Perhaps the TO is an “enhanced” Precursor, like a Spartan. Seeing as the Flood consumes all it touches, perhaps the misshapen augmentations seen by Didact are like neural uplinks on Spartans, or shield the TO from a Flood infection.
Also, I’m of the belief the TO is the Gravemind, in a sense. The earliest iterations of the Flood mentioned in Cryptum were permanently stuck in the feral stage. They were very dumb despite having an excellent opportunity to grow a Gravemind, even a proto-Gravemind. Both Flood forms appear after the Timeless One has made his mark on history. I believe the Gravemind is simply a conduit, or a representative created by the Timeless One to serve its agenda, like an ambassador. The Timeless One is either integrated into the Gravemind (perhaps residing inside the being itself) or communicating through other means.
Alright, here’s the scenario. A Flood oubtreak occurs on any Halo installation you care to name. As it grows and grows, it leaves the Feral stage and forms a Proto-Gravemind, like what happened to Keyes. When it does this, it contacts the TO-controlled Gravemind on Installation 05. The TO then coordinates the Flood, acting as a vast choreographer for the Flood. The Flood on its own is essentially a dumb, ravenous, parasitic fungus. When the Timeless One makes contact with it, the Flood smarten up and become an Interplanetary, even Interstellar-class Infestation.
> In an effort to search for a quote that anton so desperately needed me to surface, I was sidetracked, like usual. I came across very interesting information regarding the Timeless One. TO is not who it says it is, as Greg Bear hinted at. The Timeless One is not the last Precursor. It was created by the Precursors, possibly one gone wrong. Have a look at these quotes from Halo: Cryptum.
> “Or was it something manufactured by the Precursors- possibly a strange, distorted sibling of both Forerunners and (the Didact was reluctant to consider this) humans? Precursor sibling, or ancestor to … what?”-pg. 276
> “The cell contained, in temporal suspension, a genuine monster: a large creature with an overall anatomy like a grossly misshapen human…”-pg. 277
> “They are out there, waiting…Thousands of years wasted!The solution was lost, Father…Lost!If what the Old Ones made is loose…”-pg. 138
>
> If you look at the quotes from the passage it implies the Timeless One is actually part machine. Kind of like the Engineers that the Forerunners crafted. This also makes a lot of sense regarding how the Timeless One survived the firing of Halo, the Gravemind’s ability to successfully control Installation 05’s teleportation grid, and Gravemind’s ability to hack into Cortana in ‘Human Weakness’, considering Gravemind is the Timeless One. And the Timeless One, well… It could very well be…
I guess you were right, the timeless one was never the last precursor, but in the wrong way. Our guesses (maybe I am incorrect) especially mine were wrong. But you’re right they are still there… “out of reach and increasing”
I just saw this on halopedia but the forerunners and humans thought they where the mantle or whatever so the forerunners defeated the precusors. Then the humans (ancient humans) tried to flea from forerunner control so they continued to move outwards away from them. Eventually the flood began to attack the humans, to counter they went to planets forerunners planet new life on, which made them angry. This cause a forerunner/humanity war with us loosing,they then sent us back to earth and destroyed our tech and history. But as revenge just before humanity lost they destroyed the cure to the flood.
I thought it was interesting … o and the humans/prophets where allies they just got a lesser punishment
Here’s my theories:
I think the Precursors are Graveminds who evolved from the original Flood. The original Graveminds had evolved to the point where they developed a coherent physical form and effectively became a separate species from the Flood. Its possible that each Precursor looks unique, according to the minds which shape it.
I think the Flood that arrived in the galaxy in that powder and became the Flood we know, were created by the Precursors as revenge against the Forerunners and to test humanity. The Precursors created a primitive, much more aggressive form of the parasite which they evolved from.
IMHO The GM in Halo 2 and 3 is a very basic form of Gravemind, looking nothing like a Precursor. Note that whereas the Precursors built structures and clearly had a civilization, the H2/3 Gravemind builds nothing and is only interested in consuming everything; it has one overriding purpose, in that sense it is much like an AI; it is an imitation designed for a specific purpose, which shares some similarities with its creators (just like an AI has some human elements; GMs have some Precursor elements))
TO is likely the consciousness that directs and controls the Graveminds, and he too may have been “built” by the Precursors to act on their behalf.
I will be joining this discussion late. Recently read both the books and I was in awe of Bears writings and the whole TO hidden plot. There is a load of decent theories here and I am sure, stringed together they are all relatively right. In the next book I can’t wait for answers, but I am guessing the precursors the TO and even the Librarian May all have some role in H4 .
Avu Med Telcam, you claim in your theorem that this ‘Timeless One’ may be part machine, thus explaining it’s survival of the Halo ring’s activation, but in the quote, it said “Inside the cell was a true monster…with the anatomy of a grossly misshapen human”. I must disagree with your theory that it is a part-machine. You must remember, Flood spores were discovered inside unmanned Precursor frigates by the Humans, back before the Forerunner devolved them. And, you must remember (and I have found that 343 and the people who mate Legends went against this by portraying the rings blowing them away and disintegrating them) Cortana in CE mentioned that the rings do not kill the Flood, it kills their food, thus starving them. I must argue that this ‘Timeless One’ is in fact Flood!
> You cannot trust the Timeless One. Everything about it is a lie, down to its very name. Timeless, yet killed by time.
>
> Greg Bear is leading us in circles; we’re like cats chasing a laser pointer. We have no idea what it is, yet we are compelled to chase.
>
> I just want the third book to be finished and released all ready. Re-reading Cryptum for the fourth time isn’t helping.
Too bad the 3rd book won’t be released until after Halo 4 comes out.
> You cannot trust the Timeless One. Everything about it is a lie, down to its very name. Timeless, yet killed by time.
>
> Greg Bear is leading us in circles; we’re like cats chasing a laser pointer. We have no idea what it is, yet we are compelled to chase.
>
> I just want the third book to be finished and released all ready. Re-reading Cryptum for the fourth time isn’t helping.
Does he ever address himself as the Timeless One though?
> > You cannot trust the Timeless One. Everything about it is a lie, down to its very name. Timeless, yet killed by time.
> >
> > Greg Bear is leading us in circles; we’re like cats chasing a laser pointer. We have no idea what it is, yet we are compelled to chase.
> >
> > I just want the third book to be finished and released all ready. Re-reading Cryptum for the fourth time isn’t helping.
>
> Does he ever address himself as the Timeless One though?
No he doesn’t the only thing I recall him calling himself was the last Precursor. All other names were given by the Forerunners or humans.
On the subject of time killing it, why did they use a time accelerator? With the weapons the Forerunners possesed, and the level of their destructive tech (Halos), surely theyd have something smaller in a gun or sword form. So why do the time thing? Is it possible they tried everything else? And this was the only thing that could kill it?
Now when the Didact flipped the switch he said “let a billion years pass in endless silence and isolation.” Now whether this is a literal billion years or a figurative. I’m thinking the Didact knew what he was doing, which would make it a literal billion years, if that the case how long has this thing been alive previous to that?
Also on another subject, isn’t it weird how the Forerunners seem to only accel at making destructive weapons. Chakas comments the cage the Primordial is in at the end is a perverse of a timelock. And the timelock was a San’Shyuum design. So the Forerunners remake it, but instead of using it as a stasis, they turn it into another weapon…Kinda weird thing for a race that is supposed to be protecting, not destroying.
> Avu Med Telcam, you claim in your theorem that this ‘Timeless One’ may be part machine, thus explaining it’s survival of the Halo ring’s activation, but in the quote, it said “Inside the cell was a true monster…with the anatomy of a grossly misshapen human”. I must disagree with your theory that it is a part-machine. You must remember, Flood spores were discovered inside unmanned Precursor frigates by the Humans, back before the Forerunner devolved them. And, you must remember (and I have found that 343 and the people who mate Legends went against this by portraying the rings blowing them away and disintegrating them) Cortana in CE mentioned that the rings do not kill the Flood, it kills their food, thus starving them. I must argue that this ‘Timeless One’ is in fact Flood!
I find it strange how every other organic life-form was killed besides the flood. It doesn’t make sense. Halo: Legends seemed to have made more sense by depicting the flood being disintegrating.
It was never stated or implied that it had mechanical parts not to mention it was killed at the end of the novel. You really shouldn’t be using halo legends as a source in regards to that even though it is true. Everything that could be or is infected will be killed by the rings.
In Primordium he out right says that the Forerunners didn’t kill all the Precursors.
Also I think we should stop calling him the Timeless one since he was only called that once and that wasn’t even in universe. He is the Primordial.
> In Primordium he out right says that the Forerunners didn’t kill all the Precursors.
> Also I think we should stop calling him the Timeless one since he was only called that once and that wasn’t even in universe. He is the Primordial.
Well if you want to get technical. He is “The Child”. (As mentioned in Halo: Primordium)
