2401 Penitent Tangent

2401 Penitent Tangent is the Monitor of Installation 05, referred to by the UNSC as "Delta" Halo. Although only shown briefly during the encounter with the Flood Gravemind deep in the bowels of Halo, 2401 Penitent Tangent is nearly identical to its brother monitor, 343 Guilty Spark, with the exception that it glows red instead of blue. It appears that Tangent was captured by the Gravemind in combat as it glows dimly and its outer casing appears to be damaged.

One may assume that he has been on Delta Halo for about as long as 343 Guilty Spark was on Halo for about 101,217 local years. He was somehow captured by the Gravemind creature, and has not been able to locate a Reclaimer to activate the ring to contain the outbreak there.

Biography
The Monitor of Installation 05, 2401 Penitent Tangent spent millenia floating amongst the ring's various climates and structures, guarding, testing, and watching the ring.

Gravemind
Thousands of years after the activation of the Halos, another Flood outbreak occurred, forcing the monitor to search for a Reclaimer. Unfortunately, before he could find one, he was captured and held captive by Gravemind. Apparently, 2401 had been there for years, and was overjoyed when he came upon the sight of the captured Master Chief, believing a Reclaimer could finally activate the facility and contain the Flood outbreak. A short argument with a semi-deceased High Prophet of Regret demonstrated that Penitent Tangent employs a great amount of regulation and protocol when it comes to dealing with the threat of the parasite. Gravemind quickly shut them up and pulled them away into the unknown.

7
Also of interest is the fact that Penitent Tangent's number (2401) is 7 to the power of 4 whilst Guilty Spark's number (343) is 7 to the power of 3, as the number 7 is used frequently in Bungie games and mythology. Also, 2+4+0+1 = 7.

Also, one must note that there are seven unique letters in "Penitent Tangent".

In an earlier Bungie series, namely Marathon, names were often found to be sevens. A numerology grid was used as shown: 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9  a b c d e f g h i j   k l m n o p q r s t   u v w x y z

Penitent Tangent is thus P e n i t e n t  5+4+3+8+9+4+3+9=45, 4+5=9 T a n g e n t  9+0+3+6+4+3+9=34, 3+4=7

9+7=16, 1+6=7.

Backwash
Penitent Tangent also appears in the Multiplayer map 'Backwash', where he hovers around the air, occasionally talking quietly to himself. He serves no strategic or combat value whatsoever and never ceases movement. Initially, Bungie used 343 Guilty Spark instead of Penitent on the map, but testers kept thinking he was a plasma grenade being thrown, so he was changed. Nevertheless, the voice remains that of Guilty Spark.

Appearances

 * Halo 2
 * Gravemind Inside Job Cutscene