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| A quick stab at interpreting tablets 5, 6 and 7 | |
| Posted By: OldNick <nmascall@btinternet.com> | Date: 2/12/05 5:11 p.m. |
In Response To: Et cinq, six, sep7! (Walshicus) Congratulations to Walshicus on the great work. If anyone's interested (I suspect other people may have other ways of spending Saturday evening), here's my own first take on these tablets. Tablet 5 (seven Halos and the galaxy) Broad interpretation: the Prophets find descriptions (and maybe rough locations) of the rings in Forerunner records. Note the symbols labelling each Halo - seven rings, but only four different symbols - call them U, L, G and N, working clockwise from the top left. There are two each of U, L and G, but only one N. Since they're obviously not individual designations (like names), maybe they're classifications or type markings, i.e. there are two type U Halos, two type L, two type G and one type N. Whether these 'types' indicate differences in design, periods of construction or significance is an open question. It would be tempting to think that the fact that there's only one type N means it's particularly significant. The 'Prophet Crown' symbol at the top right - yes, JillyBean, they do seem to be used in much the same way as halos in Christian art, but round here it's just too confusing to use that word for them : ) - might represent the Prophets' best guess at the location of the Covenant relative to the rings, or it could be a signature ("this is MY theory") crediting the Prophets for the discovery (as opposed to the Elites, say). The interpretation of the 'Eye' symbol at bottom right becomes a little, though not a lot, clearer from the later tablets. Whether it's part of the map (i.e. the location of something relative to the rings) is another good question. Tablet 6 (Halo Activating?) Broad interpretation: The Prophets 'discover' the purpose of the rings. The 'Great Journey' mythos is born. The most interesting thing about this tablet is the symbol at the centre. Whether it represents the Great Journey, the Great Journey's destination, the Forerunners themselves, or something else entirely (the Ark, about which the Prophets clearly knew something in advance?) I don't claim to know. Tablet 7 (Prophet and Elite join hands beneath an activating Halo?) Broad interpretation: The Covenant redefines its purpose and dedicates itself to discovering and activating the Halo system, in order to begin the Great Journey. If my reading of the previous tablets is correct, this tablet is very straightforward, and I don't see much need to expand on the interpretation given above. I do see one possible stylistic parallel which will delight some people and have others rolling their eyes: the 'rays' from the activating Halo leading down to the Elite and Prophet are rather reminiscent of one of the conventions of Ancient Egyptian art from the Amarna period (the reign of Akhenaten), where rays are depicted leading down from the divine Aten (the sun disc) to the heads of the Pharoah and his family. The best known such image is probably the one from the back of Tutankhamun's throne. You can see this here: http://www.aegypten-fotos.de/kairo/03-34_e.htm (not a wonderful photo, but the first halfway-acceptable one I could find). Please note that I'm not suggesting a connection between the Forerunners or the Covenant and Ancient Egypt. I'm suggesting that the artist at Bungie who drew these sketches may have drawn on this source - if he did, I suspect he was cackling evilly at the time. | |
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