Cortana
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- This article describes the Halo series character. For the English sword of mercy of King Edward the Confessor, see Curtana.
History
Cortana is a "smart" artificial intelligence, which grants her the ability to learn and adapt beyond her basic parameters, but at the cost of a limited "lifespan" of only seven years. She was constructed from the flash cloned brain of Dr. Catherine Elizabeth Halsey, the creator of the SPARTAN-II Project. Her primary mission was to assist the Spartans in the capture of the Covenant High Prophets, and then to negotiate either a truce or peace treaty.Cortana has no physical form, unlike 343 Guilty Spark's avatar. However, she maintains the ability to communicate a strong female voice through available communications systems, and, if possible, project a holographic image of herself. She projects herself as a woman made of purple light, said to be a younger version of Dr. Halsey. Later her appearance changes to a similar blue figure with longer hair.
Originally, the core of Cortana was contained in a disk, which could be inserted into most systems; however, the MJOLNIR Mark VI armor system is apparently equipped to allow her to transfer from system to system with a mere touch of the palm. Cortana was designed to infiltrate any security system, and once she is physically inside, there is little that can stop her from taking absolute control.
Aside from that, she is very proficient in the coordination and use of UNSC and later Covenant military hardware. Because one of the UNSC's primary uses of artificial intelligence is to oversee the targeting of point-defense and ship-to-ship weaponry, space navigation, and calculating Slipspace jumps, Cortana can operate ships and space stations by herself. But, for Cortana at least, this is only a secondary function.
Halo
Cortana was made to share the Spartans' MJOLNIR suits. Later the Master Chief is set to escape with her from the attacked ship Pillar of Autumn, guiding him through his various mission tasks on Halo. Master Chief's reaction speed is greatly increased by this, as Cortana resides in the space between his mind and his suit and further boosts his already inhuman reaction speed.She frequently jokes about having a relationship with the Master Chief, and it is often implied that the two characters have developed some form of attachment.
When Cortana and the Master Chief reach the control room for Halo at installation 04, Cortana interfaces and stores herself in a Forerunner computer and is allowed access to extensive knowledge of Halo and its purpose. What she learns causes a significant change in Cortana's attitude, becoming somewhat more aggressive. She retains this knowledge when she eventually leaves the computer, though she has to compress the data to prevent damage to herself by an overload of information.
Cortana is later forced to enter a Covenant computer in order to allow the Master Chief and a group of Marines access to areas of the Covenant ship so that it may be hijacked. Upon entering the ship's sytems she is forced to terminate the Covenant AI onboard and learns to create flash copies of herself. This allows her to leave part of herself in the ship's computer so that she can be taken out and still have the availability of an AI inside the ship's computer. The flash copies are, however, prone to mistakes in the programming and corruptions can easily occur within the copied part of the AI.
Halo 2
On the first level Master Chief and Cortana are reunited after events that seem to mimic the previous halo. After many battles between the Covenant and the Flood Cortana is yet again inserted into the Covenant system and assists Master Chief's task of hunting down the prophets (Covenant leaders). After the ring is destroyed the Gravemind (an intelligent form of the Flood) speaks to Cortana in verse.Silence fills the empty grave now that I am gone, But my mind is not at rest, for questions linger on. Now I will ask and you will answer.Cortana replies simply "All right... Shoot." This line has brought up much speculation as to Cortana's loyalties.
Halo 3
The May 2006 [announce trailer] for Halo 3 contains a flickering image of Cortana's face several times while she says the words:
- "I have defied gods and demons.
- I am your shield, I am your sword.
- I know you; your past, your future.
- This is the way the world ends."
One storyboard listed on bungie's website also shows Cortana seemingly screaming in pain. Interviews and public announcements by Bungie Studios have implied that something is very "wrong" with Cortana in these scenes.
Significant fan debate sprung up in regards to the "I am your shield, I am your sword" line, where the end of the line was distorted. Some viewers claimed that she was saying "source" instead of "sword" and significant speculation began in regards to this. Bungie cleared this ambiguity up in a Weekly Update, confirming that she was saying "sword". [link]
Cortana's loyalty
Cortana has a smart, witty personality, and a sense of humor. She has hardwired loyalty to humanity and the UNSC, but seems to be genuinely loyal in any case. The loyalty to the human race could also result from the fact that "smart A.I." are "ghost" images of former human selves (as she is partially a ghost to her creator, Dr Halsey).
However, extensive fan debate exists over whether Cortana is truly loyal to the UNSC and humanity, and whether or not she is undergoing rampancy or is somehow in league with the Gravemind.
Trivia
- Cortana is named after Curtana, Edward the Confessor's legendary Sword of Mercy, the tip of which was, according to the legend, broken off by an angel to prevent a wrongful killing. This follows Bungie's trend of naming A.I.s after legendary/mythological swords, particularly in the Marathon series. Furthermore, the sword bears the inscription 'My name is Cortana, of the same steel and temper as Joyeuse and Durendal'. This may refer to Durandal, a character in Bungie's Marathon series.
- The sword Cortana (and another legendary sword, Durandal), are both mentioned in Poul Anderson's 1950s era fantasy novel Three Hearts and Three Lions.
External links
| Halo
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|---|
| Halo universe | Halo Installations | Halo (film) | Haunted Apiary | Halo Zero |
| ' | ' |
| Halo Original Soundtrack | | | |
| Halo 2 |
| Halo 2 | Halo 2 Multiplayer Map Pack | Halo 2 Limited Collector's Edition |
| | | List of vehicles in Halo 2 | List of multiplayer gametypes in Halo 2 | List of multiplayer maps in Halo 2 | List of Halo 2 changes |
| Halo 3 |
| Halo 3 |
| Halo Media |
| | | | | Conversations from the Universe | Halo graphic novel |
| Races |
| The Forerunner | Human | The Covenant | The Flood |
| Main characters |
| Master Chief (Spartan-117) | Cortana | The Arbiter | Tartarus | The Prophets |
| Minor characters |
| Catherine Elizabeth Halsey | Foe Hammer | 2401 Penitent Tangent | 343 Guilty Spark | Sergeant Banks | Fleet Admiral Harper | Sergeant Johnson | Captain Jacob Keyes | Nicole (Spartan-458) | Gravemind |
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