Halo: Primordium (Forerunner Saga (Halo), 2)

Product Information

Released January 4, 2011, [4] Cryptum focuses on a young Forerunner known as Bornstellar Makes Eternal Lasting, a rebellious Manipular from a family of Builders, the highest and most politically powerful rate of the Forerunner. His father sends him to the planet Edom in a distant system known as Sol to work with the Miners to come to terms with his duty as a Builder. As part of the Librarian's far-reaching plans, however, Bornstellar is led to Earth, where he crosses paths with two humans, Chakas and Riser. They soon stumble upon the Cryptum of the ancient Promethean military leader known as the Didact, forever changing the fate of the galaxy. [14] Primordium [ edit ] Main article: Halo: Primordium It is your task to kill this servant. That another may be freed." — The Primordial speaking to the Didact. In Rebirth, the audio epilog to Silentium, Greg Bear pronounces the word as " gé-ash", whereas it is pronounced "gesh" in its native Gaelic. This mispronunciation was carried forward by 343 Guilty Spark in Terminal One of Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary. Despite the advanced nature of Precursor technology, Yprikushma and her research team managed to find a way to communicate with the captive for brief periods of time. They came to regard the creature within the cell as an oracle of sorts, asking it questions in the hopes of gaining greater understanding. Most of the time, the prisoner's answers were confused or unintelligible. When asked about the Flood, the answers given to the humans present were so deeply horrifying that many of them committed suicide. [16] [17] Yprin Yprikushma - Political and Morale Commander and prominent scientist. She contributed significantly to the technological breakthroughs that allowed humanity to hold off against Forerunners.

At the Lesser Ark, the remaining Halos are assigned monitor caretakers in preparation for their distribution across the galaxy. The IsoDidact has a brief conversation with Chakas/343 Guilty Spark and assigns him to Installation 04. The Librarian sneaks aboard Requiem and confronts the Ur-Didact, who is using the essences of humans and his warriors to create an army of mechanical Promethean Knights to fight the Flood and ensure Forerunner supremacy. The Librarian betrays the Ur-Didact and seals him in a cryptum, before returning to earth to oversee the conservation of its life forms before the activation of the Halo Array. Matt Miller (August 29, 2011). "What's Coming in Halo 4?". Game Informer . Retrieved April 15, 2013.Humans of this time used artificial intelligence constructs known as servitors. [55] These robotic intelligences assisted human scientists in reverse-engineering Forerunner technologies during the Forerunner wars, nearly bridging the technological gap between the two civilizations. [9] On Charum Hakkor, the humans built vast constructs supported by the Precursor structures; cities stretching to orbit along orbital arches, described by Bornstellar Makes Eternal Lasting as resembling ivy growing on great trees. In addition, they built energy towers and defense platforms operating at geosynchronous orbit and equigravitation, [56] linked by virtually unbreakable Precursor filaments. [57] Many human worlds were encompassed by vast railway networks, a technological achievement Forthencho took pride in. [53] Having presumably evolved and achieved civilization on Earth, originally known as "Erda" or "Erde-Tyrene", [9] humanity first became a spacefaring civilization at some point prior to 1,100,000 BCE. These early humans settled on numerous worlds along the galactic margin; these regions would be targeted by the Flood's initial assault over a million years later. [10] Early in their history, long before encountering the Forerunners, humanity underwent a series of technological dark ages, which left their populations scattered across many worlds and resulted in the loss of most of their records, including the knowledge of Earth being their potential original homeworld. It was not until much later when scientists led by Yprin Yprikushma traced humanity's potential origin to Earth. [9] Around 150,000 BCE humanity moved their civilization outward along the Orion Arm, possibly to flee Forerunner control. [11] They first settled in and built up population centers in two star systems dozens of lightyears away from Sol before stringing outposts together across nearly thirty thousand lightyears toward the galactic margin of the galaxy. [12] When the Forerunner Manipular known as Bornstellar Makes Eternal Lasting arrived in Marontik (unknowingly as a result of the Librarian's manipulation), Chakas and Riser were working for a collective of guides. [10] At the time, Chakas was not yet twenty years old. [11] After the Manipular enlisted their aid in his quest for Precursor artifacts, the two humans joined the young Forerunner on an expedition to the Djamonkin Crater, where Bornstellar found the Didact's Cryptum. Here, thanks to a geas implemented by the Librarian, he along with Riser sang a sound code, programmed into their geas, that authorized the opening of the Cryptum and the awakening of the Didact. [12] The Didact reacted to Chakas with anger, the human being much like the ones who had fought the Forerunners in the human-Forerunner wars. [13] He was the grandfather of Vinnevra, raising her after her parents had been taken to the Palace of Pain and protecting her from unwanted attention by sexually mature male Tudejsa. Due to this, he was unpopular within the village, and was eventually banished, living in the forest outside of it. [8] While they could have killed him, the other Tudejsa were afraid of Gamelpar, as he knew the ancient way of daowa-maadthu and feared that his "spirit" would come to haunt them. [7] [9]

Little is known about human culture of this time. According to the Ur-Didact, humanity believed themselves to be the true inheritors of the Mantle of Responsibility, a notion the Forerunners considered heretical. [13] Ironically, the Precursors had actually intended for humans to inherit the Mantle instead of the Forerunners. [42] Regardless of the pressure on their growing populations and the Flood, humans were also said to be particularly cruel toward other species. Chakas, examining the harvested memories of his ancestors imprinted to him as part of a geas, discovered that they believed in "creating many souls", or expanding their population by conquering and claiming other worlds. [43]

Liesl Bradner; Carolyn Kellogg; Michelle Minkoff. "Halo: Primordium by Greg Bear". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved April 15, 2013. Alexander Sliwinski (October 11, 2010). "Halo: Cryptum novel by Greg Bear launching in Jan. 2011". joystiq . Retrieved March 21, 2013.

Story Hobby reviewed the book and gave it an 80% rating, calling the book a "big improvement" over the previous title, citing the exciting conclusion and more human centered story, but called the plot "weak". [39] Book Loons called it "slow", and said it was only with those familiar with the source material, but that the audio book was very good, and that it had an excellent surprise ending. [40] Antagonist Title: Sort of, given how the title is derived from the Primordial, the ancient human name for the last Precursor. Halo: Silentium is the third and last book of The Forerunner Saga. Released on March 19, 2013, [15] Silentium ties in directly with Halo 4, elaborating on the stories of the Ur-Didact, IsoDidact, the Librarian and the end of the Forerunner civilization as the Forerunner-Flood war draws to a close. Mythology concerning the Precursors and the origins of the Flood is expanded upon and clarified, along with a number of elements and locales touched on in the previous Forerunner Saga novels. BS Angel (December 28, 2011). "THE HALO BULLETIN: 12.28.11, EXCLUSIVE BOOK EXCERPT - PRIMORDIUM". Halo Waypoint . Retrieved April 15, 2013. a b BS Angel (March 6, 2013). "THE HALO BULLETIN: 3.6.13: An Interview with Greg Bear". Halo Waypoint . Retrieved April 15, 2013.A preview of the novel's first chapters was released on December 28, 2011 on Tor.com and Halo Waypoint, with the first chapter released on Tor.com and the second and third chapters as well as part of the fourth chapter on Halo Waypoint. [6] Silentium had its title, first cover and release date announced by Tor Books on July 11, 2012, with a release date of January 8, 2013. [16] [17] The book's draft was finished by August, [18] and complete by November. [19] The release was delayed until March 2013, to avoid revealing any plot details about Halo 4. [3] [20] Synopsis [ edit ] Setting and characters [ edit ] Records of prehistoric humanity began to be encountered as well. On Onyx, an artifact referred to as the Bornstellar Relation gave a testimony of the life of the Forerunner Bornstellar Makes Eternal Lasting, including the knowledge that humanity had once been a Tier 1 species. [32] This account was complemented by the testimony of the remains of 343 Guilty Spark, who related to listening scientists about his life as the prehistoric human Chakas. [33] [34] At least some ancient humans practiced a polytheistic religion, including the Lord of Admirals. [49] The Didact noted that humans had a tendency of worshiping inanimate objects, including Precursor artifacts. [50] In addition, the humans believed in the teaching of Daowa-maadthu, a concept at the center of their beliefs and practices, a reference to the cyclical pattern of trial and growth witnessed over time and often referred to as the roll and tug of the universe on the individual and those within it. [44] This system was exemplified for the ancient humans when a strange powder was discovered aboard mysterious derelict starships that would lead to the devastating civilization-spanning outbreak known as the Flood. [51] [44] Gamelpar's "best wife" also came from Earth and told him stories of it. [4] At one point in his life on Installation 07, he lived with his family in a newly-constructed city, but the Tudejsa abandoned the city after the Forerunners started abducting more humans for their brutal experiments with the Flood in the " Palace of Pain". After fleeing the city to the nearby plains, Gamelpar witnessed the Primordial and Mendicant Bias observe them and decide who would be taken for experimentation. [6] Gamelpar was once taken to the Palace of Pain himself, but he was not infected. He survived and was returned to his community; however, he would never speak of what he had experienced. [7]