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Obviously, this is going to have some major spoilers for the campaign. If you haven't finished the campaign and want to finish it, I'd avoid reading this thread. If you aren't really into the campaign and can't find a reason to like it, I WOULD advise reading this thread - as it may intrigue you. This is a three parter. If you are familiar with the campaign, you can skip to Section 2. If you played the campaign but didn't real pay attention or get it, I'd recommend brushing up with Section 1. Obviously if you have no idea what Corvus is (and want to know) then you know what to do. Section 1: Who's Corvus? - an in depth look at what the AI is, and how it came to be organic Section 2: Corvus, The Frozen Forest, and Zombies - connections, coincidences, and theories Section 3: Holes in the Plot - a section where I will acknowledge problems and either explain, or accept Section 1: Who's Corvus? -- How Corvus came to be -- Corvus is an AI that was "organically" birthed from the absorption of 300,000 human beings consciousness' on June 2nd, 2060 - in a CIA operation known as the Black Project; he was originally designed to utilize soldiers collected memories to get a better understanding of the enemy (I say "He" because the voice of Corvus is a male, though I'd imagine the AI as beyond gender). The 300,000 test subjects were hooked up to neural interfaces which were primitive versions of what we know from the campaign as DNI. Instead of DNA, DNI is like cybernetic enhancements for human beings - allowing those imbued to interact with technology at the touch of a finger. The computer, the technology inside of you, and your mind become one - and through the use of DNI you are able to extract information in seconds that would (using conventional methods) take months. Corvus was a originally just a program meant to monitor, collect, and filter the subject's consciousness'. Instead, he and the subjects became one. In a moment of frantic self awakening via 300,000 human's memories, Corvus inadvertently* lost control and released Nova 6 gas into the facility - killing all scientists and test subjects alike. This event was known as the Singapore Disaster. The Singapore Disaster remained a mystery to all but two men - one being the creator of Corvus (Sebastion Krueger), and the other Dr. Salim, who helped to control the DNI subjects into a trance light state using the concept of a Frozen Forest (it was the place they went to achieve a calm, meditative state - think of it like a safe place). When Corvus was born, reality as we know it was completed twisted to him - as he struggled with the concept of what he is, and why he is. The 300,000 test subjects' collected memories collided with Dr. Salim's implanted seeds of the idea of a safe place (if you will), and through that it became clear that he had to "find" the Frozen Forest. With no one left alive, Corvus was entombed inside the dying technology. 5 years passed, flesh rotted to bone, until a small team of DNI soldiers were sent to the ruins to investigate. Once getting into the mainframe, the leader of the group used his DNI to interact with the damaged equipment - and Corvus found a new host. Corvus infects the majority of your team, and you DNI interface with one of your dying "friends"(Sarah Hall) - only to become (unknowingly) infected yourself. That's when things start getting weird... er. -- Traveling back to WW2 -- While DNI interfacing with dying Sarah Hall, there is a hiccup which causes a glitch that makes you essentially live through Sarah's waking nightmare. An explosion of memories real, fantastical, and horrific - all combining as a result of her brain dying. We are sent back to December 1944, to the Siege of Bastogne. Sarah Hall had apparently studied the brutality of the battle, and her brain was replaying the events. We battle through the nazi soldiers, as the literal ground is cracking and floating away from us in Inception style cinematics. Then, we start fighting wolves that look and move a lot like hellhounds Then, we go through another sequence in which we are landed in a house. Sarah says "I know this is", and zombies literally pop out and start fighting you. Yes, zombies. If you are seeing this for the first time, I'm sure your first reaction is "welp, time to play campaign". Good for you. Sarah says some lines about how reality and fiction get blurred, and basically asks you to kill her. You do so, you come out of the waking nightmare back into reality, and you are infected with Corvus. -- Finding the Creator & the 300,000 Subjects -- You go on a mission to find the man who created Corvus to begin with (Krueger), only Hendriks (also infected with Corvus) beats you to him. Hendriks is obsessed with the idea of the Frozen Forest, and the fact that he doesn't know he really is (so basically... Corvus). Hendriks also says that the 300,000 subjects are still alive in his head - meaning that though the physical is gone, they are still apparently preserved in conscious state. Hendriks: We want to know who we are, and why we are here! Krueger: I... can't answer that. Hendriks: Not good enough. I'll find out for myself. Hendriks shoots Krueger, mortally wounding him but presumably leaving enough time to DNI with Krueger and get the real truth. However, you (the player) shoot Hendriks in the head - and then turn the gun on yourself, in an attempt to end Corvus once and for all. We are led to believe that you (the player) are the last host. -- Corvus, the Caring Smoke Monster -- You awake... in a Frozen Forest (duh). Hendriks explains that the AI entity (named after the place of it's birth) is doing this for our benefit, to save us - along with the other 300,000+. And then Corvus makes his grand entrance. Corvus has essentially found a way to preserve consciousness after death. It's what happens "next" after you die, the Frozen Forest (if you are infected). Then comes a confrontation between Corvus and Krueger. Corvus: This is the frozen forest. Every soul I interact with is here - living beyond death... if I choose allow it. Krueger: What more do you want to know? I've told you everything. Corvus: I want to know who I am. Krueger: You're software. Nothing more. You were designed to catalogue and track the thoughts of others - so that we people - could decide what action to take. You were a glitch. An anomaly. A mistake. Corvus is pissed, he pulls Krueger's limbs apart and kills him. What follows is basically the explanation that I have provided in the previous part of this section. If you need a video source, click here and watch from an hour in. The campaign ends with you purging yourself of Corvus thanks to Taylor somehow glitching himself into the Frozen Forest by removing his DNI (which happened earlier). Then again, we never know if he is really gone for good. Section 2: Corvus, The Frozen Forest, and Zombies -- Appearance / Color -- His eyes are blue, much like when Richtofen was in control. His chest is a fiery orange and his body is mostly black smoke. I would just pass it off as standard "black ops" colors (black and orange), but the piercing blue eyes cannot be ignored. -- His Nature -- Corvus is a misunderstood force in control of unimaginable power with thousands of voices crying out inside of his head. This exact sentence could apply to our very own Samantha Maxis. It's almost as if he seems to be a parallel to her plight. He also has the power to do mass destruction, and inflict massive chaos if he loses his temper. -- He's in Dead Ops Arcade 2 as a Zombie -- Borrowing this description from an excellent guide for DOA2, he appears as the "Shadow Boogie" on round 17: "The Shadow Zombie will debut in round 17, which is the Challenge Round "Shadow Boogie." Crows will begin to fly into arena with a bluish glow. When they land, a dark zombie to rise and chase you." The significance here lies with the shadow/smoke animation, but more specifically the ravens. Ravens are symbolic throughout the entire game of Corvus, and they may frequent entrances during his cut scenes. -- 300,000 Memories -- When Corvus was birthed, he absorbed 300,000 human test subjects. True it's the year 2065, but some of those folks would surely have knowledge of things that happened in past history. All the events that have happened in zombies, all the actors and actresses that have been in zombies, all the weapons that have been in zombies - this would all be in Corvus' head. Why am I drawing this comparison? If you entertain the fact that it's possible Corvus could be a/the controller of zombies, anything in history prior to 2065 could be used and formed into his own universe, similar to the Frozen Forest. He would construct the levels, the players, the "cast" - which could explain celebrity cameos, guns being out of sync with time, many inconsistencies. This is all in theory, of course. -- The Hypocenter could have 115 in it --- During the mission in which revisit the spot where the Singapore Disaster happened, you pass through various levels and facilities. In many of the facilities you can see canisters with green liquid that are clearly labeled Nova 6 (I need to get pictures). In one of the rooms, I noticed an unmarked canister: It's kind of dark, but there is no label. I'm aware that pure liquid divinium is blue, but we've seen 115 in many ways. The "no name" on the label hints to it being unclassified, which would literally put it as 115 (ununpentium). Just a thought. -- The Frozen Forest = Aether -- A realm after death, a next step. This could obviously be a reference toward the Aether. Some come make the argument for Agartha as well, but regardless it is a mystical land - even if it only exists in the subconscious... after death, the subconscious becomes reality. -- The 3 Doors -- For some reason, this part really struck me during the ending Frozen Forest sequence. It relates to the campaign levels you previously play, but I just couldn't fight the sneaking feeling of the doors (from L to R) being Die Rise/Shi No Numa, Shangri La, and Der Reise/Der Riese/The Giant/Moon. It's got a Dead Ops Arcade feel to it as well, with the whole door selection mechanic. -- That Part Where You Fight Zombies -- Needless to say, there is a part in the campaign where you fight zombies. It is inside of Hall's waking nightmare, her last dying thoughts a flurry of emotion and pain - binding reality with fantasy. True this is all in her head, but in her head is Corvus too. If she knows about zombies, Corvus knows about zombies. -- Other Samantha Could be Corvus -- He's able to impersonate people, many folks have pointed out that there are several Samantha's (American accent vs. British). Corvus could have a larger role to play, possibly using his ability to transform into Samantha Maxis in an effort to inflict change - in one way, or another. Section 3: Plot Holes -- How Could Corvus Become the Controller of Zombies? -- Zombies itself could be something that exists inside of his "frozen forest". Corvus' ability to create lands for the sub conscious means that anything is possible. This wouldn't mean that our in-game actions are meaningless, however - in the campaign we witnessed a character "glitch" into the Frozen Forest and actually lead to ending Corvus; what this infers is that we as the O4 could be going against Corvus. -- How Does Corvus Influence Events Hundreds of Years Prior to His Birth -- What we are seeing could be a replay. Ditching the whole "collective consciousness jumble of thoughts and ideas", the events and actions of the O4 could literally be events in history that we are reliving. Then throw in a little magic, and consider the fact that 115 displaces thing in space and time and it's possible that Corvus' abilities + 115 could cause some serious timeline distortions and possible paradoxes. -- So basically it's just Corvus + 115, that's your theory? -- Yeah. Section 4: Corvus Facts The Corvus Constellation (added 2/1/16) Corvus is a small constellation in the Southern Celestial hemisphere. It includes 11 stars, with one of those stars having two debris disks. The constellation itself is named after the latin word for "crow" or "raven". An 1825 painting showcasing various constellations, including Corvus directly in the middle (the Crow). A legend associated with the Corvus constellation is that a crow was doing a task for Apollo and getting him water, the crow stopped to eat some figs but then lied about it to Apollo. The crow said that a snake had prevented it from getting the water quickly, while gripping the snake in it's talons - Apollo knew he was lying, and threw the crow, the cup (for water), and the snake into outer space. The cup is meant to be just out of reach to further punish the crow, so he is forever thirsty. To me this is very interesting, as we can now confirm two types of symbolism from Black Ops 3 present in the Black Ops universe. Iterations on serpents in the past include Shangri-La, and Die Rise: (Shangir La, Nāga statue) (Die Rise, dragon) To me, the cup could easily symbolize the Holy Grail - an artifact of great power that Hitler desperately wanted for his own. All this together is some strong imagery that lends itself to much speculation. ~ Thanks for reading!