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9/17/2011 5:36:24 AM
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Halo 4 - Reclamation: A Comprehensive Theory [MAJOR UPDATE 11/13/11]
WARNING: WALL OF THE TEXT PERSUASION BELOW
[u][i][b]MAJOR UPDATE FOLLOWING THE RELEASE OF HALO: ANNIVERSARY AND THE TERMINALS WITHIN. SOME POINTS IN HERE ARE DEFINITELY VALID WITH THIS NEW INFORMATION. I WILL UPDATE ACCORDINGLY.[/u][/i][/b]
Halo 4, the first game in a new trilogy, the Reclaimer Trilogy, brings us back to the Master Chief, continuing his story as he saves the universe from an "ancient evil" and faces his destiny. In the few short months since its announcement, Halo 4 has given rise to many questions regarding many facets of the Halo universe. When is this game set? What has happened since the end of Halo 3? Who is this "ancient enemy?" Where is Master Chief? Questions, I believe, we already have answers to.
Welcome to the Reclamation Theory.
[u]TABLE OF CONTENTS[/u]
[b]I[/b] The Post-War Era
[b]II[/b] The Legendary Planet
[b]III[/b] The Ancient Enemy
[b]IV[/b] The Conclusion
PART I: [b][u]The Post War Era: Were it so Easy[/u][/b]
The end of Halo 3 brings about the end the Human-Covenant War, the end of the Covenant itself, and the end of the Flood Threat (for now, but we'll get to that later; see Part II). While it hails the end of many foes and wars, it also marks the beginning of multiple events as well. The Humans, having been united under the will to survive, have begun to rebuild their society in a Post-War world. The Elites have begun to make amends to the Humans for their genocidal campaign. Peace seems to have finally been attained from the violence that marked the galaxy since 2525. But not all is calm on the western front. The known galaxy has been thrust into chaos following the end of the H-C War. Deep in the dark shadows of the galaxy, turmoil may resume.
The Office of Naval Intelligence, ONI, is not slowing down their movement among the roots of the UNSC. If anything, they have sped up. In an unstable state, the galaxy is up for grabs. In order to force their way to the top, almost immediately, ONI sends a diplomatic mission to Sangheilios. Their diplomacy, however, is not to the Separatist leader Thel Vadum; commonly know as the Arbiter; but to Avu Med 'Telcam, a fundamentalist among the Elites and a political enemy to the Arbiter, angry at the rebuttal of the idea that forerunners were "gods" after the H-C War ended. 'Telcam wants to cause insurrection amongst the Elites because of this religious zeal; to deny the Arbiter and his followers and claw his way to the top of Sangheili. [[url=http://www.halopedian.com/Avu_Med_%27Telcam]1[/url]]
Why would ONI allow this to happen? Some would say that they just want to control the ebb and flow of the Post War Age and that is their primary objective. While this is an overarching objective on ONI, I disagree that it is their primary focus. Then what would it be? What is the answer to this question?
They want forerunner tech. And they don't want to share.
Inciting the Fundamentalists to rebel would throw an already chaotic Sangheili society into further chaos. A chaos that would occupy the Elites to no end; still at war with the remnants of the Covenant Loyalists in 2559, another conflict would spiral them into a state where nothing could be achieved. Leaving forerunner artifacts all up for Humanity to grab. So simple, yet so diabolical. Reaping the benefits of war with no one to stop them (or so it seems - Part III). This concept will end up being explored in the Post-War novels, but still has resonant connections to Halo 4.[[url=http://www.halopedian.com/Unidentified_Sangheili_Shipmaster_(The_Return)]2[/url]]
With the enemy of old out of the way, the UNSC could reign supreme in the area of reclaiming forerunner technologies they discovered during the waning years of the H-C War. Repurposing technology is not a new concept to the UNSC; the Mjolnir Mark V-VI Amor Systems' energy shielding was reverse engineered from jackal shields; Spartan II and III made use of sentinel weaponry with relative ease. Various forerunner technologies could be incorporated into the UNSC navy within a matter of years after discovery and investigation. An element of the UNSC I believe will be central to the Reclaimer Trilogy.
PART II: [b][u]The Legendary Planet: Reject My Bias and Make Amends[/b][/u]
Now lets return to the Chief. The year is 2553 in the wake of the aftermath of the events at the Ark. The Forward Unto Dawn's aft section floats through unknown space millions upon millions of miles away from any human presence. Aboard it, in cryogenic stasis, lies Master Chief Petty Officer of the UNSC Navy, John 117.
Master Chief has finished the fight. Truth, the Covenant, the Flood... it's finished. Cortana submits this sentiment to Chief as he readys for cryo-sleep to which he agrees. His fight is done. His final wish as he begins to become dormant, "Wake me when you need me." He goes into stasis, to the year 2556 and beyond. Which leads to the big question: if his fight is finished, why would he be woken up?
After an unknown period of time, the Forward Unto Dawn is seen approaching a [url=http://www.halopedian.com/images/0/08/Legendary_Planet.jpg]planet of unknown origin.[/url] As the Dawn drifts closer, the planet comes into better [url=http://www.halopedian.com/images/1/1d/Planet.jpg]view[/url]: it definitely has had the presence of some space-dwelling power before. How can I infer this? There are forerunner [url=http://www.halopedian.com/images/c/c1/Overlayed.png]glyphs[/url] [url=http://www.halopedian.com/images/0/02/Shieldworldsymbol.jpg]present[/url] [url=http://www.halopedian.com/images/0/05/Marathon_logo.jpg]upon[/url] the [url=http://images.wikia.com/bungie/images/8/8c/Septagon.jpg]planet[/url]. Clearly this planet, at some point, had some significance to the forerunners. But what is it? Why mention glyphs here? Before I answer this question, there's one major facet of Halo-lore that needs to be explored.
Shield Worlds. Simply put, "A shield world is a Forerunner installation designed as a military outpost to monitor and counter potential Flood outbreaks, as well as to serve as a shelter from the activation of the Halo Array. Scattered across the Forerunner ecumene, the shield worlds outnumber the Halos by a large margin. The shield worlds were collectively known as 'the Shield', while the Halos were collectively known as 'the Sword'.
Over a thousand years prior to the second coming of the Flood, the shield worlds were proposed by the Didact as facilities from which to fight and research the Flood, an alternate solution to Master Builder Faber's plan to construct the Halos. However, the betrayal by the Forerunner Contender-class artificial intelligence 05-032 Mendicant Bias and its defection to the Flood forced the Forerunners to abandon their plans to evacuate into the shield installations, as Mendicant Bias revealed the locations of the shield worlds to the Flood."
[[url=http://www.halopedian.com/Shield_World]3[/url]]
Two varieties of Shield Worlds are known. There is the Conventional Sphere: a hollow sphere with the shield world located on the inside of the planet's crust similar to the Halo Installations. The second variation is the Micro-Dyson Sphere: a Dyson Sphere located inside of a tiny bubble of compressed slipspace.
Now back to the questions: What is it? Why mention glyphs here? Well, if we take a look at this [url=http://www.halopedian.com/images/0/02/Shieldworldsymbol.jpg]glyph[/url], things become clearer. Not too clear? Lets look at [url=http://www.halopedian.com/images/0/02/Onyx_cover.jpg]this[/url] image of the glyph. Still not clicking? Ghosts of Onyx involves the discovery of the second variation of shield worlds deep within the planet Onyx. Now making a little more sense? The glyph is involved with shield worlds. Where am I going with this? Why ask so many questions?
[u]Because the presence of this symbol on the Legendary Planet's surface means that the planet is either involved with or is a shield world.[/u]
...And because I like to hear myself speak.
PART III: [b][u]The Ancient Enemy: This Is "Reclaimer"[/b][/u]
Master Chief is heading to a shield world. Humanity is searching for forerunner artifacts with no regulation. The stage is set. The pieces are coming together. But all this leaves is the conflict. All stories need a good villain. The Covenant Loyalists and Elites are busy with their own problems. So who could it be? This is where things get juicy.
Mendicant Bias, a once hostile AI, made his debut in Halo 3. He almost single handedly caused the end of life in the galaxy as we know it. But, 100,000 years later upon the discovery of Harvest and the humans living there, rejects his past ways to "make amends." But how could he do this? He literally did NOTHING to help the Chief in Halo 3. Chief had to deal with the Flood threat by his lonesome with not forerunner AI there to be his training wheels. So what exactly does Mendicant Bias do to help the Chief?
[Edited on 11.13.2011 11:24 AM PST]
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Good read. I agree with a lot of what you said. Althought there are some things that I do wonder, such as where you got all the information about the shield worlds, cause that's something I've appanetly overlooked. [Edited on 12.05.2011 12:35 AM PST]
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Sorry, double post... [Edited on 12.05.2011 12:36 AM PST]
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[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] BlueRuby2k10 Great read! Certainly puts things in perspective. I can't shake the feeling that this game is going to be completely different from what we're theorizing.[/quote]
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[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] the real Janaka Good read. I agree with a lot of what you said. Althought there are some things that I do wonder, such as where you got all the information about the shield worlds, cause that's something I've appanetly overlooked. [/quote]The majority of it comes from the Halo 3 Terminals and Halo: Cryptum. The latter goes into detail on how the shield worlds were all a part of the Didact's original Flood contingency plan until Mendicant Bias revealed their locations to the Gravemind. It can be assumed that is the reasoning behind the Flood being on the Halo Wars shield world: they found it and attacked it before it could be used.
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While I agree with many things. I disagree with the Forerunners being the main antagonist. We know that they nurtured humanity as the "Reclaimers". While there may undoubtedly be tensions when meeting them, becuase i do believe a few or at least Didact is still alive, i dont think they would go to war with the people they essentially set up to be their Inheritors.
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AI will be a big part of Halo 4. Black Box, Cortana, possibly Mendicant Bias (if he was not destroyed) or some other Contender Class AI (Forerunner.
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[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] Quantam AI will be a big part of Halo 4. Black Box, Cortana, possibly Mendicant Bias (if he was not destroyed) or some other Contender Class AI (Forerunner.[/quote]I agree if only because of the remark made by MB in the terminals. "You are not ready." and so on. We know its titled the Reclamation trilogy. Basically he wasn't ready to reclaim humanities lost history or something so Mb has to lead him on a journey to prepare and eventually relaim whatever.
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[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] TDR Mudcat09 [quote][b]Posted by:[/b] Quantam AI will be a big part of Halo 4. Black Box, Cortana, possibly Mendicant Bias (if he was not destroyed) or some other Contender Class AI (Forerunner.[/quote]I agree if only because of the remark made by MB in the terminals. "You are not ready." and so on. We know its titled the Reclamation trilogy. Basically he wasn't ready to reclaim humanities lost history or something so Mb has to lead him on a journey to prepare and eventually relaim whatever.[/quote]That could be true, or (from my interpretation) simply the Chief wasn't ready to view the terminal's true message. In order to access the last terminal with Mendicant Bias's message to the Chief, you had to access the terminal on legendary. If you did not, then you would see a message from a forerunner father to his son before the rings were activated, followed by the last know testament from the Didact. At the end of this message you would see the quote: [quote][b]> NO. THERE IS MORE. > BUT YOU ARE NOT WORTHY. > . > . > NOT YET.[/b][/quote] When accessed on legendary, you recieve the full Mendicant Bias text. It makes more sense to me that the "YOU ARE NOT WORTHY" quote is simply a way to make the player try again on legendary. Nothing more, nothing less.
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No way is this amazing thread dying at three pages. You keep on writing, OP.
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Interesting twist at the end that's certainly original, but there are a few holes. 1. Why would Humans be made reclaimers and granted the birthright of the remains of the Forerunner Empire, only to be turned on them again? Especially the Didact who you state is one of the main reasons they became reclaimers in the first place. 2. If the Forerunner were around monitoring to galaxy, why didn't they respond to either the Human-Covenant War, or more importantly, the flood outbreak? 3. If the Forerunner were still hostile to Humans why would MB send them there as proof that he's once again "on the good side"? 4. Why wouldn't the Forerunner stay in contact with their own Halo Arrays? (goes with #3) 5. How are the Humans, who are still severely technically deficient compared to the Forerunners, supposed to even attempt to withstand total annihilation? Not only that but you ignore the surviving Precursor mentioned in Cryptum, and don't seem to consider the flood a truly massive thread. You also failed to take into the wealth of clues provided by the Iris Campaign which is a central part of my old Halo 4 theory, which I still stick by with some minor reservations. Many of those points were probably pointed out earlier, but either way I consider your theory (in it's current state) null and void. [quote][b]Posted by:[/b] ROBERTO jh Just to let you know, the Forerunners have been confirmed alive for years now. Actually it was in the Encyclopedia, believe it or not, where it was said the Forerunners left the galaxy forever. Will continue reading now. Edit: just finished reading. Simply put, while well thought out, I do not agree with the enemy being the Forerunners for a few reasons. Firstly, the fact they're no longer in this galaxy, they wouldn't be a threat to the humans in the Milky Way. As you haven't read the Encyclopedia, I can't blame you for not knowing that of course. Second, the Great Journey is a real thing, Didact directly alludes to it in the Terminals saying "we will follow in their footsteps" referring, obviously, to the Precursors. Being the holders of the Mantle, the Great Journey seemed open to them but as the Covenant war suggested, not others. Wherever the Forerunners are, the Precursors are likely to be as well. This leads into point 3, the Forerunners left the galaxy in shame, not in triumph. They left because they in part realized they were not worthy of upholding the Precursor's legacy, and they chose the humans as their inheritors. They were completely humbled by the experience of the Flood, they're not likely to retain much hatred, after getting destroyed utterly, towards humanity. Especially with the Precursors nearby. 4th, the thought the Master Chief can fight the Forerunners is ludicrous; their technology is waaay too powerful for the UNSC to have a hope in hell. 5th, and most importantly, the description of the game calls the Ancient Evil a threat to the entire [u] universe. [/u] Forerunners are no threat to the universe itself, only the Precursors could be, which is why the prevailing theory is that the Primordial is the main antagonist, with an army of True Flood (that is to say, Flood in their most dangerous form). And Forerunners are not evil, just misguided. The rest seemed good, though a lot of what you called speculation I thought was common knowledge (like Medicant Bias sending the Chief to the Forerunners).[/quote] All of that is valid as well. [quote]It makes more sense to me that the "YOU ARE NOT WORTHY" quote is simply a way to make the player try again on legendary. Nothing more, nothing less.[/quote] I strongly disagreed in my own theory on the matter. Bungie has always used double meanings and as well as literary devices such as "play on words". Read my own age old theory [url=http://www.bungie.net/Forums/posts.aspx?postID=35949941]here, also a pinned thread.[/url] [Edited on 01.05.2012 5:17 PM PST]
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While minimally aware of the entirety of the Halo Universe, I have spent some time thinking of how the franchise could continue without feeling outdated, and yet introduce something new and inventive. Without being aware of the existence of the forerunners, I figured that the focus of the upcoming trilogy would implement 'Human-counterparts' as the main back-drop of the story. Every popular game in this generation shares a common theme in terms of gameplay and story-telling... as it utilizes (pre)existing conflicts in human affairs, and needs little to create an intrigue in it's game(as there is already intrigue in the subject matters they cover). Modern Warfare, Battlefield, Homefront, Medal of Honor (any shooter set in modern time) are all re-inactments of what IS, HAS, or COULD happen. As with all the games about Zombies, it all caters to what we as humans find inherently captivating and engrossing in it's premise. This applies to all games, they all play as a mere portal to another reality; and games provide the perfect media in actively participating in those realities. My hope for Halo is takes advantage of it's depth and range of possibilities and provide an experience that we all long for as we contemplate what reality is and what it could be.
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A interesting read and one of the better ways for 343 to carry the mantle that i have heard. I have my own. This is my first day on the forum and i hope its cool i add it here if not srry N00b its how we roll. No split lips no UNCS, and no flood. Now before i progress i would love to see any of these faction back in the universe especially the flood. However seeing as Cortana and the Chief are literal in the middle of No-and-Where i doubt the uncs or the post war covenant ether waring or not haven't pushed out that far. Yet. They got there own stuff to deal with and the flood at least in this universe is done. No this next trilogy is Chief, Cortana and the forerunners. Stranded no backup, and the only luck you make is the kind you make yourself. Yeah that's a forunner world probably Shield possible Fortress. Ether way its Forunnner and its the last remnant of once great society Didact and who ever he could muster from the purge went to sleep till the day they have been reclaimed. However not Didact himself he would stay as the last of his people sleep to watch over them as a monitor or montor-like construct. Millenniums have not tempered Didacts rage and he is not Guilty Sparks he sees a threat like a war ship (even half a warship) he will destroy it and shoots you out of sky. The Didact is not your enemy the Didact is you saving grace. See a warship is a threat a man a pathetic human is not but he is useful. In true chief fashion your ships going down you jump off. Didact ether saves your changes your vector so chief dosen't pan cake when he hits the nice solid ground. Ether by Cortanas pleas or by his own curiosity dosent kill the the cyborg out right and not only brings him back around but gives him a new battle skin upgrade. As maintenance begins on the chief the Didact and Cortana discuss what he has missed. With the chief restored to fighting fit now begins the work of waking the forerunner and for his help the chief's reward is passage home. I think that will be the carrot on the stick for john what does he need to do to get him and Cortana home. However its never that easy as waking a few guys up and boom reward home, as the process of waking the forerunner begins a old force begin to move against the trio Precursor or a Precursor weapon views the Didact and chief with disdain for not upholding the mantle letting the flood almost consume everything and for releasing it again. They have watched and waited and are not pleased with them or the universe. Everything else i dont know. I'm just hoping for a halo 1 feel your strained not 100% on whats going own but you know you must fight to survive. BTW Biased likely nugged the frigged toward Diadact planet but that's the extent of his helping.
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This is probably the best wall post i have ever seen in my entire life. Thank you, but the only problem is the flood being an enemy again. ALL those times dying many times on legendary! I'm pretty sure the precursor will be an enemy.
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Fascinating read, it's been a while since I've seen a well structured argument like this.
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it makes sense. the forerunners are the only race that is capable of war right now. i think that humans are -blam!-ed
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Read primordium and you can add to this... Spoilers ahead sorta You will learn about the timeless one more which will add to who the ancient enemy is, which I believe will probably be the precursors. Also I think the didact will make an appearance along with possibly the librarian. The biggest surprise is that an old friend will probably be making an appearance. Many will think this is impossible, so go read primordial. Force your way through it if you get bored in the beginning. [Edited on 01.16.2012 11:56 AM PST]
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[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] Cowgoesmoo Don't tell me thanks, I should be thanking you.[/quote]
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I have a theory as to the whole 'timeless one' deal. Well, what if he isn't the last precursor and he lied? Now, why would he lie? Well, If we look back to the Forerunner-Precursor war, the forerunners had won, they obliterated the Precursors, with the timeless one stating he was the last one left. But also, didn't the precursors also have the ability to create lifeforms, Also the timeless one seemed to have knowledge of the origins of the flood. So my theory is that the Precursors did create the flood to be unstoppable, but why? Again, Precursors were being wiped out, which leaves me with two extension theories. 1- They invented the flood to be unstoppable as a way of being...solipsistic? So "If im going down, im taking you all with me!". 2- They had plans for this, What i mean is, the Precursors, allowed thier numbers to dwindle, then went into hiding, allowing the forerunners to believe they were long dead, However the Precursors then create the flood to wipe out the Forerunners, then the precursors could use failsafes in thier flood creation to destroy the flood and retake thier place as overrulers of the galaxy. This kind of links to the religious theme of Precursors being god-like, who sent the flood to 'wash away' thier enemies. But the 'enemies' fought against the gods by building thier own boats...with blackjack...and hookers! But forget the blackjack...ahh forget the whole thing. (cookie for reference) Of course my second theory there would mean they already are in charge and ruling, So doesn't quite add up unless you add that perhaps the Precursors were unaware of the purpose/existence of the Halo rings, So a lot of them got wiped out, ruining thier plans to dominate except maybe a few who did have access to a shield world (which were unoccupied because of Mendicant Bias' betrayal, caused by the Timeless one) so then they had to attempt to repopulate and perhaps reclaim thier knowledge of destroying the flood. So perhaps the 'shield world' Chief may be heading to, Could have a regrowing population of precursors Im not really 100% on my theories to be honest, they're just a bunch of ideas swilling in my head that im trying to jam together to see what happens XD
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*Sigh* He said he was the last precursor of HIS kind and that the ones that created the forerunners are still alive elsewhere. And the installation chief is going to is forerunner
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There's more than one kind? O.o Damn you Halopedia! Just to note, i haven't actually read the book with the timeless one etc. Im only going off what im piecing together from you guys and Halopedia, So please don't be hating if i screw some details up ;( I keep meaning to buy the other books (only got TFOR,TF and FS) but cash isn't exactly flowing the way it used to anymore.
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[quote][b]Posted by:[/b] Trinitykill Im only going off what im piecing together from you guys and Halopedia[/quote] I will stay of your back if you do not use halopedia since it is highly flawed. And PM me about your situation.
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Well thought out and well played to the Topic creator, and to be honest it roughly corresponds to my own thought process. However, I do notice that the thread hasn't been updated since Primordium, how would this affect your theory? With that said I do think, however, it will be a UNSC/Elite alliance against what remains of the Flood (Installation 07, for example)and possibly even the Forerunners. According to Primordium, or at least my interpretation, is that though the Forerunners are losing the war badly against the Flood (hence the final solution) there are enough safeguards there to potentially allow a proportion - albeit a minor one - of the Forerunner civilisation to survive. One such example is the mention of two Arks, a greater and lesser Ark. The lesser Ark, from what I understand, is the Ark that was sevrely damaged (note, not completley destroyed, Cortana said that "it did a number on the Ark", she'd be a lot more precise if it was destroyed). Perhaps remenants of a Forerunner civilisation is on this Greater Ark? Furthermore, we are led to believe that there are dozens, if not hundreds, of shield Worlds kicking about - per chance there were a few Forerunners on these planets too? Again, it roughly corresponds to your own theory - I'd just been interested in hearing your input after having read Primordium?
