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Forerunner: Difference between revisions
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===Origins=== | ===Origins=== | ||
The Forerunners were a very advanced civilization, coming to power after the disappearance of another race, known to them as the Precursors. Unbeknownst to the Forerunners as of the year [[100,000 BCE]], the Forerunners had been created by the Precursors, and millions of years earlier had overthrown and destroyed them, leaving only [[The Timeless One|one]] in permanent containment on [[Charum Hakkor]].<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 342''</ref> | The Forerunners were a very advanced civilization, coming to power after the disappearance of another race, known to them as the Precursors. Unbeknownst to the Forerunners as of the year [[100,000 BCE]], the Forerunners had been created by the Precursors, and millions of years earlier had overthrown and destroyed them, leaving only [[The Timeless One|one]] in permanent containment on [[Charum Hakkor]].<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 342''</ref> | ||
The Forerunners originated on the planet [[Ghibalb]] in the [[Orion complex]]. The world served as the hub of the Forerunners' fledgling interstellar civilization, comprised of twelve systems within the nebular complex. | The Forerunners originated on the planet [[Ghibalb]] in the [[Orion complex]]. The world served as the hub of the Forerunners' fledgling interstellar civilization, comprised of twelve systems within the nebular complex, until it was rendered uninhabitable by an [[astroengineering]] disaster. The Forerunners had attempted to manipulate several stars in their region of space, but accidentally caused a series of supernovae that resulted in their planet being burned to a cinder by radiation and nearly caused their extinction.<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 222''</ref> | ||
The Forerunner civilization rose to preeminence in the galaxy in roughly [[150,000 BCE]],<ref>'''[[Halo Encyclopedia]]''', ''page 26''</ref> around the same time [[human]]ity first began moving its [[Prehistoric human civilization|interstellar civilization]] away from their homeworld. <ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 20''</ref> The [[capital]], the center of the Forerunner ecumene, was constructed around [[125,000 BCE]].<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 296''</ref> The Forerunners reached their peak before activating the [[Halo Array]] around 100,000 BCE, in the closing days of their war with the Flood.<ref>''Halo 2'', campaign level ''[[The Great Journey]]''</ref><ref>'''[[Bestiarum]]'''</ref> | The Forerunner civilization rose to preeminence in the galaxy in roughly [[150,000 BCE]],<ref>'''[[Halo Encyclopedia]]''', ''page 26''</ref> around the same time [[human]]ity first began moving its [[Prehistoric human civilization|interstellar civilization]] away from their homeworld, supposedly to escape early Forerunner control.<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 20''</ref> The [[capital]], the center of the Forerunner ecumene, was constructed around [[125,000 BCE]].<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 296''</ref> The Forerunners reached their peak before activating the [[Halo Array]] around 100,000 BCE, in the closing days of their war with the Flood.<ref>''Halo 2'', campaign level ''[[The Great Journey]]''</ref><ref>'''[[Bestiarum]]'''</ref> | ||
===Human-Forerunner war=== | |||
{{Main|Human-Forerunner war}} | |||
Around 110,000 BCE, the Forerunners went to [[Human-Forerunner war|war]] with humanity's [[Prehistoric human civilization|interstellar empire]], in response to a perceived invasion of new colony worlds.<ref name="Cryptum 25">'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 25''</ref> This invasion was thought to be caused by both human resentment at Forerunner expansionism during the previous fifty years and by the rapid growth of human populations.<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''pages 112, 130''</ref> After the war, a small number of Forerunners discovered the true cause of the invasion: a desperate human migration away from a extragalactic parasite known as [[the Flood]]. Desperate for new, uninfected worlds to replace the ones lost to the Flood, humanity invaded the worlds of other civilizations, bringing them into direct conflict with the Forerunners, who saw themselves as protectors of the Mantle. The Forerunners perceived humanity's actions to be a threat to the principles of the Mantle, and therefore waged a decisive war against humans, subjugating every human-controlled world and wiping them clean of all traces of human civilization.<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''pages 267 - 273''</ref> As punishment, humanity was stripped of its empire and technology and was exiled to its homeworld, [[Earth|Erde-Tyrene]]. There, humanity was devolved, splintered among its collective species and forced to begin anew.<ref name="Cryptum 25"/><ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''pages 127 and 188''</ref> The Flood, meanwhile, had been pushed beyond the edge of the galaxy by humanity's military efforts, and all traces of its existence vanished. | |||
Following the events of the war with humanity, a select group of [[Councilor (Forerunner)|Councilors]] and other elite Forerunners turned their attention to the possibility that the Flood would return. [[The Didact]] advocated a policy of watchfulness and military readiness, and proposed the construction of a series of [[Shield World]]s to provide quick military support should the Flood reappear. However, this plan was overruled by the council in favor of one put forward by a faction of Forerunner Builders, who proposed the construction of an array of galaxy-sterilizing [[Halo Array|super weapons]] as the ultimate defense against such a threat. These proposed weapons would be designed to starve the Flood to death by killing all sentient life in the galaxy with enough biomass to sustain them.<ref>''[[Halo: Combat Evolved]]'', 343 Guilty Spark</ref> The council's acceptance of this plan caused [[the Librarian]], a prominent Forerunner [[Lifeworker]] and the wife of the Didact, to speak out in condemnation of the Builders' proposal of mass genocide, and as a result she and other Lifeworkers were permitted to work on the project as well, integrating their own measures for preserving the galaxy's life into the plan. The plan, the [[Library Project]], resulted in the creation of [[Installation 00|the Ark]] and twelve massive ring-shaped installations known collectively as the Halo Array. Meanwhile, the Didact and the other [[Promethean]]s who had supported his cause were removed from the council and executed or exiled. The entire Warrior-Servant rate would be marginalized over the next thousand years, with their fleets and armies disbanded, leaving the Forerunners ill-prepared when the Flood would re-emerge. | |||
===Forerunner-Flood war=== | ===Forerunner-Flood war=== | ||
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All Forerunners wore [[Forerunner body armor|personal body armor]] which featured many functions, including protection from harm and medical assistance. This armor also eliminated their need to sleep, and made their lifespans basically indefinite; the Librarian, for example, was over eleven thousand years old by 100,000 BCE.<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 338''</ref> | All Forerunners wore [[Forerunner body armor|personal body armor]] which featured many functions, including protection from harm and medical assistance. This armor also eliminated their need to sleep, and made their lifespans basically indefinite; the Librarian, for example, was over eleven thousand years old by 100,000 BCE.<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 338''</ref> | ||
===Mutation=== | |||
{{Main|Forerunner mutation}} | |||
When a Manipular was ready to work within a particular rate, they would undergo an artificially-induced transformation into a more advanced [[form]], which differed depending on the Manipular's chosen caste. Referred to as a "mutation", the transition typically occurred over a long period of time. A typical Forerunner would undergo several mutations over the course of a lifetime, though this was not always the case. Mutations altered Forerunners' abilities and physical shape to suit their class; Warrior-Servants, for example, underwent mutations that made them stronger and more robust. After their first mutation, Forerunners also gained the ability to access the [[Domain]]. | |||
In emergency circumstances, an operation known as a "brevet mutation" could be performed on a Manipular. This was a mutation that occurred over a much briefer period of time, and was often painful. Rarely, a brevet mutation could fail and result in deformities. The Didact performed a brevet mutation on Bornstellar Makes Eternal Lasting to give him access to the Domain. | |||
==Society and culture== | ==Society and culture== | ||