Cortana Letters

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Cortana Letters are a series of e-mails that were sent by an unknown communications place (Bungie Software in the past) under the alias of Cortana to the fansite marathon.bungie.org across the time period of February to May in 1999. There are six Cortana letters in total, and one "invisible message" from the Myth v1.3 CD. The letters were originally believed to be new material concerning Bungie's Marathon series, but were later revealed as the first publicly released material concerning a new Bungie game- Halo: Combat Evolved. The author of the letters was also revealed to have primarily been Bungie staffer Nathan Bitner, who left the company in 1999.

A complete archive of early talk regarding the letters can still be found at marathon.bungie.org's Cortana Letters page.

[edit] Early history

The letters were received by Hamish Sinclair, maintainer of the marathon.bungie.org website. As each was received, it was posted on the site's story page. Immediate analysis of the first letter by fans (including tracing the emails' header information to a terminal at Bungie Software) proved the official nature of the message and subsequent follow-ups. Subsequent correspondence with Bungie resulted in further confirmation, with Matt Soell replying:

The email was not a hoax. It definitely originated from within our offices. And I suspect it will not be the last message of that type you receive.

Bungie continued to feign ignorance as to the exact source of the letters, even going so far as to send subsequent emails from other terminals (to provide confusing header information), and by incorporating fan discoveries into the ongoing story, with subsequent letters and correspondence turning to how Cortana was now having to sidestep Bungie security measures to continue sending messages. Bungie's continued development of storyline in response to fan findings loosely makes the Cortana Letters and their surrounding debate an Alternate Reality Game.

It is still a mystery as to what the Cortana Letters mean and what their place is within the Halo universe.

[edit] Literary elements

Fans have noticed a great deal of literary influence present in the Cortana Letters. The primary literary influences noted are T. S. Eliot's The Hollow Men and that of the poetry of William Blake.(The Hollow Men line is also stated in the Halo 3 trailor)

An example of references to William Blake stems from the Fifth Cortana Letter:

"... In my palace deep, Lyca lies asleep ...

In William Blake's "Songs of Innocence and of Experience: Shewing the Two Contrary States of the Human Soul", the poem "The Little Girl Found" reads in part:

"Follow me,' he said;

"Weep not for the maid;

"In my palace deep;

"Lyca lies asleep.'

[edit] Halo universe depictions

Many elements of the Cortana letters still relate to the Halo series. Some examples include:

• Rampant behaviour - Introduced in Marathon, Rampancy is an oft-discussed state which an AI may enter into in certain conditions. The Cortana from the Letters was obviously rampant, as evidenced by both attitudes and literary style. Cortana even goes so far as to reference the three stages of Rampancy - Melancholia, Anger, and Jealousy - albeit in somewhat different terms:

-There will be no more Sadness. No more Anger. No more Envy.

-Also, 'Anger' and 'Envy' are the name of two of the skulls found in Halo 2. The Anger skull makes enemies fire at a faster rate. The Envy skull gives the player active camoflauge like the Arbiter. It is still not clear whether this has any relevance or not.

• The Covenant: - Some passages clearly reference the Covenant race which would become the primary enemy early in the game Halo: Combat Evolved. Passages include:

-I believe I know what it guards, and I will have it, to the chagrin of the faith-blinded zealots that challenge me. Don't waste your pity on them; I don't think they would like you much anyway.

-This enemy - YOUR enemy - has proven more irritating than I anticipated. They own nothing which they have not stolen...

The Covenant are a highly zealous collective that are solely devoted to uncovering the secrets of the Forerunners, and forcibly wage war against those that oppose them in their conquest. In the story of Halo, it is also revealed that nearly all Covenant technology was reverse-engineered, or 'stolen,' from the Forerunners.

• The Forerunner:- One passage particularity references the Forerunners mentioned throughout the series:

-And what of the Giants who formed this world? So much to tell you, but so many more important things to do. There was a fourth. You couldn't have known. And I haven't forgotten.

• The Master Chief - Although Master Chief wasn't yet a central character to the Halo storyline when the letters were written, early ideas that would develop his character are clearly present.

...I can barely make sense of their incessant rhetoric, except to know that you seem to be their Devil. Congratulations - you manage to make friends wherever you go and, apparently, places you haven't.

Thanks to this slavishly loyal and humorless AI, I am now sharing cramped space with the circuitry of some hybrid war machine, itself complicated by such useless clutter as a conscience. I do not like sharing. Sharing is for children.

Assuming that the human race in general is the Covenant's "Devil", the Master Chief, especially after the events of Halo: Combat Evolved, is referred to explicitly as "Demon" by the Covenant - an especially potent killing machine, just what he was made to be. Also in Halo, Cortana is forced into the database within the Master Chief's armor in order to escape the mortally-wounded Pillar of Autumn, in effect "sharing" the space in his suit.

• Shield World- There is a passage that seems to refer to the shield world seen at the end of Halo: Ghosts of Onyx:

-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.

It should be noted, however, that the Halo: Ghosts of Onyx was written seven years after the Cortana Letters, and this connection was likely not intended in the slightest. On the other hand, the shield world could also have been created specifically with this passage in mind. Until official word is released about this, nothing can be confirmed.

• Other AI (Speculation) -

Thanks to this slavishly loyal and humorless AI...

The AI referenced here is assumedly responsible in some way for Cortana being forced into the Master Chief's armor. It is unknown whether it is another UNSC intelligence or perhaps even a Covenant AI, both of which are referenced in the letters and the novels.

Source: BW-AI aboard (?) PoA

Source could be referring to the AI called Beowulf, which was introduced in The Fall of Reach as an AI attaché for the Office of Naval Intelligence. "PoA" might also refer to the Pillar of Autumn the ship Master Chief was aboard before entering the first halo's atmosphere.

[edit] Recent developments

The evolving nature of the Halo series continually makes direct connections between Halo and the Cortana Letters less and less likely, despite continued efforts by fans to unite the two. At the time the Letters were written, Halo: Combat Evolved was a real-time strategy game being developed for the Macintosh platform, and the Master Chief character didn't exist yet, in addition to numerous other changes. However, dialogue from Halo 3's announcement trailer has spurred new debate over the Cortana Letters, as what many assume to be Cortana speaks a single line directly from the letters. This line, a direct quote from T. S. Eliot is, "THIS is the way the world ends." This is preceded in the letter by the line, "Oh, and your poet Eliot had it all wrong:" Whether the Letters will be more fully explained in Halo 3 remains to be seen.

Apperently Cortana has returned and has spliced herself into two AIs, herself and a rampant part: Atrocity.

It is unknown whether the developments are fake or not, but the story can be seen to unfold here as pictures are delivered daily onto the site.

[edit] External links

• Bungie Studios - The company creator of the Halo game franchise.
• Cortana Letters - The main website containing the Cortana Letters on first publication.
• William Blake: Songs of Experience - A contemporary list of all poems created by William Blake in his book, Songs of Experience. Includes "The Marriage of Heaven and Hell" and "The Little Girl Lost/Found" poems.
• Halo 3 announcement trailer - Released in 2006, has possible tie-in to Cortana Letters.
• Halopedia section on the Cortana Letters