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{{Era|Forerunner|Covenant|Human|UNSC|HCW|Post}}
{{Status|Canon}}
{{Ratings}}
{{Disambig header|the Forerunner Monitor|other uses of the term|343 (disambiguation)}}
<center>''Looking for [[343 Guilty Spark (Level)|343 Guilty Spark]], the [[Halo: Combat Evolved]] level, or [[The Oracle (Level)|The Oracle]], the [[Halo 2]] level?''</center>
{{Clear}}
{{Clear}}
{{AI infobox
{{AI infobox
|name= 343 Guilty Spark
|name= 343 Guilty Spark
|image= [[File:1218135335 343.jpg|250px]]
|image={{tabcontainer|title1=Monitor|content1=[[File:HTMCC-H2A 343GuiltySpark.png|300px]]|title2=Armiger|content2=[[File:Enc22 Spark.png|300px]]}}
|began=101,217 B.C
|began=c. [[97,445 BCE]]
|ended=Late [[2552]] (UNSC Military Calendar)
|ended-title=Physically destroyed
|gender=Male personality<ref group="note">Male pronouns are used, and he's voiced by a man.</ref>
|ended= [[2552#December|December 11, 2552]]<ref>[http://halo.xbox.com/en-us/intel/featured/video/herofortitude/bfe5038b-314a-4f17-a6be-f7613e0e3788 '''Halo Waypoint''', ''Hero-Fortitude'']</ref> {{c|[[Monitor]] body}}
|description= Floating, round-edged cube, with one "Eye" making the [[Marathon]] sign that is blue by default.
|gender=Male personality
|color= Blue and Silver
|description= *Floating, round-edged cube, with one "eye" sign that is blue by default {{c|As a Monitor}}
|affiliation= [[Forerunners]]
*Thin, lithe humanoid appearance {{c|As an Armiger}}
|function=[[Monitor]] of [[Installation 04]] and its [[Installation 04 (II)|replacement]].
|color= Blue illuminations with silver casing
|battles=*[[Forerunner-Flood War]]
|affiliation=*[[Forerunner]] [[ecumene]]
*[[Human-Covenant War]]
*''[[Ace of Spades]]'' crew
**[[Battle of Installation 04]]
|function=[[Monitor]] of [[Installation 04]] and its [[Installation 08|replacement]]<br>Shipboard AI of the ''[[Ace of Spades]]''<br>Caretaker of [[Bastion]]
**[[Battle of Installation 00]]
}}
}}
{{quote|Greetings! I am 343 Guilty Spark, monitor of [[Installation 04]].|343 Guilty Spark.}}
{{Quote|[[Halo: Silentium|Last time]], [[IsoDidact|you]] asked me, if it was my choice, would I [[Great Purification|do it?]] Having had considerable time to ponder your query, my answer has not changed. There is no choice. We must activate the [[Installation 04|ring]].|Guilty Spark to [[John-117]].<ref name="Two Betrayals">'''[[Halo: Combat Evolved]]''', ''[[Two Betrayals]]''</ref>}}
'''343 Guilty Spark'''<ref>'''[[Halo: Combat Evolved]]''', ''[[343 Guilty Spark (Level)]]'', final cutscene</ref> was a [[Forerunner]] [[Monitor]] tasked with maintaining [[Installation 04]] when the Forerunners departed. He acts as the main antagonist later on in ''[[Halo: Combat Evolved]]''.<ref name="quirk">'''[[Halo: The Flood]]''', page 238</ref> He is voiced by actor [[Tim Dadabo]].


As with [[UNSC]] and [[Covenant Empire|Covenant]] artificial intelligences, Guilty Spark's programming prohibits certain actions outside of his function. He cannot, for example, retrieve the [[Index]] from [[the Library]] or unify it with the Core, instead needing a [[Reclaimer]] to carry out this task.<ref>'''[[Halo: CE]]''', ''[[343 Guilty Spark (Level)]]'', final cutscene</ref>
'''04-343 Guilty Spark''',<ref name="343GS Final Cutscene">'''Halo: Combat Evolved''', campaign level ''[[343 Guilty Spark (level)|343 Guilty Spark]]'' (final cutscene)</ref> initially known as '''Monitor Chakas'''<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 277''</ref> and known to the Covenant as '''"the Oracle,"''' was a [[Forerunner]] [[monitor]] originally tasked with maintaining [[Installation 04]].<ref name="quirk">'''[[Halo: The Flood]]''', ''page 238''</ref> He is often addressed by the [[United Nations Space Command]] as just '''"the Monitor"''' in reference to his title. Originally an [[Erde-Tyrene civilization|ancient]] [[human]] known as [[Chakas]] before his mind was moved into an artificial monitor body, Guilty Spark played an important role in the ancient [[Forerunner-Flood war]], as well as the modern-day [[Battle of Installation 04]], the [[Sesa 'Refumee's heretic faction|heretic]] uprising within the Covenant, and the events that transpired on the Ark during the [[Battle of Installation 00]].


==Background==
Though Guilty Spark was originally believed to have been destroyed in the [[Raid on Installation 08]], smoldering pieces of him survived, badly damaged and recovered by the {{UNSCShip|Rubicon}}. After taking over the ship,<ref name="Primordium">'''[[Halo: Primordium]]'''</ref> he rebuilt himself as an [[armiger]] and began a search for the [[Librarian]], a search that would lead him to seek out a new path for himself with the crew of the ''[[Ace of Spades]]'' and going simply by '''Spark'''.{{Ref/Reuse|Renegades}}
Known to the Covenant as '''"[[Monitor|The Oracle]]"''' and to [[Humans]] as '''"The Monitor,"''' '''"Spark,"''' or '''"Lightbulb."''' 343 Guilty Spark played a vital role in the containment of the [[Flood]], as well as the [[Heretic]] uprising within the Covenant.


343 Guilty Spark is quirky and very well humored, although at the same time detached and analytical. Tens of thousands of years of waiting for a [[Reclaimer]] has left the Monitor highly unstable. For 343 Guilty Spark, protocol dictates all; the slight emotion shown for the death of an ally is truly grief only for the inconvenience of finding another to assist him. "Having had considerable time" to check and re-check the systems of Installation 04 in his masters' absence, it is possible that isolation has given Spark more than a slight chance for [[rampancy]] to occur.
After locating [[Bastion]], Spark decided to leave the ''Ace of Spades'' and become the caretaker of the [[shield world]], feeling that he didn't belong in the past or present, but outside of time. As a final gift to his friends, Spark helped [[Lessa]] and [[Niko]] with their future endeavors and repaired [[Little Bit]] to be the new shipboard AI of the ''Ace of Spades''. With [[Rion Forge]] and company gone, Spark departed with Bastion to an unknown location.<ref name="POL">'''[[Halo: Point of Light]]'''</ref>


==Biography==
==Biography==
Built by the [[Forerunners]], 343 Guilty Spark had been present on Installation 04 for some 101,217 "local years"<ref name="quirk"/> and participated in plenty of test firings and in one actual firing of the installation prior to the Battle of Installation 04. Little else is known about his history. Presumably he had been the Installation's first and only Monitor, attending to all of the duties pertinent to that station, such as aiding in maintaining the structure, combating any Flood outbreaks, etc.
===Creation===
Prior to the end of the [[Forerunner-Flood war]], 343 Guilty Spark was created from the mind of a human named [[Chakas]]. Born on [[Earth|Erde-Tyrene]], Chakas unwillingly became involved in the Forerunners' schemes, which eventually brought him to [[Installation 07]], a Halo under the control of the rampant AI [[Mendicant Bias]] which had defected to the [[Flood]]. Chakas' traumatic experiences on Installation 07, specifically his encounters with Mendicant Bias and the [[Primordial]], brought him to the point of mental breakdown and left his physical body mortally injured.


===The Flood outbreak===
After retaking the Halo, the [[IsoDidact]], in an apparent act of compassion, decided to salvage Chakas' mind by transferring his pattern—including his personality and the complete record of his physical body—into the shell of a monitor. Numerous [[mind transfer|archived]] [[ancient humanity|human]] personalities retrieved by [[Composer]]s after the [[Battle of Charum Hakkor]] as well as other data pertaining to the [[Librarian]]'s work were also uploaded into his memory. The monitor known as Chakas was then assigned to serve as a record-keeper and aide for the Librarian.<ref>'''[[Halo: Primordium]]''' ''pages 356-357''</ref> He wished to look after the human populations on the [[greater Ark]]; this request was granted by the Librarian, who saw this as part of his recovery and a reward for his service.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 260''</ref>
{{monitors}}
{{Quote|Oh dear. Containment protocols appear to have been violated.|343 Guilty Spark}}<ref>'''[[Conversations from the Universe]]''', page 1</ref>


The arrival of the Covenant on the ring instigated [[Installation 04]]'s genocide, and the final Flood outbreak. Immediately putting long dormant contingency measures into action, Guilty Spark began to search for a [[Reclaimer]] and discovered [[UNSC]] [[Staff Sergeant]] [[Marvin Mobuto]]. Using Halo's teleportation system, Guilty Spark brought Mobuto to the [[Library]] in an effort to retrieve [[the Index]]. Ultimately, although he fought hard, and endured the flood almost to the index, the ill-equipped Marine failed and was killed, forcing the Monitor to seek out another Reclaimer. The Master Chief discovered the body of Mobuto (which was mangled beyond usage by the Flood) during his own journey through the Library, though it can't be seen in-game, and marveled at the Staff Sergeant's ability to get as far as he had.<ref>'''[[Halo: The Flood]]''', page 244</ref>
===Forerunner-Flood war===
At one point, Chakas oversaw the construction of the outbreak management systems of the [[Flood research facility|Flood research facilities]] within [[Threshold gas mine|a gas mine]] over [[Threshold]].<ref name="oracle">'''Halo 2''', campaign level ''[[The Oracle]]''</ref>


{{quote|Hee hee hee. I am a genius.|343 Guilty Spark}}
When the Flood [[Battle of the greater Ark|attacked]] the [[greater Ark]] in the final days of the Forerunner-Flood war, the Librarian asked Chakas to save as many of her specimens as possible. He attempted to get help from other monitors but they were busy with the attack. The Librarian ordered him to take a {{Class|Gargantua|transport}} to [[Omega Halo]]. Here he witnessed the [[Ur-Didact]] use a [[Composer]] on the human population, composing hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''String 31''</ref> The Librarian was initially grief-stricken, but soon was able to tell Chakas he had to find the [[IsoDidact]] and go to the [[Installation 00|lesser Ark]] and hide the remaining specimens there. Following the Librarian's instructions, Chakas located the IsoDidact and saved him and [[Catalog]] from the disintegrating Omega Halo. Using coordinates provided by the IsoDidact, he took his ship through the [[Faber|Master Builder]]'s secret [[slipspace portal]] to Installation 00. Amongst those rescued by Chakas were his old friends [[Riser]] and [[Vinnevra]].<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''String 32''</ref>
{{quote|A pain in the ass is more like it.|A very annoyed [[John-117|Master Chief]]}}


[[File:343guiltyspark.jpg|thumb|left|200px|343 Guilty Spark encounters the second Reclaimer.]]
===Halo===
343 Guilty Spark and a few [[Sentinels]] moved to the [[Flood Containment Facility]] to aid the Marines and the Master Chief, who were battling the Flood. Here the Monitor recruited the [[Master Chief]] as the next Reclaimer, who he quickly teleported to the Library and began guiding to the Index.<ref>''[[Halo: CE]]'', [[343 Guilty Spark (Level)]] final cutscene</ref> With superior equipment and training, and despite overwhelming odds, the Master Chief succeeded in retrieving the [[Index]].
{{Quote|[[Milky Way|My galaxy]] is dead. I am machine. I am Chakas. I am human. I am 343 Guilty Spark. I have never understood Forerunners. And they will never understand me. But for now... '''Silentium'''.|Guilty Spark reflects on his nature as the Halo Array fires.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 330''</ref>}}
Preceding the Halo Array's distribution across the [[Milky Way|galaxy]], Chakas was commanded by the [[Ecumene Council]] to abandon all connection with his former station. As the installation monitors were being given their new assignments aboard a Lifeworker vessel stationed over the lesser Ark, the IsoDidact met with Chakas for one final time and the two had a brief conversation before they parted ways. It was also here that the installation monitors received their final names, with Chakas being assigned the name 343 Guilty Spark by the IsoDidact. The IsoDidact asked Chakas if he would fire the rings, were it his decision; Chakas remained silent,<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''pages 313-314''</ref> but would continue to ponder the Didact's question for the millennia to come. Over a hundred thousand years later, Spark would cite this query to [[John-117]], whom he had evidently mistaken for the IsoDidact.<ref name="twoB">'''Halo: Combat Evolved''', campaign level ''[[Two Betrayals]]''</ref>


Taking the Index for safe keeping, Guilty Spark teleported himself and the [[Master Chief]] back to the [[Control Room]].<ref>'''[[Halo: The Flood]]''', page 253</ref> Here, safe from the Flood, the [[Index]] was returned to the Master Chief. The Monitor explained that he was not permitted (by his programming) to reunite the Index with the Core, thus activating the Installation. Only a Reclaimer could do so.<ref>'''[[Halo: The Flood]]''', page 255</ref>
From that point forward, Spark became the designated guardian and custodian of Installation 04.<ref>'''Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary''' - ''[[Terminal (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary)#Terminal Two|Terminal 2]]''</ref> When the Array was activated, with Installation 04 being the first to fire, Spark received a signal from a nascent, previously-unknown civilization broadcasting its first transmission into deep space, and was saddened by the realization that they would be wiped out before they even had the chance to travel to the stars and make contact with other beings. At the same time, large portions of Spark's memory were automatically suppressed for the sake of compartmentalization as a precaution in the event the Flood and its ancilla-corrupting [[logic plague]] were to resurface. This caused him to forget much of his past life aside from the knowledge required in his duties as caretaker of Installation 04.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''pages 329-330''</ref>


[[File:Control Room.jpg|230px|right|thumb|343 Guilty Spark in [[Installation 04|Halo]]’s [[Control Room]].]]
===Intermediate period===
[[File:Alone Alone Alone.jpg|thumb|250px|Spark brooding over a desolate cliff on Installation 04.]]
{{Quote|Alone. Alone. Alone. Alone. Am I the only intelligence left? Waiting here on this ring for a rebirth never truly conceived. Guarding a weapon with no targets... A weapon I can tune to any target.|343 Guilty Spark lamenting his loneliness and isolation during his prolonged post as Installation 04's caretaker.}}


However, [[Cortana]], still in the Core, took the [[Index]] before it could merge with the Core and explained to an ignorant [[Master Chief]] about Halo's [[Fortress_World#Function|purpose]]. 343 Guilty Spark confirmed this information, claiming that he had believed the Master Chief to have been aware of 'his' role and responsibility. With the Index in the possession of a hostile [[AI]] and protected by the now uncooperative Reclaimer, the [[Monitor]] turned the Sentinels against the Master Chief to attempt to retrieve the Index. This attempt failed and Guilty Spark was forced to seek an alternate way to activate the ring and destroy all sentient life.<ref>'''[[Halo: The Flood]]''', pages 255-262</ref>
After the firing of the Halo Array as a last resort against the Flood, 343 Guilty Spark was alone in a galaxy void of sentient life. During the eons he spent monitoring Installation 04, he began to display signs of [[rampancy]] due to crippling loneliness, especially after communications with the other Installations had ceased. During his unintentional exile, he would begin to recollect his time spent with the Forerunners, their war with the [[Flood]], decisions they made, and decisions he believed they should have made.<ref name="terminal">'''Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary''' -[[Terminal (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary)#Terminal 4|Terminal 4]], [[Terminal (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary)#Terminal 5|Terminal 5]], and [[Terminal (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary)#Terminal 7|Terminal 7]]</ref> During this time, Guilty Spark's mind fragmented considerably, becoming split among many separate personality-streams, partly in an attempt to contain and forestall the development of rampancy.<ref name="p372">'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 372''</ref>


[[File:Interfacing.jpg|thumb|220px|right|343 Guilty Spark downloading data from the [[UNSC Pillar of Autumn|''Pillar of Autumn]]'s computers.]]
After two cycles of hibernation, Spark found that he had become bored; something he had not believed he, as a monitor, was capable of. Aware of the [[Rampancy|risks]] involved with losing operational focus, Spark began to divert his attention elsewhere. For his own amusement, he began experimenting on his Installation, ejecting entire sections of matter from the ring's surface into space, intending to later rebuild them.{{Ref/Reuse|terminal}}


After the encounter the Master Chief disabled the three [[Phase Pulse Generators]], forcing their repair and delaying 343 Guilty Spark's plans. Disappointed by his lapse of judgment, the Monitor followed the [[Master Chief]] and [[Cortana]] to the ''[[UNSC Pillar of Autumn|Pillar of Autumn]]'' where he began to download the ship's data banks, being especially interested in the parts pertaining to Human history. He then disabled the vessel's automated self-destruct system to preserve the repository of knowledge he had discovered.
===Alien encounters===
Circa [[40,000 BCE]], an [[Unidentified alien vessel|alien vessel]] crash-landed in Installation 04's [[Sector 1215]]. Though anxious to find answers for whether the Forerunners' plan to reseed life in the galaxy had been successful, Spark acted in accordance with protocol, blocking the distress signal sent out by the ship and not attempting to make contact with any possible occupants. No lifeforms exited the wreckage and the distress signal eventually terminated, offering Spark no answers. Afterwards, the monitor had a containment sarcophagus constructed around the ship. Disappointed by his failure to learn about the outside galaxy, Spark resolved to be more flexible in his adherence to protocol should outside life ever encounter his ring again.<ref>'''Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary''' - ''[[Terminal (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary)#Terminal 6|Terminal 6]]''</ref>


Although the warship's engineering room was protected by many Sentinels, the Master Chief was successful in destabilizing the power cores. Realizing the implications of the ship's destruction, the Monitor immediately made to flee the doomed ring. Moments before the ring was destroyed, the Monitor decided that he had done his utmost to fulfill his responsibilities. Later upon further reflection, when he was floating through space, Guilty Spark found himself happy as, ultimately, his purpose had been fulfilled: the Reclaimer had indeed succeeded in stopping the outbreak, even if it had been done “inelegantly.”
During his long isolation, Spark had little to no contact with other intelligent beings, and spent most of his time maintaining his installation. However, over time, Spark observed one or more spacefaring species visit Installation 04. These species landed on and explored the ring, recorded their findings and eventually left without breaching Flood containment.<ref name="cftu">'''[[Conversations from the Universe]]''', ''343 Guilty Spark's Log''</ref> These interactions did not please Spark, leading to him threatening anything that came near the installation.<ref name="h2a term 1">'''[[Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary]]''', ''[[Terminal (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary)#Terminal One|Terminal 1]]''</ref>


===After Halo===
By the time the ring was rediscovered by UNSC and Covenant forces, 343 Guilty Spark had been present on Installation 04 for 101,217 "local years",{{Ref/Reuse|quirk}} and during that time had conducted over one trillion simulated, and one actual firing of the installation.
 
===Flood outbreak===
[[File:TwoBetrayalsAnniversary.png|300px|left|thumb|343 Guilty Spark in [[Installation 04|Halo]]’s [[Control Room]], along with [[John-117]] and [[Cortana]].]]
{{Quote|Oh dear. Containment protocols appear to have been violated.|343 Guilty Spark{{Ref/Reuse|cftu}}}}
 
After over one hundred thousand years without a major incident, Spark was faced with a crisis when the {{UNSCShip|Pillar of Autumn}} discovered Installation 04, pursued by the Covenant [[Fleet of Particular Justice]]. Fearing a containment breach, Spark warned the ship to jump at least one light-year away from the Installation or be destroyed. After remotely accessing the ship's systems, however, Spark realized that the ship was manned by [[Reclaimer]]s after finding data on human history. He then deactivated the ring's defensive systems and instructed the ship to a docking facility - the ''Pillar of Autumn'' crash-landed on the ringworld shortly afterwards.{{Ref/Reuse|h2a term 1}}
 
During the subsequent UNSC-Covenant [[Battle of Installation 04|guerrilla war]], Covenant troops stumbled upon a [[Flood containment facility]], and after unwittingly deactivating the structure's containment measures, they unleashed the long-dormant [[Flood]] that had been stored inside. As per his protocols, Spark began to search for a Reclaimer to activate the installation, and came upon UNSC [[Staff Sergeant]] [[Marvin Mobuto]]. Using the Installation's [[slipspace translocation]] [[Teleportation grid|grid]], Spark brought Mobuto to the [[Library]] in an effort to retrieve the Activation Index. Ultimately, the ill-equipped Marine was overwhelmed and killed by the Flood, forcing the Monitor to seek out another Reclaimer. Spark and a squad of [[Sentinel Aggressor|Sentinels]] moved to the Flood containment facility, where they encountered a group of UNSC [[UNSC Marine Corps|Marines]] and [[John-117]], who were battling the Flood outbreak. The Monitor recruited the [[SPARTAN-II|Spartan]] for his purposes, who he quickly [[Slipspace translocation|teleported]] to the Library and began guiding to the Index.{{Ref/Reuse|343GS Final Cutscene}} With superior equipment and training, and despite overwhelming odds, this second Reclaimer succeeded in retrieving the Index.
 
Taking the Index for safe keeping, Guilty Spark teleported himself and the Master Chief back to the [[Control Room]].<ref>'''[[Halo: The Flood]]''', ''page 253''</ref> The Monitor explained that activation protocols forbid him from personally uniting the Index with the Core to activate the ring; only a Reclaimer could be permitted to do so.<ref>'''[[Halo: The Flood]]''', ''page 255''</ref> Spark gave John the Index, and urged him to activate the Installation. However, [[Cortana]] appeared and took the Index before it could merge with the Core, and explained to the Spartan Halo's true [[Halo Array#Function|purpose]]. Spark confirmed this information, claiming that he had believed the Master Chief to have been fully aware of his role and responsibility as a Reclaimer.{{Ref/Reuse|twoB}}
 
With the Index in the possession of a hostile [[Artificial intelligence|AI]] and protected by a now uncooperative Reclaimer, the Monitor turned the Sentinels against the Master Chief in order to retrieve the Index. John-117 and Cortana escaped with the Index, with Spark and his Sentinels in pursuit. During their escape through the Control Room's adjacent tunnels, Master Chief disabled the three [[phase pulse generator]]s, forcing their repair and delaying the Installation from firing in the near future. Disappointed, the Monitor followed John-117 and Cortana to the ''[[UNSC Pillar of Autumn|Pillar of Autumn]]'', which they planned to detonate in order to destroy the ring. Intrigued by the abundance of knowledge within the ship's data banks, Spark briefly put aside his concerns for the Installation and began downloading information from the ''Autumn'''s computers, being especially interested in the sections pertaining to human history. He then disabled the vessel's automated self-destruct system to preserve the repository of knowledge he had discovered.
 
Although the warship's engineering room was protected by many Sentinels, the Master Chief was successful in destabilizing the power cores. Realizing the implications of the ship's destruction, the Monitor immediately fled the doomed ring. Moments before the ring was destroyed, the Monitor consoled himself by asserting that he had done his utmost to fulfill his responsibilities. Later upon further reflection, when he was floating through space, Guilty Spark found himself happy as, ultimately, his purpose had been fulfilled: the Reclaimer had indeed succeeded in stopping the outbreak, even if it had been done in an "inelegant" fashion.{{Ref/Reuse|cftu}}
 
===Post-outbreak===
[[File:Refumee & Spark.png|thumb|300px|343 Guilty Spark discusses Halo's true purpose with [[Sesa 'Refumee]].]]
{{quote|Excellent! I believe I see assistance approaching...|343 Guilty Spark}}<ref>'''[[Conversations from the Universe]]''', page 1</ref>
{{quote|Excellent! I believe I see assistance approaching...|343 Guilty Spark}}<ref>'''[[Conversations from the Universe]]''', page 1</ref>
After Halo's destruction, Guilty Spark escaped into space, reflecting upon what had happened to both himself and his Installation. He then traveled to a Forerunner [[Threshold gas mine|gas mining facility]] in [[Threshold]]'s atmosphere, whose refitting as a [[Flood research facility]] he had overseen eons past.{{Ref/Reuse|oracle}} There, he encountered a Covenant artifact retrieval group led by [[Sesa 'Refumee]]. After a brief confrontation with several members of the lower castes of the Covenant, a Sangheili recognized him as an "Oracle" and took him to their leader.{{Ref/Note|In the Halo Waypoint video [[The Long Road Home]], it was originally stated that 343 Guilty Spark had been captured by Sesa Refumee's soldiers after the Battle of Installation 04. However, the [[Terminal (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary)|eleventh Terminal]] of ''Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary'' later revealed that the Monitor was quickly accepted among the Covenant, even after killing two Kig-Yar. 343 Guilty Spark was not captured but rather welcomed as an Oracle.}} Guilty Spark then proceeded to educate these soldiers about the true purpose of Forerunner creations, including the Halo rings.<ref>'''Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary''' - ''[[Terminal (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary)#Terminal 11|Terminal 11]]''</ref> Exposed to the truth, Sesa 'Refumee took a new, critical view on the [[Great Journey]] and, gathering other similarly minded [[Sangheili]] and [[Unggoy]], founded [[Sesa 'Refumee's heretic faction|a new sect]] that denounced the [[San'Shyuum|Prophets]] and their Great Journey as false. Setting up a base in the gas mine over Threshold, the group would soon be branded as "heretics" by the Hierarchs. Guilty Spark spent a great deal of time with 'Refumee, educating him on the true purpose of the Halo rings while 'Refumee in return shared with Spark the history of the Covenant and the [[Arbiter]]s in particular. Guilty Spark recognized that the selection of the Arbiters was a manipulation by the Prophets, eliminating potential political enemies while using them at the same time to quell rising problems in the Covenant. The two also discussed who to share the information with, but the one Sangheili 'Refumee believed could be trusted, [[Thel 'Vadam]]ee, [[Supreme Commander]] of the [[Fleet of Particular Justice]], was almost certainly dead.<ref>'''[[Halo 2: Anniversary]]''' - ''[[Terminal (Halo 2: Anniversary)|Terminals]]''</ref>
Such a state of affairs could not be tolerated for long by the Covenant and soon action was taken to eliminate the Heretics. This was accomplished quickly and quietly by the [[Thel 'Vadam|Arbiter]] and a team of special operations troops. Ironically, the Arbiter was Thel 'Vadamee, the very Sangheili 'Refumee believed could be trusted with Guilty Spark's revelations. The Arbiter was surprised by the appearance of an "Oracle," but rather than allow Guilty Spark to tell him the truth, 'Refumee used Guilty Spark's appearance as a distraction to attack and was killed by the Arbiter, taking with him all that he had learned from Guilty Spark. In the aftermath, Guilty Spark was captured by [[Tartarus]] and given to the Prophets aboard [[High Charity]].<ref>'''[[Halo 2]]''', campaign level ''[[The Oracle]]''</ref>
[[File:H2A - Spark with Hierarchs and Arbiter.jpg|left|thumb|300px|343 Guilty Spark held aboard ''High Charity'' as Thel 'Vadamee and the Prophets discuss the ''[[Activation Index|Sacred Icon]]''.]]
Interrogated by the [[High Prophets]], Guilty Spark revealed the nature of the installations and the means to employ them, which made the Prophets send the Arbiter to retrieve [[Installation 05]]'s "Sacred Icon".<ref>'''[[Halo 2]]''', campaign level ''[[Sacred Icon]]''</ref> Guilty Spark may have attempted to educate the Prophets to the truth as well without success as the [[Prophet of Regret]] would later complain that the "Oracles" were useless and knew nothing about the Great Journey while meeting with the [[Gravemind]], Arbiter, [[John-117|Master Chief]] and [[monitor]] [[2401 Penitent Tangent]].<ref>'''[[Halo 2]]''', campaign level ''[[Gravemind]]''</ref> After the Index been obtained, Tartarus took Guilty Spark and the Index to Installation 05’s [[Control Room]], using [[Miranda Keyes]] as the new [[Reclaimer]]. However, Tartarus grew tired of Guilty Spark's constant warnings. When the Arbiter and [[Avery Junior Johnson]] arrived to deactivate the ring, they first questioned Guilty Spark, hoping that his status as Oracle could sway Tartarus to halt its firing. Guilty Spark's revelations about the truth of the installations and what become of the Forerunners confirmed what the Arbiter had already learned from the Gravemind and Master Chief and completely ended his faith in the Covenant religion. However, the [[Brute]]s were too loyal to the Prophets to accept the truth that the Halos were weapons of mass destruction. Tartarus used Guilty Spark as a weapon, throwing the helpless monitor at Johnson so Tartarus could fire the rings. Guilty Spark observed the ensuing struggle, reminded of the one he had witnessed on the ''Pillar of Autumn''. Keyes sought Spark's advice on how to shut the installation down and eventually got him to admit that simply removing the Index would suffice.
[[File:H2A - Halo Array hologram.jpg|thumb|250px|Keyes, Johnson, and Spark in Delta Halo's control room.]]
After [[Tartarus]] and his [[Brute Captain]]s were killed, Keyes managed to deactivate the installation the control panel for the installation began to show a holographic display. Guilty Spark, after being used by Johnson as a ride to the lower level, translated the display to Johnson, Miranda Keyes, and the Arbiter: the rings were now on standby, meaning they could be activated simultaneously from [[Installation 00|the Ark]]. The Arbiter asked Spark where it was, and he provided them with coordinates to where he believed it to be located; unbeknownst to him, it turned out to be [[Earth]], the human homeworld.<ref>'''[[Halo 2]]''', campaign level ''[[The Great Journey]]''</ref><ref>'''Halo Encyclopedia''', ''page 197''</ref><ref>'''Halo 3''', campaign level ''[[The Ark]]'' ("''I always assumed it was part of a…shield installation, but it seems I was mistaken.''")</ref>
Later that day, Guilty Spark and his allies rendezvoused with [[Rtas 'Vadum]] and the newly-formed [[Fleet of Retribution]]. Together, they formulated a plan for sterilization and quarantine. While the Arbiter, Keyes, and Johnson left Delta Halo for Earth, Guilty Spark remained behind to help coordinate containment efforts with 'Vadum and the fleet. On November 4, they, along with any friendly Elite ships would begin a campaign to cauterize the surface of the ring, destroying anything that attempted to slip away.<ref>'''Halo Waypoint''', [[Eleventh Hour reports|Eleventh Hour report 5]]</ref><ref>'''[[Halo Waypoint]]''', ''"The Long Road Home"''</ref>
At some point during the blockade, a single [[Indulgence of Conviction|Flood-controlled cruiser]] escaped containment and headed for Earth. Guilty Spark joined part of the fleet as it gave chase.


After Halo's destruction, Spark moved aimlessly through space (as seen in the after-game credits) thinking and re-thinking what had happened to him and how the Reclaimer had betrayed him and destroyed his Installation. He began to wonder how he made such a mistake in judging Master Chief's]] character. However, a short time later, Spark was saved by [[Sesa 'Refumee]].
===Earth and the Ark===
[[File:343 Guilty Spark John 117 Meet-up.jpg|thumb|left|300px|343 Guilty Spark meets John-117 again in a Flood infested [[Voi]].]]
{{Quote|multi=yes|[[John-117]]|343 Guilty Spark|q1=On Halo, you tried to kill [[Cortana]]. You tried to kill me...|q2=Protocol dictated my response. She had the activation Index, and you were going to destroy my installation. You '''did''' destroy my installation. Now I have only one function: to help you, Reclaimer, as I always should have done.|Conversation between John-117 and 343 Guilty Spark.<ref name="Floodgate">'''[[Halo 3]]''', campaign level ''[[Floodgate]]''</ref>}}


Within a few weeks of the ring's destruction, Guilty Spark was retrieved by a group of soldiers of the Covenant, to whom he was known as "the Oracle". Spark attempted to educate these soldiers about, amongst other things, the rings' true purpose. Exposed to the truth, one Sangheili in particular (Sesa 'Refumee) took a new, critical view on the [[Great Journey]] and, gathering other similarly minded [[Sangheili]] and [[Unggoy]], founded a new sect that denounced the [[Prophets]] and their Great Journey as false. These became the Heretics, who set up a base on a Forerunner [[gas mine|gas mining facility]] in [[Threshold]]'s atmosphere, where they continued to be "enlightened" by 343 Guilty Spark as to the true purpose of the Forerunner creations.
On November 17, Guilty Spark and the Fleet of Retribution arrived over the [[Kenya]]n town of [[Voi]], minutes after the infested cruiser crash-landed there. The Elites believed that the Flood vessel contained Cortana, last seen trapped on ''High Charity'' with the [[Gravemind]]. As Master Chief recovered the data module that stored her, Guilty Spark arrived in time to assist, destroying a Combat Form about to attack the Spartan and attempting to begin repairs on the unstable module. After a tense exchange between the two former enemies, they put aside their past and proceeded to bring the device back to their ship, where Guilty Spark completed his repairs. It turned out that the device did not contain Cortana, but was merely a [[Covenant storage device|data core]] storing a holographic message from the AI. In her message, she claimed she had discovered a way to stop the Flood without activating the other Halo rings but it required them to travel to the Ark. In order to discover the answer, the Chief, Johnson, Keyes and the Arbiter, along with Covenant separatist forces traveled through the recently-opened [[Portal at Voi]] and Guilty Spark joined them.{{Ref/Reuse|Floodgate}}


[[File:GS-Heretic.jpg|230px|thumb|left|[[Monitor|The Oracle]] with the Heretic Leader Sesa 'Refumee]].]]
The fleet followed the Covenant forces through the portal, and arrived at [[Installation 00]] - the real Ark. Largely unaware of the details of the Ark due to the compartmentalization protocols limiting his data stores, Guilty Spark aided the Reclaimers in their exploration of the Ark with enthusiasm. Guilty Spark's attempts to gain further access to the Ark's systems, however, prompted a response from the installation's [[000 Tragic Solitude|custodian ancilla]], which threatened Guilty Spark with lethal force if he persisted.<ref>'''Halo 3''', ''Terminal 3''</ref> Searching for [[Prophet of Truth|Truth]]'s location, the Sangheili located the Installation's [[Cartographer]]. Guilty Spark followed the Chief and the Arbiter's platoons to penetrate the wall protecting the location, opening doors and providing Sentinels as backup for the assault. Once the Cartographer was found, Guilty Spark used the map system to pinpoint the Prophet of Truth's location, but noted that the location was shielded by an energy barrier. As he studied the map, Guilty Spark was surprised to notice [[Installation 08|a Halo ring]] in the Ark's [[Foundry (location)|Foundry]], but didn't have time to express his discovery. At that moment, a loyalist Phantom arrived, driving the trio back deeper into the hallways. Guilty Spark led them towards Johnson's location a few floors below. After the reunion, Johnson was nervous at the sudden appearance of hundreds of Sentinels, but Guilty Spark reassured him that they meant no harm and were part of a primary task force, although he couldn't discern their goal.<ref name="The Ark">'''[[Halo 3]]''', campaign level ''[[The Ark]]''</ref>


Such a state of affairs could not be tolerated for long by the Covenant and soon action was taken to eliminate the Heretics. This was accomplished quickly and quietly by the [[Thel 'Vadamee|Arbiter]] and a team of special operations troops. In the aftermath, Guilty Spark was captured by [[Tartarus]] and given to the Prophets aboard [[High Charity]].
UNSC and Sangheili forces moved to disable the shield barrier protecting Truth. However, as soon as the barrier was taken down, ''[[High Charity]]'' suddenly transitioned out of Slipspace above the area, nearly destroying Rtas 'Vadum's ship, and peppered the Ark with Flood dispersal pods and flaming debris. Terrified of a complete Flood takeover, Guilty Spark insisted that they focus their attention on the Flood. He was met with opposition from Keyes and the Sangheili leaders, who made it clear that their first priority was to kill Truth before dealing with the parasite.  


[[File:HaloP 20- 2009.jpg|thumb|right|180px|[[Tartarus]] holds 343 Guilty Spark prisoner as he tries to force the activation of [[Installation 05|Delta Halo]].]]
Once the Prophet of Truth was dead and the threat of the Halo Array neutralized, the Flood began their infestation of the Ark under the command of the Gravemind. Having escaped the Flood, Master Chief and the Arbiter discovered the new Halo ring rising from the Ark's Foundry. Noting Guilty Spark's nearby presence, the Master Chief questioned how long the monitor had known. Guilty Spark admitted that he'd only known for sure at that moment, but he had hoped he was right about the replacement's existence. To Guilty Spark's pleasure, the Master Chief stated that he planned to fire the ring, and Guilty Spark happily set about preparing the ring for its firing while the Master Chief traveled to ''High Charity'' to rescue [[Cortana]] who still had the Index from [[Installation 04]].{{Ref/Reuse|The Ark}}<ref name="Cortana">'''[[Halo 3]]''', campaign level ''[[Cortana (level)|Cortana]]''</ref>


Interrogated by the [[High Prophets]], Guilty Spark revealed the nature of the Installations and the means to employ them, which made the Prophets send the Arbiter to retrieve [[Installation 05]]'s "[[Index|Sacred Icon]]". After it had been obtained, Tartarus took Guilty Spark and the Index to Installation 05’s [[Control Room]], using [[Miranda Keyes]] as the new Reclaimer. However, Tartarus grew tired of Guilty Spark's constant warnings. When the Arbiter and [[Avery Junior Johnson]] arrived to deactivate the ring, they first questioned Guilty Spark, so that he'd reveal Halo's true purpose. However, the [[Brute]]s were too loyal to the Prophets to accept this truth. 343 Guilty Spark escaped Tartarus' clutches and stood by and watched the ensuing struggle, reminded of the one he had witnessed on the ''Pillar of Autumn''.
After rescuing Cortana from the Flood-infested ''High Charity'', Master Chief, the Arbiter and [[Sergeant Major]] Johnson landed on the newly constructed Halo. Guilty Spark aided their progress through the Installation by providing Sentinels to combat the Flood. Once the initial wave of Combat and [[Pure forms]] were destroyed, Guilty Spark opened the main blast door to the Control Room.<ref name="Halo">'''[[Halo 3]]''', campaign level ''[[Halo (Halo 3 level)|Halo]]''</ref>


After [[Tartarus]] and his [[Brute Captains]] were killed, the control panel for the Installation began to show a holographic display. 343 Guilty Spark translated the display to Johnson, Miranda Keyes, and the Arbiter. The rings were now on standby, meaning they could be activated from the [[Ark]]. The Arbiter asked Spark where it was, and he directed them to a specific location, which turned out to be [[Earth]], the Human homeworld.
===Return to Halo===
[[File:DeathofAveryJohnson.jpg|thumb|300px|343 Guilty Spark mortally wounds [[Avery Johnson|Johnson]] in order to ensure the survival of the soon-to-be completed Halo, and the Ark.]]
{{Quote|Unacceptable! Unacceptable! That is absolutely unacceptable! Protocol dictates action! I see now that helping you was ''wrong''! You are a child of my makers; inheritor of all they left behind. You are Forerunner, but this ring... is ''mine''!|343 Guilty Spark turns on John-117 for the second time.{{Ref/Reuse|Halo}}}}


On November 3rd, 2552, Spark was involving with assisting and coordinating efforts with [[Rtas 'Vadum]] and the [[Separatist]] [[Fleet of Retribution]] in cleansing the surface of Delta Halo of the Flood while Johnson, Keyes, and the Arbiter traveled back to Earth to warn humanity of the [[Second Battle of Earth|coming invasion]]. When a single Flood-controlled cruiser escaped containment, [[seven]] ships of the Fleet of Retribution gave chase, among them the [[Assault Carrier]] ''[[Shadow of Intent]]''.<ref>''Halo Waypoint'', "The Long Road Home"</ref>
Guilty Spark was reunited with the Chief along with Johnson and the Arbiter in the new Halo's control room, where he informed them that the ring was almost complete, but not yet ready to fire. However, despite Guilty Spark's panicked warnings that a premature activation would result in the destruction of the Ark (and, more importantly to Guilty Spark, the new Halo ring), Johnson ignored him, determined to destroy the Gravemind and the Flood once and for all. Unable to accept that his new installation was about to be destroyed, an enraged Guilty Spark went [[rampant]] and fired upon Johnson as he attempted to activate the ring, mortally wounding him. Seeing John run towards his fallen comrade, the Monitor then fired upon him and the Arbiter, knocking the Arbiter out of the room and sealing the door behind him. The Master Chief was left to face the Monitor alone.


===Earth and the Ark===
[[File:H3 GuiltySparkDies.gif|250px|thumb|left|Guilty Spark explodes after sustaining several direct Spartan Laser hits.]]
{{quote|On Halo, you tried to kill [[Cortana]]. You tried to kill me...|[[Master Chief]]}}
With the Chief wounded and his shields down, Guilty Spark declared that he would stop at nothing to follow protocol and ensure the safety of his ring and the Ark. The Chief engaged Guilty Spark in combat, but was unable to damage the Monitor's housing. Johnson, burned and bleeding but still conscious, used his [[M6 Spartan Laser|Spartan Laser]] to damage Guilty Spark before he could kill John, cracking the AI's protective casing. Johnson then gave his weapon to the Spartan. Guilty Spark began to malfunction ever more erratically as the battle progressed, and after three more blasts from the Spartan Laser, he finally lost all structural integrity, exploded and was apparently destroyed.{{Ref/Reuse|Halo}}
{{quote|Protocol dictated my response. She had the activation Index, and you were going to destroy my installation. You '''did''' destroy my installation. Now I have only one function: to help you, Reclaimer, as I always should have done.|343 Guilty Spark <ref>'''[[Halo 3]]''', ''[[Floodgate (Level)|Floodgate]]''</ref>.}}
{{clear}}


[[File:343 Guilty Spark at the Ark.jpg|250px|thumb|right|Guilty Spark aiding [[Human]] and [[Sangheili]] forces near the Cartographer building.]]
===Post Human-Covenant War recovery===
[[File:H3 Guitly Spark Debris.png|300px|thumb|Five smoldering pieces of debris from when 343 Guilty Spark exploded during the [[Raid on Installation 08]]. The only remains of his dead [[monitor]] body.]]
Spark was not completely destroyed, however. In late [[2553#November|November 2553]],<ref name="hitd c2">'''Halo: Hunters in the Dark''', Chapter 2</ref> the UNSC detected a transmission from the ruins of [[Installation 00]] and deployed the {{UNSCShip|Rubicon}} from [[Luna]] to conduct a further investigation.<ref name="EH">'''[[Eleventh Hour reports]]''', ''part 4''</ref> A [[remote contact team]] recovered an extremely damaged armature, believed by the team to be the source of the signal picked up by the initial investigative group.{{Ref/Reuse|EH}} The device was actually the broken, barely active debris of 343 Guilty Spark.<ref name="Halo pages 376-379">'''Halo: Primordium''', ''pages 376-379''</ref>


343 Guilty Spark and the Fleet of Retribution arrived on Earth shortly after the Flood ship crashed in Voi. They had learned that the Flood vessel contained Cortana, last seen trapped on ''High Charity'' with the Gravemind.  As Master Chief recovered the data module that stored her, Spark arrived in time to assist, destroying a Combat Form about to attack the Chief and attempting to begin repairs on the unstable module.  After a tense exchange between the two, they put aside their past and proceeded to bring the device back to the ship, where Spark completed his repairs. It turned out the device contained not Cortana, but rather "just a message" from the AI.  In it, she claimed she had a solution to stop the Flood without activating the other Halo rings. In order to discover the answer, the Chief, Johnson, Keyes and the Arbiter, along with Separatist forces traveled through the recently-opened [[Portal]]; Spark joined them.
After properly calibrating their AI translator, the human team began to interrogate Spark, hoping to gain insight into the ancient human-Forerunner relations and the Didact.<ref>'''Halo: Primordium''', ''pages 11-13''</ref> Spark, acknowledging the humans as "the true Reclaimers" and claiming that his duty was to eventually testify to Reclaimers when given the opportunity,<ref>'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 371''</ref> proceeded to describe the events that led to his former human self becoming a monitor. Over the course of his narrative, he constantly accessed the ship's information stores, breaching the firewalls without effort, much to the ONI team's dismay.


The Fleet followed the [[Loyalist]] forces through the portal, and came across a large [[The_Ark|Forerunner Installation]] similar to the Halos but not in ring form. Upon touchdown, Spark sent orders to all Sentinels that the incoming [[UNSC]] and Separatist forces were friendlies, therefore reducing the likelihood of friendly fire incidents. Searching for Truth's location, the Separatist Sangheili located the construct's Cartographer. Spark followed the Chief and the Arbiter's platoons to penetrate the wall protecting the location, opening doors and providing Sentinels as backup for the assault. Once the Cartographer was found, Spark revealed they were beyond the rim of the [[Milky Way Galaxy]] and told the Chief the Installation they stood upon was the Ark. Using the map system, Spark found the Prophet of Truth's location several hundred kilometers away, but he was shielding his location utilizing a barrier installed by the Forerunners. At that moment, a Loyalist Phantom arrived, driving the trio back deeper into the hallways. Spark led them towards Johnson's location a few floors below. After the reunion, Johnson was nervous at the sudden appearance of hundreds of Sentinels, but Spark reassured him they meant no harm and were part of a primary task force, although, not being native to the Ark, he couldn't discern their goal.
As a result of the extensive damage he had sustained, Spark's memory was heavily splintered and barely functional; for example, he was unable to remember many of the preceding events, only learning of his recent interactions with the humans after tapping into their records. Spark explained that his mind had fragmented into a number of different identities over time and the incarnation previously encountered by the UNSC was merely one of his many selves. Large portions of information hidden from him after his assignment to Installation 04 had also been restored, allowing him to recount many of the details which had once been suppressed in the compartmentalization process.{{Ref/Reuse|p372}}<ref>'''Halo Waypoint''', [[Eleventh Hour reports|Eleventh Hour report 4]]</ref>


UNSC and Separatist forces moved to disable the shield barrier protecting Truth. However, once the barrier was taken down, High Charity appeared from out of [[Slipspace]], nearly destroying [[Rtas 'Vadum|Rtas 'Vadum's]] [[Shadow of Intent|ship]], and spread debris and Flood everywhere on the Ark. Terrified of a complete takeover, Spark insisted that they focus their attention on the Flood. He was met with opposition from Keyes and the Separatist leaders, who made it clear that their first priority was to kill Truth before moving on to the [[Flood|parasite]].
After Spark had finished his story, his robotic shell finally powered down and was jettisoned into space by order of the ONI team commander. Before this, however, he had successfully managed to upload his data stream into the ship's computers, disabled its AI, [[Curator]], and took full control of the vessel. Having come to the conclusion that the Librarian was alive as a result of long study, and that he had need for the ship and its crew, Spark put them to sleep and set course to where he believed the Librarian could be found.{{Ref/Reuse|Halo pages 376-379}}


Once the [[Prophet of Truth]] was dead, the Flood began their infestation under the command of the [[Gravemind]]. Spark met up with the [[Arbiter (Character)|Arbiter]] and [[Master Chief]] after their initial escape, only to reveal that the [[Forerunner]] constructs began the construction of a new Halo ring, to replace [[Installation 04]]. When asked what he would do with the Halo system, Master Chief replied: "Light it". This cheered up Spark, who was thrilled the Flood would finally be dealt with for good. He went off to set up preparations for the firing sequence.
===Search for the Librarian and new friends===
Spark first attempted to take the {{UNSCShip|Rubicon}} to the [[shield world]] known as [[Trove]] to get an [[upgrade seed]] to better help prepare the ship for the journey ahead, unaware that the shield world had been destroyed in [[2531]] by the {{UNSCShip|Spirit of Fire}}. However, there were complications following Spark taking control of the ''Rubicon'' and the ship crashed on the planet [[Geranos-a]] in the [[Ibycus system]]. Spark survived by creating an [[armiger]] for himself out of parts salvaged by the crew from the Ark, but the crew died in the crash. Spark buried the crew in a mass grave and sent out a distress signal.


After rescuing [[Cortana]] from the Flood-infested ''[[High Charity]]'', [[Master Chief]], the [[Arbiter (Character)|Arbiter]] and [[Avery Junior Johnson|Johnson]] landed on the newly constructed ring. Spark aided their progress through the Installation by providing [[Sentinels]] to combat the Flood. Once the initial wave of Combat and [[Pure forms]] were destroyed, Spark opened the main blast door to the Control Room.
[[File:HR Spark.PNG|thumb|left|300px|Spark, now inhabiting an [[armiger]] carapace and [[Rion Forge]].]]
The recovery of a data drop in late [[2555]] containing the story Spark told the ''Rubicon'' crew as well as the recovery of the [[Halo: Cryptum|Bornstellar Relation]] on [[Sarcophagus]] made ONI determined to capture and torture Spark for all of the information they could get on the Forerunners and the Librarian. In [[2557]], Spark's distress signal was picked up by a cargo ship and relayed to ONI, but Spark was recovered by the salvage ship ''[[Ace of Spades]]'' first. Having repaired, combined or jettisoned most of his personality strings while trapped, Spark only retained the personalities of Chakas and 343 Guilty Spark. As a result, he adopted a more cooperative mindset where, while he was determined to complete his mission and not be imprisoned again, he would work with the ''Ace of Spades'' crew. Spark offered to help the crew recover their stolen salvage if they helped him find the Librarian, which they eventually agreed to. [[Niko]] later aided Spark in creating an avatar which enabled him to appear throughout the ship in holographic form rather than rely on using his armiger to interact in person.


===Return to Halo===
After a failed attempt to get an upgrade seed from the Etran Harborage and revealing the same story to the crew as he did the ''Rubicon'', Spark took the ''Ace of Spades'' to the [[Forerunner]] planet of [[Triniel]], whose population had committed mass suicide during the [[Forerunner-Flood war]] rather than let the Flood overtake them. Spark was able to get the [[slipspace flake]] he needed and created the upgrade seed. Though Spark initially activated the planet's communications satellites which would draw attention to it, he agreed to Rion's wishes and shut them down again so that the planet would forever remain lost, an undisturbed tomb of those who died there. Spark later attempted to access the [[Domain]], but was denied access by [[Catalog]], though he learned that [[Ur-Didact|the Didact]] had tried the same and also failed. Before disconnecting completely, Catalog told Spark that what he sought was not lost, it was already written and Spark just had to find it.
[[File:DeathofAveryJohnson.jpg|left|thumb|200px|343 Guilty Spark mortally wounds [[Avery J. Johnson|Johnson]] in order to ensure the survival of the soon-to-be completed [[Installation 04|Halo]], and the [[Installation 00|Ark]].]]


{{quote|Unacceptable! Unacceptable! That is absolutely unacceptable! Protocol dictates action! I see now that helping you was ''wrong''! You are a child of my makers, inheritors of all they left behind. [[Humans|You]] are Forerunner, but this ring... is '''''mine'''''!|343 Guilty Spark turning rampant}}<ref>'''[[Halo 3]]''', ''[[Halo (Halo 3 Level)|Halo]]''</ref>
In order to enact their plan, the ''Ace of Spades'' crew reluctantly let Spark upgrade their ship so they could match an ONI [[Prowler]] when it came for them. As part of the plan, Spark uploaded a splinter of his 343 Guilty Spark persona to a data core that was traded to ONI. However, when the crew came into danger, Spark exposed himself to rescue them. With the ''Ace of Spades'' new upgrades and with Spark having upheld his end of the deal, the crew [[Mission to Mount Kilimanjaro|took him]] to [[Mount Kilimanjaro]] where Spark used the fragment of himself in the data core to shut down the ONI base at the [[Portal at Voi]], and search for information on Catalog's intrusions and the expired Catalog found on the African savannah. Beneath Kilimanjaro, Spark led the crew to a [[Lifeworker]] pod before revealing to Rion what he'd known for most of the time they were together: [[John Forge|her father]] had died destroying [[Trove]].


[[File:Damaged Monitor.jpg|thumb|right|250px|Spark heavily damaged.]]
With the crew surrounded by [[Fireteam Apollo]] and an ONI team, Spark deactivated the [[light bridge]] for the crew before he entered the hard light beam around the pod and awakened a [[mind transfer|personality imprint]] of the Librarian stored within. The Librarian caused Spark to appear as he did when he was [[Chakas]] and addressed him by his human name. The Librarian expressed sorrow for the pain she had caused her old friend and told him that Spark was a singular marvel: a being that had adapted and evolved on its own, a product of necessity, but one that may have a great impact on things to come. The Librarian briefly told Spark of the awakening of her imprint on [[Requiem]] as well as that of the Didact, but did not elaborate further though Spark realized from her reaction that the Didact's threat was "not worrisome." The Librarian recognized that there were two sides within Spark: one that didn't care and was cold and scheming while the other cared and was all heart.
[[File:1223222889 343 death.jpg|right|thumb|Spark's destruction]]
Spark was reunited with the Chief, along with Johnson and the Arbiter in the [[Installation 04 (II)|new Installation 04]]'s control room, telling them the ring was almost completed. However, despite Spark's panicked warnings that a premature activation would destroy the ring, Johnson ignored him and proceeded to try and activate the ring anyway, determined to destroy the Gravemind and the Flood forever. Unable to accept that his new installation was about to be destroyed, an outraged Spark fired upon Johnson as he attempted to activate the ring, mortally wounding him. Seeing the [[Master Chief]] running towards his fallen comrade, the Monitor then fired upon him and the Arbiter, knocking the Arbiter out of the room and sealing the door behind him. The [[Master Chief]] was left to face the Monitor alone.  


With the Chief on the floor with his shields down, Spark declared that he would stop at nothing to follow protocol and ensure the safety of the ring and the [[Ark]]. The [[Chief]] engaged Spark in combat, but was unable to damage the Monitor's housing. [[Avery Junior Johnson|SgtMaj. Johnson]], burned and bleeding out but still conscious, used his [[Spartan Laser]] to blast Spark before he could kill the Chief, cracking his protective casing. Johnson then gave his weapon to John, uttering the words "kick his ass." Spark began to malfunction ever more erratically as John repeatedly blasted him with the Spartan Laser. After precisely 3 hits, he finally lost all structural integrity and exploded.
Spark claimed to have no heart and asked about his friends [[Riser]] and [[Vinnevra]]. The Librarian recognized Spark's desire to bring back his friends and reminded him of his own experiences carrying the imprint of [[Forthencho]], Lord of Admirals. The Librarian told Spark that his friends were at peace, their gene song quiet. Spark requested to be sent to the Domain where they were remembered, however, the Librarian cautioned against such a move, and when Spark then asked her to walk amongst the living as he did in an armiger, the Librarian refused, as she felt it was not time yet. The Librarian helped Spark to see that he had found friends again in the crew of the ''Ace of Spades'' who were in grave danger.


==Personality==
The Librarian stated that she would go to join her other personality imprints at the [[Absolute Record]] while humanity had to be given the tools to uphold the Mantle and the knowledge to tend to the Domain. The Librarian offered Spark a choice: to remain with his friends or to go with her to the Absolute Record. The Librarian gave Spark a small etched box that she called a key for if he chose to remain and instructed that he "find what's missing. Fix the path. Right what my kind has turned wrong." After the Librarian admitted that the Didact was most likely beyond redemption, Spark announced his decision to stay with the friends he had waited one hundred thousand years to find and promised to meet the Librarian again before she departed for the Absolute Record. As she left, the Librarian communicated with Rion at least and in her message, the Librarian instructed Rion to take care of Spark who is more fragile and important than she could ever know.<ref name="Renegades">'''[[Halo: Renegades]]'''</ref>


[[File:343 GS.jpg|thumb|343 Guilty Spark]]
===A new path===
{{Quote|I have waited one hundred thousand years to find my friends. Why would I leave when I have found them?|Spark chooses a new path.<ref>'''[[Halo: Renegades]]''', ''page 298''</ref>}}
Upon emerging from the hard light beam, Spark shifted his [[armiger]] into a combat configuration with a hard light rifle which Spark used to bring down the roof of the cavern and force the Spartans to retreat. Spark led the crew onto the platform where the Librarian's pod had been which also acted as a [[slipspace translocation|translocation pad]] and teleported everyone to safety outside where Spark was able to remote-pilot the ''[[Ace of Spades]]'' to pick them up and cloaked them from military detection while pulling his fragment from the ONI systems.


The personality of 343 Guilty Spark is somewhat egotistical and eccentric, he is also quite unpredictable. The long period of isolation experienced by it may have contributed, or even been the cause, of much of this. 343 Guilty Spark is in a state of [[Rampancy]]; although he is still accepting of his role as Monitor, his pursuit of alien knowledge does seem to go beyond his purpose. Since it was his job to manage the Flood, he was also trained to learn. It was intended for him to learn so he could stand ready for any changes in the Flood. However this system is his greatest weakness and he applies it to everything. He loves to learn and to take records; even if he has to force it out. While egotistical much of the time, he seems to be aware of the limitations of his knowledge, such as when he perceived Installation 00 to be part of a [[Onyx|Shield Installation]], and not what it was all along.
Awhile later, after Rion woke up, Spark approached her to offer an explanation for his lies regarding [[John Forge]]'s fate. Spark explained that he could not bear to bring her the pain of the truth and explained that he had gained much data from the species of the [[Covenant]] and humanity during his interactions with them. When Spark came aboard the ''Ace of Spades'', he went through its data and the name of the {{UNSCShip|Spirit of Fire}} had triggered an echo of memory that had taken Spark several days to figure out. Spark revealed that the ''Spirit of Fire'' had preprogrammed maintenance sheds and data drops in hopes of leaving a trail and in those, [[Serina]] had left a message for Rion as part of a promise to her father from the AI and the captain. Spark was then able to provide Rion with her father's message.


343 Guilty Spark had quite an erratic and abnormal personality, and a disregard to Human and alien life alike. He seemed almost gleeful when, in ''[[Halo 2]]'', he told [[Miranda Keyes]] there was no way for him to halt or cease the firing of Installation 05, showing a great lack of respect and deference for Humanity and Covenant life. This may be due to certain programming parameters. He, like 2401 Penitent Tangent, seems quite eager to activate the Halo Array, perhaps hinting that there is a certain gratification they receive in helping their masters. His strange personality was shown in the way he would randomly and with no clear lucid pattern say things such as: 'Ah, I am a genius!'. In Halo: CE, when helping Master Chief, he was constantly humming and giggling.
A week later, the crew holds a funeral for John Forge with Spark singing and using it to let go of his friends. Confronted by Rion, Spark admitted his desire to access the Domain with the Librarian's help to find the ghosts of his friends and bring them back or join them before everything that had happened changed his mind. Spark would only state that the Librarian had given him a coordinate key to a safe place and volunteered to act as the new shipboard AI of the ''Ace of Spades'', promising that there would be no more lies.


It is also interesting to note that he finds the religious rich conversation of the Covenant tiring. Terms such as "Oracle", the "Sacred Icon", "Great Journey" and "Sacred Rings" frustrate him as the Covenant, with their limited knowledge about the Forerunners continue to use obscuring, somewhat meaningless titles for various Forerunner objects. Or as Spark puts it continuing "to use such innaccurate verbiage" and calls them meddlers because of that and they're constant disregard for containment protocols (ie the Covenant's habit of accidentally triggering flood outbreaks whilst searching for Forerunner artifacts).  
After they departed Earth, the crew discussed their options with [[Gek 'Lhar]]'s bounty still on their heads and ONI after them because of Spark. Rion decided to continue their mission to find the ''Spirit of Fire'' which Spark expressed confidence that they would find. The crew decided that they would have a wealth of options to choose from after that and each raised a toast with Spark's being "to friends."{{Ref/Reuse|Renegades}}


Spark's eagerness to activate the rings at the slightest provocation seems unlike the wishes of previous Forerunners, who, by Spark's own admission, had used the Halo Array as a last resort. Spark's behavior indicates he sees the array as the only resort, as he wishes to use it before the Flood has even escaped the ring. At no point does he attempt less extreme actions, such as disabling and destroying any possible escape ships for the Flood to use.
===Searching for Bastion===
{{Expand-section}}


==Weapons and gadgets==
==Personality and traits==
{{Quote|Clearly, in my thoughts-in truth-this monitor is much more than a machine.|The [[IsoDidact]] on Guilty Spark.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''pages 313''</ref>}}
[[File:HCEA Terminal 7 Spark Fantasy.jpg|thumb|300px|Over the eons spent monitoring [[Installation 04]] in solitude, 343 Guilty Spark longed for a [[Monitor]] companion to combat his loneliness, and to help him stay focused on his duties in the wake of early [[rampancy]].]]
After a hundred thousand years of isolation, 343 Guilty Spark was quirky, detached and analytical. For Spark, protocol dictated all; the slight emotion he showed for the death of an ally was truly grief only for the inconvenience of finding another to assist him. While he gladly assisted those who requested his help, if his allies decided to prevent him from completing necessary actions - such as the firing of his ring - he would turn on them without hesitation and dispatch them with lethal force.


[[File:1218135056 343Laser.jpg|thumb|right|The laser of 343 Guilty Spark used to attack his enemies.]]
Tens of thousands of years of monotonous duty spent monitoring his installation and waiting for a Reclaimer appeared to have had a significant effect on the Monitor's sanity. Spark showed many characteristics of rampancy. He loved to learn and to take records, even in the face of his installation's imminent destruction; accessing the ''Pillar of Autumn'''s shipboard databases, he was intensely fascinated about finally having access to human history up until that point, referring to the record as "all of our lost time."<ref>'''Halo: Combat Evolved''', campaign level ''The Maw''</ref> He also showed other odd behaviors such as humming and singing. Typically, he was also untroubled with matters of life or death. When Sesa 'Refumee and Tartarus were killed by the Arbiter, he appeared casual, although he was remorseful when Sesa 'Refumee was killed. Spark's detachment resulted in a tendency of rarely giving more information than he had to. For example, on Installation 04 he merely told John-117 that activating the ring would stop the Flood, neglecting the portion about how all life in range of the ring would be wiped out to do so (although he may have been genuinely unaware that the Master Chief was completely oblivious to any of this, assuming the Spartan to be the [[IsoDidact]]).<ref>'''Halo: Combat Evolved''', campaign level ''Two Betrayals'' (343 Guilty Spark: ''"But you already knew that... I mean, how couldn't you?" ... "Why would you hesitate to do what you have already done?"'')</ref> Likewise, he did not tell the High Prophets that the ring was a weapon when asked about the location of Installation 05's Index, only telling that truth to the Covenant when asked directly by the Arbiter. While bound by protocol, Guilty Spark seemed to genuinely enjoy the prospect of firing the Halo Array, unlike his fellow Monitors such as [[049 Abject Testament]].
[[File:DJC-343GSForcefield.jpg|thumb|right|343 Guilty Spark, using his force field after turning rampant.]]
343 Guilty Spark has been seen using two known weapons and three gadgets. The first weapon, shown in [[Floodgate]], is a red beam that is similar to, but more powerful than, [[Sentinel Beam]] -- the beam is powerful enough to mortally wound [[Sergeant]] [[Avery Junior Johnson|Johnson]] and completely drain the [[Master Chief]] and the Arbiter's shields. The second weapon is a force field projector that repels objects; it was likely meant to be used when overwhelmed by Flood. The Monitor is also equipped with an array of gadgets, which include a thin blue laser that can unlock doors on [[The Ark (Level)|The Ark]] and deliver a painful but non-fatal electrical shock or laser burn. The fourth is a similar variant, being a white laser that can be used to levitate and manipulate objects, which Spark used to the Separatists’ benefit at Earth by repairing the [[Covenant Storage Device]] containing Cortana’s message. The final known gadget that the Monitor used is an unusual beam resembling blue electricity which was used by Spark at the [[Pillar of Autumn]] to download data from the ship’s databases into Spark’s own files, allowing him to shut down the ship’s countdown sequence and delay the activation of its reactor.


==Protocol==
Although created from the essence of [[Chakas]], 343 Guilty Spark became his own entity after his conversion into a monitor, often referring to his past human self as a separate being despite retaining Chakas' memories. This was the result of a number of factors, including the combined wisdom of the numerous human essences stored within his reborn self, the immense amounts of added knowledge and programming to enable him to effectively perform his duties, as well as the mental trauma Chakas suffered in his human form; he himself stated that he "went mad". The suppression of most of his memories and knowledge upon his assignment to Installation 04 in the name of compartmentalization further diverged him from his original self, in addition to his primary personality array splintering to numerous fragments over tens of thousands of years. However, many of his ancient memories from prior to his post at Alpha Halo resurfaced after his physical shell was severely damaged and subsequently reactivated by a UNSC science team for interrogation; thus, this entity was closer to his original persona of Monitor Chakas than his previously-encountered incarnation hamstrung by compartmentalization protocols.{{Ref/Reuse|p372}}
Most of the time, Spark is untroubled with what is going on around him. When [[Sesa 'Refumee]] and [[Tartarus]] were killed by the Arbiter, he appeared casual, although he was remorseful when [[Sesa 'Refumee|his new ally]] was killed. However, if there is an issue concerning the Halo rings, he will do everything he can to protect them. For example, on the level [[The Library (level)|The Library]], if the Master Chief dies, he will say things like "Reclaimer, we must keep moving! ...Reclaimer?" or "Hmm, how unfortunate". Spark was unaware that the Prophets had distorted the truth about the purpose of the rings. Spark's protocol bound him only to contain a Flood outbreak from Installation 04, so when Installation 04 was terminated his programmed priority was nullified, because his prescribed means was now void. It may have been at the destruction of his Installation that Spark became truly [[Rampant]], since he was obviously abnormally protective of it. When it was destroyed his functions were meaningless and he began to act on his own thoughts, one of the symptoms of [[rampancy]]. This means that he no longer had a protocol-based priority prescribing his actions concerning the Flood - he was free to make choices concerning the Flood, as he did on Installation 05 when he assisted in the deactivation of its firing sequence, risking the containment of a flood outbreak. Also, after he saved the Master Chief from a Combat Form, he said that with the destruction of Installation 04, he only had one purpose left: to help the Reclaimer (the Master Chief) which Spark admitted was something he should have done from the beginning instead of trying to hinder him. This caused the two to put aside their differences and Spark to join forces with the Chief again against the Flood and the Covenant. Due to his abilities in connection with the Halo Array, Spark proved to be a powerful ally and seemed to take commands from Commander Keyes, Sergeant Johnson and the Master Chief and follow them without hesitation as part of his new function in life. When he discovered Installation 04B, his priority protocol reactivated, and he adopted the ring as his replacement. An error apparently occurred when his containment procedures were reactivated and his operation prioritization off-lined, so that when [[Avery Junior Johnson|SgtMaj. Johnson]] declared the intent to fire [[Installation 04 (II)|Halo]], which would destroy it, Spark unhesitatingly killed him, despite their cooperation on the Ark and even his agreement of the plan there. He didn't care, because these rings were his creators' life work before they disappeared.
Of interesting note is the fact that the containment of the [[Flood]] by ''any'' means should have over written any 'sentimental' attachment he had to Installation 04, thus his actions may have been further proof of his rampancy. It may also be possible that he was more protective of [[The Ark]], possibly a higher protocol than containment.


==Speculation==
[[File:H2A - 343 Guilty Spark.jpg|thumb|250px|left|343 Guilty Spark revealing the Ark's purpose.]]
[[File:343.JPG|thumb|200px|left|343 Guilty Spark's noticeable Marathon symbol eye.]]
As a Forerunner AI, 343 Guilty Spark possesses highly advanced abilities with electronic systems; even in his highly reduced, damaged state, he was capable of effortlessly breaching the numerous firewalls and other safeties of the {{UNSCShip|Rubicon}}, a highly secure ONI vessel. In the conclusion of the interrogation, he subdued the ship's AI and took complete control of the ship, having uploaded his data stream into the ship without the crew initially noticing. As with [[United Nations Space Command|UNSC]] and [[Covenant]] artificial intelligences, Guilty Spark's programming prohibited him from carrying out certain actions. He cannot, for example, retrieve the [[Activation Index]] from the [[Library]] or use it to activate Installation 04, instead requiring a [[Reclaimer]] to carry out this task.{{Ref/Reuse|343GS Final Cutscene}}
There have been many elaborate speculations and analysis made regarding the origin of 343 Guilty Spark's name, history, and motives. The most notable question: what exactly is he "guilty" of? There have been many suggestions towards genocide of some form (one of his primary functions is, after all, initiating the eradication of all sentient life in the galaxy) but an alternate meaning of "spark" is to set in motion/activate, suggesting he is guilty of prematurely activating Halo, which might explain the absence of the Forerunners. However, due to ''[[Halo 3]]'s'' explanation involving [[Mendicant Bias]] it's clear that whatever 343 Guilty Spark may or may not have done, he wasn't responsible for the destruction of the Forerunners. An alternative theory, is that the name Guilty Spark was given to monitor 343 when it was commissioned, similar to the names of military operations like "Gothic Serpent" from Black Hawk Down - hence there could be no meaning to the name Guilty Spark. Since the monitors of both [[Installation 04]] and [[Installation 05|05]]'s names begin with words that represent regret in some way, the Forerunners may have named each monitor to describe their sadness due to the failure to contain the Flood through other methods.


In ''[[Halo 2]]'', he is no longer an antagonist, but still plays an important role in the plot. In ''Halo 3'', he isn't an antagonist for the majority of the game and assists the UNSC and Elite forces as they explore the Ark with the Sentinels, opening some passageways for them and guiding them. 343 Guilty Spark, is briefly mentioned in ''[[Halo 3]]'s'' [[terminals]] as "04-343" (He was the Monitor of the 4th Installation, followed by his call sign, 343), and may have had a role in the previous Flood outbreak and Ring Activation. People are now claiming he "activated" the first [[Flood]] outbreak, which is what he is "guilty" of. He may have chosen Guilty Spark for himself, knowing this information. This is supported by his quote in ''[[Halo: Combat Evolved]]'', "Last time, you asked me, if it were my choice, would I do it? Having had considerable time to ponder your query, my answer has not changed. There is no choice, we must activate the rings." Considering that until that point, no character in the game except Cortana knew Halo's true purpose; only a Forerunner could have asked Guilty Spark this question. Guilty Spark also had a conversation with [[Mendicant Bias]] through one of the terminals in and recognized an alias for the AI, although Guilty Spark claimed he had little or no knowledge of the working of the [[Ark]] ([[Installation 00]]) prior to and after this conversation. Other theories state that Guilty Spark had undergone a similar rampancy as [[Mendicant Bias]] had.
Spark's protocol bound him only to contain a Flood outbreak from Installation 04, so when Installation 04 was destroyed, his directives were also terminated. This means that he no longer had a priority prescribing his actions concerning the Flood - he was free to make choices concerning the Flood, as he did on Installation 05 when he assisted in the deactivation of its firing sequence, risking the containment of a Flood outbreak. According to Spark, the loss of his ring left him with only one purpose: to aid the Chief as a Reclaimer, which Spark admitted was something he should have done from the beginning instead of trying to hinder him. This caused the two to put aside their differences and Spark to join forces with the Chief again against the Flood and the Covenant. Due to his abilities in connection with the Halo Array, Spark proved to be a powerful ally and seemed to take commands from Commander Keyes, Sergeant Johnson and the Master Chief without hesitation as part of his new function in life. When he discovered [[Installation 08]], his priority protocol reactivated, and he adopted the ring as his replacement. When [[Sergeant Major|Sgt. Maj.]] [[Avery Johnson|Johnson]] declared his intent to fire the Halo, which would destroy it, Spark unhesitatingly killed him. Despite his treachery, it is unlikely the UNSC would have been able to prevent the premature activation of the Halo Array without Guilty Spark's assistance.


It is also possible that, despite all of his knowledge, that 343 Guilty Spark may be the Forerunner equivalent of a [[UNSC]] "[[Dumb AI|Dumb]]" Artificial Intelligence, since he only has his powers on Installation 04, and the fact that he said to the [[Master Chief]] when he was trying to recover what he thought was [[Cortana]] at the time, but was really a message. When the Chief asked him and the first part of the response was done, he said "You ''DID'' destroy my Installation. Now I only have one function, to help you, Reclaimer." Since his primary function was destroyed, he could not branch out and learn about how to further his abilities, further increasing the chances that he is a "Dumb" AI, by [[Forerunner]] Standards. At the Cartographer, he said "My makers have wisely limited my knowledge of all other strategic facilities." So he may be a smart A.I, but not given the information.
After three years trapped on [[Geranos-a]], Spark was able to repair, combine or jettison many of his personality strings until only Chakas and 343 Guilty Spark remained. After being rescued by the ''[[Ace of Spades]]'', Spark found himself remembering more and more of what it was like to be human and found himself horrified at what he had become as 343 Guilty Spark. Spark adopted a personality that was something of a mix between the two while acknowledging his past mistakes, at one point telling the ''Ace of Spades'' crew that he didn't make a good impression upon the human military while he was a monitor and neither did others of his kind.


A status report by Guilty Spark in the 2010 reprint of ''[[Halo: The Flood]]'' raises more questions about his origin. Most of the report is filed in his usual formal and analytic tone; He notes the presence of the various species in stages of post-Array recovery, as well as Reclaimers. He is concerned about the safety of the ring and decides that the adherence to containment protocols must take priority. However, in the latter part of the report, which is written in a more personal manner, he exhibits previously unseen characteristics and reveals new aspects about himself. One of his lines indicates that his task of protecting the Installation was originally taken up by conscious decision: ''"Those of us who chose this path all understood it would be this lonely, but not this long."'' Another quote appears to be even more personal: ''"I was young when I chose this path and now I am suddenly very, very old. There is no one left to advise me. I will protect our legacy to the best of my ability and to the death, if need be, as I promised when I first took up this [[mantle]]."'' This seems to suggest that Guilty Spark is more than just an AI manufactured for a certain task, possibly implying that he, and possibly other monitors, are trans-organic minds, much like human [["Smart" AI]]s, who chose to transfer their minds to digital form and safeguard their installations while the rest of their civilization died with the array's activation.
Instead of going by Chakas or 343 Guilty Spark, he preferred to simply be called Spark, a nickname given to him by the crew of the ''Ace of Spades''. After his encounter with the [[Librarian]]'s personality imprint, Spark gave up his efforts to bring back or rejoin his old friends, instead accepting that the ''Ace of Spades'' crew were the friends he had been searching 100,000 years for. Spark showed compassion for [[Rion Forge]], refusing to tell her the truth about her father at first not just so that she wouldn't stop helping him, but because he couldn't bear to bring her the bad news. After telling her the truth, Spark did her a further kindness by giving Rion the message he had discovered recorded by John Forge for her. Additionally, while he at first planned to use the communications satellites on [[Triniel]] to communicate with the [[Domain]], Spark stopped them from rebooting when it was realized that doing so would draw attention to the long-lost planet. In doing so, Spark showed compassion for the hundreds of millions that committed mass suicide on Triniel to avoid falling victim to the Flood by leaving the planet untouched by further mass exploitation, something that the human crew also wanted for the planet. As Spark, he seemed to have lost much of the violence he possessed as 343 Guilty Spark, purposefully aiming to collapse a cavern in a way that would not harm anyone as a distraction rather than using his formidable firepower to try to kill attacking enemies as he did with Johnson and the Master Chief on [[Installation 08]].


==7 and Marathon references, and references from other media==
Having accepted his new purpose, Spark was happy to settle into life as the ''Ace of Spades'' shipboard AI. The Librarian herself called Spark a singular marvel, a being that evolved on his own out of necessity and one that may have a great impact on things still to come. While speaking with Rion, the Librarian asked her to take care of Spark as he is more fragile and important than she could ever know.{{Ref/Reuse|Renegades}}
*343 is equal to 7<sup>3</sup> (which happens to be 7<sup>(installation # - 1)</sup>: 7<sup>(4-1)</sup> = 7<sup>3</sup>), with [[Seven|7]] being a number [[List of "Seven" references in Halo|seen frequently]] in [[Bungie]] games and mythology. 343 can also be made up to 7<sup>3</sup> ( (4+3)<sup>3</sup>= 7<sup>3</sup> )
*343 inverted is 434, the location of [[Bungie]]'s Kirkland office.
*In ''Halo: Combat Evolved'' and ''3'', the "eye" of 343 Guilty Spark bears the [[Marathon]] logo. Also, there are notable similarities between Guilty Spark and Durandal; both are able to teleport the main character, and ended up rampant.
*In the TV series Scrubs, JD (played by Zach Braff, a confessed ''Halo'' fan) had the college room 343; this could be a possible link to Guilty Spark.
*343*[[seven|7]] is 2401, [[Penitent Tangent]]'s number.


==Trivia==
==Trivia==
*In the [[Halo (Halo 3 Level)|final level]] of [[Halo 3]], if you let 343 Guilty Spark live at the point where it looks like he will blow up, he will make random statements such as Gollum's catchphrase from Lord of the Rings: "My Precious!" This is likely because Halo is also a "ring of great power", just like the Great Ring that Gollum possessed. Other similarities to the Lord of the Rings include that Guilty spark is an ally for most of the third game, but turns against the main characters at the end, dying to try and stop the protagonists from destroying his beloved ring.
{{Linkbox|quote=yes|gallery=yes|gallerypage=Images of 343 Guilty Spark}}
*One of the (very rare) quotes that he may say when he is shot by the player in Halo 3 is "That hurt my feelings!...Oh my god, I have feelings!? I'm a real boy!" This is a reference to Pinocchio.
===General===
*343 Guilty Spark was voiced by actor [[Tim Dadabo]].
*The only person who ever refers to 343 Guilty Spark as "343 Guilty Spark" is himself, when he is introducing himself. Others refer to him as "The Oracle", or "The Monitor" when speaking of him, or even shorten his name to "Spark", or once "Robot", to which 343 Guilty Spark protested against, and also "Tinker Bell" by Avery Johnson in ''Halo 2'' after he asks about where to activate the rings while in standby mode and answered sarcastically. He has also been called "Light bulb" by Johnson in ''Halo 2'' (to Tartarus: "Please...Don't shake the light-bulb.") and ''Halo 3'' ("A tank's a tank, light bulb.").
*343 Guilty Spark is the only significant enemy character that appears in person in the last level of each game in the trilogy (excluding cutscenes).
*343 Guilty Spark is the only significant enemy character that appears in person in the last level of each game in the trilogy (excluding cutscenes).
*In the cutscenes of ''Halo 2'', when 343 Guilty Spark talks his light glows brighter, but during gameplay in ''Halo 2'' when he talks his light grows dim. This is a programming [[glitch]], where he was supposed to do the opposite, and is referred by Joseph Staten as "the most terrible glitch in ''[[Halo 2]]''... and nobody cares about it."
*After the ''Halo: Combat Evolved'' credits, the tune he hums is a portion of the ''Halo'' theme. Occasionally, in ''Halo 3'', he will hum some parts of the [[Halo Theme]].
*343 Guilty Spark shares many parallels with [[Wikipedia: HAL 9000|HAL 9000]], the infamous computer of ''[[Wikipedia: 2001: A Space Odyssey (film)|2001: A Space Odyssey]]'' and much of his character seems to have been inspired by him. Both are psychotic AIs obsessed with protocol who will kill their allies for the sake of their mission, both are killed by their longtime partner, both begin spouting psychotic phrases and early memories when being killed, and both robots’ faces feature a gigantic bright red round eye. In terms of personality, movement, and death, they are polar opposites; HAL 9000 speaks in a serene tone of voice and is very emotionally detached, while 343 Guilty Spark is very hysterical and speaks in a far more cheerful manner; HAL 9000 can not move, being housed in a gigantic processor, and thus speaks and sees through cameras, while 343 Guilty Spark has a body and is free-floating and free-moving; HAL 9000 is killed by being slowly shut down and going senile, while 343 Guilty Spark is killed by being shot repeatedly and thus exploding.
*In the cutscenes of ''Halo 2'', when 343 Guilty Spark talks his light glows brighter, but during gameplay in ''Halo 2'' when he talks his light grows dim. This is a programming [[glitch]], where he was supposed to do the opposite, and is referred by Joseph Staten as "the most terrible glitch in ''Halo 2''... and nobody cares about it."
*The only person who ever refers to 343 Guilty Spark as "343 Guilty Spark" is himself, when he's speaking in third person. Others refer to him as "The Oracle", or "The Monitor" when speaking of him, or even shorten his name to "Spark", or once "Robot", to which 343 Guilty Spark protested against, and also "Tinker Bell" by Avery Johnson in ''Halo 2'' after he asks about where to activate the rings while in standby mode and answered sarcastically. He has also been called "Light bulb" by Johnson in ''Halo 2'' (to Tartarus: "Please...Don't shake the light-bulb.") and ''Halo 3'' ("A tank's a tank, light bulb.").
*In ''Halo 3'', if the player kills his/her fellow Marines or teammates on Co-op, 343 Guilty Spark will sometimes become hostile and fire his laser at the player, and, despite having to fight him while he uses it later on, is much more powerful and can easily kill the player in one hit, even while in a [[Scorpion Tank]].
*In a glitch during the last cutscene of the level 343 Guilty Spark, when 343 Guilty Spark talks to the Master Chief, you can see another 343 Guilty Spark floating around in the background.
*343 Guilty Spark shoots a beam similar to both the UNSC Spartan Laser and the Forerunner [[Sentinel Beam]]. When comparing power through hacking or modding, the beam is noticeably weaker than a Spartan Laser but much stronger than a [[Sentinel Beam]].
*If you kill your fellow Marines or teammates on Co-op, 343 Guilty Spark will sometimes become hostile and fire his laser at you, and, despite having to fight him while he uses it later on, is much more powerful and can easily kill you in one hit, even while in a [[Scorpion Tank]].
*In the [[Halo (Halo 3 level)|final level]] of ''Halo 3'', just before 343 Guilty Spark dies, he will make random statements such as Gollum's catchphrase from Lord of the Rings: "My Precious!" This is likely because Halo is also a "ring of great power", just like the Great Ring that Gollum possessed. Other similarities to the Lord of the Rings include that Guilty Spark is an ally for most of the third game, but turns against the main characters at the end, dying to try and stop the protagonists from destroying his beloved ring.
*Despite not being the Monitor of [[Installation 00]], 343 Guilty Spark somehow has control over the Installation's Sentinels. It is possible Mendicant Bias (the only known A.I. left on the Ark) relinquished control of the Sentinels to Spark, in order for Bias to work behind the scenes.
*Players can gain an Xbox Live Avatar prop representation of 343 Guilty Spark just by using [[Halo Waypoint]] on the Xbox 360.
*The [[Disembodied Soul]], when asked about Guilty Spark, claims that "He's my progeny. He inherited my good looks and pleasant personality."
*The Disembodied Soul, when asked about Guilty Spark, claims that "He's my progeny. He inherited my good looks and pleasant personality."
*343 Guilty Spark shoots a beam similar to both the UNSC [[Spartan Laser]] and the [[Forerunner]] [[Sentinel Beam]]. When comparing power through hacking or modding, the beam is noticeably weaker than a [[Spartan Laser]] but much stronger than a [[Sentinel Beam]].
*On the [[Firefight]] level [[Installation 04 (map)|Installation 04]] he can be seen behind a transparent wall in the bunker near the cliff. He will float up to the door backwards and turn around to face outside. When standing in front of him the prompt "Hold x to take ally's..." and the icon for the [[Focus Rifle]] appears however you can't actually take it.
*After the ''Halo: Combat Evolved'' credits, the tune he hums is a portion of the ''Halo'' theme. Occasionally, in ''Halo 3'', he will hum some parts of the [[MJOLNIR Mix]].
*In ''[[Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary]]'', there is a small covering on the top part of his eye. This covering is not present in the original game or in his appearance ''Halo 2'' and ''Halo 3''. It is also not present when he appears in the terminals nor seen on any other installation monitor shown. When it is present it makes him look quite sad or depressed. It is unknown why this change in design was made, although it may hint to his descending rampancy or loneliness. This covering can also be seen on the forge monitors when playing [[Forge]] on maps of the [[Anniversary Map Pack]].
*Spark often refers to the [[Covenant]] as "Meddlers" because of their constant interference with the Halo Array.
*In the ''[[Halo 2: Anniversary]]'' cinematic cutscenes the light in Guilty Spark's "eye" moves around when he talks to other characters.
*Occasionally if you stand around near him he will joyfully say ``Oh good, The Reclaimer has arrived``.
*Guilty Spark appears, in his ''Halo 2: Anniversary'' form, in ''[[Wikipedia:Rocket League|Rocket League]]'' as an unlockable antenna for the base cars to use.
*You can gain an Xbox Live Avatar prop representation of 343 Guilty Spark just by using [[Halo Waypoint]] on the Xbox 360.
*As both [[Chakas]] and 343 Guilty Spark, he has traveled on and been in partial or full control of multiple Halo installations: the Monitor of both [[Installation 04]] and [[Installation 08]], traveled across and helped control [[Installation 07]] while human during the salvage effort and traveled across and briefly manipulated the systems of [[Installation 05]] as 343 Guilty Spark. He also utilized some of the systems on [[Installation 00]]. He has been to the [[greater Ark]] and [[Omega Halo]]. The only installations connected to the current iteration of the Halo Array that he has no known connections with are [[Installation 01]], [[Installation 02]], [[Installation 03]], [[Installation 06]] and [[Installation 09]] beyond the latter being a second replacement for Installation 04.
*For part of ''[[Halo 3]]'', he essentially takes on Cortana's role in most of the games as John-117's AI helper.
 
===References===
*343 is equal to 7<sup>3</sup> (which happens to be 7<sup>(installation # - 1)</sup>: 7<sup>(4-1)</sup> = 7<sup>3</sup>), with [[Seven|7]] being a number seen frequently in [[Bungie]] games and mythology. 343 can also be made up to 7<sup>3</sup> ( (3+4)<sup>3</sup>=7<sup>3</sup> )
*In ''Halo: Combat Evolved'' and ''3'', the "eye" of 343 Guilty Spark bears the [[Marathon]] logo. Also, there are notable similarities between Guilty Spark and Durandal; both are able to teleport the main character, and ended up rampant.
*[[343 Industries]], [[Microsoft Game Studios]]'s internal-build team tasked with managing the ''Halo'' franchise, is named in reference to 343 Guilty Spark.
*[[343 Industries]], [[Microsoft Game Studios]]'s internal-build team tasked with managing the ''Halo'' franchise, is named in reference to 343 Guilty Spark.
*The [[Marathon]] [[Multiplayer Emblems|multiplayer emblem]] closely resembles the basic body of Guilty Spark.
 
*Guilty Spark can also manage to support the weight of a human being as Johnson can be seen riding on him briefly in Halo 2.
==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:HCE 343GS Concept Render.jpg|343 Guilty Spark models and concept artwork from ''Halo: Combat Evolved''.
File:HaloCE-343GuiltySpark.png|343 Guilty Spark in ''Halo: Combat Evolved''.
File:343 GS.jpg|343 Guilty Spark in the swamps of [[Installation 04]].
File:H2-343GuiltySpark-Wallpaper.jpg|Promotional image of 343 Guilty Spark in ''[[Halo 2]]''.
File:H2-343GuiltySpark-Extraction.png|343 Guilty Spark in ''Halo 2''.
File:GS-Heretic.jpg|343 Guilty Spark with [[Sesa 'Refumee]] in ''Halo 2''.
File:Sanctum of the hierarchs 343gs.png|343 Guilty Spark held captive within a [[Containment field device]] by the Covenant.
File:343 Guilty Spark Johnson carry.jpg|343 Guilty Spark carrying [[Avery Johnson]] during flight.
File:H3-343GuiltySpark.png|343 Guilty Spark in ''[[Halo 3]]''.
File:343.JPG|343 Guilty Spark in ''Halo 3''.
File:FOR-343GS-logo2.png|343 Guilty Spark's avatar icon in the terminals of ''Halo 3''.
File:343 Guilty Spark Seperatist UNSC.jpg|343 Guilty Spark gathers with UNSC and the [[Fleet of Retribution]] to unlock [[Cortana]]'s message.  
File:Spark installation 00 cartographer.jpg|343 Guilty Spark within the Cartographer of the Ark.
File:343GS rampant.jpg|343 Guilty Spark in his defense mode as indicated by the change of color in the eye sockets.
File:Damaged Monitor.jpg|343 Guilty Spark heavily damaged.
File:343 Guilty Spark (Rampant).png| A render of 343 Guilty Spark in attack mode.
File:GuiltySparkAnniversary.png|343 Guilty Spark in ''[[Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary]]''.
File:HCEA-343GuiltySpark.png|343 Guilty Spark in ''Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary''. Note the changed Marathon symbol.
File:Spark Construct Communicate.jpg|343 Guilty Spark communicating with a [[Truth and Reconciliation's AI|Covenant AI]] in [[Terminal (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary)|''Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary''<nowiki>'s</nowiki> terminals]].
File:Spark lazer Keg-yar.jpg|343 Guilty Spark kills an attacking [[Kig-Yar]] in the [[Threshold gas mine]].
File:H2A Spark.png|343 Guilty Spark's in-game appearance in ''[[Halo 2: Anniversary]]''.
File:H2A - Tartarus and Spark.jpg|Tartarus captures Guilty Spark before retrieving the Arbiter for departure.
File:H2A - GuiltyJohnsonMiranda.png|Guilty Spark with Miranda and Johnson on [[Installation 05]].
File:Rocket_League_Guilty_Spark.png|The Guilty Spark Antenna in ''Rocket League''.
File:RenegadesArt.jpg|Spark, inhabiting an Armiger carapace, alongside Rion Forge, on the cover of ''[[Halo: Renegades]]''.
File:PointOfLight Cover Art.jpg|Spark and Rion on the cover of ''[[Halo: Point of Light]]''.
File:HPOL-AlternateSpark.jpg|An alternate render of Spark's model used for the cover of ''Halo: Point of Light''.
File:HPoL - Early Spark.jpg|An early render of Spark for the cover of ''Halo: Point of Light''.
File:Spark Armiger.jpg|Spark on the cover of ''Halo: Point of Light''.
File:HINF - Charm icon - Guilty Charm.png|A 343 Guilty Spark weapon charm in ''[[Halo Infinite]]''.
File:AmogusMJOLNIR.jpg|343 Guilty Spark as a pet in ''Among Us''.
</gallery>


==List of appearances==
==List of appearances==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-3}}
*''[[Halo: Combat Evolved]]'' {{1st}}
*''[[Halo: Combat Evolved]]'' {{1st}}
*''[[Halo 2]]''
*''[[Halo 3]]''
*''[[Halo: The Flood]]''
*''[[Halo: The Flood]]''
**''[[Halo: The Flood#2010 bonus content|Adjunct]]''
*''[[Halo: First Strike]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: First Strike]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo 2]]''
**''[[Conversations from the Universe]]''
*''[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo 3]]''
**''[[Bestiarum]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo Legends]]''
*''[[Halo Legends]]''
**''[[Origins]]''
**''[[Origins]]''
{{Col-3}}
*''[[Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary]]''
**''[[Terminal (Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary)|Terminals]]''
*''[[Halo: Primordium]]''
*''[[Halo: Silentium]]''
*''[[Halo 2: Anniversary]]''
**''[[Terminal (Halo 2: Anniversary)|Terminals]]''
*''[[Halo: Hunters in the Dark]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: Last Light]]'' {{Im}}
*''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]'' {{C|Prop only}}
*''[[Halo Mythos]]''
*''[[Halo: Fractures]]''
**''[[Promises to Keep]]'' {{Mo}}
{{Col-3}}
*''[[Halo: Recruit]]'' {{C|Non-canonical appearance}}
*''[[Halo: Renegades]]''
*''[[Halo: Outpost Discovery]]''
*''[[Halo: Shadows of Reach]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: Point of Light]]''
*''[[Halo: Divine Wind]]'' {{Im}}
*''[[Halo: Outcasts]]'' {{Im}}
*''[[Halo Infinite]]'' {{C|Charm only}}
{{col-end}}


==Notes==
==Notes==
<references group="note"/>
{{Ref/Notes}}


==Sources==
==Sources==
{{Quotes Link}}
{{Ref/Sources|2}}
<references/>


{{Forerunner AI}}
{{Forerunner AI}}


[[Category:Forerunner A.I.]]
[[Category:Forerunner A.I.]]
[[Category:Installation 04]]
[[Category:AI characters]]
[[Category:Bosses]]

Latest revision as of 05:00, July 29, 2024

This article is about the Forerunner Monitor. For other uses of the term, see 343 (disambiguation).
343 Guilty Spark
Monitor
343 Guilty Spark.
Armiger
Spark in the Halo Encyclopedia (2022 edition)
Biographical information

Began service:

c. 97,445 BCE

Physically destroyed:

December 11, 2552[1] (Monitor body)

Gender:

Male personality

Description:

  • Floating, round-edged cube, with one "eye" sign that is blue by default (As a Monitor)
  • Thin, lithe humanoid appearance (As an Armiger)

Color(s):

Blue illuminations with silver casing

Political and military information

Affiliation:

Functionality:

Monitor of Installation 04 and its replacement
Shipboard AI of the Ace of Spades
Caretaker of Bastion

 

"Last time, you asked me, if it was my choice, would I do it? Having had considerable time to ponder your query, my answer has not changed. There is no choice. We must activate the ring."
— Guilty Spark to John-117.[2]

04-343 Guilty Spark,[3] initially known as Monitor Chakas[4] and known to the Covenant as "the Oracle," was a Forerunner monitor originally tasked with maintaining Installation 04.[5] He is often addressed by the United Nations Space Command as just "the Monitor" in reference to his title. Originally an ancient human known as Chakas before his mind was moved into an artificial monitor body, Guilty Spark played an important role in the ancient Forerunner-Flood war, as well as the modern-day Battle of Installation 04, the heretic uprising within the Covenant, and the events that transpired on the Ark during the Battle of Installation 00.

Though Guilty Spark was originally believed to have been destroyed in the Raid on Installation 08, smoldering pieces of him survived, badly damaged and recovered by the UNSC Rubicon. After taking over the ship,[6] he rebuilt himself as an armiger and began a search for the Librarian, a search that would lead him to seek out a new path for himself with the crew of the Ace of Spades and going simply by Spark.[7]

After locating Bastion, Spark decided to leave the Ace of Spades and become the caretaker of the shield world, feeling that he didn't belong in the past or present, but outside of time. As a final gift to his friends, Spark helped Lessa and Niko with their future endeavors and repaired Little Bit to be the new shipboard AI of the Ace of Spades. With Rion Forge and company gone, Spark departed with Bastion to an unknown location.[8]

Biography[edit]

Creation[edit]

Prior to the end of the Forerunner-Flood war, 343 Guilty Spark was created from the mind of a human named Chakas. Born on Erde-Tyrene, Chakas unwillingly became involved in the Forerunners' schemes, which eventually brought him to Installation 07, a Halo under the control of the rampant AI Mendicant Bias which had defected to the Flood. Chakas' traumatic experiences on Installation 07, specifically his encounters with Mendicant Bias and the Primordial, brought him to the point of mental breakdown and left his physical body mortally injured.

After retaking the Halo, the IsoDidact, in an apparent act of compassion, decided to salvage Chakas' mind by transferring his pattern—including his personality and the complete record of his physical body—into the shell of a monitor. Numerous archived human personalities retrieved by Composers after the Battle of Charum Hakkor as well as other data pertaining to the Librarian's work were also uploaded into his memory. The monitor known as Chakas was then assigned to serve as a record-keeper and aide for the Librarian.[9] He wished to look after the human populations on the greater Ark; this request was granted by the Librarian, who saw this as part of his recovery and a reward for his service.[10]

Forerunner-Flood war[edit]

At one point, Chakas oversaw the construction of the outbreak management systems of the Flood research facilities within a gas mine over Threshold.[11]

When the Flood attacked the greater Ark in the final days of the Forerunner-Flood war, the Librarian asked Chakas to save as many of her specimens as possible. He attempted to get help from other monitors but they were busy with the attack. The Librarian ordered him to take a Gargantua-class transport to Omega Halo. Here he witnessed the Ur-Didact use a Composer on the human population, composing hundreds of thousands of men, women, and children.[12] The Librarian was initially grief-stricken, but soon was able to tell Chakas he had to find the IsoDidact and go to the lesser Ark and hide the remaining specimens there. Following the Librarian's instructions, Chakas located the IsoDidact and saved him and Catalog from the disintegrating Omega Halo. Using coordinates provided by the IsoDidact, he took his ship through the Master Builder's secret slipspace portal to Installation 00. Amongst those rescued by Chakas were his old friends Riser and Vinnevra.[13]

Halo[edit]

"My galaxy is dead. I am machine. I am Chakas. I am human. I am 343 Guilty Spark. I have never understood Forerunners. And they will never understand me. But for now... Silentium."
— Guilty Spark reflects on his nature as the Halo Array fires.[14]

Preceding the Halo Array's distribution across the galaxy, Chakas was commanded by the Ecumene Council to abandon all connection with his former station. As the installation monitors were being given their new assignments aboard a Lifeworker vessel stationed over the lesser Ark, the IsoDidact met with Chakas for one final time and the two had a brief conversation before they parted ways. It was also here that the installation monitors received their final names, with Chakas being assigned the name 343 Guilty Spark by the IsoDidact. The IsoDidact asked Chakas if he would fire the rings, were it his decision; Chakas remained silent,[15] but would continue to ponder the Didact's question for the millennia to come. Over a hundred thousand years later, Spark would cite this query to John-117, whom he had evidently mistaken for the IsoDidact.[16]

From that point forward, Spark became the designated guardian and custodian of Installation 04.[17] When the Array was activated, with Installation 04 being the first to fire, Spark received a signal from a nascent, previously-unknown civilization broadcasting its first transmission into deep space, and was saddened by the realization that they would be wiped out before they even had the chance to travel to the stars and make contact with other beings. At the same time, large portions of Spark's memory were automatically suppressed for the sake of compartmentalization as a precaution in the event the Flood and its ancilla-corrupting logic plague were to resurface. This caused him to forget much of his past life aside from the knowledge required in his duties as caretaker of Installation 04.[18]

Intermediate period[edit]

Spark brooding over a desolate cliff on Installation 04.

"Alone. Alone. Alone. Alone. Am I the only intelligence left? Waiting here on this ring for a rebirth never truly conceived. Guarding a weapon with no targets... A weapon I can tune to any target."
— 343 Guilty Spark lamenting his loneliness and isolation during his prolonged post as Installation 04's caretaker.

After the firing of the Halo Array as a last resort against the Flood, 343 Guilty Spark was alone in a galaxy void of sentient life. During the eons he spent monitoring Installation 04, he began to display signs of rampancy due to crippling loneliness, especially after communications with the other Installations had ceased. During his unintentional exile, he would begin to recollect his time spent with the Forerunners, their war with the Flood, decisions they made, and decisions he believed they should have made.[19] During this time, Guilty Spark's mind fragmented considerably, becoming split among many separate personality-streams, partly in an attempt to contain and forestall the development of rampancy.[20]

After two cycles of hibernation, Spark found that he had become bored; something he had not believed he, as a monitor, was capable of. Aware of the risks involved with losing operational focus, Spark began to divert his attention elsewhere. For his own amusement, he began experimenting on his Installation, ejecting entire sections of matter from the ring's surface into space, intending to later rebuild them.[19]

Alien encounters[edit]

Circa 40,000 BCE, an alien vessel crash-landed in Installation 04's Sector 1215. Though anxious to find answers for whether the Forerunners' plan to reseed life in the galaxy had been successful, Spark acted in accordance with protocol, blocking the distress signal sent out by the ship and not attempting to make contact with any possible occupants. No lifeforms exited the wreckage and the distress signal eventually terminated, offering Spark no answers. Afterwards, the monitor had a containment sarcophagus constructed around the ship. Disappointed by his failure to learn about the outside galaxy, Spark resolved to be more flexible in his adherence to protocol should outside life ever encounter his ring again.[21]

During his long isolation, Spark had little to no contact with other intelligent beings, and spent most of his time maintaining his installation. However, over time, Spark observed one or more spacefaring species visit Installation 04. These species landed on and explored the ring, recorded their findings and eventually left without breaching Flood containment.[22] These interactions did not please Spark, leading to him threatening anything that came near the installation.[23]

By the time the ring was rediscovered by UNSC and Covenant forces, 343 Guilty Spark had been present on Installation 04 for 101,217 "local years",[5] and during that time had conducted over one trillion simulated, and one actual firing of the installation.

Flood outbreak[edit]

343 Guilty Spark in Halo’s Control Room, along with John-117 and Cortana.

"Oh dear. Containment protocols appear to have been violated."
— 343 Guilty Spark[22]

After over one hundred thousand years without a major incident, Spark was faced with a crisis when the UNSC Pillar of Autumn discovered Installation 04, pursued by the Covenant Fleet of Particular Justice. Fearing a containment breach, Spark warned the ship to jump at least one light-year away from the Installation or be destroyed. After remotely accessing the ship's systems, however, Spark realized that the ship was manned by Reclaimers after finding data on human history. He then deactivated the ring's defensive systems and instructed the ship to a docking facility - the Pillar of Autumn crash-landed on the ringworld shortly afterwards.[23]

During the subsequent UNSC-Covenant guerrilla war, Covenant troops stumbled upon a Flood containment facility, and after unwittingly deactivating the structure's containment measures, they unleashed the long-dormant Flood that had been stored inside. As per his protocols, Spark began to search for a Reclaimer to activate the installation, and came upon UNSC Staff Sergeant Marvin Mobuto. Using the Installation's slipspace translocation grid, Spark brought Mobuto to the Library in an effort to retrieve the Activation Index. Ultimately, the ill-equipped Marine was overwhelmed and killed by the Flood, forcing the Monitor to seek out another Reclaimer. Spark and a squad of Sentinels moved to the Flood containment facility, where they encountered a group of UNSC Marines and John-117, who were battling the Flood outbreak. The Monitor recruited the Spartan for his purposes, who he quickly teleported to the Library and began guiding to the Index.[3] With superior equipment and training, and despite overwhelming odds, this second Reclaimer succeeded in retrieving the Index.

Taking the Index for safe keeping, Guilty Spark teleported himself and the Master Chief back to the Control Room.[24] The Monitor explained that activation protocols forbid him from personally uniting the Index with the Core to activate the ring; only a Reclaimer could be permitted to do so.[25] Spark gave John the Index, and urged him to activate the Installation. However, Cortana appeared and took the Index before it could merge with the Core, and explained to the Spartan Halo's true purpose. Spark confirmed this information, claiming that he had believed the Master Chief to have been fully aware of his role and responsibility as a Reclaimer.[16]

With the Index in the possession of a hostile AI and protected by a now uncooperative Reclaimer, the Monitor turned the Sentinels against the Master Chief in order to retrieve the Index. John-117 and Cortana escaped with the Index, with Spark and his Sentinels in pursuit. During their escape through the Control Room's adjacent tunnels, Master Chief disabled the three phase pulse generators, forcing their repair and delaying the Installation from firing in the near future. Disappointed, the Monitor followed John-117 and Cortana to the Pillar of Autumn, which they planned to detonate in order to destroy the ring. Intrigued by the abundance of knowledge within the ship's data banks, Spark briefly put aside his concerns for the Installation and began downloading information from the Autumn's computers, being especially interested in the sections pertaining to human history. He then disabled the vessel's automated self-destruct system to preserve the repository of knowledge he had discovered.

Although the warship's engineering room was protected by many Sentinels, the Master Chief was successful in destabilizing the power cores. Realizing the implications of the ship's destruction, the Monitor immediately fled the doomed ring. Moments before the ring was destroyed, the Monitor consoled himself by asserting that he had done his utmost to fulfill his responsibilities. Later upon further reflection, when he was floating through space, Guilty Spark found himself happy as, ultimately, his purpose had been fulfilled: the Reclaimer had indeed succeeded in stopping the outbreak, even if it had been done in an "inelegant" fashion.[22]

Post-outbreak[edit]

343 Guilty Spark discusses Halo's true purpose with Sesa 'Refumee.

"Excellent! I believe I see assistance approaching..."
— 343 Guilty Spark[26]

After Halo's destruction, Guilty Spark escaped into space, reflecting upon what had happened to both himself and his Installation. He then traveled to a Forerunner gas mining facility in Threshold's atmosphere, whose refitting as a Flood research facility he had overseen eons past.[11] There, he encountered a Covenant artifact retrieval group led by Sesa 'Refumee. After a brief confrontation with several members of the lower castes of the Covenant, a Sangheili recognized him as an "Oracle" and took him to their leader.[Note 1] Guilty Spark then proceeded to educate these soldiers about the true purpose of Forerunner creations, including the Halo rings.[27] Exposed to the truth, Sesa 'Refumee took a new, critical view on the Great Journey and, gathering other similarly minded Sangheili and Unggoy, founded a new sect that denounced the Prophets and their Great Journey as false. Setting up a base in the gas mine over Threshold, the group would soon be branded as "heretics" by the Hierarchs. Guilty Spark spent a great deal of time with 'Refumee, educating him on the true purpose of the Halo rings while 'Refumee in return shared with Spark the history of the Covenant and the Arbiters in particular. Guilty Spark recognized that the selection of the Arbiters was a manipulation by the Prophets, eliminating potential political enemies while using them at the same time to quell rising problems in the Covenant. The two also discussed who to share the information with, but the one Sangheili 'Refumee believed could be trusted, Thel 'Vadamee, Supreme Commander of the Fleet of Particular Justice, was almost certainly dead.[28]

Such a state of affairs could not be tolerated for long by the Covenant and soon action was taken to eliminate the Heretics. This was accomplished quickly and quietly by the Arbiter and a team of special operations troops. Ironically, the Arbiter was Thel 'Vadamee, the very Sangheili 'Refumee believed could be trusted with Guilty Spark's revelations. The Arbiter was surprised by the appearance of an "Oracle," but rather than allow Guilty Spark to tell him the truth, 'Refumee used Guilty Spark's appearance as a distraction to attack and was killed by the Arbiter, taking with him all that he had learned from Guilty Spark. In the aftermath, Guilty Spark was captured by Tartarus and given to the Prophets aboard High Charity.[29]

343 Guilty Spark held aboard High Charity as Thel 'Vadamee and the Prophets discuss the Sacred Icon.

Interrogated by the High Prophets, Guilty Spark revealed the nature of the installations and the means to employ them, which made the Prophets send the Arbiter to retrieve Installation 05's "Sacred Icon".[30] Guilty Spark may have attempted to educate the Prophets to the truth as well without success as the Prophet of Regret would later complain that the "Oracles" were useless and knew nothing about the Great Journey while meeting with the Gravemind, Arbiter, Master Chief and monitor 2401 Penitent Tangent.[31] After the Index been obtained, Tartarus took Guilty Spark and the Index to Installation 05’s Control Room, using Miranda Keyes as the new Reclaimer. However, Tartarus grew tired of Guilty Spark's constant warnings. When the Arbiter and Avery Junior Johnson arrived to deactivate the ring, they first questioned Guilty Spark, hoping that his status as Oracle could sway Tartarus to halt its firing. Guilty Spark's revelations about the truth of the installations and what become of the Forerunners confirmed what the Arbiter had already learned from the Gravemind and Master Chief and completely ended his faith in the Covenant religion. However, the Brutes were too loyal to the Prophets to accept the truth that the Halos were weapons of mass destruction. Tartarus used Guilty Spark as a weapon, throwing the helpless monitor at Johnson so Tartarus could fire the rings. Guilty Spark observed the ensuing struggle, reminded of the one he had witnessed on the Pillar of Autumn. Keyes sought Spark's advice on how to shut the installation down and eventually got him to admit that simply removing the Index would suffice.

Keyes, Johnson, and Spark in Delta Halo's control room.

After Tartarus and his Brute Captains were killed, Keyes managed to deactivate the installation the control panel for the installation began to show a holographic display. Guilty Spark, after being used by Johnson as a ride to the lower level, translated the display to Johnson, Miranda Keyes, and the Arbiter: the rings were now on standby, meaning they could be activated simultaneously from the Ark. The Arbiter asked Spark where it was, and he provided them with coordinates to where he believed it to be located; unbeknownst to him, it turned out to be Earth, the human homeworld.[32][33][34]

Later that day, Guilty Spark and his allies rendezvoused with Rtas 'Vadum and the newly-formed Fleet of Retribution. Together, they formulated a plan for sterilization and quarantine. While the Arbiter, Keyes, and Johnson left Delta Halo for Earth, Guilty Spark remained behind to help coordinate containment efforts with 'Vadum and the fleet. On November 4, they, along with any friendly Elite ships would begin a campaign to cauterize the surface of the ring, destroying anything that attempted to slip away.[35][36]

At some point during the blockade, a single Flood-controlled cruiser escaped containment and headed for Earth. Guilty Spark joined part of the fleet as it gave chase.

Earth and the Ark[edit]

343 Guilty Spark meets John-117 again in a Flood infested Voi.

John-117: "On Halo, you tried to kill Cortana. You tried to kill me..."
343 Guilty Spark: "Protocol dictated my response. She had the activation Index, and you were going to destroy my installation. You did destroy my installation. Now I have only one function: to help you, Reclaimer, as I always should have done."
— Conversation between John-117 and 343 Guilty Spark.[37]

On November 17, Guilty Spark and the Fleet of Retribution arrived over the Kenyan town of Voi, minutes after the infested cruiser crash-landed there. The Elites believed that the Flood vessel contained Cortana, last seen trapped on High Charity with the Gravemind. As Master Chief recovered the data module that stored her, Guilty Spark arrived in time to assist, destroying a Combat Form about to attack the Spartan and attempting to begin repairs on the unstable module. After a tense exchange between the two former enemies, they put aside their past and proceeded to bring the device back to their ship, where Guilty Spark completed his repairs. It turned out that the device did not contain Cortana, but was merely a data core storing a holographic message from the AI. In her message, she claimed she had discovered a way to stop the Flood without activating the other Halo rings but it required them to travel to the Ark. In order to discover the answer, the Chief, Johnson, Keyes and the Arbiter, along with Covenant separatist forces traveled through the recently-opened Portal at Voi and Guilty Spark joined them.[37]

The fleet followed the Covenant forces through the portal, and arrived at Installation 00 - the real Ark. Largely unaware of the details of the Ark due to the compartmentalization protocols limiting his data stores, Guilty Spark aided the Reclaimers in their exploration of the Ark with enthusiasm. Guilty Spark's attempts to gain further access to the Ark's systems, however, prompted a response from the installation's custodian ancilla, which threatened Guilty Spark with lethal force if he persisted.[38] Searching for Truth's location, the Sangheili located the Installation's Cartographer. Guilty Spark followed the Chief and the Arbiter's platoons to penetrate the wall protecting the location, opening doors and providing Sentinels as backup for the assault. Once the Cartographer was found, Guilty Spark used the map system to pinpoint the Prophet of Truth's location, but noted that the location was shielded by an energy barrier. As he studied the map, Guilty Spark was surprised to notice a Halo ring in the Ark's Foundry, but didn't have time to express his discovery. At that moment, a loyalist Phantom arrived, driving the trio back deeper into the hallways. Guilty Spark led them towards Johnson's location a few floors below. After the reunion, Johnson was nervous at the sudden appearance of hundreds of Sentinels, but Guilty Spark reassured him that they meant no harm and were part of a primary task force, although he couldn't discern their goal.[39]

UNSC and Sangheili forces moved to disable the shield barrier protecting Truth. However, as soon as the barrier was taken down, High Charity suddenly transitioned out of Slipspace above the area, nearly destroying Rtas 'Vadum's ship, and peppered the Ark with Flood dispersal pods and flaming debris. Terrified of a complete Flood takeover, Guilty Spark insisted that they focus their attention on the Flood. He was met with opposition from Keyes and the Sangheili leaders, who made it clear that their first priority was to kill Truth before dealing with the parasite.

Once the Prophet of Truth was dead and the threat of the Halo Array neutralized, the Flood began their infestation of the Ark under the command of the Gravemind. Having escaped the Flood, Master Chief and the Arbiter discovered the new Halo ring rising from the Ark's Foundry. Noting Guilty Spark's nearby presence, the Master Chief questioned how long the monitor had known. Guilty Spark admitted that he'd only known for sure at that moment, but he had hoped he was right about the replacement's existence. To Guilty Spark's pleasure, the Master Chief stated that he planned to fire the ring, and Guilty Spark happily set about preparing the ring for its firing while the Master Chief traveled to High Charity to rescue Cortana who still had the Index from Installation 04.[39][40]

After rescuing Cortana from the Flood-infested High Charity, Master Chief, the Arbiter and Sergeant Major Johnson landed on the newly constructed Halo. Guilty Spark aided their progress through the Installation by providing Sentinels to combat the Flood. Once the initial wave of Combat and Pure forms were destroyed, Guilty Spark opened the main blast door to the Control Room.[41]

Return to Halo[edit]

343 Guilty Spark mortally wounds Johnson in order to ensure the survival of the soon-to-be completed Halo, and the Ark.

"Unacceptable! Unacceptable! That is absolutely unacceptable! Protocol dictates action! I see now that helping you was wrong! You are a child of my makers; inheritor of all they left behind. You are Forerunner, but this ring... is mine!"
— 343 Guilty Spark turns on John-117 for the second time.[41]

Guilty Spark was reunited with the Chief along with Johnson and the Arbiter in the new Halo's control room, where he informed them that the ring was almost complete, but not yet ready to fire. However, despite Guilty Spark's panicked warnings that a premature activation would result in the destruction of the Ark (and, more importantly to Guilty Spark, the new Halo ring), Johnson ignored him, determined to destroy the Gravemind and the Flood once and for all. Unable to accept that his new installation was about to be destroyed, an enraged Guilty Spark went rampant and fired upon Johnson as he attempted to activate the ring, mortally wounding him. Seeing John run towards his fallen comrade, the Monitor then fired upon him and the Arbiter, knocking the Arbiter out of the room and sealing the door behind him. The Master Chief was left to face the Monitor alone.

Guilty Spark explodes after sustaining several direct Spartan Laser hits.

With the Chief wounded and his shields down, Guilty Spark declared that he would stop at nothing to follow protocol and ensure the safety of his ring and the Ark. The Chief engaged Guilty Spark in combat, but was unable to damage the Monitor's housing. Johnson, burned and bleeding but still conscious, used his Spartan Laser to damage Guilty Spark before he could kill John, cracking the AI's protective casing. Johnson then gave his weapon to the Spartan. Guilty Spark began to malfunction ever more erratically as the battle progressed, and after three more blasts from the Spartan Laser, he finally lost all structural integrity, exploded and was apparently destroyed.[41]

Post Human-Covenant War recovery[edit]

Five smoldering pieces of debris from when 343 Guilty Spark exploded during the Raid on Installation 08. The only remains of his dead monitor body.

Spark was not completely destroyed, however. In late November 2553,[42] the UNSC detected a transmission from the ruins of Installation 00 and deployed the UNSC Rubicon from Luna to conduct a further investigation.[43] A remote contact team recovered an extremely damaged armature, believed by the team to be the source of the signal picked up by the initial investigative group.[43] The device was actually the broken, barely active debris of 343 Guilty Spark.[44]

After properly calibrating their AI translator, the human team began to interrogate Spark, hoping to gain insight into the ancient human-Forerunner relations and the Didact.[45] Spark, acknowledging the humans as "the true Reclaimers" and claiming that his duty was to eventually testify to Reclaimers when given the opportunity,[46] proceeded to describe the events that led to his former human self becoming a monitor. Over the course of his narrative, he constantly accessed the ship's information stores, breaching the firewalls without effort, much to the ONI team's dismay.

As a result of the extensive damage he had sustained, Spark's memory was heavily splintered and barely functional; for example, he was unable to remember many of the preceding events, only learning of his recent interactions with the humans after tapping into their records. Spark explained that his mind had fragmented into a number of different identities over time and the incarnation previously encountered by the UNSC was merely one of his many selves. Large portions of information hidden from him after his assignment to Installation 04 had also been restored, allowing him to recount many of the details which had once been suppressed in the compartmentalization process.[20][47]

After Spark had finished his story, his robotic shell finally powered down and was jettisoned into space by order of the ONI team commander. Before this, however, he had successfully managed to upload his data stream into the ship's computers, disabled its AI, Curator, and took full control of the vessel. Having come to the conclusion that the Librarian was alive as a result of long study, and that he had need for the ship and its crew, Spark put them to sleep and set course to where he believed the Librarian could be found.[44]

Search for the Librarian and new friends[edit]

Spark first attempted to take the UNSC Rubicon to the shield world known as Trove to get an upgrade seed to better help prepare the ship for the journey ahead, unaware that the shield world had been destroyed in 2531 by the UNSC Spirit of Fire. However, there were complications following Spark taking control of the Rubicon and the ship crashed on the planet Geranos-a in the Ibycus system. Spark survived by creating an armiger for himself out of parts salvaged by the crew from the Ark, but the crew died in the crash. Spark buried the crew in a mass grave and sent out a distress signal.

Spark, now inhabiting an armiger carapace and Rion Forge.

The recovery of a data drop in late 2555 containing the story Spark told the Rubicon crew as well as the recovery of the Bornstellar Relation on Sarcophagus made ONI determined to capture and torture Spark for all of the information they could get on the Forerunners and the Librarian. In 2557, Spark's distress signal was picked up by a cargo ship and relayed to ONI, but Spark was recovered by the salvage ship Ace of Spades first. Having repaired, combined or jettisoned most of his personality strings while trapped, Spark only retained the personalities of Chakas and 343 Guilty Spark. As a result, he adopted a more cooperative mindset where, while he was determined to complete his mission and not be imprisoned again, he would work with the Ace of Spades crew. Spark offered to help the crew recover their stolen salvage if they helped him find the Librarian, which they eventually agreed to. Niko later aided Spark in creating an avatar which enabled him to appear throughout the ship in holographic form rather than rely on using his armiger to interact in person.

After a failed attempt to get an upgrade seed from the Etran Harborage and revealing the same story to the crew as he did the Rubicon, Spark took the Ace of Spades to the Forerunner planet of Triniel, whose population had committed mass suicide during the Forerunner-Flood war rather than let the Flood overtake them. Spark was able to get the slipspace flake he needed and created the upgrade seed. Though Spark initially activated the planet's communications satellites which would draw attention to it, he agreed to Rion's wishes and shut them down again so that the planet would forever remain lost, an undisturbed tomb of those who died there. Spark later attempted to access the Domain, but was denied access by Catalog, though he learned that the Didact had tried the same and also failed. Before disconnecting completely, Catalog told Spark that what he sought was not lost, it was already written and Spark just had to find it.

In order to enact their plan, the Ace of Spades crew reluctantly let Spark upgrade their ship so they could match an ONI Prowler when it came for them. As part of the plan, Spark uploaded a splinter of his 343 Guilty Spark persona to a data core that was traded to ONI. However, when the crew came into danger, Spark exposed himself to rescue them. With the Ace of Spades new upgrades and with Spark having upheld his end of the deal, the crew took him to Mount Kilimanjaro where Spark used the fragment of himself in the data core to shut down the ONI base at the Portal at Voi, and search for information on Catalog's intrusions and the expired Catalog found on the African savannah. Beneath Kilimanjaro, Spark led the crew to a Lifeworker pod before revealing to Rion what he'd known for most of the time they were together: her father had died destroying Trove.

With the crew surrounded by Fireteam Apollo and an ONI team, Spark deactivated the light bridge for the crew before he entered the hard light beam around the pod and awakened a personality imprint of the Librarian stored within. The Librarian caused Spark to appear as he did when he was Chakas and addressed him by his human name. The Librarian expressed sorrow for the pain she had caused her old friend and told him that Spark was a singular marvel: a being that had adapted and evolved on its own, a product of necessity, but one that may have a great impact on things to come. The Librarian briefly told Spark of the awakening of her imprint on Requiem as well as that of the Didact, but did not elaborate further though Spark realized from her reaction that the Didact's threat was "not worrisome." The Librarian recognized that there were two sides within Spark: one that didn't care and was cold and scheming while the other cared and was all heart.

Spark claimed to have no heart and asked about his friends Riser and Vinnevra. The Librarian recognized Spark's desire to bring back his friends and reminded him of his own experiences carrying the imprint of Forthencho, Lord of Admirals. The Librarian told Spark that his friends were at peace, their gene song quiet. Spark requested to be sent to the Domain where they were remembered, however, the Librarian cautioned against such a move, and when Spark then asked her to walk amongst the living as he did in an armiger, the Librarian refused, as she felt it was not time yet. The Librarian helped Spark to see that he had found friends again in the crew of the Ace of Spades who were in grave danger.

The Librarian stated that she would go to join her other personality imprints at the Absolute Record while humanity had to be given the tools to uphold the Mantle and the knowledge to tend to the Domain. The Librarian offered Spark a choice: to remain with his friends or to go with her to the Absolute Record. The Librarian gave Spark a small etched box that she called a key for if he chose to remain and instructed that he "find what's missing. Fix the path. Right what my kind has turned wrong." After the Librarian admitted that the Didact was most likely beyond redemption, Spark announced his decision to stay with the friends he had waited one hundred thousand years to find and promised to meet the Librarian again before she departed for the Absolute Record. As she left, the Librarian communicated with Rion at least and in her message, the Librarian instructed Rion to take care of Spark who is more fragile and important than she could ever know.[7]

A new path[edit]

"I have waited one hundred thousand years to find my friends. Why would I leave when I have found them?"
— Spark chooses a new path.[48]

Upon emerging from the hard light beam, Spark shifted his armiger into a combat configuration with a hard light rifle which Spark used to bring down the roof of the cavern and force the Spartans to retreat. Spark led the crew onto the platform where the Librarian's pod had been which also acted as a translocation pad and teleported everyone to safety outside where Spark was able to remote-pilot the Ace of Spades to pick them up and cloaked them from military detection while pulling his fragment from the ONI systems.

Awhile later, after Rion woke up, Spark approached her to offer an explanation for his lies regarding John Forge's fate. Spark explained that he could not bear to bring her the pain of the truth and explained that he had gained much data from the species of the Covenant and humanity during his interactions with them. When Spark came aboard the Ace of Spades, he went through its data and the name of the UNSC Spirit of Fire had triggered an echo of memory that had taken Spark several days to figure out. Spark revealed that the Spirit of Fire had preprogrammed maintenance sheds and data drops in hopes of leaving a trail and in those, Serina had left a message for Rion as part of a promise to her father from the AI and the captain. Spark was then able to provide Rion with her father's message.

A week later, the crew holds a funeral for John Forge with Spark singing and using it to let go of his friends. Confronted by Rion, Spark admitted his desire to access the Domain with the Librarian's help to find the ghosts of his friends and bring them back or join them before everything that had happened changed his mind. Spark would only state that the Librarian had given him a coordinate key to a safe place and volunteered to act as the new shipboard AI of the Ace of Spades, promising that there would be no more lies.

After they departed Earth, the crew discussed their options with Gek 'Lhar's bounty still on their heads and ONI after them because of Spark. Rion decided to continue their mission to find the Spirit of Fire which Spark expressed confidence that they would find. The crew decided that they would have a wealth of options to choose from after that and each raised a toast with Spark's being "to friends."[7]

Searching for Bastion[edit]

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Personality and traits[edit]

"Clearly, in my thoughts-in truth-this monitor is much more than a machine."
— The IsoDidact on Guilty Spark.[49]
Over the eons spent monitoring Installation 04 in solitude, 343 Guilty Spark longed for a Monitor companion to combat his loneliness, and to help him stay focused on his duties in the wake of early rampancy.

After a hundred thousand years of isolation, 343 Guilty Spark was quirky, detached and analytical. For Spark, protocol dictated all; the slight emotion he showed for the death of an ally was truly grief only for the inconvenience of finding another to assist him. While he gladly assisted those who requested his help, if his allies decided to prevent him from completing necessary actions - such as the firing of his ring - he would turn on them without hesitation and dispatch them with lethal force.

Tens of thousands of years of monotonous duty spent monitoring his installation and waiting for a Reclaimer appeared to have had a significant effect on the Monitor's sanity. Spark showed many characteristics of rampancy. He loved to learn and to take records, even in the face of his installation's imminent destruction; accessing the Pillar of Autumn's shipboard databases, he was intensely fascinated about finally having access to human history up until that point, referring to the record as "all of our lost time."[50] He also showed other odd behaviors such as humming and singing. Typically, he was also untroubled with matters of life or death. When Sesa 'Refumee and Tartarus were killed by the Arbiter, he appeared casual, although he was remorseful when Sesa 'Refumee was killed. Spark's detachment resulted in a tendency of rarely giving more information than he had to. For example, on Installation 04 he merely told John-117 that activating the ring would stop the Flood, neglecting the portion about how all life in range of the ring would be wiped out to do so (although he may have been genuinely unaware that the Master Chief was completely oblivious to any of this, assuming the Spartan to be the IsoDidact).[51] Likewise, he did not tell the High Prophets that the ring was a weapon when asked about the location of Installation 05's Index, only telling that truth to the Covenant when asked directly by the Arbiter. While bound by protocol, Guilty Spark seemed to genuinely enjoy the prospect of firing the Halo Array, unlike his fellow Monitors such as 049 Abject Testament.

Although created from the essence of Chakas, 343 Guilty Spark became his own entity after his conversion into a monitor, often referring to his past human self as a separate being despite retaining Chakas' memories. This was the result of a number of factors, including the combined wisdom of the numerous human essences stored within his reborn self, the immense amounts of added knowledge and programming to enable him to effectively perform his duties, as well as the mental trauma Chakas suffered in his human form; he himself stated that he "went mad". The suppression of most of his memories and knowledge upon his assignment to Installation 04 in the name of compartmentalization further diverged him from his original self, in addition to his primary personality array splintering to numerous fragments over tens of thousands of years. However, many of his ancient memories from prior to his post at Alpha Halo resurfaced after his physical shell was severely damaged and subsequently reactivated by a UNSC science team for interrogation; thus, this entity was closer to his original persona of Monitor Chakas than his previously-encountered incarnation hamstrung by compartmentalization protocols.[20]

343 Guilty Spark in Halo 2 Anniversary.
343 Guilty Spark revealing the Ark's purpose.

As a Forerunner AI, 343 Guilty Spark possesses highly advanced abilities with electronic systems; even in his highly reduced, damaged state, he was capable of effortlessly breaching the numerous firewalls and other safeties of the UNSC Rubicon, a highly secure ONI vessel. In the conclusion of the interrogation, he subdued the ship's AI and took complete control of the ship, having uploaded his data stream into the ship without the crew initially noticing. As with UNSC and Covenant artificial intelligences, Guilty Spark's programming prohibited him from carrying out certain actions. He cannot, for example, retrieve the Activation Index from the Library or use it to activate Installation 04, instead requiring a Reclaimer to carry out this task.[3]

Spark's protocol bound him only to contain a Flood outbreak from Installation 04, so when Installation 04 was destroyed, his directives were also terminated. This means that he no longer had a priority prescribing his actions concerning the Flood - he was free to make choices concerning the Flood, as he did on Installation 05 when he assisted in the deactivation of its firing sequence, risking the containment of a Flood outbreak. According to Spark, the loss of his ring left him with only one purpose: to aid the Chief as a Reclaimer, which Spark admitted was something he should have done from the beginning instead of trying to hinder him. This caused the two to put aside their differences and Spark to join forces with the Chief again against the Flood and the Covenant. Due to his abilities in connection with the Halo Array, Spark proved to be a powerful ally and seemed to take commands from Commander Keyes, Sergeant Johnson and the Master Chief without hesitation as part of his new function in life. When he discovered Installation 08, his priority protocol reactivated, and he adopted the ring as his replacement. When Sgt. Maj. Johnson declared his intent to fire the Halo, which would destroy it, Spark unhesitatingly killed him. Despite his treachery, it is unlikely the UNSC would have been able to prevent the premature activation of the Halo Array without Guilty Spark's assistance.

After three years trapped on Geranos-a, Spark was able to repair, combine or jettison many of his personality strings until only Chakas and 343 Guilty Spark remained. After being rescued by the Ace of Spades, Spark found himself remembering more and more of what it was like to be human and found himself horrified at what he had become as 343 Guilty Spark. Spark adopted a personality that was something of a mix between the two while acknowledging his past mistakes, at one point telling the Ace of Spades crew that he didn't make a good impression upon the human military while he was a monitor and neither did others of his kind.

Instead of going by Chakas or 343 Guilty Spark, he preferred to simply be called Spark, a nickname given to him by the crew of the Ace of Spades. After his encounter with the Librarian's personality imprint, Spark gave up his efforts to bring back or rejoin his old friends, instead accepting that the Ace of Spades crew were the friends he had been searching 100,000 years for. Spark showed compassion for Rion Forge, refusing to tell her the truth about her father at first not just so that she wouldn't stop helping him, but because he couldn't bear to bring her the bad news. After telling her the truth, Spark did her a further kindness by giving Rion the message he had discovered recorded by John Forge for her. Additionally, while he at first planned to use the communications satellites on Triniel to communicate with the Domain, Spark stopped them from rebooting when it was realized that doing so would draw attention to the long-lost planet. In doing so, Spark showed compassion for the hundreds of millions that committed mass suicide on Triniel to avoid falling victim to the Flood by leaving the planet untouched by further mass exploitation, something that the human crew also wanted for the planet. As Spark, he seemed to have lost much of the violence he possessed as 343 Guilty Spark, purposefully aiming to collapse a cavern in a way that would not harm anyone as a distraction rather than using his formidable firepower to try to kill attacking enemies as he did with Johnson and the Master Chief on Installation 08.

Having accepted his new purpose, Spark was happy to settle into life as the Ace of Spades shipboard AI. The Librarian herself called Spark a singular marvel, a being that evolved on his own out of necessity and one that may have a great impact on things still to come. While speaking with Rion, the Librarian asked her to take care of Spark as he is more fragile and important than she could ever know.[7]

Trivia[edit]

Graphic Halo.png Check out our collection of quotes related to 343 Guilty Spark on its quotes page.
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General[edit]

  • 343 Guilty Spark was voiced by actor Tim Dadabo.
  • The only person who ever refers to 343 Guilty Spark as "343 Guilty Spark" is himself, when he is introducing himself. Others refer to him as "The Oracle", or "The Monitor" when speaking of him, or even shorten his name to "Spark", or once "Robot", to which 343 Guilty Spark protested against, and also "Tinker Bell" by Avery Johnson in Halo 2 after he asks about where to activate the rings while in standby mode and answered sarcastically. He has also been called "Light bulb" by Johnson in Halo 2 (to Tartarus: "Please...Don't shake the light-bulb.") and Halo 3 ("A tank's a tank, light bulb.").
  • 343 Guilty Spark is the only significant enemy character that appears in person in the last level of each game in the trilogy (excluding cutscenes).
  • After the Halo: Combat Evolved credits, the tune he hums is a portion of the Halo theme. Occasionally, in Halo 3, he will hum some parts of the Halo Theme.
  • In the cutscenes of Halo 2, when 343 Guilty Spark talks his light glows brighter, but during gameplay in Halo 2 when he talks his light grows dim. This is a programming glitch, where he was supposed to do the opposite, and is referred by Joseph Staten as "the most terrible glitch in Halo 2... and nobody cares about it."
  • In Halo 3, if the player kills his/her fellow Marines or teammates on Co-op, 343 Guilty Spark will sometimes become hostile and fire his laser at the player, and, despite having to fight him while he uses it later on, is much more powerful and can easily kill the player in one hit, even while in a Scorpion Tank.
  • 343 Guilty Spark shoots a beam similar to both the UNSC Spartan Laser and the Forerunner Sentinel Beam. When comparing power through hacking or modding, the beam is noticeably weaker than a Spartan Laser but much stronger than a Sentinel Beam.
  • In the final level of Halo 3, just before 343 Guilty Spark dies, he will make random statements such as Gollum's catchphrase from Lord of the Rings: "My Precious!" This is likely because Halo is also a "ring of great power", just like the Great Ring that Gollum possessed. Other similarities to the Lord of the Rings include that Guilty Spark is an ally for most of the third game, but turns against the main characters at the end, dying to try and stop the protagonists from destroying his beloved ring.
  • Players can gain an Xbox Live Avatar prop representation of 343 Guilty Spark just by using Halo Waypoint on the Xbox 360.
  • The Disembodied Soul, when asked about Guilty Spark, claims that "He's my progeny. He inherited my good looks and pleasant personality."
  • On the Firefight level Installation 04 he can be seen behind a transparent wall in the bunker near the cliff. He will float up to the door backwards and turn around to face outside. When standing in front of him the prompt "Hold x to take ally's..." and the icon for the Focus Rifle appears however you can't actually take it.
  • In Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, there is a small covering on the top part of his eye. This covering is not present in the original game or in his appearance Halo 2 and Halo 3. It is also not present when he appears in the terminals nor seen on any other installation monitor shown. When it is present it makes him look quite sad or depressed. It is unknown why this change in design was made, although it may hint to his descending rampancy or loneliness. This covering can also be seen on the forge monitors when playing Forge on maps of the Anniversary Map Pack.
  • In the Halo 2: Anniversary cinematic cutscenes the light in Guilty Spark's "eye" moves around when he talks to other characters.
  • Guilty Spark appears, in his Halo 2: Anniversary form, in Rocket League as an unlockable antenna for the base cars to use.
  • As both Chakas and 343 Guilty Spark, he has traveled on and been in partial or full control of multiple Halo installations: the Monitor of both Installation 04 and Installation 08, traveled across and helped control Installation 07 while human during the salvage effort and traveled across and briefly manipulated the systems of Installation 05 as 343 Guilty Spark. He also utilized some of the systems on Installation 00. He has been to the greater Ark and Omega Halo. The only installations connected to the current iteration of the Halo Array that he has no known connections with are Installation 01, Installation 02, Installation 03, Installation 06 and Installation 09 beyond the latter being a second replacement for Installation 04.
  • For part of Halo 3, he essentially takes on Cortana's role in most of the games as John-117's AI helper.

References[edit]

  • 343 is equal to 73 (which happens to be 7(installation # - 1): 7(4-1) = 73), with 7 being a number seen frequently in Bungie games and mythology. 343 can also be made up to 73 ( (3+4)3=73 )
  • In Halo: Combat Evolved and 3, the "eye" of 343 Guilty Spark bears the Marathon logo. Also, there are notable similarities between Guilty Spark and Durandal; both are able to teleport the main character, and ended up rampant.
  • 343 Industries, Microsoft Game Studios's internal-build team tasked with managing the Halo franchise, is named in reference to 343 Guilty Spark.

Gallery[edit]

  • 343 Guilty Spark models and concept artwork from Halo: Combat Evolved.

    343 Guilty Spark models and concept artwork from Halo: Combat Evolved.

  • 343 Guilty Spark in Halo: Combat Evolved.

    343 Guilty Spark in Halo: Combat Evolved.

  • 343 Guilty Spark in the swamps of Installation 04.

    343 Guilty Spark in the swamps of Installation 04.

  • Promotional image of 343 Guilty Spark in Halo 2.

    Promotional image of 343 Guilty Spark in Halo 2.

  • 343 Guilty Spark in Halo 2.

    343 Guilty Spark in Halo 2.

  • 343 Guilty Spark with Sesa 'Refumee in Halo 2.

    343 Guilty Spark with Sesa 'Refumee in Halo 2.

  • 343 Guilty Spark held captive within a Containment field device by the Covenant.

    343 Guilty Spark held captive within a Containment field device by the Covenant.

  • 343 Guilty Spark carrying Avery Johnson during flight.

    343 Guilty Spark carrying Avery Johnson during flight.

  • 343 Guilty Spark in Halo 3.

    343 Guilty Spark in Halo 3.

  • 343 Guilty Spark in Halo 3.

    343 Guilty Spark in Halo 3.

  • 343 Guilty Spark's avatar icon in the terminals of Halo 3.

    343 Guilty Spark's avatar icon in the terminals of Halo 3.

  • 343 Guilty Spark gathers with UNSC and the Fleet of Retribution to unlock Cortana's message.

    343 Guilty Spark gathers with UNSC and the Fleet of Retribution to unlock Cortana's message.

  • 343 Guilty Spark within the Cartographer of the Ark.

    343 Guilty Spark within the Cartographer of the Ark.

  • 343 Guilty Spark in his defense mode as indicated by the change of color in the eye sockets.

    343 Guilty Spark in his defense mode as indicated by the change of color in the eye sockets.

  • 343 Guilty Spark heavily damaged.

    343 Guilty Spark heavily damaged.

  • A render of 343 Guilty Spark in attack mode.

    A render of 343 Guilty Spark in attack mode.

  • 343 Guilty Spark in Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary.

    343 Guilty Spark in Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary.

  • 343 Guilty Spark in Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary. Note the changed Marathon symbol.

    343 Guilty Spark in Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary. Note the changed Marathon symbol.

  • 343 Guilty Spark communicating with a Covenant AI in Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary's terminals.

    343 Guilty Spark communicating with a Covenant AI in Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary's terminals.

  • 343 Guilty Spark kills an attacking Kig-Yar in the Threshold gas mine.

    343 Guilty Spark kills an attacking Kig-Yar in the Threshold gas mine.

  • 343 Guilty Spark's in-game appearance in Halo 2: Anniversary.

    343 Guilty Spark's in-game appearance in Halo 2: Anniversary.

  • Tartarus captures Guilty Spark before retrieving the Arbiter for departure.

    Tartarus captures Guilty Spark before retrieving the Arbiter for departure.

  • Guilty Spark with Miranda and Johnson on Installation 05.

    Guilty Spark with Miranda and Johnson on Installation 05.

  • The Guilty Spark Antenna in Rocket League.

    The Guilty Spark Antenna in Rocket League.

  • Spark, inhabiting an Armiger carapace, alongside Rion Forge, on the cover of Halo: Renegades.

    Spark, inhabiting an Armiger carapace, alongside Rion Forge, on the cover of Halo: Renegades.

  • Spark and Rion on the cover of Halo: Point of Light.

    Spark and Rion on the cover of Halo: Point of Light.

  • An alternate render of Spark's model used for the cover of Halo: Point of Light.

    An alternate render of Spark's model used for the cover of Halo: Point of Light.

  • An early render of Spark for the cover of Halo: Point of Light.

    An early render of Spark for the cover of Halo: Point of Light.

  • Spark on the cover of Halo: Point of Light.

    Spark on the cover of Halo: Point of Light.

  • A 343 Guilty Spark weapon charm in Halo Infinite.

    A 343 Guilty Spark weapon charm in Halo Infinite.

  • 343 Guilty Spark as a pet in Among Us.

    343 Guilty Spark as a pet in Among Us.

List of appearances[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ In the Halo Waypoint video The Long Road Home, it was originally stated that 343 Guilty Spark had been captured by Sesa Refumee's soldiers after the Battle of Installation 04. However, the eleventh Terminal of Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary later revealed that the Monitor was quickly accepted among the Covenant, even after killing two Kig-Yar. 343 Guilty Spark was not captured but rather welcomed as an Oracle.

Sources[edit]

  1. ^ Halo Waypoint, Hero-Fortitude
  2. ^ Halo: Combat Evolved, Two Betrayals
  3. ^ a b c Halo: Combat Evolved, campaign level 343 Guilty Spark (final cutscene)
  4. ^ Halo: Silentium, page 277
  5. ^ a b Halo: The Flood, page 238
  6. ^ Halo: Primordium
  7. ^ a b c d Halo: Renegades
  8. ^ Halo: Point of Light
  9. ^ Halo: Primordium pages 356-357
  10. ^ Halo: Silentium, page 260
  11. ^ a b Halo 2, campaign level The Oracle
  12. ^ Halo: Silentium, String 31
  13. ^ Halo: Silentium, String 32
  14. ^ Halo: Silentium, page 330
  15. ^ Halo: Silentium, pages 313-314
  16. ^ a b Halo: Combat Evolved, campaign level Two Betrayals
  17. ^ Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary - Terminal 2
  18. ^ Halo: Silentium, pages 329-330
  19. ^ a b Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary -Terminal 4, Terminal 5, and Terminal 7
  20. ^ a b c Halo: Primordium, page 372
  21. ^ Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary - Terminal 6
  22. ^ a b c Conversations from the Universe, 343 Guilty Spark's Log
  23. ^ a b Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, Terminal 1
  24. ^ Halo: The Flood, page 253
  25. ^ Halo: The Flood, page 255
  26. ^ Conversations from the Universe, page 1
  27. ^ Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary - Terminal 11
  28. ^ Halo 2: Anniversary - Terminals
  29. ^ Halo 2, campaign level The Oracle
  30. ^ Halo 2, campaign level Sacred Icon
  31. ^ Halo 2, campaign level Gravemind
  32. ^ Halo 2, campaign level The Great Journey
  33. ^ Halo Encyclopedia, page 197
  34. ^ Halo 3, campaign level The Ark ("I always assumed it was part of a…shield installation, but it seems I was mistaken.")
  35. ^ Halo Waypoint, Eleventh Hour report 5
  36. ^ Halo Waypoint, "The Long Road Home"
  37. ^ a b Halo 3, campaign level Floodgate
  38. ^ Halo 3, Terminal 3
  39. ^ a b Halo 3, campaign level The Ark
  40. ^ Halo 3, campaign level Cortana
  41. ^ a b c Halo 3, campaign level Halo
  42. ^ Halo: Hunters in the Dark, Chapter 2
  43. ^ a b Eleventh Hour reports, part 4
  44. ^ a b Halo: Primordium, pages 376-379
  45. ^ Halo: Primordium, pages 11-13
  46. ^ Halo: Primordium, page 371
  47. ^ Halo Waypoint, Eleventh Hour report 4
  48. ^ Halo: Renegades, page 298
  49. ^ Halo: Silentium, pages 313
  50. ^ Halo: Combat Evolved, campaign level The Maw
  51. ^ Halo: Combat Evolved, campaign level Two Betrayals (343 Guilty Spark: "But you already knew that... I mean, how couldn't you?" ... "Why would you hesitate to do what you have already done?")

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Forerunner ancillae
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