SPARTAN
The modern Spartan program (in contrast to its ancient Greek counterpart ) was initiated in 2491, an element of the ORION project. Though not much is known about the first generation of warriors (their training, augmentation, goals, etc.), they were successful enough to garner the necessary consent for a second phase, aptly named SPARTAN II. Under Dr. Halsey, the Spartans would be developed in conjunction with the MJOLNIR armour project, the culmination of a powered exoskeleton technology that had been used for some time by the UNSC, and when discarded, by frustrated cargo handlers everywhere. The initial goal of the SPARTAN/MJOLNIR project was to provide a surgical strike team capable of dealing with Human rebellions quickly and efficiently, averting the use of large scale military force, and preventing the civil war, and tremendous loss of life, that would have inevitably ensued.
A total of 75 children, approximately age six and selected for their specific genetic dispositions (that is, being as close to perfect as science could determine), were "recruited". They were replaced with congenitally defective flash-clones to cover the enlistment, and trained, primarily on and below the surface of Reach, by one Chief Petty Officer Mendez, arguably the best Drill Instructor in the Navy. Their family names, whatever they may have been, were stripped, purged from record, and forever replaced with a 3 digit designation. Their upbringing would be defined not only by gruelling physical routine, but by a comprehensive academic tutelage under Deja, a Class II AI created specifically for the SPARTAN II project.
In March of 2525, on the orbital ONI Medical Facility above Reach, the then 14 year old candidates underwent a series of drastic and inadvisable operations to dramatically enhance their skeletal, muscular, optical, and nervous systems (FoR p.56). Of the original 75, a reported 33 survived the processes; 30 were lost, and 12 irrevocably crippled (though still used by ONI in research and ops planning). (Note: The exact number of Spartans to survive the conflicts to follow varies dramatically from source to source. Check here for a closer examination.)
Both before and after their final union with the MJOLNIR armour, the SPARTAN II's, with their overwhelming physical abilities, improvisational skills, and keenness for adversity, handled their operations with a profound efficiency: as of August 27, 2552 they had suffered only 3 KIA's and 1 too wounded to continue active duty, giving them the best record of any UNSC unit. Of course, they were officially listed as only MIA, part of ONI Section 2's successful propaganda campaign to boost morale; a program spearheaded by the SPARTAN II's and their glorious triumphs in battle, though strangely silent concerning Humanity's slow and imminent loss of the war against the Covenant.
Since their harrowing escape from Reach and the destruction of nearly 500 Covenant vessels consumed in the explosion of the 30km long Covenant Command Station, Unyielding Hierophant, the arduous task of defending Humanity from the ever gargantuan Covenant fleet (wise to the Earth's location) fell into their "big, green, armoured hands." Though their numbers were bolstered to 7 (or 8, including the abducted Kelly) before their return to Earth, the story's continuation focuses only on Spartan-117, with no mention of his comrades. Let's hope one is enough.
More beef to the historical feeding frenzy:
Charles George (georgec2@union.edu) writes:
Just to contribute to the thermopolye thread, the spartans were never "overwhelmed" at Thermopolye, instead they were betrayed, and the Persians were presented with a secret route around the pass. The Spartans ended up out flanked and outnumbered. The theme of betrayal seems to go along well with Halo.
Char
Indeed, it would seem that the Ten Thousand Immortals (so-called because whenever their numbers were depleted in battle, they would be replaced as soon as possible, thus forming an immortal army made of mortal men), Xerxes' own personal guard, were led through the mountains above Thermopylae by a Greek traitor, and they were able to assault the Spartans and their Theban allies from the rear, completely surrounding and killing all of the men from Lakedaimon.
The Covenant can be seen as the Persian army, and the Flood as the Ten Thousand Immortals; unstoppable, innumerable, building their armies from the bodies of their conquered. Here we have yet another metaphor for the ring shape of Halo; the Spartans were encircled, and that was their defeat. Only one of Reach's Spartan II's made it to Halo. But is the battle truly won? The Master Chief certainly feels that there is more fighting to be done.
-Ape Man
Mark IV, V, VI, or VIII
Noah (noahb@mac.com) writes:
OK, so Bungie just posted some new stuff on the wonderful Truth and Reconciliation site and among this was the storyboards for the first cutscene. I noticed on the next to the last storyboard something very interesting. On the Master Chief's cryo chamber are stenciled the letters "MK-VIII". This means Mark 8. Not Mark IV like the Marathon cyborg or even Mark V like the Marines occasionally call the Master Chief. So either:
1. This is the official "version number" of the Master Chief and the Marine is wrong
2. This is just an early version of the Halo story and Bungie changed it
Personally I would go with #2 because of all the changes already make in this cutscene.Interesting. Not VII? ;)
-mnemesis
Mendez, and the possibility of more Spartan trainees
Brian Wahl (bkwahl@athenet.net) writes:
I was reading through "The Fall of Reach" for the third time and I came across an odd part in the book regarding Chief Mendez. We all know that Chief Mendez put the first group of Spartans through their training on planet Reach starting in the year 2517. On page 99, Chief Mendez states he is leaving to train a new group of Spartans in the year 2525. On page 101, the book states John 117 never sees Chief Mendez again. Now this brings up some interesting questions.
1. Where did Chief Mendez go to train the new group of Spartans? - The original training took place on Reach. We would assume the new group of Spartans would be trained on Reach also, right? To my knowledge, the book never states where the new group of Spartans were training. My thoughts are that the training could be taking place on Earth. The probability is low, but they could be training there.
2. Why didn't we hear more about the new Spartan training group? - The first group of Spartans trained from 2517 to 2525. That's only 8 years of training. The battle that occurred on Sigma Octanus IV took place in the year 2552. That is 27 years after the first training group left the care of Chief Mendez. Wouldn't we think that there would be at least 3 additional groups of Spartans trained and ready to kick ass if each group completed training in eight years? Another possibility why the new group of Spartans was never talked about is that the funding for future Spartan soldiers were cut off by the Military. Now that does not seem likely given the awesome results that occurred from the first group of Spartans.
3. If Chief Mendez was training the new Spartans on Reach, why didn't John 117 see Chief Mendez or at least hear about Chief Mendez when he went back to Reach to try out the new MJOLNIR suit (with Cortana) in the year 2552? (pg. 246) - Now it is entirely possible that John 117 and Chief Mendez just never crossed paths while John 117 was on Reach. But that seems a little weird since the MJOLNIR suit training with Cortana took place on the same training grounds as he trained in the year 2517. The book even states he rang the same bell as when the original training took place. The other possibility is that Chief Mendez passed away before any other Spartan groups were trained. Now, even if Chief Mendez did pass away, I think the Military would have someone else handle the training of these important soldiers.
I guess what I'm trying to say is this.....It is entirely possible that there are additional Spartans alive and well on Earth. There hasn't been any talk by Bungie of additional Spartans, but it seems the book left this area open for discussion. Plus, I'm not sure how Bungie would incorporate additional Spartans in the game that were not controlled by us, the players.A well-written and thoroghly documented analysis. Good job! As far as other Spartans are concerned, though, we might have to wait for Halo 2 to see if that particular story element is addressed, unless there's something in the game we've missed? ;-)
-mnemesis
Old site, good reminder.
petgeibe (petgeibe@email.msn.com) writes:
I've found a website with all the Mjolnir [Mk V] armor stats. The website is located here.
-Finn
Jesper Nielsen (tf2tiic@hotmail.com) writes:
I can only recall the marines stating that in the book, when they say that the SPARTAN project was a failure and he's the only one left. Now, lets try to analyse this.
First of all, and most importantly, the source. He's a Helljumper, as tough as they come, and as we know, he's certainly not fond of the SPARTAN project. He's stranded, along with his comrades, of a mysterious alien artifact, where they have absolutely NO communication with any other humans. When the POA left Reach, it was in the middle of the battle and as far as I know, we never saw all of the Spartans die. So how would a Helljumper know? It's not like he could get confirmation from Earth, is it? And considering his hate of these bio-manipulated warriors, why would he keep up MC's hope by saying that the Spartans might have survived the battle of Reach? Of course he wouldn't, he would want them to fail!
As far as I know, we are still not sure if any Spartans survived the battle of Reach. Heck, we don't even know if Reach DID get glassed, as the POA and us, the readers, left in the middle of the battle. All I'm trying to say is; nothing is for sure. The events on Halo happened in parallel to events at the Inner and Outer Colonies. All we know is that the Cov. somehow managed to reach Earth (which i think means that they did not glass Reach, but instead used it to find valuable information, and therefore the Spartans might have had to possibility to escape!).True. We must remember that what was happening on Halo was only a part of the much larger story. I fear that the answer (answer? Do those even apply here? ;-)) will not be known, however, until the release of Halo 2. Speculation, as always, is both encouraged and welcomed.
-mnemesis
SPARTAN John 117: the first, but so far, not the last
Angus Bradford (saiberdawg@hotmail.com) writes:
I read through the site and saw no mention of this, which doesn't mean in my fever to read the text I might have missed something, so I decided to remind everyone of a fact posted in the book... While I don't have the book here to quote line for line I'd like to point out that the Master Chief might not be the last remaining Spartan... When the Spartans were being briefed by Dr. Halsey and Captain Keys on Reach, she gave a "roll call" if-you-will of the Spartans... Numbering those who died or were disfigured in the augmentation process, but she also said that there were 3 Spartans that wer not able to make it back to Reach due to them being in combat areas too far to be brought back to Reach... Now since the book makes no reference to where they were and I doubt that the Coventant launched an attack against these three such as the attack on Reach... I think it's a very good possibility that they may still be out there...
Since Halo: The Flood was released, we've received more than a few submissions questioning to assertion that the MC is definitely the last SPARTAN. In retrospect, it might be plausible for there to be others somewhere. I do feel certain that Linda was not present during the events of the game, considering that Keyes never mentions her anywhere in HtF, but that doesn't preclude another group of SPARTANs from showing up sometime.
-mnemesis
Two for the show...
S7N (N.J.R.Jones@brighton.ac.uk) writes:
On The Maw, on the Pillar of Autumn, it is is over 2 km from the reactor room to where you meet Foe Hammer, and an extra 1 km to the Longsword Interceptor. so this means that the Pillar of Autumn is over 3 km long. Fair enough, my point being that MC doesn't need a Warthog to cover all that distance, if the game had make him run as fast as he should!
At the start of FoR it states that the Spartans sprint up a half-kilometer hill in 32 seconds flat [56.25 km/h, uphill]. later on, after they have been augmented and are training in the caves, Mendez says that the Spartans can run at up to bursts of 55 kmph, and that's WITHOUT the Mjolnir suits!
My point in all this is, that the total distance from the reactor to the Interceptor is 3 km, the Master Chief can cover it in under 6 minutes which is the allocated time!Faster than a speeding bullet; more powerful than a locomotive; able to sprint the lengths of Human warships in a...
Well, to keep things simple, if they could keep it up at 55 km/h, the Maw run of roughly 3 km would take only about 3:15; well under time. As Dr. Halsey also said, they were also not yet adjusted to their physiological enhancements and would only become faster. And additionally as Nicholas pointed out, this is without the further augmentation of the Mjolnir suit. Just how fast can a fully prepped Spartan run anyway?
-Finn
Edward Pang (haesslich@hotmail.com) writes:
al -Ghost- moraleta posted something in his theory about the MJOLNIR armor being able to sensor-cloak itself, by adjusting its thermal emissions level. If he's talking about the raid into the asteroid belt against the rebels, it was NOT Mjolnir armor that Sam, Kelly, Linda, and the Master Chief were using. Their armor in that situation was a form-fitting polymer-based suit which included the thermal masking ability in it, and it was definitely NOT the Mjolnir, which was never stated to have any stealth capabilities whatsoever.
At least, not the Mjolnir Mark II suits. :D
Also, it's stated that the cloaks the Stealth Elites use, at least in "Halo: the Flood", do NOT mask thermal emissions: indeed, they generate them, which was how the Helljumpers and Marines in Alpha base were able to hunt down the Stealths in the Control Room.Good eye. One wonders if the new armor in Halo 2 will be different with regards to cloaking. If I remember correctly, weren't we originally on a mission that might require some degree of stealth? Would that mission still have any significance?
-mnemesis
Bryan Gersbeck (cloudrunner58@yahoo.com) writes:
In the book Halo: The Fall of Reach Dr. Halsey says, "Assembled here tonight are all the surviving Spartans save three, who are otherwise engaged on fields of combat too distant to be easily recalled." This means that there are three more Spartans. So maybe Master Chief is not the only one left.
This has been pointed out to us a number of times in the past (Not to slight Bryan, though. Good eye, Bryan! ;-)), but it bears repeating: There are, quite possibly, other SPARTANs out there. The three mentioned above, certainly, but think again about the remaining members of the squad and where we last heard from them. If there's one thing I've learned from Bungie, it's that if it isn't explicitly stated somewhere, you can't count on it.
-mnemesis
We are all unique.
We are all individuals.
We very often receive multiple emails on a similar topic. Sometimes, however, they are so similar, you just don't know who to post.
Jeff Poole (dolphin-splash@excite.com) and Alexis J. Lojek (phoenix155@mac.com) and Sean Kelly (entermyinsanity@hotmail.com) write:
After reading this and rethinking about those three SPARTANS and the book, it occurred to me that in the E3 Realtime Demo, Sergeant Banks said, "When I asked for reinforcements, I didn't think they'd send a SPARTAN." I am going to take this as a clear statement that either the SPARTANS weren't all killed off on the ground assault at Reach, or that the second set of SPARTANS trained by Senior Chief Petty Officer Mendez (was he a CPO or SCPO?) made it!
Being that the Covenant assault on Earth takes place some time after Reach, word would have circulated if the SPARTANS had been killed. Also, the fact that the Master Chief is simply referred to as a "SPARTAN" rather than "the Master Chief," alludes that there are more than one SPARTAN still alive! If the Sergeant had said instead, "When I asked for reinforcements, I didn't think they'd send you!" then we'd know that there were no more SPARTANS, but from the looks of it, there is another group of SPARTANS out there other than the MC."...maybe the last SPARTAN", "for all he knew", "...at least one of them..."
Bungie's gentle way of saying hint-hint, wink-wink, say no more :)
-Finn
Malia Duncan (gmnkduncan@worldnet.att.net) writes:
Have any of you read "The Fall of Reach?!" Yes, of course you have. In addition to the others, the Spartan James floated off into space with still about 80 minutes of air left...
Ah, James. A large scale battle, ships, debris, SPARTAN ingenuity... Something tells me we haven't seen the last of him yet :)
-Finn
Miranda. The name certainly is growing on me. Much like I imagine an omni-parasitic organism would if given the chance.
Otto Mossberg (owm109@hotmail.com) writes:
And speaking of other Spartans, I would bet this "Miranda", is another Spartan. There are few I could think of that could strap anything on a Spartans back and shove them into any sort of hole. Unless the Spartan was already unconscious, in which case you'ld still need a fork lift to move thier half-ton bulk.
Also, James could have been picked up by a damaged ship without communications, either Covie or UNSC. On a Covie ship, he would no doubt have been studied for his armor and genetic/biological alterations. Without comm systems on a Covie ship, the Prophet in TF wouldn't have known about it, hence his saying that the rest are belived to be dead. Or the PoA would not find him on thier scans, and could be out of contact with a damaged UNSC ship that had found him.With a relation to Ackerson's project, God_Holocaust (god_holocaust@hotmail.com) adds,This may explain the mysterious 'Miranda'. A super-soldier of Ackerson's clan would most certainly strap a bomb to the Master Chief's back and shove him down a hole if ordered. However, 'Miranda' isn't a name†I would give to a Persian - but then, a Spartan is unlikely to be called John.
As for James, there was some shock at the suggestion that the Chief and his MJOLNIR armour were superior to the Elites and their own. Would the Covenant have qualms about reverse-engineering and assimilating Human technology?
-Finn
CPOMZ at the 512 with the S-III
TINA WARD (dougward518@optonline.net) writes:
After reading the Halo:First Strike, I found the file "S-III" that Dr. Halsey accessed in Colonel Ackerson's file quite interesting. I think it obviously stands for "Spartan-III" project, but more interesting is "CPOMZ." The "CPO" is an abbreviation used in the Navy for Chief Petty Officer, and it sure seems like "CPOMZ" is abbreviated for Chief Petty Officer Mendez. So he did go to train new spartans, and it would explain why Master Chief never saw Chief Mendez again on Reach; because the "512-character alphanumeric string" that follows "CPOMZ" is a "reference to a star chart" that is "not a destination to any location in UNSC-controlled space." (p130).
And I bet that is where Dr. Halsey headed off to with Kelly.That Kelly and her altered DNA... what a prankster :P
Chief Petty Officer Mendez and SPARTAN III (or merely Section III) seem like good starting points for these acronyms (although it does seem strange that Mendez should be abbreviated "MZ"; perhaps it is just to spell it out a bit more?).
But questions remain. What does Ackerson have to do with this group and Mendez? Is he spying on them? Are the S-III's HIS project (Halsey seems unaware) or if it does stand for Section III, is this just to further hint at ONI's sly involvments? What could flash clone research portend: a revival of fallen comrades or an "attack of the clones"?
Good eye :)
-Finn
Jim Rebholz (jrebholz3@comcast.net) writes:
I had read Fall of Reach, and First Strike, and a part of the Chief's armor caught my attention. According to the books, there's a kind of reactive gel sandwiched between the inner and outer layers of the suit. This gel is supposed to be both pressure and temperature sensitive, and able to adjust its properties on the fly. I had recently read a news article about a substance that does just this. It's called magnetorheological fluid. Essentially it's metal particles suspended in an oil or other liquid. When an electrical current is applied the viscosity of the fluid changes almost instantaneously. And it isn't science-fiction or even science-theory. It's in use, and you can find the stuff inside the shock absorbers on the 50th Anniversary Chevrolet Corvette. There it's used to provide a comfortable ride without losing any cornering capability. The military wants to use it to make a bulletproof body armor that's both flexible and impervious.
Yowza. For a little more on magnetorheological fluid properties, see here. The Halo universe gets closer every day...
-mnemesis
Where have all the SPARTAN I's gone? Long time passing...
Wavehawk (cybertrooper@edsamail.com.ph) writes:
Presumably, these members of the ORION project are not as highly-developed as the SPARTAN II candidates and most likely don't have the same level of enhancements and such (definitely no MJOLNIR Armor)--but they'd still be pretty tough individuals in themselves. Again, I've not read TFoR or the Halo Bible, so I might be mistaken--but obviously, the SPARTAN II project was workign on info garnered from the 'success' of the SPARTAN I project. If SPARTAN I was a success, then that means that there were some of them who survived. Maybe up to this day.
So here's a rampant theory of mine: What if Sgt. Johnson and Chief Mendez are survivng members of the SPARTAN I programme?
Johnson's certainly bad-ass enough (we're talking someone who consistently survives anything tossed at him and even goes toe-to-toe with an elite---WITHOUT the benefit of MJOLNIR armor). Add that to the fact that he has no enmity against the SPARTAN IIs (though this is a minor point).
For Mendez, I'm just going by pure inference--who better to train SPARTAN IIs than a SPARTAN I?
I'm thinking that the first generation of SPARTANs might have been much older (Raw recruits? Volunteers maybe? Who knows?), and that they underwent the first-generation enhancements process. Most probably died in surgery. Others were disfigured (even the SPARTAN II prject makes note of these). The few that survivedprobably lived on to be the toughest hard-core SOBs the human race has ever known--but were still fairly human compared to the SPARTAN II programme.
And it's also possible that the survivors were not necessarily the strongest physically or the oldest/youngest, but those with an uncanny strength of will. The kind of mental toughness common to modern-day Special Forces like the Navy SEALS, Army Special Forces, Marine Force Recon, or the like.
The kind of meanness that Johnson and Mendez are capable of, actually.From what we know, Mobuto wouldn't be a stranger in their company either... Good thinking :)
-Finn
Chiron Don't Make Change
Ryan Hunt (disclosedhero@yahoo.com) writes:
Hi story dudes,
Last night I was just running through the multiplayer maps again, and noticed the description of the level Chiron TL-34 which we've all seen a million times before... it said Spartan CLONE training facility.
Now, this could mean only two things:
1) That the Spartan-IIs are clones themselves or,
2) The information Halsey found in First Strike really was the discovery of a new Spartan-cloned team.
ONI or the UNSC or both made those flash clones of the original Spartans in order to quickly hand them back to their parents before too much suspicion arose, but why would they (ONI, UNSC) waste money on a special training facility when they obviously didn't particularly care too much about the flash clones in the first place?
I'd go out on a limb and say that Ackerson (the guy that stole the genetic information of the Spartans) probably got the DNA of the Spartans that showed extraordinary skill in one task or another, meaning since Kelly was the fastest of the Spartans, he got her speed. Presumably this would also mean that he would get whatever was in Linda's genes that made her the best sniper for the team, and maybe he even got the information in Sam's genes (may he RIP... or not?) that caused him to be the strongest.
Add this up and you can see that we're more than likely going to meeting up with some super-Spartans in Halo 2... but the real question is whether or not these guys will be fighting with us, or against us. Knowing Ackerson's reputation of disdain for the Spartan-IIs, it's certainly not looking good... but at least we have our trusty Mjolnir MK VI battle suits! (I wonder†what†"level"†Guilty Spark would place the MK VI at if the V was 2?)This clone reference may or may not be of the same ilk as another point brought up concerning this level: If Chiron has teleporters, does that mean that Humanity possesses teleportation technology, or is it merely a matter of gameplay?
Id est, is the name of this Clone Training facility a peak into deeper things, or a mere naming oversight? Hmmm. This one could go either way...
That darn Ackerson...
-Finn
Sons of Thunder
Josh "LostRock" Bornstein (The1lone2outlaw3@aol.com) writes:
In Mark chapter 3, Jesus appoints the twelve apostles.
verse 17: James son of Zebedee and his brother John (to them [Jesus] gave the name Boanerges, which means Sons of Thunder)
Let's play a game of "Six Degrees of Mjolnir": John and James--Boanerges--Thunder--Thor--Mjolnir! (Don't forget, the Twelve Apostles were appointed to "drive out demons"...or perhaps the Covenant?)
Concerning Halo, I find it odd that John is mentioned in a secondary manner. Perhaps there will be an important role to come for our MIA pal James.MIA indeed. Now he has to make a comeback! Good eye :)
-Finn
Some "missing" Spartans still in action?
Andrew Newman (AgentSmith54@carolina.rr.com) writes:
I was reading through your web page and suddenly thought of an alarming possibility; what if more than just the 33 surviving SPARTANs that made it past augmentation actually survived. We all know how shadowy ONI is, maybe they staged the death of several surviving Spartans, for them to be used as even more secret weapons. I know that the SPARTAN II project was secretive to begin with, but maybe some brass at ONI saw a chance for an unstoppable, supposedly dead assassin or bodyguard, and jumped at the opportunity. It is known now that the MC is not the last Spartan, but maybe Ackerson was just corrupt enough to fake the death of one of the super soldiers for a personal assassin or bodyguard or something else.
You're right... the numbers don't quite add up... hmmm...
-Finn
Sgt. Johnson and the Se7en Spartans
Frylock1989 (Frylock1989@aol.com) writes:
In First Strike, at the end, we learn that there are four surviving spartans,including the MC. Now couple this with the fact that in TFoR, we learn that three other spartans(besides the one in the auditorium thing) are too far away to recall in time, we have a total of 7 (including MC ) surviving spartans. Just an observation. Oh yeah,i think it is possible that bungie could incorperate a 4 person coop mode. I know the trailers point against this, but where would Linda, Fred and Will go?
(P.S. I know that Dr. Halsey took Kelly on some secret op, but for all intents and purposes, we'll call her MIA until we find out what happend to her.)As Crazy Turkey (crazyturkey@hotmail.com) says, "the combined 'Power of Seven'". Hey, even if it is eight, that many participants in co-op won't hurt many feelings ;)
-Finn
Kelly: Fast on her feet; slow to recoup.
Uneven_Elephant (nipplesthemonkya@hotmail.com) writes:
I was looking at that interview with the Erics and something about one of their statements was something about Kellly's data file medical records. He said that those were most likely had something to do with the augmentation process.
Well i seem to remember that her hair took longer to grow back after the operations. I think there might be a small connection (even though the chances of that a small to none). What do you think?(For the record, the question mentioned above stemmed from a misreading of the book. The anomaly is not in the DNA itself, but in the DNA file which, as God_Holocaust pointed out, was due to Araquiel's mischievousness. See FS. p.125-129.)
Page 78 of TFoR contains the reference in question, mentioning that she had taken the longest to recover from surgery and had still to grow back her hair. Not much to be gained in itself, but this could definitely be the foreshadowing of Halsey and Kelly's current escapade...
-Finn
Look back, waaay back...
... to Metatron's Spartan/Hang 'em High Theory: Tombstones for Everybody!
There are 68 "tombstones" on the MP map Hang Em High. Of course, that number by itself isn't interesting. However, when you subtract 68 from 75, which is the number of Spartan II's (75 Spartans), then you get the number 7 ... that's not the abnormal part. At the end of First Strike there are 7 Spartan II's who aren't listed as KIA/MIA, which would leave 68 of the original Spartan IIs dead or MIA (Spartans never die:), hence there being 68 tombstones!
7 known surviving Spartan II's, 68 KIA/MIA Spartan II's, 68 tombstones in Hang Em High... just another crazy coincidence?It's pretty hard to find a consistent count in the books as to how many Spartans survived augmentation, let alone how many are left now (try the math; its scary), but his idea does have the odd ring of truth to it. :)
(And while we're espousing strange multiplayer-based ideas, you may as well check out Saint's post using Derelict to identify Halo as "Deep Space Anomaly #0198". Hey, nobody said the news had to be recent ;)
-Finn
I'm loving angels instead . . .
Eagle 117 (Eagle-117@cox.net) writes:
I'm purposing that the humans and Forerunners share the same relationship as man and angels. My meaning, there are "good" Forerunners and "bad/fallen" Forerunners, Gravemind being the latter. If the fallen Forerunners share the same relation to humans as the fallen angels do, then one would have to say that the fallen Forerunners interfered with humanity at some point in the past. Part of this interference, as was shown in the Dictionary of Angels/Fallen Angels, was through interspecies mating. To further this concept, does not a Spartan come off as a Nephilim type creature... a half-breed? Spartans look like man, but they're taller, faster, stronger, and smarter; so much so that other men have described them as alien like. As was exemplified in several instances within the books and games, the Spartans seem to have primal instincts when it comes to understanding the Forerunner tech and language. It even goes so far as Spartan blood. Remember the Forerunner chamber under the ONI facility on Reach that was accessed by Fred's, a Spartan, blood. (p.141, FS) If this concept were to hold, then it would mean that Forerunner lineage could be found in some humans. I'm suggesting that those certain humans are the Spartans. Spartans, after all, are the remnants of a galactic search for the "best mankind has to offer"... the only humans who could endure such drastic training and surgical enhancements.
To quote Trautmann himself: ...wow.
-Jillybean
Conspiracy!
Aku Viisainen (donald91@jippii.fi) writes:
In First Strike, when Dr. Halsey opens the S-III file the last file had been erased, but Kalmiya manages to reconstruct a fragment of it. This fragment is only ''CPOMZ'' followed by a 512-character alphanumeric string. The 512-character alphanumeric string is a star chart reference and CPOMZ could stand for Chief Petty Officer Mendez.
I think that Colonel Ackerson recruited Mendez to train Ackerson's ''Spartan-IIIs'' and that star chart reference could be the place where his doing it. I also think that, that is the place where Dr. Halsey went with Kelly.
-Jillybean
On the forum front (okay, so it's a little old) 7ack gives his $0.02 on the identity of Cassandra (mentioned in the "Conversations..." booklet included with the Limited Edition).
A fellow Spartan? One of the "3 too distant to be recalled"? Ahh. Or perhaps the one too injured to continue active duty? It's all blind conjecture at this point, but at least it's fun blind conjecture.
-Finn
How can we say all this with a straight face? Shut up is how.
Over on Bungie.net, Frankie has opened the can and spilled the beans (rather than just scarfing them down without sharing) on the backstory of Bungie's Dead or Alive (DOA4) crossover character: Nicole-458, Petty Officer 2nd Class. As Frankie says, "she's quite a lady. If you define "lady" as ferociously violent killing machine."
Nicole was born in the year 2531 in the city of New Legaspi on Mars. At six years of age she was abducted by agents of the Office of Naval Intelligence and conscripted into the Spartan II program. The Spartan II program was the UNSC's highly successful military project to augment and hone perfect soldiers.
SPARTAN-458's unit was preparing for a classified mission on Nassau Station when the ONI stealth ship Apocalypso tumbled into real-space - being carried along in the wake of a freak slipspace anomaly. The anomaly intersected Nassau Station; creating a semi-stable "bubble" in the space/time continuum on its way back to the 21st Century.
For the time being Nicole-458 is trapped in the 21st century; guarding Nassau Station's secrets with all but lethal force (she realizes killing someone in the past could have dire consequences), waiting for the "bubble" to collapse and hopefully returning her to the year 2552.
Neat, and we even got a sprinkle of ILB thrown in for good measure, which is reassuring in its own way. Not because we hope that the Bees tale will make canon, but considering it alongside Frankie's tirade about the deadendedness of the DOA4 story info (just for us I'm sure ;), it seems that the presence of the Apocalypso is a tell-tale sign of ad hoc side stories. Good to know for next time ;)
(Seriously, it is worth noting that though Nicole was recruited in 2537, possibly making her of the 3rd "class" of Spartan II's trained [at approximately 8 years or less per cycle] she is still referred to as a Spartan "II", not III or IV. It doesn't solve S-III, but it sheds a little light on it.)
Check it out!
-Finn
It's a bit far fetched (and as I maintain, 'reduced' does not mean 'nil') but Cassandra intrigues me.
Charles (chazzman@bigred.unl.edu) writes:
Upon reading the earlier post concerning "Cassandra," I read the letter in the "Conversations..." booklet to, I'm assuming, John-117. Her letter seems to be laced with affection beyond the family bond the SPARTANs share, as if she had strong affection for him. In TFoR, one of the augmentations used on the SPARTANs was a "Catalytic Thyroid Implant" that "suppressed sexual drive."
Assuming that the augmentations did perform better than expected in all areas, we could surmise that any sexual desire would be, in fact, next to nil. However, as I mentioned earlier, "Cassandra" apparantly does not have this sexual inhibitor, and could very well not be a lost SPARTAN
-Jillybean
Also from the Halo 3 FAQ:
writes:
"Q: I also noticed Master Chief's gloves had changed. Does that mean it's Mjolnir Mark VII?
A: We haven't revealed that yet . Don't jump to any conclusions."Artistic liberty, or new components swapped in, as the other Spartans did in First Strike?
-Finn
A light hearted, cheery story to end the news day with . . .
Pinkuh (pinkuh@gmail.com) writes:
According to the books, the Spartans themselves have been raised on a wonderful combination of drugs, both injected and oral, that have made them grow, and fill out the way Oni needed them too.
It is pretty safe to assume that one of these drugs was a steroid. Steroids, when taken by men or women can have a rather adverse effect. This effect is a MUCH higher then average sex drive. Many men and women who take the drugs wind up losing themselves in strange sexual situations, and wind up being almost feral when it comes to their life.
That being said, the Spartans would be feeling much the same way. Knowing the adverse sexual affects of steroids, Oni would have had a counter measure to keep the Sex drives under control. This is the "reduced Sex drive" that we read about in the books.
They are not talking about them being completely numb and unable to want or have sex, they just have a fail safe in them that makes it possible for them to control the urges just like everyone else. Otherwise we would have Spartans running around humping everything that would hold still long enough, and I am sure the UNSC is happy to have their coke machines not being violated.Well I liked it
-Jillybean
Cassandra
UNSCDF asks,
"In the LE Booklet it speeks of a female named "Cassandra" is she a Spartan or not?"
Frankie repsonds,
"A better question would be, "was" she a Spartan?"
Hmmm. This strongly implies what has been assumed for some time: that Cassandra is the "Spartan too injured to continue active duty" mentioned in the The Fall of Reach.
Although I can already sense the clatter of emaily fingers composing their masterpiece about how she could be a Spartan converted to an AI (as in ILBs), her mentions of "rehabilitation" and being "skinned once again" point to flesh and blood (and titanium) :)
-Finn
No one but you.
A lot of speculation had been going around wondering if the Spartan in the H3 trailer was actually Fred, Linda, &c. And, it made sense in a way, considering the upgraded components of the armour (as in First Strike). However, Frankie was quick to shoot this one down: "...and the Chief (no it's not Linda, or Kelly...)"
Good to know, if not slightly disappointing ;)
-Finn
Time waits for no man.
Bunny (bernard.mak@gmail.com) writes:
My friend and I were discussing the SPARTAN, and he asked me if SPARTANS are immortal. Now, we know that they aren't, as most SPARTANS were KIA (MIA) in the mission to defend Reach, so I explained to him that SPARTANS only have enhanced sight, strength and unbreakable bones. And it just occured to me that Will or Fred cracked his rib bones from the fall at planet Reach (FS). How is this possible? Or the augmentation only strengthens bones, because when 130KG of dense muscle lands, the SPARTAN has its ribs cracked. Or perhaps, the primary improvements wore out by the time the Covenant invades Reach? According to an earlier post I read, MCPO SPARTAN-117 (John) didn't run for his extraction from Foehammer, but took a warthog. Does this indicates that his body is wearing out already? In FS, we see that the clones of the SPARTANS died of diseases at an early age, so maybe when the SPARTAN recruits were cloned, they got some kind of disease too?
Which also perhaps suggest, that Halo 3 will become harder and harder, as the Master Chief loses more and more strength? The developers say that Halo 3 will finish off the "trilogy", but earlier posts indicates that there are in fact 7 Halo ring worlds. Will Halo 3 end with triumph of the Covanent when John finally cracks? We know Cortana is in trouble, and perhaps, the MC will be destroyed (too)?Maria retired for the kids, right?
-Jillybean
The Graphic Novel raises some questions
Chris Runner writes:
After reading through the Halo Graphic Novel I have a few questions you might be able to answer. Maria-062 tests the armor John-117 uses in Halo 2. She says she retired to start a family. OK now here are my questions: Is Maria one of the 3 SPARTANS that are too far away to be recalled to Reach? She mustn't have been that far to be back on Earth like a couple weeks later right? Or was she too far away because she retired from the military? And that brings up another interesting point. I don't understand how Maria is able to just up and quit to start a family. That SPARTANS are the only family that they know, how can she abandon them? The picture painted about the SPARTANS in the novels are military machines that are uncomfortable even around other military groups, how can seh so easily quit to become a civilian? Unless she and another SPARTAN on some far away mission fell in love and decided to quit together. When she asked the commander or whoever who the armor was goin to she kinda seemed like she didn't know him that well. "MCPO John-117? John from Reach John?" Maybe she just wasn't that tight with the others. I can hardly believe that, but that also brings another point. Would the UNSC really allow a SPARTAN or perhaps even two to retire in the middle of a all out war with the covenant and the just realized potential threat of the Flood? Very questionable indeed
I've been wary for a long time of the supposed loyalty of the SPARTAN program - how loyal can you be to an organisation that kidnapped you?
-Jillybean
The 300, Thermopylae, and Halo
On the forum, Brodingo (brody@redeyearmy.com) does some speculating regarding the fate of the Spartan II's (and John specifically) in light of both historical events (foreshadowing?) and the H2 musical track "Thermopylae Soon".
Sacrifice, betrayal... the various versions of the account vary, but his connections may hold some portent.
(And yes, you're right: the link has been made before, but, once again, clarity wins the day ;)
-Finn
Fun with Symbolism
Justin 4nier (j.4nier@gmail.com) writes:
Just a quick thing that I noted while looking through all of the mythological references on Spartan 117, conscenring the allusions to the "many arrows to blot out the sun" (Dienekes) and the thunder god's hammer being the "Lightening crusher" - The Spartan insignia is an eagle clutching a lightening bolt in one claw and arrows in the other, as mentioned in FoR.
-Finn
From the October 13th Weekly Update: Maria-062
ubersaurus asks:
How was it that the SPARTAN-II in the Halo Graphic Novel story "Armor Testing" was able to retire?
Answer:
That's classified. Put it this way, she didn't simply up and say "Oh, I'm off to have a baby, peace out."
With all sympathy towards the desire for children, it's good to know that the criteria allowing elite super soldiers to retire in the face of the extermination of the species are at least -how shall we say?- rigourous.
(Unless her being allowed to leave and have a child was in itself an ONI experiment, with or without her knowledge, to test the alterations passed on...)
-Finn
Ghosts of Onyx Preview
reprobate emailed to let us know that Amazon.ca currently has an excerpt from the upcoming Ghosts of Onyx novel posted on their site.
A good read: an apparent flashback, rebel operations, and a another Spartan named Kurt-051.
Oh. Spoilers. (This is the HSP, what did you expect? ;) )
-Finn
Oh a rose by any other name would be as bitter and prickly.
reprobate (ryahun@gmail.com) writes:
I was just looking up the various names of the Spartans in anticipation of Oynx coming out soon when I entered in Maria's and thought it particularly relevant to the character (taken form behindthename.com): 'The meaning is not known for certain, but there are several theories including "sea of bitterness", "rebelliousness", and "wished for child".'
If that doesn't describe Maria, I don't know what does.Now, by "wished for child", I automatically thought of it as the "wished for child", as in, wanted by her parents. It could be read as 'wanting a child', which is supposedly Maria's reason for getting out. I'm not convinced myself, what about you?
-Jillybean
MJOLNIR Armor. Possible World War II connection.
I've pondered a lot over whether or not I should post this. I decided that even though the subject has been briefly covered to some extent, this is a new theory to the one of the meanings of the MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor.
We know that Bungie is very savvy when it comes to Norse mythology, hence several references like the UNSC Skidbladnir, Valhalla and of course, MJOLNIR. According to the Norse, MJOLNIR was the name of Thor's hammer; a very powerful weapon which when thrown at an opponent came back to the owner (like a Boomerang), and apart from that, was also capable of striking lighting bolts.
This could explain the connection between the Spartan-II's armor and the mythological hammer. The Spartans are weapons themselves, delivering deadly blows to their opponents. But what else is there to say about the MJOLNIR armor, and what other connections might there be between the Spartans and our real world?
A fan emailed us a very interesting theory about a potential connection between the MJOLNIR armor and the real world. The World War II period, to be exact.
Anonymous (Anonymous) writes:
I've been playing Halo since it came out with regular xbox, and shortly there after I found your website. I've read a lot of the posts made by people concerning the Halo story, and in particular the meaning of the MJOLNIR armor.
But I have yet to see the relationship between the MJOLNIR armor and the Nazi propagandist who used the alias Mjölnir. I don't necessarily see a tie between them, but I found it interesting that no one pointed out that Hans Schweitzer in the 1930s made several Nazi propaganda posters and signed the alias Mjölnir on the posters. Here is a link of one such poster (don't worry its not some neo-Nazi website) of an example of Mjölnir's posters, note the upper right hand corner for the signature.
http://www.calvin.edu/academic/cas/gpa/posters/garant.jpg
-UNSC Trooper
Number of Spartans in Halo Wars
Avateur stopped by the forum and posted a neat listing of all Spartans in Halo Wars based on our Spartan II Roster. The exact number of Spartans that would make up Spartan Group Omega depends on each team's background, and thus a decisive number hasn't been settled yet. However, the information he provided is pretty solid.
Swing by the forum and check it out.
writes:
-UNSC Trooper
