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January 19, 2006

Human, Covenant... but what of the Forerunner AI constructs?

MC Vince writes:

We know the Covenant is excellent at replicating technology, so did they replicate some of GS's abilities? After all he looks pretty dormant in the opening cut scene of "Sacred Icon". Very unusual, as he never shuts up normally! More importantly though, is Cortana's statement "There's something inside the ship...a presence that's fighting back! For a Covenant construct, its unusually formidable", well, I'd expect it to be pretty formidable if it was a copy of an ancient Forerunner construct.

With the copy of Cortana, introduced in First Strike and the copy of 343 GS being merged, Covenant constructs could be a force to be reckoned with. If so, humans really are up the creek without a paddle, as A.I technology is one of the few areas humans are superior, but it seems the balance of power has shifted somewhat.

Hmmm. A Forerunner AI? A melding of minds? I've always taken 343's shock at "A Construct?! In the Core?" to imply both the existence and a knowledge of AI constructs (and hence the existence of Forerunner AI's), as well as a distinction between himself and a "construct" (whatever that entails).

Considering the text's lack of Gravemind's usual poetic flare (or 343's quirkiness), perhaps the Whisper in the Storm audio is the voice of another being lost in time, an AI of unknown origin, trapped in High Charity for a Covenant Age or two?

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-Finn




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