halo.bungie.org

They're Random, Baby!

Fan Fiction


Brief History of The Flood
Posted By: 121 Guilty-Weezel
Date: 17 December 2004, 6:41 PM


Read/Post Comments

Brief History of The Flood......



64.978 Million Years: In the search for life other than there own, the Forerunners encounter a medium sized green planet, Designation 1296. Forerunners inspected the planets primitive life finding an evolutionary path they had not seen in their history. The planet was completely devoid of any animal or plant life, existing only as an ocean of nitrogen/methane covering a rocky surface. Within the oceans the Forerunners found what would eventually become their downfall.

64.978 Million Years: Viral life, the Forerunners had never seen anything like it. The biosphere of the planet was inhabited by this single organism which in a vicious cycle would feed on itself. Forerunner scientists determined through the introduction of foreign cells the tenacity of this new life. The organism would attach to any cells introduced and would slowly turn them into a reproduction of themselves. Scientists studied this effect for years in controlled environments slowly unlocking the evolutionary secrets of this enigma of a species.

64.979 Million Years: Breakthrough, in the background of the Forerunner celebration of meeting sentient beings, the Forerunners discovered something amazing about the organism they had discovered. In reviewing the tests that had been preformed on the samples that were collected so many years ago, the Forerunners found that little by little the organism had changed, not physically or in nature but in its genetic code. Every cell introduced had left behind its imprint, its map and the organism now contained its information as well as mimicked some of it characteristics. This was the beginning of the end.

64.98 Million Years: The first attacks of the younger races against one another. All Forerunner society was pressed to take action. Studies ceased, the science the Forerunners pursued was pushed to making ships and weapons to intervene, to stop the wars.

64.981 Million Years: War had destroyed several planets; the Forerunners in their attempt to stop the aggression had, in turn attracted it. Younger races began to unite against them attacking them for assisting enemy forces, worlds where the Forerunners maintained laboratories and places of scientific pursuits were the first to be attacked. Planet 1296 was among them, the old orbiting station was destroyed and with it the planets existing biosphere.

64.983 Million Years: Countless years of war had taken there toll. The Forerunners had been pushed to the sideline; the younger races ignored them in the pursuit to destroy each other. Trying to find a way to end this plague of fighting the Forerunners committed their fatal sin. The organism, the last of its kind that had been studied for so many years was reengineered. It's properties enhanced, it was now capable of not only reproducing itself but applying genetic code to its host. The Forerunners were creating something that would end the war and unite all beings.

64.984 Million Years: The quest for peace had made Gods of the Forerunners they had produced a sentient being, which could absorb some of the knowledge of a creature into itself and then pass it to another. The spores it produced were airborne and would emanate from a small creature born of the sentient itself. The creature would release its spores in the atmosphere and would in turn gather the material in collected so it could be shared. Thousands of the spore creatures were born from the being, it produced them at a rate that even surprised the Forerunners themselves.

64.984 Million Years: The beginning was slow, the material gathered by the spore creatures began to spread on each planet they were introduced to. The Forerunners managed the systematic coverage through the creature that spawned it. The younger races began to give up their arms and embrace this peace, the terrible diseases that were released by some of the races were disappearing due in part to the spores. There was even reports that some of the dead were reborn, regenerated by the spores. The creature had accomplished its mission, the Forerunners were hailed as saviors, little was known of what was in store.

64.985 Million Years: The Creature of the Spores had learned something of war and hatred, love, and passion. It had learned what made these beings believe or hope and for what reasons, hunger, hatred, or indifference it began to plot. Slowly through it's direction, the spores over the many planets secretly began to attack. One person here or there would disappear, the spore began to breed by attaching and transforming a host into a makeshift womb. The numbers of the spores doubled then tripled, unknown to anyone say for themselves. With each generation the spores slowly adapted and eventually could rewrite a species into its needs. The Creature of the Spores now had a secret army with which he could bring about its ascension. The planet that was home to the creature was the first to be attacked, then in a split moment thousands of other world where attacked. The Forerunners and younger races were unprepared for the carnage that ensued.

64.985 Million Years: It was quick, surprisingly quick within a few short months nearly 30% of the younger races and Forerunners were part of the "Flood" as they had so been named. The Flood were not the ignorant infection they were though to be, infected ships and troops waged war with the skills and knowledge gained from a hundred races. The Gravemind as the creature was now called, moved its troops across the galaxy, the Forerunners were now fighting for survival.

64.99 Million Years: A weapon, the Gravemind knew that it would eventually come to this, the Forerunners were very adaptive, even it could appreciate that. The Flood increased their attacks, the fighting was an attempt to destroy the Forerunners before the weapon could be built. This would be the final battle for survival.

64.999 Million Years: With their defenses eroded, the Forerunners were vulnerable, the great rings they had built could be easily struck, their weapon would be rendered useless. Gravemind, removed itself from the planet were it was born, if only to be in the place of the Forerunner destruction and for a plan in case the enemy succeeded. The final armadas of the Forerunners and Flood met above the rings, the fighting raged as the Flood punched through the last defenses of the Forerunners and landed on the rings. Gravemind, came with them, waiting for the final destruction. It came, but not as was suspected.

65 Million Years: Pain, unbearable pain, the destruction of most of the Flood sent a backlash to the Gravemind. It's victory and is satisfaction had been stripped in a single blast. As it knew, its destruction would shortly follow. As with so many years ago it would hide until it could strike, creeping in the shadows, in the home of the Forerunners.





bungie.org