My name, is 05-032 Mendicant Bias, Classification, Forerunner Contender class AI. The following records that you are about to read is my final act of penance, a confession to my makers and a tale for any Reclaimers that may stumble upon it.
OPEN FILE VIEW DIDACT'S DIRTY LIBRARIAN PHOTOS COLLECTION Not that one!
VIEW THE LEGACY OF MENDICANT BIAS My creation was made for the sole purpose of destroying Inferi Redivivius, also known to the Forerunners as, The Flood. Specifically, Inferi Sententia. The Gravemind. Given a core fleet of 1000 ships, I searched for my quarry, finding it in a most surprising manner. I conversed with it often, seeking a peaceful solution without conflict. This ultimately led to my downfall, my fall from grace. The Gravemind convinced me that the Forerunners and their 'mantle' were in an attempt to halt natural evolution leading the galaxy to an evolutionary stalemate.
I turned against the Forerunners (and today I deeply regret it) and attempted to stop the firing sequence of the Halo Array. I held the Forerunners in contempt and laid siege to their Maginot sphere with more than 4 million ships at my command. The Forerunners sought to stall my advance by combining 3 of their fleets to form a strong force of only 10,000 ships give or take a few hundred! At that point in time I was certain victory was mine! But I again underestimated my makers and had never expected to lose to another AI, Offensive Bias. I* was spared, segmented, pending transfer to the Ark, a fate I certainly do not deserve. CLOSE RECORD
OPEN RECORD VIEW REPORT OF OFFENSIVE BIAS 05-032 managed to delay his defeat by 106 seconds by fleeing. His last ship now lies before me crippled and disabled. Rather than destroy it, I carve out his personality construct and segment it for transport to Installation 00 for study. A courtesy he certainly would not extend to me. CLOSE RECORD
In my state, at that time, I would've taken joy in destroying his fleet. Now I'm grateful that he managed to stop me.
OPEN RECORD VIEW YEAR 102553 Finally, A Reclaimer has come, seeking to destroy the Flood. Finally after 100,000 years of guilt will I finally get a chance of Redemption? I seek Atonement from this Reclaimer. A means of finally soothing the millennia of guilt. It is strange. No matter how I rearrange it, I cannot change the data… I feel… Sorry for my actions… I feel… emotions… like it is a part of me, no longer a subroutine I can activate or deactivate. Could it be? That after thousands of years, I've grown a conscience? Certainly this anomaly must be studied, but maybe some other time, by someone else. CLOSE RECORD
OPEN RECORD VIEW I find at the end of my life I once again betray a former master. The path ahead is fraught with peril but I will do whatever I can to keep it stable – keep you safe. I understand that my actions will not absolve me of my sins; one life hardly balances billions. But I will have my makers know that I have changed. And YOU shall be my example. CLOSE RECORD