(This isn't my post i just want some opinions!!!)

After playing through Halo a number of times, I have to say that the one thing that really bothers me is Cortana's exchange with Foe Hammer near the end of The Maw.

Being specific, Foe Hammer says:

Echo 419 to Cortana. Things are gettin' noisy down there. Everything okay?

...and Cortana replies:

Negative, negative! We have a wildcat destabilization of the ship's fusion core. The engines must have sustained more damage than we thought!

Now what does she mean by 'more damage than we thought'?

Is she implying that cracking the engine shields has caused the engines to melt down quicker than she first assumed? Possibly, but I don't think so. Given the complete lack of any communication with any other UNSC forces of the intention to destroy Halo, Cortana's response is tantamount to a blatant lie. It sounds like she's implying that the PoA's engines suffered more damage in the original crash than was previously assumed, and that the meltdown is not as a result of anything done deliberately after that particular incident.

If so, why is she appearing to hide the fact that It's due to her and Master Chief's actions?

For that matter, why have none of the other human forces been ordered to abandon Halo by any means? Doing so is hardly going to alert the Covenant, since they have already been ordered off Halo themselves and would see nothing odd in the humans leaving too.

As it is, after Halo's destruction, Master Chief asks Cortana 'did anyone else make it'. Again, given that nobody else seems to have been aware of their intentions, why should they have?

As an aside, but connected with this, is the issue of getting off Halo. At first, after initially setting the PoA's engines to detonate, Cortana says:

That should give us enough time to make it to a lifeboat and put some distance between ourselves and Halo before the detonation.

One, why would they be any lifeboats left? Two, I would have thought it doubtful that any that were left would still be operable by now. Three, would a lifeboat actually be capable of getting them back to Earth or any other human outpost? Possibly. Four, and most importantly, it implies that originally Cortana had no intention of contacting Foe Hammer and thus reinforces the suspicion that she was/is not interested in the survival of any other UNSC forces.

However, given that her second choice is Foe Hammer, does that imply that a Pelican would equally be capable of getting back to Earth or reaching any other UNSC forces or human outpost?

I don't know. But whatever, the Cortana/Foe Hammer exchange near the end of The Maw really bugs me. It very much suggests that Cortana is not 'coming clean' with Foe Hammer as to the reasons for the PoA's engine meltdown.

The question is, why?

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Part of the reply was (and I'm not quoting here as I haven't asked permission):
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And what about Warning: Hitchhikers May Be Escaping Convicts. Has the Master Chief picked up any hitchhikers?

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(Still with me? Good.)

To which I replied:
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Indeed...

Cortana, in. Cortana Plus, out. Certainly plausible (if that's the direction you're heading). It's a possibility I've been toying with myself.

don't get me started! ;-)

Of course, arguably, it could be seen to imply that 343 Guilty Spark is the 'escaping convict', 'hitching' a lift by following the Longsword. But that seems far too obvious for Bungie's tastes.

It's interesting to note though that Cortana refers to her 12 hours in Halo's core as being 'cooped up', which is a curious turn of phrase in itself, given the apparent wealth and breadth of information suddenly available to her. She makes it sound as if she was getting bored...

Moving on though, if she was 'watching' MC and 343GS during those 12 hours she must have been aware of the monitor's intentions to fire Halo before they got back to the Control Room. In that case, linked directly with the core, surely she could initiate a far more precise and effective method of stopping Halo from firing than just blowing it up. So why choose the apparent finality of the 'destroy it and escape' method instead.

Plot defined to allow for game play..? Possibly... Because she couldn't..? Maybe she only had read-only access... Difficult to say.

Here's a bit of wild, crazy speculation though:

If Halo is capable of killing the Flood's food, then destroying Halo would stop that from happening. Which begs the question; could the Flood survive Halo being broken into pieces?

343GS states:

The installation was specifically built to study and contain the Flood.

If, by 'installation', he means Halo, then his comment implies that It's primary function was not to destroy all potential food sources. That would only be a last resort failsafe function in light of the Flood actually getting off Halo. However, if Cortana is right and destroying Halo has killed the Flood, then why was there not a first level failsafe that allowed for the self destruction of the installation if the Flood got loose upon its surface? Surely a far simpler and cleaner solution than the mass wiping out of life across the whole galaxy.

What if destroying Halo in that manner doesn't actually guarantee killing the Flood completely? After all, breaking up Halo would definitely stop it from firing. But completely kill the Flood as well...?

While Cortana's plan to stop Halo from firing is quite laudable and certainly understandable in the circumstances, her single minded concerns over doing so tend to ignore the potential of the Flood themselves.

Is there a chance that something came out of the core with Cortana (full circle here) that wishes to preserve/release the Flood and get rid of Halo at the same time?

Its parasitic nature belies the Flood's intelligence.

Could the Flood have already infiltrated the core in some way? If they can repair and operate/navigate a space-going vessel, then surely tampering with Halo's systems is not beyond their means.

As it is:

Just what is a 'drone control subsystem'? What exactly constitutes 'Flood activity'?

What is Halo to the Flood, if not a prison? Do we have some form of 'escaped convict'? Not necessarily Flood itself, but possibly Flood contrived.

343GS: The Flood must not escape the installation. They could soon evolve.

Into what precisely..?

What if not informing the humans of the planned destruction/break-up of Halo means more bodies left for any surviving Flood on the large remaining pieces..?

Okay, that's probably a bit too wild and I may be speculating a little too much (long day), but Halo does tend to lend itself to doing so rather voraciously, and eventually the tru7h will out. :-)

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Finished...?

Damn. You made it.

Well, I know that It's a lot to take in all in one shot. But...any views on this?

Mark Simmons