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I've got my odds on AR existing in the present, with us, pre-Halo timeline. And I believe that the Array is something seperate from known Forerunner constructs, Halo and the Ark included. Wouldn't it make more sense for him to refer to those things by their names? Or if not calling Halo, Halo, then calling it 'Arrays', plural?

"Array" refers to a grouping of like things, not a single, solitary entity. Besides, when have you ever heard a monitor refer to an installation as a "Halo"?

So you're assuming that Array refers to something as a group? Not sure about that one. Why would he refer to it as "the Array"? I don't like it.

Sir Topham Hat wrote:I've got my odds on AR existing in the present, with us, pre-Halo timeline. And I believe that the Array is something seperate from known Forerunner constructs, Halo and the Ark included. Wouldn't it make more sense for him to refer to those things by their names? Or if not calling Halo, Halo, then calling it 'Arrays', plural?

I agree that he is in a pre-Halo timeline along with us. Existing just as normal with no play in time travel. Also, no Forerunner creation has ever called Halo, Halo. The Monitors have always referred to them as the "Installation." (Cortana translated it as a "fortress world.") I'm pretty sure the Covenant gave it that name (be it through their own interpretation of Forerunner text.)

I think the Array constitutes of the Ark and the seven Halos. That would fit in the meaning of the word, as well as with the information we already have. AR is referring to everything as a whole.

The thing that I have an issue with is that when someone says Array I immediately think of some method of communication. What do you think about that?

That might be a possibility, especially with us not knowing how AR got here.

It still might be referring to the Halos. At the end of Halo 2, 05 was communicating at "super-luminous" speeds.. slim chance of a connection through there, but it's a maybe.

That's one of the questions we need answered: HOW did you get here?

A couple things to note: in Software, arrays are typically zero (0) based, meaning that if I created a 5 item array the items would be referred to as item(0), item(1), item(2), etc.

I'm certain the array is the Halo system, since AR said they had been used 99,500 years ago, and in the XBL conversations said things like "the threat to the array is the purpose of the array", meaning, the Flood are the threat to the array, just as they are the purpose.

In any case, this suggests that the halos and ark might be part of an 8 item array that makes up the sterilization system, with the Ark as Halo(00). We've already been on Halo(04) and Halo(05).

Here's my initial thought - AR has been triggered to act and instruct us in how to be Reclaimers. The triggering mechanism could be the rise of Gravemind on Delta Halo. I don't know though...that's kind of fuzzy right now.

Also, I'm not certain what "in flux" means.

I think we need to keep in mind that speculating can lead to more confusion. Bungie knows that we don't know that much about the Halo system itself, so lets keep speculation AR related as opposed to continuing to speculate on story issues. If you want to read some good story speculation there was a fairly long post someone had up on B.net a while ago, but I don't know where it went. Sorry

PhoenixA1, I don't think this is set in our time...

Keep in mind that they're Installation #... not Halo #.