Key mind

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As the compound minds created by the Flood expand and grow, a Gravemind can consciously exert control over a wider area or divide its attention among many more intricate plots.

"Entire planetary ecosystems have apparently undergone conversion to what are being referred to as Key Minds."

— String 18, one of thirty-nine such abstracted pieces of sourced from aCatalog unit and damagedmonitor associated with a single fossilizedJuridical.^[1]^[2]

Key minds are a type ofFlood form, used for the coordination of larger Flood forces. The term does not refer to any one specific kind of Flood form, but instead encompasses a variety of specialised coordination forms, all formed when a givenFlood outbreak reaches a critical mass and begins to transition into theCoordinated Stage. The most powerful and well-known forms of key mind areGraveminds, the apex hiveminds of the Flood hierarchy, though other forms range in scale and scope from relatively simple to planet-spanning neural networks.^[2]^[3]

Overview[edit]

Key minds are formed when a Flood outbreak grows in scope, and multiple absorbed victims's neural systems are merged withFlood Super Cell connecting them into one conglomerate.^[2] Key minds that emerge early in an outbreak are relatively crude and consist of multiple bodies grafted together, but over time they can grow in size and scope.^[3]

Key minds act as coordinators for nearby Flood forms, leveraging wisdom harvested from the parasites' hosts to expand, outwit, overwhelm, and consume other life.^[4] The creation of key minds causes an infestation to transition fromferal aggression tocoordinated conversion. As the Flood grow in number, key minds combine and expand into larger, exponentially more intelligent networks. The appearance of these vile collectives typically indicates most local sentient hosts have been infected or consumed. Once a critical mass of key minds have been combined, the Flood's centralized intelligence can begin to emerge in their seething mass of corrupted flesh: aProto-Gravemind that sifts through and feeds on the memories of every Flood-infected victim.^[4]

Types of key mind[edit]

There are three primary forms of key mind that the Flood take on, all mobile compound minds designed to direct Flood forces operating alone or in the early stages of an outbreak. These are the Abomination, Blightstalker, and Juggernaut.^[3] As the infection spreads and the outbreak grows in scale, the Flood begin to create Proto-Graveminds and Graveminds - the apex of the Flood. Truly large-scale infestations in theInterstellar Stage may even see the emergence of much more specialised key mind forms, such as planetary-scale key minds that encompass the entire absorbed biosphere of a given world, with billions or organisms' neural systems linked together to command Flood on a galactic scale.^[2]

Abomination - a large, towering command form evolved from the more basic Juggernaut, that emerges in instances where a givenhive and Proto-Gravemind cannot be formed and the horde must stay mobile. Abominations direct massed Flood forces in offensives on enemy targets, and are extraordinarily powerful combatants.^[5]^[3]
Blightstalker - a more rarely-seen key mind form that primarily resides inblightlands, directing Flood within the vicinity to hunt down surviving forms of biomass and nonsapient life.^[3]
Juggernaut - a highly-mobile key mind specialised to serve in a field commander role, directing Flood in front-line combat.^[3]
Proto-Gravemind - the first stages of a Gravemind, formed when an outbreak has reached critical mass and can establish a dedicated hive.
Gravemind - the apex compound intelligence of the Flood.

History[edit]

Near the end of theForerunners'struggle against theFlood, entire planetary ecosystems underwent conversion to the Flood. The moniker "Key Mind" was first used by Forerunners to refer to the Flood controlling these ecosystems. These Key Minds displayed extraordinary processing power and strategic planning abilities and appeared to be more than a match for even anymetarch-class ancilla. They were capable of seizing complete control of besieged sectors and sending converted battle fleets through unprecedented numbers of slipspace portals through the use ofPrecursor neural physics.^[1]^[2]

Many thousands of years after the war, in2531, a Proto-Gravemind was encountered by theUNSCSpirit of Fire on the Forerunnershield world Trove where it attempted to trick the human crew. The crew managed to kill the Proto-Gravemind^[6] and later destroyed the planet itself.^[7] Similarly, in2552, a Proto-Gravemind was encountered by Spartan IIJohn-117 during theBattle of Installation 04 on board theTruth and Reconciliation where it was attempting to use the knowledge of the assimilated CaptainJacob Keyes to fly the ship to Earth.^[8] Another Proto-Gravemind formed aboard theInfinite Succor during the same battle, butwas destroyed by Covenant forces led byRtas 'Vadumee along with the ship.^[9] The Installation 04 campaign also saw the formation of several Juggernauts later in the conflict.^[10]^[11]

Later that year, a Gravemind that had established itself onInstallation 05 boarded theCovenant capital,High Charity, and overtook it.^[12]^[13] It used the mobile station to pursueUnited Nations Space Command and Covenant forces toInstallation 00,^[14] where it was dealt a devastating blow by the firing of the incompleteInstallation 08 which destroyed the Gravemind and ended the Flood outbreak on the installation.^[15] In the years to follow,humans studying records from theForerunner-Flood War realized that the complexity witnessed to give rise to the Key Minds wasn't exclusive to a new stage, but rather was pervasive at every stage of progression, especially leading to the formation of Proto-Graveminds.

In2559, key minds were encountered again onInstallation 00 in the form of abominations and a Proto-Gravemind when theBanished forces occupying the installation accidentally released what remained of the Flood fromHigh Charity's crash site where it had previously been confined. The Proto-Gravemind was destroyed by Banished forces before it could become a Gravemind and the installation's Sentinels were able to once more contain the Flood.^[16]