Halo (megastructure)
Encyclopedia
Megastructure
A megastructure is a very large manmade object, though the limits of precisely how large this is vary considerably. Some apply the term to any especially large or tall building....
s and superweapon
Superweapon
A superweapon is an extremely powerful weapon by the standards of its time and its scale. Examples include the Tsar Bomba , various superguns and other various weapons employed to give a decisive advantage over opposing countries or forces. The given advantage is usually based on intimidation and...
s in the Halo
Halo (video game series)
Halo is a multi-million dollar science fiction video game franchise created by Bungie and now managed by 343 Industries and owned by Microsoft Studios. The series centers on an interstellar war between humanity and a theocratic alliance of aliens known as the Covenant...
video game series. They are referred to as "Installations" by their AI monitors, and are collectively referred to as "the Array" by the installations' creators, the Forerunners
Forerunners (Halo)
Forerunners is the translated name for an ancient race of sentient beings which ceased to exist 100,000 years before the events of the Halo video game series began. They are known for their advanced technologies, enabling them to build mega-structures like the Halo installations, The Ark and the...
. The series' alien antagonists, the Covenant
Covenant (Halo)
The Covenant are a fictional theocratic military alliance of alien races who serve as the main antagonists in the Halo video game series. They are composed of a variety of diverse species, united under the religious worship of the enigmatic Forerunners and their belief that Forerunner ringworlds...
, refer to the structures as the 'Sacred Rings', believing them to form part of a greater religious prophecy known as 'The Great Journey'. According to Halos fiction, the Forerunners built the rings to contain and study the Flood, an infectious alien parasite. The rings also act together as a weapon of last resort; when fired, the rings kill any sentient life capable of falling prey to the Flood, starving the parasite of its food. The installations are at the crux of the plot progression for the Halo series.
The Halos are massive ringworlds, which feature their own wildlife and weather. The constructs resemble Larry Niven
Larry Niven
Laurence van Cott Niven / ˈlæri ˈnɪvən/ is an American science fiction author. His best-known work is Ringworld , which received Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards. His work is primarily hard science fiction, using big science concepts and theoretical physics...
's Ringworld
Ringworld
Ringworld is a Hugo, Nebula, and Locus award-winning 1970 science fiction novel by Larry Niven, set in his Known Space universe and considered a classic of science fiction literature. It is followed by three sequels, and preceded by four prequels, and ties into numerous other books set in Known Space...
concept in shape and design. The structure that Halo: Combat Evolved takes place on was initially to be a hollowed-out planet, but was changed to its ring design later in development; a staff member provided "Halo" as the name for both the ring and the video game after names such as Red Shift were suggested.
Design and development
The term "megastructure" refers to artificial structures where one of three dimensions is 100 kilometres (62.1 mi) or larger. The first use of a ring-shaped megastructure in fiction was Larry NivenLarry Niven
Laurence van Cott Niven / ˈlæri ˈnɪvən/ is an American science fiction author. His best-known work is Ringworld , which received Hugo, Locus, Ditmar, and Nebula awards. His work is primarily hard science fiction, using big science concepts and theoretical physics...
's novel Ringworld
Ringworld
Ringworld is a Hugo, Nebula, and Locus award-winning 1970 science fiction novel by Larry Niven, set in his Known Space universe and considered a classic of science fiction literature. It is followed by three sequels, and preceded by four prequels, and ties into numerous other books set in Known Space...
(1970). Niven described his design as an intermediate step between Dyson Sphere
Dyson sphere
A Dyson sphere is a hypothetical megastructure originally described by Freeman Dyson. Such a "sphere" would be a system of orbiting solar power satellites meant to completely encompass a star and capture most or all of its energy output...
s and planets, where a ring with a radius of more than 93000000 miles (149,668,620 km) and 1000 miles (1,609.3 km) wide; these are dimensions far exceeding the ringworlds found in the Halo series, which feature radii of 5000 miles (8,046.7 km) As seen in the games, Halo installations feature a metallic exterior, with the interior of the ring filled with an atmosphere, water, plant life, and animal life. A massive wall on the sides of the structure, combined with the centrifugal force produced by the ring's rotation, keep the environment from leaking into space. What appear to be docking ports and windows dot the exterior surface, suggesting that a fraction of the ring structure itself is hollow and used for maintenance, living, and power generation.
Before the title for game developer Bungie
Bungie
Bungie, Inc is an American video game developer currently located in Bellevue, Washington, USA. The company was established in May 1991 by University of Chicago undergraduate student Alex Seropian, who later brought in programmer Jason Jones after publishing Jones' game Minotaur: The Labyrinths of...
's next project was announced and development of the game that would become Halo was in its early stages, the megastructure that Halo: Combat Evolved took place on was a massive, hollowed-out planet called "Solipsis". The planet became a Dyson Sphere, and then a Dyson Ring. Some Bungie staffers felt the change to a ringworld was "ripping off Larry Niven", according to Bungie artist Paul Russel. Bungie employee Frank O'Connor wrote in a post on Bungie.net that "the specific accusation that we swiped the idea of a ring-shaped planet wholesale is not accurate," explaining that Bungie used a ringworld because "it's cool and therefore the type of thing a Forerunner civilization would build."
At the time, the game was known as Blam!, but Bungie had always expected to replace the working title with something better (Blam! was only used after studio co-founder Jason Jones
Jason Jones (programmer)
Jason Jones is a game developer and programmer who co-founded video game studio Bungie with Alex Seropian in 1991. Jones began programming on Apple computers in high school, assembling a multiplayer game called Minotaur: The Labyrinths of Crete...
could not bring himself to tell his mother their next project was dubbed Monkey Nuts.) Titles such as The Crystal Palace, Hard Vacuum, Star Maker, Star Shield, and The Santa Machine were suggested. Russel suggested calling it Project: Halo because of the ring. Despite concerns that the title seemed too religious or lacked action, the name stuck. In turn, "Halo" became the ring's name as well.
Halo: Combat Evolveds Halo was intended to be populated with large animal life, collectively known as Fauna. The Fauna included "pseudo-dinosaurs" and mammals, as well as a Chocobo
Chocobo
A is a fictional creature from the Final Fantasy video game series. The creature is a large and normally flightless galliforme/ratite bird capable of being ridden and otherwise used by player characters during gameplay...
-like creature—the "Blind Wolf"—that players could ride. The animals were removed for technical and conceptual reasons; there were difficulties in getting herd and behavior action to work, and under pressure to complete the game's more central aspects were focused on while the animals were dropped. Bungie also felt that the desolate ring heightened the sense of Halo's mystery, and made the appearance of the parasitic Flood more terrifying and unexpected.
Scientific analysis
Gas giant
A gas giant is a large planet that is not primarily composed of rock or other solid matter. There are four gas giants in the Solar System: Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, and Neptune...
s similar to Jupiter
Jupiter
Jupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet within the Solar System. It is a gas giant with mass one-thousandth that of the Sun but is two and a half times the mass of all the other planets in our Solar System combined. Jupiter is classified as a gas giant along with Saturn,...
, though much larger; the bodies exhibit characteristics of both a jovian planet and a small star. In each system, there are five points where a body of negligible mass would remain stationary to the two much larger bodies in the system, the gas giant and its moon. These areas, known as Lagrange points
Lagrangian point
The Lagrangian points are the five positions in an orbital configuration where a small object affected only by gravity can theoretically be stationary relative to two larger objects...
, are classified by stability; while bodies at 60° angles to the gas giant would remain in the same location relative to the other objects in the system, the other three Lagrange points are meta-stable, having the tendency to be unstable in one direction. As the Halos are located at point , the installations must actively correct its orbit. The apparent gravity of the Halo installations is close to Earth normal. A Halo would have to spin with a tangental speed of 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) per second to match Earth's gravity, translating to 19.25 rotations in a day.
Aside from its unstable position, Halos would have to contend with thousands of meteor and micrometeor impacts which would destabilize or destroy the ring; there is no evidence in the games that the installations project an energy shield to prevent this occurrence. Because of the magnetic environment around the gas giant, a Halo would be exposed to high levels of radiation. Earth is protected from such radiation by charged particles created by the planet's magnetic field. Grazier posits that huge conductive cables could run the circumference of a Halo; when an electrical current was run through these cables, a protective magnetic environment could be created to sustain life.
In the games, spectroscopic analysis
Spectroscopy
Spectroscopy is the study of the interaction between matter and radiated energy. Historically, spectroscopy originated through the study of visible light dispersed according to its wavelength, e.g., by a prism. Later the concept was expanded greatly to comprise any interaction with radiative...
of the ring's composition proved "inconclusive", implying that the Halos are constructed of an unknown material (unobtainium
Unobtainium
In engineering, fiction, and thought experiments, unobtainium is any extremely rare, costly, or impossible material, or device needed to fulfill a given design for a given application. The properties of any particular unobtainium depend on the intended use...
). Were a Halo to be constructed using conventional materials a light steel alloy would be most feasible. Assuming that the ring structure is 50% empty space, a 5000 km ring composed of steel alloy at an average density of 7.7 gram (0.271609508209362 oz) per 1 cc would result in a total mass of 1.7x1017 kg. The amount of material required to build such a ring would be akin to the total material available in the asteroid belt
Asteroid belt
The asteroid belt is the region of the Solar System located roughly between the orbits of the planets Mars and Jupiter. It is occupied by numerous irregularly shaped bodies called asteroids or minor planets...
.
Installation 04
Installation 04, also referred to as Alpha Halo, appears in Halo: Combat EvolvedHalo: Combat Evolved
Halo: Combat Evolved, frequently referred to as Halo: CE, or Halo 1, is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie and published by Microsoft Game Studios. The first game of the Halo franchise, it was released on November 15, 2001 as a launch title for the Xbox gaming system, and is...
. The majority of gameplay takes place in areas on this installation, and its exploration drives the story. The ring is managed by an artificial intelligence known as 343 Guilty Spark, and is located in the Soell system, dominated by a gas giant known as Threshold. Halo orbits Threshold's only satellite, an extremely large moon known as Basis. A group of humans aboard the ship Pillar of Autumn crash-land on the ring after being pursued by the alien Covenant. The ring holds religious significance to the aliens, while the humans believe it is a weapon that could turn the tide of the war against the Covenant in their favor. In reality, the ring is home to a virulent parasite called the Flood, which are accidentally released by the Covenant and threaten to infest the galaxy. The human soldier Master Chief
Master Chief (Halo)
Master Chief Petty Officer John-117 is a fictional character and protagonist of the Halo fictional universe, created by Bungie. Master Chief is a player character in the trilogy of science fiction first-person shooter video games Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, and Halo 3 and will appear in the...
eventually detonates the Pillar of Autumns reactors in order to destabilize the ring and cause it to break up, preventing the spread of the Flood and the activation of the Halo network, which would kill all sentient life as a fail-safe to starve the Flood. During the game's events, Guilty Spark alludes to a previous firing of the network, which Bungie's director of cinematics Joseph Staten
Joseph Staten
Joseph Staten is a bestselling American writer born in San Francisco, California. The son of a theologian, Staten originally planned on becoming an actor, but dropped the idea in college...
said occurred around 100,000 years previous to the events of the game in the year 2552.
Installation 05
During the events of Halo 2Halo 2
Halo 2 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie Studios. Released for the Xbox video game console on November 9, 2004, the game is the second installment in the Halo franchise and the sequel to 2001's critically acclaimed Halo: Combat Evolved...
, the Covenant and humans discover a second ringworld, Installation 05, or Delta Halo. The Covenant leadership wants to activate the installation, believing it is the key to their salvation. At the same time, the Flood, led by an intelligence known as the Gravemind
Gravemind
The Gravemind is a parasitic intelligence in the Halo universe. While only one Gravemind is ever seen in the games, the title is given to the final stage of Flood evolution. The Flood is a highly-infectious parasite which is released several times during Halos story...
, lay siege to the Covenant's city-ship, High Charity. After convincing the Arbiter
Arbiter (Halo)
Arbiter is a fictional ceremonial, religious, and political rank bestowed upon alien Covenant Elites in the Halo science fiction universe. In the 2004 video game Halo 2, the rank is given to a disgraced commander as a way to atone for his failures...
, a Covenant holy warrior, the danger that the Halos truly represent, a group of humans and Covenant prevent the firing of the ring. The unexpected shutdown activates a fail-safe protocol, priming the remaining Halo installations for remote activation from a location known as the Ark.
The Ark
The Ark, also referred to as Installation 00, is located outside the Milky WayMilky Way
The Milky Way is the galaxy that contains the Solar System. This name derives from its appearance as a dim un-resolved "milky" glowing band arching across the night sky...
galaxy and serves as the construction and control station for the Halo weapon system. During Halo 3
Halo 3
Halo 3 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie for the Xbox 360 console. The third installment in the Halo franchise, the game concludes the story arc begun in Halo: Combat Evolved and continued in Halo 2...
, the Covenant discover a portal on Earth that leads to the Ark and are pursued by the humans and a breakaway faction of Covenant opposed to activating the rings. Gravemind, having hijacked High Charity, also crash-lands on the installation. The remote firing of the rings is halted by Master Chief and the Arbiter. In order to end the threat of the Flood, Master Chief decides to activate a Halo under construction in The Ark, a replacement for the one that he destroyed in Halo: Combat Evolved. The firing tears apart the incomplete Halo and heavily damages the Ark as Master Chief, Cortana
Cortana
Cortana is a fictional artificially intelligent character in Bungie's Halo video game series. Voiced by Jen Taylor, she appears in Halo: Combat Evolved and its sequels, Halo 2 and Halo 3, in the prequel and epilogue of Halo: Reach, as well the novels Halo: The Flood, Halo: The Fall of Reach, ...
, and the Arbiter try to escape through the Portal, which closes as they enter, leaving Master Chief and Cortana drifting in space while the Arbiter returns to Earth successfully.
External links
- The Halo Installations at Halo.Bungie.OrgHalo.Bungie.OrgHalo.Bungie.Org, often referred to as HBO, is a fansite created in 1999 by Claude Errera and two associates as a news site for the Bungie video game Halo: Combat Evolved. The site was started in 1999 as Blam.bungie.org based on the project's development name before it was called Halo...