The World According To GEO!: The Chief Weapon- Halo Encyclopedia: The definitive guide to the Halo Universe

While venturing through Indigo I spotted a book called Halo Encyclopedia: The definitive guide to the Halo Universe. I decided to purchase it and learn about the Halo Universe the same way I learned about the universes of Star Wars and Game of Thrones. Like those books this one on the Halo series was encyclopedic in nature and explained the bare bones and basic facts plus as always with these types of books it features some really great artwork. I got to reading it right away and I was not disappointed in the slightest. I learned all about the Halo universe and how in the distant future mankind has expanded to explore, conquer, and colonise other star systems. I also learned how all that became very close to falling apart.

As any gamer knows and I am sure any general person knows the Halo video game series is one of the most popular and best-selling video games in history. It has spawned toys, novels, great artwork, and a Japanese anime. Microsoft and one of its prize babies the Xbox created what has really become more than just a video game. It is an awe-inspiring, compelling, comprehensive, and overall epic story about mankind defending its species and engaging in a massive space war with a gargantuan religious based and backed alien union called The Covenant. The ramifications of this war end up answering many questions and creating even more questions with regards to the history and origins of mankind. At the forefront of man’s war against The Covenant is the United Nations Space Command aka the UNSC. The best trained and most elite soldiers are the Spartans and there is no greater and heroic Spartan than the Master Chief John-117. He is the hero and saviour of mankind and leads the charge on the most dangerous of missions. His adventures and prowess have made him an almost mythical figure among humans and to The Covenant he is simply referred to as The Demon.

For the most part I knew next to nothing about the Halo series. It looked cool no denying that. I am instantly drawn to any sort of Space and science fiction subject and space military stories always put a smile on my face. There is no denying that Master Chief Spartan John-117 has perhaps the coolest looking battle armour of any character created in the history of science fiction. Jango Fett from Star War is a very close second and I could give him the nod because he has a jet pack and I love jet packs! But, as I continued reading I realized that the Master Chief could easily have a jet pack attached to his MJOLNIR exoskeleton battle suit. (MJOLNIR by the way is the hammer of Thor from Norse mythology). Despite these alluring features of the series I avoided Halo mainly because I didn’t have an Xbox (still don’t) and I am not very good at video games but as time progressed video games are now more than just games. They are great stories that I enjoy watching like a movie and there is not greater place to check that out than on YouTube. I found a channel called TheRadBrad and all this guy does is play video games and much to my enjoyment he had Halo 4 on his channel. I watched the whole thing and I must say it was one great adventurous ride. One of the great things about the Halo series is that it appeals to such a wide audience. It is not overly graphic and violent while at the same time it is not overly childish. Adults and kids can enjoy it equally. The adventures of Master Chief Spartan John-117 can easily appeal to anyone and they certainly appealed to me.

Master Chief Spartan John-117 like other Spartan super soldiers was plucked from early childhood to begin his training. And no, he didn’t have a choice. UNSC doctor Catherine Halsey selected him along with the others based on their genetic make-up, levels of intelligence, and displays of physical activity. Basically the best and brightest were being spied on by the government and kidnapped to be part of a super-secret government program to create super soldiers. Think Ender’s Game if you have read that novel. Once in the care of Dr. Halsey these children were put through a battery of tests and weeded out to make sure that only the best of the best was still standing. John-117 made the cut and became the favourite of Dr. Halsey but she was careful not to show any favouritism to any of the Spartans. She cared for them as her own but mankind was at war and they were trained to kill the enemy and defend mankind. Coddling was not tolerated and probably explains why John-117 is a no-nonsense professional soldier with the personality of Clint Eastwood in an old west movie. Funny enough the voice actor of John-117 patterned his personality on Clint Eastwood. In the battlefield if a Spartan dies they are never listed as KIA (Killed in Action). They are always listed as MIA (Missing in Action). This was done to provide mankind hope that our best soldiers could not be stopped and no matter what would rise again.

When Master Chief Spartan John-117 was put into operation he was given an Artificial Intelligence that was wired into his battle suit. This AI construct was named Cortana and became the Master Chief’s closest friend and ally. Although Cortana was not actually human, advancements in computing allowed AI’s to develop their own personality and appearance. Cortana was technically Master Chiefs superior officer and gave him orders but she was also in many ways his best friend and very protective of him. Unfortunately all AI’s suffer from a dangerous problem called Rampancy which basically means they have consumed too much knowledge and cannot sort it out thus they end up going “insane”. This is a problem that has yet to be solved in the distant future and no matter how advanced an AI is it seems to die of this disease after a seven year lifespan.

The Covenant is the main protagonist in the Halo series. As mentioned earlier they are an Alien Union of planets that are in a continuous search for Forerunner artifacts. The Covenant use Forerunner technology and weaponry to expand their empire and unfortunately for Earth their arsenal is vastly superior to our best defenses and weapons. The Forerunners are the creators of the Halo installations which are scattered at certain points in the Orion’s Arm of the Milky Way. They have different types of atmospheres but are empty and only the remaining Forerunner technology still exists there, where exactly the Forerunners have gone is a mystery to both The Covenant and Mankind but one thing is for certain they are no longer in the Orion’s Arm section of the Milky Way Galaxy. The Covenant worship the Halo installations but when they along with Master Chief Spartan John-117, his AI Cortana, tough as nails and hardnosed Sargent Major Avery Johnson, Captain Jacob Keyes and his daughter Commander Miranda Keyes crash on Halo Installation 04 they find out the Halo’s are not exactly a religious paradise and/or gateway to the promise land.

The Covenant begin pillaging the installation in hopes of finding more Forerunner artifacts and technology but in doing so they enter a highly secured quarantine zone and unwittingly release an ancient parasitic disease called The Flood. Each Halo installation is operated and protected by an AI monitor and the protector of Installation 04 is an AI construct called 343 Guilty Spark. The Flood was a devastating parasite and the Forerunners built the Halos not as safe havens but as “bombs”. The Flood feeds off all sentient life and it is controlled by a hive brain called the Gravemind. Once you are infected there is no way out. The Forerunners, the most advanced species known were virtually helpless at finding a cure to stop it. Their only hope at slowing it down was a mega mass suicide to kill all sentient life thus starving The Flood to death and preventing its spread. 343 Guilty Spark does not reveal this information to Master Chief but instead informs him that activating the Halo will stop The Flood. The whole part about killing every sentient life form within a few light years is conveniently left out of the conversation. Cortana finds out about this and prevents it from happening thus saving billions of lives but saving those lives was really only a band aid solution because even though the installation was destroyed without detonating the “bomb” The Flood parasite escapes. Mankind must now not only battle The Covenant they must now battle the Gravemind parasite. Funny enough The Covenant find themselves being attacked the Flood aswell and several Covenant Generals and troops lead by The Arbiter agree to join with the UNSC and Master Chief in a joint effort to stop The Flood but the main reason they join is because they have been made aware that the Forerunners did not choose The Covenant as their “chosen ones” and that their entire religion is a sham. The High Prophets who control The Covenant know this but giving up their grip of power over dozens of star systems is simply out of the question even if a parasitic holocaust is about to unfold. Those that choose to help the UNSC are labeled as heretics and must be destroyed.

One thing I have noticed in the Halo series is something that I have noticed and mentioned before about sci-fi stories. It seems just about everytime a science fiction story that involves the military refers to their military as being a Navy with a fleet of star battleships, cruisers, destroyers etc. The space militaries of the future are always controlled by the Navy and the Office of Naval Intelligence is where top secret operations take place like the Spartan Program that created Master Chief John-117. Now for storytelling purposes I guess this makes sense but in reality any space military that mankind develops will not fall under the control and operation of the Navy at all. All space operations regarding the military will fall under the Air Force and space agencies. They have the expertise, knowledge, and training when dealing with aircrafts, the three dimensional geometries and vacuum of outer space, and of course just what is needed for propulsion and survival. Think about it, who are we going to trust with outer space operations someone who knows about flying, living, and working in outer space or someone that knows how to operate a boat?

Overall, the Halo video game series has a lot to offer any video game fan or anyone who is a fan of science fiction. Halo Encyclopedia: The definitive guide to the Halo Universe offers a very in-depth and comprehensive look at a world that is based on our own universe only about 600 or so years into the future. It features character bios, location bios, weapon bios, and detailed history of events, just the sort of stuff I love to gobble up. Will mankind colonize other planet let alone other star systems? Who knows. Will we find ourselves in a war with a religion crazed alien union? Who knows, but we already got some experience in that don’t we and scary as it sounds we already have quite a bit of experience with deadly diseases and parasites. Will there be a super solider like Master Chief who will save the day? Who knows but if there is he has my support 110% Semper Fi!

The World According To GEO!

Wednesday, July 22, 2015

The Chief Weapon- Halo Encyclopedia: The definitive guide to the Halo Universe

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