Nah, somehow I can still believe it may come from 343i. Though I must admit it takes a hell lot of effort.

Also, some of the "BLAM"s seem out of place...

@thereIwasn't:

That addendum to the last message to Chair was genius. Bravo, good sir. Bravo.

I get the feeling that the key to this game is to get as much information and be in as many people's good graces as possible. We already have Hive and Chair on our side. We also have three other characters who aren't...yet.

1) Helen
Who isn't talking. I think it's a fair bet though that the situation will intensify enough that we might get her to though.

2) Encrypted file source
Who must be trying to get data across to someone if we keep intercepting it. Whomever it is, it knows a lot about F484.

3) EM Anomaly (F484?)
Who has already tried communicating with us twice. Remember, it was Raschad who made the mistake of attacking it, not the other way around. Because it's the one connected to the pictures and main events, this is who we really want to talk to.

The puzzle, of course, is getting them to talk. It's like those negotiator games you see from time to time.

Indeed.

We must not forget, though, that we once broke Helen into telling us what we wanted. She was complaining that we were both threatening her AND pulling rank on her when she suddenly broke into code and clearly told us what we were looking for, before breaking into code again and "finish" her rant.

That was awesome and I say we do it again.

I think that was the Anomaly speaking through her. The Anomaly event in the AI datacenter happened at almost exactly the same time that the interruption occured, so I'm assuming the two are connected.

Besides, Helen usually speaks in italics.

Good point.

It was a remarkable coincidence, though. But then again, your poke at anonymous attachment was pure genius.

I don't suppose there's any way to determine when Helen was first activated? If it was 4+ years before present, we might be able to get her yanked on a Rampancy declaration.

Yes, this is a double post.

What if the AI that Hive was 'condensed' from was based on the mind of 484's love interest?

OR, more probably....

The AI that Chair's using to send her messages.

So, after Chair's most recent post this must be an AU correct? I just want some BLAM confirmation. If this ends up being an elaborate fan ARG (which I don't think) then I'm going to go nuts. Are there any facts that we have gathered?

Have we figured out Orions vs Spartans? This is the biggest irk I have right now...

It would seem that it certainly is AU, and I can't imagine 343 would go for something like that.