[Clue] The Castaway Theory

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[Clue] The Castaway Theory

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On August 3, 2007, at the Halo Insider area of Halo3.com, a poem was added. The poem, entitled When We Two Parted, was written by Lord Byron, and contained the following:
WhenWeTwoParted.PNG
WhenWeTwoParted.PNG (27.26 KiB) Viewed 71946 times
On August 6, 2007, thebruce discovered that taking the letters after the double-spaces and the gaps between some of the words in the poem could be combined to create "THECASTAWAYTHEORYVOLMAN." Shortly after, Omega Hunter 9 searched Amazon.com and came across a book titled The Castaway Theory, authored by a Jonas Volman.

The inside of the book contained many interesting things. It was noted that the ISBN of the book was the IP address that linked to Server 1. The "Copyrighted Material" at the bottom of the excerpt pages also contained hidden letters.

On the second page of the book, someone named Thomas Sanatos was referenced. Upon visiting the comments forum for The Castaway Theory at Amazon.com, it was noticed that Thomas Sanatos first posted on July 30, 2007 at 4:05 PM PDT, almost a week before the discovery of the book on Amazon.com. The post can be found here. It states:

Thomas Sanatos says:
It's been over a year and a half! Not much time in the cosmic scheme of things, I know, but it feels like forever.
Joanne and I lit a candle for you the other night. It's become a tradition every time we make Sunday evening pasta. We miss having you over for dinner, there are too many leftovers now! LOL

I don't know what happened to all the other notes that used to be in this area. I guess when the book sold-out everyone's comments got deleted. Don't worry though, no one has forgotten about you.
Stay strong Jonas, wherever you are.


At 12:01 PM PDT on August 1, 2007, Thomas Sanatos posted here with a message for Jonas Volman stating:

Thomas Sanatos says:
A letter arrived for you from Golden Wing. Don't be upset but I opened the envelope. Most of what it said had to do with optional self-funded printing- Bla bla bla.

At the bottom of the letter was a small handwritten note from your editor. She mentioned that your reemergence would start a windfall of press that would revive book sales. I think she was attempting to be funny but it makes sense.


At 3:43 PM PDT, on August 6, 2007, after our discovery of the Amazon.com book, he posted here:

Thomas Sanatos says:
Wow! What a response today. How did you all hear about the Castaway Theory? Is it being taught in University?

This is crazy!

When Jonas started this study he never thought it would garner public attention. I am sure that all your interest would make him very happy.


Lower down on the same page, at 7:35 PM PDT, someone named B. Bennett said to Thomas:

B. Bennett says:
Thomas. We need to talk. Contact me. You know how.


At 1:22 PM PDT, on August 7, 2007, B. Bennett posted on the second page of the "Wow!" comments section:

B. Bennett says:
Thank you, Thomas. Our conversation was enlightening. I'll be sure to let them know. Oh, and talk a little more around here. Looks like you have a fan base as big as Jonas. I'll be in touch.


Thomas Sanatos then posted three times back to back to back at 6:19 PM PDT and 6:20 PM PDT:

Thomas Sanatos says [6:19 PM PDT]:
A puzzle in a game? What type of game? I am quite the puzzle fanatic you know.

As to your second questions - No, I am not a member of the Society of the Ancients. I know about the group because Jonas was friends with one of the founders, David George. I believe they grew up together.

Thomas Sanatos says [6:20 PM PDT]:
I wish I could give you a better answer to this question, but none exists.
Jonas has been missing since November 2005. No one knows where he is.

Thomas Sanatos says [6:20 PM PDT]:
I can't think of any reason Jonas would hide something in the book? If anything, Jonas stove to make things more obvious, not hide them.


At 4:15 PM PDT on August 8, 2007, Thomas Sanatos posted a new topic at Amazon.com titled All these questions-:

Thomas Sanatos says:
I understand that everyone is on a search of some kind, but I don't think I can help you.

Jonas was the one with the theories and answers. The rest of us were just sounding boards for possible solutions. We were the ones who told him no every time he thought he found a yes. If he was around, I am sure he could tell you what you want to know.

The process of my involvement was simple-
Jonas would work non-stop for about a week before dropping by my office. If I had the time, he would sit for a cup of coffee and ask questions about the structure of social advancement or evolutionary desires or any number of things. The questions always changed due to the fact that he was forever updating his theories.

During all our talks, Jonas and I grew close. He didn't have any family in the area so my wife and I started inviting him over for dinner on Sunday evenings. This continued for a few years, past the publishing of "The Castaway Theory", until one night he just didn't show up...

Two days later, after he failed to appear for classes, I filed a police report. The investigators went through his house and found nothing out of place. His notes remained untouched; his clothes all seemed to be in his closet. There was even a sandwich sitting on the kitchen counter. It was as if he just opened the front door walked away. That was 20 months ago.

The last time I heard from Jonas was in a note he left on my desk the Friday before his disappearance. The note said, "It's time to start asking questions again. J"


On August 9, 2007, at 10:50 AM PDT, Thomas Sanatos said:
Thomas Sanatos says:
Everything has changed!
I am walking around in a stupor right now. Ha-ha! It almost feels like the last two years have been a dream.
He's back!
That is, he's not in my house, not directly in front of me, but I spoke with him this morning.

I was going through my usual routine. I had my coffee and was beginning to check email when I received a random IM:

"I almost have it. It won't be too long before I can return" -- profvol49

At first I thought it was a horrible joke, possibly from one of you that have been so suddenly interested in his disappearance.
You can't blame me for being skeptical; your sudden interest has taken a bit of an emotional toll on me. It has forced me to relive the loss.

So I asked him things that only Jonas would know.
No one could have faked his answers.

OMG he's back!