: Humans = Forerunner appeared not to be literal. Ancient humans existed
: 100,000 years ago, period. We weren't some space-faring conquering race.
: We just happened to be the place that the Librarian liked and the species
: that fascinated her. There may have been something done during re-seeding
: that allowed us to reclaim the Forerunner Mantle from the depths. It's
: almost like we inherited something. There are many, many places you can go
: with this story and with gameplay, especially with the inclusion of the
: evil Didact that could provide the Didact far more depth, not to mention a
: chance to really knock the human story out of the park (either showing
: human success or another failure at the Mantle, give or take a select
: heroic few like the Chief who live up to it or represent what's best in us
: all, blah blah trope-y stuff).
That's the direction I would've preferred. I always thought 343GS's statement in Halo 3 was figurative. Humans inherited the Forerunner legacy, so humans are, effectively, Forerunner.