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"I sense your malfunctioning companion, human. And yet, she eludes me." - The Didact about Cortana's rampancy.

"Your compassion for mankind is misplaced." - To Cortana before she restrains the Didact.







"So misguided. Humanity's imprisonment... is a kindness." - As he prepares to kill John-117. ----





































Hello Everyone,I have been playing Halo since day one of Halo CE on the original Xbox. I have been to everyone midnight launch and read every Halo book. I don't obsess over fandoms but Halo hooked me as a starry-eyed 12 year old and it never let go. It's most likely the nostalgic memories of the first time the main Halo theme played loudly in my living room. Bless that gregorian chorus. Suffice to say Halo means a lot to me, But, let's get to it-**cracks knuckles ** begins typing furiously **I don't believe Cortana is operating of her own free will and I believe Didact (survived) and has taken control and utilized the weakened (remaining) state of her AI that was left behind in his ship. For multiple reasons, the language that Cortana uses throughout the Halo 5 campaign is not typical of Cortana, in fact, it's almost word for word from the Didacts' mouth. We can reference the Didact and his hatred for humanity in(published in January 2011) and how he uses the mantle of responsibility to justify his actions while in reality contradicting himself. In Halo: Silentium, this idea is taken further by more closely detailing how both the firing of the Halo Array and the Ur-Didact's composition of human specimens contradicts the Mantle.(For those still unaware of what the mantle is)The Mantle of Responsibility[1] was a Forerunner philosophy. Although no precise definition of it exists, it is heavily implied to have been the source of both the Forerunners' "authority" and their apparent duty to preserve the galaxy's biological diversity. Bridging the social strata between an interstellar Marshall Plan and a benevolent, religious stewardship, the Forerunners took responsibility for the protection and cultivation of the species and planetary systems within their domain.[2] - (In short, the mantle require those charged with it to cultivate and care for all life including humanity )So if Cortana was a pure permutation of herself simply taking up the mantle, she would not be moving against humanity with the Guardians as weapons, she would be protecting and caring for them and all other life-forms. This is clue #1 that allows me to believe that Cortana is now simply a puppet and Didact is pulling her strings. Not to mention that Didact put himself on the frontlines in Halo 4 to quell the human's rise to power (again) and almost died because of it. He exited Halo 4 alive with Cortana embedded in his ship and his mission unaccomplished, it would only make sense for him to attempt a more controlled approach using Cortana as his new weapon.The second reason is that masterchief was placed in a Cryptum. For those unaware what a cryptum is I have provided a definition below,A Cryptum or Warrior Keep is a sealed capsule where a high-ranking Promethean would enter self-imposed exile as punishment for failure or dishonor. When in use, the occupant would enter a state of meditative hibernation known as "timeless xankara," during which he would become unaware of the physical world around him and could remain in a state of suspended animation for thousands of years.The use of Cryptums was a Forerunner implementation around 100,000 years before Current Halo happenings, they were mainly used as a source of imprisonment without the negative connotations surrounding imprisonment. I believe this is another decision that betrays the Didact. There is no human alive or AI alive in the universe that would jump to a Cryptum as a solution to a problem. I think this is by design of the Didact to imprison John and Blue Team (The only one Didact sees as a threat to him)Next, The Didact, he speaks directly to and about Cortana throughout Halo 4 showing interest and and a willingness to plead with her. Perhaps exposing his interest in convincing her to side with him. I quote the Midnight mission from Halo 4,The Forerunners relied heavily on sentient AI in their day to day life and running of the Galaxy. Even the minds that they placed in charge of the Halo installations were AI. i.e. "343 Guilty Spark" etc. I believe Didact saw that Cortana was an extremely useful and evolved AI. This is where things can get pretty complicated but in short I believe Halsey (creator of Cortana ) had a Geas ( definition : an obligation or prohibition magically imposed on a person.) placed upon her by The Librarian ( Didacts wife) and Cortana is a direct result of the Librarians design to assist in man attaining the Mantle.The final quote I will provide from the Didact is also from Halo 4,-This is almost exactly how Cortana explained what her goal was at the end of Halo 5. To use the Guardians stationed above all human planets to control and deter them from violence. To create peace essentially through imprisonment. Which we know, from the quote above, has been Didact's plan all along.Lastly, Cortana herself. If you replay the campaign of Halo 5 (specifically the last mission) Cortana says to Master Chief multiple times "I am here John, I am still here". I believe this is Cortana pleading with John to continue searching for her. The real Cortana still exists buried beneath the twisted version being hi-jacked by Didact.and let's not forget John's promise to Cortana to always be there for her and to save her... and her response was :“Don’t make a girl a promise… If you know you can’t keep it….”------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Thank you to any who read the whole thing. I hope I'm not the only one who thinks this is a possibility and if I have missed any clues I would love for you guys to share them with me on this thread!P.S. ---- wtf was with 343i killing Jul 'Mdama casually in a cutscene and not even acknowledging it? anyway....Justin, signing off,(youtube.com/GroBroPros)Gamertag - VividSnow