Reclaimer

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A "Reclaimer" (Latin: Homo Sapiens Augeous) is an individual who, whether by chance or by precedent, has been placed in charge of activating a Halo super-weapon. The individual must journey to retrieve a Halo's activation key (the Index) and then activate the Halo Array.

Speculation
The exact qualifications for a Reclaimer are sketchy at best. In Halo: The Flood, 343 Guilty Spark implies that to become a Reclaimer an individual must first retrieve the Index and then activate the ring. The use of the designation "Augeous" (Latin for augmented) has spawned many theories. The word may imply that Forerunners were basically stronger, smarter humans (possibly even a near-human species).

The designation could also be a reference unique to Master Chief, the most recent Reclaimer, who is physically augmented by his combat suit. Another theory in this line of thinking is that Reclaimers may be of any species, so long as they are augmented by protective armor. This is based on Guilty Spark's comment to the Master Chief regarding his "combat skin". However, this has been refuted by the designation of the armor-less Miranda Keyes' and Sergeant Johnson as Reclaimers in Halo 2 ("May I say, Reclaimers, it has been a pleasure serving you both." ).

Though all known identified Reclaimers have been a part of the UNSCDF, either in the Navy or Marine Corps, it is unlikely that a position in the military is a qualification.

It is interesting to note that the Oracle of High Charity interprets the objects scanned by the Luminary on Harvest as "reclaimers" not artifacts or icons. When the places designated by the Luminary are visited by Brutes, all they find are Humans. It would appear that Reclaimers are Humans or vice-versa.

However, a reclaimer may not necessarily be a Forerunner. Since no Oracle (moniter) or Sentinel has designated them a forerunner, it is possible that humans are similar without being actual Forerunners. It is possible that Reclaimers are separate from the Forerunners genetically in some way. It is possible that they were something of a subspecies that was entrusted with the maintenance of the Forerunner facilities. This is however unlikely, as it is stated by Guilty Sparks that the job of returning the index is reserved solely for the Reclaimers. If they were simply glorified janitors, they would not likely have been entrusted with such a pivotal role in the Halo installations.

Qualifications and Use


It is unclear what qualifications there are to being a Reclaimer. The term is used many times throughout the Halo games and literature, with no clear-cut definition.

Chronologically, the title of Reclaimer is first used by Mendicant Bias, as described in Contact Harvest. While correcting the Covenant's misinterpretation of the Luminary's readings, Mendicant applies the term to a large portion, if not the entirety, of the Human population on Harvest. Mendicant also claims that the humans are his makers, which corroborates what 343 Guilty Spark says to the Master Chief in Halo 3: "You are the child of my makers. Inheritor of all they left behind. You are Forerunner." After Mendicant, the next known bestowment of the title is when Guilty Spark addressed Sergeant Marvin Mobuto in Halo: The Flood. Following Mobuto's death and Spark's first meeting with SPARTAN-117, the title is laid upon the Master Chief. 2401 Penitent Tangent also instantly recognized the Master Chief as a Reclaimer. In addition to the Chief, both Commander Keyes and Sergeant Johnson are referred to as Reclaimers, and 343 Guilty Spark seems to show them the same respectful attitude that he shows the Chief.

It is also important to note when the term "Reclaimer" is not applied. All Covenant species are viewed as intruders or "meddlers" and are unable to access and fully utilize the Forerunner weapon systems found in the Halo Rings and on the Ark, which is why the Prophet of Truth had to force Sgt. Johnson to activate the rings in Halo 3. Additionally, in Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, the Sentinels do not identify the humans on Onyx as Reclaimers. It could be that Sentinels only possess limited intelligence while apart from a controlling Monitor. It is safe to speculate that the Monitors, as custodians of the Halo installations, play an important role in helping local Sentinels determine who is friendly and who is not. It should also be noted that the first human a Sentinel tried to identify on Onyx was Ash-G099, one of the SPARTAN-IIIs, all of whom possessed artificial augmentations, most notably an illegal drug cocktail designed to affect the brain's frontal lobe to enhance certain traits in combat. This cocktail was the only major difference between their augmentation program and that of the SPARTAN-IIs. This may have been reason enough for the Sentinel to identify him as something other than human or Reclaimer (After Ash spoke to it, the Sentinel said, "Reclassification of targets as non-Reclaimers. Aboriginal subspecies." ), and after that the Sentinels may have simply assumed that all humans on Onyx were of the same classification.

It is possible that 343 Guilty Spark does not recognize Reclaimers as individuals, but instead believes that every Reclaimer is the same being. When talking to Master Chief in Installation 04's Control Room, Spark says, "Last time, you asked me, if it were my choice, would I do it? Having had considerable time to ponder your query, my answer has not changed." It seems that Guilty Spark was referring to a question posed to him by a Forerunner, possibly Didact, prior to the activation of Installation 04 100,000 years before.

The word "Reclaimer" is an extension of the word "reclaim" and can be defined as:

1: to bring (uncultivated areas or wasteland) into a condition for cultivation or other use.

2: to recover (substances) in a pure or usable form from refuse, discarded articles, etc.

3: to bring back to a preferable manner of living, sound principles, ideas, etc.

4: to tame.

From what 343-Guilty Spark reveals to the Master Chief, this is apparently the purpose of a Reclaimer; to activate the Halo array and "recover" the galaxy from the Flood, making it suitable for recultivation and repopulation.

Trivia

 * The glyph for Reclaimer is another Marathon reference.
 * In each game of the Halo trilogy, the Monitors have the same glyph imprinted on their "eye".
 * Mendicant Bias refers to John-117 as the Reclaimer through the Terminals in Halo 3.
 * In Halo 3, Elite Minors occasionally call the Master Chief "Reclaimer". The reason they call him this, while most other Elites call him "demon" is unknown.
 * It has been widely accepted, that the term Reclaimer is a general term given to all Humans.