: And it never really occurred to me how awkward (?) it is. Let me try and
: explain... first, I like Nylunds writing and am grateful for what he
: brought the Halo universe. The awkwardness isn't his fault, it's from the
: fact he was writing the entire backstory for a 30(!) year war. With all we
: know now from the fiction occurring in between, much of the novel
: seems-again- awkward. Even with the 2011 reissue.

: I was an avid defender of defending the canon of TFoR, but now I take the
: whole novel with a grain of salt.

: However, I also noticed some other interesting tidbits I've never noticed
: thAt Nylund introduced that the Halo universe (I think) has yet to
: address.

: Subliminal conditioning or learning while in cryo

Forgot about the second one, wouldn't be surprised if the first resurfaces in a few years.

: Deja once told John, without explaining why, that multiple AI are not allowed
: to be in close proximity...my first thought was THE ASSEMBLY!, but then I
: remembered AI can move through computers systems easily, so what's the big
: deal about a few projecting their avatars in close proximity?

Hey, that information preceded a scene in which AIs were shown to be working in close proximity. It's not impossible, there's just some factor that makes it difficult or expensive or resource-intensive to do. Maybe installing multiple AI in close proximity with unfettered communication accelerates the onset of rampancy, or maybe the lines of communication that they inevitably set up uses more than double the hardware required for a single AI.

: How many people actually worked or contributed to SPARTAN-II and
: MJOLNIR...not just Halsey. I know Kilo-5 really painted her as the bad
: guy, but at least acknowledged others were complicit, but there is plenty
: more to explore here

The Kilo 5 novels ended on BB's progenitor writing a note to Parangosky saying that Halsey deluded them all into taking the low road and Parangosky was the one who kept her morality through all this... I dunno, can't remember exactly what the letter said. I couldn't read it without feeling the need to yarf.

A better way to explore the morality of the Spartan II program would have been a whole novel not written by Traviss, about the scientists, technicians, and ONI personnel working under Halsey. How did they cope with the fact that they were raising child soldiers?