Halo 2

Finally, the second post for my Halo series has arrived. In the last post I mentioned several articles of hidden interest, such as genetic engineering, and a negative portrayal of religions with a hierarchy or ‘ruling authority.’ One of the main things I’ve noticed lately, is that people are more and more willing to associate the negative portrayals of religion as attacks from Atheism. But when we study the nature and ideal of atheism, we find that all so called ‘atheists’ all have created a personal god out of some object or goal in their lives, whether it be money, pleasure, or any other thing. Now, my main reason for posting this article is to make people aware of the bad name receives in Microsoft’s Halo Video Game series. As I mentioned before, the Covenant are the enemies of the human race, or rather the U.N.S.C. (United Nations Space Command.) Enclosed below is a description of the Covenant Society, which sounds awfully like an intended twisted look at theocracy, thus giving religion a bad name.

Covenant:

Background

The Covenant was once dominated by the two major species, the Elites and the Prophets. The name “Covenant” was taken from the binding pact between the Elites and the Prophets at the formation of the civilization.^[1] The two races were once locked in a bitter power struggle, but when the Prophets found evidence of the Forerunners and their “The Great Journey”, hoping to create tranquility between them, told the Elites of their discovery and promised to find the means of the Forerunners’ transcendence. The Prophets would share this knowledge with the Elites and they in turn would protect the Prophets as they searched for transcendent Forerunner artifacts to activate all the Halo rings.

At first, the Covenant were mostly held together by a need to survive^[1], but, as their society advanced, so did their technology, culture, and religion. Now the Covenant control a large part of the Orion arm of the Milky Way galaxy, and their society is a complicated caste system, with the Prophets governing the Covenant, and the Brutes in charge of the military. The Covenant is a theocracy, based on a prophecy about the Sacred Rings and the Great Journey. They believe that the Halos will allow them passage into the “divine beyond,” where they shall join the Forerunners as gods, while “unholy” ones will be obliterated and left behind.

A Note on the Prophets

Many of the alien races conquered by the Covenant are conscripted into, or gradually become part of, the alliance.^[2] It is uncertain why the Prophets have purposefully chosen to ignore this pattern concerning humans, and instead attempt genocide on Humanity.^[3] The reason they give is that the humans blocked their access to sacred sites; however, a more probable reason for this is that the Prophets view humanity as a threat to their established authority as humans would in theory hold a highier postion in the Covenant than the Prophets due to being the “children” of the Forerunners.

• • Prophets As the highest caste, it is the Prophets who lead the Covenant and exert complete control over religious and political affairs. Physically frail, Prophets wield power through absolute command of the Covenant [and scavaged] technology leaving the task of conquest to Elites and the subordinate races. Their higher understanding of the Forerunner gives them great egos and religious powers over the Covenant. The fact that the Covenant are religious zealots makes it all the more easy to control them.^[1] Their true name is San’Shyuum, but they are adressed as Hierarchs or Holy Ones by the other races of the Covenant. Prophets enforce a misguided theology based on the belief that firing Halo array will herald some kind of sublimation event called the Great Journey.

P.S> All notes and information regarding Halo and the Halo Franchise has been taken from Halopedia.