(no subject)
So... Being a Republic Commando fandalorian and all, it's not particularly surprising that I'm also a Halo geek extraordinaire. The similarities between the origins of the clone soldiers and the Spartans is particularly interesting, especially because they don't really talk about rebellious Spartans. (There are a couple of exceptions, but nothing to the extent of the RC books.)
However, there's one striking similarity, and that's between Catharine Halsey and Kal Skirata. I wonder what these two would have to say to each other. I would hope Skirata would rip Halsey a new one, because I really don't like that woman, even though she has some of the same protective instincts of a good (?) Mando buir. Er, aside from being the human version of a Kaminoan scientist, that is...
Specifically, I don't like what she did in Ghosts of Onyx.
Throughout the book, Halsey's running her own game, essentially. She knows something about the planet through her research, and she also knows about the secret Spartan III program her rival, Col. Ackerson, has going--though the fact that these kids are being trained by an MIA Spartan II comes as a pleasant surprise for her.
By the end of the book, she's got the survivors of the program headed towards the inner workings of a secret Forerunner base inside the depths of Onyx. Turns out Onyx is just as artificial as the Halo rings themselves, created to be a "shield world" for the Forerunners to take shelter in while the Halo system ran its galactic rinse cycle way back when. And she drops just enough of these tantalizing goodies for the Spartans to go along with her supposed plans: get into the inner chamber of the Forerunner factory, retrieve sooper sekrit Forerunner technology, get back to UNSC-controlled space, win the war, rah rah rah.
Except that the getting out part is all a lie. The "inner chamber" is actually a Dyson sphere three times the diameter of Onyx itself, which lies in a slightly different dimension. It's like a planet, only inside-out. And once you're in, you're in till the next time the portal opens in, say, fifty thousand years or so. During which time these young Spartans have an enormous, fertile inner world to life safe, secure, peaceful lives inside.
So why the hell does this piss me off so much?
I think, in a way, Halsey was just a leeetle bit crazy. Skirata was a father figure to his troops; Halsey was the owner of hers. Skirata let his troops make decisions for themselves; Halsey deceived hers into doing what she wanted. There were hundreds of thousands of clones fighting for the Republic to decide the fate of the government; there were only a handful of Spartans fighting for the UNSC to defend the entire human species from extinction.
And finally, every single one of those Spartans would have gladly given their lives to save the human species--in fact, they fully expected to do so; instead, they were tricked into a situation where they would spend the rest of their lives wondering who won the war.
[At this point, though, I have to give a nod to Kurt Ambrose's last stand. Holy ghosts-of-your-ancestors. I still haven't gotten rid of the goosebumps from when I read the book the first time around!]
It's a shame the book ended where it did. I wonder whether, once they knew the extent of what Halsey had tricked them into, they would have let her live.
On the one hand, I'd be fascinated to see what Karen Traviss would have made of the inner workings of Catherine Halsey's rather dar'buir mind. On the other hand, I'm glad she stuck to her (very unsettling) psycho-freakout about Cortana's time stuck with the Gravemind between Halo 2 and 3. There probably would have been too much weirdness if she'd tackled Spartans.
Have now made my way (for the umpteenth time) through the Halo novels (minus the rather blah Flood novel, which I've only read once). Must go back to the new short story anthology again. Btw, if you pick up Halo: Evolutions, I must warn you that Eric Nylund's The Possible Life and Impossible Death of Preston J. Cole is way far into the red zone of squee. Do not read in public, unless you're okay with squirming with fannish delight in front of total strangers.
However, there's one striking similarity, and that's between Catharine Halsey and Kal Skirata. I wonder what these two would have to say to each other. I would hope Skirata would rip Halsey a new one, because I really don't like that woman, even though she has some of the same protective instincts of a good (?) Mando buir. Er, aside from being the human version of a Kaminoan scientist, that is...
Specifically, I don't like what she did in Ghosts of Onyx.
Throughout the book, Halsey's running her own game, essentially. She knows something about the planet through her research, and she also knows about the secret Spartan III program her rival, Col. Ackerson, has going--though the fact that these kids are being trained by an MIA Spartan II comes as a pleasant surprise for her.
By the end of the book, she's got the survivors of the program headed towards the inner workings of a secret Forerunner base inside the depths of Onyx. Turns out Onyx is just as artificial as the Halo rings themselves, created to be a "shield world" for the Forerunners to take shelter in while the Halo system ran its galactic rinse cycle way back when. And she drops just enough of these tantalizing goodies for the Spartans to go along with her supposed plans: get into the inner chamber of the Forerunner factory, retrieve sooper sekrit Forerunner technology, get back to UNSC-controlled space, win the war, rah rah rah.
Except that the getting out part is all a lie. The "inner chamber" is actually a Dyson sphere three times the diameter of Onyx itself, which lies in a slightly different dimension. It's like a planet, only inside-out. And once you're in, you're in till the next time the portal opens in, say, fifty thousand years or so. During which time these young Spartans have an enormous, fertile inner world to life safe, secure, peaceful lives inside.
So why the hell does this piss me off so much?
I think, in a way, Halsey was just a leeetle bit crazy. Skirata was a father figure to his troops; Halsey was the owner of hers. Skirata let his troops make decisions for themselves; Halsey deceived hers into doing what she wanted. There were hundreds of thousands of clones fighting for the Republic to decide the fate of the government; there were only a handful of Spartans fighting for the UNSC to defend the entire human species from extinction.
And finally, every single one of those Spartans would have gladly given their lives to save the human species--in fact, they fully expected to do so; instead, they were tricked into a situation where they would spend the rest of their lives wondering who won the war.
[At this point, though, I have to give a nod to Kurt Ambrose's last stand. Holy ghosts-of-your-ancestors. I still haven't gotten rid of the goosebumps from when I read the book the first time around!]
It's a shame the book ended where it did. I wonder whether, once they knew the extent of what Halsey had tricked them into, they would have let her live.
On the one hand, I'd be fascinated to see what Karen Traviss would have made of the inner workings of Catherine Halsey's rather dar'buir mind. On the other hand, I'm glad she stuck to her (very unsettling) psycho-freakout about Cortana's time stuck with the Gravemind between Halo 2 and 3. There probably would have been too much weirdness if she'd tackled Spartans.
Have now made my way (for the umpteenth time) through the Halo novels (minus the rather blah Flood novel, which I've only read once). Must go back to the new short story anthology again. Btw, if you pick up Halo: Evolutions, I must warn you that Eric Nylund's The Possible Life and Impossible Death of Preston J. Cole is way far into the red zone of squee. Do not read in public, unless you're okay with squirming with fannish delight in front of total strangers.