The Ark of the Forerunners was both a last-ditch plan for survival and a weapon capable of killing all sentient life in the galaxy.
If you were able to leave behind the Milky Way galaxy, you might be able to spy the massive, flower-like superstructure that served many roles for its builders. Research base, interstellar production facility, conservation preserve, and of course, the key to eliminating all sentient life in the galaxy. Forerunner Installation 00 stands as one of the pinnacles of their engineering. The Ark, as it is known, has played a central role in the events that unfold within the galaxy it stands apart from.
And not just the events most are familiar with when thinking of the Halo wars, either. Before the Halo Array was ever fired, Installation 00 played a role in the fracturing of the Forerunners.
Installation 00 – What Does That Ark Do
The Ark, or Installation 00, as it was designated by its creators, was massive. Resembling a flower with multiple petals that blossom out from a central hub, one notable thing about the installation is that it has a habitable surface across most of its areas. Each of its spokes and most of its central ring (apart from the Halo foundry) was covered with vast and diverse biomes.
This was because the Forerunners designed the Ark to be capable of supporting life. It was to be a conservation preserve for sentient species, including the Forerunners. However, it was also designed as a fabricator, made to construct the Forerunners’ best weapon against the Flood, the Halos.
At the heart of Installation 00 was an enormous circular facility known as the Foundry. This massive, circular facility was, in fact, also a machine unto itself. And at its core, a marvel of Forerunner engineering technology. In the very center of the Foundry at the heart of the Ark, was a planetoid originally from the Milky Way. moved by the Forerunners to be used as a source of raw materials for the construction of Halo rings and other machines as the Forerunners (or more accurately, the Artificial Intelligence controlling their installation) saw fit.
A facility so vital was not without its defenses. The Foundry itself was protected by a horde of Sentinels, including Retrievers, Excavators, and Aggressors. It was also protected by a massive energy barrier that could protect the core and Foundry from attack by the Flood. This is why the Ark’s Citadel – the control center for the Halo array – was contained within it.
As for the wider part of the Ark, it was also protected by constructs known as Armigers. They were humanoid defense droids given energy rifles or Forerunner staves. Alongside these, was a robust array of particle cannons located around the surface of the Ark. Which were not necessarily powerful enough to repel ships, were capable of sustained fire against any orbiting vessels, leaving them vulnerable if they stayed in orbit.
And then of course there was the slipspace portal network. This is how the Ark distributed the Halo rings throughout the galaxy. It also had a portal connecting the Ark to Earth, as well as to Reach and elsewhere throughout human space.
Fractious Arms
Of course, Installation 00 was not without controversy. During its construction – believed to be somewhere around 98,445-97,445 BCE, the Ark was divisive among the Forerunners. It was both an important part of the Forerunners’ plans. And it was a play by a faction of Forerunners known as the Builders to try and gain more power among their Council.
In fact, the Ark wasn’t even the first Ark. There were originally two structures, and Installation 00 was a smaller (but more powerful) version of the first. Though the Greater Ark was destroyed during the war with the Flood.
It happened when one of the Forerunners’ Contender-class artificial intelligences, known as Mendicant Bias, defected to join the Flood, falling victim to the Flood’s virulent Logic Plague. It attacked the greater Ark. Also, it killed many of the Forerunners who had sought shelter there, however, it did not get all of them.
While Mendicant Bias and its loyal counterpart, the AI known as Offensive Bias warred in the stars. The Didact (actually a copy of the Didact’s personality/consciousness, look we don’t have time to get into this one) journeyed to the lesser Ark and successfully fired the Halo array.
The rest, as they way, was history…
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