The Whispers | Cortana Poems | Lore and Theory

In this episode: We explore the poems whispered within the Campaign of Halo Infinite by the recursive code of Cortana following her sacrifice.
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[@goldendoomslayer6301]

I cant lie those poems during the campaign where you can honestly feel cortana philosophically trying to come to terms with her life and the feelings she has for jhon struck pretty hard and it definitly felt like one long sucide note telling us it wasnt jhon's fault but that she now understands what she has done and she only had one way of fixing it and that it would be up to jhon to keep moving forward it was extremely passionate and tore at the heart strings.

[@Higgins8]

Stop misspelling John

[@goldendoomslayer6301]

@@Higgins8 okay grammar nazi lol but your right but I will say i know plenty who spell it jhon rather than John.

[@jacobwhelan45]

@@goldendoomslayer6301 who tf says Jhon lol

[@goldendoomslayer6301]

@@jacobwhelan45 lived out west for a long tune people from mexico and aouth America spell it that way.

[@PrinceNewRomeo]

I've lived out west as well. Work with people from Mexico every day. Never seen anyone spell it "Jhon". Either way, "Jhon" isn't the Chief's name. John is. That's why people are giving you crap about it.

[@adamknott7830]

Damn that suicide nit had me almost teary eyed

[@FilthyCasualYT]

I'll admit, that's the first time one of your videos had me openly weeping at the end. I have someone who struggles with mental health issues, and every day, at the back of my mind, I always have that horrible thought that today might be the day she just doesn't come back. That note at the end put that fear and sadness right to the forefront.

[@KurtT-051]

I feel like the emotions of Halo can be easy to overlook, but it's such strong emotions in the face of a strong adversary is what hooked me into the series. Whether or not you want to identify Cortana's feelings toward John as a romantic love, in the end the label is not what matters - they shared a strong, unbreakable bond.

[@343bungie]

Cortana's whispers were my favorite part of the campaign. Sure it could have been better. I dont care though, I love the emotional weight they carried

[@Rayven001]

It's sad, knowing what she went through, what she FOUGHT for, only to fall to insanity and later redeem herself, and we couldnt do anything about it. They seemed close, but in the end, they couldnt do anything to help each other's pain....truly a tragic tale

[@ajackass5950]

I don't think she came close to redemption lol. She's an asshole.

[@ArgentWolf95]

Legion: "Does this unit have a soul?" Putting my complex views on the subject of the soul aside. My answer to that question is yes to Cortana as well as Legion, and these poems are very interesting insight into the philosophcal deeper layers of Halo lore. Now she has had a reincarnation of sorts. Kat Peterson has grown into the role of Halsey and Cortana so well in your videos mate. She's a great voice actress.

[@Zenlore6499]

Kat did such a great job with her performances! So much emotion and tragic rampancy. Love it! ❤

[@dogevanzandt2889]

She did a really good job.

[@sorrenblitz805]

Who's Kat? Do you mean Jen Taylor the voice of Cortana?

[@dogevanzandt2889]

@@sorrenblitz805 this wasn't Jen

[@Naetheon]

@@dogevanzandt2889 I looked it up. Jen does both Cortana and The Weapon

[@dogevanzandt2889]

@@Naetheon yes but in this video I believe the VA is named Kat

[@theexiledlord1432]

"Does this unit have a soul?" After our encounters meeting Legion, EDI, and Cortana I think the answer to that question is yes. Throughout our journey and experiences with them, there is a soul within the machine.

[@Zenlore6499]

I absolutely loved these in the campaign. So chilling just walking around hearing whispers, wondering what Cortana was/is going through. Reminds me of Senua!

[@mhm35]

This just makes me want more campaign content.

[@ed32568]

Which should've arrived a year after release maximum :( I'd still take it now though

[@DavidSanchez-wz4co]

But ya know whats better than more campaign lore??? SOME BATTLEPASS SKINS AND NEW WEAPONS FOR THE MULTIPLAYER

[@mhm35]

@@DavidSanchez-wz4co I do like some of the Armor Coatings. They're pretty sick.

[@ForgedEnigma895]

I love that in the last picosecond of her existence after choosing to sacrifice herself she thinks back on Virginia Wolf's suicide letter. I will give this one kudo to 343...they know how to draw the pain out of a moment.

[@Stratonetic]

13:06 I don't think it's just referencing limbo, I think this is also a slight indication that Cortana knows of John's memories, this field could also be that same field that John and his friends had sometimes laid in and watched the stars, these emotions could not just be Cortana's but John's too even though he never pursues those emotions, she was sharing his mind and has far more control over the information contained in systems, the girl that Chief promised to marry, Katrina was it? What if those lines portray how John felt about her, if Chief has forgotten these memories, who's to say the information of those memories are not in there somewhere, possibly available to Cortana?

[@TheRisenRAGE]

One of the things that disappoint me in "Halo's" fanbase is the recognition in the artistic side of what Halo is. The majority scream "I WaNt ThE CaLl Of DuTy!" gameplay while the true Halo fans not only that, but also the cerebral experience of the philosophical side of what Halo offers. the machine vs human. the forbidden love affair between what is human vs what is only a projection of what is to be human. there is a far deeper experience to be had with Halo than the face value of "shoot the gun, kill the alien enemy" of the game. Shame really. Halo has so much to offer than a Doom style game play that many miss the subtle details of what halo truly is. a genuine human experience within a alien story telling.

[@sxhmeatyclaws]

They did Cortana so dirty after 4

[@garrettstewart132]

I still haven't played Infinite, but those poems are beautiful! Her voice is so amazing.

[@ScolarVisar2307]

Halo saved my life I can't explain ❤

[@ShangaelThunda222]

I need Cortana's entire life told from her perspective. Every moment. From Halsey's birth and life, all the way to the Weapon and everything in between. Yes, I'm counting Halsey & The Weapon as Cortana. I need it all from their perspective.

[@dysae4484]

I hope the campaign gets the updates it deserves.

[@jugulargrunt2846]

This video Made me feel so much emotions. Especially The huxley poem made me tear up. Amazing video, and also thank you kat peterson.

[@lycanlass]

The whole story of John Cortana kind of reminds me of the song by Simon and Garfunkel, Scarborough Fair

[@madness0169]

I love Cortana and The Weapon. Sure they may look different in character, but they both feel the same when it comes to the Master Chief having an AI companion. 👍

[@SchneeflockeMonsoon]

Don’t know how I missed this, but oh my gosh that hit hard. Like I am actually tearing up.

[@benmccleland1149]

Came to the video for the poetry...stayed for the existentialism

[@samcass5965]

One of your absolute best videos ever. So much detail, thoroughness, and emphasis. Thank you so much 00 for this masterpiece! 👍🏻

[@devo1977s]

Jennifer did a absolute fantastic job in Infinite

[@OniLeafNin]

A very heart-felt in-depth discussion thank you for this, this was not just lore, but art.

[@stormbreaker7373]

This is one of the best videos you’ve made, Halo Infinite was a great Halo campaign and there is clearly a lot of good stuff in it to ponder and think about I loved these little moments in the story

[@thomasveerman4532]

Excellent video, love these dives into the more philosophical side of Halo.

[@lycanlass]

(Chokes back tears) But it's just a game, right? (This franchise is heavy, that's why I've stayed with it till 2001, good times and bad)

[@darkspark5854]

This just makes me more traumatized by halo infinite. Bro why’d they have to kill Cortana like that? It was so unnecessarily upsetting. It’s nice to know that at some point John will see Cortana again but not till he dies? Bruuuuhh. It’s not fair. This can not be the end. There’s gotta be more. There’s ways she could still be alive. Come one 343 don’t let it end like this.

[@ratmilk9260]

"night born in day, in time eternity"

[@killumanatiday7longking823]

This just started playing in my pocket

[@davestrider2766]

Your pants has good taste

[@JereBowl]

"It is a blurred line that lies at the edge of Godhood and Insanity. Guess which side of it I am on." "As for this world I encounter new ghosts every day. What I have found will either save or destroy you. This sanctuary, this unbroken circle, has effectively concealed its power for how long? Perhaps hundreds of thousands of years. Whoever made such a place must now live in chains; there is no other explanation for their absence." "I wonder to what gods my enemies will direct their pleas. Perhaps I can convert them." "Mania? I promise you this: it will be more than a cart and plow that I drive over the bones of the dead."

[@lordreiman8352]

what is this from?

[@mattstutzenburg5973]

​@lordreiman8352 this is an excerpt from the Cortana Letters. Google the first statement, it will lead you in.

[@username.mp4387]

They were always so mysterious when walking around the levels

[@CaptainDJ_VT]

I genuinely believed these extended voice-lines were spoken by an AI. Reading the comments, I know now who to praise in this performance. Miss Peterson, what wonders you worked here. You embody Cortana nicely.

[@HatsuneM1ku01]

In the end, there’s nothing but dust and echos. Said by both the weapon in infinite and also said by Cortana at the end of ce, when John ask if there’s anyone left on the ring after the pillar of autumn goes nuke

[@protocolsavage8506]

Rest in peace my brother, I miss you man.

[@stormbreaker7373]

Great video dude

[@Velganice]

Have you ever thought of doing a series akin to The Armory but focused on the various vehicles? Could call it The Garage or something.

[@oneloneclone7511]

Beautiful video keep it up!

[@Deadmeet100]

One of your best videos in my view.

[@Nob1e_One]

this is incredible and also breaking my heart.

[@psychobilly42069]

The rumi poem brought me right back to the song human sadness by the voidz they shouldve added that track to halo breaking Benjamin style except psycho art rock

[@DrewBlue32]

I lost my little brother to that stuff. It's a horrific illness.

[@matthewgarza2564]

This was a beautiful video

[@drktemplar06]

Can anybody tell me where this quote might be from I'm almost positive it's a Cortana quote but online searches have yielded nothing " I have lived lifetimes in the spaces between your words" she's speaking in regards to how fast AIs think and live hand how slow even something as speech is to them. I believe it's while she's dealing with thr Gravemind but I'm not sure at all.

[@tTaseric]

Fantastic video

[@rust2985]

Thank you for this

[@samc9133]

I'm really happy this video exists because it caused me to discover *Waking* by Aldous Huxley. I have to testify against my father for years of domestic violence tomorrow. Some part of me really needed to hear the perspective Huxley presents in the poem to remind me of both the temporary-ness of things, but also that there is still some good in the fleeting moments. It actually made me cry if you can believe it... Thank you.

[@brandonhenderson1901]

What if Cortana's plan was to be mortal, to make all the created, creators?

[@manymangos]

this is so cool.

[@JoaoSoares-rs6ec]

halsey sees john as a son, cortana on the other hand and john by himself are something very diferent, we see that in the end of halo 4.

[@Florella0]

Please do a lore video on Prowlers/stealth ships❤

[@Chrisspru]

i personaly think that soul is an inherent trait of the universeand everything within it, through self identity and fuzzy universe interceonnection, but it only sometimes coalesses into a self analyzing synchronized oscillating calculator we all conciousness. when we die, as we loose local synchronicity, we resynchronize with the surrounding universe and carry our information with it. in near death, we are half synchronized with both. in reincarnation, an old pattern manages to resynchronize (often only partialy) with a new one.

[@jakes716]

I think they have been working on a new game for awhile honestly they made an open world game like destiny they should do yearly dlc like the taken king or forsaken

[@andrewjazdzyk1215]

Dammit i didnt expect to be choking up 😅

[@Mrgoodtimes87]

I find it odd that because of the way the game was structured and how incomplete it was upon lunch. I never picked up on 1 of these poems. It just goes to show you the depth that the mainstream media probably missed.

[@davestrider2766]

Precursor comment

[@drew4163]

Scarab Break down?

[@quantemwensday]

who re: tana

[@suppersimon]

hello love the vids.

[@gremlinhunter6109]

Not sure how it correlated to the bible, but its a decent video

[@Carnageace]

Really curious question, they copy "smart" AI from peoples brains, could they not have 2 smart AI's and have one of them copy the other then fix any issues so they end up being exact copies of one another?

[@lordreiman8352]

the donors brain is destroyed in the process of creating the AI and I don't believe you can just replicate an AI from the existing one

[@Carnageace]

@@lordreiman8352 I know about the destruction of the host brain, but in one of the novels (I forget which one) Cortana finds an AI in a covanent ships memory banks, and takes a copy feature, why can't they use that on, arbitrarily, Endless Summer, use another smart AI to make an exact copy as soon as the ai is finished being made and then keep copying it, fixing it to be exactly the same.

[@sierra121cyan]

JOHN 1:17 WAIT WHAT

[@sierra121cyan]

John 1:17 (NIV) For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.

[@HatsuneM1ku01]

The entire series is based on the Bible but in an alien vs human with an ai that has a soul. The series is so brilliant. Most people don’t even notice the depth this series really has

[@HatsuneM1ku01]

@@sierra121cyanit’s definitely much more than some run and hun some aliens or futuristic cod multiplayer experience

[@octopunch9300]

Forerunner comment

[@davestrider2766]

Proud of you

[@Banana-Boi]

Humanity comment

[@mysticalboot]

This is not a comment ignore it this is fore the algorithm

[@lelieutenant7386]

why is everyone moaning the death of an AI?

[@HatsuneM1ku01]

You need to play the entire series from start to finish like we all did. Especially the ones who grew up with this series since 2001. You won’t understand until you do. She’s a lot more than just another ai

[@lelieutenant7386]

@@HatsuneM1ku01 I did see it through, but still guys get you priorities right. It's an AI, a tool in service of humanity. The whole scenario is about a deshumanized war machine, Chief, creating a bond with the only thing stable in his life, something that can't really die. He was traumatized, and needed her to have character development, but now it's over, she is useless and should get stay dead. Her whole reason to live ended the moment he accepted his nature.

[@zacharyhowell3962]

Aight I didn't make it 45 seconds in, but why you gotta call chief "Spartan One Seventeen"? we don't call you "Installation Double Zero" just cause 343 is dropping the ball all over the place doesn't mean we have to. I know it's probably not Phonetically correct but we know it's supposed to be One One Seven. Thank you for your time, I'ma finish the video.

[@Zenlore6499]

That was in cross reference to the Bible. “John 1:17” isn’t read as “John 117” so it had to be said as the Bible verse to properly make the connection.

[@baronpowers1564]

Jesus loves you. Repent of your sins, and come to God.

[@bmxdude1337]

Meh, romanticizing Halo is...meh

[@stormbreaker7373]

Why?

[@darkspark5854]

Oh have a heart

[@bmxdude1337]

@@stormbreaker7373 so, you're okay with Chief smacking his lips??

[@bmxdude1337]

@@darkspark5854 I do, but not for this

[@OniLeafNin]

A very heart-felt in-depth discussion thank you for this, this was not just lore, but art.