Reversed messages

Reversed messages refer to a series of messages hidden in Halo music tracks. There are thirteen reversed messages in the Halo series: one in Halo 2, three in Halo 3, 8 in Halo: Reach, and one in Halo 2: Anniversary.

Destroyer's Invocation message[edit]

In the Halo 2 soundtrack Destroyer's Invocation, (the first movement of the Mausoleum Suite on the Halo 2: Original Soundtrack), a mysterious voice chants. If this mumbling is reversed (listen), a voice is heard saying:

…I have walked among men and angels for three thousand years. Time has no end… no beginning… no purpose.

I wander the earth, seeking forgiveness for my horrible crimes against God and man.

I live to see death and destruction, evil… over the light, but the light cannot be extinguished.

I live in a prison of my own demise.'

I am lost…in time

The voice can be heard in the beginning cutscene of the level The Arbiter, the level Gravemind when John-117 rescues the Marines, and during the level The Great Journey when Thel 'Vadam battles Tartarus.

In 2007, Martin O'Donnell posted on the halo.bungie.org forums that he wondered "why the transcript (of the reversed message) is still wrong."^[1]

Black Tower message[edit]

In the Halo 3 soundtrack, during the first few minutes of the track Black Tower, there is yet another message that can be heard if one reverses the music. Here is a transcript:

Eyes from Death's dream kingdom,

Appear as sunlight on a broken column.

There in Death's other kingdom walking alone,

Trembling lips form prayers to broken stone.

This message appears to be a reference to T.S. Elliot's Poem, The Hollow Men. The first part of the transcript refers to lines 20-23.

In death’s dream kingdom

These do not appear:

There, the eyes are

Sunlight on a broken column

The second part refers to lines 47-49.

Waking alone

At the hour when we are

Trembling with tenderness

Lips that would kiss

Form prayers to broken stone.

It is also worth noting that lines from the last stanza in T.S. Elliot's The Hollow Men were used in the Cortana Letters, which was repeated at the end of the Halo 3 Announcement trailer and in Halo 3 itself.

Dread Intrusion message[edit]

In the Halo 3 soundtrack, a reversed message can be heard in the tracks Gravemind, and Dread Intrusion. The entire message is currently unknown, however, several lines are intelligible. Oddly, the voice during these messages sounds different from Gravemind. It echoes considerably, rendering several lines unknown, it is much deeper in pitch, and multiple other voices can be heard. This could be a reference to multiple Graveminds from the past that speak as one because of inherited knowledge. The first two lines both have 7 syllables each, a possible 7 reference.

Side by side, we march as one,

Humans and Elites will die,

The Earth will fall if we strike together,

So forth shall all of life.

The exact person who is speaking is unknown. Just like the Destroyer's Invocation Message, there are many possibilities about whom it could be. The likely candidates are the Gravemind and the Prophet of Truth, since only Elites and humans are mentioned.

A voice can also be heard on the level, The Covenant. It can be found in the second barrier tower's control room, where there are Brute Stalkers.

Halo 3 Terminals voice[edit]

While reading the Halo 3 Terminals, reversed speech messages are set to play at distinct points. First, upon terminal activation;^[2] next, during the error messages;^[3] and lastly, upon scrolling across the hexagon grid, while being redirected.^[4] The lines are picked at random from these set lists. The player will generally almost always hear three lines per terminal interaction, although due to the randomized nature of the redirection segment, it is possible to hear multiple or zero scrolling voice lines.

Within the game files, a majority of the voice line contents were written as part of its respective sound tag permutation name, and can be seen in tag editing tools like those found in the Halo 3 Editing Kit. Many of the phrases spoken can also be found within the terminal error text.

The terminal voice was performed by Bob O'Donnell, and these messages would later be reused in Halo: Reach with the data pads.^[5]