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 Forum index » Archive » Archive: The Haunted Apiary (Let Op!) » The Haunted Apiary (Let Op!): General/Updates
[SPEC] Melissa is Covenant
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Checksum
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Joined: 15 Aug 2004
Posts: 89
Location: Chicago, IL

 		[SPEC] Melissa is Covenant
Let's play the "what if" game.

What if Melissa is a Covenant AI that somehow got placed on board an Earth ship. In other words, the Covenant was able to place her, insert her, secretly.

Why would they do that?

Let me step back a bit and reference the bits about how perhaps the humans let certain colonies die in order to protect the fact that they were listening in on Covenant communications.

What if the Covenant was doing the same to us?

So if the Covenant knew something about Earth they needed to use, but didn't want us knowing they could eavesdrop on us, they'd need an excuse as to why they know what they know.

If Melissa has certain information and gets captured, that's a good excuse as to why the Covenant found that information out.

But Earth needs to know Apocalypso got captured, so they let her go, and she crashes out of slipstream by the moon. Voila, now Earth knows something happened to Apocalypso.

So, there was some info the Covenant found out from spying and wanted to use, but didn't want Earth to know it was spying. So they staged the Apocalypso incident in order to provide a means for the Covenant to have accidentally discovered the info without Earth knowing the spying is taking place.

Ain't spec fun? Smile

-checksum

PostPosted: Tue Sep 28, 2004 2:51 pm
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MeKiwi
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Checksum wrote:
...perhaps the humans let certain colonies die in order to protect the fact that they were listening in on Covenant communications.

What if the Covenant was doing the same to us?


Only, the Covies definitely have the upper hand in this war, so in my opinion they have no reason NOT to divulge their tactical advantage (knowing where Earth is) because they can just come, wipe us out, and who really cares if we found out how they knew? We'd be dead.

PostPosted: Tue Sep 28, 2004 2:53 pm
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Checksum
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MeKiwi wrote:
Checksum wrote:
...perhaps the humans let certain colonies die in order to protect the fact that they were listening in on Covenant communications.

What if the Covenant was doing the same to us?


Only, the Covies definitely have the upper hand in this war, so in my opinion they have no reason NOT to divulge their tactical advantage (knowing where Earth is) because they can just come, wipe us out, and who really cares if we found out how they knew? We'd be dead.


Yeah, I thought of that, too. But what if there was something on Earth they wanted, but couldn't risk destroying? Not that that helps my theory any. I guess that's why they call it spec and not The Truth. Wink

-checksum

PostPosted: Tue Sep 28, 2004 2:57 pm
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Checksum
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 		The reason I bring this up is that I'm wondering how Melissa, a suppsoedly Human AI, seems to be our antagonist in all this. And now we seem to be helping PF and SP, who seem at first glance to be from other non-human origins.

To be honest, I'm not all that comfortable trying to thwart the human AI, who probably at least WANTS to be on our side, even if she's doing things strangely or may be corrupted by the PF.

SP is just an unknown because she seems to be Forerunner, so not Human or Covenant.

Anyway, if Melissa is an antagonist, we should be careful why we're making her one. We may be on the same side after all, and we may want to think about setting her free from PF.

-checksum

PostPosted: Tue Sep 28, 2004 3:09 pm
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Mazian
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 		My advice: This ride is on rails.

Don't worry about it, the PMs will only let us do what they want us to do. Any evidence of free will is purely imaginary.
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 28, 2004 3:17 pm
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Checksum
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Joined: 15 Aug 2004
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Mazian wrote:
My advice: This ride is on rails.

Don't worry about it, the PMs will only let us do what they want us to do. Any evidence of free will is purely imaginary.


I don't buy that at all. Melissa taking live calls is one example of the fact that interaction and adaptation on the part of the PMS is a necessary part of the game.

Our decision on whether or not to attempt to free SP is one decision the PMs have left to us right there. We don't have to free her.

And for an out-of-game reason to think we can affect things, refer back to the Beast, which was the last game the PMs created. Specifically, the Cloudmakers came up with a list of nightmares, and the PMs took that and ran with it, giving Loki a nightmare overload. That wasn't in their plan at all, but they liked our adaptability so much that they adapted with us.

Plus, with that argument, nobody should ever SPEC on anything, and what fun is that?

So sit back and watch if you want. I prefer to immerse myself. Smile

Cheers!

-checksum

PostPosted: Tue Sep 28, 2004 3:26 pm
Last edited by Checksum on Tue Sep 28, 2004 3:35 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Karmic
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 		The ride may be on rails, but that doesn't mean there aren't switches along the track.

Yes, the PMs may place limits on our possible interactions, but that doesn't mean that those interactions don't effect the story.
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 28, 2004 3:30 pm
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Platonix
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Checksum wrote:
The reason I bring this up is that I'm wondering how Melissa, a suppsoedly Human AI, seems to be our antagonist in all this. And now we seem to be helping PF and SP, who seem at first glance to be from other non-human origins.

To be honest, I'm not all that comfortable trying to thwart the human AI, who probably at least WANTS to be on our side, even if she's doing things strangely or may be corrupted by the PF.

SP is just an unknown because she seems to be Forerunner, so not Human or Covenant.

Anyway, if Melissa is an antagonist, we should be careful why we're making her one. We may be on the same side after all, and we may want to think about setting her free from PF.

-checksum


Here's something to consider. It's been shown in recent events that PF is not controlling the Queen, per se. He's only influencing her. Influence may be less powerful than control...but it's also longer-lasting. Melissa was a human AI, sure, but how much of her thinking is Covenant-style now? Getting rid of the PF won't be enough to cure her. We'd have to un-brainwash her afterward. Until we can be sure all traces of Fleawork are gone from her, we would be wise to consider the Queen an unwitting antagonist.
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PostPosted: Tue Sep 28, 2004 9:04 pm
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Ceantari
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 		Actually, how can any of them be Covenant?

* They've encountered Covenant Seraphs through passing, but it never noticed them.
* It doesn't mention that the crew boarded/commandeered any Covenant vessels.
* No Covenants boarded the Apocalypso or attacked it.
* The only thing relating at all to the Covenants is the Forerunner "tire" artifact brought on board, and the intercepted Covenant transmission regarding the attack on Troy.

Not even the Pious Flea spoke any "holy" vocabulary like 'heresy' or 'infidel' or 'blasphemous'.
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 01, 2004 3:07 am
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Nova
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 		Have we exhausted all possible permutations of '<character> is Covenant' yet? Very Happy
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 01, 2004 3:30 am
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rose
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 		not the humans
Quote:
What if Melissa is a Covenant AI that somehow got placed on board an Earth ship. In other words, the Covenant was able to place her, insert her, secretly.


So, I'll go way out on a limb here and just tell you the answer to that question:

She's not. She's human AI.

I understand it's fun to spec and make things up that could maybe be possibly true even though there is absolutely no basis for them in the story. We've been doing that here on the haunted apiary boards since the game started. And, if that is what you like to do knock yourself out.
Just try to remember that you are creating a fan-fiction kind of thing based on the story we have been given.


Quote:
Have we exhausted all possible permutations of '<character> is Covenant' yet?


I don't think we have started naming the characters that we think are human as Covenant. Maybe that has to do with physical appearance?
Or maybe it's because all the human characters are either (1) Cortana; (2) Spartans; (3) basis for smart ai.

PostPosted: Fri Oct 01, 2004 4:17 am
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Nova
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Joined: 11 Aug 2004
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 		Re: not the humans
rose wrote:
I don't think we have started naming the characters that we think are human as Covenant. Maybe that has to do with physical appearance?
Or maybe it's because all the human characters are either (1) Cortana; (2) Spartans; (3) basis for smart ai.


Hmm, I see what you're getting at. Maybe Dana is a Spartan that was used as the basis for a smart Covenant virus that has infiltrated a Forerunner AI. Uh, called Cortana.







Cool
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PostPosted: Fri Oct 01, 2004 9:24 am
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