Cortana
Cortana is a female video game artificial intelligence who features in Halo.
Contents |
Biography
Cortana was a UNSC artificial intelligence developed by Dr. Catherine Halsey who activated the program on November 7, 2549 at the planet Reach. She was actually created by Halsey using a flash-clone brain of herself and utilising the tissue to be part of the construct's foundation. Such a practice was both illegal and unethical but Halsey believed it would achieve the best results. This led to the formation of a unique AI with unprecedented levels of functionality. For the first few years of her existence, Cortana was relegated to assisting Dr. Halsey within the confines of ONI's CASTLE Base on Reach. It was intended for the AI to take part in Operation: RED FLAG that sought to kidnap a high-ranking member of the Prophet in an effort to stop the war with the Covenant. For this task, Cortana was to be paired with one of the SPARTAN-II supersoldiers namely Master Chief Petty Officer John-117. The first few years of Cortana's existence were spent assisting Doctor Halsey within the confines of CASTLE Base, but after the doctor began studying a mysterious alien ship buried in the ice shelf at Babd Catha by May 2551, she eventually began to use Cortana to retrieve navigation data from the ancient vessel. The Covenant had found Reach by July 26, 2552 but security measures were under way to ensure Cortana continued to be integrated and updates with the latest intelligence from a site near the village of Visegrád being investigated by Professor Laszlo Sorvad. By August 3, 2552 Cortana and Halsey had both agreed she ought to be divided after long discussion. The participating Spartans would need her expertise for RED FLAG, but she was also the best-suited to continue the study of symbols and operating systems from Visegrád. In her journal Halsey pledged to copy most of Cortana's illegal entry protocol translation routines to an independent module so the incarnate personality which remained could go with the Spartan-IIs. It was her hope that the severed data-mining portion could be reunited with the rest of her so she could be updated with Sorvad's data before the UNSC Pillar of Autumn, RED FLAG's designated cruiser, departed.
As the translation began to progress, Cortana's decryption of the Babd Catha artifact began to reveal what Halsey's fellow xenoarchaeologist, Laszlo Sorvad, had reported of the excavation, a 'latchkey discovery', something that could change the tide of the Human-Covenant War. Deciding to ensure the data's delivery to Spartans, Dr. Halsey chose to recall NOBLE Team, and tasked them with delivering Cortana's fragment carrying Sorvad's data to the Pillar of Autumn. By August 14, Cortana and Halsey discussed which of NOBLE's Spartans she would trust to escort her, eventually choosing SPARTAN-B312, Noble Six. However, contacting NOBLE Team proved difficult, as the team had been separated following the aftermath of Operation: UPPER CUT and would not be recovered by the UNSC until August 26. In preparation for RED FLAG, Cortana was asked by Dr. Halsey to pick a soldier that would act as her 'carrier'. Cortana chose John-117 for their neural compatibility, as well as his uncanny luck in battle. Meanwhile, on August 29, Cortana's primary fragment was inserted into John-117's MJOLNIR Mark V armor for the first time, and the two then took part in a test to determine the abilities of their bond as an AI-human team. The test was devised by Colonel James Ackerson, a bitter rival of Dr. Halsey's who held contempt for the SPARTAN-II program, and by extension John-117. Ackerson incorporated armed Orbital Drop Shock Troopers, Lotus anti-tank mines, automated turrets in a razor wire field, and even a SkyHawk jumpjet into the test in order to have John killed. Despite the test being rigged, John was determined to finish without breaking the rules. With Cortana's assistance providing battlefield intelligence and boosting his reaction time to its limits, John managed to traverse the course relatively unharmed.
On September 19, the Autumn emerged from slipspace in the Soell system, in orbit around the gas giant Threshold. It was there that the crew discovered Installation 04 in orbit around the gas giant. Cortana could only speculate as to what exactly the ring was, only able to deduce that it was artificially created. The AI then informed Captain Keyes that fifteen Covenant ships had pursued the Autumn from Reach, and were moving to engage with boarding parties. Cortana assumed control of the Autumn and used its weapons to destroy four of the fifteen attacking Covenant ships. By the time John-117 had thawed from cryo-sleep and reached the bridge, the cruiser was severely damaged, and Keyes was forced to initiate the Cole Protocol. He ordered Cortana to upload herself into John's armor to protect the vital information she carried. John fought his way through the Autumn's service corridors with Cortana's guidance, and the two escaped the ship in a lifeboat. The lifeboat entered the ring's atmosphere as the Autumn was shot down. The lifeboat made a crash-landing on the surface of the ring, leaving John and Cortana as the only survivors. The two evaded Covenant patrols and rendezvoused with a group of Marines fending off a Covenant attack. Pelican Echo 419 dropped off a Warthog, and the pair set out across the surface of the ring to rescue any survivors in the immediate area. At the same time, Cortana hacked into the proselytization network, and discovered Keyes' location - being held prisoner on board the Truth and Reconciliation. The two were transported to the UNSC's base of operations on the ring, Alpha Base, and along with ODSTs of the 22nd Tactical, devised a plan to rescue Keyes. John, Cortana and several Marines were dropped off near the Truth and Reconciliation that night and boarded the ship via its gravity lift. Cortana led John and his team through the interior of the alien vessel, opening doors and marking Navigation Points. The group eventually located Keyes and several other captured crewmen in the ship's brig. Keyes had learned from the Covenant that the ring was known as Halo, and was possibly a weapon of mass destruction. The group escaped the ship, and soon learned that Halo's control room could be found using the Cartographer, a map room.
The next day, on September 20, the Chief, Cortana and two squads of Marines set out for the island on which the Cartographer was located. After fighting through significant Covenant resistance, the two reached the Cartographer, and found that Halo's control room was located below the surface. As the two made their way back towards the surface, Captain Keyes informed them that he was going to investigate a supposed "weapons cache" with several other Marines. John and Cortana were retrieved by Echo 419, which descended into the interior of Halo towards the control room.[43] The Pelican continued to descend as far as it could before dropping off John and Cortana on a platform. There they traversed through a network Forerunner structures within a large underground chasm. After many firefights, the Chief and Cortana reached Halo's control room, where the AI was uploaded to Halo's core systems. Cortana was overwhelmed by the amount of data contained within Halo's systems, but discovered that the "weapons cache" Keyes and his Marines located was in fact a Flood containment facility. John left to evacuate the trapped soldiers immediately.
After the Chief encountered the parasitic Flood for the first time, he was convinced by the Forerunner monitor 343 Guilty Spark to activate the Halo. During this time, Cortana absorbed as much data as she could from Halo's control systems. When John returned to the control room accompanied by the Monitor on September 21, he had recovered Halo's activation index, intent on using it to eliminate the Flood. John inserted the Index into the control systems, but was stopped by Cortana before it could trigger. Cortana absorbed all data from the Index, and explained to John the true purpose of Halo; to wipe the galaxy clean of sentient life as a final resort against the Flood. Guilty Spark confirmed this and summoned his Sentinels, demanding that Cortana be handed over. When John refused, Spark left his Sentinels to eliminate them. The two escaped the control room as the Flood began to run rampant across the ring, infecting human and Covenant alike. Cortana suggested that they should overload Halo's three phase pulse generators to slow the Monitor's activities. While the generators were disabled by John, Cortana discovered that the Pillar of Autumn was still structurally intact after its crash. She deduced that overloading its fusion reactors would have enough force to destroy Halo, however Captain Keyes' CNI transponders would be needed to do so. Cortana tapped into the Monitor's teleportation network and transported both herself and John to Keyes' last known position which was the Truth and Reconciliation.
However, she was not killed but rather she was transported with the rest of the Didact's ship to the Forerunner installation known as Genesis. Once there, she encountered the Warden Eternal and was exposed to the Domain that was the repository of the Forerunner society. Contact with the Domain cured Cortana of her rampancy and she was effectively made immortal as a result. This caused a change of perspective where she was convinced by the Warden Eternal that the Mantle of Responsibility formerly held by the Forerunners was meant to be passed onto the Created namely artificial intelligences. As such, it was believed that under the rulership of similar such artificial intelligences that peace could be maintained in the galaxy through the mighty of ancient Forerunner machines forcing their rule on the lower civilizations. To achieve this goal, Cortana began activating numerous Forerunner Guardian constructs that had been long buried on numerous worlds and had them come to her on Genesis. At the same time, she left clues to have the Master Chief meet her on Genesis as she desired that he join her as the Warden Eternal declared that she was the Reclaimer intended to bring about peace in the galaxy. As a result, she came into conflict with Master Chief with Blue Team and Team Osiris.
Overview
Personality and attributes
Her AI Serial Number was listed as being CTN 0452-9.
Cortana's personal loyalty is regarded as unwavering, but as an AI construct she is subject to corruption and rampancy. Near the close of the Human-Covenant War, she was captured by the Flood Gravemind on High Charity, and was continually assaulted and interrogated by the Gravemind. Her stability was pushed to the brink as she eluded the Gravemind's attempts to capture and dissect her for information. Among the Gravemind's favorite tactics were exploiting Cortana's insatiable desire for knowledge, the nature of her artificial existence, and providing her glimpses of thoughts and feelings from humans absorbed into the Flood collective. In order to preserve herself from destruction and possibly gain information for the UNSC, she eventually consented to give up some pieces of information to the Gravemind. Her personal loyalty to and unwavering trust in John-117 helped anchor her and allow her to hold on to her sanity. She was instrumental in finally putting a stop to the Flood during the events that followed.
Powers and abilities
On February 11, 2550 Catherine recorded a research excerpt in which she took note of certain metrics which implied the viral termination code in Cortana's matrix would have been unlikely to be successful and that the typical seven-year life cycle estimate may not apply to her. She'd determined that the unique circumstances of her creation had triggered what Halsey could only refer to as a 'recessive variant' in the A.I. seed, but the doctor was at a loss concerning this rogue element's origin.
Similar to other UNSC AI's, Cortana had a set lifespan and beyond that point her mind began to experience the phenomena known as Rampancy. Instead of shutting down, her cognitive processes began to divide exponentially based on the sum total of their knowledge base with them literally thinking themselves to death. However, she was cured of Rampancy by merging with the Forerunner Domain that allowed her to live indefinitely.
After being cured of Rampancy, she came to have access to the Domain that was the wellspring of Forerunner knowledge. This allowed her to tap into the dormant technology of that ancient race. With these resources, she called all artificial intelligences to her side where they formed a faction called the Created. Using Forerunner technology and constructs, they believed that the Forerunner's Mantle of Responsibility was entrusted to them to ensure that galactic peace was maintained among organic races.
Notes
- Cortana was created by Bungie where she was designed by Lorraine McLees and voiced by actor Jen Taylor in the Halo video game series.
- Actor Shelley Calene-Black voiced the character in Halo Legends.
In other media
Television
Appearances
- Halo: Combat Evolved: (2001)
- Halo 2:
- Halo 3:
- Halo 4:
- Halo 5: Guardians:
External Link
This article is a stub. You can help Multiversal Omnipedia by expanding it.
