Precursor: Difference between revisions
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{{Quote|The Gravemind no more understands the whole truth than we do. It is past all our understanding, from the greatest to the smallest.|[[Forthencho]]'s imprinted essence to the [[Librarian]]<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 322''</ref>}} | {{Quote|The Gravemind no more understands the whole truth than we do. It is past all our understanding, from the greatest to the smallest.|[[Forthencho]]'s imprinted essence to the [[Librarian]]<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 322''</ref>}} | ||
The Precursors originated outside the [[Milky Way]] and arrived in the galaxy billions of years ago.<ref name="warfleet 8">''[[Halo: Warfleet]]'', p. 8</ref> They were an incredibly advanced race of beings who explored many galaxies and seeded them with life over the course of many billions of years as part of a grand experiment.{{Ref/Reuse|warfleet 8}} As transsentient beings, they existed on a level beyond that of conventionally [[Sentience|sapient]] biological organisms; they were described as "dreamers and makers whose minds transcended many realms and having infinite forms, many voices, and singular purpose".<ref name="warfleet 92">''Halo: Warfleet'', p. 92</ref> The Precursors were not tied to any particular physical form, assuming any shape as they saw fit; they would allow themselves to die away and be evolved anew over and over again, taking on numerous incarnations both physical and immaterial. They lived through different stages of technological and cultural development countless times, being at times hyper-advanced and spacefaring and at others living primitively and remaining confined to their worlds.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 321'' (''"The Precursors lived in many shapes, flesh and spirit, primitive and advanced, spacefaring and locked to their worlds ... Evolved over and over again, died away, were reborn, explored, and seeded many galaxies ..."'')</ref> The Precursors based their existence around the philosophical concepts of the [[Mantle]], [[Living Time]], and a meta-technological mechanism known as [[neural physics]], which enabled them to manipulate the fabric of the universe. According to the philosophical aspect of neural physics, the universe itself is a living entity, though vastly different in nature and scale from organic beings.<ref name="c103">'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 103''</ref> The Precursors' stewardship for all life involved the belief that all experience of biological organisms enriched the greater, universal whole,<ref name="sweetness">'''Halo: Primordium''', ''pages 365, 367''</ref> something they experienced firsthand through the constantly changing nature of their own existence. To contain their vast knowledge and experience the Precursors created the [[Domain]], a transcendent quantum reservoir of information later accessed by the Forerunners.<ref name="sil320">'''Halo: Silentium''', ''pages 320-323''</ref> The Precursors were not strictly benevolent, considering strife, pain and indeed evil an inherent part of the universe. The struggles of good and evil, the pleasures and pains of life, added to the 'sweetness', a sensation or emotional state that seemed to not have a human-analogue. | The Precursors originated outside the [[Milky Way]] and arrived in the galaxy billions of years ago.<ref name="warfleet 8">''[[Halo: Warfleet]]'', p. 8</ref> They were an incredibly advanced race of beings who explored many galaxies and seeded them with life over the course of many billions of years as part of a grand experiment.{{Ref/Reuse|warfleet 8}} As transsentient beings, they existed on a level beyond that of conventionally [[Sentience|sapient]] biological organisms; they were described as "dreamers and makers whose minds transcended many realms and having infinite forms, many voices, and singular purpose".<ref name="warfleet 92">''Halo: Warfleet'', p. 92</ref> The Precursors were not tied to any particular physical form, assuming any shape as they saw fit; they would allow themselves to die away and be evolved anew over and over again, taking on numerous incarnations both physical and immaterial. They lived through different stages of technological and cultural development countless times, being at times hyper-advanced and spacefaring and at others living primitively and remaining confined to their worlds.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 321'' (''"The Precursors lived in many shapes, flesh and spirit, primitive and advanced, spacefaring and locked to their worlds ... Evolved over and over again, died away, were reborn, explored, and seeded many galaxies ..."'')</ref> The Precursors based their existence around the philosophical concepts of the [[Mantle]], [[Living Time]], and a meta-technological mechanism known as [[neural physics]], which enabled them to manipulate the fabric of the universe. According to the philosophical aspect of neural physics, the universe itself is a living entity, though vastly different in nature and scale from organic beings.<ref name="c103">'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 103''</ref> The Precursors' stewardship for all life involved the belief that all experience of biological organisms enriched the greater, universal whole,<ref name="sweetness">'''Halo: Primordium''', ''pages 365, 367''</ref> something they experienced firsthand through the constantly changing nature of their own existence. To contain their vast knowledge and experience the Precursors created the [[Domain]], a transcendent quantum reservoir of information later accessed by the Forerunners.<ref name="sil320">'''Halo: Silentium''', ''pages 320-323''</ref> The Precursors were not strictly benevolent, considering strife, pain and indeed evil an inherent part of the universe. The struggles of good and evil, the pleasures and pains of life, added to the 'sweetness', a sensation or emotional state that seemed to not have a human-analogue. | ||
The Precursors were responsible for seeding the Milky Way with life, creating the galaxy's diverse composition of species to become "new tools and companions", and engineered millions of solar systems. Over time, they would also judge whether a species was worthy of the Mantle, their assumed role of guardianship of all life. The humanoid species native to the world of [[Ghibalb]], who would come to be known as the [[Forerunner]]s, were next chosen for this task. Originally created by the Precursors to serve as their assistants and adjutants,{{Ref/Reuse|warfleet 8}} the Forerunners were eventually judged to be unworthy of taking on the Mantle and planned to be wiped out<ref>'''Halo Mythos''', ''page 7''</ref>, and the Precursors instead decided that the responsibility would fall on the shoulders of another of their creations; a collection of species referred to as [[human]]ity, hailing from the planet known as [[Earth|Erde-Tyrene]] | The Precursors were responsible for seeding the Milky Way with life, creating the galaxy's diverse composition of species to become "new tools and companions", and engineered millions of solar systems. Over time, they would also judge whether a species was worthy of the Mantle, their assumed role of guardianship of all life. The humanoid species native to the world of [[Ghibalb]], who would come to be known as the [[Forerunner]]s, were next chosen for this task. Originally created by the Precursors to serve as their assistants and adjutants,{{Ref/Reuse|warfleet 8}} the Forerunners were eventually judged to be unworthy of taking on the Mantle and planned to be wiped out<ref>'''Halo Mythos''', ''page 7''</ref>, and the Precursors instead decided that the responsibility would fall on the shoulders of another of their creations; a collection of species referred to as [[human]]ity, hailing from the planet known as [[Earth|Erde-Tyrene]]. During Forerunner's expedition on Path Kethona, where they encountered their creators, Forerunners accidentally found out this genocidal plan <ref>'''Halo Mythos''', ''page 7''</ref> around [[10,000,000 BCE]]. Forerunners decided to prevent such fate and [[Forerunner-Precursor war|furiously retaliated against]] their creators and drove them to near-extinction, first in the Milky Way and eventually in the satellite galaxy of [[Path Kethona]]; only a small number managed to escape the Forerunners' campaign of extermination. According to the Precursors themselves the Forerunners struck against their creators unprovoked,<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 209''</ref> while certain Forerunners who learned the truth later on insisted that the Precursors had planned to wipe out the Forerunners first.{{Ref/Reuse|s203}}<ref>'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 194''</ref> | ||
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Another form of Precursor is the Primordial who was massive in size; the mold encapsulating the being on Charum Hakkor outlined a being approximately fifteen meters tall and eleven meters wide with the Ur-Didact seeing it on Charum Hakkor describing it as possessing an insectoid head, four arms, and two degenerate legs and a long, segmented "tail" being attached to the base of the skull and tipped with a two meter-long barb. Each of its hands had three fingers and a central opposable thumb. The face of the Primordial had been likened to that of a eurypterid, or "sea scorpion," a creature that the Precursors had allegedly seeded on a number of planets including Earth. Its head was flattened, with oval compound eyes and insect-like mouthparts.<ref name="c277">'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 277''</ref><ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 119''</ref> Later, aboard Installation 07, the being was described as having a large number of legs which it held in a curled-up position similar to a spider. The creature's torso was described as "grossly fat," and its skin was covered in a glassy, crystalline coating; a fine powder often fell from its body, perhaps Flood spores or the same powder responsible for the original Flood outbreak. As a Gravemind, the Primordial was capable of shifting its physical form to an extent, such as rearranging its limbs.<ref name="p108">'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 108-109''</ref> However given that the Primordial was said to be heavily mutated to survive vast spans of time, it is likely it no longer resembled other Precursors as they appeared during the time of the Forerunner-Precursor war thus it is likely this form was unique to the Primordial.<ref name="mythos 9">'''[[Halo Mythos]]''', ''page 9''</ref> | Another form of Precursor is the Primordial who was massive in size; the mold encapsulating the being on Charum Hakkor outlined a being approximately fifteen meters tall and eleven meters wide with the Ur-Didact seeing it on Charum Hakkor describing it as possessing an insectoid head, four arms, and two degenerate legs and a long, segmented "tail" being attached to the base of the skull and tipped with a two meter-long barb. Each of its hands had three fingers and a central opposable thumb. The face of the Primordial had been likened to that of a eurypterid, or "sea scorpion," a creature that the Precursors had allegedly seeded on a number of planets including Earth. Its head was flattened, with oval compound eyes and insect-like mouthparts.<ref name="c277">'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 277''</ref><ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 119''</ref> Later, aboard Installation 07, the being was described as having a large number of legs which it held in a curled-up position similar to a spider. The creature's torso was described as "grossly fat," and its skin was covered in a glassy, crystalline coating; a fine powder often fell from its body, perhaps Flood spores or the same powder responsible for the original Flood outbreak. As a Gravemind, the Primordial was capable of shifting its physical form to an extent, such as rearranging its limbs.<ref name="p108">'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 108-109''</ref> However given that the Primordial was said to be heavily mutated to survive vast spans of time, it is likely it no longer resembled other Precursors as they appeared during the time of the Forerunner-Precursor war thus it is likely this form was unique to the Primordial.<ref name="mythos 9">'''[[Halo Mythos]]''', ''page 9''</ref> | ||
The most detailed and most prominent form of the Precursors known to the inhabitants of the Milky Way is their form as the Flood, a species of highly virulent parasitic organisms that reproduce and grow by consuming sentient lifeforms of sufficient biomass and cognitive capability. This form was intially born of corrupted Precursor remains.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''pages 181-182''</ref> | The most detailed and most prominent form of the Precursors known to the inhabitants of the Milky Way is their form as the Flood, a species of highly virulent parasitic organisms that reproduce and grow by consuming sentient lifeforms of sufficient biomass and cognitive capability. This form was intially born of corrupted Precursor remains.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''pages 181-182''</ref> | ||
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Precursor technology was incomprehensibly advanced, to the point that the Forerunners labeled it [[Technological Achievement Tiers|Tier 0]], or "Transsentient". Precursors based their technology upon what Forerunners called [[neural physics]]: the concept that inanimate matter and thought are inextricably linked and that the universe itself is effectively a living entity.{{Ref/Reuse|c103}} By drawing from the fundamental energies of the universe,<ref name="s40">'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 40'' (''"These gray, eternal whorls stretched to middle orbit, where their rotating bands drew constantly and silently from the neurophysical energy of raw space in ways we still do not understand."'')</ref> the Precursors built exotic, virtually indestructible architecture and traveled across interstellar distances using a superluminal transit mechanism based upon the same principle.<ref name="s213">'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 213''</ref> It was believed by Forerunners that the Precursors also used neural physics techniques to construct artificial planets and star systems, with Charum Hakkor believed to be one such planet.<ref>'''Halo Mythos''', ''page 15''</ref> The Precursors traveled between worlds in vessels that used incredibly advanced [[artificial intelligence]] constructs known as [[knowledge engine]]s and walked upon [[star road]]s.{{Ref/Reuse|warfleet 8}} The [[Halo Array]], being neurological weapons, are one of the only ways to destroy or otherwise damage Precursor artifacts. This was first evidenced when [[Charum Hakkor]] was used as a testbed for [[Installation 07|one of the Halos]]: the weapon's firing shattered every Precursor artifact on the planet. This also explains the lack of any Precursor ruins in modern society, as most, if not all, were destroyed when the Halo Array fired and sterilized the galaxy at the end of the [[Forerunner-Flood war]].<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 326''</ref> | Precursor technology was incomprehensibly advanced, to the point that the Forerunners labeled it [[Technological Achievement Tiers|Tier 0]], or "Transsentient". Precursors based their technology upon what Forerunners called [[neural physics]]: the concept that inanimate matter and thought are inextricably linked and that the universe itself is effectively a living entity.{{Ref/Reuse|c103}} By drawing from the fundamental energies of the universe,<ref name="s40">'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 40'' (''"These gray, eternal whorls stretched to middle orbit, where their rotating bands drew constantly and silently from the neurophysical energy of raw space in ways we still do not understand."'')</ref> the Precursors built exotic, virtually indestructible architecture and traveled across interstellar distances using a superluminal transit mechanism based upon the same principle.<ref name="s213">'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 213''</ref> It was believed by Forerunners that the Precursors also used neural physics techniques to construct artificial planets and star systems, with Charum Hakkor believed to be one such planet.<ref>'''Halo Mythos''', ''page 15''</ref> The Precursors traveled between worlds in vessels that used incredibly advanced [[artificial intelligence]] constructs known as [[knowledge engine]]s and walked upon [[star road]]s.{{Ref/Reuse|warfleet 8}} The [[Halo Array]], being neurological weapons, are one of the only ways to destroy or otherwise damage Precursor artifacts. This was first evidenced when [[Charum Hakkor]] was used as a testbed for [[Installation 07|one of the Halos]]: the weapon's firing shattered every Precursor artifact on the planet. This also explains the lack of any Precursor ruins in modern society, as most, if not all, were destroyed when the Halo Array fired and sterilized the galaxy at the end of the [[Forerunner-Flood war]].<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 326''</ref> | ||
Some Precursor artifacts were known to precede the Forerunners by hundreds of millions of years and, being impervious to conventional forms of damage, were durable enough to survive being cycled inside planets' crusts by plate tectonics.<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 39''</ref> Precursor artifacts were often encountered by [[Miner]]s, who obtained and recorded them but rarely held any particular interest in them. The most coveted Precursor artifact among the Forerunners was known as the Organon, which was allegedly capable of activating all other Precursor artifacts.<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 19''</ref> In truth, the Organon was a Precursor knowledge engine known as [[Abaddon]], who served as the overseer and guardian of the [[Domain]]. Although incorporeal, Abaddon was capable of interacting with the physical world in various ways, even vaporizing corporeal beings at will.<ref name="ptk">'''[[Halo: Fractures]]''', "[[Promises to Keep]]"</ref> | Some Precursor artifacts were known to precede the Forerunners by hundreds of millions of years and, being impervious to conventional forms of damage, were durable enough to survive being cycled inside planets' crusts by plate tectonics.<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 39''</ref> Precursor artifacts were often encountered by [[Miner]]s, who obtained and recorded them but rarely held any particular interest in them. The most coveted Precursor artifact among the Forerunners was known as the Organon, which was allegedly capable of activating all other Precursor artifacts.<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 19''</ref> In truth, the Organon was a Precursor knowledge engine known as [[Abaddon]], who served as the overseer and guardian of the [[Domain]]. Although incorporeal, Abaddon was capable of interacting with the physical world in various ways, even vaporizing corporeal beings at will.<ref name="ptk">'''[[Halo: Fractures]]''', "[[Promises to Keep]]"</ref> | ||
The Precursors also left behind a small number of mysterious deep-space artifacts known as "anchors" — large, anomalous masses which released no radiation. They were generally regarded as unstable and dangerous; the Forerunners had recorded strange phenomena near the masses, including ships vanishing and surviving crews suffering severe mental trauma, requiring extensive proto-geometric therapy to restore their minds' neural topology to its normal state.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''pages 69-70''</ref> Precursor construction was gray-silver in color, much like that favored by the Forerunners. When witnessed in a collapsed state on Charum Hakkor, the construction material had shattered along crystalline planes.<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 117''</ref> The Precursors also built cyclopean laboratories described as being made of "crystallized reality".{{Ref/Reuse|warfleet 8}} | The Precursors also left behind a small number of mysterious deep-space artifacts known as "anchors" — large, anomalous masses which released no radiation. They were generally regarded as unstable and dangerous; the Forerunners had recorded strange phenomena near the masses, including ships vanishing and surviving crews suffering severe mental trauma, requiring extensive proto-geometric therapy to restore their minds' neural topology to its normal state.<ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''pages 69-70''</ref> Precursor construction was gray-silver in color, much like that favored by the Forerunners. When witnessed in a collapsed state on Charum Hakkor, the construction material had shattered along crystalline planes.<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 117''</ref> The Precursors also built cyclopean laboratories described as being made of "crystallized reality".{{Ref/Reuse|warfleet 8}} | ||
