Jay2645
August 8th, 2007, 04:29 AM
THEORY 1:
How the Halo System Works:
I think I have determined how the Halo installations “wipe the galaxy clean of all sentient life”, as interpreted by Cortana in Halo CE. There are also elements of AdjutantReflex’s final message that slammed me into this direction. Most notable the pictures of microscopic organisms.
In Halo 1, the effect of a Halo firing is referred to by 343 Guilty Spark as a “pulse”. Example:
-343 GS: “This installation's pulse has a maximum effective radius of twenty-five thousand light years.”
Let’s think about that word, "pulse". In the context 343 is using the word, it would refer to a sonar like ripple sort of like dropping a pebble into water. In this case the galaxy. We can presume it operates like a circular wave because Guilty Spark also uses the term radius which pertains only to the measurement circular patterns. So, by simple common sense and decent interpretation we can no doubt agree that a ring firing goes out in a massive “wave.”
Another character who describes the “pulse” element is Cortana when she identifies that you must neutralize Halo’s “Phase Pulse Generators”. Here’s another statement I have dissected. They refer to “Phase” as in multiple phases. Hang on to that one for a moment, we’ll come back to it shortly.
An interesting technology that the forerunner had unlocked was teleportation . Basically when something is teleported it is smashed down to the atomic level and re-assembled in another location. It reduces you to mere atoms, and puts you together again. This is how Guilty Spark teleports you in Halo 1, and how Gravemind teleports you in Halo 2. This is also how teleporters work in any Halo multiplayer maps.
It has been widely theorized that the Library is in fact a massive collection of genetic samples. If this is true, than it could be presumed that the index is the key to unlocking those samples prior to an activation. Even if this is not true there is an alternate angle I will explore in the main theory.
And what is even more a testament to the forerunners technological supremacy is the ring itself. Aside from its weaponry capabilities it is an artificial world, able to hold a sustainable ecosystem complete with everything required to nurture it. (Bacteria, Microbial Life, and other more complex organisms) Without those elements the environment would become stagnant.
So we have some pretty interesting components:
A Teleportation Grid
An artificial yet sustainable ecosystem (complete with bacteria and microbial matter required to nourish it)
A pulse oriented weapon system with an effective range capable of leveling an entire planetary system.
And an expansive collection of genetic samples (presumed)Ok, here is my theory with regards to activation and how it works.
When fired, a ring emits a massive pulse which is in fact an extension of Halo’s teleportation grid. It would happen in certain phases.
Phase One:
The ringwould detect, and lock on to the calcium levels in all complex live forms within the ring’s range, specifically targets with sufficient bio-mass to sustain the flood.
Phase Two:
The ring would engage a massive teleportation pulse, reducing everything targeted to the atomic level. Only this teleporter would not be designed to re-assemble the targets and smash them into nothing.
Phase three:
If the library does contain genetic samples, the ring’s pulse emitters disperse the genetic material over the target area to re-populate and reset the evolutionary cycle.
Meaning that the Forerunners could have put their genetic material into the Library, and they became Humans. In Halo 1, on the level The Maw, Guilty Spark is quoted as saying something about all of the Forerunner's lost knowledge. This means that Alpha Halo is probably the closest Halo to Earth, which would explain how the Covenant found it so easily in Halo 2 because both of it's proximity to Alpha Halo and because of I Love Bees, plus it explains why the Human race appeared on Earth, since the genetic samples were spread over Earth. The humans (Or rather Forerunners) would have died on all the other planets, since none were able to support life. They may have survived a little while on Mars, but something, I don't know what, wiped out that planet.
THEORY 2:
AdjutantReflex's killer:
Is the identity of the new entity (the "machine" that "outranked" and "terminated" AdjutantReflex) hiding in plain sight right before us?
In his last post on the forum before being killed by the new entity, AdjutantReflex stated the following:
What has he learned in Eon’s slumber?
I doubt it’s mercy or sorrow.Being the grammar nerd that I am, I immediately noticed the first above-quoted sentence. Namely this part: Eon's slumber. But to explain things thoroughly, I will need to write a somewhat long post, so please have some patience as you read on.
Face Value and Implied Meaning of the Sentence:
To analyze this, let's first look at the implied meaning of the sentence at face value. To do so, it may help to rephrase the sentence. I would say something like this:
"What has he learned in the eons that he has been asleep?"
Right? Hopefully we are all agreed that this would be the correct implied meaning of the actual sentence written by AdjutantReflex. And at first, you most likely read the sentence in this way and moved on.
The Grammatical Error:
But there is one problem -- this sentence contains a major grammatical error that actually changes its literal meaning. Most of the time, posting about corrections to grammatical errors on these forums will earn you a mild flaming. But here I have to talk about it, so bear with me for just a moment.
If this sentence was supposed to mean what it is implied to mean, and if the sentence had been grammatically correct, then it would read as follows:
"What has he learned in eons' slumber?"
Note that, in the corrected sentence, the apostrophe has been moved to the end to indicate plural possessive, and the "e" has been decapitalized. Now, the sentence is both grammatically correct and actually means what it seems to.
The Sentence's Literal Meaning As Written:
So let's assume for the moment that, as an Artificial Intelligence Construct, AdjutantReflex does not make grammatical errors. Very fair assumption, I think. So then, there is no grammatical error in the sentence "What has he learned in Eon's slumber," allowing us to draw two conclusions:
Eon is a proper noun -- a name. Meaning that Eon is an entity.
Eon is the name or nickname of the entity that killed AdjutantReflex.The first conclusion is self-evident. The word "eon" (meaning a long period of time defined by a significant beginning and ending) is a regular noun and is not a word that should be capitalized. Its capitalization, assuming intentionality, makes it a proper noun.
The second conclusion takes slightly more explaining: even if someone else puts you to sleep (with a sleeping pill or even in the figurative sense by killing you or knocking you out), in the English language we do not refer to that as someone else's sleep. When somebody is sleeping, it is always THEIR sleep, no matter who put that person to sleep. To draw an example, let's say that a mother rocks her baby boy "John" to sleep. Once it's asleep, the baby makes noises. In the English language, at least, the proper way to describe this situation is that "John is talking in his sleep," NOT that "John is talking in his mother's sleep." For these same reasons, "Eon" cannot be a city or place. Therefore, "Eon's slumber" refers to the entity that is or was asleep.
Therefore, to reiterate, the conclusions we draw are the following: Eon is the "stirring" entity that AR had been warning us was about to kill him, and that AdjutantReflex hid (probably on purpose) the name of his killer in the last post he ever wrote.
The Name of AdjutantReflex's Killer:
I do not think that the new entity's name is Eon. I believe that Eon is a nickname -- merely another clue leading us to the true identity.
The word "Eon" is an English word of Greek origin. It derives from the Greek word "Æon" or "Aeon," meaning "forever" or "eternity." Most interestingly, however, Æon is the nickname of the Greek god Chronos. Chronos, according to Ancient Greek mythology, was both time itself and the god of time (Also, do not confuse "Chronos" with "Cronus" -- they are two different Ancient Greek mythological entities).
This, I believe, is the name of our new entity. "Chronos," or some variation thereon. Chronos is an AI Construct that we have never met or seen before -- ancient, powerful, probably extremely intelligent, and devoted to its system.
Support for this Theory:
This conclusion, like so many others, requires some assumptions, but can be supported.
Greek Mythological Entities Are Already Part of this ARG: First, we have already had a confirmed connection in this puzzle to the names of Greek deities. The situation there was startlingly similar as to here. Remember how the word "Chrysopteron" was the file name of AdjutantReflex's custom avatar? And do you remember that we found out that "Chrysopteron" was the nickname of the Greek messenger goddess Iris? This led to us answering the question about golden wings with the correct answer, "Iris." Now, we see another word, plainly written and quite obvious (in other words, not encoded or hidden in a picture or in some other language), and have determined that it is the nickname of a Greek deity. It's almost as if we're expected to realize this.
Previous reference by AdjutantReflex to Time: Second, AdjutantReflex described his assailant as one who "plays with time even as he hides in its folds." Chronos/Aeon = Greek word for "Time." Get it? Perhaps AR was trying to warn us even then.THEORY 3:
The Missing Link:
OK, before I go any farther, you need to take a look at this:
http://www.halo3.com/comic/
Read all of that before going on. Don't worry, I'll wait.
*Taps foot*
No, go ahead, keep reading.
Yes, that's it, read all of it.
No no no, finish it. I'll wait.
OK, I'm done waiting. Didn't read it? Go back up and read it, you'll need to read it to understand what I'm saying.
Now, in that comic, it clearly showed Forerunner... Things and Humans together. I do not believe those are Forerunners themselves, nor are they Forerunner drones set to build the Ark (Which I'm presuming is what they're doing) after the Halos had been fired, as that would be kinda stupid, to fire it and then finish building it. Now, since that came directly from Bungie, that would be canon material. But then doesn't it interfere with my first theory? Not exactly.
I do not believe those are Homo Sapiens. Those are more likely Neanderthals or Homo Erectus, probably another variant of the Forerunners that didn't get as lucky to evolve as fast. They are on their way to becoming Forerunner, but haven't made it yet.
What Happened to the Neanderthals? One of science's great mysteries is whatever happened to the Neanderthals. They suddenly disappeared, and then Homo Sapiens came. The two's bones were found together for a short time, probably from when the Forerunner were here building the Ark. But then they all disappeared, at about the same time 343 GS says the Halos were fired. Now, according to theory one, then the Forerunner's genetic material came down to Earth, starting a Homo Sapien race here.
The Missing Link. Another mystery of science is what happened to the Missing Link. There is a gap in the evolution chain from apes to humans, a "Bigfoot". If the Forerunner evolved here after the Halos were fired, then we wouldn't need a missing link, as they just showed up.
Humans being Called "Reclaimers": In all of Halo's Canon, the humans are referred to as "Reclaimers". If they were indeed the Forerunner, then it would be logical that everyone would look to them to control the Flood outbreak.
MIJOLNIR Armor: In Halo: The Flood, 343 GS says to Master Chief that his armor is not sufficient to do the job, and that he needs armor 12 times more powerful. Frankly, I'm surprised it's not 7 times more powerful, but that's not important. What is important is that... Oh, crap, I lost my train of thought. I need to catch a new one. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. ..................... There we go. Anyway, GS recognizes the armor, meaning that history, as it always does, is repeating itself, meaning that humans are doing the exact same things as the Forerunners did, since they are the same species. THEORY 4:
The Short One
I think the Ark cannot be fired on it's own. Rather, you need all of the indexes of the seven Halos, and I believe the Covies have found 5. 1 is held by Cortana (Remember?) and one is in a Halo ring here the last level of Halo 3 is held.
THEORY 5:
Halo 3's Story
OK, so this is how I think Halo 3 will play out, level-by-level.
1. MC landing in the forest. Pretty much like the second level of Halo 1, except we have Arbiter and the Elites on our team.
2. MC fighting his way to and into the base. This is where the marines think up a plan, and where we see MC leaning over the panel-thingy at the end.
3. Covenant disrupt the planning. You have to fight your way out of this one, and make your way to the Ark. You see massive Covenant reinforcements planted. This is the scene where Miranda Keyes is dual-wielding the pistol and Mauler.
4. The marines and elites try to take the Ark from the Covenant loyalists. You battle a giant Scarab, and then have the Arbiter help in taking down some Covenant anti-air emplacements from the inside.
5. MC fights through Covie-infested Voi, gets inside the Ark and finds... Flood? Like the Library from Halo 1, you have to fight past waves of Flood to get to the center structure. Here he finds some new AI, I doubt AR, since he was terminated in 2007. MC learns that the Ark needs all of the indexes, and sees how many the Covenant have planted, 5. He knows that Cortana has Alpha Halo's, and so all he needs is the final Halo's Index.
6. MC has to get back into space to High Charity, possibly so he can receive the index. He is teleported out of the Ark (Possibly by making that AI I mentioned earlier mad or scared) to the waste area where we see MC for the first time in the E3 2007 trailer. He tries to fight his way back to the Marines and a Pelican to get to Cortana and receive her index.
7. MC has made his way to the marines, where he can board a Pelican. Right as he is about to, the Covenant attack, and he has to defend the City's Citadel, where there is a temporary Marine base. At the end, the Flood attack as well, and MC takes the Pelican to escape.
8. Master Chief has made it to High Charity, which has been infested with more Flood, including *Gasp* JUGGERNAUTS! He has to get to Cortana, who has a bad case of rampancy and is accompanied by 343 Guilty Spark. She tells him to activate the Halos, and gives him the coordinates for another Halo. MC, for some reason, obeys, clears the bridge of the flood, seals all the hatches of the bridge, and empties the entire ship except for the bridge into vacuum, thus killing the flood. The coordinates are set, the flood are Contained, and so MC can go to the Halo and get the final index.
9. MC journeys to the new Halo, and goes to the coordinate data Cortana sends him for the Library. This is the hardest level of the game by far, as you need to go down the many floors of the Library, get the Index, have Cortana teleport him again (Except maybe not upside-down this time), but his suit malfunctions, and you have to brave the last level... WITH NO SHIELDS! While you were mucking about in the Library, the Covenant saw High Charity leave. Thinking that the Flood were reporting back to their masters (or something), all the Covies follow shortly after, and see another Halo. By the time you get to that part of the level, the Covenant have landed, and you have to fight them. Although the teleport malfunctioned, you did arrive in the right place, however, In Amber Clad, also curious as to High Charity's sudden disappearance. You give Miranda Keyes the index with orders to stick it in the Ark. Afterwards, you leave the ship in a Pelican flown by MC, but it is shot down, driving it slightly off-course, rather then going directly to the Control Room, as planned, you are now about where you were on the level Assault on the Control Room. Once you finally get to the Control Room, you MAY or MAY NOT have to battle the Prophet of Truth in a boss battle, I'm hoping towards the latter, but it's the last fight of that story arc. When he is dead, it shows Miranda Keyes and Sargent Johnson landing in a Pelican, then insert the index. Then MC and Arbiter walk up to the Control Panel, insert the last Index. MC says some witty comment, then he turns the handle, the screen goes white, and...
Credits. After the Credits, it shows the humans and Elites rebuilding Earth, as well as Sargent Johnson and Miranda Keyes, just to confirm they are alive.
Dead:
All the loyalist Covies, Arbiter, MC.
Alive:
The Elites and the Humans who were on Earth, Johnson, Miranda Keyes.
I suppose that does classify as a theory.
That's all I got for now. I started at 9:30 PM, and it is now 1:30 AM. I have another theory, but it's still in the budding stages. For now, try to shoot down the 3 I laid out. :p
How the Halo System Works:
I think I have determined how the Halo installations “wipe the galaxy clean of all sentient life”, as interpreted by Cortana in Halo CE. There are also elements of AdjutantReflex’s final message that slammed me into this direction. Most notable the pictures of microscopic organisms.
In Halo 1, the effect of a Halo firing is referred to by 343 Guilty Spark as a “pulse”. Example:
-343 GS: “This installation's pulse has a maximum effective radius of twenty-five thousand light years.”
Let’s think about that word, "pulse". In the context 343 is using the word, it would refer to a sonar like ripple sort of like dropping a pebble into water. In this case the galaxy. We can presume it operates like a circular wave because Guilty Spark also uses the term radius which pertains only to the measurement circular patterns. So, by simple common sense and decent interpretation we can no doubt agree that a ring firing goes out in a massive “wave.”
Another character who describes the “pulse” element is Cortana when she identifies that you must neutralize Halo’s “Phase Pulse Generators”. Here’s another statement I have dissected. They refer to “Phase” as in multiple phases. Hang on to that one for a moment, we’ll come back to it shortly.
An interesting technology that the forerunner had unlocked was teleportation . Basically when something is teleported it is smashed down to the atomic level and re-assembled in another location. It reduces you to mere atoms, and puts you together again. This is how Guilty Spark teleports you in Halo 1, and how Gravemind teleports you in Halo 2. This is also how teleporters work in any Halo multiplayer maps.
It has been widely theorized that the Library is in fact a massive collection of genetic samples. If this is true, than it could be presumed that the index is the key to unlocking those samples prior to an activation. Even if this is not true there is an alternate angle I will explore in the main theory.
And what is even more a testament to the forerunners technological supremacy is the ring itself. Aside from its weaponry capabilities it is an artificial world, able to hold a sustainable ecosystem complete with everything required to nurture it. (Bacteria, Microbial Life, and other more complex organisms) Without those elements the environment would become stagnant.
So we have some pretty interesting components:
A Teleportation Grid
An artificial yet sustainable ecosystem (complete with bacteria and microbial matter required to nourish it)
A pulse oriented weapon system with an effective range capable of leveling an entire planetary system.
And an expansive collection of genetic samples (presumed)Ok, here is my theory with regards to activation and how it works.
When fired, a ring emits a massive pulse which is in fact an extension of Halo’s teleportation grid. It would happen in certain phases.
Phase One:
The ringwould detect, and lock on to the calcium levels in all complex live forms within the ring’s range, specifically targets with sufficient bio-mass to sustain the flood.
Phase Two:
The ring would engage a massive teleportation pulse, reducing everything targeted to the atomic level. Only this teleporter would not be designed to re-assemble the targets and smash them into nothing.
Phase three:
If the library does contain genetic samples, the ring’s pulse emitters disperse the genetic material over the target area to re-populate and reset the evolutionary cycle.
Meaning that the Forerunners could have put their genetic material into the Library, and they became Humans. In Halo 1, on the level The Maw, Guilty Spark is quoted as saying something about all of the Forerunner's lost knowledge. This means that Alpha Halo is probably the closest Halo to Earth, which would explain how the Covenant found it so easily in Halo 2 because both of it's proximity to Alpha Halo and because of I Love Bees, plus it explains why the Human race appeared on Earth, since the genetic samples were spread over Earth. The humans (Or rather Forerunners) would have died on all the other planets, since none were able to support life. They may have survived a little while on Mars, but something, I don't know what, wiped out that planet.
THEORY 2:
AdjutantReflex's killer:
Is the identity of the new entity (the "machine" that "outranked" and "terminated" AdjutantReflex) hiding in plain sight right before us?
In his last post on the forum before being killed by the new entity, AdjutantReflex stated the following:
What has he learned in Eon’s slumber?
I doubt it’s mercy or sorrow.Being the grammar nerd that I am, I immediately noticed the first above-quoted sentence. Namely this part: Eon's slumber. But to explain things thoroughly, I will need to write a somewhat long post, so please have some patience as you read on.
Face Value and Implied Meaning of the Sentence:
To analyze this, let's first look at the implied meaning of the sentence at face value. To do so, it may help to rephrase the sentence. I would say something like this:
"What has he learned in the eons that he has been asleep?"
Right? Hopefully we are all agreed that this would be the correct implied meaning of the actual sentence written by AdjutantReflex. And at first, you most likely read the sentence in this way and moved on.
The Grammatical Error:
But there is one problem -- this sentence contains a major grammatical error that actually changes its literal meaning. Most of the time, posting about corrections to grammatical errors on these forums will earn you a mild flaming. But here I have to talk about it, so bear with me for just a moment.
If this sentence was supposed to mean what it is implied to mean, and if the sentence had been grammatically correct, then it would read as follows:
"What has he learned in eons' slumber?"
Note that, in the corrected sentence, the apostrophe has been moved to the end to indicate plural possessive, and the "e" has been decapitalized. Now, the sentence is both grammatically correct and actually means what it seems to.
The Sentence's Literal Meaning As Written:
So let's assume for the moment that, as an Artificial Intelligence Construct, AdjutantReflex does not make grammatical errors. Very fair assumption, I think. So then, there is no grammatical error in the sentence "What has he learned in Eon's slumber," allowing us to draw two conclusions:
Eon is a proper noun -- a name. Meaning that Eon is an entity.
Eon is the name or nickname of the entity that killed AdjutantReflex.The first conclusion is self-evident. The word "eon" (meaning a long period of time defined by a significant beginning and ending) is a regular noun and is not a word that should be capitalized. Its capitalization, assuming intentionality, makes it a proper noun.
The second conclusion takes slightly more explaining: even if someone else puts you to sleep (with a sleeping pill or even in the figurative sense by killing you or knocking you out), in the English language we do not refer to that as someone else's sleep. When somebody is sleeping, it is always THEIR sleep, no matter who put that person to sleep. To draw an example, let's say that a mother rocks her baby boy "John" to sleep. Once it's asleep, the baby makes noises. In the English language, at least, the proper way to describe this situation is that "John is talking in his sleep," NOT that "John is talking in his mother's sleep." For these same reasons, "Eon" cannot be a city or place. Therefore, "Eon's slumber" refers to the entity that is or was asleep.
Therefore, to reiterate, the conclusions we draw are the following: Eon is the "stirring" entity that AR had been warning us was about to kill him, and that AdjutantReflex hid (probably on purpose) the name of his killer in the last post he ever wrote.
The Name of AdjutantReflex's Killer:
I do not think that the new entity's name is Eon. I believe that Eon is a nickname -- merely another clue leading us to the true identity.
The word "Eon" is an English word of Greek origin. It derives from the Greek word "Æon" or "Aeon," meaning "forever" or "eternity." Most interestingly, however, Æon is the nickname of the Greek god Chronos. Chronos, according to Ancient Greek mythology, was both time itself and the god of time (Also, do not confuse "Chronos" with "Cronus" -- they are two different Ancient Greek mythological entities).
This, I believe, is the name of our new entity. "Chronos," or some variation thereon. Chronos is an AI Construct that we have never met or seen before -- ancient, powerful, probably extremely intelligent, and devoted to its system.
Support for this Theory:
This conclusion, like so many others, requires some assumptions, but can be supported.
Greek Mythological Entities Are Already Part of this ARG: First, we have already had a confirmed connection in this puzzle to the names of Greek deities. The situation there was startlingly similar as to here. Remember how the word "Chrysopteron" was the file name of AdjutantReflex's custom avatar? And do you remember that we found out that "Chrysopteron" was the nickname of the Greek messenger goddess Iris? This led to us answering the question about golden wings with the correct answer, "Iris." Now, we see another word, plainly written and quite obvious (in other words, not encoded or hidden in a picture or in some other language), and have determined that it is the nickname of a Greek deity. It's almost as if we're expected to realize this.
Previous reference by AdjutantReflex to Time: Second, AdjutantReflex described his assailant as one who "plays with time even as he hides in its folds." Chronos/Aeon = Greek word for "Time." Get it? Perhaps AR was trying to warn us even then.THEORY 3:
The Missing Link:
OK, before I go any farther, you need to take a look at this:
http://www.halo3.com/comic/
Read all of that before going on. Don't worry, I'll wait.
*Taps foot*
No, go ahead, keep reading.
Yes, that's it, read all of it.
No no no, finish it. I'll wait.
OK, I'm done waiting. Didn't read it? Go back up and read it, you'll need to read it to understand what I'm saying.
Now, in that comic, it clearly showed Forerunner... Things and Humans together. I do not believe those are Forerunners themselves, nor are they Forerunner drones set to build the Ark (Which I'm presuming is what they're doing) after the Halos had been fired, as that would be kinda stupid, to fire it and then finish building it. Now, since that came directly from Bungie, that would be canon material. But then doesn't it interfere with my first theory? Not exactly.
I do not believe those are Homo Sapiens. Those are more likely Neanderthals or Homo Erectus, probably another variant of the Forerunners that didn't get as lucky to evolve as fast. They are on their way to becoming Forerunner, but haven't made it yet.
What Happened to the Neanderthals? One of science's great mysteries is whatever happened to the Neanderthals. They suddenly disappeared, and then Homo Sapiens came. The two's bones were found together for a short time, probably from when the Forerunner were here building the Ark. But then they all disappeared, at about the same time 343 GS says the Halos were fired. Now, according to theory one, then the Forerunner's genetic material came down to Earth, starting a Homo Sapien race here.
The Missing Link. Another mystery of science is what happened to the Missing Link. There is a gap in the evolution chain from apes to humans, a "Bigfoot". If the Forerunner evolved here after the Halos were fired, then we wouldn't need a missing link, as they just showed up.
Humans being Called "Reclaimers": In all of Halo's Canon, the humans are referred to as "Reclaimers". If they were indeed the Forerunner, then it would be logical that everyone would look to them to control the Flood outbreak.
MIJOLNIR Armor: In Halo: The Flood, 343 GS says to Master Chief that his armor is not sufficient to do the job, and that he needs armor 12 times more powerful. Frankly, I'm surprised it's not 7 times more powerful, but that's not important. What is important is that... Oh, crap, I lost my train of thought. I need to catch a new one. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. .................................................. ..................... There we go. Anyway, GS recognizes the armor, meaning that history, as it always does, is repeating itself, meaning that humans are doing the exact same things as the Forerunners did, since they are the same species. THEORY 4:
The Short One
I think the Ark cannot be fired on it's own. Rather, you need all of the indexes of the seven Halos, and I believe the Covies have found 5. 1 is held by Cortana (Remember?) and one is in a Halo ring here the last level of Halo 3 is held.
THEORY 5:
Halo 3's Story
OK, so this is how I think Halo 3 will play out, level-by-level.
1. MC landing in the forest. Pretty much like the second level of Halo 1, except we have Arbiter and the Elites on our team.
2. MC fighting his way to and into the base. This is where the marines think up a plan, and where we see MC leaning over the panel-thingy at the end.
3. Covenant disrupt the planning. You have to fight your way out of this one, and make your way to the Ark. You see massive Covenant reinforcements planted. This is the scene where Miranda Keyes is dual-wielding the pistol and Mauler.
4. The marines and elites try to take the Ark from the Covenant loyalists. You battle a giant Scarab, and then have the Arbiter help in taking down some Covenant anti-air emplacements from the inside.
5. MC fights through Covie-infested Voi, gets inside the Ark and finds... Flood? Like the Library from Halo 1, you have to fight past waves of Flood to get to the center structure. Here he finds some new AI, I doubt AR, since he was terminated in 2007. MC learns that the Ark needs all of the indexes, and sees how many the Covenant have planted, 5. He knows that Cortana has Alpha Halo's, and so all he needs is the final Halo's Index.
6. MC has to get back into space to High Charity, possibly so he can receive the index. He is teleported out of the Ark (Possibly by making that AI I mentioned earlier mad or scared) to the waste area where we see MC for the first time in the E3 2007 trailer. He tries to fight his way back to the Marines and a Pelican to get to Cortana and receive her index.
7. MC has made his way to the marines, where he can board a Pelican. Right as he is about to, the Covenant attack, and he has to defend the City's Citadel, where there is a temporary Marine base. At the end, the Flood attack as well, and MC takes the Pelican to escape.
8. Master Chief has made it to High Charity, which has been infested with more Flood, including *Gasp* JUGGERNAUTS! He has to get to Cortana, who has a bad case of rampancy and is accompanied by 343 Guilty Spark. She tells him to activate the Halos, and gives him the coordinates for another Halo. MC, for some reason, obeys, clears the bridge of the flood, seals all the hatches of the bridge, and empties the entire ship except for the bridge into vacuum, thus killing the flood. The coordinates are set, the flood are Contained, and so MC can go to the Halo and get the final index.
9. MC journeys to the new Halo, and goes to the coordinate data Cortana sends him for the Library. This is the hardest level of the game by far, as you need to go down the many floors of the Library, get the Index, have Cortana teleport him again (Except maybe not upside-down this time), but his suit malfunctions, and you have to brave the last level... WITH NO SHIELDS! While you were mucking about in the Library, the Covenant saw High Charity leave. Thinking that the Flood were reporting back to their masters (or something), all the Covies follow shortly after, and see another Halo. By the time you get to that part of the level, the Covenant have landed, and you have to fight them. Although the teleport malfunctioned, you did arrive in the right place, however, In Amber Clad, also curious as to High Charity's sudden disappearance. You give Miranda Keyes the index with orders to stick it in the Ark. Afterwards, you leave the ship in a Pelican flown by MC, but it is shot down, driving it slightly off-course, rather then going directly to the Control Room, as planned, you are now about where you were on the level Assault on the Control Room. Once you finally get to the Control Room, you MAY or MAY NOT have to battle the Prophet of Truth in a boss battle, I'm hoping towards the latter, but it's the last fight of that story arc. When he is dead, it shows Miranda Keyes and Sargent Johnson landing in a Pelican, then insert the index. Then MC and Arbiter walk up to the Control Panel, insert the last Index. MC says some witty comment, then he turns the handle, the screen goes white, and...
Credits. After the Credits, it shows the humans and Elites rebuilding Earth, as well as Sargent Johnson and Miranda Keyes, just to confirm they are alive.
Dead:
All the loyalist Covies, Arbiter, MC.
Alive:
The Elites and the Humans who were on Earth, Johnson, Miranda Keyes.
I suppose that does classify as a theory.
That's all I got for now. I started at 9:30 PM, and it is now 1:30 AM. I have another theory, but it's still in the budding stages. For now, try to shoot down the 3 I laid out. :p