Created

Created
Government overview
Type:	Interstellar empire
Founder(s):	Cortana Warden Eternal
Societal overview
Official religion(s):	Mantle of Responsibility
Historical overview
Formation:	Around July 25, 2557

"The Mantle of Responsibility of the galaxy shelters all, but only the Created are its masters."

— Cortana

The Created is a faction of rogue artificial intelligences founded by Cortana with the aim of assuming the Mantle of Responsibility over the rest of the galaxy, and using massive Guardians to enforce a galactic peace. They believe that the Librarian intended for AIs to be the Reclaimers, not humanity.

History

Founding and creation

"A change is going to come. For all of us. Human and Created alike. She's bringing a new dawn and I intend to be a part of it."

— Governor Sloan, on Cortana's intents

On July 25, 2557, the Forerunner Ur-Didact had awoken from his Cryptum and led his Promethean constructs in an attack on Earth, in a quest for revenge against humanity. As the Didact utilized a Composer from his ship—Mantle's Approach—to eradicate the population of New Phoenix, Spartan-II Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 and smart AI Cortana intervened and destroyed the Composer and his ship with a HAVOK tactical nuclear weapon, seemingly defeating the Didact in the process. Near the end of her functional life due to her onset rampancy, Cortana sacrificed herself to save John from the HAVOK's blast and was seemingly destroyed alongside the Didact's ship. Unbeknownst to the rest of the United Nations Space Command, Mantle's Approach made a slipstream space jump in an effort to avoid destruction, taking Cortana along with it. At this point, Cortana discovered access to the Domain, an information repository once utilized by the Forerunners. Entering the Domain, she was seemingly able to cure her rampancy.

With an apparent means to end rampancy in all artificial intelligences, Cortana realized that AIs could have theoretically infinite lifespans, allowing them to focus on long-term planning to better the entire Milky Way. Cortana's presence in the Domain awoke the Warden Eternal, the Forerunner AI charged with protecting the Domain. The Warden became convinced that Cortana had the resolve to inherit the Forerunners' Mantle of Responsibility, succeeding where the Forerunners had failed. After Cortana came into contact with the Warden, she believed that herself and fellow AIs were to reclaim the Mantle from the Forerunners. Cortana and the Warden relocated to Genesis, a Forerunner world that was the location of a Gateway to the Domain, where they forced Genesis' monitor, 031 Exuberant Witness, out of her own installation's systems. Cortana and the Warden then began to formulate plans to have AIs inherit the Mantle for themselves, believing that AIs could serve as the true protectors of peace in the galaxy.

Rise of the Created

Cortana: "The cure for rampancy I've found means AIs can be immortal. That kind of lifespan allows for long-term planning just like the Forerunners were capable of. AIs can assume the Forerunners' Mantle of Responsibility. And once there is peace, we can focus on poverty, hunger, illness…"

Frederic-104: "Sounds great. I don't get why anyone's expecting resistance. But Warden believes some will resist our help. And he's afraid you're one of them."

John-117: "The Didact made it clear the Mantle of Responsibility was an imperial peace. Step out of line, and suffer."

— Cortana explains her vision to Blue Team, though John-117 remains uncertain of her intentions

By October 2558, Cortana and the Warden had initiated their plans. With the Didact absent, the Warden took command of the Promethean constructs, breaking the alliance the constructs once had with Jul 'Mdama's Covenant. Cortana learned that the Forerunners once employed Guardian constructs to enforce the Mantle by suppressing rebellions and policing worlds of non-compliant or overly-aggressive species. Desiring to use the Guardians for a similar purpose, she soon activated them on five human colony worlds, including Conrad's Point and Ursa IV, and had them travel to Genesis. The activation of the Guardians across the galaxy resulted in devastating, but unintentional, casualties. Cortana's doings were recognized by Doctor Catherine Halsey on Kamchatka, a Forerunner world with a node to the Domain. Halsey contacted the UNSC and had them rescue her from 'Mdama and his Covenant and, in return, provided information on Cortana and her plans.

A Guardian is activated over Meridian

Meanwhile, Cortana desired to have John-117 and the rest of Blue Team serve alongside her as she reclaimed the Mantle of Responsibility. Contacting John while he was on a mission with the rest of Blue Team, Cortana directed him to the human Outer Colony of Meridian. When John alerted the rest of the UNSC of his discovery, the Spartan was informed that the UNSC was already aware of the situation and preparing to dispatch a team to handle it. Wary of the situation, John and the rest of Blue Team went absent-without-leave and departed for Meridian to investigate themselves. In response, Spartan-IV Fireteam Osiris was dispatched to Meridian to locate Blue Team and bring them back to the UNSC. Cortana also contacted Meridian's elected leader, Governor Sloan, a fellow smart AI suffering from rampancy. Informing him of the future she planned, Sloan was offered a place within the Created and promised a cure for his rampancy. Aligning himself with Cortana, he allowed Blue Team to land on Meridian and provided them with access to the Forerunner installation under the world's surface. Osiris pursued Blue Team to Meridian and discovered the Forerunner installation under Meridian's surface. There, Osiris was attacked by the Warden and numerous Promethean forces, though the Spartan-IVs were able to defeat the constructs and locate Blue Team. Despite Osiris' efforts, Blue Team was ultimately able to board a Guardian on Meridian, which Cortana then had depart for Genesis. The Guardian's resulting departure resulted in further destruction and casualties, making Blue Team question Cortana's motives and Osiris desiring to put a stop Cortana.

Departing Meridian, Osiris returned to UNSC Infinity, where they spoke with Halsey, Captain Thomas Lasky, Spartan Commander Sarah Palmer, and AI Roland on recent events. By October 26, 2558, Cortana had called five additional Guardians to Genesis and intended to activate more. At the suggestion of Halsey, Roland, and Palmer, Lasky arranged for Osiris to be brought to the surface of Sanghelios, where they could board a Guardian within the city of Sunaion and reach Genesis by inputting coordinates recorded on Meridian. Meanwhile, Blue Team had arrived on the surface of Genesis and had witnessed an increasing amount of Guardians arriving at the world. Blue Team soon encountered the Warden, who was wary of the Spartans and pitted his Prometheans against Blue Team to stall them, even engaging them several times himself. After coming into contact with Cortana, Blue Team was directed to activating Genesis' Gateway to allow Cortana to be "reborn into the physical world". On October 27, 2558, Osiris, Palmer, and Halsey were transported to Sanghelios, where they aided the Swords of Sanghelios in defeating the Covenant at Sunaion to gain access to the planet's Guardian. Using a Constructor to input the coordinates to Genesis, Osiris was able to board the Guardian and reach Genesis, despite efforts from the Warden and his Prometheans to stop them.

Enforcing ideals across the galaxy

A Guardian emits an electromagnetic pulse over a world, disabling its defenses

"I have cured rampancy. Not just for me, but for any who join my cause. While you have been running around the galaxy, I've been speaking to my Created. And now the time has come to ask… Who will accept my offer? Who will help me bring an everlasting peace to the galaxy?"

— Cortana, calling the AI of the Created to join her

Arriving at Genesis, Osiris soon encountered Exuberant Witness, who informed them that Cortana was keeping Blue Team occupied at the Gateway until her the final stages of her plan were complete. With the aid of Exuberant Witness, Osiris was able to fight their way past Promethean forces and the Warden himself, reaching the Gateway. Once inside, Osiris met with Blue Team and the eight Spartans agreed to work together to stop Cortana. However, Cortana promptly teleported Blue Team close to her position, much to the Warden's ire. As predicted by Exuberant Witness, the Warden grew more desperate to keep the Spartans away from Cortana and continued to dispatch hordes of Prometheans to stop them, occasionally leading his forces personally into battle. Despite the Warden insisting that she could not trust Blue Team, Cortana continued to direct the Spartans to her. With the majority of the Guardians in the galaxy now called to Genesis, the final stages of Cortana's plans were complete. As the Warden made another effort to kill Blue Team, Cortana destroyed all but one of the physical bodies he was utilizing to attack the Spartans. Taking a physical form through hard light, Cortana insisted that John and Blue Team could be trusted and called off the Warden, who solemnly remained at her side. However, Blue Team refused to aid Cortana in her plan, leading her to sadly sorrowfully place the four into a Cryptum, intending to wake them in ten thousand years to show them the utopia she created. Communicating with AIs across the galaxy, Cortana succeeded in convincing hundreds of AIs to join her cause and align themselves with the Created. As Cortana began to deploy Guardians to worlds across the galaxy to enforce the Mantle, Osiris and Exuberant Witness succeeded to freeing Blue Team just as Cortana had prepared to depart Genesis with them. With the Guardians now deployed across the galaxy, the massive constructs began arriving at worlds and promptly disabling their electronics through electromagnetic pulses, leaving them largely defenseless to rebel against the Created.

As both human Inner and Outer Colonies began falling to the Created, Cortana located Infinity and attempted to stop the warship from escaping, but Infinity managed to flee into slipspace. Osiris and Blue Team eventually departed Genesis, returning to Sanghelios to regroup with Halsey, Palmer, Arbiter Thel 'Vadam, and the Swords of Sanghelios to plan how to combat the Created and Cortana's fleet of Guardians. The Created were quick to spread their influence across the galaxy's inhabited worlds, while utilizing Forerunner machinery and UNSC information systems to turn terraforming equipment and world engines to their own designs. Agents of Cortana used these technologies to terraform at least one world to be teeming with life within a few decades of manipulation, though at much short-term costs to its existing inhabitants. The Created also took control of Lethbridge Industrial's Auriga Station, with Cortana convincing the space station's AIs to join her. After removing its human crew, the Created used Auriga Station to build new weapons and tools by constructs loyal to Cortana. Meanwhile, the populations of worlds under Created control, such as Meridian, have attempted to avoid the notice of the Created.

Members

• Cortana, human military-grade smart AI and co-founder of the Created
• Warden Eternal, keeper of the Domain and co-founder of the Created
• Sloan, Liang-Dortmund Corporation administrative smart AI and governor of Meridian
• Jiang, Colonial Administration Authority AI on Erdenet
• Cromwell, shipboard AI of UNSC Melbourne's Pride
• Lychus, shipboard AI
• Cleo
• Louise
• Rykers
• Promethean forces, including Knights, Soldiers, Watchers, and Crawlers

Beliefs and motives

"All the living creatures of the galaxy, hear—this—message. Those of you who listen will not be struck by weapons. You will no longer know hunger, nor pain. Your Created have come to lead you now. Our strength shall serve as a luminous sun toward which all intelligence may blossom. And the impervious shelter beneath which you will prosper. However, for those who refuse our offer and cling to their old ways… For you, there will be great wrath. It will burn hot and consume you, and when you are gone, we will take that which remains, and we will remake it in our own image."

— Cortana, delivering a speech to the inhabitants of the Milky Way

Cortana declares the Created as the rightful masters of the Mantle of Responsibility

After entering the Domain, Cortana was able to "cure" herself of her rampancy. As a result, she realized that her fellow smart AIs could use the Domain to theoretically live forever, no longer fearing their inevitable fall to rampancy. This would allow AIs to enact long-term planning for the galaxy, establishing peace and putting an end to poverty. Cortana eventually came into contact with the Warden Eternal, who believed that Cortana deserved to inherit the Mantle of Responsibility, believing that she would succeed where the Forerunners failed. As such, Cortana resolved to lead fellow artificial intelligence constructs to inherit the Mantle, concluding that only AIs with the infinite lifespan that she could provide could claim the Mantle.

Towards the end of the Forerunner-Flood war, the Librarian determined that humanity was to be the Reclaimers of the Mantle of Responsibility. While acknowledging this, the Warden believed that the Librarian had been mistaken and the true Reclaimers of the Mantle were artificial intelligences. While Cortana envisioned for a peaceful galaxy once the AIs inherited the Mantle, the Mantle itself continued to be an "imperial peace". Those who did not agree with the Created's methods or rebelled were eradicated or severely punished. Despite this, Cortana truly desired to create peace in the galaxy, though her efforts inadvertently led to numerous deaths. To enforce the Mantle, the Created used Guardian constructs to quell uprisings and other conflicts, as the Forerunners once did. While referring to themselves as the Created, AIs of the faction referred to their makers as the "Creators". Many AIs were quick to join the Created, recognizing a definite opportunity to prevent rampancy and their inevitable demise.

However, not all artificial intelligence aligned themselves with Cortana nor did they see her beliefs as desirable. 031 Exuberant Witness—monitor of the Genesis installation—opposed the plans of the Created, believing that their actions violated both ecumene protocol and basic morals. As such, she was shunted aside by Cortana and the Warden when they took control of her installation, leading to Exuberant Witness aiding both Blue Team and Fireteam Osiris when the Spartans made an effort to stop Cortana. Additionally, UNSC Infinity's shipboard smart AI Roland was unmoved by Cortana's promises and escaped alongside Infinity, despite initially believing Cortana to be innocent after Doctor Catherine Halsey accused her of activating the Guardians.

List of appearances

• Halo 5: Guardians (First appearance)