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Shield world: Difference between revisions
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{{era|GOO|H3|HW}} | {{era|GOO|H3|HW}} | ||
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A '''Shield World''' is a Forerunner installation consisting of an entirely habitable [[Micro Dyson Sphere|Dyson Sphere]] and an | A '''Shield World''' is a [[Forerunner]] installation consisting of an entirely habitable [[Micro Dyson Sphere|Dyson Sphere]], and an entrance portal to this [[Astroengineering|megastructure]]. The entrance is usually located in the core of an artificial planet, built to protect the access to the Shield World.<ref name="Onyx">''[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]]''</ref> These installations were built by the [[Forerunner]]s in their vast empire, designed to be "bomb shelters" from the [[Halo Array]]'s activation, but were never used, because [[Mendicant Bias]] revealed their locations to the Flood.<ref>[[Halo Encyclopedia]], page 232</ref> | ||
[[ | ==Description== | ||
The inner Dyson Sphere resides within a [[Slipspace]] transit, accessible only from the [[Core Room Antechamber]] in the heart of the artificial planet formed around the structure. This Dyson Sphere's inner surface is entirely terraformed and two astronomical units in diameter, with an artificial star in the center. | |||
Shield Worlds were intended by the Forerunners as a form of a modern "bomb shelter," a place in which to ride out the devastating [[Halo Array|Halo]] pulse. Access to Shield Worlds was only possible upon the imminent activation of the [[Halo Array]]. | |||
Unlike the Halos, it is unknown how many Shield installations exist. It is possible that there are only [[seven]] of them (keeping with the seven reference) like Onyx with the Dyson Sphere in Slipspace. When the Forerunners built the Halos, it's possible they built an accompanying shield world with each. The Halos would destroy all sentient life within a 25000 light year radius of itself while the Shield World would protect any sentient life within that region. | When [[Dr. Catherine Halsey|Halsey]] and company fled into Onyx's Shield World during the last stages of the [[Battle of Onyx]], it appeared to be deserted, implying that the Forerunners did not utilize it when the Halos were last activated.<ref name="Onyx"/> These circumstances were the result of the betrayal of the Forerunner [[AI]] [[Mendicant Bias]], whose defection to the [[Flood]] forced the Forerunners to abandon their plans to evacuate into the shield installations. | ||
Unlike the Halos, it is unknown how many Shield installations exist. It is possible that there are only [[seven]] of them (keeping with the seven reference) like Onyx with the Dyson Sphere in Slipspace. When the Forerunners built the Halos, it's possible they built an accompanying shield world with each. The Halos would destroy all sentient life within a 25000 light year radius of itself while the Shield World would protect any sentient life within that region. | |||
===Caches of Technology=== | |||
An alternate type of the Shield World exists. While referred to as Shield Worlds, these facilities are considerably different from the base concept. Instead of having one single access portal open for a limited time, and the Dyson Sphere beyond a slipspace transit inside a bubble of compressed time-space, these installations are more conventional in design. Whether they were built for the same purpose as their larger counterparts, is unknown. The artificial planet is hollow, with an interior diameter of approximately 3000 kilometers. The planet's inner surface is terraformed; this makes up the Dyson Sphere. Multiple access tunnels are located around the planet, allowing access to the interior at will.<ref>''[[Halo Wars]]''</ref> | |||
The [[Covenant]] owe their rapid technological advancement to the discovery of a small number of these worlds, discovered earlier in their history and stripped of usable [[Technology|technologies]]. The eventual fate of these worlds, and whether they were abandoned or inhabited by the Covenant, is unknown.<ref>''[[Halo Wars]]'', Timeline</ref> | |||
[[Shield World (Halo Wars)|One of these worlds]] contained a fleet of [[Unnamed Forerunner Starship|Forerunner warships]], which the Covenant planned to use in their [[Human-Covenant War|war]] against the humanity. Before they could accomplish this, the crew of the UNSC [[Spirit of Fire]] destroyed the Shield World by overloading the ship's [[Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine]] in the sun in the center of the shield world. This caused it to go supernova, thus turning the entire structure into dust, preventing the Covenant from using the Forerunner fleet. | |||
==Known Shield Worlds== | ==Known Shield Worlds== | ||
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=== [[Shield World (Halo Wars)|Unnamed Shield World]] === | === [[Shield World (Halo Wars)|Unnamed Shield World]] === | ||
This Shield World differed greatly from the base concept of the Shield Worlds, being only a hollow artificial planet with a terraformed interior, instead of having a massive Dyson Sphere inside a slipspace rift. Accessing the interior was also easier than on Onyx, as the Shield World had multiple access tunnels around the surface. Its function was also apparently different, housing a fleet of [[Unnamed Forerunner Starship|Forerunner Ships]] instead of being a bomb shelter. | This Shield World differed greatly from the base concept of the Shield Worlds, being only a hollow artificial planet with a terraformed interior, instead of having a massive Dyson Sphere inside a slipspace rift. Accessing the interior was also easier than on Onyx, as the Shield World had multiple access tunnels around the surface. Its function was also apparently different, housing a fleet of [[Unnamed Forerunner Starship|Forerunner Ships]] instead of being a bomb shelter. | ||
== Trivia == | == Trivia == | ||