- SpoonGuard
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- Exalted Heroic Member
Posted by: Shai Hulud
My theory isn't all related to in-universe facts and speculation. I also wish to take into account the intention of the writers of the Halo universe, and the purpose of the "Precursors" as a race in story-telling. The Halo universe already has one vastly advanced alien race that is very mysterious and seemingly vanished, leaving only their technology and the Flood behind, some 100,000 years prior to the events of Halo. What exactly would be the point of hinting at another, even more vastly advanced and mysterious intelligent race that seems to have vanished? As far as story telling goes, I don't think there is a point. It only creates a shallow element of depth to the story. An illusion, making you think there's something meaningful there (about the Precursors) that you can find more about if you look close enough, when really, there probably isn't. And I don't think it would really work if the Flood were always the Precursors (the are/were), as it completely destroys the point of even mentioning some more-than-the-forerunner-vastly-intelligent-advanced-mysterio us-race in the first place. Though, sometimes writers do like to mess with people's heads... and that's fine.
I don't have a problem with your theory, rather, I just don't agree on this point.
It seems to me that the Halo community, including both fans and creators, are at a critical point in the evolution of the story arch.
With 6 games (two yet to be released), 9 books (including Forerunner trilogy), comics, web events and film shorts, the Halo universe has had a good amount of canonical exposure. We know the history of humanity over the last 500 years, the origins of the Covenant's individual species and, with the conclusion of Halo 3, an explanation for most of the major mysteries surrounding the Forerunner.
Yes, there is still a fair bit left to be known about their culture and history but the major plot points have been covered. Remember the days between Halos 2 and 3 when rampant speculation over "who are the Forerunner" yielded a vast and rich amount of communal cranial fodder? Now look at how many threads are made discussing Forerunner origins...virtually none. The veil has been lifted, the stone overturned. Any future dealings with Forerunner lore in Halo games or novels can only be about mastering some nifty piece of technology, not how or why the Forerunner are no longer here. The quest for the Big Picture, that which this community is so famous for, has ended.
Thus, our need for the Precursor angle.
As this thread shows, there is still a lot left to be explained about the Flood. An extra-galactic, super-intelligent hive-mind that doesn't just kill everything, but actually infects and assimilates all sentient life it encounters? Not to marginalize the Forerunner, but sounds like a much more in-depth and complicated story than just a very technologically advanced race.
So where do the Precursor come in? From a canonical standpoint, my guess is as good as yours. We don't know. But from the story-telling standpoint, the universe always operates in equal and opposite pairs. The Precursor are the necessary match to the Flood. I don't know and won't try to explain their role, suffice to say that (if Bungie/Halo Team/whoever decides to lead the story in that direction) it will be a prominent one.