Superintendent

''Superintendent redirects here. For the viral campaign, see Superintendent (Viral Campaign)''.

"KEEP IT CLEAN!"

- The Superintendent's notable saying.

The Superintendent is a 2nd generation "dumb" Artificial Intelligence. An Urban Infrastructure A.I. construct, it is in charge of making sure the infrastructure of the city of New Mombasa runs smoothly. It is also apparently used by the NMPD, to observe people and record their conversations through its cameras.

Biography
When Earth came under attack by the Covenant in October 20, 2552, the Superintendent declared "Metropolitan Emergency" on the city of New Mombasa. Apparently, there was a data corruption somewhere in the city at some point, as an ONI COMM officer contacted the AI, and asked it to put Kinsler on the line, but it didn't comply. The Superintendent was then asked to upload its logs for the last twenty-four hours, for which the AI only replied with repeating the phrase "KEEP IT CLEAN". The COMM officer then told the AI they'd send a team, and ordered the Superintendent to redirect all comm traffic through him. The Superintendent only replied with its pre-recorded phrases, most likely more concerned with the city than the data corruption.

Some time later, when Prophet of Regret's Assault Carrier initiated Slipspace transition over the city, the resulting shockwave severely damaged it, as well partially disabled the Superintendent. Veronica Dare was dispatched on a secret mission with an ODST team which involved the retrieval of the Superintendent - though her squad were unaware of this objective. After landing in the area, she was separated from the ODST's and holed up in a nearby building where she attempted to find a way of getting the AI to safety.

Later that day, the Superintendent aided both UNSC Marine and NMPD forces remaining in the city in fighting off the recently-arrived Covenant occupation force. In the following night, the construct aided a young Rookie in evading Covenant foot patrols in the rubble of the city by giving him access to a map of the city, as well as activating lights and signs, leading him to safety.

Eventually, the Rookie along with Captain Dare managed to reach the AI where they discovered a Covenant Engineer present which had assimilated the data of the Superintendent and combined it with itself.

Gameplay

 * The Superintendent will serve as a guide to the Rookie during the campaign, in a similar manner to the way Cortana guided the Master Chief. However, the Superintendent is rather limited in terms of communication, only able to interact with the Rookie by manipulating municipal electronic signs (for example, lighting up a sign to read 'keep right' to guide the Rookie in that direction) and speaking through a number of pre-recorded phrases. For example, instead of directly asking the squad not to destroy an expensive bridge, he can only use the generic phrase 'respect public property.' The Superintendent may also not be fully operational due to the slipspace rupture, as stated by Buck in the Desperate Measures ViDoc.


 * The Superintendent also helps the Rookie by granting him access to a map of the city, and highlighting areas of interest, mostly pieces of equipment left by his squad mates. When inspected, these "beacons" will trigger flashback missions which reveal what happened to the other squad members, one at a time.


 * As seen during the E3 '09 demo, he seems to be both a help to the Rookie and an annoyance in fighting off the Covenant. This is demonstrated during the Dutch flashback, where a high-ranking NMPD Police Officer can be heard telling the Superintendent (shortening his name to "Super") to unlock the key pass on a terminal so he can activate the demolition charges you just placed on the bridge. The AI replies with his most familiar saying: "KEEP IT CLEAN! RESPECT PUBLIC PROPERTY!" As Dutch ascends the ladder to get to the terminal, the Superintendent is persuaded by the Police officer to unlock the key pass on the terminal and let them destroy the bridge so that the Covenant wouldn't overrun the ONI Alpha Base they were protecting. As Dutch detonates the charges, the Superintendent humorously remarks to the dying Covenant: "BRIDGE TOLL ACCEPTED. HAVE A PLEASANT TRIP."


 * In the "Keep it Clean" teaser, the Superintendent sees the Rookie's drop pod crash land. After the Rookie gets out off his pod, the Superintendent flashes holographic street signs, pointing the Rookie towards safety.

Trivia

 * A superintendent is a person who oversees or directs some work, enterprise, establishment, organization, district, etc.; supervisor, which is similar to the Superintendent's programming.
 * On Bungie Day in 2008, a Gamer Picture of the Superintendent was available for download.
 * During an interview with IGN, Joseph Staten replied when asked if the Superintendent would be seen by the player during ODST, that "it would be a big let down if you never did."
 * While the Superintendent is rebooting during the 'Keep it Clean' video, the words 'Maddie, where are you?' appear for a fraction of a second.
 * In Halo 3: ODST the Superintendent is voiced by Joseph Staten.