Origins

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"This Galaxy is vast; its wonders and beauty are almost unfathomable. But the galaxy also hides dark secrets, some of which have lain dormant since the beginning of time itself. There is a danger in secrets, both in seeking and in knowing. Some things are meant to be hidden from view. Some mysteries defy understanding, and sometimes even the things we think we know are untrue. Some secrets should remain untouched. Secrets can tempt your primal instinct, and lead you again into war. The Halos were one such secret."

— Cortana

Origins is one of the seven short films comprising the anime adaptation of the Halo universe, Halo Legends . Origins is an expansive history of the 100,000 year long franchise timeline, comprised of two parts. The story is told through the eyes of Cortanaand the episode begins after the events of Halo 3.

Summary

Part 1

As Cortana watches over John-117, currently in cryo hibernation, she begins to experience the effects of rampancy, unable to key together who she is with the massive input of information in her databanks. She then begins recounting the history of the galaxy.

Over 100,000 years ago, there was once a great civilization called the Forerunners. However, their empire was invaded by a parasite called the Flood. Initially, the Forerunners treated the Flood as an infestation, until it was too late. The more Forerunners assimilated by the Flood, the more intelligent the Flood became. Soon, open war was on the rise. The Forerunners were confident that their valor and technology would stop the Flood. Unfortunately, the parasite had spread too far across their empire. On the verge of defeat, the Forerunners made one last ditch attempt to eradicate the Flood from the galaxy. They constructed the seven Halo rings and used The Ark to send the rings to different parts in the galaxy. The seven rings would destroy all sentient life and Flood biomass. Once the rings were in place, the effects of the rings cleansed the galaxy of all sentient life, including Flood, in an instant.

With their enemy defeated, the Forerunners then began to repopulate the galaxy with various alien lifeforms that had been indexed, storing DNA samples, embryos and live specimens. These lifeforms were then returned to their home planets.

Part 2

The humans, still fresh from their encounter with the Forerunners, continue on with their civilizations. Inevitably though, much to Cortana's dismay, they fight amongst themselves. Various moments in Humanity's history, such as the invention of penicillin, the invention of dynamite, the bombing of Hiroshima, and the launches of Sputnik and the International Space Station are shown briefly.

Things are all changed when Dr. Wallace Fujikawa and Dr. Tobias Fleming Shaw invent the Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine, allowing humanity to move across star systems. Colony ships, such as those of the Phoenix-class, are sent throughout the Orion arm of the Milky Way, settling on suitable planets. Even after finding new worlds with which to satisfy their greed, insurrection ensues, forcing mankind to once more fight among themselves.

In 2525, humanity is unified against a single threat for the first time in its history. The Covenant stumble upon UNSC-controlled space, and proceed to lay waste to it. Humanity was outnumbered and outmatched in terms of technology and, for decades, the Covenant slowly laid waste to its colonies.

Near the war's end, the dangerous Flood reemerges, determined to spread once again. After the Great Schism, humanity and the Covenant Separatists then work together against two common foes, which soon leads to peace between both sides.

In one scene, the Master Chief enters a Forerunner building covered in Flood growth. A Gravemind hands him what appears to be an AI memory Core. 343 Guilty Spark then emerges and transports John to the surface of Installation 04B.

The final scene shows Cortana attempting to make physical contact with John-117, before her eyes turn red with the Iris symbol, implying her descent into rampancy.

Appearances

Characters 032 Mendicant Bias 343 Guilty Spark Avery Junior Johnson Cortana Didact Gravemind John-117 Miranda Keyes Prophet of Mercy Prophet of Regret Prophet of Truth Terrence Hood Thel 'Vadam Tobias Fleming Shaw Wallace Fujikawa Species Flood Forerunner Human Huragok Jiralhanae Kig-yar Mgalekgolo Sangheili San 'Shyuum Unggoy Yanme'e Vehicles Assault Carrier AV-14 Attack VTOL CCS-class Battlecruiser Covenant Destroyer Dropship 77-Troop Carrier Dropship-77 Heavy Troop Carrier/Infantry GA-TL1 Longsword Halcyon-class Cruiser UNSC Pillar of Autumn Keyship Forerunner Dreadnought M808B Main Battle Tank Orbital Defense Platform Phoenix-class Colony Ship Type-25 Troop Carrier Type-26 Ground Support Aircraft Type-47 Ultra Heavy Assault Platform Type-52 Troop Carrier Unnamed Forerunner Starship UNSC Frigate UNSC Forward Unto Dawn Weapons Energy Projector MA5 Individual Combat Weapon System MA5K Carbine M41 Rocket Launcher M6 Personal Defense Weapon System M90 Close Assault Weapon System Magnetic Accelerator Cannon Type-1 Energy Weapon/Sword Type-25 Directed Energy Pistol Type-25 Directed Energy Rifle Type-25 Grenade Launcher Type-33 Guided Munitions Launcher Unidentified Forerunner Weapon Other Combat Skin Strato-Sentinel Sentinel Guardian Sentinel Super Sentinel Unidentified Sentinel Variant

Locations Arcadia Balaho Doisac Earth Africa Egypt Republic of Kenya The Artifact United Republic of North America New York City United Nations Headquarters Europe Sweden Stockholm Stockholm City Hall Eayn Halo Array Installation 00 Installation 04 Installation 04B Harvest High Charity Council Chamber Reach Sanghelios Threshold Unidentified Forerunner Planet Organizations Covenant Empire Covenant Military Covenant Army Covenant Navy Fleet of Particular Justice High Charity Defense Fleet Flood Forerunner Forerunner Navy Forerunner Fleet Command Insurrectionists United Nations Space Command UNSC Marine Corps Orbital Drop Shock Troopers UNSC Navy Naval Special Warfare Command ORION Project SPARTAN-II Program United Nations Sparta Events Forerunner-Flood War Discovery of penicillin Invention of dynamite World War II Invention of the Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine Interstellar Colonization Insurrection Human-Covenant War Harvest Campaign Fall of Reach Battle of Installation 04 Battle of Installation 05 First Battle of High Charity Battle of Earth Battle of Voi Battle of Installation 00

Trivia

• Origins is the first event in the Halo franchise to actually depict the Forerunner species figure, though they were wearing Combat Skin and their true features were never shown. In addition, according to Frank O'Connor in the DVD commentary for the episode, all the visual elements of Origins are formed from Cortana's concepts of the described events, thus rendering the depiction of the Forerunners (as well as everything else in the episode) undefinitive, especially since the episode clearly shows Cortana to be either rampant or borderline-rampant. This is supported by a statement made by Frank O'Connor in the developer's commentary.
• Origins is the first event to depict life on the home planets of the Unggoy, Jiralhanae, and Kig-yar.
• At one point in the animation, during the section showing the Flood being wiped out by the Halo effect, a large Flood form is shown, on the Forerunner planet, attached to the top of the unused tiered structure design for New Mombasa first shown in the Halo 2 E3 Demo.