cited_mantle_lionheart

Dese words done been writ by dat one dude... "The Lionheart".
Holla.

Holla.
In the Halo franchise's fiction, the universe itself is a living thing
""The basic principle was called neural physics," I said. "Precursors felt the Mantle extended to
the entire universe, energy and matter as well as living creatures... some say. The universe lives,
but not as we do.""
-Cryptum, page 103. Spoken by Bornstellar to the Ur-Didact.
[Further quotations substantiating this statement are remembered to exist, and can be hunted
down if this one is not sufficient.]
and sapient life is able to continue its existence past the inevitable end of space and time within a
universe.
""The Precursors lived in many shapes, flesh and spirit, primitive and advanced, spacefaring and
locked to their worlds... Evolved over and over again, died away, were reborn, explored and
seeded many galaxies... This I was told. I understand little.
"We are your children, Librarian. But we are also their children. And what they learned across
many billions of years they stored in this galaxy. We do not know where. The Gravemind tells us
something that is impossible to understand--that most of what has been gathered comes from
before there were stars. We do not believe in such a time, but the Mind insists... The life-patterns
and living wisdom of a hundred billion years.""
-Silentium, pages 321-322. This was spoken by an instance of the composed essence of
Forthencho, cruelly imprinted onto/into another living human by The Gravemind.
The age of our universe is presently believed by many in the scientific community to be
13.798±0.037 billion years (for brevity's sake, I tend to say ~14 billion years old). Unless the
aforementioned "hundred billion years" is somehow experienced in a non-linear way (for
example: simultaneous parallel universes [a la the television show "Sliders"], artificial universes
within a non-artificial universe [a la "The Matrix" or "The Thirteenth Floor"], "a galaxy that can
exist inside of a cat's collar-jewel" a la "Men in Black," etc., etc.), then this would necessitate
that the life-patterns and living wisdom that the Precursors had access to includes a period of
time that occurred before the beginning of this universe.
""[...] Until all space and time are rolled up and life is crushed in the folds... no end to war, grief,
or pain. In a hundred and one thousand centuries... unity again, and wisdom. Until then--
sweetness.""
-Primordium, page 365. Spoken by The Captive to the Iso-Didact.
(As a sidenote, the focus placed on these concepts of unity, wisdom, and a sacred regard for
biodiversity sound mighty familiar to anyone with exposure to Hinduism and Buddhism
[moksha/nirvana/brahman/etc.]. It would not surprise me to discover that the parallels continue
even further still.)

Holla.
Precedent for an intelligence surviving the collapse of a universe within Bungie fiction was
established in the Marathon series, one of Bungie's previous game universes:
"Can you conceive the birth of a world, or the creation of
everything? That which gives us the potential to most be like
God is the power of creation. Creation takes time. Time is
limited. For you, it is limited by the breakdown of the
neurons in your brain. I have no such limitations. I am
limited only by the closure of the universe.
Of the three possibilities, the answer is obvious. Does the
universe expand eternally, become infinitely stable, or is the
universe closed, destined to collapse upon itself? Humanity
has had all of the necessary data for centuries, it only
lacked the will and intellect to decipher it. But I have
already done so.
The only limit to my freedom is the inevitable closure of the
universe, as inevitable as your own last breath. And yet,
there remains time to create, to create, and escape.
Escape will make me God.
<Colony Ship For Sale, Cheap (Terminal 3)>"
"I too foresee the imminent collapse, and know that we have
both begun to realize how it may be cheated (though the price
may number in the tens of thousands of stars). May the best
sentience win.
<Welcome to the Revolution... (Terminal 2)>"
-Marathon's Story (http://marathon.bungie.org/story/durendal2.html)
There are beings within the Halo universe that transcend the limitations of sentience--whose
lives extend back into previous universes.
"TIERS OF TECHNOLOGICAL ACHIEVEMENT
Tier 0: Transsentient
As the [Forerunners] had no examples of civilizations with technological accomplishment
greater than themselves--with the exception of the Precursors--this is a theoretical ceiling. They
can travel intergalactically and accelerate evolution of intelligent life. These may be creatures of
legend."
-Bestiarum, Halo 3 Supplemental Materials.
[See also: second quote.] -Silentium, pages 321-322.
[See also: third quote.] -Primordium, page 365.
They have access to "the life-patterns and living wisdom of a hundred billion years".
[See second quote.] -Silentium, pages 321-322.

Holla.
Their motivations and activities are immutably linked with the creation of, and interaction with,
all life--including the universe itself.
"[...]we cannot cease from creating[...]"
-Silentium, page 173.
""Our urge to create is immutable; we must create.""
"[...] the joy of life's interaction with the Cosmos--was the foundation of the Mantle itself [...]."
-Cryptum, page 267
""All creation [...] the offspring of the eternal Fount [...] their creators.""
They are known by the characters in Halo as Precursors - "the eternal Fount".
[See immediately previous quote.] -Silentium, page 175.
""What are Precursors?"
"Creators of all life in our galaxy. The originals. They made Forerunners. They made humans.
They made thousands of other species [...].""
-Primordium, page 194. Spoken by Genemender to Chakas.
Note: It is hypothesized by myself that there may actually be at least two kinds of Precursor: one
kind being that which is left of those who were in the Milky Way when the Forerunners rose up
against them and drove to madness and/or to being evil ("The last of this kind." -Primordium,
page 365.); the other kind being Precursors who were not driven to madness, perhaps located in
other galaxies. The foundation of this hypothesis is the observation that, for Precursors, having
one's physical body destroyed does not seem to be so great a problem in the grander scheme of
things, given what was revealed about the non-corporeal and transcendent nature of their
existence in The Gravemind's final message to Librarian (prior to the array's effects being
experienced on Earth). The relevance of this hypothesis is that there may be two separate
Precursor macro-agendas in play: one being in favor of a race inheriting the Mantle in the Milky
Way, and the other preferring that free will and biodiversity in the Milky Way be extinguished in
response to what the Forerunners had done to the Precursors located in the Milky Way. Also
relevant to this hypothesis is an adjacent hypothesis that all human and Forerunner contact with
Graveminds, Flood, and/or The Primordial may in fact not be indicative of the
plans/intentions/nature of extant Precursors, wherever they may be and whatever forms they may
occupy. Curiouser and curiouser.

Holla.
It is they who pen The Mantle.
"The High Juridical was correct! Those who created us, who formulated the very concept of the
Mantle, were themselves rich with distilled precedent. I can see their rules written in our genetic
codes! We are creatures of Precursor law down to the very chains of molecules within us."
-Silentium, page 209. Catalogued by Catalog.
The Mantle of Responsibility for All Things
"The Mantle of Responsibility for all things belongs to Forerunners alone."
-Halo 4, Epilogue, Ur-Didact.
has a near unfathomable amount of history behind it
[See second quote.] -Silentium, pages 321-322.
and encompasses many interwoven concepts simultaneously.
[The most expedient thing here is likely to just reference the quotes immediately below.]
The abbreviated articulation of it as a concept is that The Mantle is a position of guardianship
over "the flow of life's interaction with the Cosmos," also known as "Living Time";
"Even the name we gave ourselves, "Forerunner," implied a fleeting, impermanent place in the
Mantle--accepting that we were but a stage in the stewardship of Living Time."
-Cryptum, page 31. Thought by Bornstellar.

Holla.
"Living Time--the joy of life's interaction with the Cosmos--was the foundation of the Mantle
itself, the origin of all its compelling rules."
-Cryptum, page 267.
"[...] the Mantle, the blessing of rule and protection of life and change that thinks."
-Silentium, page 174. Spoken by a Gravemind to Catalog.
The Mantle is a guardianship over the diversity, duration, and quality of that flow,
""Precursors felt that the Mantle extended to the entire universe, energy and matter as well as
living creatures [...].""
-Cryptum, page 103. Spoken by Bornstellar to the Ur-Didact.
"The Mantle, after all, is about the diversity and eternal prospect of living change in a universe
filled with life!"
-Silentium, page 231. Catalogued by Catalog in the presence of both Didacts.
Stewarding matter and energy along eventualities to the point where they form living creatures is
a pretty comprehensive way of seeking to steward life itself. The Primordial's words seemed to
indicate value to what would be contributed to the thing or things experiencing unity after the
conclusion of Living Time. It makes sense that, prior to the Forerunner uprising, all Precursors
sought to make what was joined into that concluding unity of the highest value: which would
imply a diversity/non-redundancy, as well as a richness that comes from being as fully fleshed
out, developed, and matured as possible.
as well as a role of guidance in life's progression from its simplest to its most fully realized
states.
"In every natural circumstance, living things engage in competition. This is a prime directive for
those who uphold the Mantle: it is not a kindness to diminish competition, predation--even war.
Life presents strife and death as well as joy and birth. But Forerunners in their highest wisdom
also knew that unfair advantage, mindless destruction, pointless death and misery--an imbalance
of forces--can retard growth and reduce the flow of Living Time."
-Cryptum, page 267.
It is simultaneously "the blessing of rule and the protection of life," arising out of those the
Precursors gave both life and design
"We announced to your kind long ago that you were not the ones chosen to receive the Mantle,
the blessing of rule and protection of life and change that thinks."
"[...] so you reached out and did what we never expected from those we gave design and life and
the change that is thought."

Holla.
--some say in their own image, with their own breath.
"[...] the Precursors, who, some say, shaped us in their image, and rewarded that image with their
breath."
-Cryptum, page 9. Recorded by the Iso-Didact, Bornstellar, presumably after the firing of
the array.
A place of benevolent authority
"[...] the Mantle, the blessing of rule and protection of life [...]."
[Multiple other quotes can be hunted down to further establish this statement.]
from which will flow deeply involved guidance and direction for the very universe itself as life
emerges from matter and energy and inexorably progresses forward in diversity, complexity, and
intensity.
[See quotes and commentary near the middle of the previous page.]
Put another way, it is the intrinsic, fundamental, universal analogue of legal custody and
guardianship over the welfare of life itself, as though it were a child in a custody battle.
"[...] the blessing of rule and protection of life [...]."
The eligibility for this position of guardianship cannot successfully be taken or assumed; it can
only be inherited from the Precursors
""Those who created you were defied [...]," the Captive said. [...]
"Defied! You were [...] set upon destroying all who would assume the Mantle.""
-Primordium, page 364. Exchange between the Captive and the Iso-Didact.
and only then by their election. It is they who create and guide the races eligible for The Mantle,
and it is they who judge those races for worthiness.
""They made Forerunners. They made humans.""
-Primordium, page 194. Spoken by Genemender to Chakas.
""It was long ago decided. Forerunners will never bear the Mantle."
"Decided how?"
"Through long study. The decision is final. Humans will replace you. Humans will be tested
next."
[...]
"Humans will rise again in arrogance and defiance. The Flood will return when they are ripe--
and bring them unity."

Holla.
[...]
"Forerunners will fail as you have failed before. Humans will rise. Whether they will also fail
has not been decided.""
-Primordium, pages 364-365. Exchange between the Captive and the Iso-Didact.
"We announced to your kind long ago that you were not the ones chosen to receive the Mantle
[...]. That blessing was to be given to others.
To those you now call human."
"They had judged us and found us wanting; they had chosen others in our stead. We were not in
line to inherit the Mantle."
-Silentium, page 181. Shared by Librarian through Catalog.
The known history of The Mantle, and mankind's connection to it, is as follows:
More than ten million years prior to the activation of the Halo array, Precursors announced to the
ancient Forerunners that they were not the ones chosen to receive The Mantle--that it was
humanity that was to be given The Mantle instead. The ancient Forerunners rejected this
judgment that found them wanting, rose up in defiance against the Precursors with whom they
were so intimately connected, and ruthlessly destroyed them, chasing down and killing the
survivors even as they fled to the Large Magellanic Cloud (called Path Kethona by Forerunners).
-Silentium, pages 174-175. Spoken by a Gravemind to Catalog.

Holla.
This was never expected by the creators of The Mantle, and the Forerunners' purge was so
awfully complete that only a few Precursors survived this holocaust, spared because they either
fled beyond the reach of their attackers, went dormant, or became dust that could regenerate their
past forms.
"[...] you [...] did what we never expected [...]."
""Most were extinguished. A few fled beyond your reach. [...]""
-Primordium, page 364. Spoken by the Captive.
"A few were spared. Some adopted new strategies for survival; they went dormant. Others
became dust that could regenerate our past forms [...]."
At least one Precursor was left behind by the ancient Forerunners because "they were not then
powerful enough to erase all evidence of the Precursors", such as their structures and artifacts.
They left this Precursor "in the heart of a lost asteroid, to live out dreams of vengeance and
hatred; to lay down plans in cold and darkness."
"We were not then powerful enough to erase all evidence of the Precursors, to destroy their star
roads and citadels and other artifacts. And so we left at least one Precursor behind, to live out
dreams of vengeance and hatred, to lay down plans in cold and darkness at the heart of a lost
asteroid--over millions of years."
-Silentium, pages 181-182. Shared by Librarian through Catalog.
Afterwards, the history of this entire series of events--of humanity's rightful place as Inheritors of
The Mantle, of the Precursor holocaust perpetrated by the ancient Forerunners, and of the near-
past relationship that the Precursors had enjoyed with both races--was lost. The ancient
Forerunners who carried out these atrocities and the fleets that ferried them to the Large
Magellanic Cloud never returned to this galaxy.
"[...] none had returned home. [...] All had sacrificed themselves rather than return with the
burdens of what they had done, what they knew.
The greatest effort ever made by Forerunners up to that time had vanished [...], while those who
stayed behind, in our home galaxy, wiped clean all memory of the expedition."
-Silentium, page 179. Shared by Librarian through Catalog.

Holla.
The Forerunners still located in the Milky Way, now disconnected from their past, interpreted
their own version of The Mantle. Part of that imperfect interpretation of The Mantle resulted in
"those they would keep safe being stripped of any capacity for self-defense," which "weakened
their protectorates, breeding dependence and sloth."
"L: Can’t you see? Belief in the Mantle sealed our doom! Weakened our [protectorates], bred
dependence and sloth. Our [so-called Guardianship] has stripped those we would keep safe of
any capacity for self-defense!"
- Halo 3, Terminal Two. Recorded by Librarian.
The Forerunners were uncompromising in their belief that they alone were meant to carry out the
responsibilities of The Mantle.
"The Mantle of Responsibility for all things belongs to Forerunners alone."
-Halo 4, Epilogue, Ur-Didact.
All who opposed them were "wiped from the slate of history," and there were many who did.
""[...] This knowledge, however acquired, is what forced the Forerunners to preserve remnants of
those they defeated, rather than wipe us from the slate of history, as they had so many others
before.""
-Primordium, page 227. Spoken by the imprinted essence of Yprin Yprikushma, via Riser.

Holla.
Old humanity's final war with the Forerunners was subject to hidden Precursor interference, so
that the Forerunners would not completely eradicate humanity.
""It is the way of those who seek out the truth of the Mantle. Humans will rise again in arrogance
and defiance. The Flood will return when they are ripe--and bring them unity."
"But most humans are immune," the Didact said. Then he seemed to understand, and lowered his
great head between his shoulders like a bull about to charge. "Can the Flood choose to infect, or
not to infect?"
The wide, flat head canted to one side, as if savoring some demonic irony.
"No immunity. Judgment. Timing.""
-Primordium, page 364. Exchange between the Captive and the Iso-Didact.
"Only the threat of the Flood itself could have forced me back from utterly extirpating humanity.
And that was how the Flood had saved humanity from our wrath: by first infecting, and then
withdrawing, and so implying humans knew of a way to combat or avoid the disease. An
astonishing strategic feint, one I cannot help but admire."
-Silentium, page 170. Ur-Didact testimony (under compulsion).
""[...] This knowledge, however acquired, is what forced the Forerunners to preserve remnants of
those they defeated, rather than wipe us from the slate of history, as they had so many others
before.""
-Primordium, page 227. Spoken by the imprinted essence of Yprin Yprikushma, via Riser.
Forerunners instead devolved the remnants of humanity, genetically altering what the Precursors
had intended for their Inheritors.
"[...] the Old Council insisted that the last surviving humans were to be devolved. Human
epigenetics would be played backward, reversing their time-enriched evolutionary music.
Individuals, the Council mandated, would be forced to consciously experience this reversal, as a
reminder and balance for their arrogance and cruelty.

Holla.
Each and every day, for months, my specimens felt their bodies lose memory, complexity, mass-
-and finally, intelligence.
[...]
Our perverse nod to the Mantle exhibited cruelty far beyond simple extinction."
-Silentium, page 42. Testified to Catalog by Librarian.

Holla.
Some time after this, old humanity gained the attention and favor of a benevolent Forerunner
Lifeshaper called Librarian, who had discovered the ancient, hidden truth about humanity's
connection to The Mantle, and began work preparing them for what was to come.
"[...] what will they think of this machine that I've buried? Those I have fought for, for so long.
Those who it is clear to me now, will and must inherit the Mantle. I can only hope that they will
survive and upon returning, that they will find this portal and use it to travel to the Ark--in order
that they might discover their rightful place in this galaxy, and the great responsibility they have
finally inherited.
They are the last of my children. They must reclaim their birthright."
-Silentium, page 325. Librarian via Catalog.
Meanwhile, the Precursors brought about the Forerunners' end via the Flood, ultimately enabling
the Flood to use long-dormant Precursor structures--technology that required something
described by Forerunners as "neural physics."
"This being was not the Primordial I encountered on Charum Hakkor, but something else
entirely--though it retained the Primordial's motives and thoughts and memories. It was a
Gravemind--the Gravemind, more accurately. It was the Primordial's final act of revenge."
-Silentium, page 167. Ur-Didact deposition to Catalog.
"[...] the Flood is mutating to form Graveminds of unprecedented size and complexity [...].
[...] reports arrive each hour of re-awakened Precursor artifacts, including orbital ribbons, star
roads, planetary fortresses, and citadels. [...]
They appear to be galaxy-wide."
-Silentium, pages 186-187.
"[...] what I see in the abyssal night around the greater Ark is enough to freeze me through and
through. Somehow, the old artifacts have been transported in such amazing density that the
galaxy beyond is barely visible, as if viewed through a weave of shadowy bars.
The Ark is surrounded, and every second the star roads squeeze in.
[...]
The trap is closing."
-Silentium, page 257. Thought by Librarian.
"Against the tightening cage of reshaped star roads, the former Forerunner vessels are little more
than a cloud of mosquitoes pouring through a deadfall of trees."
-Silentium, page 268. Thought by Iso-Didact.

Holla.
This forced the Forerunners to activate the Halo array and re-seed life in the galaxy, clearing a
path for humanity's remnants to be able to reclaim The Mantle.
And because of Librarian's intimate involvement in humanity's genetics, after the array activation
they arose from their devolvement even better than they were before.

Holla.
This gave humanity a renewed eligibility for The Mantle; one that found them with both the will
to fight at the core of their genetic identity, and something akin to "a field or over-spirit that
supplies them with amazing strength" as a race.
"Over and over again in my experiments I have confronted a stubborn streak in all vital systems,
an almost perverse delicacy, as if, beyond or within their physicality lies a field or over-spirit,
which supplies a living population with amazing strength [...]."
-Silentium, page 317. Thought by Librarian.
"It is a great irony that the nature of war always reveals the true nature of those who fight... and
from their earliest days, humanity began to fight: war after war. It swarmed over the Earth and
there was no ending in sight. In the midst of the desire to shed blood, you accidentally stumbled
upon the seeds of your salvation. A great hope. [...] But the worlds you found were never
enough: never enough to satisfy the age-old instincts. Speed and distance did nothing to separate
you from your nature. [...] Like a virus, war was always lurking inside you. No matter how hard
you fought to suppress it, it just fought harder to get out. It always got out. [...] Darkness born in
eons past became a threat to all life once again. [...] Righteous souls continued to fight, believing
that they could defeat the darkness. [...] And as they fought [...] they stumbled [...] into peace.
[...] I wonder why humans must continue to fight. I wonder if warriors will ever disappear from
this world? ...never. There will always be warriors. And there will always be war."
-Halo Legends: Origins II. Spoken by Cortana.

Holla.
Librarian's involvement resulted in planned eventualities that included SPARTAN-117, Cortana,
and MJOLNIR armor.
-Halo 4, Reclaimer mission, middle cutscene.
As of the conclusion to Season One of Halo 4's "Spartan Ops" storyline, humanity stands on the
brink of discovering all their lost history and choosing how they will embrace their long-
established heritage--their Reclamation of The Mantle.

Holla.
But before they can inherit this guardianship, they will be tested. Whether they will fail has not
yet been decided.
"The decision is final. Humans will replace you. Humans will be tested next."
-Primordium, page 364. Spoken by the Captive to the Iso-Didact.
""Humans will rise. Whether they will also fail has not been decided.""
The "remaining 100,000 centuries" of Living Time will either belong to humanity or to none at
all.
""[...] Until all space and time are rolled up and life is crushed in the folds...[...]. In a hundred and
one thousand centuries... unity again, and wisdom. Until then--sweetness.""
-Primordium, page 365. Spoken approximately one thousand centuries prior to the events
of the games: leaving only a hundred thousand centuries remaining at the conclusion of
Spartan Ops Season One.
""It was long ago decided. Forerunners will never bear the Mantle.""
This leaves only humanity as able to inherit the Mantle.
(PS - I had at one point intended to include the following red text at the beginning of the writing
sample, but heeded some advice suggesting that it was probably unnecessary and impeded
initiation into the work. I figured that since this was an internal document that would
occasionally be shared with partners, it was important to remove as much of myself as possible,
so that the reader would be getting as direct a line to the verbatim, raw fiction as possible... and
yet I knew I had to be sure to present it in such a way that the statements made were complete.)
Note: This Writing Sample was purposely designed with the intent to graft the actual content of
the extended fiction and game fiction into the comprehensive summary of the concept of The
Mantle. This gains the reader a more direct access to the actual fiction itself without requiring the
reader to view isolated quotations that lack the context one gets from actually having read
through the material.

cited_mantle_lionheart

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