Flood Containment Breach - Lore and Theory

In this episode: We look at the Flood Containment Breach on Installation 04
Halopedia Flood Containment Exerpt:
www.halopedia.org/Outbreak_at...
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[@slicer940]

Can we just talk about how quick and smart the flood were here? They retreated to lure the marines in and got rid of any of their own bodies as to not throw anyone off. And then retreated again to lure the chief in. You can actually see the infected elites briefly doing this in the level itself. And the flood spread across nearly the entire ring in less than 3 days. They were actually possibly released before the Pillar of Autumn even crashed. They did all this strategic things without a gravemind either.

[@crimsonquill4255]

That depends...while they were trying to create a Proto-Gravemind to aid their co-ordination, we know that there was an outbreak on Installation 05. I wonder, is their a chance that the Gravemind on that installation was already formed, and was providing nascent direction from the astronomical distance through neural physics, or was he isolated by the Quarantine?

[@pancholopez8829]

And now that I think about. The Proto Gravemind wouldn't be made until the ship seen in Keyes. So that is also something to note.

[@stoneskull1673]

@@crimsonquill4255 I think that one is 10.000 years old so its possible

[@slicer940]

@@robianknight4001 I don’t think they treated it that way. Because there was still plenty of covenant inside the structure when the chief showed up. They were still hiding or being mopped up by marines, flood or the chief. You have to also consider all the different rooms and areas that you didn’t go into while playing as the chief. There could have been way more covenant or even marines still there. And the flood did leave the crazy marine alive too. Despite being able to kill and find him quickly. He was shooting randomly.

[@ants7279]

Well yeah the flood still resive the strategic inteligance of the combined minds they eat they don't need a grave mind for basic instincs the bad desgens are just plot point after.

[@JaelaOrdo]

"Why naturally the Flood is simply too dangerous to release, and mass sterilization protocols may again need to be enacted. Of course, samples were kept here after the last catastrophic outbreak... For study. It seems... That decision may have been an error." - 343 Guilty Spark

[@bthsr7113]

YOU DON'T SAY!?

[@locoarticwolf2181]

Bthsr71 a lot of what the Forerunners did and thought were...questionable to say the least.

[@victorfrankenstein8005]

Yeah just better to destroy it

[@adarkwind4712]

Jaela Aurelius lol yeah no shit.

[@punctuationman334]

Jaela Aurelius I’m still confused by that decision. Did the librarian save the flood on the halos to test humans?

[@MistahFox]

Or, a much simpler answer: the glowing pads in the cells are stasis fields, all of the cells held one carrier form each for 343 to study within the facility. When the security was de-activated, either by the Covenant or Chief, the stasis fields released the carrier forms. When the carrier forms saw a potential host (Chief) that wasn't already being infected like the marines were, they decided to explode. The carrier forms explode then so Bungie doesn't have to model a super ancient Forerunner flood form. That's why the doors open with an explosion and there are only infection forms inside. Also, I think it would be funny if in speed runs when the player flings themselves through the security door using a warthog instead of de-activating the security system, the flood are just absent from the rest of the game.

[@jacobweatherford4696]

If that's the case the game would've been alot shorter.

[@LordWyatt]

That would’ve been a hilarious Easter egg

[@Viviana088]

Yea I was about to say this. Carrier forms could have definitely opened the door.

[@jacobweatherford4696]

@@Viviana088 does a carrier forms explosion have enough force though? There is also the possibility it could have been a tank form since some were kept in storage.

[@Viviana088]

@@jacobweatherford4696 Well in terms of gameplay you do get launched into the air by a considerable amount when caught within the explosion radius of the carrier form. They are basically frag grenades but with legs; since you can use them as make shift grenades to kill large groups of enemies. I'm pretty sure multiple carrier forms are used to open the doors in 343 guilty spark and in the Maw considering the fact that it sounds like multiple "explosions" before the doors bust open. Ever noticed in Halo CE when the flood breaks down a door there is a shitton of infection forms that storm through first with combat forms being a bit further back from the door?

[@arecaidianfox]

The idea that Chief accidentally borked the entire installation's security systems during the events of TSC is something SPV3 explores slightly. In fact, the modders actually changed the text to "Press [button] to shut down installation security system"

[@Superassassinman15]

I keep forgetting that the flood is an incredibly smart lifeform

[@mjohnsimon1337]

That's an understatement. Everytime they infect someone or something, the collective as a whole just got smarter and more crafty.

[@sleepshouter5017]

They technically come from the precursors which were even more technologically advanced than the forerunners. The precursors were so smart they let themselves die for reasons us dumbass humans will probably never understand

[@SuperFAILMC]

@@sleepshouter5017 they died to experince the cycle of life XD

[@swbyui]

The fact they are capable to team up with humanity is spooky af

[@senorcheems8388]

Oh yeah if they’re so smart why did they die to bullets, checkmate

[@SchneeflockeMonsoon]

The moment you showed the locked door from the silent cartographer, my heart went: “Oh sh*t. No... it can’t be... I didn’t... I couldn’t... I didn’t know.”

[@TheRealGuywithoutaMustache]

The appearance of The Flood in Halo 3 really creeped me out when I was a kid just playing back in 2007. Good times.

[@Stratonetic]

The flood doors on High Charity still disgust me as much as they did in my youth.

[@madness0169]

Imagine how they would look in a *Halo 3: Anniversary.* That would look terrifying.

[@themeanestkitten]

@@Stratonetic you mean the big flood buttholes ?

[@nuclearjanitors]

The H2 flood levels are far more terrifying.

[@Stratonetic]

@@nuclearjanitors So true.

[@gartcw9955]

The idea behind the medpack being bait, and by extension are watching you throughout the level tracks with the book ‘The Flood’ with Chief feeling like he’s being watched.

[@a_sos_type-46_isv]

You should discuss the Flood outbreak on Delta Halo, lotta juicy stuff there

[@Installation00]

Next on my agenda!

[@zalrohglekgolo6149]

That's going to be fun, so much has been retconned from the original concept, the final story, to the now re-established lore.

[@savagedarksider5934]

@@Installation00 I have A question; if the flood on the first halo ring had been successful in creating A gravemind-Wouldn't this gravemind have any connects to the Gravemind in Halo 2.

[@jannegrey593]

@@savagedarksider5934 Graveminds could talk to each other as far as I recall. They were technically all part of the same flood. But also curious about the answer.

[@MadamLava094]

@@Installation00 Oh, I love that topic, yet apparently didnt know about things like the sentinel factory being shot down. Do try to dig for "blink and you miss it" details in it!

[@zalrohglekgolo6149]

My favorite part of the release of the flood is that it's important to note the Covenant released it by opening doors all over the ring. Even though the locks on most forerunner tech require at least installation AI or at most Human genetic coding. The covenant, at least in some capacity, have an amazing bypass that never really explored beyond a hand wave notion, which is criminal.

[@tavianarmstrong974]

a huragok could just rebuild the lock or the lekgolo could just worm their way through system doing their "tech thing"; i wouldnt chock it up to a handwave after playing ODST and Reach

[@zalrohglekgolo6149]

Oh I am well aware, but it's never explored

[@calebblaha7854]

I mean the covenant probably have dedicated centuries of cumulative time just opening forerunner doors. Like just the process of opening the doors, in total, centuries of time.

[@zalrohglekgolo6149]

@@calebblaha7854 I know, but they never bring it up

[@zalrohglekgolo6149]

@@calebblaha7854 the Halo community loves the idea that unless something is specifically said, it's not real. Which is both great and terrible.

[@motoanimations8592]

At the beginning of the mission flood actually are watching you they appear as friendly's

[@leiferikson850]

They only appear so because its still the infected marines caring their transponders. So without a manuell update they are still listed as friendlies in the radars identification list

[@motoanimations8592]

@@leiferikson850 that makes so much sense thxs never thought about it

[@7kingly241]

I mean... I noticed that back in 2001 when I was 6 years old lol.

[@siva4wotblitzhero531]

Theres even one that drops a plasma pistol on top of the roots of a huge upturned tree,just past the crashed Spirit Dropship

[@FrahdChikun]

@@leiferikson850 that's impossible, the combat forms visible at that point were Elite Combat forms.

[@Stratonetic]

Ah, I see we're covering the coronavi- I mean flood outbreak...

[@Dwyer-nl9fz]

Haro Shito you dirty little minx 😉

[@akam9919]

Nah. Even a 3.4% death rate pales in comparision to the flood's.

[@cia387]

Welp the corona virus is in my region😑

[@7MikeM7]

Symptoms include fever, cough, and shortness of breath BEFORE YOUR HEART IS LITERALLY RIPPED OUT :D

[@cia387]

@@7MikeM7 welp

[@zalrohglekgolo6149]

HERE IS A JUICY QUESTION: Why did Bungie go out of thier way to suggest the plant life on 343 guilty spark is the same color, texture and glow as the flood combat forms? Back in Halo 2 classic the Gravemind looks like an enormous plant, and the flood in both games use a lot of earthy tones in thier color. We know they can assimilate the environment, and that the monitor was out of his mind by the time chief arrived to the first installation. Because the flood have the same reproductive traits as plants, via spores, I always assumed the flood had been long escaped, and used the biomass of the environment to become most of the swamp plant life, until hosts could arrive to sustain thier (now retconned) need for calcium to hijack host minds and spread. While their certainly were flood spores released the covies found, I was certain for almost a decade that was a red herring.

[@justawhim]

A Clown actually some of the more ‘archaic’ plants like ferns still use spores, you could say Seeds are just upgraded spores but yeah, spores are typically a fungus thing

[@Stratonetic]

Some funguses also kill bacteria if I remember correctly, but the infected hosts of the flood decay, which should mean bacteria are eating at the dead flesh. Maybe the flood is some kind of hybrid between parasitic organism and microorganism, since they did emerge from genetically corrupted powder which gave birth to the supercell within the feru (ancient herbivorous reptilian dogs), a parasitic virus maybe? Viruses open up the chance for secondary bacterial infection (the decay) and viral mutation (flood forms), the flood do seem to change rapidly, perhaps out of control genetic mutations, or greatly controlled mutations.

[@antoine121]

Zalrohg Lekgolo Good theory I would say it doesn’t hold up, because we have to base this off 343 guilty spark not doing his job for decades, but it’s clear that he was terrible at doing his job.

[@zalrohglekgolo6149]

@@antoine121 I mentioned he had gone crazy, I assumed that implied his inability to do his job.

[@zalrohglekgolo6149]

@@Stratonetic your reply is exactly like the ones I used to say when this was relevant. Back in the old days

[@LeadingMole058]

The flood in CE is in the feral stage of its life cycle meaning it doesn't do strategy or traps, it goes full on attack. While I agree the infection forms most likely couldn't have taken down the door please remember there size isn't portrayed correctly in the games, there actual size being close to about 3/4 foot tall. Still I do like your theory that Chief deactivation of the security effectively leaves the door open for them to escape I can't help but think the Forerunners weren't that stupid when it came to security over the most dangerous creature in the known universe.

[@devastater97]

And yet the Forerunner's thought it would be an absolutely amazing idea to keep Flood speciemens ALIVE on the very last ditch superweapons they built to destroy the Flood after said weapons have fired.

[@sny8579]

@@devastater97 The Forerunners left samples of flood biomatter on the rings as the flood could have escaped the galaxy(therefore escaping the range of halo ring fire) and could have came back at a later date therefore meaning they could possibly gotten a cure or effective method of sterilizing the flood before the eventual return of the parasite.

[@ethanwagner6418]

I don't think the flood was actually in the feral stage during the Battle of Installation 04. The flood outbreak of Installation 05 existed since about 200 years after the firing of the halo array, yielding ample time to build a gravemind.

[@derekmensch3601]

@@ethanwagner6418 the flood on 04 were in feral stage though. The gravemind on 05 was too far to communicate

[@ethanwagner6418]

@@derekmensch3601 the Gravemind used telepathic communication with the Chief across the distance from Earth to High Charity. Granted, we don't know what that distance was. If we are to assume that telepathy happens through Slipspace and/or the Domain (which I think is fair, given the nature of the flood) then the Gravemind should be able to communicate to any position in the galaxy.

[@VanessaFlyhight]

I always assumed the Silent Cartographer had to be more of a security control facility rather than just a map and that Chief and Cortana were pushing buttons they truly didn't understand.

[@sorrenblitz805]

But knowing that Cortana is a repository for everything Humanity knows about the Forerunners you'd think she'd know what the systems do. Plus it's been known for years the Covenant went to that facility thinking it was a weapons cache and that they were the ones that let the Flood out.

[@JaydenDimaio]

I think a story (perhaps anthology) from the perspective of some of the denizens of High Charity during the schism and subsequent flood infestation would be great. It went from being the covenants holy capital city to being abandoned by all none flood life in a matter of maybe 48 hours.

[@gjtrue]

@13:05 Funny enough, that's exactly how Master Chief felt in the novelization "The Flood" no less. Ever since he entered the facility, he constantly felt like eyes were constantly burning a hole in the back of his head. That something was. . . . . .wrong here.

[@camerongooch9606]

Installation 00 the kind of guy to look so closely at something he uses the Hubble telescope to read his newspaper

[@unknownunknown-zx9st]

Everyone knows you're being watched by combat forms. They literally pop up on your radar and you can see them hiding but peeking out at you before you enter the containment facility.

[@Zenlore6499]

Playing Halo Wars for the first time. Was REALLY hoping it wouldn’t introduce the Flood, for the sake of my Halo project. Wanted CE to be the introduction for it and it’s horror, but I got a near instant “THE FLOOD ARE HERE”

[@EnigmaEnginseer]

CE came out way before Halo Wars though..

[@Zenlore6499]

@@EnigmaEnginseer Right, but the idea was to play the games chronologically and have the most horrifying introduction to the Flood as possible. That’s in CE, not Wars, so playing chronologically you don’t get that effect. They’re kinda silly in Wars.

[@jannegrey593]

Seriously keeping flood at Halo's and other facilities, when it should have been eradicated and/or starved is reckless at best. Chief, Covenant, Keyes - they may have not known that they would release the flood, but they also did something remarkably stupid.

[@immortalwarrior2695]

Flood cannot be eradicated. That's the whole point they contained it. How can you destroy when you have no means to destroy it??

[@jannegrey593]

​@@immortalwarrior2695 That's why they went with starve option. As to eradicating, perhaps if you pulverize it and spread across the Universe it reaches below some minimal mass (or density) that is required for reproduction? Otherwise if there is ZERO possibility of destroying it, fighting it is impossible. There has to be something that can be done (admittedly it would be almost impossible) to make it inert. Perhaps some time without biomass makes the flood so starved it dies? Otherwise firing of Halo's would just mean they stop spreading, but the flood is alive and okay and as soon as someone finds it (even one molecule) the cycle starts all over. Even if this is the case - I come over to this channel to find out - then having it on Halo's is still very stupid idea.

[@jaceross7648]

Jan Negrey in another vid about the forerunner flood war its said firing the rings kill flood cells also

[@triple-gq6mn]

@@jannegrey593 I am pretty sure that a Halo is supposed to kill flood as well as it's food.

[@raziel_0965]

@@jannegrey593 the halos kill the floods food but also the higher flood forms anything combat form and up

[@PackHunter117]

Now do a video about how the Flood was released on the shield world on Halo Wars.

[@sentinel-wraith9060]

It probably wasn't released as Shield Worlds are armory bunkers and not research labs. That was probably original Flood.

[@neko281]

ONWARD TO THE SACRED ICON

[@WanderKonIng]

While I do like your views on the containment breach on Installation 04 I do have some things I might disagree/have other thoughts on. (this is a long one... sorry guys haha) Let's start with your theory that the flood is watching you and luring you in a trap. While the flood is extremely intelligent it needs a Gravemind as far as I know. Before that they have a Proto-Gravemind which we see in the level Keyes. If the flood was intelligent enough to place traps I think at the very least it needs a Proto-Gravemind and as we see them assembling a Proto-Gravemind in the Truth and Reconciliation I don't think they had another one (for one due to lack of biomass and the fact that we see the flood in a feral stage). Without a Proto-Gravemind I don't believe the flood is capable for creating traps. Next, while the doors could have been broken through combat forms I feel it's more likely that carrier forms exploded against the doors. The doors exploded and as there is no indication of combat forms in the games or the books while there are lots of infection forms I think that is the more likely explanation. While I can't explain why they were in the locked rooms it also makes sense as the marines and most of the covenant disappeared before the arrival of keyes.The victims could have been turned into carrier forms that the installation locked down until Keyes and the marines got close, got sensed by the flood and they broke through the doors. As for Master Chief releasing the Flood while shutting down the security for the maproom, I think it's possible but unlikely as the containment would have been a top priority for Spark and the Forerunners. I don't think shutting down the security for 1 level should enable the flood to escape containment. What I feel is more likely is that Master Chief by opening that security layer allowed the covenant to reach deeper in the facility. While they were there they might have opened/broken through just one layer of security that they shouldn't and accidentally released the flood, either in super cell form which allowed the flood to be transferred throughout the whole installation before transforming the covenant into flood forms which infected other members of the covenant (which could explain the confusion on their battlenet) or they got infected by a flood infection form and as they didn't know what they were dealing with and they wanted to research it (breaking their containment in the process, which I feel is also quite possible as the covenant worship everything of the Forerunners and they found the flood on the installation. If you made it here, thanks for reading ^^ please give me your thoughts as well

[@Superassassinman15]

Also at 16:15 I don't believe that chief initiated the flood outbreak or even disabled all of the security On the installation I don't think the forerunners were that dumb to keep some main station security pad in like the basement of a ring. That seems to be what the [Control] room is used for

[@Dennis19901]

He didn't. Both the book surrounding the events of Halo 04 and the monitor himself (in the game) say the Covenant are responsible.

[@jordanstamey]

One thing I’ve always wondered, why wasn’t the flood containment facility on 04 heavily guarded? You would think with an enemy as dangerous as the flood, it would be almost impossible to infiltrate.

[@sorrenblitz805]

I don't know about that. There's very clearly a Flood Infection form Cylix stored on Zeta Halo that you can just walk up to unguarded the door wasn't even locked.

[@peanutgallery4]

​@@sorrenblitz805yeah that's the question, why?

[@maximedaunis8292]

I guess more firepower equal more risks to accidentally release the flood

[@timash1927]

I find it unlikely that a reclaimer could have released the flood without the monitor saying anything

[@cr90captain89]

2 years late but it was chief that released the flood, cortana even says as much during the mission. she SPECIFIES that the chief disabled halo's security system, meaning it was for the entire ring. for the flood it got its freedom & an all you can nom buffet. all thanks to mc's ignorance.

[@Dennis19901]

@@cr90captain89 This is false on multiple levels. Firstly, what the books say differs from this. It extremely heavily implies the Covenant released the flood, Secondly, the monitor says himself that "the other species" is responsible for releasing the flood.

[@cr90captain89]

@@Dennis19901 & how could they do that if the security system was still up? they couldn't. master chief disabled the security system in the mission silent cartographer, which then allowed the covenant to open flood containment facilities without issue in the mission 343 guilty spark. its classic cause & affect. mc disables security>covenant open containment>flood is released> parasite begins spreading> the ring becomes a clusterfuck of a battlefield. ergo the mc is responsible for releasing the Flood.

[@Dennis19901]

​@@cr90captain89 "& how could they do that if the security system was still up?" Breaking and entering is quite literally the first option that comes to mind. "master chief disabled the security system in the mission silent cartographer, which then allowed the covenant to open flood containment facilities without issue in the mission 343 guilty spark." The actual lore of Halo disagrees with your assumptions. "its classic cause & affect." It's classic "pull shit out of your ass and make stuff up" And nothing in the dialogue itself indicates that there's some over encompassing security system that was disabled. The game literally says "This is a security override station for the main facility, located somewhere else on this island. Shut the system down so the Covenant won't be able to lock us out." > Located somewhere else on THIS ISLAND Not "located somewhere else on this ring about 10 hours of flight away" Stop. Making. Shit. Up.

[@cr90captain89]

@@Dennis19901 you good sir are making shit up, main facility is tied to all faculties, so take the L just because its in a separate location, does not mean it does not connect, your using wifi right? do you get it from a router? or from the satellite in orbit? turn off the router >satellite gets no signal> get no more wifi mc turning off security for main facility > turning off flood containment. if the mc did not turn off containment, the sentinels would have reacted to the covenants attempts to open the facility, but they did not. & remember how could Cortana deactivate flood containment when she was not even there? she was in the control room, which she warned mc to go find keyes almost immediately? mc released the flood. simples as. the only difference here is that instead of being wireless it has a hard cable connection to the satellite. & if you can not be civil in this discussion you need to fing leave. it only show how much a temper tantrum baby you are, & quite frankly you are embarrassing yourself in front of the internet. you have provided no proof beyond opinionable statements, Vague answers and are attacking me personally, that is not professional at all.

[@commandershepard4235]

Hey 00, I don't know if you'll see this comment, considering it's on such an old video, but I just wanted to say you are what keeps my love of Halo alive. I'm not a huge fan of any of the new games and I shall never speak of the abomination that is the Halo show, but your content goes far and beyond anything 343 has ever done for the series. Thank you.

[@BigTylt]

It's interesting that 343 Guilty Spark didn't even seem to care that someone just deactivated the security systems. You'd think he'd teleport his ass over to the Cartographer and find out who did it, but I guess that wasn't important to him.

[@khornesblessed4145]

The only thing that really puzzles me is that why did the marines allow Keyes to come with them like they have to have protocols against such things like to prevent capture or anything like that.

[@siphonicstorm7191]

I still have this theory that the outbreaks on Alpha and Delta Halos were allowed to happen. Like 2401 Penitent Tangent, he seemed to be talked like he was corrupted with the logic plague. So I still think they both happened intentionally.

[@MistahFox]

Neither are right in the head, but I don't think either let it happen. Spark seems intent on wiping out the galaxy because of one flood outbreak, and Penitent Tangent is still trying to follow containment procedure even as he is captured by the Gravemind. Alpha Halo happened because of outside forces, Delta Halo may have happened because of outside meddling but it is probably because Tangent is either lazy, apathetic or both.

[@siphonicstorm7191]

Good point

[@horrorpleb249]

You all need to remember that 343 and penitent tangent go through rampancy, its already been stated that penitent tangent went through rampancy and thus he ignored all the containment issues on his installstion its probably why he seemed so broken in halo 2's gravemind cutscene, also in the terminals 343 expresses his loneliness and in one if them he starts showing a red static which is similar to a rampancy stage, just like cortana.

[@Seriona1]

@@MistahFox Them wanting to fire Halo due to a local outbreak has nothing to do with them being crazy. They are programmed to assume that any Flood outbreak means they must fire Halo in order prevent what happened to the Forerunners.

[@sorrenblitz805]

Well Alpha Halo happened because the Covenant brute forced their way into forerunner structures they didn't know the purpose of. Delta Halo happened because about a 1000 years after the Halos fired a ship of unknown "Meddlers" accidentally unleashed the Flood, and Penitent Tangent did enact quarantine protocols. (Those protocols had been going strong for almost 100,000 years lol.)

[@Nomad3656]

I think this all ties into the grave mind saying "I have listened through rock, and through metal, and through time" he'd literally been surveying Chief and Arbiter.

[@macwiththecheese280]

i never thought about the disabling of the security system could've caused the outbreak of the flood. learn something new about this game every year pretty cool

[@sevrengrey3689]

The thing is you *are* being watched. Remember those radar blips as you close in on the containment facility? The flood was stalking/observing you from the start of the mission and likely til the end.

[@Zecovex]

You legit see combat forms when you climb the big tree on your rader if you did not notice that

[@LMG1792]

Covex right. I always try to stop it but never have been able to yet.

[@MistahFox]

There are also some running along the top near a shade turret. After someone pointed them out to me, the next time I played it I killed them with the magnum before they ran off. 343 really is a masterpiece of environmental story telling.

[@thelonelyrogue3727]

@@MistahFox you realize that that has nothing to do with 343, right? They were there in the original game, made by Bungie...

[@tylerellis9097]

The Lonely Rogue The Mission is also called 343 Guilty Spark

[@thelonelyrogue3727]

@@tylerellis9097 I read that as, "343 are masters of..." my bad.

[@Casandraelf]

the idea of master chief accidentally releasing the flood while trying to get to the map is really, REALLY fascinating! maybe he's not quite as lucky as he's thought to be.

[@devastater97]

The unidentified alien ship that crashed on 04, could it be possible that it was mid flight when the array was fired and that's why there were no survivors to be found? It would've been drifting empty through space and even with no fuel or power left in the engines momentum would still propel it as Newton's laws teaches us.

[@ToxicCoffeeTM]

That's actually very interesting to think about, but I feel like the Forerunners would've kept tabs on other species and have some kind of information on their ship designs if it was back in that era

[@devastater97]

@@ToxicCoffeeTM True, but Spark and the other Monitors were cut off from the Domain when they were deployed with the Halo's, which itself was crippled when the Array fired, soooo idk maybe he just forgot? It's not that far fetched of a reason though it would be a very crappy one.

[@ToxicCoffeeTM]

@@devastater97 that is also possibility

[@tavianarmstrong974]

@@devastater97 or it couldve been the the writer being vague just as to not confirm or deny a race for lack of an image of the species or any real concrete stuff about their civilization or if they wanted it to be a covenant species. It helped them to do that quite well

[@devastater97]

​@@tavianarmstrong974 But why include it and just give literally no information as to what they might be? The very least they could do is just give us a hint in whatever shape or form they want, a scrap of info or a single throwaway line of dialouge just as long as it's SOMETHING.

[@cashelkremer2216]

I wish 343 would give some hints if there were still precursors alive

[@thesurvivalist.]

I want to know that too!

[@siva4wotblitzhero531]

all precursors that were in the galaxy during the beginning of the Forerunner-Precursor war(when the Forerunners purged the Precursors) were killed aside from the ones that dusted themselves (and subsequently caused the Forerunner-Flood war),of course excluding the(insert name of precursor who was sent adrift by the super-ancient Forerunners as punishment)

[@cashelkremer2216]

I know that they are dead in the Milky Way, but it would be nice to know if there are some alive at all

[@punctuationman334]

Bruh Moment there has to be more in other galaxies.

[@siva4wotblitzhero531]

@@punctuationman334 Well maybe some of them survived but its highly unlikely seeing as the Books clearly state that The Forerunner Warrior Class went on a Genocidal Rampage throughout several Galaxies and then Exiled themselves after they made sure the Precursors (Except The Primordial) were all Dead,only a few of them survived but they turned themselves into Dust so they might one day return but the Dust corrupted over many tens of thousands of years and the Precursor Ships that had the Dust eventually Crashed into some Ancient-Human Controlled Worlds and the Ancient-Humans assumed that it was safe because it made the Feru(Pheru?)(The Ancient-Human equivalent to the Dog) show more "desired" traits/behavior but some of these Infected Feru were Consumed by Humans and that infected some Humans and the Feru and Humans that were Infected started sprouting Tentacle-ish growths and became Aggressive,and then Ancient Humanity realized they done fucked up once it was too late to Contain the Infection and they started losing Worlds and Systems to the Flood Infestation which is why they started Attacking and Taking-over Forerunner Worlds and Systems but by the Time the Forerunners reached Worlds lost to the Flood Humanity had "defeated" the Flood(Not really,the Primordial at that point Controlled the Flood and had it retreat from the Galaxy to return a couple Hundred Thousand Years later to take it over,whem the Flood returned to the Galaxy En Masse and started what is known as the Forerunner-Flood War,the War that killed 99.999999999% of All life in the Galaxy including 99.999999999999999% of all Forerunners that were alive when the Forerunner-Flood War began,and then 100,000-ish years later the events of Halo CE began when the Pillar of Autumn and a Covenant Fleet stumbled upon Alpha Halo and destroyed it within a Week of arrival) Note:this is a *very* brief summary of all known Halo Lore up until the Ending of Halo Combat Evolved,for a full dive into the Depths of Halo's Lore I would reccomend Watching many Videos about the In-game lore and Reading the Forerunner Trilogy aswell as some other Halo Books.

[@twinkerdoodle]

I've always loved how he keeps his rifle facing the rear as he backs into the room the dead guy wanted out of.

[@thorshammer7883]

Can the Flood adapt to cellular level threats like nano machines and can they create any kind of pureform in size and body structure like say they make a huge kaiju city devouring worm pureform or a space traveling war ship pure form like the Tyranids but far faster, efficient, and with technology advantages?

[@themeanestkitten]

Yes there are titan size flood

[@ethanwagner6418]

The flood ranks are so diverse that it seems highly likely that the flood decides how to manifest itself depending on the situation. I don't know how else to explain the incredible difficulty faced by those that try to combat the parasite.

[@jacobhuckleberry1364]

The stages after gravemind are moon and planet sized colonies so yeah

[@GhostRat__]

That moment of chief holding the helmet and taking two deep breathes not wanting to watch the footage man.

[@markmulder9845]

I just realized that the video started when chief input the video chip. does that mean the chief also watched this video too?

[@TalexTheLich]

Oh... my god... I've played halo CE countless times (it was the only halo game on pc as a kid and for awhile) and I've NEVER thought about the door sec system theory... god that's brilliant

[@thorshammer7883]

Can Flood become so intelligent that they can use battle tactics on the ground and space then you know not just overwhelming their enemies with large numbers but by using military strategy and tactics like false information, flanking, hitting weak points, ect, and using squad and vehicle tactics on ground battles.

[@Ruiluth]

Well, yeah, that's... Kind of the point of why the flood is so dangerous.

[@zalrohglekgolo6149]

Yes. On 343 guilty spark in Halo CE the flood go through the paces of luring the human forces, and then again the player. They already had access to the surface to use numbers to overwhelm the enemy, but they knew that would only work once. So ambush and bait tactics were used. Also the flood used amazing military tactics in space battles in the forerunner war.

[@zalrohglekgolo6149]

The flood also used "false" information to lure in prey and creat a false sense of safety, like when the Marines and ODSTs were unaware of the floods true attack under thier base until it almost destroyed them.

[@tranminh-hm2nk]

Given enough biomass and time, a Gravemind can rage a full-fledge campaign against humans and covies alike. And there's nothing we can do about it.

[@tavianarmstrong974]

Yes, yes they can. in fact you even see it in halo 3

[@icyknightmare4592]

13:12 Although they don't show up in game in 343 GS, active camo combat forms could do this. Camo combat forms do appear in vanilla CE, almost as an easter egg at the back of the armory room near the end of The Maw. 13:25 We never actually get to explore the entire containment facility. There's a third elevator shaft that goes even deeper, but the controls are broken and burning. The shaft goes up and down, but is only accessible from the lower section of the facility, so there could be at least two more wings that we never got to see.

[@UpheavaI]

This has always been My favourite videos, love installation 04’s and 07’s history xD

[@onyxfrans2616]

Remember what Cortona says when you get back: I’ve been watching you todie around for hours helping that thing get sent to slit our throats, meaning she was watching us fight the flood the whole time through some sort of forerunner cameras, and I think your 100% right

[@jamespace5033]

Or 343 Guilty Spark released the flood while he was bored. He left for a long period if time and as mentioned in the video, jettisoned a section of the ring to "see what would happen".

[@consensus688]

I don't think he would as shown by the fact he blocked the distress signal from the crashed ship because nothing could know where the Halos are, this shows he still followed his duty of a Halo monitor

[@DeamonChocobo]

Headcanon: Chief lowered the security which allowed the Covenant into the restricted Flood areas, the Flood started to get out but the Covenant managed to reseal a lot of the doorways into the now Flood infested areas, Keys & his men broke the Covenant seal on that door, the soldiers infection then showed other Flood how to break the other Covenant seals. The idea of them using translocation pads makes sense, but those rooms could have also been cold storage rooms made for keeping the infection forms in a state of hibernation or suspended animation. Also the Doors in the level opened in more of an explosion than brute force. I could see the flood using carrier forms made from incapacitated Covenant combat forms to open the doors and allow the infection forms to attack the Chief.

[@loganbeta]

Dang that was a good video. This is why I watch your channel. Always exploring Halo at the depth it deserves. Thank you. Keep doing what you're doing

[@40kthrawn30]

Love your videos so glad you and eckhart did that collaboration a while back and found your channel that way.

[@KatanaToraSan]

This gives me chills. I love it!!!

[@SwiftGundam]

‘A number of spacefaring species.’ I don’t recall mention of that outside of the crashed ship. We know there are others in the galaxy but it’s hard to imagine a species discovering the ring and NOT try to study it in full force.

[@greatkhan7278]

Especially since it's a superweapon. Sacred journeys, and ignorant flood releases aside, what could a nefarious party do in blackmailing half a galaxy with extermination via firing a ring? I always thought it terrifying that irl, there may be an interplanetary war occurring rn, between an all consuming parasitic fungus and a hyperadvanced alien race with a superweapons like halo, capable of wiping out all life, and the firing of which we'd never ever realise. We'd never know the circumstances, no option for debate, just one day, we cease to exist..

[@zwleathers]

That opening scene where we all very very first encounter the flood. Such an epic moment in gaming. God this game is so amazing. It’s a classic at this point and I have played it so many times and beating it on legendary so many times That it is hard to enjoy it now because well yeah. But I will never stop appreciating it. Innoway this game changed my life or rather the story of master chief.

[@dualwieldroxas358]

Tbh, I subscribe to the theory that 343 Guilty Spark enabled the flood to infect and spread. He was bored, and firing the ring, the highest of his creator's purposes given to him, was an exciting and thrilling test to him. He no longer cares about living beings, his own boredom and restlessness overtaking almost all of his priorities, to the point that all he wants is something to do to break the monotony

[@billiesastard2596]

I remember the first time I played Halo CE and got to the flood, I was genuinely scared

[@SindriTheReaper]

Great new video! Definitely puts into perspective something that has always been somewhat confusing and poorly understood. I'd also like to point out that when you are going through the swamp you do see a combat form in the distance that quickly runs off, which could lend creedence to the theory that the Flood is constantly watching.

[@xXOnnyBoyXx]

Have you guys seen the halo ring in the control room, half of the land mass is flashing red like something is wrong or broken, almost like the floor has already spread but we just lucky not to come across it and also explains why the battle net is so easy to access as they are fighting flood and the humans more of a second thought, it also explains why a fleet could not take out one ship of humans.

[@Dwyer-nl9fz]

You’re a bloody legend mate. Keep up the awesome work.

[@infrared7759]

This is my new favorite Halo channel

[@symbolic503]

these videos are so interesting and detailed. thanks for the content!

[@theokzor]

Always a pleasure listening to your videos, thank you

[@cashelkremer2216]

Bruh nice

[@silentinitiate]

The Comment above me is giga bruh moment

[@cashelkremer2216]

No u

[@rickyb4849]

You just gave me a whole new perspective on this topic

[@colinobrien5860]

How did Johnson get out

[@chesney1995]

If Chief released the Flood when disabling the security door during the Silent Cartographer, then who releases the Flood when Chief dives through the security door out of the driver seat of a Warthog when it's closing?

[@LMG1792]

Dude I love all your videos. As a huge halo fan it is great having so many to watch. I’m curious cause I haven’t seen any pop up though do you do videos on all the UNSC ships as well as covenant?

[@odstsoldier6252]

3:42 the covenant said “surprise motherfuckers” when they saw the pillar of autumn leave slip space

[@NoInfoAvail]

Great video man! You really put this together well. Looking forward to watching the others. Do you have a timeline series, that goes from the 1st game ( remastered I guess now ) to the latest. I always liked the story lines but as time went on I stopped playing the games. I think Halo 3 was the last one I played, where you fight the Didact and stuff.

[@danielrucker9618]

The flood in Halo 2 when you run alone with few grunts and jackels scattered to help you and the music creeped me out

[@scope5016]

Duude that theory with cheif being the one who released the flood got me hooked and subbed

[@adamska122reviews]

Forunners: We must eradicates the flood. Also the forunners: but let’s keep some for study because it’s not like the flood has ever breached containment before.

[@retrochristmas7329]

Ide like to see a flood containment breach at the price is right. HERES YOUR HOST BOB BARKERRRRRR! (the doors open and a infected bob barker runs out with tons of infection forms and attacks the audiance while the theme song plays)

[@Ravenous1369]

This makes So Much SENSE. I'll be completely honest, believe me or don't that's your choice, but waaay back in '02 when I finally played through the game for a second time, I wondered about the Exact implication of Chief unknowingly helping to set the Flood free! I ignored the idea after going through 343 again, deciding that was the outbreak and there was nothing more to it, but honestly it seems too good Not to be true now! He and Cortana had no way of knowing exactly what systems that security station would effect, how deeply its programming might've reached since Cortana wasn't able to really interface with Halo as thoroughly as she would later in the Control Room. This is officially my head canon and no one can change it, Thank You 00 this video was Mind Blowing!

[@chasepfeffer2143]

Interesting theories personally I always thought Keyes decision to open the door to the quarantine room was odd sure you could say Keyes was reckless in his choice but Keyes was an intelligent man it just never Sat right with me that he would do such a thing after clearly seeing dead covenant and knowing none of the unsc forces killed them but that's just me and also his desicion to even go there in the first place was odd you'd think alpha base would need him there to coordinate their efforts rather than chase after a supply cache himself.

[@renedog23]

I mean the medpack is there for any low health players for gameplay. But when you put it like that. That it may be a trap. It adds onto the flood combat forms you see in the fog approaching the facility. How they watch and run away and move outside where you can't reach. Until you move into the main facility after they may have sprung the same trap on the covenant party that was escaping when Chief arrived and the downed gunships nearby. It does fit into a nice pie with all the information and detective work.

[@thesurvivalist.]

This reminds me of how the undead in Residence Evil got released! The computer A.I. 343 Guilty Spark, was doing another experiment!

[@jamestor6700]

only issue is guilty spark hypothesized the Covenant released the flood either during 343 guilty spark or the library

[@joshuabell-king453]

Sick video mate

[@clydemarshall8095]

Your suggestion regarding the Flood using translocation pads to release infection forms and then retrieve combat forms is interesting, but would feral Flood have that kind of foresight and strategic acumen? Typically it isn't until the Flood assimilated a large number of hosts and begin construction of a proto-grave mind that they move beyond the feral stage and start to demonstrate real intelligence.

[@LostSoulsParadoxicalDoctrine]

I've always thought that Guilty Spark 343 WAS responsible for the outbreak... Becoming obsessed with containment, decided that the "truest test" to prevent an outbreak was to cause one. Seeing two different species at war, he decided that a "small outbreak" would be sufficient to get some data... precautions in place, but didn't account for what those two species & their war were capable of. (...that and the hive mind being a bit more calculated in negotiations...)

[@johncampanella622]

... what if we took this even one step further? When Keyes made a blind jump, they were brought to Installation 04. Would the Gravemind have power over slipspace in some weird domain-forerunner-entanglement kind of way, knowing a reclaimer would unknowingly release the flood? ... If not, watching what you presented and theorized had me thinking Guilty spark was a sociopath. Fascinating work, truly.

[@gucci1131]

Earned a sub, great video !

[@sammydodger1996]

Thank you for a tremendous amount of revealing content on the lore. However, just a quick one, this might be blindingly obvious to others but I haven't worked it out. If flood need biomass to survive, how did they survive without any on the ring for so long? Was 343 feeding them? Or were stasis fields keeping them alive? Many thanks!

[@agnosisparadigm4212]

The stasis field kept them alive for research.

[@thejahfox]

343 Guilty Spark: "you are pondering questions which I cannot answer....by design of course."

[@redacted3074]

Or maybe bungie just made a game not knowing that it would come under such a watchful eye...

[@bbarbiter]

exactly, I don't think that every small detail here was planned, although I do think some of it was. Halo CE is really different from the other halo games, containing a lot of plot holes, but it is to be expected after the huge expansion to the universe after CE.

[@MistahFox]

Bungie did think ahead on a surprising number of details, Spark's dialogue is still consistent with the lore of the later games and the flood/forerunner plot was always planned to be pretty much what it was. 343 is a masterpiece of environmental story telling, they set up the proto-gravemind reveal at several points, such as when the elevator shaft is covered in blood because the flood is throwing bodies down it, or when they collect bodies in the corners of the Truth and Reconciliation. That being said, there is no way they intended any lore to come out of the placement of a health pack on easy difficulty.

[@SindriTheReaper]

@@MistahFox bungie made CE not 343 dude.

[@amogus8271]

I can confirm in 343 guiltyspark you are being watched, in the jungle at the beginning I manage to get a peak at a combat from running away from me right before I got in visual range of the facility

[@thewretchedpleb7484]

I think if the control room was the primary security access point on installation 04 then the cartographer could have been a secondary monitoring station and security failsafe. In the event of a containment breach or if the control room itself or another important location was compromised, it would make sense to have such a redundancy. Even if whatever breached the control room could unlock local systems in a limited capacity, the access point in the cartographer would be able to lock down the rest of the ring section by section or all at once if need be. The covenant could have initially breached local containment and then chief could have overridden that secondary contingency which kept the spread minimal to that point. After this the covenant would begin to encounter the flood more, leading to increased interception of covenant battle net chatter by the remaining crew of the autumn which leads to the events as they play out in the game and book. The fact that no one in the story is aware of all this except possibly 343 guilty spark only fits the lore as both the humans and covenant would be completely ignorant of what was happening until it was far too late anyway. Short version, I agree with I-00 says about it. It makes sense for even the feral flood to capitalize on all of this.

[@theowinters6314]

I always found it interesting that the water level around the Silent Cartographer's island used to be much higher. I doubt it means much of anything other then the passage of time, but it's still an interesting detail.

[@robertogurrola7465]

We probably were being watched because you can here the flood in the facility before you ever actually see them. Like before the cutscene you can here them on the walk towards the room

[@Lasershadow]

It could be that a few Flood Pure Forms samples were kept. When the Covenant (or whomever) released those Pure Forms they were then easily able to overpower the surprised Covenant troops present before turning themselves into Carriers and birthing Infection Forms to harvest all the dead troops. It would explain why we see that dead Covenant Elite in Jenkin's log that was not turned into a Combat Form and also why the place was so deserted afterwards was because the Pure Forms were switching to Carriers. When Chief arrived the Pure Forms turned Carriers birthed the Infection Forms and started havesting the dead for Combat Forms.

[@DonRoyalX]

Dude ur so smart! I love ur vids !

[@smithjack1741]

I just got done playing that flood level actually

[@CosmonautBaker]

You deserve a noble prize 🏆

[@RHICfct]

i really like this theory!

[@neilrickoff2940]

Any other game you'd have been a mad lad to take on the flood with a plasma pistol like that

[@bkphil89]

Damn good video... DAMN GOOD

[@afrothundergaming3498]

@Installation00 As you mentioned, These do appear to be holding cells for some type of life forms. However I propose a couple theories (bare in mind, these theories are gonna be a heavy read ye be warned): 1. If this is a Flood containment facility, it is entirely possible that a healthy supply of flood infection forms were held and studied within these cells. Take a look at the environment; there are smaller cells within a larger area. Most likely, this area was meant to release the parasite in that of a pseudo-environment with absolute quarantine and sterilization in mind (e.g. no plant life or natural forms within the "play area"). Also, keep in mind (whether it was intended or simply an oversight [let's be honest, Bungie never thought they'd think this deep into a game]) there are windows that are 2-way; both parties can see what each other are up to. The Flood, at their very basic core, is to infect and spread regardless of intelligence/complexity level; ASSIMILATE AND SPREAD. it is also mentioned that each infection form is the size of a human chest cavity so it can be assumed that they weigh could weigh a certain amount. Let's say, since their bulbous "upper body" is filled with gasses/spores and can leap great distances with simple tendrils (none of which are really adapted for leaping as seen with natural animals with strong hing legs) lets say they're a modest 10lbs per infection form ASSUMING they're all uniform in shape and size. in each cell contains DOZENS of infection forms. lets say they hold about 5 dozen forms per cell; 5 x 12 = 60, 60 x ~10 = ~600lbs of just mass, not including energy exerted which can be greater than the mass of any organism. so 600lbs of pressure on a technologically advanced security door. That's not too bad assuming the security systems are up to date and maintained well enough (by this time, 343's mental status had started to show signs of unstability and beginning to lax on protocols [not as sever as Penitent Tangent, but i have a theory he released the parasite on purpose, but for another time i guess]). However, a security installation with perhaps the most dangerous organism in the galaxy is found relatively abandoned. Not a single Sentinel, Constructor, or any type of maintenance drone in sight UNTIL the outbreak. Let's not forget to neglect the old adage of "never fuck with anything that has nothing to lose." Going back to the "windows" of the cells, if an infection form saw ANY potential hosts, regardless of sentience or not it WILL get out. It WILL fight to infect. The primary task is simple, no unnecessary complexity: INFECT, CONSUME, SURVIVE. Like that of a starved carnivore seeing any type of meat it would fight beyond exhaustion to get it. For let's even nerf the dozens of Infection Forms and say they only put out double their effort to bust through that door; ~1,200lbs of pressure on a single door. We can tell a couple Combat forms can bust through that door with enough effort, and i'm sure it doesn't need over a literal ton of physical energy to do it otherwise every swing of the "rip-arm" would make any target fucking explode (it'd be funny to see for like the first couple minutes of that happening though). 2. The cells contained in that facility housed other animals for study including the flood. As mentioned before, the flood were being kept alive for further study and would require some sort of sustenance. That being said there are 2 small sub-theories to this: A. The Infection forms were being held in the cells and one cell would be released upon a sacrificial animal being released into the "play area" of the containment room. The possible reason for there being no biomass is that over considerable amounts of time the biomass of the consumed sacrificed animal had all of its biomass consumed to sustain the infection forms. It is entirely possible "growth pods" could've been developed but over time, broken down to further maintain any living infection forms (possible cannabalism to stay alive). Rinse and repeat for millenia. B. The cells were initially meant for other animal/specimens for study, occasionally released into the "play area." It would also be a more secure way of sustaining an infection form from within a cell of a cell, then moving the sustained infection form back with its containment populace to survive and remain captive/studied. That being said, "why were there dozens of forms within each cell of the animal containment room?" Well, if you release a flood form among a single living organism it can reproduce exponentially (e.g. the brief outbreak on UNSC Spirit of Fire via a single Infection Form). it would be preferable to ensure that either a majority of the infection forms die out within each cell or that all the cells be infected, eventually released into the "play area," then herded before being transported to another containment cell/facility. tldr; an organism desperate enough will break through captivity (my personal primary theory on how the infection forms escaped) or the cells in the facility (at least in the one the Chief was in) were meant for other animals/specimens of study falling victim to the flood by seemingly flawless security/containment/reproductive/study design.

[@nweasels]

I don't necessarily think the flood could especially plan that well that early into the outbreak, that kind of lateral thinking as I understand it would require enough biomass for the flood to have reached the coordinated stage (unless our understanding of how quickly an outbreak transitions from the feral to coordinated stage is vastly out of line with how it works). I also have had a longstanding belief that the Forerunner teleportation grid has safeguards against active flood infection forms being able to be teleported because as far as I am aware, this would be the only instance of the flood actually travelling through a teleport grid (while the gravemind had access to the grid on Delta-Halo, the only time it's used he's teleporting the Arbiter and the Chief and not any of the flood forms). Just my 2 cents on the matter. Though your theory on chief being the one to accidentally lower security I think is definitely spot on.

[@Plastikdoom]

All the biomass came from the covenant, and used them to make more infection forms, you got me on the doors though, and they were stored in those objects, but the covenant let them out through their meddling.

[@monsterscrub1708]

Hey installation 00 hope u see this but when I game u leave a vehicle behind that is not destroyed and u don’t come back to it does a pelican or some sort of ship come and pick it up and bring it back to the main ship for repairs if it is damaged I know they don’t in games but in the world of halo should they come pick up the vehicles left behind?

[@Superassassinman15]

It despawns

[@mariastevens6406]

Sarge "LET EM HAVE IT" LMAO