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This topic has moved here: Subject: The Forerunner Story
  • Subject: The Forerunner Story
Subject: The Forerunner Story
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The Forerunner are shrouded in mystery. Although their cyclopean architecture still remains, they have long been absent from their own creations. What little we know of them is explained vicariously through their machinery and their automatons. Clearly, they were technologically superior to both Humanity and the Covenant. Their empire spanned at least this galaxy, encompassing both Einsteinian reality and Slipspace.

At one point in the Forerunner's history, they encountered the Flood. For whatever reason, they felt it was necessary to contain and study the Flood, in colossal facilities capable of omitting sentient life from the entire galaxy, rather than destroy them outright. Their allowance of the Flood's perpetuation could be considered an inexcusable lack of foresight for such an advanced civilization, though without knowing their precise reasoning, the passing of judgement is problematic.

The Forerunner had abandoned this Halo, Installation 04, some time ago, leaving their robotic compatriots behind to defend and monitor the installation. Seeing the Master Chief and Cortana breach protocol and refuse to activate Halo upon the Flood's release, 343 Guilty Spark turns Halo's only known internal defensive system on them: the Sentinels. The Sentinels are floating Mantis-like machines, using what is presumably Forerunner weapon and shield technology. Unlike the the Human and Covenant arsenal, the Sentinels used some sort of controlled stream of energy. Deadly and precise, they appear to be more like surgical cutting tools than offensive weaponry, and while effective against the Flood's lower forms, are easily overcome by the Warrior class.

Their relics are not restricted to Halo 04. The Aztec-esque stones of C'ort Azur, the arches and weathered inscriptions of Sigma Octanus, the intricate caverns and 3km holographic dome beneath ONI's Reach complex, the ancient stepping-stones of the Grunt's homeworld, and the Prophet's own claim to have evolved on an abandoned Forerunner planet, not to mention the countless installations undoubtedly pilfered to allow the Covenant to have achieved their current levels of technology, all give testament to this galaxy's permeation.

But who were these Forerunner; these Truth-givers? What relationship do the ever reverent Covenant have to them; does persecuted Humanity have to them? The Covenant, garbed in their glyphs, pay an eery homage to those symbols depicted in the interiors of Halo's buildings, whereas Humankind seems all too at home, and recognized. But what of 343 Guilty Spark's comments of their lost history? Have they been destroyed, taken leave, or are they now "in chains"? Much remains to be answered.


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As for the Forerunner, it is interesting to note that the Covenant have symbols similar to those found on Halo. It is possible that the Covenant may be the Forerunner that built Halo. As to why they are foolish enough to release the Flood, it is possible that though they are the Forerunner, they had "forgotten" about the Flood. Furthermore, the energy field that goes between the two "projections" on their dropships looks a little like the Forerunner energy bridges.

An interesting idea. The Covenant are obviously interested in the Halo, but that they might be reclaiming their own lost heritage puts a different spin on it.

-mnemesis

  • 09.12.2004 2:30 PM PDT
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yeah but the reason why the covenant hate us and want to kill us is becasue we look like the Forerunners but do not posses the same thoughts as the forerunnres...so if you think about it how could the covenant be the forerunners?
thats my 2 cents

  • 09.12.2004 2:44 PM PDT
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ya wat he said^ the forerunners created us because they were a dying breed and they tested the flood to create us........... i'm not saying i'm right but i'm pretty sure i am

  • 09.13.2004 12:48 PM PDT