- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
I think that the forerunners were an advanced race that had its hands full trying to control the flood. They probably went instinct destroying the flood. The Halos were probably built to study how to destroy the flood, which is why 343 said their survival as a race depended on it. They were probably also built as a last resort to stop the flood from infecting everywhere, killing all life within the respective range of their starships. I remember reading in a Bungie interview for IGN that the first time the Covenant encountered the flood was NOT on halo. Maybe they worship the forerunners for saving the universe from the flood? Perhaps they hadn't run into them in a while, but maybe had the wars against the flood recorded in their history's.
As for why the Covenant were not glassing over the earth, I believe it was because the Earth forces still had a sizable Air force barely keeping them at bay. "You can't allow them to maintain orbit", and "If your fighters let up, down here its the god damn apocalypse" I think that the covenant were actually planning to glass over earth, they just hadn't been able to get into position yet. It shows the master chief boarding one of the ships. Maybe after he blows it up the fighters get the edge they need and drive the rest of the ships getting into position away, or at least put them on the defensive. Judging by the fact in the single player demo, that a ship had been shot down and was in New Mombasa for repairs, I believe the Master Chief clears out the air threat, with help from the fighters, before he hits the ground, but one or two manage to escape... They go to new Mombasa to finish it off.
There is also the possibility that the master chief upload Cortana into ship they land ons control center and either use it to shoot down other ones, or simply lock in a collision course with another covenant cruiser =). Well, thats my theory on why they did no glass over earth.
I really don't think the pyramids have anything to do with the forerunners. Bungie could try to do something like that. Maybe some kind of forerunner hidden DEEP inside the earth. I doubt the pyramids would be directly connected though, there is not much mystery left in those, millions of slaves working nonstop at the whim of their phaorohs, because they wanted to build something REALLY BIG to commemorate their deaths and be remembered by the world.
Kind of strayed from topic for a second, but oh well.
Another little thing I would like to put in is my thought, which has been expressed by other people as well, that Humans are the forerunners. Several things make me think this, one is the fact of 343's behavior toward humans "How great it is to have a record of all our lost time" If the forerunners were humans and they created 343, it would stand to reason that 343 would be curious what the hell they had been doing for the past tens of thousands of years. Also 343's expectancy of the master chief to know all of the protocols, I assume that 343 simply assumed that he was from another facility of forerunners to get the station back up and running. When the flood were released 343 simply scooped up the nearest forerunner and hightailed it for the index. Think about it, the facility was made by a race super super advanced, do you think they wouldn't have left safeguards to make sure no one accidentally, or purposely activated the facility? Thats why 343 couldn't reunite the index with the core. Only one of the forerunners had enough authority to do that. Even after the chief betrayed him (kinda) 343 said he would need another.... and also his last cryptic remark, "Last time, you asked me, if it was my choice, would I do it? My answer remains the same, the ring must be activated" This represents a curious familiarity with the chief, or at least his race, undoubtably 343 was in that situation before in a crisis, standing there with another forerunner, probably also in some kind of power armor.
To explain why humans weren't as advanced as the covenant, maybe the forerunners were nearly completely wiped out by the flood, except for a small colony, or observation post of earth. seperated from their technology, or most of it, they would eke out life, eventually forgetting their heritage.
I think I typed a little too much again.