Reclaimer (Halo)

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This article is about a character in the Halo video game. For other uses of the term, see Reclaimer (disambiguation).

In the video game Halo, a "Reclaimer" is an individual who, whether by chance or by precedent, has been placed in charge of retrieving an item known as the Index and returning it to, and subsequently placing it into a control panel within, a control center on a Halo structure to activate a massive superweapon. The word is first used as a title bestowed upon Master Chief SPARTAN-117 in the video game, Halo: Combat Evolved, by an artificial intelligence construct, designated 343 Guilty Spark by its creators, the Forerunner.

Spoiler warning: Plot and/or ending details follow.

The only known role of a Reclaimer is to recover the "Index" and return it to the Halo control center. Doing this would activate Halo's ability to destroy all sentient life within twenty-five thousand light years, and would also activate other Halos, causing the entire galaxy to be purged of sentient life. This would be done to prevent the spread of The Flood, which can only be accomplished by destroying all sentient life with a biomass sufficient enough to sustain the Flood, essentially destroying the Flood through starvation.

343 Guilty Spark assumed, for unknown reasons, that the Earth soldier Master Chief was a Reclaimer. However, Commander Keyes and Sergeant Johnson were also called Reclaimers by 343 Guilty Spark. In addition, in Halo: The Flood the Master Chief encounters the corpse of Sergeant Marvin Mobuto in the Library, whom Spark also refers to as a Reclaimer.

The above is one possible interpretation. It is not stated explicitly in either gameplay or literature that Reclaimer is even a title. Neither The Master Chief nor Commander Keyes are ever referred to as the Reclaimer. The Monitor always uses the terms Reclaimer, a Reclaimer, or this Reclaimer.

  • Another interpretation is that a Reclaimer is the Forerunner terminology for a human. From this it is possible to assume that the Forerunners had knowledge of humans and delegated to them the task of reclaiming Indices and activating the rings, among many other speculative duties.
  • Another interpretation is that the Forerunners were human, or at least, very closely related, perhaps being direct ancestors or future form of humanity. There is evidence to prove this, such as 343 Guilty Spark's statements in the first game, and the fact that the Covenant have not asked humanity to join them. This could infer that as the humans learn more about the Forerunners, they are in fact reclaiming their lost technology and or position in the universe.
  • Another interpretation is that is not the species, but their cybernetic implants that mark the Master Chief and Commander Keyes as Reclaimers. Gravemind also referred to the Master Chief's "machine and nerve" mind as "concluded", which may mean it is closer to some arbitrary standard (the Forerunners?) than a merely organic mind.

This is, as is much of the Halo universe, all highly speculative.

In Conversations from the Universe, the Monitor has a list of slang used by human forces to describe Covenant troops entitled "Cross reference Reclaimer terminology/nomenclature/slang for hegemonizing swarm 'Covenant' against self-descriptors." As the Master Chief is rarely seen to speak throughout the games, and never in combat, this seems to suggest that all humans may be Reclaimers.

Another possibility is that the Forerunners interbred with humans passing on their genes. Master Chief, Johnson, Mobuto, and Commander Keyes would then be genetic descendants of the Forerunners. This is also supported by 343 Guilty Spark's reactions to Master Chief in Halo: Combat Evolved, where he assumes that Master Chief understands everything that has happened on Halo. In the book The Flood, and in the game Halo: Combat Evolved, he also states that the Master Chief is the one who activated Halo the first time, "Why do you hesitate to do what you've already done?" This could mean that Master Chief's ancestor was the Forerunner that activated Halo. Also supporting this theory is that in the book The Fall Of Reach, Dr. Halsey chose candidates for the Spartan program based on certain genes they carried. It is possible that those genes are those of the Forerunners. As with everything, this is highly speculative.

  • However, the act of having "already done" could be interpreted as simply retrieving the index. Also, Dr. Halsey had no knowledge of the Forerunner's existence (but she could have inadvertently selected Forerunner-descendants based purely on their superior genes.)
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