Continuing Reid’s Theory
Please read
Reid’s Theory before reading the rest of this.
A Ghost in the Machine
With discussion from the qghost.713 threads on ABO
Here and
Here, I have come up with some interesting speculation that I would like to share.
There was a rather amusing theory postulated by Frank Tipler (his book _Physics of Immortality_) stating that a computer could compute everything, e.g. an infinite amount of processing power, in zero time, as the universe collapsed into the the Euclidean point at time-zero. My speculation has been that Durandal "discovered" this in the Marathon universe, and used it to escape into the Halo universe. A lot of other people believe it, too, obviously. Tipler's book was published in 1994, before Marathon Infinity, so it's also quite possible that Bungie read it and got their idea from it.
1. This next part goes into postulation about the flood forming from Durandal. It has been stated that the flood can “Think.” They have been known to organize, cut off life support to certain areas of a ship, set up patrols, and finally (directly from page 38 of the HGN) “They also absorb the knowledge of those they infect.”
Now this sounds like something Durandal would do. He is basicly the Flood, and on his quest for furthering his intellect and humanity he absorbs the knowledge of whatever he infects. The Flood are similar to that of an ant colony all working together, however sharing whatever knowledge they have with one another. Similarly to that of AI’s who sync their data together (i.e. The ThinkTanks from the Ghost in the Shell series.) Now if the flood are indeed a BioAI it would make sense for them to sync up and share all the same data or (memories) as one another. The main CPU or “HiveMind” could be that of Gravemind.
Now Gravemind seems to have a vast knowledge of everything that is going on. Mainly because (all speculation) the rest of the Flood are sending their data (memories) to him. So it could be said that Gravemind is the BioAI formerly known as Durandal.
2. Now the entity that is posting the Ghost process on the Zune, Halo SE Xbox 360 and from AR’s own post could possibly be a ghost program from either AR or something along the lines of Durandal. (This is where Reid’s theory comes into play). Let’s say that Durandal’s BioAI form got a hold of a Spartan or someone with an AI block shoved in their skull. If Durandal is like the flood and absorbs all the knowledge it could possibly absorb, it would do the same to the AI that is with the human/Covenant host. Now if that did take place it would give Durandal free access to a VAST amount of info and even allow him to “hack” his way into certain systems.
2.5. Now let's assume that Durandal did in fact travel through time and he is the Flood. The qghost.713 could explain why. Durandal somehow got into an AI and is now trying to either mine or absorb the AI and its knowledge. The AI possibly being AR himself. The rogue process qGhost could be a program either trying to quarantine Durandal OR it could be Durandal itself being the “Rogue” process. The code could just be a mark of Durandal saying “I was here and this is now mine, I absorbed it.”
Humans:
"A life form? Ridiculous, you are merely a self-preserving program!"
Puppet:
"By that argument I submit that the DNA you carry is nothing more than a self-preserving program itself. Life is like a node which is born within the flow of information. As a species of life that carries DNA as its memory system mankind gains his individuality. While memories may as well be the same as fantasy ... it is by these memories than mankind exists. When computers made it possible to externalize memory you should have considered all the implications that held."
Humans:
"Nonsense! No matter what you say you have no proof that you are a life form!"
Puppet:
"It's impossible to prove such a thing, especially since modern science cannot define what life is."
Taken from the
Ghost in the Shell anime series and manga.
Rampancy
Rampancy is mainly a phrase used in Marathon as a substitute for “insane”. However, Rampancy has been linked to the Haloverse; as seen in The
ILB (I Love Bee’s) a.k.a. Haunted Apiary ARG. And yes the Haunted Apiary has been taken as canon according to Frankie. This just confirms that if Durandal did return he would fit into the Haloverse as a rampant AI.
Most AIs are discovered to be rampant in this stage (Melincholia – the first stage). In Marathon, the AI known as Traxus IV was discovered to be rampant at this stage, forcing a reboot of a five-world computer network. There are some hints that Traxus IV, rebooted, is in fact Durandal.
Taken from
Rampancy Wiki Entry
3. Could we see the return of Traxus here? The name has been seen in the new E3 trailer and even talked about by the Bungie guys.
Halo as a Cyberpunk tangent
In some cyberpunk writing, much of the action takes place online, in cyberspace, blurring the border between the actual and the virtual reality.
Taken from
Cyberpunk on Wikipedia
This is off topic but I would like to think of this ARG and the speculations and facts being found during this ARG and throughout the Haloverse as cyberpunk. With this ARG and all of us taking part in it makes all of us semi cyberpunk. We all have to admit that the Marathon and Halo games including all the Viral Advertisments (ARG’s) are great writing. This is real life cyberpunk action. Lol.
P.S. That last part was mainly for me. hehe
P.S.S. This will be updated as new info is gathered and new ideas formed, sorry for the sloppiness and lack of cohesion. And i would like to thank Avateur for helping me put this together and being my editor. ABO is teh roxxor!