Primordial: Difference between revisions
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Not all Precursors chose this fate; some entered deep suspended animation without reducing themselves as thoroughly.<ref name="s174"/> The Primordial, however, was evidently not a Precursor as they appeared at the time of the Forerunners' campaign against them.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 222'' (''"What were they like-the Precursors-when we sent fleets to hunt them down and destroy them?" -"Unlike the Primordial, unlike the Gravemind on the rogue Halo. Unlike the Flood, almost certainly."'')</ref> It instead appears to have been an artificial being,<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 120'' (''"An ancient construct ... or a captive"'')</ref> perhaps a very early form of [[Gravemind]], created from several creatures; the exact number was never determined, but [[Forthencho]] theorized that there had been at least twelve.<ref>'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 326''</ref> At the same time, Forerunner researchers were unable to conclusively determine whether the entity was truly connected to the Flood,<ref name="p190">'''Halo: Primordium''', ''pages 190-192''</ref> suggesting that it may have represented a considerably different, more primitive form of what would eventually become the Flood.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 224'' (''"The Graveminds suck experience from all sentient history. One of them did everything but absorb me. Saw right through me, understood every strategy I've ever devised. They've advanced far beyond the Primordial."'')</ref> Whatever its actual nature or origin, the Primordial's consciousness was synonymous with that of the later Gravemind.<ref name="s167">'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 167'' (''"This being was not the Primordial I encountered on Charum Hakkor, but something else entirely-though it retained the Primordial's motives and thoughts and memories. It was a Gravemind-the Gravemind, more accurately. It was the Primordial's final act of revenge."'')</ref> | Not all Precursors chose this fate; some entered deep suspended animation without reducing themselves as thoroughly.<ref name="s174"/> The Primordial, however, was evidently not a Precursor as they appeared at the time of the Forerunners' campaign against them.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 222'' (''"What were they like-the Precursors-when we sent fleets to hunt them down and destroy them?" -"Unlike the Primordial, unlike the Gravemind on the rogue Halo. Unlike the Flood, almost certainly."'')</ref> It instead appears to have been an artificial being,<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 120'' (''"An ancient construct ... or a captive"'')</ref> perhaps a very early form of [[Gravemind]], created from several creatures; the exact number was never determined, but [[Forthencho]] theorized that there had been at least twelve.<ref>'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 326''</ref> At the same time, Forerunner researchers were unable to conclusively determine whether the entity was truly connected to the Flood,<ref name="p190">'''Halo: Primordium''', ''pages 190-192''</ref> suggesting that it may have represented a considerably different, more primitive form of what would eventually become the Flood.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 224'' (''"The Graveminds suck experience from all sentient history. One of them did everything but absorb me. Saw right through me, understood every strategy I've ever devised. They've advanced far beyond the Primordial."'')</ref> Whatever its actual nature or origin, the Primordial's consciousness was synonymous with that of the later Gravemind.<ref name="s167">'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 167'' (''"This being was not the Primordial I encountered on Charum Hakkor, but something else entirely-though it retained the Primordial's motives and thoughts and memories. It was a Gravemind-the Gravemind, more accurately. It was the Primordial's final act of revenge."'')</ref> | ||
The Primordial was placed in dormancy within an asteroid outside the margins of [[Milky Way|the galaxy]] around [[9,000,000 BCE]]; a million years after the Forerunners wiped out the Precursors.<ref name="s173">'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 173'' (''"The one the Didact questioned on Charum Hakkor arrived on the margins of our galaxy nine million years before. That one was discovered by humans decades before the end of the war. We are the same."'')</ref> According to the Gravemind, the Primordial "arrived" in this location at this time;<ref name="s173"/> who was responsible for placing the being in stasis is unclear, though it is most likely to have been early Forerunners.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''pages 181-182'' (''"We were not then powerful enough to erase all evidence of the Precursors, to destroy their star roads and citadels and other artifacts. And so we left at least one Precursor behind, to live out dreams of vengeance and hatred, to lay down plans in cold and darkness at the heart of a lost asteroid-over millions of years."'')</ref> | The Primordial was placed in dormancy within an asteroid outside the margins of [[Milky Way|the galaxy]] around [[9,000,000 BCE]]; a million years after the Forerunners wiped out the Precursors.<ref name="s173">'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 173'' (''"The one the Didact questioned on Charum Hakkor arrived on the margins of our galaxy nine million years before. That one was discovered by humans decades before the end of the war. We are the same."'')</ref> According to the Gravemind, the Primordial "arrived" in this location at this time;<ref name="s173"/> who was responsible for placing the being in stasis is unclear, though it is most likely to have been early Forerunners.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''pages 181-182'' (''"We were not then powerful enough to erase all evidence of the Precursors, to destroy their star roads and citadels and other artifacts. And so we left at least one Precursor behind, to live out dreams of vengeance and hatred, to lay down plans in cold and darkness at the heart of a lost asteroid-over millions of years."'')</ref> Despite the being's hibernating state, [[Forthencho]] believed that the Primordial may have been responsible for remotely triggering the movement of the ships which initially brought the [[Flood]] into the galaxy.<ref>'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 226''</ref> | ||
===Discovery=== | ===Discovery=== | ||
Several decades before the end of the [[human-Forerunner wars]], circa [[109,090 BCE]], the creature was discovered by [[Prehistoric human civilization|prehistoric humans]] on a small planetoid near the edge of the galaxy, hibernating inside a [[stasis capsule]] of Precursor origin. [[Yprin Yprikushma]] then transported it to a [[Charum Hakkor arena|vast arena]] on Charum Hakkor, where human researchers found a way to revive the creature. At a later date, the captive's prison was sealed with a [[timelock]] as a further precautionary measure.<ref name="prim236">'''Halo: Primordium''', ''pages 236-238''</ref> | Several decades before the end of the [[human-Forerunner wars]], circa [[109,090 BCE]], the creature was discovered by [[Prehistoric human civilization|prehistoric humans]] on a small planetoid near the edge of the galaxy, hibernating inside a [[stasis capsule]] of Precursor origin. [[Yprin Yprikushma]] then transported it to a [[Charum Hakkor arena|vast arena]] on Charum Hakkor, where human researchers found a way to revive the creature. At a later date, the captive's prison was sealed with a [[timelock]] as a further precautionary measure.<ref name="prim236">'''Halo: Primordium''', ''pages 236-238''</ref> | ||
Despite the advanced nature of Precursor technology, Yprikushma and her research team managed to find a way to communicate with the captive for brief periods of time. They came to regard the creature within the cell as an oracle of sorts, asking it questions in the hopes of gaining greater understanding. Most of the time, the prisoner's answers were confused or unintelligible. When asked about the [[Flood]], the answers given to the humans present were so deeply horrifying that many of them committed suicide.<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 270-271''</ref> <ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 121''</ref> | Despite the advanced nature of Precursor technology, Yprikushma and her research team managed to find a way to communicate with the captive for brief periods of time. They came to regard the creature within the cell as an oracle of sorts, asking it questions in the hopes of gaining greater understanding. Most of the time, the prisoner's answers were confused or unintelligible. When asked about the [[Flood]], the answers given to the humans present were so deeply horrifying that many of them committed suicide.<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 270-271''</ref> <ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 121''</ref> | ||
Following the | Following the [[siege of Charum Hakkor]], the [[Ur-Didact|Didact]] and a group of [[Promethean]]s gained access to the prisoner, though only the Didact ultimately faced it in person. Initially, the Didact believed the Primordial to be a hoax - a psychological weapon created by the humans to demoralize the Forerunners.<ref name="sil33">'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 33''</ref> It was also theorized that the captive may have been preserved as an ultimate weapon of last resort, to be unleashed in case of an imminent defeat of the humans and the San 'Shyuum.<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 250''</ref> However, upon conversing with the creature, the Didact discovered that it was - or claimed to be - the last Precursor, and that the [[Forerunner]]s had [[Forerunner-Precursor war|rebelled against]] the Precursors.<ref name="Cryptum"/> The Didact revealed this information to no one, regarding its potential implications as being too destructive.<ref name="sil33"/> | ||
===Installation 07=== | ===Installation 07=== | ||
