What is that in the middle?/DHalo's Theory *Spoilers* *IMGS*

[UNSCleric]

What's that sphere in the middle of the Ark? You see it when you're looking at the Cartographer hologram on the Ark by that Waterfall with 343GS, and there it is identical to the sphere that is flashed on the screen during one of the Iris videos (It is seen a couple times here, specifically at the 14 second mark). Then on the final level of Halo 3, if you look into the sky and look at the Ark, look at that metalish-planet looking sphere in the center. WTF is that thing? Maybe that is simply what you're heading towards at the end of the Legendary ending? I think during the 6th level when you're looking at the hologram with 343GS and he's saying something like, "Why would they build such a intricate defense around such a....oh my" or something like that, I think he is referring to the Sphere thing, not the Halo that is hidden there.

Also, right before you bring down the shield to the Citadel in the 7th level (right when you go up that lift on the third tower and are about to face the invisible Brutes and the Chieftain) you can hear Gravemind talking in the background, but it's backwards. There's a lot of backwards talking on the Terminals too, has anybody spent the time to decode all this stuff?

EDIT: I've been planning to get around to writing my theory about the ending, and rather than make a new post, I'll post my theory and answer your question at the same time.

To begin, 343 does confirm that this structure in the center of the Ark is it's core, which is very heavily defended. The "Oh my" statement might come from the realization of what this core can "do." If you read one of the Terminals, 343 has a discussion with an intelligence inside of the Ark's system (possibly Mendicant Bias) and finds out that the Ark contains a foundry, or place where metals are melted.

This Foundry is what created the new Halo.

Now onto my theory. During both after-credits cutscenes, you see a blue object, suspected to be a nebula. I disagree; I believe that this is the core of the Ark. First of all, we know that the core had a large amount of protection, so it is plausible that it could survive the Halo detonation. Secondly, the slightly crumbled state of the object matches that of the Ark's core during the last level. Thirdly, the level Narrows says that it provides cooling to the Ark's core, and this might lead one to believe the blue aura around the core (post-detonation) is possibly coolant.

Where am I going with this? Ah yes, this would prove that the the Chief and Cortana are still in the vicinity of the Ark, if my theory is correct.

One final thing, which I JUST realized...If you look at the 13 second timestamp on the Server 01 video, you see a planet rotating in space. This planet looks an awful lot like the one the Chief and Cortana are about to crash land on, wouldn't you say?

-DH

[DHalo]

Look up.

[UNSCleric]

But if that object is simply the core of the Ark, why is the music so scary at the end? You would think he's heading towards the Brute home world or some Flood-infested planet with that music, which what specifically Flood-toned I think.

[MulletedOne]

What you're calling the "Ark core" is a cloud of liquid or gas which appears to have several stars forming in it, making it a nebula, the very same blue nebula from Halo3.com. I'm looking at a capture video of it right now and there is nothing artificial looking about that cloud.

Now, the planet is either highly developed architecturally or it is completely artificial. The "street lights" would be light reflecting of the tops of the taller structures or light that illuminates the structures specifically. The grid pattern indicates that it has a very large city and there are two circular regions on the surface of unknown purpose. This planet also appears to have an atmosphere that looks very much like Earth's atmosphere. Whether the structures are Forerunner or what is yet to be seen.

Thirdly is the sun, which is definately a star and not artificial. Stars can form extragalactically thus they might still be beyond the rim and somewhere near the Ark, as evidenced by the sky being filled with the lights and colors of GALAXIES rather than stars, stars appear white while galaxies come in several different flavors, I mean colors.

As such, we can't make any decisions with that clip, only assumptions, and assumptions get you no where and only lead to disappointment *cough*The whole Server 3-4-5 getting Halo 3 idea*cough*

[DHalo]

There are three objects in the final scene. Ark Core, Planet, Ship. The Ark core is the blue thing (IMO), but the planet remains a planet, which I think is also seen in the video from IRIS that you linked. I am starting to doubt the core connection...but here are some pictures to show what I'm talking about.