Well, I was totally wrong about the Forerunner. When Chief was told "You are Forerunner", I thought that it meant that the human species were descendants from the original Forerunners. I guess this is kind of the same, but isn't as cool. I wonder why the fossil record doesn't show a cataclysmic event that took place on Earth like that. Although, it would explain the sudden emergence of human sentience a couple thousand years ago. Maybe the Forerunners tweaked our DNA a bit?
I was under the impression that the Forerunner had CREATED the Flood, not found it.
So, Halo(s) were designed to obliterate the Flood and all (sentient) life in the universe, which leaves a question floating in my head.
The Forerunners knew the dangers of the Flood. So, why were there Flood on the Halos? It sounds to me like the Forerunners made the exact same mistake you see in nearly every Zombie flick to date: some scientists discover/create a Zombie (like) disease, and rather then quarantine or destroy the subjects, they preserve them and study them. However, this seems to go against what the Forerunners were described as (wise, intelligent, and noble).
It seems like it was too simple a mistake to make.