Zeta Halo is one of the most interesting locations in the Halo universe and when you read its history, you will understand why.
Originally, the Zeta Halo was part of the first set of rings that were constructed by the Forerunners that made up the Greater Ark (Sentience Array), the prototype galaxy-killing weapon. These rings were quite large, with a diameter of 30,000km, and they were not as powerful as the later rings that made up the Lesser Ark (Neoteric Array) whose rings had a diameter of 10,000km.
Mendicant Bias, a Forerunner AI, was in charge of Zeta Halo where he would fall victim to the logic plague of the Primordial, a being that we suspect was the last Precursor. How it got into the ring is another long story. He was interrogated by Mendicant Bias for over 40 years and eventually turned against the Forerunners because the Primordial was so intelligent that it outsmarted the AI. Mendicant Bias then took Zeta Halo to the Forerunner capital of Maethrillian where he activated the ring and killed most of the Forerunners in the system.
Following the activation of the ring, it went on autopilot mode and set itself on a collision course with a planet. Now things get a little complicated because during that time humans were living on the ring for quite some time, to the point where they had developed societies and towns. These humans were part of the ancient humanity that was defeated by the Forerunners, but thanks to the librarian’s efforts some form of ancient humanity managed to live on. Mendicant Bias and the Primordial convinced these ancient humans to help them stop the Halo ring from colliding. They were successful but the ring suffered catastrophic damage due to the gravitational forces of a nearby planet, resulting in the ring losing large sections of its hull, which explains why the ring looks shattered.
Although Mendicant Bias managed to save Zeta Halo from collision, his victory would be short-lived as the Forerunners found and assaulted the ring, managing to secure it. Because the damage to the ring was so extensive, the Forerunners ejected the broken sections of the ring, about 60% of its original 30,000km size, shrinking it to the size of the new Halo rings which made up the Lesser Ark.
Mendicant Bias was captured and parts of him were sent to other locations so they could be studied but his core remained on the Zeta Halo, as well as the now-imprisoned Primordial. Many years later the Zeta Halo was activated when the Flood returned to the galaxy and that’s all the information we know so far. We are so excited that Halo Infinite will encourage us to explore the endless mysteries of Installation 07.
Comments