Astroengineering: Difference between revisions

The [[Forerunner]]s are renowned for their mimicry of natural environments, but it is their engineering achievements that stand as monuments to their extraordinary prowess, centuries after they have passed on. Their Halo Installations, Shield Worlds, and the [[Installation 00|Ark]] are all artificial habitats on a vastly larger scale than anything that either [[Human|humanity]] or the [[Covenant]] could have accomplished. All known [[Forerunner]] megastructures are a part of the [[Halo Array]].

{{Main|Halo}}

[[Image:Delta Halo.jpg|thumb|200px|[[Delta Halo]], the second Halo discovered by the UNSC and the Covenant.]]

A variation of the concept also exists, built in a more conventional fashion. It's a structure whose surface is composed of an outer shell, with a hollow interior and a habitable inner surface, and a miniaturized artificial star in the center. The interior resembles a [[Dyson Sphere]], though on a far smaller scale.

The artificial planet [[Onyx]] was used as a cover for the [[Shield World]] in it's core. It was later colonized by the [[UNSC]], oblivious as to its true origins until [[2552]], when its [[Onyx Sentinel|Sentinels]] activated to defend the Shield World. It was later damaged by [[FENRIS Nuclear Warhead]]s, and destroyed as its Sentinels burst free and set up defensive stations around the Shield World portal.<ref>''[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]]'', pg. 377, 378</ref>

Unlike Onyx, this [[Shield World]] was a hollow spherical shell with a terraformed inner surface and an internal sun. The installation's outer surface was heavily infested by the [[Flood]]. With an approximate diameter of 2900 kilometers<ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8lxRH9zqWw</ref>, it's one of the smallest Forerunner megastructures.

It was destroyed by the [[UNSC]] forces in [[2531]] when the overloaded [[Shaw-Fujikawa Translight Engine|Slipspace Drive]] of {{UNSCShip|Spirit of Fire}} sent the internal star to [[Supernova]] state.

{{Main|Micro Dyson Sphere}}

The [[Forerunner]]s also constructed massive Dyson Spheres, with a diameter of 2 astronomical units<ref>''[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]]'', pg. 380</ref>, encapsulated them in a [[Slipspace]] field to protect them from the Halo Array as it activated. Essentially a sphere, with its habitable surface on its internal surface rather than external, Shield Worlds are also equipped with their own stars<ref>''[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]]'', pg. 379</ref>, providing warmth, light and energy to the installation. Originally intended as a way to circumvent the Halo effect, the Shield Worlds were not put into use by the Forerunners due to the rampant actions of one of their own [[Mendicant Bias|AI constructs]].<ref>[[Halo 3]], [[Terminals]]</ref>

The interior of the [[Shield World (Halo Wars)|Flood-Controlled Shield World]] was essentially a variation of this concept, albeit on a far smaller scale and not enveloped in Slipspace.

{{Main|Installation 00}}

[[Image:ARK.jpg|200px|thumb|[[Installation 00]]]]