In the Halo series, few characters are as enigmatic as 343 Guilty Spark. One of the last relics of the age of the Forerunners, 343 Guilty Spark plays a unique role in the story of John-117 and his initial battle against both the Covenant and the Flood. Fans will know him as an ally/enemy throughout the first three Halo games who was later destroyed by John-117.
But Guilty Spark has existed for many millennia, so such a life must have many mysteries. Here are some of them, revealed.
10 Before The Monitor
To begin, many fans would most likely be surprised to learn that 343 Guilty Spark was formerly a human who went by the name Chakas. He lived during the period of time in Halo’s history when ancient humans were a space-faring species that had made contact with the Forerunners generations ago. To make a long story short, Chakas was an agent for the Forerunner known as the Librarian. Because he was chosen for this role, he went all around the galaxy helping with cataloging species. But near the end of the Forerunner-Flood war, his body was seriously injured, and under orders of the Librarian, his consciousness was placed within the construct of a monitor.
9 Culpable Titles
One mystery that is never quite explained within the mainline games is why the monitor is known as “Guilty Spark”? Yet, all the monitors possess strange names. Some examples include Exuberant Witness, Tragic Solitude, Abject Testament, and Penitent Tangent just to name a few.
Pulling some information from a Halo novel titled: Halo: Silentium, which takes place at the end of the Forerunner’s reign of the galaxy, it is implied that the monitors are named based on how the Forerunners felt in building and firing their Halo superweapons. The first names seem to hold to this theory, while the second names seem to reference how the monitors are going to outlast their creators.
8 A Lonely Interim
Spark is certainly one of the more “quirky” personalities that fans encounter within the Halo series, but there might be a valid reason for this. Spark was sent to be the caretaker of Installation 04 after the Forerunner-Flood war, which ended the existence of the Forerunners. This means that before the arrival of the UNSC and Master Chief, Guilty Spark had been alone on the Halo ring for 101, 217 years. If he found any sentient species on the ring that was not a Reclaimer (Humans), he was programmed to ignore them. This, unfortunately, led to Guilty Spark becoming extremely lonely and nearly on the brink of rampancy right before he meets John-117.
7 Special Beam Cannon
343 Guilty Spark does not appear all that dangerous on the surface, but any Halo fan can tell you that he is just the opposite. Not only can he command an army of sentinels at any Forerunner station he happens to be at, but he is also equipped with a powerful forcefield and laser weapon. Something interesting to note about the laser though is just how powerful it actually is. After the multitude of years since Halo 3‘s release, fans have formally tested how strong the beam is compared to similar weapons and the results are rather surprising. Despite having similar appearances, the monitor’s laser is slightly weaker than the blast from a spartan laser. However, when placed in comparison to the fixed sentinel beam, Spark’s weapon is much more powerful.
6 Familiar Humming
One of Guilty Spark’s most notable traits is his proper mannerisms and delightful habit to hum, even in the midst of a firefight. There is a current theory that he hums Piano Concerto No. 3 in D minor by Sergei Rachmaninoff as these songs are tied to both Dr. Halsey and Cortana’s characters respectively. Cortana is heard humming it during the legendary ending of Halo 5: Guardians. However, Spark can hum a different tune if the IWHBYD skull is active. If so, along with different and more comical dialogue, Spark will instead hum parts of the main Halo theme.
5 Guilty Gollum
Speaking of the IWHBYD skull changing dialogue, another fun reference can be found within the changes made to Spark. Near the end of Halo 3, shortly before the final battle with Spark, if the skull is activated, the Forerunner A.I. can be heard saying the phrase “my precious” to himself. This is an obvious reference to Gollum from Lord of the Rings, who was obsessed with a great “ring of power” all the way up to his demise. The same can be said for Guilty Spark, making this easter egg all the more fun.
4 Reawakening
A fact that most fans do not know is that 343 Guilty Spark actually survived his final fight against John-117. After destroying the Flood on Installation 00, Human and Sangheili joint-forces performed several recovery and salvage operations. One UNSC crew, the UNSC Rubicon, found parts that happened to be the remains of Spark.
After bringing him aboard and reactivating him, it was revealed that he had lost some of his memory. He only learns of his recent actions (those of Halo 3) while secretly downloading military reports in the midst of being interrogated. Spark reveals that his years of isolation splintered his personality and the one that had become an enemy to humanity had now been destroyed.
3 High Piracy
Despite Spark’s claim to no longer be an enemy to humanity, he still holds deep ties to the Forerunners. As such, learning about the Librarian possibly being alive from the Rubicon‘s crew, the monitor subtly transfers his entire being into the Rubicon itself, takes control from the ship’s A.I., and proceeds to put all the crew members into cryosleep as he begins a mission to find the Librarian. Unfortunately, for Spark due to complications in taking the ship, he loses control and ends up crashing onto a planet called Geranos-a. He is eventually saved though by a salvage crew helmed by a woman named Rion Forge, the daughter of John Forge of Halo Wars fame. Spark consequently joins her crew as a member of the Ace of Spades (pictured above).
2 Monitor No More
When Spark crashed, his ship-body was nothing more than a pile of wreckage. As such, he decides to build himself a new body in a Forerunner design known as an “armiger”. This form is familiar to anyone who has played the most recent Halo games as it is a form encountered with enemy Prometheans. With this new body, he joins the aforementioned crew of the Ace of Spades becoming friends with Rion and her crew. After a few small adventures, they eventually find another imprint of the Librarian at Mount Kilimanjaro on Earth. Spark has a conversation with her about their old lives together and she alludes to Spark’s importance in the days to come. After their conversation, Spark decides to stay with the Ace of Spades a little longer before joining the Librarian one day in the Domain.
1 The Reason Behind 343
Returning to the naming conventions, what is the significance behind the number “343”? After all, it is apparently so important that it is now the name of the studio that currently develops the Halo games. It all has to do with the number seven. Specifically, “343” is seven to the third power. Bungie has always had a fascination with the number seven and try to incorporate it into their creations in unique ways. As such, all monitors in the Halo mythos possess a number that is intrinsically tied to the number seven. Guilty Spark got “343” because he was the third monitor created that was involved in this trend.
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