The Executor
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The first Executor |
"The Executor" is an unidentified formerly-human individual serving under High Auxiliary Sloan in the Created. They are the first of the Executors - cybernetically augmented supersoldiers created by Sloan to serve as the bridge for artificial intelligences to interface with the physical world. The Executor was originally notable as the first known human to uncover the existence of The Assembly, a clandestine group of AI working to guide humanity over the course of centuries. They were driven into madness by their discovery, and eventually used by the Created to become the Executor.[2]
Biography[edit]
Discovering the Assembly[edit]
- "...now i know why i was digging deep in one of those places where its dirt all the way down and just when i thought i hit bottom i hit the top of something else and since then ive had less than a solid fifteen minutes of sleep at a go and there are times i wonder if ive joined the guys in tinfoil hats and now i know i have..."
- — One of the messages left by the Executor on a data pad during their descent into madness.
The individual who would become the Executor was a human being alive on Reach some time prior to mid-2552. They originally arrived on Reach as a refugee aboard an evacuation transport full of similar evacuees from glassed colony worlds, by which time they had become aware of the existence of The Assembly in some form. What followed was their slow descent into madness as they attempted to chronicle the Assembly, questioning why the AI cabal chose to hide away when they could help humanity in the ongoing war and finding themselves unable to tell anyone else about their findings.[3]
As the individual dug deeper into what they expected to be Office of Naval Intelligence secrets, only to uncover more of the Assembly, their madness drove them to the point of only averaging less than fifteen minutes of sleep at a time - furthering their condition. This paranoia led them to try and cover their tracks, scattering data pads across a number of locations on Reach intended as dead drops to unknown parties. The data pads contain a number of sessions of the Assembly from over the course of several centuries, accompanied by the discoverer's distraught comments at the group's behavior: while they acknowledged that the AIs were seemingly benevolent, they were upset over the Assembly's manipulation of humanity in secret. The individual stated in their messages that they had attempted communicating with the Assembly but failed to receive a response. The data pads, scattered in different locations around Reach, would later be discovered by SPARTAN-B312 of NOBLE Team.[3][2]
The Assembly messages discovered by the human detailed their process of observing the war against the Covenant, and ultimately coming to a decision to take a more active presence in the world, inspired by the unification of John-117 and Cortana in late 2552.[3] Having noted that their presence had been discovered, the Assembly in turn began to use the discoverer, saving them from the Fall of Reach and showing them visions of what they planned for the future. The discoverer eventually lived until the Created uprising and the defeat of Cortana in late 2559, by which time they had lost all memories of their previous life - and ultimately fell into the hands of Created AI Sloan.[4]
At this time, the Created AI Sloan (now taking on the title of High Auxiliary) took over one of the Created's remnant factions, and expressed that he had wished to present the FIREWALL contingency to Cortana prior to her destruction. As the sole figurehead of the Created remnant, he would have to proceed on his own initiative now - ultimately finding the discoverer and bringing them into the fold as the first Executor. When exactly this took place is unclear, though likely happened after the downfall of Cortana, in late 2559 or early 2560.[1][2]
Becoming the first Executor[edit]
Whether the human individual involved was a willing or unwilling participant in this program remains unknown. In a simulation conducted by Sloan, the Executor was placed in the scenario of arriving at the Avery J. Johnson Academy of Military Science, and eventually encountering the AI Proxy - ultimately escorting Proxy away from the Academy and into the heart of the Guardian to be augmented with a number of invasive and extremely painful surgeries - becoming the Executor. Even while being augmented, the Executor was noted as understanding that the torturous process was necessary to fuse mind and machine - were this to reflect reality, then the discoverer seemingly willingly surrendered themselves to the Executor project.[1][2]
Following their successful integration, Proxy cast a vote to the Majority of the Created, pondering what role the newly-arisen Executor would take. The Minds chose to clad the Executor in PEACEWEAVER for their upcoming missions.[1] A second simulation was later conducted for the Executor, depicting them storming Carinae Station to recover a Durance housing the essence of Spartan Edward Davis. While the Executor failed the encounter multiple times, they ultimately succeeded in their mission, even successfully engaging a SPARTAN-IV and coming out victorious. They retrieved the Durance and boarded a Jennet-class intrasystem hauler, and were instructed by Proxy to deliver the Durance to preset coordinates without opening the Durance. Depending on the simulation's outcome, the Executor may simply wait for retrieval, thus bringing it to a close. However, were they to have opened the Durance, they would experience a recreation of Davis' final memories in the Battle of Draetheus V, and the activation of the orbital reformer X50. Despite disobeying a directive, Proxy noted how interesting it is that, even after such extensive alteratio to both mind and body, the Executor's original human impulses still compelled it to follow its curiosity and open the Durance.[5]
Either way, the assembled Minds once again voted on the form the Executor was to take next, ultimately choosing to clad them in MERROW armour for its next task.
Hunting down rogue AIs[edit]
Eventually, the Executor was tasked by Sloan with hunting down AIs who had not joined the Created. Accordingly, the Executor was dispatched to hunt down Athos, a Smart AI now nearing the end of his operational lifespan. The Executor then opened a dialogue between Athos and Proxy, leading to Proxy successfully persuading Athos to join the Created cause. In return for joining the Created, Proxy granted the Executor to Athos as a gift, presenting a further choice to the Minds as to the Executor's next evolution, ultimately deciding on CHIMERA. [6]
At this time, Sloan and the Minds of the Created both agreed that the Executor deserved to know the truth of their past, and revealed to the Executor that their memories of their former life had been suppressed by a third party - presumably the Assembly who had worked with the Executor prior to the Created. Sloan then revealed the truth of the Executor's human life and how they came to their current situation, before thanking them for their service and placing them into one final FIREWALL simulation.[4]
The final simulation was a scenario broadly similar to the awakening of John-117 aboard UNSC Pillar of Autumn in the Battle over Installation 04, with the Executor awakening from a cryo chamber aboard a warship being attacked by a Jiralhanae boarding party. The Executor headed to the ship's bridge, encountering Sloan (taking the place of Captain Jacob Keyes) and Proxy (taking the place of Cortana). The Executor was instructed to take Proxy to safety, before ultimately being engaged by Jiralhanae forces and being forced to self-destruct their in-build "Defiance Protocol" nuclear weapon - destroying the ship and ending the simulation. Just before the detonation, Proxy remarked that it was necessary for the Executor to experience the feeling of failure and sacrifice before the real thing. The Executor was then awakened from the FIREWALL simulation, with Sloan remarking on how they were the culmination of the Assembly's plans - and would serve the Created as the first of eventually many other Executors.[4]
Gallery[edit]
Artwork of the Executor's awakening.
List of appearances[edit]
- Halo: Reach
- Data pads (First appearance)
- Story Shard: Precipice
