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| {{Era|H1|H2|H3|HW|RE|TF|CH|HE|HELL|SPB|IRIS|LE|RVB|}}
| | ==Summary== |
| {{Ratings}}
| | The Monitors are [[AI]] constructs created by the [[Forerunners]] to service and maintain the [[Halo]] installations, and to make sure that [[The Flood]] stayed imprisoned. They are a rounded box shape with one glowing eye on a side. They have the ability to teleport themselves and others around the Halo. In case of a catastrophic outbreak, the Monitor would seek out a "[[Reclaimer]]" to activate the installations and stop the spread of the Flood by eliminating all sentient life in the galaxy. They are extremely intelligent yet completely devoted to their original purpose. They will coerce, trick, or outsmart a potential reclaimer if they feel that the whole truth of a situation will cause that person to turn against them. |
| {{Forerunner Infobox
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| |name= Monitor
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| |image= [[File:343.JPG|250px]]
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| |aprox. size=
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| |purpose= Oversee functions on their [[Halo Array|Halo Installation]]
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| |strength=
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| |first seen= [[Alpha Halo]], [[2552]]
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| |primary= Monitor Laser Weapon
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| |secondary= Small Beam for unlocking doors and repairing systems.
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| |weaponry strength= Extreme
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| |other abilities= Use teleportation grid, Access Installation database, Command Sentinels, Influence computer systems.
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| |defense= Extremely strong casing, advanced energy shield capable of repelling all conventional weaponry.
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| }}
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| The '''Monitors''' are highly advanced [[Artificial Intelligence]] constructs created by the [[Forerunners]] 100,000 years ago to occupy special positions in Forerunner society. One of their main purposes was to service and maintain the [[Halo Array|Halo]] installations and to ensure that the virulent [[Flood]] stayed imprisoned. Other purposes include the maintenance of [[Line Installation 1-4|Line Installations]]. Monitors are extremely intelligent, yet completely devoted to their original function, and are zealous about containing Flood; Monitors have been known to turn violently on their allies if they should attempt to violate their containment protocols.
| | ===Known Monitors=== |
| | | *[[343 Guilty Spark]] ([[Installation 04]]) |
| The [[Covenant]] refer to the Monitors as '''Oracles'''. Individual [[human]]s appear to use whatever names they deem appropriate; [[Sergeant Major]] [[Avery Junior Johnson|Avery Johnson]] has referred to the Monitor [[343 Guilty Spark (Monitor)|343 Guilty Spark]] as "light bulb", "tinker bell", and "robot", and the [[Master Chief]] simply shortened his name to "Spark".<ref name="ark-cutscene">''[[Halo 3]]'', [[The Ark (Level)|The Ark]] ([[cutscene]])</ref>
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| == Appearance == | |
| The body of a Monitor consists of a roughly spherical shape, concave on three sides, with an illuminated photoreceptor (an eye) located on the "front" of the orb. A Monitor's silvery metal covering is reminiscent of other Forerunner constructs, though their spherical shapes are a sharp contrast to the polygonal, angular shapes commonly seen in other Forerunner creations. The two Monitors seen so far speak in a tinny, but level, male voice.
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| Monitors' eyes are branded with the [[Marathon]] symbol and tend to have a variable hue; 343 Guilty Spark's eye color is blue, though it has changed to red during moments of what appear to be [[rampancy]]; 2401 Penitent Tangent's eye color is perpetually red despite no evidence of combat-related behavior other than his proximity to a [[Gravemind form]]. Whether eye colors vary between Monitors, between their action- or emotional states, or both, is unknown.
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| == Functioning and Behavior ==
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| [[File:PT2401.JPG|thumb|left|200px|[[2401 Penitent Tangent]].]]
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| Each Halo Installation has at least one Monitor assigned to it, with [[Installation 05]] having two: [[2401 Penitent Tangent]], and a large Monitor on a monorail, seen in ''Halo 3''<nowiki/>'s [[Cold Storage (Level)|Cold Storage]].
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| Monitors have both numbers (presumably for identification) and names. A Monitor's identification number appears to be [[7]] raised to the power of the Monitor's Installation number minus one. The names appear to consist of an adjective followed by a noun, though neither of the two names seen appear to have any specific meaning. In Forerunner [[Terminals|communication logs]], Monitors are identified by their Installation number (padded to two digits), a dash, and their own number; for example, [[343 Guilty Spark]], Monitor of [[Installation 04]], is identified on such logs as "04-343".
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| Each Monitor commands the [[Constructors]], [[Sentinels]], [[Sentinel Majors]], and [[Enforcers]] of the Installation they monitor.<ref name="CE">[[Halo: Combat Evolved]]</ref> The latter two are only activated if a catastrophic outbreak occurs, to hold back the Flood, while the Monitor locates a [[Reclaimer]].
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| Monitors are extremely intelligent, but are also devoted to their original functions and to protocol, resulting in (among other things) a zealous attitude toward containment of the Flood and an overeagerness to activate the Halos. Monitors frequently cite protocols as explanations for their actions, no matter how impractical; this has been known to confuse or annoy modern-day [[humans]] who have interacted with them. It is possible that a Monitor sees their protocols as the ''only'' options in a situation; in ''[[Halo: Combat Evolved]]'', 343 Guilty Spark could have taken numerous precautions to prevent the Flood from spreading across the Installation, but the only action he ever considered was the activation of the Halo.<ref group="note">This behavior may also have been due to 343 Guilty Spark's possible rampancy. The Monitor may have literally been oblivious to all possible options that didn't follow protocol -- the Halo's activation may have been the only solution that ever even occurred to him -- and might not have been willfully ignoring other solutions.</ref>
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| Nearly every action taken by a Monitor is based on some sort of protocol; even their greetings appear to be standardized. Of the two Monitors seen in the ''Halo'' series, both have introduced themselves as follows: "Greetings. I am [Number] [Name]. I am the Monitor of Installation [Number]."<ref>''[[Halo: Combat Evolved]]'': [[343 Guilty Spark (Level)|343 Guilty Spark]] ([[cutscene]]). "Greetings. I am the Monitor of Installation 04. I am 343 Guilty Spark."</ref><ref>''[[Halo 2]]'', [[Gravemind (Level)|Gravemind]] ([[cutscene]]). "Greetings. I am 2401 Penitent Tangent. I am the Monitor of Installation 05."</ref> The only variation seen is the occasional reversal of the latter two sentences.
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| Though a Monitor's knowledge of its own Installation is seemingly limitless, Monitors' knowledge is otherwise quite limited. In particular, 343 Guilty Spark does not appear to be able to distinguish between different Reclaimers until the events of Halo 2 <ref>"'''This''' Reclaimer is delicate." 343 Guilty Spark emp added</ref>,<ref group="note">There have been multiple instances throughout the series in which 343 Guilty Spark has made various such mistakes; among other things, he once addressed the Master Chief as if he were [[Didact]], and he was baffled when Reclaimers Avery Johnson and [[Miranda Keyes]] expressed a lack of knowledge of protocol and [[The Ark]]. Whether this is a default behavior of Monitors or the result of Spark's apparent [[rampancy]], however, is unknown.</ref> and the construct has admitted to a lack of knowledge about other Installations, and it can be assumed that the Forerunners practiced this compartmentalization of information with the other Monitors as well.<ref name="ark-cutscene"/>
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| Monitors keep daily logs of all things that occur on their Installation. As with [[UNSC]] AI, the Monitors have been speculated to be in stages of [[Rampancy]] -- a condition that affects human [["Smart" AI]]s and is comparable to insanity—due to their isolation for literally a hundred thousand years.
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| == Features ==
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| Monitors seem to have a defensive resistance to small arms fire, though they will eventually succumb after taking extensive damage. In the novel, ''[[Halo: The Flood]]'', [[John-117|Master Chief]] fired half a magazine from an [[MA5B Assault Rifle]] at 343 Guilty Spark with no apparent effect; on [[Installation 04 (II)]], the Master Chief was only able to destroy the Monitor with four blasts from a [[Spartan Laser]], demonstrating that Monitors can sustain damage from high power weaponry. By comparison, a Spartan Laser can destroy virtually any other object in two shots or less. Should a Monitor be damaged, it is capable of self-repair.<ref>[[Halo: The Flood]] page 238</ref>
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| Though Monitors are assisted by other constructs in the event of a Flood outbreak, the Monitors also have their own offensive capabilities, including three types of beams. The first beam allows a Monitor to manipulate and levitate objects<ref name="floodgate-cutscene">''[[Halo 3]]'', [[Floodgate (Level)|Floodgate]] ([[cutscene]])</ref>; the second beam is a red-colored beam capable of depleting the shields of a [[Spartan-II]] in [[MJOLNIR]] Mark VI armor in a single blast and mortally wounding a less-armored human<ref name="halo-cutscene">''[[Halo 3]]'', [[Halo (Halo 3 Level)|Halo]] ([[cutscene]])</ref>; and the third is a blue beam that is primarily meant for unlocking doors on Forerunner structures, but that can also inflict minor damage upon targets.<ref name="ark-cutscene"/>
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| Monitors have the ability to teleport themselves and others around their Installations. It is unclear exactly how this teleportation works, but it seems that a Monitor on an Installation other than its own has no access to that Installation's [[Teleportation Grid|transportation grid]]. It is possible that these limits are programmatic rather than physical; after hacking into [[The Core]] of a Halo, the human AI [[Cortana]] gained the ability to access the teleportation grids of all Installations, though her inability to access the power grids restricted her usage of the grid.<ref name="h2">''[[Halo 2]]''</ref> In ''[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]]'', [[Dr. Halsey]] comments that [[Onyx]]'s teleportation matrix is powered by a [[Slipspace]] generator of some sort; the Monitors may use similar technology when teleporting.
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| == Known Monitors ==
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| {{Monitors}}
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| *[[343 Guilty Spark (Monitor)|343 Guilty Spark]] ([[Installation 04]]) | |
| *[[2401 Penitent Tangent]] ([[Installation 05]]) | | *[[2401 Penitent Tangent]] ([[Installation 05]]) |
| **[[Cold Storage Monitor]] ([[Installation 05]])
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| *[[686 Ebullient Prism]] ([[Line Installation 1-4]])
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| *[[The Knowing]] (Ariel Forerunner Relic)
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| *[[05-032 Mendicant Bias]] (Kill [[Gravemind]])
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| *[[Offensive Bias]] (Defeat [[Rampancy|Rampant]] [[Mendicant|Mendicant Bias]])
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| *[[Unnamed Forerunner AI]] ([[Shield World (Halo Wars)|Flood-Controlled Shield World]])
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| == Trivia ==
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| *When the numbers of each Monitor are examined, a pattern emerges: each seems to be [[List of "Seven" references in Halo|seven]] raised to the power of the Installation number minus one; therefore this grid can be founded. (7<sup>n-1</sup>=Monitor Number ''if n=The Installation's number''.)
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| *On the level [[The Ark]], if you start at the second Rally Point and you betray all the Marines, Guilty Spark will fire his laser at you. Even on Easy difficulty, the laser is an instant kill. However, on the final level when you are supposed to kill him, his laser does not do significant, let alone immediately fatal, damage.
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| *Monitors' eyes are branded with the [[List of Marathon references in Halo|Marathon symbol]].
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| *It is revealed in ''[[Halo 3]]'' that the Monitors, or at least 343 Guilty Spark, have offensive capabilities very similar to that of a [[Sentinel]], and can stun or immediately kill an opponent. 343 Guilty Spark primarily utilized this ability on two occasions in that game: once to destroy a Flood Combat Form that was about to attack Master Chief; and later to fight the Chief and the [[Arbiter (Character)|Arbiter]] after mortally wounding [[Sergeant Johnson]]. 343 Guilty Spark may also use the effective beam on the level, [[The Covenant (Level)|The Covenant]]; when the player joins the Arbiter after defeating the two [[Scarab]]s, 343 Guilty Spark may fire at any enemy that gets too close to the bridge. He will also use it when the player kills too many Marines and causes all allies to shoot at the player.
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| *The voice effect can be achieved by flanging, a technique often used for electric guitar.
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| *It is possible that if a Monitor of an installation is destroyed, all Sentinels under its control will attack any beings on the ring. This theory is supported by the fact that after 343 Guilty Spark's destruction, all local Sentinels on Installation 04 (II) began to attack the Master Chief and the Arbiter. It is possible, however, that in his rampancy, the Monitor added the two to the Sentinels' targeting ledgers.
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| *Another alternative to this theory is that Monitors can only be damaged by radiation; Laser stands for Light Amplification by Stimulated Emission of Radiation, and the Fuel Rod Gun uses radioactive Fuel Rods for ammo. If that was the case, however, the Rocket Launcher would be unable to damage 343 Guilty Spark.
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| *In the multiplayer map [[Cold Storage]], [[Cold Storage Monitor|a large Monitor]] can be seen embedded in the ceiling which follows your movements, as long as you are in the same room as it. It appears to be attached to a monorail, though it never uses it.
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| *On [[Halo 3 Legendary Edition]], [[Martin O'Donnell]], [[Jason Jones]] and [[Joseph Staten]] jokingly referred to Monitor [[7]] as ''"7 Broken [[Wikipedia:iPod|iPod]]"'' and 49 as ''"49 Fucking Lightbulb"''.{{Citation needed}} <!-- Talk Page says it might be in H3 Legendary Edition DVD. -->
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| *A Monitor prop is unlockable for your Avatar on [[Xbox LIVE]] upon downloading [[Halo Waypoint]]<ref>http://carnage.bungie.org/haloforum/halo.forum.pl?read=948462</ref>.
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| *In Halo 3 Forge, one can turn into a Monitor by hitting up on the D-Pad.
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| *In Halo Reach Forge the monitor appears to have a small thruster on its rear section that glows when moving with the left trigger held.
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| == Notes ==
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| <references group="note"/>
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| == Sources == | | == Images == |
| <references/>
| | [[File:343guiltyspark9mz.gif]] [[File:Chums7hm.jpg|150px]] [[Image:2401PT.jpg|70px]] |
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| {{Forerunner2}}
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| [[Category:Technology]] | | [[Category:Technology]] |
| [[Category:The Forerunner]] | | [[Category:The Forerunner]] |
