- "There's so many stories where some brave hero decides to give their life to save the day, and because of their sacrifice the good guys win, the survivors all cheer, and everybody lives happily ever after. But the hero... never gets to see that ending. ...They’ll never know if their sacrifice actually made a difference. They’ll never know if the day was really saved. In the end, they just have to have faith. ...Ain’t that a bitch?"
- —Epsilon's dying words in The End
Artificial Intelligence Program Epsilon was a main character in Red vs. Blue. Epsilon was a fragment of the Alpha A.I., specifically the Alpha's memory, and was assigned to the Freelancer Agent Washington, previously known as Recovery One.
Epsilon also became known as Epsilon-Church after recovering his collection of the Alpha's memories, he had recovered the personality and skills of Leonard L. Church, the original Alpha A.I. Because of his involvement, he could be considered to be the main protagonist of Revelation and deuteragonist of the Project Freelancer Saga (serving as the main protagonist of the Memory Unit storyline and deuteragonist of the Season 10 present-day portions). After sacrificing himself to save the Reds and Blues in Season 13, he only appeared through flashbacks or videos in later seasons.
He appears in the Restoration film.
Overview[]
When he was implanted into Washington, Epsilon caused him to see all of the Director's secrets, before "killing" itself, which possibly caused Washington to go insane. After these events, Project Freelancer decided to stop all A.I. implantations; however, Epsilon would later be taken by Caboose after Reconstruction and be resurrected through his actions.
Unlike his fellow fragmented "siblings", Epsilon can show multiple emotions, possibly because he represents memory rather than just a single emotional core like rage, logic, empathy, etc. Because of this, Epsilon can vary in different "forms", as he's been shown to take the forms of Alpha, Delta, Theta, Gamma, Omega and Sigma in a few instances. After Alpha-Church's death, Epsilon took his role and became the main character in later seasons.
Though he has Alpha-Church's personality, he differs from him in several ways.
Role in Plot[]
Creation[]
Epsilon is a fragment of a "smart A.I." called the Alpha. Artificial constructs were all subject to a number of algorithms to ensure stability, but these procedures failed to foresee Epsilon's eventual rampancy. Alpha was tortured in order to 'fragment', resulting in extra A.I.s for Project Freelancer. Each was not a full A.I., but an aspect of Alpha's personality. The last thing that Alpha fragmented was its memories, as it would otherwise have been driven insane by what it had experienced. These included memories of other A.I. which eventually led to Epsilon's creation. Epsilon was then assigned to be implanted into Freelancer Agent Washington.
Unfortunately, Epsilon proved unable to cope with the memories and entered full rampancy. Worse, this happened during Washington's implantation process. Eventually, the construct's rampancy caused Wash to go insane, unable to differentiate the A.I.'s deteriorating thoughts after it had killed itself from his own. The incident caused the Director to allegedly terminate the use of A.I. implantation out of fear of a worse incident arising (and possibly the risk of the Alpha's torture being exposed). This caused some agents, namely South, to completely miss out on the implantation process.
Containment within the Storage Unit[]
Epsilon was revealed in Reconstruction: Chapter 16 to have been removed from Washington and then taken back to Freelancer Command. Wash also revealed that he gained all of Epsilon's (and therefore Alpha's) memories as a result of the incident, and now has full knowledge of Project Freelancer's experiments. This is also why he no longer trusts A.I.s; for fear that his knowledge would be discovered and eventually reach Command. As a result, Wash devises a plan to have the Reds and Blues deliver Epsilon to the UNSC, in order to expose Project Freelancer for their crimes. However, during the Epilogue of Reconstruction, Caboose attempts to implant Epsilon into Tex's old robotic body and later fiddles with Epsilon's storage unit, along with Tex's body and the destroyed ship throughout Relocated.
In Recreation, Caboose continues modifying parts but to little avail, even going so far as to light himself on fire. Throughout his project, Caboose tells Epsilon stories of the events of The Blood Gulch Chronicles, because, as Caboose claims, Epsilon enjoys being told stories, and even makes an odd humming sound when spoken to. In Catching Up, Caboose reveals to Donut his intentions: to use Epsilon, parts from Tex's robot body, and parts from the ship to make a new best friend, although he has had little success. Caboose then takes Epsilon to the Red Base's secret Hologram Chamber, upon hearing of its existence by Donut.
Inside the chamber, the container opens revealing Delta, which Epsilon explains as him taking a form which had expressed reliable information in the past. Caboose asks if he could take other forms, in which Epsilon explains he could if they were in his memory banks (such as Delta, as Epsilon had detailed memories of his fellow AI Fragments). Epsilon then suggests that Caboose heads to the desert where Tucker was last spotted, according to Donut, noting an energy spike there he could use to create a new body. Caboose agrees, and Sarge and Grif are convinced to join him, upon finding him in the chamber.
Revival[]
When Caboose, Sarge, and Grif arrive at the desert, the team is cornered by C.T. and his men until Tucker rescues them. As they take refuge inside a temple, Caboose runs off and inserts Epsilon into a Monitor, where it assumes the character and attitude of Church. When Tucker, Sarge, and Grif finally find Caboose, it is soon apparent that Epsilon-Church contains none of his memories other than those supplied by Caboose's incorrectly told stories, like Tucker being Captain Flowers back from the dead; Grif having yellow armor and two F's in his name; and Sarge being captain of a pirate ship. He is also still learning about his new body and is unable to fully control it.
Epsilon soon loses control of his body and drifts around. To make matters worse, while trying to turn on his long-term memory Epsilon instead shuts off his short-term memory, but was turned back on when Caboose hits him. After C.T. and his men forcibly enter the temple, Epsilon soon realizes he can levitate objects and kills an alien with a box. He is later disabled by Jones and grabbed by C.T. After a long chase, C.T. is stopped by Tucker. Tucker follows C.T. after he escapes, but is later cornered by him atop a temple at gunpoint. Epsilon comes to the rescue and kills C.T. with his "laser face" after the latter calls him a "thing." The group suddenly becomes surrounded by the aliens.
Chasing Flashbacks[]
In Revelation, Epsilon is being worshiped by the Aliens and is slightly abusing the power. He then starts having memory flashes of a dark figure in the distance, with a final vision of the dark figure in Valhalla. He follows the Reds to Valhalla, whereupon he recognises Blue Base but gets distracted by the Meta. He briefly meets with the Reds outside of the bases, where he rages after seeing Washington, firing his laser in the process and blocking an entrance to the remaining Reds and himself. He then starts panicking about them finding the dark figure from his vision, and shuts down immediately afterwards. When the Reds return Epsilon back to the desert, a memory of Delta tells Caboose that Epsilon is looking for a specific memory and also notes that Epsilon may restart a cycle, which should never happen. Delta also reveals that the rest of the memories of the A.I. fragments are with Delta, yet Epsilon doesn't know of their presence.
Epsilon eventually recovers having remembered more about what he is looking for. He and Caboose venture to the Freelancer Offsite Storage Facility and get past F.I.L.S.S., who mistakes him for the Director. Inside, he and Caboose enter a room filled with identical robotic bodies, all of which resemble Church. At the end of the room, Epsilon uncovers a metallic box containing another robot body, this one resembling Tex. Epsilon fragments all of his memories of Tex and puts them in the new body, creating Tex II. After this new Tex escapes, she soundly defeats the other Reds and Blues until she is suddenly hit in the head by the deactivated Monitor shell of Epsilon, who is revealed to have implanted himself into a new body. However, Tex promptly starts beating him with his Monitor body. After Caboose requested F.I.L.S.S. to activate the facility-wide armor lock, Epsilon eventually frees the others and then enters Tex's mind to calm her down before he frees her.
Church, as Epsilon liked to be called, has a chat with Tex, who asks him to give her complete access to F.I.L.S.S.'s files. When he questions her motives, she tells him that she simply wants to find out who she is (though she's really absorbing information about the previous Tex into her own memory). He then agrees to give her access and finds her probing the facility's files further. She shows Church a picture of a Freelancer base and asks him if he recognizes it. He acknowledges this, which confirms her suspicions and prompts her to leave for the installation. Not wanting Tex to go alone, Church decides to accompany her. Before he goes, however, he accesses a personal journal of the Director and discovers a startling truth about who, and what, Tex is. He has all the logs transferred to him and then commands F.I.L.S.S. to delete the rest of the entries.
At the Freelancer base, Tex makes quick work of the guards and then leads Church into the facility. He realizes that he's been here before, and Tex tells him the story behind the base: it had once been the holding facility for the Alpha, whom the previous Tex had attempted to rescue with the help of other rogue agents. However, she had arrived too late and the Alpha's mind was long gone. It was at this point that Epsilon was born, having been the final fragment the A.I. needed to remove to retain its sanity. (Tex II tells this story in the first person, as she sees no distinction between the previous Tex and herself). Later outside of the base, Church attempts to stop Tex, but she intends to find the Director. Church reminds her that no one knows where he is, but Tex suggests that the Meta and Washington may know instead.
Revelation at Sidewinder[]
Church tries to convince Tex not to pursue them, believing that they may not know anything either, but Tex, however, doesn't mind that possibility. She then pulls out her pistol and shoots Church in the foot in order to activate his recovery beacon, which she needed to use to bait Washington. Church tells her that he would have helped her, but Tex retorts that he can't even help himself before leaving him in the snow as she goes to prepare for the two agents' arrival. Sometime later, Wash, Doc, and the Meta arrive as predicted, where Wash is quick to realize that Epsilon is being used as bait.
Suddenly, the three are blown sky high with explosives that Tex had cleverly placed beneath them. In spite of this, however, the two survive and Tex is forced to engage them in combat, but is eventually captured and contained in Meta's Capture Unit. Church demands Wash release her, but Wash replies that he can't, but that he would be coming with him anyway. As Wash prepares to capture him with the unit as well, the allure of power overcomes the Meta, and he uses the captured Tex to gain her Cloaking abilities. Church is then forced to flee as the Meta begins to attack. Being his one ticket to freedom, Wash attempts to protect Church but is easily defeated. Fortunately, the timely arrival of the Reds and Blues stops the madness.
When the Capture Unit is found by Church, he repeats his demands that Wash free Tex from her imprisonment. Wash agrees on the condition that Church surrenders. Church accepts and Wash then orders the Reds and the Blues to gather the materials he needs. After they flee in search of the items, Church explains what and who Tex really is: an A.I. based on a woman the Director loved named Allison. He further explains that Tex was a byproduct during the creation of the Alpha. (This isn't actually about Tex II, but many characters now see her as the same person). Until suddenly, the Capture Unit slowly rises out of the snow on the cloaked Meta's back, revealing that it was still attached to him.
When Church is injured by the Meta, the Reds and Tucker battle against the enemy. The Meta is finally defeated and the Capture Unit is found. Church knowingly defies all reason and jumps into the failing unit to find Tex. Unfortunately, the unit fails and shuts down, leaving Church trapped inside. When UNSC Police arrive at the scene, they toss the unit in evidence due to its bad condition, making it of no use to the Chairman. Inside the unit, Church monologues, declaring his decision to wait for Tex to come to him because anytime he tries to find her, her memory is pushed farther and farther away.
Searching for Tex[]
While inside the capture unit, Church goes through numerous iterations and scenarios in an attempt to find Tex, including one where he battles numerous aliens with Grif and Simmons, one where the Reds and Tex are the opposite genders, and one where he's female. Finally, after no avail, Church decides to conjure up Alpha's first memories of Blood Gulch, in hopes that Tex will find him there. He joins Tucker and Caboose on the cliff to check out modifications to the Reds' new vehicle, but finds out that Donut is now acting as the leader. To fix this, Church confronts the Reds but is shot in exchange for time to speak. He tells each of them of their incorrect personalities, with the exception of Simmons, but Donut decides he's heard enough and aims his DMR at Church, who leaves back to Blue Base, leaving the Reds to debate over whether what Church said is true or not.
When Church returns to Blue Base, Caboose tells him that he made a call to command for a new soldier. Fearing the soldier to be Tex, Church attempts to activate the tank in preparation for her arrival, prompting Tucker to take Church and Caboose to the beach to teach them about women. Back at Blue base, another earthquake occurs, and Tucker asks why Church is so calm during them. Church explains that everything in the memory unit is fake except for him and Tex, however, neither Tucker nor Caboose seem to be able to understand. The Blues suddenly notice a grenade and come to the conclusion that someone threw it at them before it explodes. It is revealed that the grenade thrown at them was only a flashbang tossed by Tex.
Tex reveals herself to them and questions their dead soldier, so Church makes up a lie in order for Tex to stay. After calling Command, Tex decides to stay and help them with "Andersmith" by killing a Red. Eventually, the Blues end up killing Lopez, who Tex believes is Simmons. Back at Blue Base, Church attempts to talk to Tex but is interrupted by Caboose. On his second try, he manages to talk with her about her time at Project Freelancer, where she reveals that she is aware of who and what she is, surprising Church. As the number of earthquakes increase, Tucker and Caboose escape, while Church and Tex stay behind. Church then wishes Tucker and Caboose good luck as they leave in the tank.
Church and Tex then share a heartfelt moment, in which Church tells her that he now knows what the Director and Alpha didn't. By stating three words, despite her not wanting to hear it, Church frees Tex by saying "I forget you", causing her to disappear. Church then suddenly hears real-world Caboose's voice. He is then forcibly pulled out of the Epsilon unit and brought up to date in the real world by Sarge and Caboose. He demands they return him back inside as he was finally at peace with himself, but Caboose mentions that she told them the rescue would work. Suddenly, Carolina steps into the room and tells Church that he's going to help her kill the Director.
Conflict with Carolina[]
Once forced out of the memory unit, Church (Epsilon) questions Carolina about how she is alive and is then dumped by Caboose and replaced by Washington. As the group leaves the UNSC Archives, they make a pit stop at Zanzibar where Epsilon is implanted into Tucker's A.I. slot. The two soon sneak off to spy on Wash and Carolina but are caught when Tucker's perverted instincts get the better of him and are ordered to leave without any answers. The group then arrive back at the desert to find C.T.'s helmet, where Church convinces the Reds and Blues that they need to stick together and can't trust Carolina or Wash. Simmons then gets the idea to insert Church inside of Carolina's Mongoose, in order to figure out what she's up to.
After Epsilon is inserted into the Mongoose, Carolina departs to a nearby island, unaware that Church is stored inside. When Carolina arrives at the location of York's death, Church reveals himself to her and asks her why she doesn't trust them. In response, Carolina claims that she can't trust anybody anymore, due to the fact that her fellow Freelancers did horrible things during their time at Project Freelancer and afterwards. As a result, Epsilon reveals memory logs of York to console Carolina. Touched by his effort, she thanks him and the two head back to the desert. Upon their arrival, Epsilon is implanted into Carolina and the two reveal to the group that they are heading to Outpost 17-B.
Once the team arrives at Valhalla, Tucker and Caboose question Church about his sudden relationship with Carolina, where the latter explains that by staying close to Carolina, he is more likely to discover further information. Afterward, Carolina has Epsilon implant himself into the ship to get some intel, but he is unable to find any information. After getting into an argument with Tucker, Church speaks with Carolina alone, questioning her hatred and bitterness towards Tex. He then tells her that if she wanted to find the Director, she has to let her jealousy of Tex go, claiming if Tex was the best, she would be in Carolina's shoes.
After pulling a dog tag from her pocket, Carolina discovers it belonged to C.T. Epsilon realizes that the tag contains data and decides to search inside. He exits and informs Carolina that he remembers everything, including the Director's location. The two then lead the Reds and Blues into the Holographic Chamber, where Carolina explains her plan to kill the Director, much to the group's distaste. After multiple refusals and complaints, Church blames the group for causing all of his problems, resulting in the Reds and Blues leaving one by one, disgusted and hurt. Epsilon tries to apologize but comes to no avail. Carolina assures Epsilon that they don't need them though it is obvious that she is unsure.
Confronting the Director[]
With the Reds and Blues refusing to help them, Epsilon and Carolina journey to the Freelancer Offsite Storage Facility to find the Director themselves. While there the two find F.I.L.S.S., and the latter informs them that the Director had returned to the facility and hasn't left since. Inside, Epsilon and Carolina overhear the Director listening to an audio recording of Allison. The two then enter a teleporter to confront him, but end up in a room filled with hostile robots that resemble Tex, where Epsilon then realizes that the Director had never stopped trying to create a perfect copy of her. When the robots attack the two, Epsilon's coordination is jarred from the intensity of the fight and he is unable to assist Carolina.
As the drones overwhelm them, the Reds and Blues come to their rescue and together, after reconciling their relationship, lay waste to the majority of the robots. However, they slowly become overwhelmed as well; thus, Epsilon enters each drone and finds Tex in a similar predicament to what Alpha was in many years ago. Church (Epsilon) reminds her of their relationship and comforts her, telling her to rest, which Tex wearily, but happily complies to. Church then says goodbye and returns to the facility, where all of the Tex drones shut down as a result of his actions. The Reds and Blues take a moment to savor their victory, but Epsilon, however, replies that he and Carolina must complete the next objective of their mission alone.
Carolina and Epsilon soon find the Director watching a video file of Allison repeatedly. The Director pleads for more time so he can bring back Allison, but Epsilon demands that they make him pay for what he has done. Carolina attempts to rekindle her hatred towards the Director, but simply gives him a disappointed frown and kisses him on the forehead. After leaving the Director her pistol, upon his request, Epsilon becomes enraged at the loss, but Carolina reminds him of what he learned while inside the storage unit of letting go. Before leaving, Epsilon tells the Director that he is better than him and is more than just a copy.
Afterwards, Epsilon, Carolina, and the Reds and Blues are pardoned for their actions by the UNSC, but soon crash land on an unknown planet, where they continue their usual bickering. Overlooking both teams on a cliff, Epsilon decides to stay with them, but Carolina mentions that she intercepted a transmission detailing thugs that have stolen Freelancer equipment and offers Epsilon to accompany her. She then quotes her mother on a saying on goodbyes, and Epsilon remarks that Carolina's mother was a smart lady. The two then both disappear from the area, as Caboose looks on from below.
Shipwrecked on Chorus[]
Weeks later, Epsilon helps Carolina imitate Control in order to speak with Locus regarding a crate. Afterward, the two infiltrate an abandoned F.A.C. munitions facility and obtain data regarding stolen Freelancer equipment. While inside, Epsilon accesses the memories of the former A.I. fragments to help Carolina escape. Soon afterwards, the two discover that Control, Locus, and a mercenary named Felix have obtained advanced weaponry and plan to kill Chorus' inhabitants as well as the Reds and Blues. Luckily, Epsilon and Carolina rescue them from the space pirates at F.A.C. Outpost 37 and use a Teleportation Grenade to escape.
Arriving at their secret Forest Base, Epsilon joyfully greets the teams, but Tucker expresses his anger towards the latter for leaving them. Despite this, Carolina and Epsilon explain to them that their ship was purposely crashed on Chorus by the Space Pirates, who are mass-producing advanced versions of the ship's Freelancer equipment. So, the Blood Gulch Crew decide to analyze Grif's Suppressor, and soon discover a connection between it and the Teleportation Grenades. In order to know who supplied the grenades, Carolina and the Blues decide to search one half of the ship at Crash Site Alpha, while the Reds search for the ship's manifest at Crash Site Bravo.
While at Alpha, the Blues and Carolina are attacked by Space Pirates. As they close in on them, Tucker frantically removes a drive Epsilon was using to transfer data, forcing the group to teleport away. When Epsilon blames Tucker for his actions, Caboose is nearly killed by a Space Pirate who teleported back with them, but is rescued by Carolina. As she and Wash interrogate the pirate, Epsilon discovers that the manifest the Reds obtained is locked, due to Doc accessing it without proper clearance and tries to get around the problem.
The group are suddenly attacked by more space pirates, forcing Wash to teleport them away to a fueling station, where he reveals that Freckles' storage unit contains a tracking device. After Epsilon removes the tracker he soon gets into an argument with Tucker. Fortunately, the two eventually reconcile. Afterward, Felix and Locus contact the Blood Gulch Crew and offer them a first-class trip off Chorus. Distrustful of the two, the group instead execute a sneak attack on the mercenaries at Radio Jammer Station 1C. There, Tucker manages to get Felix to monologue over the Pirates' actions and soon reveals Epsilon to him, who has recorded Felix's entire monologue by using Tucker's helmet cam.
Going to War[]
After the Reds and Blues disable the radio jammer, Epsilon relays Felix's recorded words to the Feds and Rebels at Armonia, who finally learn secret behind the Pirates' involvement in the war. Because of this, Felix and Locus teleport away. After the Feds and Rebels form a truce, they pick up the Blood Gulch Crew from the radio jammer station and regroup at the New Republic HQ. There Epsilon processes the manifest and discovers the true identity of Control: Chairman Malcom Hargrove. When the Chairman declares war on Chorus, the Blood Gulch Crew, Federal Army, and New Republic, accept.
A month later, Epsilon and Carolina oversee the capture of a Charon facility alongside Sarge and Tucker and discover an alien temple nearby. In order to learn more about the temple the four get help from Dr. Grey, who decides to survey it with Tucker, Sarge, and Caboose. After Tucker accidentally reactivates the temple, which destroys all of Charon's hybrid weaponry, the group relay the information to the others at Armonia and devise a plan to fight the pirates while they're down. Kimball, Wash, the Reds, and Chorus armies will attack the pirates at Crash Site Alpha while Carolina, Grey, and the Blues follow coordinates the temple emitted.
Upon arriving at their destination the group find a portal and learn that only a true warrior of mental clarity and great strength can be accepted through. Epsilon realizes that Caboose fits these instructions and the latter is sent through as a result. He manages to pass the test and befriends an alien A.I. he names Santa. Santa informs them of the Temple of Communication, which will allow them contact with Earth without the disruption of the radio jammers. He also mentions the planet's Purge and the location of a key that can activate it. Just then the group is ambushed by Sharkface and his band of space pirates, forcing Carolina to protect the team under her bubble shield.
After Sharkface leaves to get the key, Grey has Freckles kill his pirates. The group then learn that Doyle himself flew to the key's location and obtained it, prompting them to follow him. Upon arriving at an east mountain range, the team encounter Sharkface again, who soon flees. Carolina chases him and the two quickly engage in combat. As Sharkface begins to overwhelm Carolina, the latter pushes Epsilon to run all of her enhancements in order to beat him, but Epsilon is unable to, losing control of his memory counterparts of Delta and Theta in the process. Because of this, Epsilon dematerializes, causing Carolina to fall off a cliff.
Charon's Final Assault[]
Luckily, the two survive and are later picked up and brought back to Armonia, regrouping with the rest of the Blood Gulch Crew and Chorus armies. Carolina then confronts Epsilon about his actions at the mountains, in which the latter explains that he can't run multiple enhancements at once since he is only a fragment. Afterward, the Blood Gulch Crew hold a counseling session for Kimball and Doyle in order to improve their relationship, but the session is abruptly cut off when the Space Pirates attack the city. In order to survive, Epsilon suggests eradicating the pirates by overloading the nuclear reactor in the center of the city, with Wash, Carolina, and Kimball being sent to overload it.
However, after running into Sharkface, Carolina convinces him to spare the other two and fight her alone, which Sharkface agrees to. As the two engage in battle, Carolina apologizes to Sharkface for what Project Freelancer did to him and his friends, but Sharkface refuses her apology and attacks. As they fight, Epsilon helps Carolina hop onto a monorail and flee, but Sharkface catches up to them. Luckily, Carolina manages to outmatch Sharkface and soon regroups with Wash and Kimball, who quickly execute him. After the Reds drop off the Blues in a safe area, they return to the city and pick up Epsilon, Wash, Kimball, and Carolina.
However, they realize that Doyle decided to remain in the city to ignite the reactor, in an act of self sacrifice. When Doyle does so, he kills a majority of the space pirates and destroys the city, causing a huge nuclear blast. Thus, Epsilon helps Carolina form her bubble shield on top of the Pelican to protect their friends, but the action leaves him incapacitated. Epsilon later awakens at Crash Site Bravo, where the Blood Gulch Crew and most of the Feds and Rebels have taken refuge, with others scattered across Chorus. After the crew form a counterattack plan to stop Felix and Locus, Kimball delivers a passionate speech to the Chorus armies that motivates them to fight as one.
While the Reds and Blues fight off the pirates at the Communication Temple with the Feds and Rebels, Epsilon, Wash, and Carolina confront Felix and Locus at the Purge. After a brutal fight the three inform the two mercs that their base, Crash Site Alpha, has been taken over and soon discover the Tartarus being pulled in towards the Purge, due to the tractor beams being reactivated. With Epsilon's help, Wash and Carolina survive the ship's destruction and the three regroup with the others at the Comm Temple. However, the pirates release several Mantis to fight the group. Because of this, Tucker takes Epsilon and enters the temple's control room with the other Reds and Blues to broadcast their message.
Deconstruction[]
Unfortunately, the crew is confronted by Felix and Locus, having survived the Tartarus' destruction. Luckily, the crew manages to surround Felix and hold Locus at gunpoint. However, Locus refuses to attack the crew and betrays Felix, provoking the latter to attack them all. After the crew quickly kill Felix, Locus gains control of Felix's sword. Locus then activates the Comm. Temple for the crew and disappears, allowing Epsilon to broadcast the message. Epsilon reveals the situation on Chorus, the Reds and Blues' survival, and Hargrove's crimes associated with the planet's war to the message's recipients across the galaxy.
In response to this, the Chairman himself flies to Chorus and releases numerous Mantis droids to kill the remaining inhabitants, including his own space pirates. Epsilon decides that they must infiltrate the Staff of Charon in order to shut the droids down. As a result, the crew fly up to the ship in Felix and Locus' Falcon, where they reunite with F.I.L.S.S., who directs them to a terminal located inside Hargrove's trophy room that can shut down the droids. Upon reaching the trophy room, Epsilon connects to the terminal and overrides the Mantises' controls, shutting them all down. Unfortunately, the Reds and Blues are forced to hide inside the trophy room when Hargrove's personal forces attack them.
As Hargrove's forces begin breaching the door, the crew decide to stand their ground and fight. Epsilon, having discovered it while connected to the terminal, reveals the Meta's suit to the crew and has Tucker wear it. After Tucker dons the suit, the crew prepare for the impending attack as Hargrove's forces prepare to breach through. However, Epsilon, knowing that he is unable to run the modified Meta suit, decides to deconstruct himself from the memories of the other A.I. fragments in order to ensure that the crew will survive. Epsilon then records his goodbyes to the crew and proceeds to fragment the memories of the other A.I., before dematerializing.
Personality[]
Being an A.I. fragment based on the Alpha's memory, Epsilon's personality is very similar to that of Church. However, there are some differences between them, such as Epsilon seeming to act more selfless than Church and shows more respect to his friends. However, Epsilon seems to have a larger ego, as he took great pleasure of being treated as a god by the aliens and even created a song about how great he is. Although Epsilon also has an angry personality like the Alpha, he seems to be calmer and shows regret for his actions when he loses his temper, most notably in Change of Plans.
Epsilon later acknowledges the Reds and Blues as true friends and in n+1. As he relives Blood Gulch with the teams, he even states that "If you have to live the rest of your life in a memory...You might as well make it a good one," implying that he may have loved 'his' adventures with them. However, it is possible that after Epsilon returned to Blood Gulch (or the equivalent) he originally expressed contentment, but then quickly changes his mind (e.g. Rounding Error).
Relationships[]
- Main article: Epsilon's Relationships
Epsilon's relationships with most of the series' characters are the same as Church's, with some exceptions.
Themes[]
Bodies[]
Throughout the series, Epsilon has been shown to inhabit himself into various "bodies" and objects, such as a Mongoose, a Monitor, an A.I. Storage Unit, and a robotic body. This has led to many of the other characters commenting on his unusual physical state. However, being able to access various bodies and objects has given Epsilon special abilities. For example, while being in a monitor, Epsilon managed to kill C.T. and escape from Wash and the Meta using his laser. While encased in the Mongoose, Epsilon managed to gain Carolina's trust.
Firing Accuracy[]
Much like Church, Epsilon has a terrible aim with his sniper rifle, and tries to blame something else for the reason. It's even suggested that he is worse than Alpha, due to the fact he doesn't know how to use the scope to zoom in Rounding Error and can't even hit a large rock that Tex II tells him to shoot at in Season 9.
Angry Personality[]
As mentioned before, Church and Epsilon share a similar personality. As shown, Epsilon can be as easily annoyed and furious as Church in several situations, but unlike Church, Epsilon is shown to quickly regret his actions upon losing his temper and admits when he is wrong. This is best shown in Change of Plans and when the teams come to rescue him and Carolina in True Colors, when upon seeing them he admits that he's an asshole and would take any back talk from them now on.
Dying[]
Epsilon has been shown to have tendencies to be suicidal, accepting of death, and self-sacrificing. In Recovery One: Part Four, he was shown in a flashback in which he shot himself due to his insanity, however this was proven wrong as he was discovered to be alive. He accepted his fate in Hate to Say Goodbye, as everyone believed the world was ending and he finally let go of Tex. In The End, he sacrificed his life in order to protect the Blood Gulch Crew in Hargrove's trophy room. However this was out of concern for their safety and would not have done it had there been another option.
Being Divided[]
Epsilon could be seen as divided in more than one sense of the word. When Epsilon takes on the personality of Church, he and the Alpha become two separate sides of what could be described as the same character. In another sense, Epsilon can maintain multiple different personas which are all independent of each other. Epsilon demonstrates a unique ability to divide himself into multiple copies to possess the Tex-drones in True Colors. And, most seriously, Epsilon fragments his memories of Tex to create Tex II. This makes Epsilon the only Alpha fragment to be fragmented once again. Since this happens offscreen, it is unknown how Epsilon achieves this and whether he fragments intentionally.
Skills and Abilities[]
Forms[]
Epsilon's main form is a simulation of the Alpha, often just referred to as Epsilon. However, the Epsilon A.I. has the potential to simulate any person he remembers and every simulation has a separate personality. He has taken the forms of all the known Freelancer A.I., except for Tex. These are: Alpha (most commonly), Delta (second most common), Theta, Gamma, Omega, Eta, Iota, and Sigma. In Revelation: Chapter 6, Epsilon (as Delta) reveals that all the memories of the Freelancer A.I. are capable of independent thought, they are sometimes observing events and communicating with each other in the background, and Epsilon's main personality (Alpha) was originally unaware that they were there. When trapped in the Capture Unit, Epsilon is able to simulate entire scenarios with several characters in his search for Tex II. By Season 12, Epsilon (as Alpha) has become aware of his ability to simulate the former A.I. fragments while simulating his own at the same time. By doing this, he is able to use their ideas and abilities to overcome obstacles, such as using Delta's logic, as well as interact with them. Epsilon makes holographic projections of himself in more forms than any A.I. in the series. He is one of the only A.I. to project himself in multiple sizes, and the only A.I. to present himself as multiple people at the same time.
Leadership[]
Epsilon is shown to be a good leader, much like his predecessor, as he stopped the group from fighting and convinced them to face C.T. during Recreation. While in the capture unit, he took command of the Blue team during Season 9. Throughout Season 12, Epsilon would regularly take command of the Reds and Blues alongside Carolina in order to get them focused and attentive. In turn, the Blues seem to look up to Epsilon and appreciate his leadership. Evident during Season 12 where both Tucker and Caboose missed having Church around.
Memory[]
As he represents the Alpha's memory, Epsilon has a great amount of information and can remember anything to the specific detail. Although he lost this ability after 'killing' himself in Washington's mind, he soon began to regain his memories after being resurrected and was able to locate the Director because of this. In addition, because Epsilon readily accepts information about the Alpha, he remembers most events of the Blood Gulch Chronicles even though he was never physically there. Some of these memories were reconstructed based on stories he was told by Caboose, which he then slowly corrected as he interacted with the Reds and Blues. Other memories were taken from the Alpha itself. Epsilon was able to send flashes of images to Church while he was merely standing near the A.I. towards the end of Reconstruction: Chapter 15. Because of his connection with the Alpha, his contact with Church allowed him to remember several of his former memories; memories that Epsilon witnessed and vice versa. This allowed Epsilon to recall memories from Blood Gulch in greater detail such as calling the onboard A.I. on the crashed pelican "An old friend." or during his snap in the holographic chamber referencing getting shot in the head and with the tank, memories that Caboose danced around when Caboose was telling him stories.
Possession[]
Epsilon's possessive ability has helped the group several times. He possessed a mongoose in order to spy on Carolina, he unlocked Caboose's anger, and was able to deactivate the remaining Tex-drones by possessing and communicating with them in Season 10. It's also suggested that he can increase a character's abilities if he possesses them. In Season 12 he was able to take control of Grif in order to disarm him, although this act gives him a headache after using it.
Kills[]
While in his monitor form, Epsilon has killed one of the religious aliens using his telekinesis and the Insurrectionist Leader with his laser in Recreation. He also was able to put both Tex II and the unrelated Tex-drones to 'rest' as an A.I.
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Epsilon can be seen in the introduction to Recovery One: Part Four during a flashback.
- Because Epsilon is Alpha's memories, he can be seen as a back up copy of the Alpha, as the two are nearly identical. Burnie Burns even stated in an interview that they were the "same person, but separate." However, Epsilon seems to be slightly more selfless with regard to others and more affectionate towards Tex, with both Tucker and Tex herself noting that he's even more whipped than the "original" Church was. In Season 9, Epsilon himself referred to Alpha as being "kind of a dick," further distinguishing the separate identities (though Tucker does note that Epsilon is "continuing that grand tradition", implying the difference between the two isn't as great as Epsilon would like to think). Also, when Epsilon and Church met in Reconstruction, the two each gained some of the other's memories.
- Epsilon is the only known Alpha fragment that wasn't destroyed in the EMP.
- Any shot involving Epsilon in the Monitor body leads to complications during filming. As the Halo 3 Monitor can only be spawned during games in the Forge mode, only characters with applicable team colors (or close proximities, such as Grif being depicted in gold color as opposed to orange) can be filmed in the same shot as the Monitor. This means characters such as Tucker and Simmons, in Aqua and Crimson, must be composited in or shot around any scenes involving Epsilon in the Monitor body.
- Additionally, Monitor-Epsilon's laser is not a native function of the Forge Monitor, and must be composited using a shot from a Halo 3 Spartan Laser.
- As stated in Hang Time, Epsilon's favorite color is green. Whether or not green is Alpha's favorite color is unknown.
- Out of all of the known Alpha A.I. fragments, Epsilon is the youngest, as he was the last to be created directly from Alpha.
- Epsilon currently has appeared in more mini-series than any other character (4 total).
- Epsilon has the most appearances in the third saga of the series out of all characters (44 episodes).
- In Don't Say It, Epsilon changes into the forms of Delta, Theta, Gamma, Omega, and Sigma. An attribute of each is displayed other than their appearance as well: an echoey, robotic voice (Delta), a higher pitched childlike voice and the sound of fireworks (Theta), broken/jerky vocal patterns (Gamma), a deep aggressive tone (Omega), and a secondary, almost demonic, voice repeating the sentence just said (Sigma). What Epsilon says in each form also echoes the personalities of each fragment: Delta calls the Director brilliant, Theta states that they trusted him, but then Gamma, Omega and Sigma add that he lied, tortured and manipulated [them], respectively.
- Epsilon's affection towards Tex originally started out like the Director's, as the two attempted to bring her back and refused to refer to her as a shadow. Yet later on, in Don't Say It, Epsilon refers to Tex as "this...shadow?", proving his statement of "I'm more than just a copy of you. I'm better than you," towards the Director.
- Epsilon shares some similarities with Piccolo from Dragon Ball Z, as they are the youngest and only remaining "children" of their "fathers". They also serve as their "fathers'" reincarnations as they have their memories, personalities, and similar appearances to them, to the point they are often considered by many, including themselves to an extent, to be their "fathers". They also become main characters later on and become more selfless then their "fathers".
- Burnie Burns said in an interview with AfterBuzzTV that after the events of The End, Epsilon will be retired permanently.
- The episode Get Bent heavily implies that Epsilon is bisexual, as upon meeting a male version of Tex, he states that he's "cool with it".
References[]