- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
I feel that this subject needed it's own topic and clarification, but it is highly unlikely the Forerunner structure you all saw in the Halo 3 Trailer and are scrambling yourselves over is the Ark in question.
If anything, the Ark is the Forerunner Ship. Wow, what a shock huh? Here's a theory the majority of forum-goers failed to think about. Just because something's on Earth doesn't mean it's the Ark.
Since we're talking about The Flood, then it's most likely Noah's Ark. But I wouldn't be surprised if there were any references to a Ark of the Covenant. After seeing the trailer, everyone went nuts over the Forerunner structure uncovered on Earth and keep insisting that it is the Ark without any standing evidence. If that's not "the Ark", then all the theories will be..uh..squashed with disappointment and error. The only evidence that comes remotely close(it doesn't resemble it that much, if it's anything related to the Ark at all) to that structure being "the Ark" is the whiteboard concept of "Ark_09" in the Limited DVD. It could be a temple, or a landing pad for the Forerunner Ship, or something else altogether. Like the battle for the Ark is going to be 1/3 through the game... I believe the Ark is the Forerunner Ship at the end of Halo 2 due to:
1.High Charity is a Forerunner city well-designed against the Flood. If the Flood should invade(which we saw it did), then the city's population would be proceed to board the Forerunner Ship to evacuate on a countdown launch. The Forerunner Ship is gigantic compared to the city skyline. We know the Forerunner model everything in a grand scale, but that ship looks like it's got plenty of seats for passengers.
High Charity can also be seen as an Ark, if not the Ark(it's possible, but I have my money on the Forerunner Ship). If an Ark was as simple as a underground bunker control center that fires the Halos as well as protecting whoever's inside it, it wouldn't do much good for the survivors. Without food and basic necessities, the survivors' chance of survival is slim. However, High Charity comes with everything-a city built for a thriving civilization, with renewable resources. Perhaps, the Forerunner Ship is used to escape the Flood and activate the Halos..and once the Flood is gone..the Forerunner Ship returns and a civilization can be rebuilt upon immediately on High Charity.
2.The Forerunner Ship did serve it's designed purpose(as referred to above)at the end of Halo 2. There wasn't anyone much to evacuate. The Forerunner is no more, leaving a deserted city. Only Truth and his bodyguards including a stowaway MC, leaving the rest behind. They might as well slow down the Flood to ease Truth's escape. Truth and MC was saved from the Flood as the Forerunner Ship departs(probably on an auto-pilot to Earth). Why was the Forerunner Ship so important to Truth? For all we know, he could've simply comandeered one of his flagships.
3.When Arbiter asks where is the Ark at the very end, the next shot cuts immediately to the Forerunner Ship. I think this implies the Ark is the Forerunner Ship and it's now at Earth. It also gives the ending scene for MC returning to Earth. So, could be both.
4.The Forerunner Ship's engines/reactors were designed to last forever. This implies that the Forerunner Ship is of importance. Granted, the Forerunner probably could make all their ships' engines last forever. The Covenant had been tapping huge amounts of energy out of it to power High Charity. But what's wrong with High Charity's reactor that they had to improvise using the ship? It looks like High Charity's been in quite a battle before judging by its battered exterior.
5.Cortana detects an AI presence aboard the ship. It could be a Forerunner AI intellegience, or the shipmaster whose protocols were to prepare the ship for launch and is defending the ship from Cortana trying to delay the launch. Cortana could be mistakened a Forerunner AI for a Covenant AI, knowing how much the Covenant replicates foreign technology. We don't know whether Truth made it to the ship yet, whether he uploaded a Covenant AI, or whether a Covenant AI was placed aboard beforehand. I'll bet that Forerunner Ship contains revealing details and relics inside once MC gets to exploring it.
A far-off theory would be that MC comes upon this Forerunner AI, who becomes his new assistant now that Cortana's gone.
6.An Ark is usually referred to as a big boat. In Noah's terms, it meant salvation from The Flood. Again, not much difference between Halo and Biblical references. Since there's no boat anywhere in Halo, the only thing that comes close to it is a ship, a spaceship. Thus, it would make sense for the Forerunner Ship to escape the Flood, as well as being able to activate the Halos to (eventually destroy the Flood). The possibility that whoever's inside the Ark survives Halo's blast is not ruled out one way or the other.