↓ Transcript
[Looking up at the Reclaimer through the glass floor.]
RECLAIMER: What exactly was Portent shooting at us, anyway? I thought you said that The Narrows doesn't have any armaments.
CAVALCADE: It was a Motivated Atmospheric Projectile weapon. Portent merely excited the air molecules in a confined space around him and propelled them at high velocity toward us.
[Close in on the Reclaimer's face.]
CAVALCADE: Given the density of the molecules combined with the velocity of projection, it proves to be quite the lethal weapon.
RECLAIMER: Impossible! The air around Portent isn't nearly dense enough to create anything more than a stiff breeze, let alone to muster them into a fancy bullet!
[Looking up at the Reclaimer from his right side.]
RECLAIMER: The laws of fluid dynamics prohibit such a thing from being possible.
RECLAIMER: Even if enough raw materials were available locally in the atmosphere - in which case we'd all be traveling through soup - the amount of energy required to compress and launch it without the projectile falling apart the moment it took off would be phenomenal!
[The Reclaimer standing on the glass platform.]
CAVALCADE: Indeed it would, Reclaimer. What is more, a Motivated Atmosopheric Projectile undergoes several permutations along its course exactly because it would otherwise disintegrate.
RECLAIMER: It's not physically possible. There's no way you can have access to that kind of power supply. You would need the equivalent of several nuclear power plants working at full steam in order to make it happen - and in case you haven't noticed, we're a little shy on those right now.
[View from above the Reclaimer.]
CAVALCADE: Portent does have that kind of power supply - and he is not the only one.
RECLAIMER: What the hell is that supposed to mean?
[Close in on the Reclaimer's face from the left side.]
CAVALCADE: You know us as artificial constructs, but in your mind, you have equated that your UNSC's AIs.
CAVALCADE: And until now, we have done nothing to dissuade you from that impression.
CAVALCADE: In truth that is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
CAVALCADE: In truth we are much more akin to miniaturized shield worlds.
RECLAIMER: What exactly was Portent shooting at us, anyway? I thought you said that The Narrows doesn't have any armaments.
CAVALCADE: It was a Motivated Atmospheric Projectile weapon. Portent merely excited the air molecules in a confined space around him and propelled them at high velocity toward us.
[Close in on the Reclaimer's face.]
CAVALCADE: Given the density of the molecules combined with the velocity of projection, it proves to be quite the lethal weapon.
RECLAIMER: Impossible! The air around Portent isn't nearly dense enough to create anything more than a stiff breeze, let alone to muster them into a fancy bullet!
[Looking up at the Reclaimer from his right side.]
RECLAIMER: The laws of fluid dynamics prohibit such a thing from being possible.
RECLAIMER: Even if enough raw materials were available locally in the atmosphere - in which case we'd all be traveling through soup - the amount of energy required to compress and launch it without the projectile falling apart the moment it took off would be phenomenal!
[The Reclaimer standing on the glass platform.]
CAVALCADE: Indeed it would, Reclaimer. What is more, a Motivated Atmosopheric Projectile undergoes several permutations along its course exactly because it would otherwise disintegrate.
RECLAIMER: It's not physically possible. There's no way you can have access to that kind of power supply. You would need the equivalent of several nuclear power plants working at full steam in order to make it happen - and in case you haven't noticed, we're a little shy on those right now.
[View from above the Reclaimer.]
CAVALCADE: Portent does have that kind of power supply - and he is not the only one.
RECLAIMER: What the hell is that supposed to mean?
[Close in on the Reclaimer's face from the left side.]
CAVALCADE: You know us as artificial constructs, but in your mind, you have equated that your UNSC's AIs.
CAVALCADE: And until now, we have done nothing to dissuade you from that impression.
CAVALCADE: In truth that is just the tip of the proverbial iceberg.
CAVALCADE: In truth we are much more akin to miniaturized shield worlds.
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801Discussion (84) ¬http://reclaimercomic.com/2009/04/175-scratching-the-surface/175+-+Scratching+the+Surface2009-04-10+04%3A00%3A00Jim
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...more plot twists? is there no end to them!?!?
WHEN WILL THE MADNESS END!?!?!?!?!?
runs from room screaming
AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!
Ah, but over the next couple of comics, you're going to find out quite a bit more about the Cavalcade.
Yet another secret they've been keeping, the tricky little devils. So Reclaimer is running around with a few shield worlds worth of power in his head, lovely… What could possibly go wrong?
Cookies?
Nice. Too bad the shield worlds in his head can't be bothered to charge him up a bit. And I didn't know RC was a scientist LOL! How the hell can that even make sense!!! I would have thought that relatively impossible, so therefore how would RC not only know of it, but have a working knowledge of how it works? And why didn't portent just shoot Ferial? Questions, questions, answers… wait there's none of them… :p
The Reclaimer is nobody's fool. He's had extensive training and background in the maths and sciences.
coolness, Hmm so does this mean they operate in slipspace as well
and only a fraction of them is here in this space/time continuum?...interesting
One can never tell.
Jim has yet to figure that part out
Still that's like Stargate (sorry, I do really like it but:p) how everything cool like ZPM's (a really awesome power source) draws it's power from subspace (which is like Slipspace) and all other technology that has any sort of real power draws from or interacts in some way with subspace. Which is cool. Did I mention that? 
Slipspace or subspace, is a apparently a really good place to store stuff! :p
neato, mini shield world cavalcades, sounds like a wild ride
You have no idea…
Think having this whole planet in your head, multiply it by 7 and then multiply that by a magnitude of 1000 and you might get close. My head hurts (splaaaatttt) :p
There's actually not that much of the Cavalcada riding with the Reclaimer. This will become more clear this week.
Damn, that's powerful. Even a mini shield world has more power than Earth could even begin to know what to do with. Those things are intense.
Can't wait for the next few comics!
It's going to change the way you look at everything.
It's going to change the face of the game… Oh sorry, wrong area!! Anyway, um….. ah, so the entire population of earth could be powered by a couple of Calvacada? So cool! That solves global warming and power over consumption. Just wondering what is this awesome power source?
Or is it for another day? 
What do you think?
So… the Cavalcade's actual "hardware" exists in slipspace? Then their "existence" in normal space is more akin to a terminal accessing a mainframe… intriguing.
Not necessarily. Believe me, a constant realspace-Slipspace link is usually a lot more trouble than it's worth.
That's definitely the right idea. Of course, I have my own spin to put on it.
Of course. Which will be a twist in a completely random direction that no-one will foresee. Oh and why are your comments red? Intriguing…
The red background highlights my comments, since some readers specifically look for official spoilers and clarifications.
Never underestimate the Cavaclada!
-Longtime reader firsttime commenter
Thanks for dropping in, Daxis!
If they're shield worlds then why does the RC still have to rely on his own shields?
You'll just have to wait and see, along with everyone else.
goes to modify his notes
You'll just have to wait and see, along with everyone else.
goes to modify his notes
I can so imagine you going to the bank safe to take out your notes, and then loads of Reclaimer fans jump on you to steal them
"There he is! Get 'im!"
You took the words right out of my… WAIT!!! HE'S GETTING AWAY!!! SIC 'IM BOYS!!!
Thats a good point but im sure there is some scientific response that sounds kind of possible that Jim will come up with to dismiss that thought…such as: 'Well its because of the insert scientific phrase stopping the scientific word inside the Cavalcada when they are in Reclaimers head…
[EDIT] Anyway, Jim has only written: 'In truth we are much more akin to miniaturized shield worlds' He didn't say that they actually WERE miniaturized shield worlds.
If they're shield worlds then why does the RC still have to rely on his own shields?
OH! (sorry for ranting this much) So maybe the "Eternal Refuge" Ferial seeks is really just some superpowered, cavalcada-like mini shield world, but more advanced, with more powers/functions etc.
Eternal Refuge is a shatterbox, I believe.
It is, certainly. More than that I'm not ready to reveal yet.
You haven't been ready for the past year and a half
We'll wait. Is it coming soon? What about now? Now? Sorry :p
Were you hopped up on caffeine when you submitted this last batch of comments? :p
Hmmm…virus that is transmitted by computers….shatterboxes designed to prevent rampancy….rampancy involves delusions of godlike power…Jim, the Eternal Refuge Shatterbox wouldn't be a means to controlling or curing rampancy of a gravemind, would it? "A failed experiment"?
Bingo.
I'm glad someone caught that. I was about to post a comment exactly to that effect. The Cavalcada are certainly NOT shield worlds, though the way they function is similar in many ways.
I sort of always thought they weren't shield worlds in themselves, but it is interesting what sort of power a "shield world" or a Calvacada has :p
Not as much as you might think…
I like the fact that you have mentioned shield worlds…im very interested in them because i haven't actually looked in to what they are and what purpose they serve. Aren't they basically constructs large as planets that contain trillions of sentinels that the Forerunners built to hide inside when the Halo array was fired? But then they didn't get into the shield worlds in time because the Halo array was fired quickly in an emergency so they all died…am i right? This is just out of snippits of information ive picked up from friends and slightly off the internet.
Oh and Jim, your comments now have a red box around them…is my netbook just really bad at reading your website?
First thing, yes, shield worlds were built so that the Forerunners would have a place to hide, and in all the halo lore so far written only two have appeared in total: one in Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, and Halo Wars. Since there are likely undiscovered shield worlds out there, whether or not the forerunners are still alive and hiding on any of them…can't be completely confirmed or denied.
Second, and I'm not really sure about the "science" part of the shield world…in Ghosts of Onyx the entire planets' superstructure is actually made up of interconnected sentinals, in the very center of the planet there is a micro-dyson sphere, like a miniature globe of slipspace which can hold planet-size amounts of normal space inside, where the Forerunners would hide. (In halo wars the inner surface of the planet is simply a surface, the only defense being the outer shell of the planet and a host of forerunner ships in the planet. Personally Halo wars seemed to spit in the face in a lot of the already established Halo Lore….I recommend googling Ascendent Justice if you want to read more).
And I like the red box, it looks cool.
Thus the question…Are forerunners hiding inside the Calvalcada, lol? "All AI are based of a human mind"...wouldn't a forerunner AI be similar?
Not neccesarily. The only reason human AI are made from human minds is because the UNSC lacks the programming capability to create one from scratch. Not so with Forerunners.
They were very smart
Thanks for that…i think you were trying to point me towards 'A voice from the Tomb' :
http://blog.ascendantjustice.com/halo-3/the-termi…;
It really helped me understand Mendicant Bias, the shield worlds and a lot of other things to do with the Forerunners, so thank you.
At first i thought that Mendicant Bias was 343-Guilty Spark (well it DID say that Mendicant Bias led Chief to the Ark…) but that was shattered when i researched more and found that you could actually find 343-Guilty Spark talking to Mendicant Bias through the terminals while in Halo 3….meh.
Ascendant Justice is a great resource. They do a fabulous job of analyzing everything and then presenting it in a cogent manner. I've used them as a resource several times to firm up Reclaimer plot points.
No, that was a deliberate visual modification to make it easier for readers to sort my comments out of the general din.
General din? GENERAL DIN!!! How dare you call our comments general din! Hey can we do that? Or is that only a power that can be bestowed upon the keymaster? :p
If everyone could do that, it'd kind of render highlighting my own comments kind of moot, now, wouldn't it?
Maybe a different color for everyone? Well for people that have a predetermined amount of points maybe? Or, I don't know you think of something
Again, that would defeat the point. The only reason my comments have a different background color is so that readers can quickly scroll down the page and find my comments.
Because of course, your comments are the only ones we look for
They are, after all, the only reclaimer-ness we get in between the days between issues. That and maybe, just MAYBE, we think you'll drop a plot hint here or there.
P.S. Glad I could point out Ascendent Justice, where unlike Reclaimer, questions lead to answers (usually) and not more questions.
I think you left out a with in the last panel
Shouldn't it be "You have equated that WITH your UNSC's AIs"?
Good eye. Fixed.
Did you subtract a mark for that? I thought it looked a little funny when I first read it :p. TYPO!!
I'm not sure who rated his comment negatively. Just for the record, it really doesn't bother me when people point out typos to fix, so please don't rate a comment downward for doing so (you know who you are).
Even though he's wearing a helmet, I'm sure RC's expression clearly states: "WTF?!" Honestly, there's always something new with the cavalcade, which is part fo what makes them so interesting
Ooo, I'm excited to see what goes down next!
Hehe, me too!
What you don't know?
Guess they'll have to blow Portent up… Nah, that defeats the purpose. Hey Jim, just wondering, if the Calvacada have got these awesome powers, why don't they use them against Viper or Ferial? I mean super-dense-air-shooting-mini-shield-world-super-powers would be very useful for RC. But I bet there is a problem with them being in his head and not a shatterbox…
Now I'm confused. Assuming that they functioned like shield worlds, they would siply have a lot of hardware such as the forerunner equivalent of a capicitor or a generator. If this was so, how would they hide in Reclaimers primitive human suit. Assuming they were programs, how would they reveal themselves in the form of orbs and create projectiles.
I hadn't questioned that until now.
On a different note, interesting twist.
You'll be happy to know that the explanations won't stop here. Monday's comic should be very enlightening.
I hope so. I won't be particularly enlightened; I really don't do Mondays.
Nobody does Mondays.
I hate Mondays, so I'll go on a shooting massacre!!
That was bad, I won't do that again… Snowxing has a point. If Portent was such a large "file" then how could they all fit inside RC's head? I'm sure RC doesn't have a multi-googleplex memory unit in there 
And that'd be for one. Or is it their shatterboxes?
Interesting. I'm a nice, fresh, new commenter to this site, but have been reading this for a while. Found my voice, so to speak. At any rate, as much a lot of it has confused me at some points (What the hell is this Virus and where does it pop in?!) I still enjoy Reclaimer, especially as it comes with its own universe, which, I daresay, is as detailed as the original Haloverse.
So, With all this power around, this either means that the Cavalcada are restricted from it for some reason, or (as pointed out above) is simply used to fool Reclaimer, and other parties.
Hell. I don't know. This is as confusing as the rest of it. Burn, mock, shoot down, or confirm what you like (Though I know Jim won't completely confirm something. Ever) Just try not to hurt my feelings.
Ciao.
We'll get back to the virus. It's still an important part of the plot.
The Cavalcade are severely restricted by not having a physical presence to move all the power around, see. And it's not like all the original wiring is still intact.
Oh. Well. %*@$!
So, I was kinda right a while back. These guys could potentially destroy and repair almost everything around them!! If only ONE can do that, then if theres 4 (plus one crazy one)... RC could take on Viper with his hands behind his back! He would just have to dodge.
Oh geez. Set these guys up on UNSC cruisers, or something. They could/are unstoppable! Overexaggeration, hint hint
Except they can't and Jim has yet to elaborate as to why.
That's for sure. The Cavalcade have limits on what they can do. Portent's case is… unique.
GASP!!!!! Visitor at Home! Don't say that! The walls and Bungie have ears that stretch across the know void of cyberspace!!! :p And all their cases will be unique, I'm sure. My bet is that once RC wrestles this one into his head, Portent will lose all of his super powers and be effectively useless, well in that sense anyway.
So are they saying they're all like a miny Onyx ( if you read Ghosts of Onyx you would get what I mean).
No, they are not like Onyx, they aren't shield worlds, but are like them, in some way, perhaps in the level of technology. WAIT!!!! OMG, what if they are that micro-dyson field or whatever it is!!! As in a mini one of them that makes them partially in Slipspace! So they would be akin to shield worlds because the power to maintain that would be huge!!
hay i know i missed the mythic map contest thing but if your still looking for a map to get good shots check out my map in my file share the maps called "barricade" great sandbox forged map, my gamer tag is Vaulkin83, even if ya dont use it to get shots please check it out and tell me what ya think, o i have another map in my file share you mite have soom intrest in its "camp 83" its a good base map on foundry
Just a word of warning, we really don't like text language or abbreviations here, we are very what's the word I'm looking for, pro-literate.
What text language/abbreviations? That isn't much text speak ("I" is written "i", "oh" is written "o"), and "ya" is a perfectly acceptable form of "you" in my opinion.
However, if you're refering to the fact that his whole post was one long run-on sentence, that's a different story.
Periods are important, billy. Try to remember that.
Yeah, I'm relatively ok with those. It certainly could be worse. And thanks for dropping by, billy. I'll definitely give it a look-over.
Sheesh, I only started reading this about a month and a half ago and I picked up somewhere in the middle obviously…. I really gotta find time to read from the very beginning. Me=confused (about half the time).
Yeah, it really would make more sense to go back and read from the beginning. I can't guarantee you'll be any less confused, though.
We're still very much confuzzled by all of this :p
You'll understand better as more is revealed.