Exalted Obliteration's board
Glad to see you're back. :)
There are tons of articles needing compliance with standards (and standards and policies requiring updates). Check 'em all out.
I don't think it is possible as every contribution is linked to that account. What happens to the new user of the same account, not knowing that the account has made several contributions (regardless if they're good or bad contributions)? I would think that if you don't want to be part of a wiki (different from other websites), the only way to do it is to abandon the account without having to log in, access the account, etc.
I came across your message and this page by coincidence. Halopedia:FAQ
My guess is that she didn't take him out of cryo at all. We know that Halsey operated on a near-death Linda witho9ut removing her from cryo - presumably a cryo pod has some sort of function that allows external access to the occupant without outright removal.
I've been saying for a while now that there's plenty of ways for Cortana to have fabricated the suit - for one thing, she's got half a frigate to cannibalise for spare parts; for another, she was made from the mind of MJOLNIR's creator; and lastly, she's on the edge of rampancy herself, and doing so would take the edge off, at least for a little while.
I have to say, the armour has actually been growing on my! Yes, the shoulders are awful, but the rest of the suit is actually really nice. It seems to be harkening back to the big, bulkiness of the Mark V, rather than the streamlined smoothness of the original Mark VI. I was always disappointed about the change, myself - I loved the Mark V because it felt powerful, like a tank, while the Mark VI has been compared to a fighter jet. Evidently, 343i think a tank is a better comparison for the chief, returning to that feeling of mass that I really liked.
The Xbox Press Center is where I usually get high-res screenshots and concept art for Halo 4. For other games, ForwardUntoDawn.com's concept art gallery is the most expansive archive that I know of.
If you want to find higher-res versions of existing screenshots/concept art, use Google Images' reverse search function.
Congratulations on Halopedian of the Month.
Your, Flood=Precursor thing actually clears up a problem of mine. Basically, my problem was that the Flood --and their specific kind of parasitic nature-- would not be compatible with any kind of normal ecosystem. But if your Precursor theory is correct, than that would explain why.
But I just thought up of something. If the Flood are the Precursors. Then why did the Flood not instantaneously conquer the galaxy when the Precursors transformed themselves. Think about it. The Flood had billions, if not trillions (the Precursors were a large species) of solders, the best technology, and they were the top people in the galaxy. Why did they choose to leave the galaxy rather than take over and infect the galaxy? Now I think I might be taking a little bit of Mass Effect canon here. But maybe, The Flood/Precursors DID take over the galaxy. Then, after all life was infected, the Flood went into dark space (or a new galaxy) and waited for sentient life to re-evolve then they went back into the galaxy in the Magle-whatever clouds?
But there are some other problems too. Like, why be a parasite? A hive-mind I can understand, no war, no jealousy, etc. You can clearly see in Human Weakness that the Gravemind is parasite to the bone. But why did the Flood not try negotiation, talking to the Forerunners and the Humans? Instead engaging in hostile war? Shouldn't the Gravemind (maybe the reincarnation of the head Precursor?) have been polite? Instead of just MINDLESSLY attacking, contradicting the Mantle by not even giving a chance to "talk it out"? Also, back to what I said before about Intelligence. If Obama or somebody said that we need to completely transform our species to go to the next stage of Evolution, we would all be like, "Fuck no! You corrupted fool!" Just thought of something. Maybe the Flood was a civil war. An extremist faction (obviously they were a little "coo-coo") that thought that a hive-mind would be the ultimate manifestation of the Mantle. And a reformist (is that the right word?) faction that thought that that was crazy, and would be a contradiction of the Mantle. So they had a war; and the Extremist faction won, and etc. But again, why a PARASITE? Just a hive-mind I could understand. But why trying to achieve their means through war? Again, another reason why I suspect that it was a little "coo-coo" extremist faction that turned into the Flood.
But, this whole theory is under the assumption that YOUR theory about the Flood is correct in the first place. Because we can't just assume that the Flood are the Precursors or else we'll be very disappointed when Book II comes out.
P.S. Could I also have your opinion on the discrepancy between the Terminals and Halo: Cryptum. The Conversation is located on the Didact's page.
- - Vegerot
(sorry on my multiple spelling errors, *facepalm* they're supposed to be, "then", "write", "I'm", "Human-SAN 'SHUUM-Forerunner-Flood War")
In response to your conversation with Braidenvl. But I always wondered when I read that book. "What could be so absolutely terrible that the people that learned about it would kill themselves rather than live with the fact?" One's first answer to that question is "Well, it's something so galaxy changing that they can't bear it." But I don't like that answer. Because think about it. Before the Human-Flood-Forerunner War, the Humans were equal to, if not MORE intelligent than humanity is today. So think about this, if YOU were those humans. What could you hear to make you want to kill yourself? Nothing. So, if the humans were more intelligent, that what would make them want to kill themselves? (I would right A LOT more about this, but I've in a hurry, so I got to just give you a brief summary)
P.S. Do you think it is purely the Didact's guilt that made him pick Humanity for the "reclaimer" candidate? Because, after reading Cryptum, it seems as though the San 'Shuum would be much better reclaimers. Because, I mean, if the San 'Shuum didn't evolve on a Forerunner planet (so they wouldn't have worshipped the Forerunners religiously) don't you think they would have been wiser than humanity? Actually wait a second, I just realized that the San 'Shuum were part of the Human-Forerunner-SAN 'SHUUM War. So that would make them equal candidates for Reclaimers.
P.P.S. Would you mind reading my Geas theory on the Geas page? I would like to hear your opinions on that.
-Vegerot
Brilliant! Ultimately, the purpose of the Mantle is to bring about unity and harmony among all life. That is exactly what the Flood seek to accomplish, albeit in a rather unpleasant, undesirable, and forceful manner. Throughout "Halo 2", "Halo 3", and "Human Weakness", the Gravemind addresses this fact; it frequently refers to such concepts - though not always verbatim - as peace, unity, and transcendence. Could the Flood be the ultimate manifestation of the Mantle? Is it a weapon or some other experiment created by the Precursors? Is the Flood the modern form of the Precursors, the product of their "transendence"? The appearance of the Flood in the Milky Way is certainly not a fluke. Whatever the Precursors' "answer" is, we know that it is so terrible that those who learned of it - with the exception of the Didact - went mad and killed themselves. I definitely can't wait for the next installment of the Forerunner Saga.
I had already seen those images, though, until you mentioned it, I had not noticed the superficial differences in the armor that they depict. I would say that the differences in the helmets seen on the main cover are due to artistic license; the "Fall of Reach" comic has a lot of that. I only see resemblance to the Mark V helmet from "Halo 3" with the SPARTAN on the left; perhaps "Halo 3"'s depiction of the Mark V helmet was more convenient to reference. Of course, the Mark VI's is universally recognizable, so perhaps that is why the prongs look the way they do. The shoulder pauldrons, on the other hand, are clearly different; they remind of the blown-out sketches in Halsey's journal, which depict Mark IV suits whose components are more rounded than those of any field-issued iteration. The crotch armor is also less detailed.
As we both know, the Mark IV's external appearance is irrelevant, as the internal components are what matters. However, I would say that the armor featured on the main cover is a precursor of Red Team's/Cal's armor type. If this is so, we now know of five major Mark IV configurations: the core suit, the "Halo Wars" model, Gray Team's model, the "Package" model, and the one seen on the cover of "Fall of Reach - Covenant". It is also possible that the Mark IV that Halsey sketched in her journal is yet another model. Perhaps 343 Industries will canonize the Mark IV model seen in the "Halo Wars" announcement trailer, as well.
The Issue 1 cover is a different story. John's helmet resembles the Mark V helmet seen on the cover of the 2010 version of "The Flood", as well as the Mark IV helmet seen in "The Package". I'd imagine that the story proper will feature the Red Team style armor, or something close to it, as shown on the main cover, but perhaps the suit from the second image will be shown as well. We'll just have to wait for the issue to be released to find out.
Thank you for drastically improving the "The Flood" article. If it were my choice I would give you Halopedian of the month just for that! Also, I have had many of the same theories that you and Braidenvl had. I too, look at pictures and hyper analyze them, to find out more about Halo. So, the next time you come up with an idea; don't hesitate to put it on my talk page and we can discuss it.
I certainly agree with your theories about the Flood. I've never thought of the Flood gradually replacing the host's biomass with its own, but it makes a great deal of sense. I agree that carrier forms are an advanced representation of this process - a distorted mass of mutated flesh and tendrils. I would say that larger forms, such as the Gravemind and the monstrosities from Origins, are essentially intermediaries between host-created forms and true pure forms: they are comprised of hosts' biomass, yet they are not created from pure Flood biomass. I also like the notion that the thrasher, bomber, and swarm forms are infected by inhaled spores rather than by infection forms, given their lack of tendrils and other instantly recognizable combat form mutations, as well as the fact that they still have eyes. We know that this is possible, as seen with the Flood launcher, whose spore globules can cause unprotected life forms to mutate on the spot.
While I am certainly no professor of physics, I have always held similar theories as to the nature of hard light. In fact, they are - step by step - almost identical to yours, though they might vary on a few details. It would only require manipulating photons into the desired configuration - like you said, with lasers. If I am not mistaken, this would displace ambient gas, which would then, for all practical purposes, "harden" due to the opposing inward and outward forces: Newton's third law at work. Any solid that made contact with the "hardened" gas would then react as if touching another true solid.
Hard light seems nearly feasible with modern technology. Nonetheless, it's amazing to think of how advanced the Forerunners' understanding of hard light was; the Didact's ship was almost entirely comprised of hard light, as were many other pieces of Forerunner technology. As described in Cryptum, hard light could be rendered totally opaque, giving the impression of physical walls and the like; totally invisible, as when observing planets below; or any color imaginable, allowing infinite potential for creating art, such as at Bornstellar's estate. I suppose that holography was used in conjunction with hard light to make this possible, or that the atoms within hard light were manipulated with the Forerunners' "magical" technology. What do you think about this?
Thank you very much! I'm actually surprised that I received the award, as I haven't been very active lately. Since General5 7 resigned due to her loss of interest in Halo, I've been taking a hiatus to ensure that I don't experience the same fate. Thus, I've been playing other games, reading other books, et cetera, in addition to going to school around the clock.
To answer your question, I suppose that the Flood must absorb DNA to use as a genetic template in order to induce mutation. If the super cell didn't contain the host's genetic information, it would likely be unable to provoke any changes whatsoever. Perhaps the host's DNA and the genetic material of the super cell must interface before the mutation process can take place. For example, an infection form could not simply release its spores as soon as it latched to a host; the super cell within would have to analyze the host's DNA and then - in a fraction of a second - adapt itself to infect the host. That way, the mutation could occur within seconds, as the super cell would be optimized to infect that specific host's neurological pathways and other bodily systems.