Precursor: Difference between revisions
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{{Quote|We are the last of those who gave you breath and form, millions of years ago. We are the last of those your kind defied and ruthlessly destroyed. We are the last Precursors. And now we are ''legion''.|The [[Gravemind]] to [[Catalog]] | {{Quote|We are the last of those who gave you breath and form, millions of years ago. We are the last of those your kind defied and ruthlessly destroyed. We are the last Precursors. And now we are ''legion''.|The [[Gravemind]] to [[Catalog]] in the final years of the [[Forerunner-Flood war]]<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 175''</ref>}} | ||
The '''Precursors''' were an advanced race that preceded and were mythologized by the [[Forerunner]]s. The Forerunners classified them as "[[Technological Achievement Tiers#Tier 0: Transsentient|Transsentient]]" beings, having the ability to travel among galaxies and accelerate the evolution of intelligent life.<ref>'''[[Bestiarum]]''', page 26: '''''Tier 0: Transsentient''' As the [Forerunners] had no examples of civilizations with technological accomplishment greater than themselves - with the exception of the Precursors - this is a theoretical ceiling. They can travel intergalactic and accelerate evolution of intelligent life. These may be creatures of legend.''</ref> While the Precursors themselves had long since disappeared during the time of the Forerunners, evidence of their technological and architectural achievements remained scattered across not only the galaxy but also outside it, namely in the [[Large Magellanic Cloud]]. | The '''Precursors''' were an advanced race that preceded and were mythologized by the [[Forerunner]]s. The Forerunners classified them as "[[Technological Achievement Tiers#Tier 0: Transsentient|Transsentient]]" beings, having the ability to travel among galaxies and accelerate the evolution of intelligent life.<ref>'''[[Bestiarum]]''', page 26: '''''Tier 0: Transsentient''' As the [Forerunners] had no examples of civilizations with technological accomplishment greater than themselves - with the exception of the Precursors - this is a theoretical ceiling. They can travel intergalactic and accelerate evolution of intelligent life. These may be creatures of legend.''</ref> While the Precursors themselves had long since disappeared during the time of the Forerunners, evidence of their technological and architectural achievements remained scattered across not only the galaxy but also outside it, namely in the [[Large Magellanic Cloud]]. | ||
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A few Precursors escaped or were spared by the Forerunners. They either went into suspended animation or became molecular dust that was meant to eventually regenerate into their past forms. However, over millions of years the dust became defective, failing to reconstitute the Precursors and instead inducing madness and mutations in lifeforms that came in contact with it. This form would later be known as the [[Flood]]. Far from accepting failure and extinction, the Precursors viewed the Flood as a means to bring unity to the galaxy as well as punish the Forerunners for their insolence. Vowing that none of their creations would rise against them again, the Precursors decided that all life would be deprived of free will and merged into one; in the end, the sum of the Precursors' creation would be a reflection of themselves and the suffering their creations caused them.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''String 13''</ref> | A few Precursors escaped or were spared by the Forerunners. They either went into suspended animation or became molecular dust that was meant to eventually regenerate into their past forms. However, over millions of years the dust became defective, failing to reconstitute the Precursors and instead inducing madness and mutations in lifeforms that came in contact with it. This form would later be known as the [[Flood]]. Far from accepting failure and extinction, the Precursors viewed the Flood as a means to bring unity to the galaxy as well as punish the Forerunners for their insolence. Vowing that none of their creations would rise against them again, the Precursors decided that all life would be deprived of free will and merged into one; in the end, the sum of the Precursors' creation would be a reflection of themselves and the suffering their creations caused them.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''String 13''</ref> | ||
Around [[ | Around [[107,445 BCE]], ten million years after the Forerunners' genocide of the Precursors, [[prehistoric human civilization|humanity's interstellar empire]] came into contact with the Precursor powder which would, over several centuries, bring forth the Flood. The Flood initially ravaged humanity's colonies until receding from the galaxy on its own accord, awaiting for a better moment to exact their final vengeance on the Forerunners. The Flood intentionally allowed some humans to go uninfected, leaving the implication of a possible cure that would misdirect efforts in its next assault, while the truth of the humans' genetic attack on the Flood was lost until it was far too late. Around the same time, a human exploratory group led by [[Yprin Yprikushma]] discovered a small planetoid at the edge of the Milky Way. Hidden within it was a large [[stasis capsule]] containing an ancient being whom they later named the [[Primordial]]. They transported the capsule and its captive to the human capital world of [[Charum Hakkor]] and found a way to communicate with the being, which claimed to be the last Precursor. | ||
When human scientists questioned the imprisoned being as to the nature of the Flood, the Primordial's response horrified the humans so deeply that many of them committed suicide. Around ten thousand years later, the [[IsoDidact]] interrogated the Primordial on [[Installation 07]], receiving only vague responses as to the fate of the Precursors and their relationship with the Flood. Enraged, the IsoDidact then executed the being. The Primordial faced its end with calm satisfaction, stating that the Forerunners' defiance and, indeed, its own death through the artificial passing of a billion years within an [[Slipspace bubble|accelerating chronological field]], would only add up to the total "sweetness" of life's struggles while asserting its confidence that all life would still succumb to the Flood in the end.<ref>'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 362-366''</ref><ref name="sweetness"/> The [[Ur-Didact]] later discovered that the [[Gravemind]] retained the thoughts and memories of the Primordial, demonstrating that they were one and the same.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 167''</ref> However, not even the Gravemind could fully access or comprehend the wisdom the Precursors once had, flawed and fallen as it was.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 322''</ref> | When human scientists questioned the imprisoned being as to the nature of the Flood, the Primordial's response horrified the humans so deeply that many of them committed suicide. Around ten thousand years later, the [[IsoDidact]] interrogated the Primordial on [[Installation 07]], receiving only vague responses as to the fate of the Precursors and their relationship with the Flood. Enraged, the IsoDidact then executed the being. The Primordial faced its end with calm satisfaction, stating that the Forerunners' defiance and, indeed, its own death through the artificial passing of a billion years within an [[Slipspace bubble|accelerating chronological field]], would only add up to the total "sweetness" of life's struggles while asserting its confidence that all life would still succumb to the Flood in the end.<ref>'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 362-366''</ref><ref name="sweetness"/> The [[Ur-Didact]] later discovered that the [[Gravemind]] retained the thoughts and memories of the Primordial, demonstrating that they were one and the same.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 167''</ref> However, not even the Gravemind could fully access or comprehend the wisdom the Precursors once had, flawed and fallen as it was.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 322''</ref> | ||
