- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
I think I know the story by piecing things together like a puzzle. MAJOR POSSIBLE SPOILERS.
The Forerunner existed millennias ago, created the Flood, the Halos, and super-advanced technology. The Forerunner were humans, and the races of the Covenant also existed. At the time, the Covenant had no knowledge whatsoever on this Forerunner race and they never knew about them or what they look like. Then an unfortunate Flood outbreak led to a massive war. The Covenant alien world(s) were also plagued by the Flood escaping from Halo(probably by a Forerunner spacecraft)and thus the Covenant's long history with the Flood as we came to know. One Forerunner(with the aid of 343 Guilty Spark) fired the Halos, destroyed everything in the galaxy(some sentient life may have survived the pulse). The Flood were contained again, the remaining Forerunner either 1.Died off 2.Colonized another world 3.Preserved themselves(e.g an advanced cryo-freeze) 4.Any combinations of the above. 343GS was left behind to guard the Halo. Later, the Index re-seeded the galaxy of life(hence the above second definition of 'Library'). The Forerunner later descended into humans. Over the years of isolation and being on Halo for eons, 343GS went insane. Now, machines cannot go insane unless they are sentient-which 343GS is(note his random humming, muttering are not his robotic AI voice, it is the voice of a cloned Forerunner brain, much like Dr. Halsey and Cortana). 343GS' Forerunner brain cannot die so it's like you're shut in a box forever and you can't do anything about it. Also post-activation of the Halos, the Forerunner or Halo scattered rocks with the coordinates to each of the Halos to random planets in the galaxy so their descendents can reclaim what is rightfully theirs. One happen to be on Earth, the Forerunner descendants' first starting planet. The Covenant were techologically advanced than the humans so they found a Halo(s) and stripped it of its technology and stuff left behind(ex. Halo 04). The Covenant thinks the technology is god-like(not the Forerunner, the technology)and believe its purpose is for them to be the greatest power in the universe(hence "Your destruction is the will of the gods, and we are their instrument). Technology seems to fit that category, as one would not function without the other. So to say, the Covenant's holy war is unholy. For the humans, they took things one baby-step at a time and still managed to replicate Forerunner technology and some even more advanced than the Forerunner(MJOLNIR). The Covenant's war upon humans are to search for these Forerunner rock artifacts-they can easily glass planets without suffering casualties but no, they launch ground assaults. If they find what they're looking for, they leave and glass the planet afterward. If they can't then they just glass it anyway. Reach was an example of such motives as it was not completely glassed-the Covenant are still searching for it. The battle is just to distract resistance from their objective. The first Forerunner artifact was recovered on Sigma Octanus 4 by the humans in the museum, and thus Halo 04, the Alpha Halo is discovered. Halo 04 might not have been found by the Covenant with the help of the rock-but perhaps it was randomly found. The adventure begins on Halo...MC finds 343GS, who knows the MC and the Marines are the Forerunner. That's why he only selects humans to be the reclaimer(he would rather select Sgt. Mobuto than some bad ass Elite) of the Index-because humans are the rightful owner of Halo. The Index is the key to Halo, the Index IS Halo. The Control center is a mainframe of massive data-probably within it the history of the Forerunner and what they look like. The human forces have successfully kept the Covenant from seizing the control center. If this is so, then the Covenant never learned what was in the core..maybe even the truth.
The Forerunner and the humans must have had a similar design to the Spartan's armor suit or 343GS would not have recognized you and the armor. 343GS thinks MC is the Forerunner of the past who fired the Halo-which he's not. 343GS says like it's possible for a person to live for tens of thousands of years-and the signs do not tip in the favor that the Forerunner are invincible beings. Whoever MC looked like in the past must have 'preserved himself'. Then the Flood was released again by the Covenant, and 343GS thinks you are his old companion awaken to fight the Flood again. That's the only logical explanation, I think.
Halo 2...The Covenant finds Earth, the only place they haven't searched for what they're looking for. I believe a Forerunner artifact will be discovered here, and that's how we find the second Halo. Maybe the technological remnants are undisturbed...
That theory fits well with everything of what 343 Guilty Spark said that could mean the humans are the Forerunner, why Halo and the Forerunner infrastrutural remnants have so much in common to human technology, etc. I do hope Bungie doesn't come after me for saying all this...
[Edited on 6/24/2004 12:08:36 PM]