Flood San 'Shyuum Form

Summary

"Prophet Form" is a term fans have created to describe Covenant Prophets that have been infected and overtaken by the Flood. Due to their unusual nature, they are not thought of as Combat Forms in the way infected Humans and Elites are. Note that the term "Prophet Form" has not been officially used as canon to date.

Appearance

The Prophet Form maintains the same general appearance as a Prophet, but with decayed skin and appearance of a standard flood form. If they are infected by Infection Forms, those forms do not show, as their sensory stalks are not visible on the Prophet. This does not mean that the Prophet is kept completely intact- the assimilated Prophet of Regret had only a single, malformed arm, and a large tentacle extending through his body.

Differences with a Combat Form

The biggest difference between Prophet Forms and the conventional Combat Form is that Prophet Forms maintain their personalities to an extent. Combat forms are essentially zombies- they have no sensory organs or cognativie capability remaining, they are completely controlled by an Infection Form. On the other hand, Infected Prophets have demonstrated the abilitiy to see, hear, and talk, and even act the same that they did before they were assimilated. In this sense, they seem to be more advanced than Brain Forms.

It appears that they sometimes operate as part of a Brain Form, as the Prophet of Regret appeared to be attatched to the Gravemind. In the case that there is no brain form present, the Prophet Form acts to an extend as the leader of the Flood in the area.

Personality

Two Prophet Forms have been encountered, each showing radically different personality. The Prophet of Regret, after being assimilated by the flood, appeared to maintain his previous personality, almost oblivious to the fact that he was assimilated. The Minister of Etiology, after his assimilation on the Infinate Succor was completely unlike his previous self. He acted as a spokesperson for the Flood, even taunting Rtas 'Vadumee saying, "Your Forerunners did not defeat us, you will not either!".

These personality ideas may be related to the command structure of the Flood in the area. In Regret's case, he was only a part of a larger intelligence, the Gravemind, so his personality did not need altering. The Legate on the other hand, appeared to be the controlling intelligence of the local Flood because the Brain Form on the ship had been destroyed.

NOTE: There is a great dead of controversy on the very existance of the Prophet Form. This article is only for the sake of observing the Phonomenon of assimilated Prophets. More details of this phonomenon may be revealed at a later date.