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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 geographic origin of the Precursors is unknown but though they are believed to have originated outside the [[Milky Way]]. 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 transsentient beings, they existed on an abstract level beyond that of conventionally sapient biological organisms. They 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 geographic origin of the Precursors is unknown but though they are believed to have originated outside the [[Milky Way]]. 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 a grand experiment. As transsentient beings, they existed on an abstract level beyond that of conventionally sapient biological organisms, they were described as "dreamers and makers whose minds transcended many realms and having infinite forms, many voices, and singular purpose ". They 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 responsible for seeding the Milky Way with life, creating the galaxy's diverse composition of species. 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 who were created by Precursors to serve as their assistants and adjutants, were next chosen for this task. This species was eventually judged to be unworthy of taking on the Mantle 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]]. When the Precursors announced their decision to the Forerunners around [[10,000,000 BCE]], the latter [[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 name="s203"/><ref>'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 194''</ref> | The Precursors were responsible for seeding the Milky Way with life, creating the galaxy's diverse composition of species. 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 who were created by Precursors to serve as their assistants and adjutants, were next chosen for this task. This species was eventually judged to be unworthy of taking on the Mantle 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]]. When the Precursors announced their decision to the Forerunners around [[10,000,000 BCE]], the latter [[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 name="s203"/><ref>'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 194''</ref> | ||
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{{Quote|The Flood changes everything. Not just flesh. Space itself is infected. That's the power the Precursors once had... isn't it? They shaped and moved galaxies! They created us! How did we ever manage to defeat them?|The [[Ur-Didact]] to the [[IsoDidact]]<ref name="s223">'''Halo: Silentium''', ''pages 223-224</ref>}} | {{Quote|The Flood changes everything. Not just flesh. Space itself is infected. That's the power the Precursors once had... isn't it? They shaped and moved galaxies! They created us! How did we ever manage to defeat them?|The [[Ur-Didact]] to the [[IsoDidact]]<ref name="s223">'''Halo: Silentium''', ''pages 223-224</ref>}} | ||
Precursor technology was extremely 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 name="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 [[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 test bed 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 extremely 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 name="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 knowledge engines as well as using Star Roads. 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 test bed 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 construct—a highly sophisticated form of [[artificial intelligence]]—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 construct—a highly sophisticated form of [[artificial intelligence]]—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> | ||
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*''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]'' {{Im}} | *''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]'' {{Im}} | ||
*''[[Halo Mythos]]'' | *''[[Halo Mythos]]'' | ||
*''[[Halo: Warfleet]]'' | |||
==Sources== | ==Sources== | ||