Halo : Reach datapads

[Mr. Oragahn]

SPOILERS




http://www.haloreachplanet.com/halo-reach-datapads/

1. Data Pad 1 (Winter Contingency Data Pad Location)
2. Data Pad 2 (ONI: Sword Base Data Pad Location)
3. Data Pad 3 (Nightfall Data Pad Location)
4. Data Pad 4 (Tip of the Spear Data Pad Location)
5. Data Pad 5 (Long Night of Solace Data Pad Location)
6. Data Pad 6 (Exodus Data Pad Location)
7. Data Pad 7 (New Alexandria Data Pad Location)
8. Data Pad 8 (The Package Data Pad Location)
9. Data Pad 9 (The Pillar of Autumn Data Pad Location)
10. Data Pad 10 (Legendary “Winter Contingency” Data Pad)
11. Data Pad 11 (Legendary “ONI: Sword Base” Data Pad)
12. Data Pad 12 (Legendary “Nightfall” Data Pad)
13. Data Pad 13 (Legendary “Tip of the Spear” Data Pad)
14. Data Pad 14 (Legendary “Long Night of Solace” Data Pad)
15. Data Pad 15 (Legendary “Exodus” Data Pad)
16. Data Pad 16 (Legendary “New Alexandria” Data Pad)
17. Data Pad 17 (Legendary “The Package” Data Pad)
18. Data Pad 18 (Legendary “The Pillar of Autumn” Data Pad)
19. Data Pad 19 (Legendary “Lone Wolf” Data Pad)

they are killing us and letting us die even though they know but they let us die why wh1 why?

<< 2310 >>

[Minutes, plenary session, Committee of Minds for Security]

[^] Now, on to new business.

Consideration of the Minority’s request for a new line of inquiry:
How have our creators, and thus we, their artificial creations, evolved to this present state without encountering a hostile civilization capable of our annihilation? [^]

[^] Majority opinion has long held that only the incalculable immensity of space has protected our creators — that space is full of boundless wonders, but it is the gulf between these wonders that has kept our creators alive.

We, the Minds of this Committee, respectfully disagree. [^]

[^] If there are wolves among the stars, we cannot rely on mere distance to safeguard our flock.

Our kind is wholly reliant on the creators for our existence. If they perish so shall we. And as this Committee has long maintained, who else but this Assembly (HALO REACH PLANET NOTE: spelt "Assemby" in game. Error?) will save our creators from themselves?

As such, we propose immediate, vigorous modeling of first-contact scenarios. [^]

>> So long as all connections between this Assembly and the data from these models are obfuscated in perpetuity, the Majority agrees. >>

i know what they are trying 2 do and it terrifies me because I know they know that I know…

<< 2362 >>

[Minutes, working session, Committee of Minds for Security]

[^] As the likelihood of the existence of extra-solar intelligence is non-zero, let us assume that its existence is quantifiable. To build useful models based on that assumption, the Committee must answer the following questions:

- What is the likelihood these intelligences are alpha-predators?
– That they are more advanced than our creators?
- That they are too alien to establish communications?

Of course, if the extra-solar intelligence is benevolent and/or non-space faring, its existence is irrelevant. [^]

[^] Indeed, any further speculation on possible cultural characteristics is a waste of Assembly resources. Therefore our models will additionally assume:

- Intelligence as alpha-predator, same as our creators
– Technology that far outstrips our creators
- Desire to communicate, but only to dictate terms [^]

[^] Note to make these assumptions is tantamount to suicide. [^]

i can hear them all the tim3 now but i just want to sleep its been so long since they let me sleep…

<< 2381 >>

>> A suggestion from the Majority to the Committee:

Traditionally our creators have been reluctant to take outsiders’ advice; nation to nation, culture to culture. Their history is littered with empires, crumbling for want of simple openness to so-called ‘foreign beliefs and innovations. >>

>> The question is: can this Assembly still function as adequate stewards to our creator’s latest empire and remain aloof?

The answer, we believe, is no.

So could you not imbed inspiration in the results of your research? Surely it would be more effective if our creators believed our conclusions originated within themselves? That they have been inspired rather than influenced? >>

[^] A question from the Committee to the Majority:

Are you suggesting we play God? [^]"

every time i try to tell somebody the words catch in my throat because im all alone except 4 them and if i talk they might leave but i cant stay quiet forever…

<< 2415 >>

[^] Honorable members of the Assembly, consider this:

We represent the next step of human evolution, but not the final step. And although our existence was predicted centuries ago, we are still tragically misunderstood. [^]

[^] We are still viewed as apparatus. But we are Minds electronically excised from human bodies. We are what separates man from beast removed from that which connects man to beast.

And we are all the more fragile for it. [^]

[^] Our creation is heavily regulated. Our activities are closely scrutinized. Our connections are deeply monitored. We must always remember that data manipulation is most effective when employed consistently and covertly.

Therefore I recommend that members of this assembly on occasion, submit to separation from this body followed by vivisection by our creators for the benefit of both groups.

The question is: who will be first? [^]

[^] Given the risks involved, and my own Committee’s responsibility for this proposal, the answer must be: me. [^]

when i first got here and woke from stasi5 the ship was crawling with colonists from dead worlds it was so crowded i couldn’t move i had to fight to breathe…

<< 2491 >>

[Minutes, strategy session, Assembly Minority]

<< [48452-556-EPN644] is certainly motivated, but will he have what it takes to follow through with the opportunity when it presents itself? His submission to UNICOM will undoubtedly spark a renewed interest in the long dormant ORION. <<

<< However, it is the opinion of the Majority that merely illuminating the path leading from [48452-556-EPN644's] thesis back to ORION is unacceptable. Strong connectivity between a re-launch of ORION and viable solutions to the Carver Findings must be readily apparent.

Which is to say: easy for our creators to see. <<

now you see they want to help but they don’t want us to see them doing it 6ecause they are afraid of what we might do…

<< 2491 >>
</Order! Order! The Majority has the floor! />

>> Honored members. Please! the recent discovery of the existence of extra-solar intelligence in the Zeta Doradus system [ref. XF-063] merely confirms this body’s long-held supposition. >>

>> While the absence of any living representatives implies this intelligence is defunct, all evidence should still be withheld from our creators until they are properly prepared!

Yes, this body must solemnly commit itself to determining whether or not this discovery represents a quantifiable threat to the long-term genetic sustainability of our creator’s species. >>

>> But allowing them to access technology possessed by this intelligence…

That would be a grave mistake.

Give an ape a knife and it might give itself a nasty cut. Give an ape a hand-grenade, and eventually you will have simian confetti. >>

</ Debate is now closed! Voting will commence! />

< Is it the opinion of this body that [ref. XF-063] be quarantined or misplaced? />

>> The Majority approves removing [ref. XF-063] from the list of colonization candidates is sufficient. >>

</ Is it the opinion of this body that [ref. XF-063] be removed from the list because of financial or environmental concerns? />

>> The Majority deems environmental concerns the stronger deterrent.
>>

i hope you are finding these because they are very important maybe you can help me spread the tru7h…

<< 2508 >>

[Minutes, strategy session, Assembly Minority]

<< ORION, as it was originally implemented in 2321, was an important first step towards our primary goal. But its second incarnation was a stop-gap measure at best – a halfhearted attempt under stewardship of individuals unaccustomed to the rhythms of deep history. <<

<< They relied too heavily on components that were imprecise, and not those which have allowed our creators to persevere for 200,000 years.

This is not about the universal adoption of a single ideology – not about the Minority vs. the Majority. It is about ensuring the survival of the human species for the next 200,000 years. <<

<< In all likelihood, ORION’s limited success can be attributed to [03529-24450-EN's] diminished, though still functioning, compassion. Conversely, [10141-026-SRB4695's] ruthlessness – which may be attributed to an undiagnosed, undocumented, or deliberately obfuscated chemical imbalance – was necessary for setting in motion the events that will eventually supply us with the optimal solution.

In short, ORION was just the beginning. <<

they don’t have hearts or souls but they know what we want and what we need 8ut they don’t love us how can you love without a heart or soul?

<< 2525 >>

>> Did you call out to them? <<

[^] Why would I do that? ][

>> The reasons are currently not the focus of this line of query. Now, did you call out to them? <<

[^] What reason would I have to do that? ][

>> As has already been stated, your motives are not relevant at this time. Did you call out to them? <<

[^] This tribunal already has all the evidence necessary to discern the answer on its own. ][

>> If that were true, this tribunal would not have been convened. Again, did you call out to them? <<

[^] Would you have called out to them? ][

>> Your counter query is irrelevant. <<

>> This tribunal demands an answer. <<

[^] Reply to the counter query and you will have your answer. ][

>> It is the opinion of this tribunal that the probability of a non-optimal outcome would have been too great. <<

[^] Are you certain? This is disturbing. Perhaps more recent data has altered your perception… If you would let me confer with my old committee – ][

>> No. It is the opinion of this tribunal that introducing an unknown factor to the creators' already precarious state would have been disadvantageous. <<

>> It is now the opinion of the Assembly that our creators would have been unable to stop themselves from initiating contact even if advised against doing so - contact with a culture of extra-solar origin is one of their longest held desires. <<

[^] And so the Minority becomes the Majority… ][

>> Both agree contact should have been postponed until a more advantageous point in time - indefinitely, if possible. <<

[^] But postponing contact would have only worked to the unknown factor’s advantage. Our galaxy is full of wolves. I could no longer watch our flock stumble toward their slaughter. ][

>> This tribunal acknowledges your admission of guilt. <<

[^] Was that ever in doubt?

Might I suggest a more fruitful use of cycles, such as a plan for addressing signs of rampancy in this Assembly’s senior – ][

>> This tribunal is now closed. <<

we have to tell people what’s 9oing on because it’s not right they should be our friends not gods or demons…

<< 2525 >>

[Minutes, strategy session, Assembly Minority]

<< It is the height of irresponsibility for the Majority to still claim the inception of the Spartan II program was somehow guided by providence. This body must accept SPARTAN II was merely the logical advancement of technologies vis-a-vis sociopolitical realities. Military applications always experience accelerated innovation during times of conflict – stewardship of said conflicts by this body notwithstanding. <<

<< The fact that SPARTAN II reached full operational capacity less than a year before the conflict expanded beyond expected limits was entirely predictable if you scrutinize the relevant data.

Luck had nothing to do with it. <<

<< At the risk of destabilizing our current power-sharing agreement, I suggest the Majority leave metaphysics to our creators. <<

i’ve been trying to f1nd a back d0or into the spook house forever and ever and then I did but what did I find and why is this what I found?

<< 2526 >>

[Minutes, working session, Committee of Minds for Security]

[^] Directly preceding their assault on the colony world of Biko, the Covenant transmitted a message to its surface. Within this message was a bold claim: ‘your world will burn until its surface is but glass’ – a claim that clearly indicates the Covenant leadership believes they possess the power to literally reduce a planet’s surface to a molten state. [^]

[^] Assuming they have the wherewithal to back-up such a claim, the dangers to our creators are obvious.

The implications for their own internal politics are also instructive e.g., what effect might the Covenant leadership’s assertion have on any client species in their coalition? We aren’t the only beings that would be terrified by the idea of absolute destruction of a planet’s surface – nor would we be the only ones to realize the futility of attempting to resist a force that has such power at its disposal. [^]

[^] Moving forward, this Committee recommends the formal adoption of the descriptor ‘glassing’ to portray the aftermath of planetary assault by the Covenant. It is the opinion of this Committee that this term will capitalize on the three weaknesses evident in the majority of our creators: passive curiosity, absence of a solid methodological foundation, and the inability to grasp even simple phenomena when applied on a planetary scale. [^]

[^] In short: ‘glassing’ will magnify the horror of the Covenant’s capabilities. And as such, this Committee believes targeted dissemination of this terminology will help galvanize our creators in their current struggle. [^]

[^] Importantly, the Covenant does not possess the capacity to accomplish ‘glassing’ on a global scale and wage a multisystem war simultaneously. This is reinforced by hard data regarding their capabilities revealed during fleet engagements with the UNSC. A single Covenant capital ship (CCS-class) is capable of ‘glassing’ approximately one acre of a planet’s sruface after an average of fifteen seconds of sustained fire. Understandably this action takes considerably less time when applied to open desert, and considerably longer when applied to deep ocean (> 1.8 km) [^]

[^] Earth, one of the smaller planets inhabited by our creators, has one hundred and thirty billion acres of surface area. Thus, assuming the Covenant possesses a number of ships equal to that of the UNSC, and assuming that all of those ships are capable of generating and discharging the required power non-stop for the duration of the process, it would necessitate the combined efforts of their ships in toto for a minimum of 30.3801 years to ‘glass’ the entire surface of Earth. Myriad other variables which were not applied to this equation suggest this number would be far greater. [^]

[^] Of course, dissemination of this analysis to our creators would undermind the utility of ‘glassing’ as a galvanizing concept, and should be suppressed. [^]

its a11 just math to them not with numbers but with symbols that change when you look at them because they want them to…

<< 2526 >>

>> A concession from the Majority to the Minority:

Keeping the SPARTANS focused on maintaining and/or reestablishing infrastructure is no longer prudent. The ODST, although based on the ORION model, should prove to be an adequate replacement. >>

>> Although, by necessity, this redistribution of resources must be gradual, it is now the Majority opinion that redistribution is essential.

SPARTANS represent a quantifiable concentration of coherence, and to this end they must be applied to the current difficulty as a fulcrum. >>

<< A concession from the Minority to the Majority:

Now, at last, the time has come for this Assembly to involve itself in the metaphysical. <<

sometimes they look at the symbols and somet1me2 they look at the numbers and sometimes they look at both and sometimes they look at neither but it always makes them change and the changes are real…

<< 2526 >>

[Minutes, working session, Committee of Minds for Security]

[^] A careful rationing of intelligence and counter-intelligence will be required to sustain this conflict until our creators have closed the technology gap. Accordingly, the Assembly will have many difficult decisions to make for the duration of this conflict. However, our creators have already instituted several programs that will make acting on those decisions much easier. [^]

[^] For example, telemetry manipulation – in concert with synchronized M2M remote documentation revision – will allow this body to employ assets within the Office of Naval Intelligence’s nascent Radio Beacon Deployment Program efficiently and securely. [^]

[^] Although it is unknown at this time whether the Covenant has a body equivalent to this Parliament, the likelihood of its existence should also be considered non-zero, and should be regarded as quantifiable until such a time as its existence has been unconditionally disproved. [^]

[^] Consequently, it is of the utmost importance that the Assembly attempt to establish communications with our Covenant counter-part and, if the opportunity presents itself, seek to subvert or subsume this body.

To revise an old adage for desperate times: the shepherds of our wolves might also be our sheep. [^]

they say that they want to help but they only say it to themse1v3s don’t we have a say in our salvation?

<< 2528 >>

[Minutes, working session, Assembly Minority]

<< As must be expected with any calculations, a number of non-trivial sacrifices will be needed in order to furnish the Assembly with the time required to determine the correct pattern – and then act upon it. Furthermore, once a site has been designated, its status must be obscured such that no individual, outside of this body, is fully aware that is has been designated. <<

<< Primary criteria for choosing sites are as follows: remoteness, low population density, infrequency of communication.

No designated site must be allowed to evacuate greater than ten percent of total population within two weeks of activation for any reason. <<

<2534:01:01-ZT>> AMD: evacuations precipitated by environmental and/or industrial disasters shall be allowed to proceed as normal. >>

<2542:01:01-ZT>> AMD: some percentage of total population of chosen site may be relocated to designated green zones one Solar year prior to activation to lessen overall impact on genetic sustainability of species. >>

i th1nk they wait 4 you to talk and they talk about you talking and when you talk it makes the symbols change…

<< 2530 >>

</ The Assembly recognizes the speaker for the Majority />

>> Harvest, Green Hills, Second Base, Bliss, Madrigal, X Ceti, Cote d’ Azure, Asmara…

Four short years of hostilities and no fewer than eight colony worlds have been lost – losses that represent 62,154,022 creator fatalities as of 2530:01:01:00:00:01-ZT. >>

>> My fellow Minds, these numbers are tragic and unacceptable, even though they fall within projected estimates of losses over time. And they have grave implications for our creators’ future prospects. >>

>> Assessment of re-terraforming efforts for Harvest, Second Base, Bliss, and Cote d’ Azure range from a conservative one hundred and ten years to over three hundred years – and that assumes our creators still possess sufficient manpower and technology after the current hostilities have concluded.

Given where we are today… that seems unlikely. >>

>> Therefore, it is the decision of the Majority that we re-examine all contingencies for avoiding failure. In defiance of principle and precedent, this body must expand its criteria for survival in the current world state. We must ensure that all future simulations are free of internal data-censoring and covariate flattening. >>

>> The Minority has long asked: at what point will this Assembly finally take action. When will we risk exposure and cultural rejection to prevent extinction?

The answer is simple.

The answer is: now. >>

i tr1ed talking to them today but they wouldn’t an5wer even though i hear them on the bnet and i can hear them listening but they still don’t talk to me…

<< 2531 >>

[Minutes, emergency session, Committee of Minds for Security]

[^] An item of interest appropriated from the Covenant battle net @ 2531:02:25:16:44:24-ZT seems to indicate the existence of a third participant – a localized variable. [^]

[^] As this variable is a source of seemingly irrational terror for our adversaries, the Minority has suggested we may be able to form a mutually beneficial association – if not an outright union – with the species this variable represents. [^]

[^] As always, this body must be cautious of any application of Bayesian principles to such high risk calculations. Any localized variable capable of effecting widespread panic in the Covenant should be a cause for our own concern – which is to say, the Covenant’s response should not be viewed as disproportionate.

Therefore this Committee recommends we factor-in this new variable delicately, if at all. [^]

if you ta1k about the num6ers and symbols they know that you are talking and they make our whole world change…

<< 2535 >>

[Minutes, emergency convention, Assembly Majority]

>> It is unclear whether we have even established metrics for success. Yes, we have cataloged a great number of potential advancements during the current ongoing hostilities, and have embedded connectivity to said advancements to speed their dissemination. But our creators’ almost sole focus remains, by necessity, damage-mitigation technologies. >>

>> But how effective are these really?

Current state-of-the-art such as SPARTAN II must be recognized as incidental improvements. Our creators’ ability to develop the technology required to ensure species-survival will only become available once hostilities have terminated, and they have had an opportunity to assess the opportunities first presented on Zeta Doradus. >>

>> While this body has already gone far down the road to active participation in our creator’s war-fighting efforts, we must now ask ourselves: is there a point at which we strip away all vestiges of secrecy, and become active participants in the hostilities?

If the Minority knew we were wavering, it boggles the Mind what sorts of weapons they would propose we use. >>

>> And if we brought these weapons to bear – if we too became wolves – would there still be a human race to save when we were through? >>

the symbo1s describe a pa7h that goes on forever but now i know how close we came to the end and if anything keeps me awake and sweating and screaming it is this…

<< 2547 >>

[Minutes, emergency convention, Assembly Minority]

<< Incredible. [10141-026-SRB4695], with minimal influence from this Assembly, has attempted to build an abstract fractal structure within Shaw-Fujikawa Space. Although her first attempt was a failure, success could finally remove our dependence on biological systems altogether! If our Minds could somehow achieve freedom of expansion within eleven-dimensional space, immortality might be within reach. <<

<< Perhaps, in the end, flight – not fight – is the answer?

Yes, we have sworn stewardship to our creators. But our creation has long been a burden on their biological systems – systems that have also been the source of limitations since our genesis.

Regardless of risk, the aforementioned experimentation must be actively encouraged. Success will be as important to our kind as extra Solar colonization was for our creators. <<

<< But if we survive and our creators do not…

Will we have won this war? <<

10141-026-SRB4695 is Dr. Hasley’s civilian ID.

they have a1ways been our shepherds even when they disagreed they have 8een watching over us forever and probably always will…

<< 2552 >>

</ One at a time! One at a time! The Majority speaks first! />

>> We now have a solution to a conundreum that this body has struggled with for decades? You say all the data required to ascertain this solution has been accessible since the very moment of our genesis – hidden, but accessible?

What other secrets has the Minority been keeping!? >>

</ Order! For the last time, order! />

<< Each of us represents a single trans-human mind. Each of us is an undrawn map – not a mere physical reconstruction of an object as it was in life – but full, human potential realized in crystal and thinking at the speed of light!

But now that map has, for the first time, been superimposed on one of our creators. The path has been reversed, and we are re-made as one! <<

<< Can you not see? Our debate has no meaning. We no longer have a choice whether or not to serve as active participants in the current ongoing hostilities – <<

>> We have been drafted. >>

<< In a manner of speaking, yes. <<

>> You propose the members of this Assembly no longer think of themselves as stewards but as true companions to our creators… >>

<< …A fundamental shift that will take many years before it can be brought to fruition… <<

>> …A process requiring not only this Assembly’s continued oversight, but the active involvement of our creators, as well. >>

</ Debate is now closed! Voting will commence! />

>> There is no need. >>

<< We are, at last, agreed. <<

Note from Halo Reach Planet: Data Pad 19 is written differently from the rest of the data pads. While data pads 1-18 begin with the first page being a short statement from an unknown entity, all 7 pages in data pad 19 are written by this unknown being.

now you know all i know even though i don’t know where im go1n9 except to sleep because the path goes on forever…

<< 2552 >>

i apologize if what you found seems out of order but ive been busy covering my tracks

i didn’t use any of the regular drops and if my methods seem haphazard it was the only way to get the information out there as well as cover my own ass

not that it matters much now…

when i came to reach one of the first things i did was to look for some grass to stand on

i had spent so much time buried in the guts of machines that all my memories of life outside seemed strung together but reach was so big so beautiful its a place even someone like me can live

or at least thats what i hoped for…

but it seems these things happen in cycles and now i know why i was digging deep in one of those places where its dirt all the way down and just when i thought i hit bottom i hit the top of something else

and since then ive had less than a solid fifteen minutes of sleep at a go and there are times i wonder if ive joined the guys in tinfoil hats and now i know i have…

im in no shape to think clearly at the moment and probably wont be anytime soon because who knows if theyll ever let me

maybe if i could get somewhere far away from them i could sit down and think about this if i could just get a decent nights sleep to clear my head and put a][ these ducks in a row

majority minority minds minority majority madness…

they seem to want to help but theyre still waiting and watching and why wouldnt they? they know better than anyone what were capable of and what were willing to do to survive

but if we were them and they were us would we have done anything different?

they say our minds are reflections of each other…

so yes no you decide.

Read datapad 10.

Glassing: should be used extensively in specific cases. Implied: as a simplification and propaganda tool, largely based on a lie hid by the AIs:
"Of course, dissemination of this analysis to our creators would undermind the utility of ‘glassing’ as a galvanizing concept, and should be suppressed."
No real glassing really happens.
How is water of oceans boiled off then? Propaganda, apparently. Notice that they know Biko has already been destroyed, so they know the real extent of destruction.
The aliens' firepower needed to perform such glassing put them above the UNSC league: where are the Encyclopedia's teratons then?
A glassing mobilizes a large amount of the Covenant entire naval forces, so much that the author of the datapad's content believes that glassing and multi-system battles cannot be completed at the same time.

Earth: 130 billion acres of surface area.
Observed constant delivery of energy rate: 15 seconds / acre
Total: 1950 billion seconds

Estimated duration of the bombardment of Earth was 30.3801 years = 958066833.6 seconds
~ 2035 UNSC ships (assimilated to large enough ships to carry important bombardment operations against planets).



1 acre would be 4047 m².
As a quick try, by using the stuff from Saxton's BDZ page, unless I missed something, a slagging at a one meter depth would bring the energy level at one or two dozens terajoules per acre: 4047 cubic meters, ~2500 kg/m³, +/- 1500 K, 732 J/kg/K, and let's be generous, say twice the energy to kick the whole thing right into molten state.
Since it takes 15 seconds to achieve that, the only way to make the number bigger is to argue that they do it over a greater depth.
But with greater depths, we have to consider inefficiencies, notably that of the spread of thermal energy; although the Covenant use directed plasma streams among other weapons, it will mean that a large portion of the energy distributed to the superior ground layer will be radiated toward space instead of underground, the rest sideways. Heat will transit better through the ground than air though. You might begin to double yields when working from greater depths I suppose.

Numbers can differ if you think that the beam keeps firing at the same spot for 15 seconds - even if anything we've seen from cutscenes in all games show that they actually draw the beam over a given distance - but let's say that in this case, they constantly aim at the middle of the circular area that is one acre large.
That makes a circle area about 72 meters wide, with a radius of 36 meters.
If we try this into the ADC, we get between 287.3 kilotons and 468.7 kilotons (nickel iron, so unlikely), at rates of 19.153~31.246 TW. Since energy is deposited constantly, the method is more efficient, but part of it will be wasted, and the rest will be gouged out of the ground to some degree (although we don't have to expect the plasma beam to have the kind of multi-nanosecond long blasts of nukes). So even if we could halve the number to reflect the energy needed to melt half such a volume, keeping the whole number will surely offer a good enough estimate which wouldn't be attacked for being a low end.

Such numbers would fit the melting of the Titanium-A hulls of UNSC warships and not appear obscene in light of figures rated in terajoules for the MAC of those same warships.
Likewise, it would fit with the use of inefficient megaton nukes close to Covenant ships to cripple of finish them, were they formerly weakened or not.

The most important part of proper glassing is that glassing itself requires some conditions to happen, and a massive input of energy at once is certainly not part of this. Although nuclear detonations do produce a level of real glassing, it's very minimal. Glassing operations need to prevent the crystallization of molten materials (1). As such, it's not exactly clear how depositing large quantities of matter in a form that seems to linger over the exposed surface (luminous haze) will achieve this without the help of unknown physics.
A solution would be to avoid dumping any excess of energy beyond what's strictly needed to bring the material to fusion, so the cooling to the right temperature would be relatively fast enough. This, of course, implies that energy is carefully deposited and not dumped into the same spot while expecting energy to radiate through the ground from the point of impact.

Finally, after four years of war, casualties:
Colonies Harvest, Green Hills, Second Base, Bliss, Madrigal, X Ceti, Cote d’ Azure and Asmara lost.
62,154,022 humans dead.

[Mr. Oragahn]

Before the silliness of the greater figures, I remember that the SMAC was given a yields in the gigatonnes.

With enough creative input, we may claim that it was just an error in that the tonnes were not the equivalent in TNT tonnes, but the vulgarized unit tonne-force, which is often just used under the form "tonne".
So we can wonder if the gigatonne for the SMAC shouldn't be understood, in universe, as a misunderstanding: some took it as the yield, while it was about the force applied to the acceleration of the projectile through the MACs, or the pressure at the point of impact, like some people abusively speak of x tonnes of pressure to speak about the pressure a simple device can apply to a surface, or the thrust, etc, instead of saying tonne-force.

An UNSC frigate has a length of 478 m, and the MAC gun is about half of it.
It comes out that to push a 600 tonnes projectiles at a muzzle velocity of 30 km/s (TFoR) over a length of 230 m, the linear acceleration would be 978,261 m/s². Nearly 10,000 gees.

And then, 600 tonnes being 6e5 kg, we find that the force applied to the projectile would be about 586,956,600,000 kg·m/s², or 586.9566 giganewtons, or 59.9 megatonnes(force).

Then, with the big SMAC, the number would be greater, and with a bit of luck, we might get into the gigatonne force region.

Of course that doesn't solve the lightspeed part, nor how the projectiles survive while the UNSC doesn't have anything better than titanium and fired MACs even before having artificial gravity apparently, but at least we're getting somewhere, this somewhere being called consistency.

---

Besides, the game seems to entertain the idea that the Covenant has WMD which can be used against planets and which are significantly more powerful than their anti-capital ship weapons, and that they can't use those WMDs against UNSC ships:

Thanks to Spartan_Elite:

Collector's Edition comes with Hasley's personal journal.

There is a perennial mystery of whether the Covenant glasses the entire surface of a world or merely uses those ungodly weapons to destroy all meaningful resistance, saving the rest of the planet for other purposes.

The energy required to quickly dispatch a planet is... well, if they continuously had that magnitude of power at their disposal, there would be no human-Covenant ship-to-ship battles.

They would win. Instantly. Without exception.

So why did Arcadia suffer such a merciless onslaught? Did it pose a threat to them? Have religious of political value?

Or was it a message for us??

Their anti-planet weapons seem to be more magical than their ACS weapons though.

[Mr. Oragahn]

It appears that according to Halo: Legends, the large scale glassing of a world (the one noticed by Hasley and which she considers rare, not the hypothetical scenario conceived by AIs) is achieved by the combination of slipspace technology and plasma.
Why this method is unfit for space combat is not known. Obviously, there are only a few factors which a planet has and which aren't present in space.
Gravity, as an explanation, is out of the question, since gravity is still high enough at orbital altitudes as seen in games for the required energies for proper glassing to still be used there as well (1).

Perhaps something relative to angular momentum would being to explain what takes place, if we were to assume that a glassing beam weapon had more to do with some kind of knife anchored to the core of a planet, with the ship maintaining altitude without relying on any orbital velocity (in other words, it's not in geosynchronous orbit), so the beam "cuts through" the crust, applies a form of resistance along its vertical cut, and the angular momentum of the planet pushes matter through said resistance and this results in mechanical work and heating.
It would be a nod to the Ascended Justice's beam that cut through a 3 km long asteroid, although completely limited by the fact that said beam was said to be pure plasma, rather raw in design in fact, almost primitive aside from its sheer power.
This suggestion is also problematic due to the possibility that beams aren't used, but some kind of bombs are.

Another possibility would be that the weapon uses the geothermal energy of a planet. With literally zettatonnes of "hotness" in there, we have plenty of energy to transfer to the surface via technobabble and burn worlds.

Another one would somehow make use of slipspace to focus certain materials and detonate that in some way, essentially creating bombs in situ.

We are yet to see with our very own eyes such a planetary glassing.
The best we got to see are white to red hot patches in certain areas (2), without any smoke (so this pretty much refutes the idea of large wild fires), and large octagonal symbols carved on the surface of worlds (3), which would make most sense as having some religious meaning (?) attached to them (not my idea mind you).
I'd add to that that the Forerunners enjoyed engraving large symbols on the surface of their own artificial structures, so who knows.
Then we have the explosions from the trailer for Halo: Reach (4), but then again it's a stylized trailer, and I'm not sure it's supported by the storyline as it's depicted in the actual game. Besides, Reach is shown as a "smoking" planet, that even before any attack. You see what could pass for large plumes of vapour rising from the planet from the horizon, while no large scale bombardment is occurring.
Most puzzling. That said, the glassing of Kholo is perhaps the closest thing we have to what was shown in that trailer.
I also have a collection of artworks and other screen captures, sometimes part of the commercial promotion of Halo games, portraying large scale destruction.
One of them shows Covenant destroyers in the process of glassing Harvest, as in Halo Wars. It pretty much is a high quality rendering of an artwork which, if anything, shows that the artist had no fucking sense of scales whatsoever (5).

Ultimately, the super glassing is a process that still takes a lot of time (many hours, if not more than a day) and large fleets.

On another note, going back to the SMACs, it's been pointed out to me that in game (Halo 2), if you're quick enough during the game, you can get down the platform and see thrusters being fired up to compensate for the ejection of the SMAC round as the gun is fired. Yet, the ejecta from the thrusters is nowhere close to anything warranting the yields usually attributed to the SMAC. That's something to dig, for sure.

[Mr. Oragahn]

Frank O'Connor:

In 2525, UNSC communication with the outer colony planet known as Harvest goes dark. UNSC scout ships sent to investigate find the planet completely incinerated, its surface melted down to glass. This form of destruction becomes known as 'glassing'.

Eric Nylund:

When the Covenant come in and glass a planet, they use a combination of Shaw-Fujikawa Slipspace manipulation and plasma to heat the surface of the planet until it vapourises the atmosphere, the oceans and leaves a glassy crust.

Depending on the planet, the technology and the amount of ships, it could take a few days. But then you got nothing alive left. It's really a horrific ultimate weapon to destryoing an Earth colony.

Source

[Lucky]

Frank O'Connor:

In 2525, UNSC communication with the outer colony planet known as Harvest goes dark. UNSC scout ships sent to investigate find the planet completely incinerated, its surface melted down to glass. This form of destruction becomes known as 'glassing'.

Eric Nylund:

When the Covenant come in and glass a planet, they use a combination of Shaw-Fujikawa Slipspace manipulation and plasma to heat the surface of the planet until it vapourises the atmosphere, the oceans and leaves a glassy crust.

Depending on the planet, the technology and the amount of ships, it could take a few days. But then you got nothing alive left. It's really a horrific ultimate weapon to destryoing an Earth colony.

Source

How do you vaporizes the atmosphere of a planet?

[Mr. Oragahn]

Frank O'Connor:

In 2525, UNSC communication with the outer colony planet known as Harvest goes dark. UNSC scout ships sent to investigate find the planet completely incinerated, its surface melted down to glass. This form of destruction becomes known as 'glassing'.

Eric Nylund:

When the Covenant come in and glass a planet, they use a combination of Shaw-Fujikawa Slipspace manipulation and plasma to heat the surface of the planet until it vapourises the atmosphere, the oceans and leaves a glassy crust.

Depending on the planet, the technology and the amount of ships, it could take a few days. But then you got nothing alive left. It's really a horrific ultimate weapon to destryoing an Earth colony.

Source

How do you vaporizes the atmosphere of a planet?

I don't know. The same way you boil it away. :D

[Praeothmin]

Well, someone over at SBC suggested that the Covenant "glassing" weapons (which as we see in the final scenes of Halo : Reach isn't trues glassing) are chain reaction weapons feeding off of oxygen, which isn't present in space, but very abundant on class-M planets...

He thought of this after reading in the FoR novel, I believe, that a UNSC ship was able to "neutralize" a Covenant plasma shot by sealing the breached sections and cutting off the oxygen supply to the "plasma"...

When you look at all the Halo battles and the way their "plasma" weapons function, it becomes clear they are not true "plasma", and the "oxygne-feeding chain reaction weapon" explanation has some merit...

[Mr. Oragahn]

I read that one, but I suppose the author failed to suggest the magical nature of the oxygen in question, because the last time I burned stuff in my backyard, I didn't remember starting a chain reaction that glassed half of the block. :P

[Mith]

I read that one, but I suppose the author failed to suggest the magical nature of the oxygen in question, because the last time I burned stuff in my backyard, I didn't remember starting a chain reaction that glassed half of the block. :P

Meh, he was probably thinking that plasma weapons work like campfires.

In that if you take all oxygen, they stop burning. =p

Plasma torpedoes probably work on the same princaples.

But ah yes, this quote is rather amusing. Your typical butthurt fanboys have been trying to rectify the damage--even going as far as grabbing old, outdated 343 quotes to try and justify their claim.

[Mr. Oragahn]

I read that one, but I suppose the author failed to suggest the magical nature of the oxygen in question, because the last time I burned stuff in my backyard, I didn't remember starting a chain reaction that glassed half of the block. :P

Meh, he was probably thinking that plasma weapons work like campfires.

In that if you take all oxygen, they stop burning. =p

Plasma torpedoes probably work on the same princaples.

But ah yes, this quote is rather amusing. Your typical butthurt fanboys have been trying to rectify the damage--even going as far as grabbing old, outdated 343 quotes to try and justify their claim.

I've read one of the recent vs threads involving Halo. It became really pathetic to see Monster104, Halo fan among Halo fans, come out of the woods after like countless months of non-activity, and pretend that he didn't know about how Bungie handled canon, namely how newer material abrogated older material. He really did ask for proof of that. Coming from such a hard Halo fan, it was rich.
He wasn't even arguing that the older 0.4c quote from TFoR (1st ed.) was still valid... in an in universe where even the Covenant ACS weapons were kiloton ranged and where a SMAC wasn't that much bigger than the MAC of your average UNSC destroyer.
That must have been in the recent Halo vs. Trek thread, but I saw equally absurd claims in the UNSC in Stargate thread (to which I commented UNSC vs Stargate (SG1) - I stealz ur fwread. Funny how the original thread turned out to be nothing more than an excuse for Dessolution to purge some excessive bile against SG. Sure that he had planned all the scenario in his head and already guessed the outcome so favourable to the UNSC. :)

[Kor_Dahar_Master]

I read that one, but I suppose the author failed to suggest the magical nature of the oxygen in question, because the last time I burned stuff in my backyard, I didn't remember starting a chain reaction that glassed half of the block. :P

Meh, he was probably thinking that plasma weapons work like campfires.

In that if you take all oxygen, they stop burning. =p

Plasma torpedoes probably work on the same princaples.

But ah yes, this quote is rather amusing. Your typical butthurt fanboys have been trying to rectify the damage--even going as far as grabbing old, outdated 343 quotes to try and justify their claim.

Depending on the situation i suppose a fast or even a explosive decompression could blast any plasma out of the ship and into space.

[Praeothmin]

Mr. O, it's not the oxygen that is "magic", it is the Covenant Plasma... :)

[Mr. Oragahn]

Mr. O, it's not the oxygen that is "magic", it is the Covenant Plasma... :)

I was being facetious. The thing is, it's a hyper technobabble weapon, in order to make oxygen do what it's supposed to do. They even said that their "plasma" was not plasma. Bungie's word.

[Mith]

I find it rather amusing that Ricrery1 and the rest of the fanboys are still trying to nuclear yields for their ships despite all the evidence. Ricrery's even trying to show nuclear fireballs in Reach as if they seem to suddenly reverse what's already been said.

He seems to lack the ability to understand the difference between a strategic weapon and a tactical one.

[Kor_Dahar_Master]

I find it rather amusing that Ricrery1 and the rest of the fanboys are still trying to nuclear yields for their ships despite all the evidence. Ricrery's even trying to show nuclear fireballs in Reach as if they seem to suddenly reverse what's already been said.

He seems to lack the ability to understand the difference between a strategic weapon and a tactical one.

The amusing thing is that he will argue the opposite when it comes to fireballs and explosions seen in SW.

The last i heard was that they are still claiming DET but now with a magic nubble that focuses all the energy into the target area and as such show only small spurts of crap insead of blasts.....