The Data Center was an immense underground facility under the city of New Mombasa, Kenya, Earth. It housed the mainframe of the city's Urban Infrastructure AI's, the Superintendent.[1]
Background
The data center consisted of at least twelve sublevels, with the most crucial facilities on the lower levels. The facility had a fire containment system, that if activated, would flood any section in the data center with freezing argon gas. Sublevels seven, eight and nine mainly housed maintenance tunnels and rooms, retractable data stacks and other similar facilities. The office of Dr. Endesha, the scientist responsible for managing the Superintendent, was located on Sublevel 9.[1]
The Superintendent's main data core was located in Sublevel 10, inside a massive cavern and suspended over an underground lake. The data core was directly below the ONI Alpha Site's main building, with a deep shaft connecting them. Sublevel 10 also housed massive power junctures.[1]
A small section of the vast Forerunner Ark Portal structure was also located below this facility.[1][2] The Office of Naval Intelligence was aware of the artifact's existence and constructed their Alpha Site over it in order to covertly gather information on it.[3] However, most of the civilian population were not informed, including Dr. Endesha, who only learned of the structure's existence as a result of a seismic survey performed by the Superintendent for a construction project moments before the Covenant invasion of Earth.[4]
Sublevel 12 housed maintainance tunnels and an elevator that provided service to the city's Sector 1.[5]
History
The Data Center's construction was overseen by Dr. Endesha.[4] At the onset of the Battle of Mombasa, Dr. Endesha was in his office inside the Data Center and continued to stay there over the course of the battle, much to the distress of his daughter Sadie, who was determined to come and retrieve him before escaping the city. During the battle, the doctor observed a group of Huragok free one of their own of its explosive harness, with the rest sacrificing themselves in the process. The lone surviving Huragok eventually made its way into the Superintendent's core and started to repair it, eventually saving the AI's Vergil subroutine by fusing it with itself. Dr. Endesha was killed when NMPD's Commissioner Kinsler activated the facility's fire containment system with a flamethrower, flooding the facility's Sublevel 9 with argon.[4] During the battle, Yanme'e built hives into the central cavern of Sublevel 10.[1]
Kinsler sent a team of NMPD officers to make sure the Doctor was dead, and then retrieve the Superintendent's data. Eventually, only one officer survived. He was later encountered by an ODST known as the Rookie, who had arrived in the Data Center to find Captain Dare, who was holding position in Sublevel 9. The officer was later killed, but the Rookie made his way to Dare's position, and they successfully escaped after retrieving the Huragok who had fused its data with the Superintendent. After this, the facility fell under Covenant control.[1][2]
When the Prophet of Truth arrived at Earth on November, 2552, he traveled to the Data Center's lowest level, where the Covenant forces had excavated a tunnel into the interior of the Portal structure. At this point, the structures inside the facility were still mostly undamaged. Large numbers of Huragok were present, and they had painted their enigmatic symbols - most of them depicting the Superintendent's avatar - all over the Superintendent's core and the surrounding structures.[2]
Trivia
A partially excavated Forerunner artifact below the main chamber of the facility is featured in the epilogue cutscene of Halo 3: ODST, where the Prophet of Truth observes multiple Huragok working on the excavation. During the level Data Hive in the game, while the player is unable see it clearly due to the Superintendent's main core in the way, the structure can be seen in the background.[1]
Gallery
An open data stack.
The Huragok that absorbed Vergil inside the Superintendent's core.
Dr. Endesha's office in the facility.
The Yanme'e hive above Sublevel 10's Power Juncture.
- Portal access.jpg
Part of the Forerunner Portal structure, seen in the main cavern.
- Sublevel development compilation.png
A compilation of images showing the creation process of a room in the data center, from early concepts to the final game.
- Tunnel concept.png
Concept art of the tunnels.
- Datacenter concept.jpg
Concept art of the Superintendent's main core.
- ODST underground hub.jpg
Concept art of a data stack hub.
List of appearances
- Halo 3: ODST (First appearance)
- Halo: New Blood
Sources
- ^ a b c d e f g Halo 3: ODST, campaign level Data Hive
- ^ a b c Halo 3: ODST, Epilogue
- ^ Halo: The Essential Visual Guide, page 132
- ^ a b c Halo 3: ODST, Sadie's Story
- ^ Halo 3: ODST, campaign level Coastal Highway
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