Forerunner (Halo)

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The Forerunners are a fictional race of beings (not yet confirmed aliens) referred to in the Halo universe. Little is known about them, although certain things can be ascertained from hints located in the games and books. The alien alliance known as "The Covenant" exalts the Forerunners, even considering them demigods, but it is not known whether this is an earnest belief or simply religious propaganda spread by the Covenant's High Prophets. In the novel "Halo: The Flood", it is revealed that the Covenant received much of their technology from the Forerunner. Indeed, the High Prophets, who are part of the alien federation's leader caste, evolved on a planet formerly inhabited by the Forerunner.

Contents 1 History 2 Art and Architecture 3 Technology 3.1 Halos 3.2 Monitors 3.3 Sentinels 3.3.1 Sentinel Minors 3.3.2 Sentinel Majors/Enforcers 3.3.3 Constructors 4 References 5 External links

[edit] History

Almost nothing is known about the history of the Forerunners, except that they were an extremely advanced civilization that inhabited the galaxy hundreds of thousands of years in the past. According to the evidence scattered among the Halo games and novels, the Forerunners destroyed themselves in an effort to contain the Flood, leaving behind a vast collection of their technology. ^[1]

One type of such technological relics are the Halos, structures that the Forerunners built to contain the Flood, a dangerous species of mutagenic infection spores. Other types of Forerunner relics are mentioned in the two novels "Halo: The Fall of Reach" and "Halo: First Strike". These include a rock embedded with crystals apparently describing stellar coordinates for several solar systems (Epsilon Eridani, the system containing Reach; Sol system, containing Earth; and Threshold system, which contains Alpha Halo), and a mysterious crystal-shaped object seemingly capable of warping spacetime. The latter relic, however, was destroyed in "Halo: First Strike", by an ODST who blew up the crystal with C-7 foam high-explosive. The power of the crystal was unknown and underestimated, and its strange qualities apparently "squeezed" some of its remains into slipspace. On the last pages of Halo: First Strike, Tartarus gives the Prophet of Truth three small pieces of the crystal. The crystal on Reach was found by Dr. Catherine Elizabeth Halsey. It was found in a Forerunner structure underneath Menachite mountain, in ONI's CASTLE base.

In Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, an entire Forerunner city is uncovered on the planet Onyx, though uninhabited save for sentinel Guardians. Beneath the surface of the planet, vast and incredibly complex machinery of a tremendous scale produced immeasurable numbers of Sentinel guards which made up the interior of the world, and protected a miniature Dyson Sphere that was shunted into an alternate area of Slipspace. This Dyson Sphere itself was a "shield world" that would allow the Forerunner to survive the destructive effects of the firing of the Halo network. The ability to construct such devices and manipulate Slipspace itself to create such effects indicates how advanced the Forerunners truly were.

[edit] Art and Architecture

Forerunner architecture is noted mainly for its geometric style and vast scale. It tends to be very elaborate, with numerous extrapolations of the basic design of a structure, all purely decorative. They use complex geometric shapes that appear to operate in dimensions higher than basic human understanding can decipher. The Forerunners tend to decorate the interiors of their structures with a complex web of engraved straight lines, and apply decorative touches and designs to nearly everything that they build, from structures to weapons. Even the Sentinel drones possess small holographic Forerunner script around their "eyes."

[edit] Technology

[edit] Halos

Main article: Halo (megastructure)

The Forerunner built the Halos (that they called "Fortress Worlds"), giant rings floating in space, for the specific purpose of "studying and containing" the Flood. Each ring is exactly 10,000 kilometers in diameter, with an artificialy generated environment and gravity running along the inside of the ring. There were originally seven of such rings (one of them being destroyed in the events of Halo: Combat Evolved), spaced out across the galaxy, in orbit around a large celestial body. It is revealed in Halo: Combat Evolved that the Halos are doomsday weapons, used to destroy all life in the galaxy capable of sustaining the parasitical Flood (any sentient life), thus preventing the Flood from spreading.^[2] The first ring encountered had a range of 25,000 light years, but activating one will activate the other six spread throughout the galaxy. In the second game, Halo 2, 343 Guilty Spark explains that after exhausting every other strategic option in their struggle against The Flood, the Forerunners activated the Halos about 100,000 years ago^[3], destroying themselves along with all other sentient life of sufficient biomass to sustain the Flood within three radii of the galactic center. Each Halo (or Installation) was supervised by a Monitor. In the event of Halo activation, the Forerunners apparently planned to retreat to at least one "shield world" separated from normal space-time by Slipspace displacement.

However, all seven rings can be activated from The Ark if one is partially activated but fails to complete its firing sequence. The Ark is buried under Kenya, between Mount Kilimanjaro and Mombasa ^[4] and thought to be seen in the Halo 3 trailer released at E3 on May 9, 2006.

[edit] Monitors

The Monitors were designed to oversee and maintain the Halos. There was a Monitor for every Halo, and that Monitor was in complete control of all the technology at their disposal, but they also had limited access to the technology of other Halos (as demonstrated in Halo 2). Thus far, we know only of the Monitors of Installation 04 and Installation 05, 343 Guilty Spark and 2401 Penitent Tangent, respectively. The Monitors are known for their somewhat quirky personalities (leading Master Chief to come to the conclusion, in The Flood, that Guilty Spark had gone insane due to millennia of isolation) and their unwavering devotion to stopping the Flood.

[edit] Sentinels

The Forerunners originally created the Sentinels, who are the guardians of the Halo installations and are controlled by the monitor of the Installation. They are now produced by large, airborne Sentinel Factories throughout the Sentinel Walls and the Quarantine Zones. They were tasked to guard the Halo installations and its structures. They are also tasked with keeping the Flood from escaping Halo and spreading. Known forms of the Sentinels are: Sentinel Minors, Sentinel Majors/Enforcers, and Constructors. All these types of Sentinels have different appearances and duties. They are also apparently sentient to a degree.^{[citation needed]} According to the level "The Arbiter" in Halo 2, The Covenant sees the Sentinels as "holy warriors of the sacred rings."^[5]

During the events of Halo: Ghosts of Onyx it is revealed that the Sentinels are constructed of various parts and are able to modify their body structure to suit specific tasks. They also exhibit the ability to link together into new forms and shapes, which serve to expand their existing firepower, defenses, and speed, up to the point where they can destroy Covenant and UNSC warships with ease. At the climax of the novel, it is revealed that the entirety of the planet Onyx is a latticework of trillions of Sentinels linked together to defend a specially developed habitat designed to survive the firing of the Halos.

[edit] Sentinel Minors

Minor Sentinels are the basic form of sentinels in Halo. These sentinels are the main guardians of Halo, and appear to be hovering drones with silver-color armor plating and armed with a laser weapon known as a Sentinel Beam. These, however, seem to differ from the Sentinels in Ghosts of Onyx in that the Onyx Sentinels did not seem to have a reusable Sentinal Beam. The beam in these came from an orb in the center of the Sentinel that hovered inside, but was not connected to the armor plates mentioned. Whether these are a new form of Sentinel, or if it is what the author (Eric Nylund) saw them as being has not yet been determined. According to 343 Guilty Spark in the first Halo game, these sentinel beams are used to contain the Flood, though they can only manage them for short periods.^[6] When not engaged in combat, they contract into smaller forms, concealing their weaponry. Few of these Sentinels are equipped with energy shields (as seen in the last two levels of the first Halo game), though all sentinels are easily destroyed by any plasma-related weapons. In Halo 1, the player is not able to pick up sentinel beams as a weapon, however with use of the Halo Mod Tool, one may arm themselves with a sentinel beam. In Halo 2, when a sentinel is destroyed, the sentinel beams can be picked up by a footsoldier, particularly an Elite or Spartan. Heretic Elites can be seen wielding the sentinel beams. The sentinel beams also made their appearance in Halo 2 multiplayer and can be usually seen in the map, Backwash.

An unusual glitch has been noted in the level Quarantine Zone, where in a Minor Sentinel is armed with and drops a Needler as opposed to a normal Sentinel Beam weapon. This appears to be a leftover from Halo 2's development cycle.

First appearing in "Halo 2", there are another set of sentinels that are a more advanced version of the minor sentinels. They are the same basic design as the minor sentinels, with two notable exceptions. One is the gold-colored armor plating replacing the normal silver-colored armor plating. Whether this is simply a color difference or a different armor alloy altogether is unknown. The second difference is that the Sentinel Majors are armed with advanced Sentinel Beams that fire blue-colored lasers instead of the weaker orange-colored beams that normal Sentinels use. In some rare cases, Sentinel Majors can be armed with a needler like weapon similar to the Enforcers. These sentinels are also usually equipped with energy shielding that can absorb more damage than a normal Sentinel. When destroyed, the player may pick up the blue sentinel beam. It does more damage than the original sentinel beam, although it overheats and depletes much faster. Also, unlike the original sentinel beam in Halo 2, the blue sentinel beam never appears in multiplayer.

[edit] Sentinel Majors/Enforcers

First appearing in Halo 2, Sentinel Majors are massive robotic automatons that serve to contain major Flood outbreaks. They are protected by an energy shield, but it only seems to protect the "front" of the machine. This shield is similar to that carried by Covenant Jackals, and will fail temporarily under continued fire. It is armed with rapid firing pulse beams (somewhat similar to the Needler weapon), and mortar-like projectiles. Its mechanical grabbing arms can pick up and crush any vehicle if the driver is careless. It is possible to destroy the arms and needlers on the Enforcer with careful aim.

[edit] Constructors

Constructors are small machines that mainly just repair damage to any Forerunner structure they find. They cannot be engaged in battle and if under attack, the sentinels will come to their aid as the constructors have no weapon system of their own. However, their beams will damage someone if they get caught in the path. They can be found in the beginning level of "Sacred Icon" in Halo 2. They can be seen using their small-green laser beam to lower the shields on pistons and move through the Sentinel Walls quickly.

[edit] References

[edit] External links

• Halo Story Page: The Forerunner
• Halopedia

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