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But, on the other hand...
Monkey outta nowhere!
Jason Cassels (jscassels@mail.com) writes:
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Originally posted by:
Warren Wilson (warrenvw@softhome.net) writes:
However, one of the more important clues is in what 343 GS says towards the end of the Library, when he comments "The installation was specifically built to study and contain the Flood. Their survival as a race was dependent upon it. I am grateful to see that some of them survived to reproduce." Whose survival as a race, the Flood? Certainly not, that would be inconsistent with what he'd been saying all along. Most likely he's referring to the Forerunner. Granted, we don't know anything about why the flood was necessary for the survival of the forerunner, and why there was a previous outbreak. Heck, it might even be possible that the forerunner created the flood for some perverse reason. What we do know is that he's referring to you, MC, as being that offspring, and if the race he's talking about is the forerunner, which it most undoubtedly is, then he is identifying you as forerunner as well.
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I believe this theory is accurate, except for one thing. I believe the author misinterpreted the quote by 343 GS:
"The installation was specifically built to study and contain the Flood. Their survival as a race was dependent upon it. I am grateful to see that some of them survived to reproduce."
I believe when he said "Their survival as a race was dependent upon it," he meant "[The Forerunner's] survival as a race was dependent upon [the containment of the Flood]." But it seems that the Flood had gotten lose and wreaked havoc on the Forerunner, since 343 GS was "grateful to see that some of [the Forerunner] survived to reproduce." Both the fact that the Flood posed a threat to them AND the fact that the Forerunner could reproduce (biologically, I assume), means that the Forerunner are sentient beings, and not mechanical, as some have proposed.
As to whether the Forerunner are ancient humans, that could go both ways. The main evidence that people have brought forward on this point is that 343 GS "recognizes" MC, and we assume it is because he looks like a Forerunner. Well let's face it. MC doesn't look like a human. He looks like a heavily armored biped. You could stick a monkey in the MJOLNIR armor and GS wouldn't know the difference. With this in mind, we can assume that the Forerunner are bipedal sentient beings, like, but not necessarily, humans.
Some good points. To question this further, in spite of whether or not the Forerunner are on the ring (the Covenant, Humans, or "other"), who is to say that the "Reclaimer" he mistakes you for is even a Forerunner. Perhaps the Reclaimer is distinct in some way; a member of a Forerunner client race?
In our efforts to tie up these loose ends, I often feel as though we're only making things worse for ourselves...
-Finn
