- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
I posted this somewhere else, but decided to share it here too since I have the time.
Time Travel Theory
The Forerunner created the Halo's. No doubt about that. Also it is known that the Halo destruction sequence was used once before wiping out all life that can be a host for the Flood. This happened many many years ago. The Forerunner are no longer around. Their installations are empty, and their nowhere to be found, or are they?
It has already been mentioned that Forerunner could be ancestors of the Humans. Yada-yada, but heres my wacky theory, It's hard to explain, but stay with me. What if the Forerunner are the Humans? What if it's us Human's who set off Halo in the first place? We also built Halo. Think about it like this. Einstin said that Time and Space is connected. What if us humans accidentally (or maybe not?) messed around with time at one point in our history/future? We wanted to meddle around with Earth's past, so we built Halo and wanted to study the Flood for a better outcome in mandkinds future. Then the human race could return to their modern time, or maybe a past time and change the course of human history. Possibly Human's don't win the war with the Covanent, and we know this, so we go through time to try and change it.
Possibly right before the entire human race is wiped out by the Covanent, a large group of humans (including our hero Master Cheif) travel back in time some how on a planet like Reach where everything is stable for life, you know, a calm planet. Once there, they build Halo for us humans later on. In other words, Master Cheif helps build Halo so his future self can later use it to win the war 100,000+ years later. This would explain why 343 Guilty Spark refers to him as "Reclaimer". Master Cheif has returned to "Reclaim" his instalation. Once Halo was completed, it became their home (Master Cheif's and whoever else traveled through time), and the humans from the future implemented real time weather simulations for two reasons. 1). To be more suitable to live in. And 2). To feel more like Earth.
If this theory is true, then The Flood will somehow come in handy later on. Unless of course while traveling back in time a Flood was able to sneak in through the warp and hide. That would explain how they got there in the first place. The AI construct, 343GS, was created to help manage the Flood and to guide the future MC upon his arrival. The Flood were kept because they scare off Covanent, and maybe for some other reason we'll find out later. Also, over the years, human influence on the early Covanent (Covanent 100,000 years before the 26th century war we're fighting now) could have also tipped the table into our favor in the distant future. It's also interesting to ponder this though; Before MC changes the fate of mandkind, what were the Covanent like? If they basically copied every form of technology from the Forerunner (MC and the other humans from the future), then what were they like in a time when no Forrunner exsisted? Quite possibly (yes, here comes another wacky theory) we grabbed ourselves a victory at the cost of screwing up a good allience. In other words, maybe the Covanent in this other (alternate) reality were teamed up with the Humans to fight the Flood. So, maybe it wasn't just humans, and Master Cheif who went into the past, but also the Covanent. This would explain why the technology on Halo is similar to all Covanent technology, but looks and feels like something made by a Human. Weather for instance is very Human-like, and structures made of what looks like metal while the Covanent usually never use metal, but rather some purple material you see everywhere from on their Tanks to their major ships.
When 343GS says "Our Lost Times" it makes perfect sense with this theory. I mean, Master Cheif HAS been away for hundreds of thousands of years.
Now, to help my theory work, I gathered some transcripts from the HBO site that 343 Guilty Spark says.
"(pauses) More or less. Technically, this installation's pulse has a maximum effective radius of twenty-five thousand light years. But, once the others follow suit, this galaxy will be quite devoid of life, or at least any life with sufficient biomass to sustain the flood. (pause) But you already knew that. I mean, how couldn't you?" <------
Interesting how 343GS was so sure Master Cheif knew something he never told him. A.I. constructs (except Cortana) do not try and trick someone into doing something unless thats in their programing. By leaving out a detail in ANYTHING an A.I. is too human, thus hard to control (AKA - Bad A.I.). 343GS honestly thought MC knew about this. He didn't mention anything about wipping out the galaxy of life during any of the Library or Guilty Spark levels.
My point? - AI does not just assume, especially something on a scale such as galactic destruction. That'd be like 343GS taking you to the Grand Canyon and assuming you know he's going to push you off the edge. It's just not very... "A.I.-ish"
To further this, lets get some more quotes from the transcript.
"We have followed outbreak containment procedure to the letter. You were with me each step of the way, as we managed this crisis."
I don't know about you, but walking around a "Library" and opening up tons of doors doesn't sound like a managment of any crisis if you ask me, and each step only consisted of opening door after door after door. Possibly 343 is talking about another time?
"Why would you hesitate to do what you have already done?"
This line is key and speaks for itself. Master Cheif was here before a long time ago and used Halo to combat another enemy (Flood?).
"Last time, you asked me, if it was my choice, would I do it? Having considerable time to ponder your query, my answer has not changed."
100,000+ years is alot of time to ponder a question indeed. This quote from 343GS proves that he is not confusing MC for a Forerunner, but that Master Cheif IS a Forerunner and that 343GS was with him every step of the way when he first had to hit the switch. This is all coming from the same level, it practically spits it in our faces and most of use have over-looked it (including me, until now).
"If you are unwilling to help, I will simply find another. Still, I must have the index. Give your construct to me, or I will be forced to take her from you."
Assuming Master Cheif is God of the ring, he probrably knew there was a chance that his future self wouldn't activate Halo (which would result in the annihilation of mankind), so he made sure 343GS would have a personality similar to his (get the job done, ask questions later) in order to save mankind.
"Oh how I will enjoy every moment of its categorization!" - Somebody please help me on this one, but this seems to mean more than it does...
Heres some things that 343GS has to say in the last level...
"The Flood continue to multiply, Reclaimer! -
Why do you continue to ignore your task? -
Are you perhaps ill? - Guilty Spark remembers the Master Cheif who built him(raised him?), but he has no idea that the Master Cheif he knew has been long dead. That would explain THIS comment.
Why do you continue to resist us, Reclaimer?"
Simply put, Master Cheif has been here before with 343GS. They are far too familiar with each other.