: My take on the intent of the Halo 3 Terminals was that the Precursors took
: primitive human stock from Earth in the distant past and genetically
: modified them to become the Forerunners. (This matches with Precursor info
: in the Bestiarum). Then the Forerunners do their thing while humanity
: evolves on Earth.

: Around the time just before the firing of the Halo Array, the Librarian is
: cataloging/indexing sapient species and discovers Earth. She notes that
: humans are special and may provide a link to the Forerunners' past. (H3
: Terminals)

: This matches up with Guilty Spark's reference to the Master Chief that he
: "is Forerunner", as Guilty Spark either detects or is fully
: aware of the events of the past.

: There was no need of technologically advanced humans in the distant past or a
: devolved legacy from which humanity had to re-ascend. Plus the idea of
: directed evolution and "end result" more than suggests the
: writers don't actually understand how evolution really works.

I thought of it like this as well. The idea that the Forerunners were humans relocated and uplifted by the Precursors was a very natural conclusion from the terminals, much more so than the completely out-of-the-blue notion of ancient humans separate from the Forerunners, and would've fit much better with all the hints that are dropped over the course of the Bungie games. 343i's version makes the transition from Bungie's fiction to theirs feel very disjointed.

I very much agree about the hackneyed evolution/genetic destiny tropes too. It's like something out of the Marvel/DC continuities and should have no place in Halo. Well, not in most places, really, because robbing the characters of their agency is generally not a good idea.