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8/29/2009 8:26:26 PM
490
Humanity are not Forerunners, but in fact Precursors? [Update 2.0]
All throughout the Halo trilogy, we have been led to believe there is a connection between the Forerunners and Humanity. For example, Halo can only be fired by a human, 343 Guilty Spark recognises humanity as "Reclaimers," naming the Covenant as 'Meddlers.' The terminals also imply a deep connection.
Now, many have speculated that Forerunners are humans, yet more advanced. Some believe that Forerunners adopted us as their heirs. There are a fair few crazy theories out there, most, if not all, basically stating that humans are in some way descended from Forerunners.
Now I approach you with a different outlook. What if humanity were not descended from the Forerunners, but what if they were, in fact, the fabled Precursors' last legacy?
First, I'll dismiss the argument that 343 Guilty Spark says "You are Forerunner," to John-117 by saying this -
Spark has always been confused, in Combat Evolved, he believed you were the Forerunner who activated Halo the first time around. In the Bestarium, it makes mention that all of Spark's observations are 'Under Investigation', whereas Tangent's (Monitor of Installation 05) observations are all confirmed.
Now I know what you're thinking: "Wolverfrog, you nutter! They can't be precursors, that's impossible!"
But is it really? Let's start by taking a look at what the word 'Reclaimer' really means. To recover, to reclaim what was once yours. Now I don't see why the Forerunners would attribute humanity with such a term, it wouldn't make sense if humans are supposed to be the adopted race of the Forerunners. However, assuming hypothetically that humanity are in fact the last remnant of the Precursors, it would make sense. A safe thing to assume would be that Forerunner technology is based off Precursor technology, much in the same way that the Covenant base their technology off the Forerunners.
Now if that is the case, then it would make sense that the Forerunners would name the humans 'Reclaimer', to inherit, and regain all that they lost.
In the terminals, the Librarian, love of the Didact, refers to Earth as Eden, and a place of wonder. Iris, the Halo 3 ARG, also has a little to say on this.
[quote][i]The anomalous world is in a perilous location beyond the line. The secrets it holds must be preserved, plans within plans within plans. [b]The inhabitants; these unique denizens, must be researched. They may hold answers to our own mysteries[/b]. What irony that we discovered this treasure, only at the end of things. But what fortune that we still had time to save them. The thing we built on that world will vouchsafe their lives, but perhaps one day it will be used for its intended purpose. If the plan succeeds, and they are saved, it will be a good world. If the plan fails, and the adversary succeeds, it will remain an enigma forever with no one left to reclaim it. [/i][/quote]
Now you see, it is talking about Earth, and the 'unique denizens' are humanity. It leaves you with the questions, why must we be researched? What answers can we give to the Forerunners? Surely simply being chosen by the Forerunners to carry on their work in the event that they perish does not grant us this amount of awe?
I believe that Earth is a Precursor world, perhaps their home world. At the very height of their power, the precursors were the dominant force throughout the universe. However, due to unknown reasons, they vanished, passing down a mantle to their chosen race to continue their legacy: the Forerunners.
However, what if the Precursors had [i]not[/i] been wiped out, but in fact, merely faded away, realising that omniscience was a terrible burden. A likely scenario is that the Precursors encountered the Flood, which would make the Flood much like the Reapers in Mass Effect; they wipe out cultures once they are advanced enough. The Flood could have forced the Precursors back into hiding, where they lost all their technology. Eventually, perhaps only one world, Earth, remained, and so eventually the Precursors had lost all of their knowledge and power, and became what we know today as humanity.
I know you think a species 'devolving' seems unlikely, but I will direct you here to the case of the Brutes. At one point in their history, they were as advanced as the Covenant, until a civil war threw them back into the industrial age. Something similar of this sort could have happened to the Precursors.
In the sixth terminal, the Librarian states this to the Didact.
[quote]We knew this was a special place because of them, but unless you've been here, you can't know. [/quote]
Now that seems to be good proof. She is calling Earth a special place because of [i]them[/i]. Just who are 'them?' Humanity springs to mind, but what if she was talking about the Precursors?
It's a long shot, but it's an option, one that I believe. I've probably missed out a lot, I shall scourer the terminals again and make necessary edits. Thanks for reading, please voice your opinion.
[quote][/quote]
[b]Update 1.2[/b]
(I had this all neatly typed up, but it got deleted by a posting error. So forgive me if some of this update doesn't make sense, it's late at night and I'm kind of tired.)
Reach is situated within the Epsilon Eridani system, a mere 10.5 lightyears from the Sol System, and it's closest neighbouring system.
Now, let's go with the idea that Earth was in fact, the Precursor homeworld.
Once they had achieved space exploration level, it's likely the first system they would have discovered is the Epsilon Eridani system. The Precursors would have also discovered Reach, and probably inhabited it.
Now let's jump to First Strike. Halsey and the Spartans discover a network of what they believe to be 'Forerunner caverns' underneath the ONI CASTLE facility. Inside these ruins, they discover a crystal, which can bend space and time. It seems awfully advanced, even for the Forerunners.
Now, what if the Forerunners hadn't built the caverns and crystal, but the Precursors had?
I'm not just thinking up random ideas as I go along though. What I find unlikely is that the Forerunners would have discovered Reach, but a few light years away from Earth, and have the time to construct caverns and house a ridiculously advanced crystal within, yet not discover Earth and humanity until a short time before activating Halo. Why would they waste time constructing such a complex when they were faced with extinction?
My opinion is that the Precursors built it. Which is why, when Fred 104 touches the glyphs on the complex, he gets a 'Frustratingly familiar' feeling, as if he's seen them before. Genetic instincts perhaps, from humanity's Precursor ancestors? Simply becoming Reclaimers of the Forerunners wouldn't give humanity instinctive knowledge of how their technology works. And if the Forerunners based all their technology off of the Precursors relics they had discovered, it would explain why the Master Chief sub conciously could activate the various devices upon Halo.
And, running along with this idea that Reach had been colonised by the Precursors, what if every UNSC Colony world which had mysterious 'Forerunner artefacts' were in fact, also Precursor?
Perhaps humanity was merely following in their Precursors ancestors ancient footsteps, as they themselves first ventured into the Galactic beyond.
[b]Update 2.0[/b]
Oh Lord, this is all too perfect. The first Halo Legends episode, [i]The Babysitter[/i] was released, and it speaks volumes for this theory.
The ODSTs have a mission alongside a Spartan to assassinate a Prophet at some unknown alien ruins.
Cortez, the ODST squad leader, at some point in the mission briefing says:
[quote]"The architecture is not Covenant design and it sure as hell wasn't built by humans. It pre-dates both sides."[/quote]
As I was watching this I nodded along and thought, 'Forerunner'. That's what it pointed to right? Perhaps not.
Later on when we actually see these ruins, they sure look confusing. It actually looks more like human ancient Japanese design than Forerunner. Naturally, everyone is complaining about it, saying it isn't Forerunner. And perhaps it isn't. Perhaps it is Precursor.
Now let's say, back in the day, the Precursors built some structures like that, with that design. They colonise the planet their human descendants (Remember the greater theory) walk upon hundreds of thousands of years later. And they build these ruins.
Now what if, in the Haloverse, Japanese building designs were inspired by ancient Precursor blueprints that the ancient Japanese discovered? What if those ruins on the planet in [i]The Babysitter[/i] are in fact meant to look like they do? Not Forerunner ruins, but Precursor.
Also, the statues inside the ruins show what seem to be animals usually found on Earth. And who do we theorise do originate from Earth? That's right, the Precursors. If the Forerunners had built the ruins, then surely they would have images of their Gods, not animals.
[b]In other words: [/b]
- Precursors colonise planet, build ruins we see in [i]The Babysitter.[/i]
- Precursors then become humanity after catastrophic event.
- Halo is fired by Forerunners.
- Precursor remnants (humans) repopulate Earth.
- Ancient Japanese discover incredibly old Precursor building blueprints, design their buildings in the same way.
- ODST squad and Spartan in [i]The Babysitter[/i] discover these ancient ruins, Halo fans cry out "But they're not Forerunner!"
- Because they aren't. They're Precursor.
[b]Last minute input: [/b][url=http://www.neogaf.com/forum/showpost.php?p=18391672&postcount=243]Oh my God, Frankie just practically confirmed this section of the theory![/url]
[Edited on 11.07.2009 3:54 PM PST]
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For those who dare to read this long wall of text: I'm gonna go out on a wild stretch here so bear with me. We have to wonder about the Neolithic origins in the Halo Universe, and how and why the Forerunner and/or the Precursors fit into this picture. Let's look back at our past. How is it that our species acquired such a great amount of intelligence in such a short amount of time? According to a man famous for rather wild and interesting theories, Terence McKenna mentions in one of his lectures that the human neo cortex is "the most dramatic transformation of a major organ of a higher animal in the entire fossil record." Now I know mushrooms aren't really mentioned in the Halo Universe and I don't want you guys to think of me as a hippie or anything but check out his theory: "McKenna hypothesized that as the North African jungles receded and gave way to savannas and grasslands near the end of the most recent ice age, a branch of our tree-dwelling primate ancestors left the forest canopy and began to live in the open areas outside of the forest. There they experimented with new varieties of foods as they adapted, physically and mentally, to their new environment. Among the new food items found in this new environment were psilocybin-containing mushrooms growing near the dung of ungulate herds that occupied the savannas and grasslands at that time. McKenna, referencing the research of Roland L. Fisher, claimed that enhancement of visual acuity was an effect of psilocybin at low doses, and supposed that this would have conferred an adaptive advantage. He also argued that the effects of slightly larger doses, including -blam!- arousal, and in still larger doses, ecstatic hallucinations and glossolalia gave selective evolutionary advantages to members of those tribes who partook of it. There were many changes caused by the introduction of this psychoactive mushroom to the primate diet. McKenna hypothesizes, for instance, that synesthesia (the blurring of boundaries between the senses) caused by psilocybin led to the development of spoken language: the ability to form pictures in another person's mind through the use of vocal sounds. About 12,000 years ago, further climate changes removed psilocybin-containing mushrooms from the human diet. McKenna argued that this event resulted in a new set of profound changes in our species as we reverted to the previous brutal primate social structures that had been modified and/or repressed by frequent consumption of psilocybin." -Wikipedia.org This man believed that these mushrooms were essentially some kind of universal teaching device, and let's be fair here, quite a few different cultures integrated them into their society, such as the Mayans, Indians (no not the Native Americans though some are included), and several African cultures, but to expand on this theory here's basically what he had to say about the mushrooms' purpose: "I am old, older than thought in your species, which is itself fifty times older than your history. Though I have been on earth for ages I am from the stars. My home is no one planet, for many worlds scattered through the shining disc of the galaxy have conditions which allow my spores an opportunity for life. The mushroom which you see is the part of my body given to sex thrills and sun bathing, my true body is a fine network of fibers growing through the soil. These networks may cover acres and may have far more connections that the number in a human brain. My mycelial network is nearly immortal, only the sudden toxification of a planet or the explosion of its parent star can wipe me out. By means impossible to explain because of certain misconceptions in your model of reality all my mycelial networks in the galaxy are in hyperlight communication across space and time. The mycelial body is as fragile as a spider's web but the collective hypermind and memory is a vast historical archive of the career of evolving intelligence on many worlds in our spiral star swarm. Space, you see, is a vast ocean to those hardy life forms that have the ability to reproduce from spores, for spores are covered with the hardest organic substance known. Across the aeons of time and space drift many spore-forming life-forms in suspended animation for millions of years until contact is made with a suitable environment. Few such species are minded, only myself and my recently evolved near relatives have achieved the hyper-communication mode and memory capacity that makes us leading members in the community of galactic intelligence. How the hypercommunication mode operates is a secret which will not be lightly given to man. But the means should be obvious: it is the occurrence of psilocybin and psilocin in the biosynthetic pathways of my living body that opens for me and my symbiots the vision screens to many worlds. You as an individual and man as a species are on the brink of the formation of a symbiotic relationship with my genetic material that will eventually carry humanity and earth into the galactic mainstream of the higher civilizations. Since it is not easy for you to recognize other varieties of intelligence around you, your most advanced theories of politics and society have advanced only as far as the notion of collectivism. But beyond the cohesion of the members of a species into a single social organism there lie richer and even more baroque evolutionary possibilities. Symbiosis is one of these. Symbiosis is a relation of mutual dependence and positive benefits for both of the species involved. Symbiotic relationships between myself and civilized forms of higher animals have been established many times and in many places throughout the long ages of my development. These relationships have been mutually useful; within my memory is the knowledge of hyperlight drive ships and how to build them. I will trade this knowledge for a free ticket to new worlds around suns younger and more stable than your own. To secure an eternal existence down the long river of cosmic time I again and again offer this agreement to higher beings and thereby have spread throughout the galaxy over the long millennia. A mycelial network has no organs to move the world, no hands; but higher animals with manipulative abilities can become partners with the star knowledge within me and if they act in good faith, return both themselves and their humble mushroom teacher to the million worlds all citizens of our starswarm are heir to." So what if the Precursors essentially seeded the galaxies with their inner workings, and several species with their DNA. There is a possibility of essentially sending their way of life this way to other places... Because in such a short amount of time on seperate parts of the globe the entire human species were able to come up with strikingly similar forms of society and architecture etc. I mean just look at the video game Assassin's Creed 2 for an anology with all the glyphs you have to search for. The fact that some of the Mayan glyphs in Central America and the glyphs from Angkor Wat in the East Pacific bear a striking resemblance to Forerunner and Precursors glyphs. We also have Easter Island, the Nazca Lines, Stone Henge, etc. Many of these cultures also had a fascination with the stars. The Gravemind and the Flood fits into this theory as well, the idea of spores latching on to other lifeforms and what not, although the Flood would be of the more poisonous or parasitic variety of course, not to mention they feed off their intelligence. There's a type of parasitic fungus which does the same thing to ants, it's called Cordyceps, here's a video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80uSaxHXdk8 Here's some examples of human ruins and glyphs compared to the Forerunner: Mayan glyphs: [url]http://www.2012awareness.com/mayan_glyphs.jpg[/url] [url]http://emergent-culture.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/parts-of-the-mayan-calendar.jpg][/url] Angkor Wat: [url]http://www.images-photography-pictures.net/Angkor-Wat-Cambodia-Siem-Reap-Hrtfried-Schmid.jpg[/url] [url]http://comps.fotosearch.com/comp/UNZ/UNZ898/angkor-wat-_~u11865089.jpg[/url] Forerunner glyphs: [url]http://www.ascendantjustice.com/files/cocop/The%20Covenant/The%20Covenant%20Large/HologramGlyphs-large.jpg[/url] [url]http://www.ascendantjustice.com/files/cocop/The%20Covenant/The%20Covenant%20Small/Halo1Glyphs.PNG[/url] [url]http://i238.photobucket.com/albums/ff274/MyzticStrike/Glyph2.png[/url] And here's a 6 minute lecture on the idea of spores as an alien probe: [url]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ljy3TH1T0jk[/url] Tell me what you guys think.
