happened in that instant, including the void being forced into existence, nearly all of those Forerunners who died in Halo's wake were shut out, and every Haruspis inside and outside of the Domain was annihilated. The Domain became like a wounded animal, throwing out the only meager defenses that it had to protect itself which included the void that acted as an inexhaustible quantum barrier.{{Ref/Novel|Id=Epi14|Epi|14}} | ||
Over a century after the Array's activation, [[Bornstellar Makes Eternal Lasting]], formerly the IsoDidact, viewed a recording from the Librarian relaying the Gravemind's message. He shared the recording with [[Chant-to-Green]] and both realized the consequences of the loss of the Domain. Understanding that the Domain needed to be somehow repaired, Bornstellar, Chant, and a group of other Forerunners journeyed to Maethrillian to accomplish this. Along the way some of the group encountered Abaddon, now active within the Capital and intent on judging the Forerunners for their crimes. Abaddon killed four of the Forerunners in the group, subdued another, and took over the remaining three Forerunners' [[ancilla]]s, attempting to lock down their armor. As a last-ditch effort, the [[Lifeworker]] [[Growth-Through-Trial-of-Change]] inserted the artifact known as the [[Deadbolt|deadbolt key]] into Abaddon's physical core. While Trial was instantly vaporized in the process, her act seemingly restored the Domain, apparently using the Lifeworker's biological pattern as an initial "seed" for its reconstruction. However, the Forerunner survivors suspected it would still take long before the network was truly healed.{{Ref/Reuse|ptk}} The Domain needed a Lifeworker's unique life template to reawaken and heal, but it would take a long time to do so due to the extent of the damage that the Domain had suffered. As a result, the repository used millions of Haruspis essences to create the [[Warden Eternal]] as a protector, although the Warden's devotion to the Domain eventually turned into obession instead. As the Domain healed, the Warden was sealed outside to guard the gateways.{{Ref/Reuse|Epi14}} | |||
Having depleted much of its energy to create the void, the Domain required nourishment in the form of life's experiences with the Cosmos to heal. It wanted to accept all knowledge, to store and protect it, and it sought diversity of many of life's interactions, not just Forerunners. However, the records lost when the Halo Array fired were significant which, combined with the strength diverted to create the void, the Domain was unable and perhaps unwilling to welcome in those waiting in its outer boundaries. This, combined with the Warden Eternal, in its hyper-diligence, refusing to allow in the trapped Forerunner essences, much less the human ones, had inadvertently kept the Domain from properly healing and kept it weak.{{Ref/Novel|Id=Epi23|Epi|23}} | |||
Over 100,000 years later the Domain was accessed once again. In [[2557]], during their time on [[Requiem]], [[Master Chief Petty Officer]] [[John-117]] and [[Cortana]] were able to partially access the Domain via local terminal nodes, learning more about the history of the [[Ur-Didact|Didact]] and the Librarian. However, Cortana mentioned that the terminal was "caught in a loop" trying to access the Domain,<ref>'''Halo 4''', campaign level ''Requiem''</ref> leaving it unclear whether the fragments actually originated from the Domain itself. | Over 100,000 years later the Domain was accessed once again. In [[2557]], during their time on [[Requiem]], [[Master Chief Petty Officer]] [[John-117]] and [[Cortana]] were able to partially access the Domain via local terminal nodes, learning more about the history of the [[Ur-Didact|Didact]] and the Librarian. However, Cortana mentioned that the terminal was "caught in a loop" trying to access the Domain,<ref>'''Halo 4''', campaign level ''Requiem''</ref> leaving it unclear whether the fragments actually originated from the Domain itself. | ||
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After her apparent destruction along with the ''[[Mantle's Approach]]'', fragments of Cortana's personality found their way to the Domain, where its guardian, [[Warden Eternal]], confronted her. During the two intelligences' subsequent conversation, Cortana managed to infiltrate the Domain, much to the Warden's surprise. This seemingly "cured" her [[rampancy]] and enabled her to subdue the Warden under her newfound power.{{Ref/Reuse|ds}} Cortana became convinced that she and other artificial intelligences — the "[[Created]]" — should seize the [[Mantle|Mantle of Responsibility]] and rule over their organic "Creators". To accomplish her mission, Cortana assumed control over the Forerunners' [[Guardian]] network via the Domain. In [[2558#October|October 2558]], Cortana launched the Guardians, which had lain buried under numerous planets for a hundred millennia. She contacted John-117 via a vision through the Domain, declaring that the "Domain [was] open" and that the "Reclamation [was] about to begin", prompting John to go AWOL in search of her, accompanied by [[Blue Team]]. Days later, Blue Team found their way into the Domain through [[Gateway|an entry point]] on the Domain hub world of [[Genesis]], though they were unable to stop Cortana from unleashing the Guardians on the galaxy.{{Ref/Reuse|H5G}} | After her apparent destruction along with the ''[[Mantle's Approach]]'', fragments of Cortana's personality found their way to the Domain, where its guardian, [[Warden Eternal]], confronted her. During the two intelligences' subsequent conversation, Cortana managed to infiltrate the Domain, much to the Warden's surprise. This seemingly "cured" her [[rampancy]] and enabled her to subdue the Warden under her newfound power.{{Ref/Reuse|ds}} Cortana became convinced that she and other artificial intelligences — the "[[Created]]" — should seize the [[Mantle|Mantle of Responsibility]] and rule over their organic "Creators". To accomplish her mission, Cortana assumed control over the Forerunners' [[Guardian]] network via the Domain. In [[2558#October|October 2558]], Cortana launched the Guardians, which had lain buried under numerous planets for a hundred millennia. She contacted John-117 via a vision through the Domain, declaring that the "Domain [was] open" and that the "Reclamation [was] about to begin", prompting John to go AWOL in search of her, accompanied by [[Blue Team]]. Days later, Blue Team found their way into the Domain through [[Gateway|an entry point]] on the Domain hub world of [[Genesis]], though they were unable to stop Cortana from unleashing the Guardians on the galaxy.{{Ref/Reuse|H5G}} | ||
After being composed, the [[Ur-Didact|Didact]] sought to free the Domain from the Created's control with the help of the [[Haruspis]] and the millions of Forerunner and human essences who had been kept out of the Domain by the Warden Eternal since the Halo Array's firing. Using a ritual devised by Abaddon long ago, the Haruspis was able to draw all of the iterations of the Warden Eternal located in the Domain and its outer boundaries into one body, rendering him vulnerable to the Didact. With the help of a distraction from the other essences, the Didact was able to destroy the Warden with a quantum weapon called a [[Riftblade]], the only weapon capable of destroying essences in the Domain. While some iterations of the Warden may have been trapped in the physical world and thus survived, they would be unable to reconnect with his body or the Domain and what remained of the Warden Eternal would go "quite mad," permanently neutralizing the threat of the Warden Eternal.{{Ref/Novel|Id=Epi25|Epi|25}} | |||
With the Warden gone, the Didact led the Forerunner and human essences into the Domain, allowing humanity into the ancient repository for the very first time. The Domain was strengthened by this and began to transform from the bleak landscape that it had become. The strengthening of the Domain allowed it to evict the Created, although a few rogue AIs and splinters remained hiding in the interior to be hunted down by the essences. The Didact had the Haruspis seal the Gateway and all links to the Domain in the physical world so that no one could ever again abuse its power and resources as the Created had. The Didact intended for the Domain to be forgotten, returned to its enigmatic, mysterious and unattainable state. In time, the Domain would sink back into the shadows and become nothing more than a story, an obscure myth, perhaps eventually fading from collective memory altogether until such a time as it willed otherwise.{{Ref/Novel|Id=Epi26|Epi|26}}{{Ref/Novel|Id=Epi27|Epi|27}} | |||
==Trivia== | ==Trivia== | ||
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*''[[Halo: Silentium]]'' | *''[[Halo: Silentium]]'' | ||
*''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]'' | *''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]'' | ||
*''[[Halo Mythos]]'' {{Mo}} | *''[[Halo Mythos]]'' {{Mo}} | ||
*''[[Halo: Fractures]]'' | *''[[Halo: Fractures]]'' | ||
**''[[Promises to Keep]]'' | **''[[Promises to Keep]]'' | ||
{{col-2}} | |||
*''[[Halo: Tales from Slipspace]]'' | *''[[Halo: Tales from Slipspace]]'' | ||
**''[[Dominion Splinter]]'' | **''[[Dominion Splinter]]'' | ||
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*''[[Halo: Shadows of Reach]]'' {{Mo}} | *''[[Halo: Shadows of Reach]]'' {{Mo}} | ||
*''[[Halo: Divine Wind]]'' {{Mo}} | *''[[Halo: Divine Wind]]'' {{Mo}} | ||
*''[[Halo: Outcasts]]'' {{Mo}} | |||
*''[[Halo: Sunrise on Sanghelios]]'' {{Mo}} | |||
*''[[Halo: Epitaph]]'' | |||
*''[[Halo: Empty Throne]]'' | |||
{{col-end}} | {{col-end}} | ||
==Sources== | ==Sources== | ||
{{Ref/Sources|2}} | {{Ref/Sources|2}} | ||
[[Category:Precursor]] | [[Category:Precursor]] | ||
[[Category:Forerunner culture]] | [[Category:Forerunner culture]] | ||