Editing Reclaimer

{{Era|Forerunner|UNSC|HCW|Post}}
{{disambig header|the Forerunner term|articles of the same name|Reclaimer (disambiguation)}}
[[File:Reclaimer - H4.png|right|thumb|The [[Forerunner symbols|Forerunner glyph]] for "Reclaimer".]]
{{quote|The [[05-032 Mendicant Bias|Oracle]] calls them "Reclaimers". But what do they reclaim? These machines? These cities? These worlds? Or, as I fear, are they to reclaim the [[Mantle]] we so terribly squandered?|[[Minister of Discovery]]<ref name="Covie Mantle">'''[[Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe]]''' volume II, ''page 299''</ref>}}

"'''Reclaimer'''" is a [[Forerunner]] term used to refer to a species (or a member of said species) chosen to be the inheritors of the [[Mantle]], the stewardship over all life originally held by the [[Precursor]]s. Following the activation of the [[Halo Array]] and the ensuing [[Reintroduction]], this refers specifically to [[human]]s, whom the Forerunners (more pointedly those allied with the [[Librarian]]) regarded as their rightful successors. The Forerunners left behind an abundance of their technology, some of which will only activate when used by a Reclaimer. For most of their history, however, the Forerunners considered themselves the rightful inheritors of the Mantle from the Precursors, who had originally intended to pass the Mantle down to humanity.<ref name="definition" group="note">[[Bungie]] originally intended that the Forerunners were prehistoric humans. In this regard the title of "Reclaimer" would indicate modern humans salvaging the relics of their ancestors, thus giving the term a rather literal meaning. This is corroborated by dialog in ''Halo 3'': 343 Guilty Spark insists that John-117 is the "child of [his] makers" and that he ''is'' Forerunner, while the Gravemind refers to the Master Chief as "child of my enemy". ''Halo: Contact Harvest'' further evidences this with Mendicant Bias' claim that the Reclaimers are its makers.{{Clear}}With ''[[The Forerunner Saga]]''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s retooling of the "prehistoric spacefaring humans" concept (casting them as contemporaries of the Forerunners), the definition of the title was revised. It thus no longer refers to humanity's recovery of Forerunner technology, which was never theirs and could not, by definition, be ''reclaimed''. Instead it denotes humanity's reclamation of the Mantle from the Forerunners, who had wrongly asserted their claim to it for eons.</ref><ref group="note" name="explanation">The term "Reclaimer" has never been used directly in reference to the Forerunners. However, in ''Halo: Primordium'', 343 Guilty Spark identifies humans as "the true Reclaimers" which suggests that the Forerunners also held the title; the distinction of humans as "true" Reclaimers corroborates the Precursors' intent for humans to inherit the Mantle. This also explains why Mendicant Bias assumed the Reclaimers on [[Harvest]] to be its creators: the "Reclaimer" glyph would have been originally associated with Forerunners who wrongly considered themselves Reclaimers.{{Clear}}

In contrast, the very title of "Reclaimer" suggests that the Mantle's rightful stewardship (real or imagined) must have been lost or denied and later regained. There is no evidence of the Forerunners losing their erroneous claim to the Mantle, yet this accurately reflects humanity's history. Specifically, the Forerunners refuted humanity's claim to the Mantle during the conflict between their two species; humans would later accept their metaphorical birthright in the 26th century, primarily by exploiting Forerunner technology discovered in the war with the Covenant.</ref>

==Overview==
Generally speaking, the term "Reclaimer" refers to humans (as a species or as individuals) retaking stewardship of the Mantle. More specifically the term seems to denote humans who are capable of activating Forerunner technology.<ref>''Spartan Ops'' - [[Key/The Hammer|Episode 9, Chapter 5]]: ''“Elites were here, trying to find Reclaimers: humans who can operate Forerunner technology."''</ref><ref group="note">In the ''Spartan Ops'' level [[Key/The Hammer|The Hammer]], [[Roland]] states that Reclaimers are humans who can activate Forerunner technology. For the first time in the series it is made clear that not all humans can do so, as the Covenant kill at least one member of [[Hawk Squad]] for his inability to use a Forerunner holo-terminal. If Roland's definition is indeed correct then humans who lack the requisite ''geas'' may not be Reclaimers in a technical sense, though the term is still generally used in regard to all of humanity. Alternately, Roland might mean that the Covenant are looking specifically for Reclaimers who can access Forerunner technology, not that Reclaimers by definition have this ability, though his semantics suggest otherwise.</ref> This is presumably due to any number of ''[[geas]]'' implanted by the Librarian, which give at least some humans an instinctive familiarity (often a feeling of déjà vu) when encountering Forerunner technology. For example, [[SPARTAN-II Program|Spartan]] [[John-117]] simply "knew" how to activate a holographic control panel on [[Halo Array|Halo]] [[Installation 04]], despite it being the first piece of Forerunner technology he had ever encountered.<ref>'''Halo: The Flood''', ''page 84''</ref> This innate knowledge extends to Covenant technology as well.<ref>'''Halo: First Strike''', ''page 142''</ref> In the same vein, Forerunner technology responds to human presence much as it would have done in the presence of its creators, though it will not do so for other species.

Along with implanting the ''geas'' necessary to utilize Forerunner relics, the Librarian planted "seeds" that led to some of humanity's most important technological achievements. Specifically, this genesong led to the creation of the [[SPARTAN-II Program|SPARTAN-II supersoldiers]] and their [[MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor]], as well as the AI [[Cortana]].<ref name="H4 Reclaimer">'''Halo 4''', campaign level ''[[Reclaimer (level)|Reclaimer]]''</ref> These developments enabled humanity - primarily through the efforts of John-117 and Cortana - to defeat the [[Ur-Didact]] during his renewed campaign to [[Composer|compose]] humanity into [[Promethean Knight]]s.<ref name="Midnight">'''Halo 4''', campaign level ''[[Midnight]]''</ref> Despite this tragedy, the Librarian originally hoped that the Didact would emerge from [[Cryptum|stasis]] after millennia of meditation to guide humanity; he was to give them the [[Janus Key]], thereby providing the location of all Forerunner technology in the galaxy and securing the Reclaimers' ascendancy.<ref>'''Spartan Ops''', ''[[Key]]''</ref>

Strangely, [[343 Guilty Spark]], the monitor of Halo Installation 04, once insisted to John-117, ''"You ''are'' Forerunner."''<ref name="H3 Halo"/> This is presumably metaphorical, as [[Mendicant Bias]] likewise claimed the Reclaimers as its makers,<ref name="Oracle">'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''pages 274-278''</ref> despite humanity being genetically and culturally distinct from the Forerunners. Alternately, this may be due to the onset of rampancy; Guilty Spark had previously treated the Master Chief as if the latter were the [[IsoDidact]], responding to a question the IsoDidact had asked 100,000 years prior.<ref>'''Halo: Combat Evolved''', campaign level ''[[343 Guilty Spark (level)|343 Guilty Spark]]''</ref><ref>'''Halo: Silentium''', ''page 314''</ref><ref group="note" name="explanation"/>

===Failures to recognize Reclaimer status===
As the {{UNSCship|Spirit of Fire}} was pulled inside [[Shield World 0459]] on [[2531#February|February 23, 2531]], the ship and her crew were scanned by the installation's decontamination network. In addition to detecting a high-order [[Flood]] infestation, the [[Unidentified ancilla (Shield World 0459)|ancilla]] in charge of the network's cleansing rings failed to recognize the crew as Reclaimers. As the Spirit<nowiki>'</nowiki>s crew and complement were regarded as an "unknown alien intrusion", they were forced to engage a bevy of [[Sentinel]]s in addition to fighting the Flood on the surface of the ship.<ref>'''Halo Wars''', campaign level ''[[Repairs]]''</ref>

During the [[Battle of Onyx]] in [[2552#October|October]] - [[2552#November|November 2552]], the [[SPARTAN-III Program|SPARTAN-III]] [[Ash-G099]] failed to provide the appropriate counter-response to a [[Onyx Sentinel|Sentinel]] that was attempting to determine whether he was a [[Flood]] vector. This, combined with the Spartans of [[SPARTAN-III Gamma Company|Gamma Company]] being inundated with [[Project CHRYSANTHEMUM#Gamma Company|illegal performance-enhancing drugs]], caused the Sentinel to catalog Ash as a "non-Reclaimer", as well as a member of a "aboriginal subspecies" of humanity.<ref name="goo">'''[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]]''', ''page 133''</ref>

===Humans identified as Reclaimers===<!--These characters are listed in chronological order. Only their interactions with the Forerunners or their technology should be related.-->
Given that all known bestowals of the "Reclaimer" title have occurred during military engagements, all individuals identified as such have been either military personnel or civilian advisers.

*[[Ellen Anders|Professor Ellen Anders]] - Kidnapped by [[Arbiter]] [[Ripa 'Moramee]] in [[2531#February|February 2531]], Anders was forced to activate a fleet of [[Forerunner dreadnought]]s on [[Shield World 0459]].<ref>'''Halo Wars''', campaign level [[Beachhead (Halo Wars level)|Beachhead]]</ref>
*[[Marvin Mobuto]] - Recruited by 343 Guilty Spark to fire Alpha Halo during the Flood outbreak. Killed in the installation's [[Library]] while attempting to retrieve the [[Activation Index]].<ref>''Halo: The Flood''</ref>
*[[Master Chief Petty Officer]] [[John-117]] - Arguably the most significant Reclaimer, John-117 is the realization of a ''geas'' seeded by the Librarian which apparently manifested in the [[SPARTAN-II Program|SPARTAN-IIs]]' creator, [[Catherine Halsey|Dr. Catherine Halsey]].<ref name="H4 Reclaimer"/> He is responsible for the destruction of Halo [[Installation 04]]<ref>'''Halo: Combat Evolved''', campaign level ''[[The Maw]]''</ref> and its replacement, as well as the latter's activation and the ensuing defeat of an active [[Gravemind]]; the near-destruction of [[Installation 00]];<ref name="H3 Halo">'''Halo 3''', campaign level ''[[Halo (Halo 3 level)|Halo]]''</ref> and the apparent death of the [[Ur-Didact]].<ref name="Midnight"/>
*[[Commander (UNSC)|Commander]] [[Miranda Keyes]] - In [[2552#November|November 2552]], the [[Chieftain of the Jiralhanae|Jiralhanae Chieftain]] [[Tartarus]] forced Commander Keyes to fire [[Installation 05|Delta Halo]] and thereby the rest of the Array, though he was soon killed and the firing process was aborted.
*[[Sergeant Major]] [[Avery Johnson]] - Similarly to Keyes, Johnson was nearly forced by the [[Prophet of Truth]] to activate the entire Halo Array from the lesser Ark's control room, though he was rescued before this could occur.<ref>'''Halo 3''', campaign level ''[[The Covenant]]''</ref> He was killed shortly thereafter while attempting to activate the incomplete [[Installation 04B]], though John-117 successfully completed this mission.<ref name="H3 Halo"/>

==As understood by the Covenant==
The Reclaimer glyph was one of the holiest icons in the [[Covenant religion]], as well as the source of one of its greatest flaws. For millennia, the Covenant's leadership misinterpreted the "Reclaimer" glyph (which they read upside down) as "Reclamation". The [[San 'Shyuum|Prophets]] took misconstrued this as the Covenant's divine mandate to procure "holy" Forerunner technology from areas of space known as [[reliquary|reliquaries]]; the [[Ages of Reclamation]] were designated as periods of significant Forerunner discoveries. While incorrectly understood by the Covenant as their quest for Forerunner relics, the Reclamation is an actual concept pertaining to the Reclaimers' process of reattaining the Mantle.<ref>'''Halo 4''', campaign level ''[[Epilogue (Halo 4 level)|Epilogue]]'' (''"The Reclamation... has already begun. And we are hopeless to stop it."'')</ref> Like the Forerunners, the Covenant (if only the Prophets) considered themselves the inheritors of the Mantle.<ref name="Covie Mantle"/> However, because the Covenant's member species are not recognized as Reclaimers (being referred to as "intruders" and "meddlers" by [[343 Guilty Spark]]) they require human captives to activate certain Forerunner technology, most notably the Halo rings, the [[Installation 00|Ark]], and [[shield world]]s. One notable exception is [[Jul 'Mdama]], who gained the allegiance of the Promethean Knights on the shield world [[Requiem]] following the Didact's apparent demise; he was able able to set Requiem on a collision course with [[Epoloch|its star]], though is seems he was given the Didact's override to accomplish this.<ref>'''Spartan Ops''', ''[[Exodus (Spartan Ops)|Exodus]]'' - This is evidenced by the appearance of the Ur-Didact's sigil when 'Mdama gives inputs the self-destruct order.</ref>

====History====
For many Ages the Covenant used [[luminary|luminaries]] (crude AIs based on Forerunner [[ancilla]]s) to pinpoint concentrations of Forerunner artifacts. At the turn of [[2524]] - [[2525]], the luminary aboard the vessel ''[[Minor Transgression]]'' led the ship's crew to the human colony world of [[Harvest]]. Ultimately communications between the planet's government and the Covenant broke down, leading to the [[First Battle of Harvest|first major conflict]] between the two civilizations and the planet's eventual [[glassing]]. A trio of mid-level San 'Shyuum ministers consulted the "Oracle" aboard the [[Forerunner Dreadnought]] on ''[[High Charity]]'' about the "Reclamation" glyphs encountered in such large numbers on Harvest; these San 'Shyuum hoped to use the clout gained from this discovery to oust the current triumvirate of [[Hierarchs]]. The Oracle, which was actually the AI [[05-032 Mendicant Bias|Mendicant Bias]], informed the party that the luminations found on Harvest were actually the world's human population, and that the symbol the Covenant had long held to mean "Reclamation" actually meant "Reclaimer"; following this revelation, Mendicant Bias attempted to leave ''High Charity'' and make contact with its so-called "makers", though the ship was disabled and the AI quarantined before this could happen.<ref name="Oracle"/>

The schemers interpreted the Oracle's words to mean that the humans actually the living remnants of Forerunner civilization; this would directly contradict the Covenant's dogma regarding the [[Covenant religion#Great Journey|Great Journey]], which held that the Forerunners used an artifact known as [[Halo Array|Halo]] to transcend to godhood. Accordingly, the newly ordained [[Prophet of Truth]] declared a [[Human-Covenant War|war of extermination]] upon humanity, secretly hoping that genocide would prevent humanity's relation to the Forerunners from coming to light.<ref name="Oracle"/> In the wake of commencing the Ninth Age of Reclamation, Truth also revealed that the Reclaimer glyph could help the Covenant scour the galaxy for any other [[human colonies]].<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''pages 381-382''</ref>

==Trivia==
[[File:Marathon.png|right|thumb|175px|The Reclaimer symbol as seen in Bungie's games.]]
*The  original Reclaimer glyph is actually the logo of [[Bungie]]'s ''[[Marathon]]'' trilogy. Due to the ''Marathon'' franchise remaining Bungie's intellectual property, the Reclaimer symbol in media by [[343 Industries]] has the same basic design, though it is much more abstract. Curiously, the original symbol appears on holographic terminals in the ''[[Spartan Ops]]'' chapter [[Key/The Hammer|The Hammer]].
*The [[Bestiarum]] associates the [[Latin]] "Homo ''sapiens augeous''" with its "Reclaimer" entry. This is probably intended to mean ''"augmented intelligent man"'', though ''augeous'' is conjugated incorrectly; the proper conjugation is ''aucto''. Given the context of the entry in the ''Bestiarum'', it seems that this entry refers specifically to [[John-117]] as opposed to all Reclaimers, and that "''Homo sapiens augeous''" refers only to Spartans. However, due to ''Halo 4''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s retcon that not only certain humans are technically Reclaimers, this [[Wikipedia:Binomial nomenclature|binomial nomenclature]] may refer to humans carrying the "genesong" planted by the Librarian.
*"Reclaimer" is one of the second-highest [[Rank (Halo: Reach)|rank]] in ''Halo: Reach''.
{{Clear}}
==Notes==
<references group="note"/>

==List of appearances==<!--This list should feature only media in which the term "Reclaimer" is specifically invoked.-->
*''[[Halo: Combat Evolved]]'' {{1st}}
**''[[Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary]]''
***''[[Terminal/Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary|Terminals]]''
*''[[Halo: The Flood]]''
*''[[Halo 2]]''
**''[[Conversations from the Universe]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]]''
*''[[Halo 3]]''
**''[[Terminal/Halo 3|Terminals]]''
*''[[Halo: Contact Harvest]]''
*''[[Halo Wars]]''
*''[[Halo: Helljumper]]''
*''[[Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe]]''
*''[[Halo: Glasslands]]''
*''[[Halo: Primordium]]''
*''[[Halo 4]]''
*''[[Terminal/Halo 4|Terminals]]'' 
**''[[Spartan Ops]]''

==Sources==
<references/>
[[Category:The Forerunner]]
[[Category:Human]]
[[Category:Terms and Phrases]]