- "The Reformation is but a new beginning. The Auditorium will spill its secrets. The Endless will walk this world once more."
- — The Harbinger, speaking to John-117[1]
Reformation is the process by which a Halo Ring repairs itself.
Background
Whenever a Halo Ring suffers damage, its Sentinels (assuming there are any left) will almost immediately begin to assess the damage and initiate repairs.[2] However, depending on the severity of the damage, this is natural repair process can potentially take millions of years to complete.[3] The Reformation is meant to greatly accelerate the repair process. During the Reformation, multiple Reformation Spires will emerge from the surface of the Ring, in close proximity to the damaged areas. Once fully activated, the Spires create raw materials which are then sent out to repair the Ring.[4] The Spires are controlled by a Command Spire, which itself is controlled by the Nexus. an underground facility located directly beneath the Command Spire.[1]
History
During the Installation 07 conflict, the Banished and the Harbinger sought to utilize the Reformation to restore the Silent Auditorium, which had been destroyed when Cortana sacrificed herself to stop Atriox from gaining control of Zeta Halo. On May 28, 2560, the Harbinger kidnapped Despondent Pyre, the Monitor of Zeta Halo, and extracted her encephalon. Using the routines contained within Despondent Pyre's encephalon, the Harbinger summoned dozens of Reformation Spires across the fragmented section of Zeta Halo.[5] Master Chief John-117 and his AI companion, The Weapon, gained access to one of the Reformation Spires and learned of its purpose. When the Spartan-II ordered the Weapon to shut down the Spire, Zeta Halo's Sub-Monitor, Adjutant Resolution, who was unaware of the Harbinger's true intentions, deemed the pair a threat to the Reformation and attacked them. After the Chief defeated Adjutant Resolution, the Weapon discovered that multiple Spires were being deployed. She also discovered that the Harbinger was having trouble activating the Spires, since the protocol used to summon them wasn't entirely correct. The Weapon managed to remove the current Spire from the network, as well as trace the source of the activation attempts to the Command Spire. However, this not only caused the Spire they were standing on to start sinking back into the ground, but it also alerted the Harbinger to the Weapon's existence.[6]
After the Spartan Killers Hyperius and Tovarus failed to kill the Master Chief, the Harbinger instructed Escharum to protect the Command Spire while the Reformation was underway.[7] She also sought to hijack the Weapon and utilize the AI's routines in conjunction with those from Despondent Pyre's encephalon to finally activate the Spires and begin the Reformation. As part of this plan, the Harbinger altered the Forerunner sequence needed to open the Command Spire's door, thereby making it impossible to open. The sabotage forced the Chief and the Weapon to gather data from a network of Forerunner communication beacons in order to reconstruct a pure version of the sequence. While collecting data from the beacons, the Weapon sensed the Harbinger's presence within the network and eventually realized the latter's intentions. Since the Spires still hadn't been activated yet, the Master Chief initially wanted to abort their current plan, effectively leaving them and the Harbinger in a stalemate. However, the Weapon believed that the Harbinger would eventually find a way to activate the Spires on her own, so they had no choice but to finish gathering the data needed to enter the Command Spire.[8]
Later, upon reaching the Nexus, the Weapon attempted to activate a gravity lift that would take them into the Command Spire itself. The Harbinger took the opportunity to hack the Weapon in an effort to use her to start the Reformation. The Weapon, in turn, used her link to the Harbinger to try to steal Despondent Pyre's encephalon. Despite the Master Chief's attempt to delete the Weapon - an effort which the Weapon herself stopped - both the Harbinger and the Weapon succeeded in their respective goals. This caused friction between the Chief and the Weapon, with the Chief being angry that the Weapon had stopped him from deleting her and had thus allowed the Reformation to begin, while the Weapon - who believed the Harbinger would have found a way to start the Reformation regardless - was angry that the Chief had tried to delete her in the first place rather than trust her.[1]
With the Reformation underway, the Spires began forging building blocks which were sent out to repair the Silent Auditorium. The Chief fought his way to the Command Spire's observation platform, where the Weapon used Despondent Pyre's encephalon to shut down all the Spires and end the Reformation. By then, however, enough of the Auditorium had been restored, such that the Harbinger could now use it to locate and free her people.[4][9]
Gallery
The Harbinger uses Despondent Pyre's encephalon to summon the Reformation Spires.
John-117 watching a Reformation Spire rise.
Escharum and the Harbinger prepare to defend the Command Spire.
The Nexus, which coordinates the Reformation through the Command Spire directly above.
A building block being produced by the Reformation.
A finished building block produced by the Reformation.
A building block being transported through the Command Spire.
More building blocks being transported through the Command Spire.
List of appearances
- Halo Infinite (First appearance)
Sources
- ^ a b c Halo Infinite, campaign mission Reformation: Nexus
- ^ Halo Infinite, Spartan Audio log: Reverie #04 - On The Mend
- ^ Halo Infinite, campaign mission Reformation: FOB Juliet
- ^ a b Halo Infinite, campaign mission Reformation: The Command Spire
- ^ Halo Infinite, campaign mission Connections: Conservatory
- ^ Halo Infinite, campaign mission Connections: Spire (Halo Infinite level)
- ^ Halo Infinite, campaign mission Graveyards: Pelican Down (Halo Infinite level)
- ^ Halo Infinite, campaign mission Reformation: The Sequence
- ^ Halo Infinite, campaign mission Reckoning: Repository (Halo Infinite level)