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{{era|Forerunner|UNSC|HCW|Post}}
{{Era|Forerunner|UNSC|HCW|Post}}
{{disambig header|the Forerunner term|articles of the same name|Reclaimer (disambiguation)}}
{{disambig header|the Forerunner term|articles of the same name|Reclaimer (disambiguation)}}
[[File:Reclaimer - H4.png|right|thumb|The [[Forerunner symbols|Forerunner glyph]] for a Reclaimer.]]
[[File:Reclaimer - H4.png|right|thumb|The [[Forerunner symbols|Forerunner glyph]] for "Reclaimer".]]
{{quote|[[05-032 Mendicant Bias|The 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>'''[[Halo Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe]]''' volume II, ''page 299''</ref>}}
{{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 member of said species) chosen to be the inheritor of the [[Mantle]], the stewardship over all life originally held by the [[Precursor]]s. In more recent [[Forerunner]] usage, this refers to [[human]] individuals, as the Forerunners left the Mantle for humans to reclaim. 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 Reclaimers, believing to have inherited the Mantle from the Precursors, who had originally intended to pass the Mantle down to humanity.<ref group="note" name="explanation">The term "Reclaimer" has never been used directly in reference to 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.</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}}


== Term use ==
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>
{{Cleanup|section}}
The Reclaimer glyph was both one of the holiest of Covenant religious icons and the source of one of the major flaws in the [[Covenant religion]]: While correcting the Covenant's misinterpretation of the [[Luminary]]'s readings, [[Mendicant Bias]] applies the term to the [[human]] population on [[Harvest]]; the Covenant had consistently mistranslated the glyph as "Reclamation" (by reading it upside down, no less). By extension, the Covenant had adopted the term Reclamation as their divine entitlement to procure "holy" Forerunner technology, and 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 extant concept pertaining to the Reclaimers' process of attaining 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>


The Luminary's ability to identify Reclaimers was later put to use by the [[Prophet of Truth]], in realization that it would help him scour the galaxy for any other [[human colonies]]. Mendicant also claims that the humans are his makers, which corroborates what [[343 Guilty Spark]] says to the [[John-117|Master Chief]] in ''[[Halo 3]]'': ''"You are the child of my makers. Inheritor of all they left behind. You ''are'' Forerunner."''<ref group="note" name="explanation"/>
==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 ''gei'' 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|gei]]'' 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.


After Mendicant, the next known bestowal of the title is when Guilty Spark addressed Sergeant [[Marvin Mobuto]] in ''Halo: The Flood''. Following Mobuto's death and Spark's first meeting with SPARTAN-117, the title is laid upon the Master Chief. [[2401 Penitent Tangent]] also instantly recognized the Chief as a Reclaimer. In addition to the Master Chief, both [[Miranda Keyes|Commander Keyes]] and [[Avery Johnson|Sergeant Johnson]] are referred to as Reclaimers, and 343 Guilty Spark seems to show them the same respectful attitude that he shows the Chief. [[Mendicant Bias]] also refers to the Chief as a Reclaimer through the [[Terminals]] in ''Halo 3'', and the [[Librarian]] likewise applies the term to the Spartan in ''[[Halo 4]]''.
Along with implanting the ''gei'' 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>


It is also important to note when the term "Reclaimer" is ''not'' applied. All [[Covenant]] species are referred to as "intruders" or "meddlers" by 343 Guilty Spark. Non-Reclaimers are unable to access or fully utilize Forerunner weapon systems on Forerunner constructs, most notably the Halo rings, the [[Installation 00|Ark]], and [[shield world]]s. Because of this, the Prophet of Truth had to force Sergeant Johnson to activate the rings in ''Halo 3'' and the [[Prophet of Regret]] had to force [[Ellen Anders]] to activate the [[Apex Site]] in ''Halo Wars.''
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="CH"/> 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"/>


In ''[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]]'', the [[Onyx Sentinel]]s actually revoke the Reclaimer status of the humans on Onyx upon contact with the [[SPARTAN-III Program|SPARTAN-IIIs]], [[Ash-G099]]. The Sentinel announces that the "[[Halo Array|ring offensive system]]" is active and that the "[[Trevelyan|shield]]" is in countdown mode, then demands the Spartan to "exchange the proper counterresponse". Upon Ash's failure to provide said response, the Sentinel deems his reply as a non sequitur and immediately reclassifies the humans as "non-Reclaimers" and an "aboriginal subspecies" to be collected for analysis and otherwise neutralized as a potential vector for [[Flood]] infection.<ref name="goo">'''[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]]''', ''page 133''</ref>
===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>


It is apparent that the Sentinels only possess limited analytical intelligence while apart from a controlling [[Monitor]]. It is safe to speculate that the Monitors, with their more sophisticated intelligence, play an important role in helping local Sentinels determine who is friendly and who is not. It should also be noted that Ash-G099, the first human a Sentinel tried to identify on Onyx, was from the [[SPARTAN-III Gamma Company]].<ref name="goo"/> All Spartans of Gamma Company possessed [[Project CHRYSANTHEMUM|special augmentations]] not found in other Spartans, most notably a drug called 009762-OO, which is designed to affect the brain's frontal lobe to enhance certain traits in combat. This may have been reason enough for the Sentinel to identify him as something other than human or Reclaimer, and after that the Sentinels may have simply assumed that all humans on Onyx were of the same classification. Logically, by the term "subspecies", and by the aboriginal notation therein, the Sentinels could easily, by conjecture, be making the notice that the chemical changes in the brain caused by their augmentations cause the SPARTAN-IIIs to represent an earlier, more animalistic breed of humanity to their scanners.
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 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>


Most likely, however, this reclassification was caused simply by Ash not exchanging the proper response to the Sentinel. The Sentinel's reference to "possible infection vectors" implies that the machines had a directive about preventing any way for the Flood to infiltrate the shield world. It seems entirely possible - given that the Forerunners were ultimately willing to sacrifice themselves in order to halt the Flood's advance across the galaxy - that even an actual Forerunner that did not know the proper response, should an Onyx Sentinel have somehow come into contact with one, would have been treated the same way in order to halt a possible Flood infestation.
===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====
{{References}}
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="CH">''Halo: Contact Harvest''</ref>
 
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. 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 name="CH"/>


==Trivia==
==Trivia==
[[File:Marathon.png|right|thumb|The Reclaimer symbol as seen in the Bungie games.]]
[[File:Marathon.png|right|thumb|The Reclaimer symbol as seen in Bungie's games.]]
*The glyph for the Reclaimer is the [[Marathon]] logo symbol, a reference to [[Bungie]]'s earlier series. Because of legal reasons, the Reclaimer symbol in [[343 Industries]] media has been changed to a much more vague resemblance of the original ''Marathon'' symbol.
*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]] term "Homo ''sapiens augeous''" with its "Reclaimer" entry. This is apparently 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 is apparent that the entry describes [[John-117]] as opposed to all Reclaimers, and that "''Homo sapiens augeous''" refers only to Spartans.
*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.
*''[[Halo Wars]]'' is the only Halo game (apart from ''[[Halo 3: ODST]]'', which featured no interaction with Forerunner technology) in which no characters are explicitly identified as Reclaimers. However, [[Ellen Anders]] could almost certainly be classified as a Reclaimer, as she activated the Forerunner artifact at the [[Relic]] site, was kidnapped by [[Ripa 'Moramee]] and forced by the Prophet of Regret to activate [[Apex Site|Forerunner technology]] on [[Shield World 0459]], precisely the way Miranda Keyes and Sergeant Johnson were used by Tartarus and the Prophet of Truth, respectively in the original trilogy.
*It is possible that 343 Guilty Spark does not recognize Reclaimers as individuals, but instead believes that every Reclaimer is the same being. When talking to Master Chief in [[Installation 04]]'s Control Room, Spark says, "Last time, you asked me, if it were my choice, would I do it? Having had considerable time to ponder your query, my answer has not changed."<ref>'''[[Halo: Combat Evolved]]''', opening cutscene of ''[[Two Betrayals]]''</ref> It is apparent that Guilty Spark was referring to a question posed to him by the [[IsoDidact]] prior to the activation of Installation 04 one hundred thousand years prior. This theory is not entirely solid, however; in the cutscene before Tartarus is fought in ''Halo 2'', Spark warns the Brute Chieftain to "Please be careful; this Reclaimer is delicate.". It could also be that Spark's statement to the Master Chief, and his overall assumption that the Chief was supposed to have been aware of protocol beforehand, could just have been a result of his instability. Another more complex idea is that since all humans seem to be able to be classified as Reclaimers, and Spark when speaking to the Chief (a Reclaimer) on [[Installation 04B]] states "You are the child of my makers, inheritor of all they left behind. You ''are'' Forerunner." Spark views the Chief as a continuation of the Forerunners, and the "same" as the Didact. Other characters also reference the humans as the same as the Forerunner in some fashion. Spark states humanity holds the Forerunner's duties (Reclamation, etc.), Mendicant Bias holds himself in debt to humanity when he cannot find any Forerunner to redeem himself to, and the Gravemind views the Forerunner as humanity's "Father" and holds humanity responsible for their sins.
*"Reclaimer" is one of the second-highest [[Rank (Halo: Reach)|rank]] in ''Halo: Reach''.
*"Reclaimer" is one of the second-highest [[Rank (Halo: Reach)|rank]] in ''Halo: Reach''.


==List of appearances==
==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]]'' {{1st}}
**''[[Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary]]''
**''[[Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary]]''
Line 47: Line 64:
*''[[Halo: Primordium]]''
*''[[Halo: Primordium]]''
*''[[Halo 4]]''
*''[[Halo 4]]''
*''[[Terminal/Halo 4|Terminals]]''
**''[[Spartan Ops]]''
**''[[Spartan Ops]]''
==Note==
<references group="note"/>


==Sources==
==Sources==

Revision as of 20:34, January 10, 2014

This article is about the Forerunner term. For articles of the same name, see Reclaimer (disambiguation).
The Forerunner glyph for "Reclaimer".

"The 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[1]

"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 Precursors. Following the activation of the Halo Array and the ensuing Reintroduction, this refers specifically to humans, 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.[note 1][note 2]

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.[2][note 3] This is presumably due to any number of gei 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 John-117 simply "knew" how to activate a holographic control panel on Halo Installation 04, despite it being the first piece of Forerunner technology he had ever encountered.[3] This innate knowledge extends to Covenant technology as well.[4] 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 gei 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 supersoldiers and their MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor, as well as the AI Cortana.[5] These developments enabled humanity - primarily through the efforts of John-117 and Cortana - to defeat the Ur-Didact during his renewed campaign to compose humanity into Promethean Knights.[6] Despite this tragedy, the Librarian originally hoped that the Didact would emerge from 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.[7]

Strangely, 343 Guilty Spark, the monitor of Halo Installation 04, once insisted to John-117, "You are Forerunner."[8] This is presumably metaphorical, as Mendicant Bias likewise claimed the Reclaimers as its makers,[9] 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.[10][11][note 2]

Failures to recognize Reclaimer status

As the Template:UNSCship was pulled inside Shield World 0459 on 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 ancilla in charge of the network's cleansing rings failed to recognize the crew as Reclaimers. As the Spirit's crew and complement were regarded as an "unknown alien intrusion", they were forced to engage a bevy of Sentinels in addition to fighting the Flood on the surface of the ship.[12]

During the Battle of Onyx in October - November 2552, the SPARTAN-III Ash-G099 failed to provide the appropriate counter-response to a Sentinel that was attempting to determine whether he was a Flood vector. This, combined with the Spartans of Gamma Company being inundated with 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.[13]

Humans identified as Reclaimers

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.

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 Prophets took misconstrued this as the Covenant's divine mandate to procure "holy" Forerunner technology from areas of space known as 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.[18] Like the Forerunners, the Covenant (if only the Prophets) considered themselves the inheritors of the Mantle.[1] 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 Ark, and shield worlds. 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 its star, though is seems he was given the Didact's override to accomplish this.[19]

History

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For many Ages the Covenant used luminaries (crude AIs based on Forerunner ancillas) 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 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 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.[9]

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 Great Journey, which held that the Forerunners used an artifact known as Halo to transcend to godhood. Accordingly, the newly ordained Prophet of Truth declared a war of extermination upon humanity, secretly hoping that genocide would prevent humanity's relation to the Forerunners from coming to light. 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.[9]

Trivia

File:Marathon.png
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 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's retcon that not only certain humans are technically Reclaimers, this binomial nomenclature may refer to humans carrying the "genesong" planted by the Librarian.
  • "Reclaimer" is one of the second-highest rank in Halo: Reach.

Notes

  1. ^ 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.
    With The Forerunner Saga'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.
  2. ^ a b 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.

    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.

  3. ^ In the Spartan Ops level 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 gei 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.

List of appearances

Sources

  1. ^ a b Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe volume II, page 299
  2. ^ Spartan Ops - Episode 9, Chapter 5: “Elites were here, trying to find Reclaimers: humans who can operate Forerunner technology."
  3. ^ Halo: The Flood, page 84
  4. ^ Halo: First Strike, page 142
  5. ^ a b Halo 4, campaign level Reclaimer
  6. ^ a b Halo 4, campaign level Midnight
  7. ^ Spartan Ops, Key
  8. ^ a b c Halo 3, campaign level Halo
  9. ^ a b c Halo: Contact Harvest
  10. ^ Halo: Combat Evolved, campaign level 343 Guilty Spark
  11. ^ Halo: Silentium, page 314
  12. ^ Halo Wars, campaign level Repairs
  13. ^ Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, page 133
  14. ^ Halo Wars, campaign level Beachhead
  15. ^ Halo: The Flood
  16. ^ Halo: Combat Evolved, campaign level The Maw
  17. ^ Halo 3, campaign level The Covenant
  18. ^ Halo 4, campaign level Epilogue ("The Reclamation... has already begun. And we are hopeless to stop it.")
  19. ^ Spartan Ops, Exodus - This is evidenced by the appearance of the Ur-Didact's sigil when 'Mdama gives inputs the self-destruct order.
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