[quote][quote]This would require more biomass then was actually in high charity, and as far as we know they never had a chance to get more. So this shows that the Flood can create more bio mass. Another showing was when they created a spore mountain.[/quote]That's a logical fallacy. You're assuming that the Flood can only convert biomass not grow their own. Note that for a life form like us, or any of the Covenant, we require dense energy reserves because our survival is based around movement and displacing objects that often are way heavier than our own bodies. Something like the FSC walls and structures you're pointing out don't require movement. They're stationary, and would require significantly less energy than something designed to move. My point is if they had a limited supply of energy they wouldn't have wasted it by placing some much biomass that served no purpose. [quote]This would require more biomass then was actually in high charity, and as far as we know they never had a chance to get more. So this shows that the Flood can create more bio mass. Another showing was when they created a spore mountain. “The object rises fifty kilometers above the planet’s datum and measures four hundred kilometers across the base, at its greatest diameter. It intersects many Forerunner constructs and appears to have arisen at the center of a major city, which city is, if memory serves— if this is truly Uthera—”[/quote]Again though, it arose at an incredibly dense and populated city. More than that, the only purpose of a spore mountain is to propel FSC spores into the atmosphere. That's considerably simpler than needing energy to supply energy to complex organs like a brain, liver, or kindeys. The energy requirement would be enormous, we humans put about 40,000,000,000 tons of pollution into the atmosphere for year. Or about 110 million tons per day. In order for the flood to convert the the planetary ecosystem to a flood state within the mere hours/days it usually takes, they would have to pump vastly more flood spores into the atmosphere than this. http://www.slate.com/blogs/bad_astronomy/2014/08/20/atmospheric_co2_humans_put_40_billion_tons_into_the_air_annually.html [quote]Also of note is that the Flood were quarantined to 12 systems for 290 years by the Forerunners, whenever they escaped to another system the Forerunners would detonate the systems sun. If the Flood could still starve, they would have at this point.[/quote]The question is though. Is a system referring to a solar system? Or a system of stars? How big were these systems? How heavily populated? Did the Flood conquer those systems immediately, or did they make constant gains throughout those ~300 years? Halo Encyclopedia; pg. 169 It soon became clear to the Forerunners that ordinary naval tactics would prove fruitless in stemming the mounting infection. They decided their only hope of defeating the parasitic swarm would be to create even more lethal weaponry. At first, robotic drones were sent to battle and contain the Flood onslaught using surgical, localized tactics. Soon after, the Forerunner Fleet Command considered “premature stellar collapses,” by which a supernova would be triggered by a naval battle group, engulfing a planetary system and preventing any possible risk of Flood infection. Halo 3; Terminal 2 It is my opinion that any system where there is evidence that the enemy has established a physical presence is lost and must be razed. This fleet currently retains the capacity to force premature stellar collapse; I advise that this be established as standard operating procedure for all compromised systems forthwith. We cannot fight this war by half measures if we intend to win. Going by these quotes systems are solar system. I understand where you're coming from, but a lot of the claims you're making are based off of incorrect assumptions and misunderstandings. Not to mention, you're contradicting explicitly stated canon. [i] "[b]The only way to stop the Flood is to starve them to death. And that's exactly what Halo is designed to do[/b]: wipe the galaxy clean of all sentient life. You don't believe me? Ask him." -Cortana, Two Betrayals, Halo CE It was also said at that time that the halos didn't kill flood, and it was also implied that humans and Forerunners were related. So I'm skeptical seeing as the Canon has changed. "The Flood cover more of our galaxy with each passing day. They feast on the essence of life itself. [b]The only way to stop their advance is to remove that life upon which they feast.[/b]" -Faber, Terminal 5, Halo 4[/i][/quote] That was after the flood escaped containment, where they then proceeded to take over two thirds of the galaxy in a mere 10/4 years. Also I want to say that this is a really good debate. :)