Blog #10: ... The Luckiest

Something expected from a male teenager I'm sure, I very much enjoy playing video games. It's a hobby that allows worlds of magic, adventure, war, competition or fantasy to be controlled and lived in. Portraying heroes, warriors, athletes, whatever it may be, with no real consequence. From getting my first Super Nintendo with Super Mario Bros.,  to now having an Xbox 360 and a wide selection of games, they're great entertainment. I've played my fair share of classic and staple video games too, specifically, including the Halo franchise.  A story that centers around a heroic and fearless soldier, Master Chief protects Earth from alien forces and their crusades. Set several centuries into the future, it follows the human race's expansion in science and exploration. As well, Halo has several books in relation to the games and is similar to the story of Ender's Game. Summed up in several words and phrases; tragic hero, space, unfortunate disasters, aliens, guns and explosions, Halo interests me.

In specifics, the story of Halo is as follows. From an early age, children who would demonstrate talents and skills beyond most are taken, replaced by clones, and intensely trained for years. Their life's goal is to become Earth's best soldiers and aids in defense. Named Spartans in homage to the legendary warriors of the past, they assume the most dangerous and crucial missions any could face. While Spartans were numbered in the dozens, after countless battles, missions, and even in training, few managed to survive. Of them, the protagonist John (Spartan 117) has been the most resilient and successful, dubbed the luckiest of the Spartans in fact. Although not the smartest, quickest or strongest, he has always been able to survive and achieve greatness. Dr. Halsey, the primary and most influential of the doctors and researchers on the Spartan project, always had a connection to John above others. And even so, transferred her knowledge and likeliness to an AI (artificial intelligence) Cortana to accompany Master Chief where ever he may go. Wearing suits of armor (appropriately named Mjolnir for certain marks), Spartans surpass traditional means of physicality and show superiority in battle, fighting for the UNSC, the United Nations Space Command.

Meanwhile, there are two alien factions that threaten Earth and mankind alike. One is the Covenant, consisting of brutish, enormous, agile and feeble races that combine to create its army. While the second is the Flood, parasitic life forms that harm both human and Covenant equally. Now, everything ties together as such; an ancient civilization called Forerunners existed several million years before the human race. The Forerunners attempted to eradicate the Flood as to prevent any troubles for any other sentient life to come. As a solution, giant rings called Halos (roughly the sizes of moons and seven to be exact) were spread across the galaxy in defense to stop the Flood. These rings are both hospitable and have an environment to each, and when synced together, are used as massive bombs to destroy any neighboring systems and life. Drastic but necessary, the Forerunners became extinct attempting to stop the Flood and engaging a Halo ring. Unfortunately, they were unsuccessful in doing so, but, left behind a legacy. Halo rings still exist and are trying to be found. Not understood completely by humans, the Covenant however believe it to be a part of a pilgrimage and are religiously motivated to comprehend and control the rings. It is a story hard to summarize, many more characters and plots to make the story truly great should be told, but, that is what the games and books are for.