From the introduction: When people think of the Forerunners, they think of their great technical marvels. They think of their feats of engineering and galaxy spanning empire consisting of three million different worlds. They mourn and respect the final sacrifice this species made to contain an abomination that sought to consume everything. Some that know them better may think of their great hypocrisies and holier-than-thou attitude. I used to be one of those people. Lord, I wish I was still one of those people.