Forum:When did (modern) humanity first encounter Forerunner tech?

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I'm not very well-versed in Halo canon that takes place in the earlier years of the UNSC, so I'm seeking some guidance. When exactly did humanity first encounter Forerunner technology? Since they achieved slipspace travel and colonized many worlds, they were bound to find Forerunner ruins early on. Worlds like Harvest and Reach had Forerunner technology, although hidden from plain sight. But Arcadia had Forerunner ruins in plain sight with human cities built in their vicinity. This would all be fine and dandy, except for a few instances. In Halo: Reach, when unveiling the Forerunner artifact below the ice shelf, Halsey says "before you is an alien artifact neither human nor Covenant in origin", as if Noble team was oblivious to the concept of the Forerunners. And in Halo: CE, the halo is generally regarded as of unknown origin until Cortana says "...the ring...it's Forerunner...", however, not everything in CE fits seamlessly with current canon.--File:PENGUIN4.gifFluffyEmoPenguin^{(ice quack!)} 23:08, 18 December 2012 (EST)

It's unknown as it is inconsistent. Much of it is due to who is supervising the development of the Halo universe in each Halo title. If you choose to follow strictly to Bungie's perspective, the UNSC learnt of the Forerunners in the first Halo title (as per the phrase you quoted although it is taken out of context). If you choose to follow Microsoft's/343i's, it would be Halo Wars, that is in 2531 (that cutscene showing Anders and her lab of floating Forerunner relics). Bungie's is far more consistent in between the four Halo titles when it comes to learning about the Forerunner whereas Halo 4 assumes you've followed closely to Microsoft's/343i's development of the Halo universe and that Forerunner is known to UNSC since Arcadia.— subtank 08:50, 19 December 2012 (EST)

ONI Field Report A84110 from Ghosts of Onyx shows that the UNSC had at least some knowledge of the Forerunners as early as 2511. Somewhat curiously though, despite the clear presence of Forerunner ruins on Arcadia, that planet was extensively colonised starting in 2429 and was not subject to the same restrictions. Perhaps colonisation was at too advanced a stage to reverse it when the ruins were discovered, or ONI was not as powerful at the time when Arcadia was colonised?--The All-knowing Sith'ari 11:53, 19 December 2012 (EST)