A kelguid,[1] referred to as a starholo by humans,[2] is a kind of technology employed by the Covenant. Kelguids are interactive holographic star-maps used by navigators to plot journeys through slipspace.[1][2] The Covenant developed the kelguid technology through reverse-engineering Forerunner equivalents.[3]
Description
The kelguid consists of a silver disk sitting atop a cylindrical waist-high (by human standards) equipment cabinet. From the silver disk a hologram is projected that Dr. Catherine Halsey described as looking like "a half-eaten dinner of spaghetti and meatballs that had just entered zero-g." The "meatballs" were spherical holograms that represented gravity wells of various sizes and the "spaghetti" consisted of lines representing the curvature of spacetime around the gravity wells. The lines would sometimes bend so tightly that they would intersect, creating connection points that could be as transit nodes for slipspace-capable starships.[2]
Despite the device appearing to employ standard holographic technology, Dr. Halsey reported an unusual "cold tingle" in her arm when she waved her hand inside the kelguid's projected hologram, prompting her to quickly remove her hand.[2]
History
During the Human-Covenant War, Covenant intrusion corvettes were known to carry a kelguid on their bridges. Following the Battle of Seoba in 2526, the kelguid of the Worthy Silence was recovered by the Spartan-IIs attached the UNSC's Task Force Yama, and later used by Dr. Catherine Halsey to find the Covenant supply world of Zhoist.[2] Despite this, Fleetmaster Nizat 'Kvarosee believed that humans were not intelligent enough to operate the device.[1]
List of appearances
- Halo: Silent Storm (First appearance)
- Halo: Oblivion (Mentioned only)