A primordium is an aggregation of cells that is the first stage in the development of an organ or tissue. In the context of the novel, it is a derivation of the term Primordial, which is a title given to the last Precursor. You are still afraid to be alone, without family or friends... And yet that is your natural condition, no? A thief. A con artist. What if being alone is the only way you can survive?" — Forthencho to Chakas. [27] Halo: Silentium Book Text Holds Codes for Additional Halo Content". Tor Books. February 13, 2013 . Retrieved April 14, 2013. The Didact and company travel to Charum Hakkor. Many of the Precursor structures on the planet, thought indestructible, have fallen into ruin. The Didact also discovers that a prisoner, protected by Precursor and human containment methods, has escaped. They travel to the nearby planet of Faun Hakkor to find it stripped of all sentient life. The Didact sponsors Bornstellar's first mutation—a vital part of Forerunner growth—and imprints his personality and memories upon the young Forerunner. At the lesser Ark, the IsoDidact activates the rings while the remaining Forerunners fends off Mendicant Bias' fleet, stopping the Flood. Life is reseeded across the galaxy. Guilty Spark's memory is erased and he forgets his old life as Chakas.

Silentium had its title, first cover and release date announced by Tor Books on July 11, 2012, with a release date of January 8, 2013. [16] [17] The book's draft was finished by August, [18] and complete by November. [19] The release was delayed until March 2013, to avoid revealing any plot details about Halo 4. [3] [20] Synopsis [ edit ] Setting and characters [ edit ]The series introduces multiple new elements and carrying themes which are explored as the story unfolds; one of the most prominent is the Forerunners' assumed legitimacy as heirs to the Mantle, a role of galactic stewardship they believe to have inherited from the even more ancient and powerful race known as the Precursors. The novels also introduce the Domain as the Forerunners' transcendent cultural and historical record and the perpetual mystery as to its true nature. These aspects are part of an overarching theme exploring the interactions and competition between various forms of life, encapsulated in the philosophy of Living Time. The entire area then experienced a power outage, powering down the monitors and the holograms of the archived humans. As Chakas, Vinnevra and Mara moved on, Riser joined them, having observed them from a distance for some time. Chakas was joyous at being reunited with his friend, who then proceeded to explain how he had stumbled upon them. The two also allowed their "old spirits" to converse with one another; it turned out that Riser carried the consciousness of Yprin Yprikushma, who was once a political opponent of Forthencho. After the two ancient humans had finished their exchange, Chakas and the rest of the group continued their journey, directed once again by Vinnevra's geas. Starving and exhausted after traveling for several days, they eventually came across a rail transport and boarded it. The transport took them to a Lifeworker research station, where they were instructed to enter a boat-like vehicle with an uncertain destination. The Primordial was a Precursor mutated and evolved to survive vast passages of time, [4] to the point it no longer resembled the Precursors as they appeared at the time of the Forerunners' campaign against them. [7] Some later believed it to have been an artificial being, [8] perhaps a very early form of Gravemind, created from several creatures; the exact number was never determined, but Forthencho theorized that there had been at least twelve. [9] Forerunner researchers were unable to conclusively determine whether the entity was truly connected to the Flood, [10] although there was believed to have been a link between the two. [11]

The group is captured by Mendicant Bias, and their human imprints extracted; Mendicant Bias promises them revenge on the Forerunners, and kills those who oppose him. A fleet led by the Didact appears and the Didact purges Mendicant Bias from Installation 07. Chakas assists the Didact with moving the Halo and preventing its destruction. I Know Your True Name: Spoken verbatim by the Didact when he arrives at Installation 07 and uses Mendicant Bias' "true name" as a shutdown code. Curiously, the same name worked only momentarily in Cryptum. Jason Hamilton. "Book Review: Halo: Cryptum (2011) by Greg Bear". Story Hobby. Archived from the original on February 18, 2013 . Retrieved March 20, 2013. Liesl Bradner; Carolyn Kellogg; Michelle Minkoff. "Halo: Primordium by Greg Bear". Los Angeles Times . Retrieved April 15, 2013.Story Hobby reviewed the book and gave it an 80% rating, calling the book a "big improvement" over the previous title, citing the exciting conclusion and more human centered story, but called the plot "weak". [39] Book Loons called it "slow", and said it was only with those familiar with the source material, but that the audio book was very good, and that it had an excellent surprise ending. [40] Shortly afterward, the Didact brings a mortally wounded Chakas — who is already undergoing conversion into a monitor — with him to confront the Primordial, who has been imprisoned. The ensuing conversation reveals that the Primordial is actually a Gravemind, and that more Precursors may have survived their war with the Forerunners. The Didact claims that war happened because the Precursors resented any who might take up the Mantle, but the Primordial explains that the Forerunners had been deemed unfit for the Mantle. The Primordial asserts that "there is no difference" between the Flood and the Precursors, although it does not reveal the precise nature of their relationship. It also reveals that no human was ever truly immune to the Flood, but the Flood can choose whether to infect or not infect. The Primordial states that the Flood is a test to judge a species' worthiness of inheriting the Mantle, stating that the Forerunners are to be eliminated and that humans will be tested next once they rise again. At the conversation's conclusion, the Didact kills the Primordial by activating a reverse stasis chamber that forces the Primordial to go through a billion years of aging in several seconds, causing it to disintegrate. Nigel Seel (February 7, 2011). "Book Review: 'Halo: Cryptum' By Greg Bear". Science Fiction.com . Retrieved March 20, 2013. A primordium is an aggregation of cells that is the first stage in the development of an organ or tissue. It is also a derivation of the term Primordial, which is a title given to the last Precursor. The Librarian passes her title of Lifeshaper to a subordinate, Chant-to-Green, and then sends Chant off to the lesser Ark with the planet's remaining humans. The Gravemind sends ancient human essences to taunt the Librarian, revealing that the Forerunner's repository of information known as the Domain was a Precursor technology. The Librarian realizes that the activation of the Halo Array will mean the destruction of the Domain, and that it was condemn the Ur-Didact to spend the eons to come in complete silence, dwelling on his own rage and madness. She hopes humanity will one day inherit the Mantle.

Hope Spot: When they find the human village run by Genemender. It looks like they've finally found somewhere safe... but then it turns out everyone there is dead, the visions they're seeing simply holograms of their AI walking around. Then the power shuts down, Gamelpar dies, and they have to move on. After centuries of constant warfare against the Forerunners and the Flood, human society had become exceedingly militarized; military officials wielded significant decision-making power, some military offices (namely that of the Political and Morale Commander) doubling as political leadership. During the siege of Charum Hakkor, even human children were organized into their own defensive guards. [46] The humans of this time were willing to forge relations and alliances with other sapient species as evidenced by their alliance with the San'Shyuum, whom shared their disdain for the Forerunners. This bond deepened over time, with the two species co-inhabiting worlds and creating political and cultural centers along the galactic periphery. [44]Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe, From the Office of Dr. William Arthur Iqbal Gamelpar's "best wife" also came from Earth and told him stories of it. [4] At one point in his life on Installation 07, he lived with his family in a newly-constructed city, but the Tudejsa abandoned the city after the Forerunners started abducting more humans for their brutal experiments with the Flood in the " Palace of Pain". After fleeing the city to the nearby plains, Gamelpar witnessed the Primordial and Mendicant Bias observe them and decide who would be taken for experimentation. [6] Gamelpar was once taken to the Palace of Pain himself, but he was not infected. He survived and was returned to his community; however, he would never speak of what he had experienced. [7] Greg Bear, the author of The Forerunner Saga where the Primordial is first described, took inspiration for its appearance from the cover art of John Brunner's The Atlantic Abomination which features a monstrous alien creature with many leg being dragged on a plank by hundreds of humans while it radiates a psychic energy. [28] Gallery [ edit ]