Before we begin, I think we should consider one obvious fact: regardless of when this speech/testimony actually took place, 343i placed it at the end of Halo 4 because it made sense in that context- so even people that aren't aware of Forerunner history and that only played Halo 4 could understand its relevance. That said, nothing ever implied that the canonical timeframe of this speech has any significance, it's just the speech itself that is important. So I think it was basically a plot device written because it fit at the end of Halo 4- not because the Didact was taken captive by other Forerunners, not because this was a speech he said a hundred thousand years ago, but because its content is relevant to the end of Halo 4. With that said, let's move on.
Quote:
In this hour of victory, we taste only defeat. I ask why.
We are forerunners, gaurdians of all that exists. The roots of the galaxy have grown deep under our careful tending, were there is life the wisdom of our countless generations has saturated the soil, our strength is a luminous sun towards which all intelligence blossoms, and the improvious shelter, beneath which it has prospered.
this part is just a generic eulogy of the forerunners.
Agreed
Quote:
I stand before you, accused of the sin of ensuring forerunner ascendency, of attempting to save us from this fate where we are forced to... recede.
the "you" is translated in foreign languages as a singular form, so he is talking to one person or the translation is wrong.
"You" could also refer to a group of people. Also, I think this line can be used as evidence that the speech was said in the past- the Didact is trying to save the Forerunners from a fate where they are forced to recede, ergo that fate hasn't happened yet and is still salvageable. Also, the Didact wasn't aware that other Forerunners survived so he can't use that as an excuse for his actions throughout Halo 4.
Quote:
Humanity stands as the greatest threat in the galaxy. Refusing to eradicate them is a fool's gambit. We squander eons in the darkness, while they seize our triumphs for their own. The Mantle of Responsibility, for all things, belongs to Forerunners alone!
Think of my acts as you will, but do not doubt the reality: the reclamation has already begun, and we are hopeless to stop it.
After halo 4 events yes, the reclamation had already begun, but before the loss of the domain? humans were indexed and just a tribal underdeveloped species.
I think the line is more of a rhetoric question:
"We squander eons in the darkness, while they seize our triumphs for their own?! No we shouldn't, we're the Forerunners! Yadda yadda"
As for the reclamation beginning... Well, the Didact at that point is completely mad. Maybe he's getting flashbacks to the Human-Forerunner war and the death of his children (remember, the humans held off for quite a while before losing), where one could say the reclamation "begun". Also, the Forerunners planning to give everything for humanity and calling them reclaimers is something.
