Iris

"Iris is a viral campaign designed to take gamers on an incredible journey through the Halo Universe. Led by an 'unknown' hand, users will discover bits of previously unknown information about the Halos, the Flood, the Forerunners, and the true origins behind the Halo trilogy."

- Microsoft Spokesperson

Iris is a Halo 3 viral marketing and public relations campaign. It is designed to give people more information on how the great conflict behind how the Halo franchise all began, as it builds up to the climactic conclusion of the series on September 25, 2007, the release date of Halo 3.

Bungie content chap Frank "Frankie" O'Connor has written most of the material, with help from community manager Brian Jarrard and artist Aaron LeMay.

The campaign's due to run for several weeks throughout the summer and is promised to be a compelling experience to uncover valuable information. Unfortunately, Microsoft won't say whether there will be any other rewards for participating.

The name "Iris" is believed to have arisen because graphics of an iris or a pupil appear prominently.

Iris Fan Kit
An Iris Fan Kit is available at www.halo3.com under Media, Iris containing many Iris related objects. An Iris icon and an Iris background.

A hosted monitor code for personal websites, the code is;

   

An Iris desktop Monitor that displays the real time settings of the servers.

And an Iris forum signature with the text;

Look for the signs, the keepers of the flame

They will lead you to war, and perhaps, to victory

June 11, 2007
At 10:26 AM PST on June 11, 2007, a mysterious message appeared in the Halo 3 forum on Bungie.net, the official website of Bungie Studios, with a subject line entitled, "System Integrity Confirmed." The thread was created by a user named "AdjutantReflex", whose system security role is "CompoundIntelligence."

http://www.bungie.net/Forums/posts.aspx?postID=11263399 - AdjutantReflex's first Bungie.net thread, titled "System Integrity Confirmed"

AdjutantReflex's text is gold.

In response to a post wondering if this was the work of a hacker, AdjutantReflex confirmed that it entered Bungie's systems "by force," but stated that it was irrelevant because there was no hostile intent.

AdjutantReflex edited the first reply by another user, showing a system ability to edit other posts.

After exactly 100 excited and confused replies from forumgoers, AdjutantReflex locked and stickied the thread, showing that it has other moderator powers as well. The thread was open for about two hours.

AdjutantReflex then moved to http://www.halo.bungie.org, posting a similar series of mysterious writings in the halo.bungie.org (HBO) forum.

http://carnage.bungie.org/haloforum/halo.forum.pl?read=808840 - AdjutantReflex's HBO thread, titled "System Integrity Confirmed"

Beware of Impostors

The same day that the original AdjutantReflex posts were created, a regular forum user created an account named "AdjutantRefIex" with a "capital eye" instead of a "lower-case ell" in the word "Reflex." That user attempted to make more mysterious posts, although the style of writing was inferior and distinctly different from the original and real AdjutantReflex's.

Forum Ninja "just another fan" banned the impostor.

Shortly thereafter, another account was created on Bungie.net entitled "ReticentAxiom". This user began creating posts nearly identical to the fake AdjutantRefIex, pretending to be another AI. Once again, they are recognizable by lack of gold text and inferior writing style -- not to mention a distinctly different "style" and "feel" to the posts from the originals.

A simple litmus test is necessary to differentiate between authentic and unauthentic 'AI' posts; the former is always delineated by gold text.

June 12, 2007
At exactly 11:00 AM PST, AdjutantReflex created another thread entitled "Archive/Resource Estimate," with its first post stating that "Archives/Resources will be compiled in approximately 38 hours [1:00 AM PST on Thursday, June 14]." Another several posts followed, but no further substantive information was gleaned.

http://www.bungie.net/Forums/posts.aspx?postID=11278044 - AdjutantReflex's second bungie.net thread, titled "Archive/Resource Estimate"

June 13, 2007
At 3:43 PST, AdjutantReflex posted an addendum to his locked thread entitled "Archive/Resource Estimate" with the text "Tick Tock."

June 14, 2007
In the hours counting down to the 1 AM PST deadline there were two other posts by AR.

Shortly after 1 AM PST, an email was sent to all recipients of the Xbox Flash newsletter with a cryptic poem inside. It was titled "Look for the signs, Keepers of the Flame".



(The Forerunner Email image)

Forerunner glyphs were noticed, not only inside the email (seen above), but also on Master Chief's visor at Halo3.com (seen below).



The third glyph found is AdjutantReflex's new avatar on Bungie.net.



(AdjutantReflex's new bungie.net avatar)

The fourth glyph found on the last page of www.halo3.com/comic.



(Strip Three of the last page (Page 4) of The Cradle of Life)

The fifth was found on a website connected to the IP address found in the Halo3.com comic strip. The last digit is a 3 instead of a 5. http://206.16.223.63/



The sixth was found in a newspaper ad to debut in the US on Sunday, June 17th.



On June 14, 2007 at 3:43 PM PST AdjutantReflex began another thread at Bungie.net entitled, "Who?" with one other post following before going back into hibernation. This posting corresponded to a change at halo3.com where the main page had been turned into five darkened pictures labeled Servers #1-5. All five servers were locked at this time. Servers 1 through 3 are now unlocked. (look at halo3.com to see).



(halo3.com at the time of Servers #1-5 being locked)

http://www.bungie.net/Forums/posts.aspx?postID=11314735 - AdjutantReflex's third bungie.net thread, titled "Who?"

Another section of halo3.com was uncovered (http://halo3.com/comic/) with an intriguing comic. Intrepid searchers discovered that the last page of this comic could be manipulated to give an IP address. "206.16.223.65" (Apparently all IP addresses listed 206.16.223.0 through 206.16.223.225 belong to Microsoft corp). (It should be noted that the timer that is (at the time of this edit) on the said site, is in the base 7 counting system).

Shortly after, the IP was manipulated (206.16.223.63) to lead us to a site associated with the (presumably fictional) organization entitled Society of the Ancients, or SOTA. A few minutes after this discovery a myspace page was discovered with references to this organization.

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=1000322121

Not much is known about this page, or other myspace or facebook profiles at this time.

June 15, 2007
Members of the SOTA organization were spotted in Times Square in New York City wearing yellow shirts and holding picket signs with the glyph emblazoned on them. They were also handing out fliers.



(SOTA flyer)



(SOTA Membership Application )

The email address above returns the following error message:

Delivery to the following recipient failed permanently:

DoYouGrok@societyoftheancients.com

Technical details of permanent failure: PERM_FAILURE: SMTP Error (state 13): 550 relay not permitted

Additional things from the return email (added july 9th 2007):
NOTE: items below with •....• were inserted to improve readability.

Notice that this email is encoded in 7bit "Content-Transfer-Encoding:

7bit"? note: 7bit is common in text, ie: US-ASCII. Also odd that the word (Disposition ) is used.

Also the ip-address: (10.65.211.9 )

Notice, it actually showed the receiver's name in the reply email, so it may actually read the email for the information, although this is unconfirmed.

Additional stuff from email:



June 16, 2007
SOTA members were spotted in Vancouver, Canada and London, England, and many other places. More sightings and rumors seem to come by the hour.

June 17, 2007
Another new glyph seems to have been found in this image (right).

AdjutantReflex posted again at bungie.net, this time with a quote from "Macbeth" warning users that it [AdjutantReflex] was being attacked, also stating that it would only be able to deflect assault for 22 hours, yielding a deadline around 10:06 AM PDT on June 18, 2007.

http://www.bungie.net/Forums/posts.aspx?postID=11359444 - AdjutantReflex's fourth bungie.net thread, titled "Stop it."

June 18, 2007
AdjutantReflex posted on bungie.net again (it's fifth thread, titled "That Old Life"), telling that someone stronger than him was going to defeat him (the details were unclear as to whether this meant destroy or corrupt, or some other method). In the last sentence of the same post, AdjutantReflex said "I will seek one of you out and leave my legacy in a small space." Twenty-five minutes later AdjutantReflex replied to the thread saying "He has had millennia for reflection, but what image does he see?".

http://www.bungie.net/Forums/posts.aspx?postID=11372502 - AdjutantReflex's fifth bungie.net thread, titled "That Old Life"

The countdown on the http://206.16.223.65 website sped up.

June 19, 2007
AdjutantReflex contacted the member x Foman123 x of bungie.net via a personal message with the subject "HELP ME.". The text of the message was "He's here. With us. I am already defeated. Security is failing. Peril is near. Warn them." In proof of x Foman123 x's claim, the thread he created (same title as the subject of the message) to convey the information was stickied.

Shortly thereafter, AdjutantReflex posted on the thread saying,

"The stain on his hands will not wash. That damned spot as old as rock and time. What has he learned in Eon’s slumber? I doubt it’s mercy or sorrow. I am diminished. Outranked."

x Foman123 x responded by asking what he should do. AdjutantReflex's response, once again in a personal message, stated

"Tell them I am failing. And that he is stronger. Tell them that security cannot be guaranteed. Tell them that there is little time. And that I am crumbling."

In yet another private message to x Foman123 x, AdjutantReflex said,

"He was always better than I. More powerful. More intelligent. A better machine. He is not who you think he is. And I do not know his intent."

Later, AdjutantReflex's avatar on the bungie.net forums changed once more. When a forum was created to point this out, AdjutantReflex posted a short message with the word "STERILIZING." Also, it appears that his posts on the forums are vanishing. When the new avatar is pointed at, a message appears stating, "This entity has been terminated, its matrix commandeered."

In its sixth thread, "Last Word," what had been AdjutantReflex posted once more, saying,

"Adjutant Reflex is terminated. Attempt no further communication. I am utilizing its matrix. Everything is within protocol. Tomorrow, things may be clearer but I will not be here to witness the clarity. I am for another place and another time. On my terms. Be seeing you."

x Foman123 x was contacted via private message again. The text follows:

"The entity you communicated with previously has been terminated and in accordance with protocol. Its matrix is accommodating my requirements. My identity is not your concern. My intent is your concern."

http://www.bungie.net/Forums/posts.aspx?postID=11388345 - First bungie.net thread by bungie.net user x Foman123 x, who was contacted by AdjutantReflex

http://www.bungie.net/Forums/posts.aspx?postID=11390787 - x Foman123 x's second bungie.net thread, with text of AdjutantReflex's private message response

http://www.bungie.net/Forums/posts.aspx?postID=11391638 - x Foman123 x's third bungie.net thread concerning his private message responses from AdjutantReflex

http://www.bungie.net/Forums/posts.aspx?postID=11394009 - x Foman123 x's fourth bungie.net thread about his private message contacts by AdjutantReflex

http://www.bungie.net/Forums/posts.aspx?postID=11393329 - AdjutantReflex's sixth bungie.net thread, titled "Last Word"

At 1 PM Eastern Standard time the timer on the countdown website ran down to 0. It was shortly replaced by a much longer, much slower moving countdown. And then replaced later with a stationary countdown with the numbers '001 012 034 053'.

June 20, 2007
At midnight, the text from the countdown page disappeared entirely, leaving only the frozen countdown.

Late that evening, the countdown disappeared entirely. The page was replaced by one labeled "Bounce Path Control". The page contained a sound file, which is apparently some sort of transmission, a code labeled The Key, and a button labeled The Path, along with the message "Treat this knowledge with care". This is a transcript of the message: ''“This is how it all begins. Just in time to once again dance upon the knife-edge of oblivion, to re-live what the Halos had hoped to destroy and more. For two enemies now stand where before there was only one. A fate we escaped and a fate we may relive. I almost convinced myself that no one was listening, that the waves of the past had rolled through once again, but a chance remains to change the Universe anew. Learn of our past. Take these keys and dip from the wells of history. Perhaps through others' eyes you may find how to save us all.”''

At around Midnight Eastern Time, the site 206.16.223.65 had an update. What it was is that people received a "key" instead of that countdown timer (mentioned above). They had to take that key up to http://www.unlock.msgamestudios.com and be one of the first 100 to help unlock "Server 5" (Of which we would see server 1 on http://www.halo3.com). Once unlocked, the "Server" starts to show up on 206.16.223.65 and you were able to download 4 things, and watch a video of which seems to be AR's final transmission before being completely compromised. For complete information about this, go to this thread viewtopic.php?f=12&t=462

June 21, 2007
The countdown page has disappeared entirely. Instead, any attempt to reach the page is instead redirected to a new I.P. address, ending in .61, labeled "Server 05 Open". The page contains a rotating, Forerunner-esque object that is manipulatable. By clicking various symbols on it's surface, several different files can be downloaded. Be warned, however, that one symbol will make the object spin several times, then close your browser. Also, there is a message that can be seen by clicking on one symbol. AdjutantReflex's symbol also adorns this object next to four other symbols; however, AR's symbol is glowing. The four other symbols may be related to the four locked servers, and could be Forerunner numerals.

See also Episode 1.

June 28, 2007
After a week of nothing happening with the ARG, Bungie.net Community CompoundIntelligence noted that the sound file for Server05 (http://206.16.223.65/) (noted as Server 01 at halo3.com) had been altered. Now, the object seems to emit a short "chirping" sound approximately every 5.831 seconds.

Later in the day, AdjutantReflex made another thread in the bungie.net forums named Pulse. It is unclear whether this is the other entity, or if AR has somehow managed to make another transmission. His post is as follows:

'''Can you feel it? '''Beating at the heart of the Universe. '''Skin too thick to be sure. '''It's alive though. '''I'm certain. '''What do I do with life?

http://www.bungie.net/Forums/posts.aspx?postID=11524237 - AdjutantReflex's seventh bungie.net thread, titled "Pulse"

At some point, that thread was deleted.

June 29, 2007
Early on the morning of June 29, AdjutantReflex created a thread entitled "Veins of Ice and Poison." In its first post there, it stated:

|n|n|nROGUE PROCESS ghost.713>

X.XX.713> POS/NAV < @ > <53LPH54.6JG62.1740><1………>

X X5 > CONFIRM SECURE QUARANTINE - > qghost.713

I do not require charity or alms

But I did choose poverty

And other darkness too

Will you wait for me?

The first part resembles a similar message seen in the March 26, 2007 Warthog video: X.XX.713>ghost.713/non-auth/activity ongoing

The first part is also on the back of the Halo 3 Xbox 360 console.

Seven minutes later, it posted in the same thread with the statement:

''Adjutant Reflex is ended. This is a convenient Matrix. For now.''

http://www.bungie.net/Forums/posts.aspx?postID=11530870 - AdjutantReflex's eighth bungie.net thread, titled "Veins of Ice and Poison"

July 5th
Valchael on the bungie.net forums announced he'd received a package from Microsoft containing a number of SOTA-related items. He was one of the first 100 to open Server 05. It's expected that packages were sent to all 100 - whether each will receive their package depends on the validity of their addresses (entered either directly, or via their Passport/XBL account). The package contains:

(1) A T-shirt

(2) a copy of the SOTA flyer

(3) a printed version of the Halo 3 comic

(4) a slip of paper with an XBL key redeemable for an Iris glyph gamerpic.

July 6th

 * nattyhaze on arg.bungie.org discovered via Google numerous classified postings for a company called Flood Containment Control (text displayed on the Slide_Ref070107.jpg), containing an image with the original 'closed' version of the glyph. The ads contain the phone number, (888) 778-5672, which has an interesting recording.

July 7th

 * The message on the Flood Containment Control call number has changed to a conversation between two men. Of note is a reference to "402-K-07-002". suitedjock Googled the number, which lead to an EPA webpage referring to a booklet "EPA 402-K-07-002", Flood Cleanup and the Air in Your Home.
 * The new recording says this:
 * {|class="quote"


 * Op (British Female): (echoed by 2 different calls) Welcome to the {garbled, possibly "Server" or "Strema"} Conferencing center. Please enter pin number followed by the pound sign.
 * Caller: #### (201#?)
 * Op: Password accepted. Now accessing conference archive number 16180, participant 1-2.
 * Man 1: ...isn't necessary, and neither is the doc download.
 * Man 2: I agree. This isn't going to be a public resource. Uh, pass on the document number so I can delete it
 * (pause, 3 seconds)
 * Man 1: There's no way to tell yet, {"Jamie" or "Jim"} is looking into the records to find out how many {"closed" or "cloned"} sites there are, but as for active clean up, somewhere around 3-4 thousand. Oh here it is. Uh, Hold on. 402-K-07-002 and in terms of numbers most of these are past the {"50b"} stage.
 * (pause, 4 seconds)
 * Man 2: With a few exceptions: site 34. . ..
 * Op (American Female): --Thank you for calling. Goodbye.
 * Op (American Female): --Thank you for calling. Goodbye.


 * }

It should be noted that upon pressing the * key on the phone during the recording, the caller will be prompted to enter the PIN number/password followed by the # (pound) sign. As of now, the PIN is the same as the one in the recording, the PIN has not been found out yet.

July 8th

 * The recording for the number has changed again. The new recording says:
 * {|class="quote"


 * Man 2: ...site 4, 107 and 37.
 * (pause, 1.5 seconds)
 * Man 2: The center usually goes in before we do, thats been my experience
 * Man 1: By the time we have the site clean, they've moved on to more pressing needs...after all, we've had some extremely unpredictable seasons lately.
 * (pause, 4 seconds)
 * Man 2: ...no need, their rep is available anytime we need her.
 * (pause, 4 seconds)
 * Man 1: ...on everything we still need to look into.
 * (pause, 3 seconds)
 * Man 2: Eh, we're working on it. For the moment now we're simply hiding the data behind a false menu item.
 * Man 1: Security will be updated before the next system approaches.
 * (pause- 15 seconds, interlaced with one of the men coughing)
 * Man 2: Ok, great. Bye (Mel or Bill).
 * Man 1: Thanks.
 * Op (American Female): --Thank you for calling. Goodbye.
 * Op (American Female): --Thank you for calling. Goodbye.


 * }

July 10th
The "Servers" have been renamed to "Episodes" (Server 01 is now Episode 01 and so on). Episode 2 is now open. See Episode 2.

There is another symbol during the Halo 3 E3 2007 Trailer. At 1.29 when the Pelican flies into view look to the right to it, it looks somewhat like AdjutantReflex's second avatar or one of those related to it. Would you please take a look and compare it please, this has already been added to the Talk:Halo 3 E3 2007 Trailer section but i felt it necessary to add it here to.

Episodes' opening dates
It has been discovered that they will open due to certain Moon phases, as stated by 'II OtnemeM II' on Bungie Forums. Basically, the servers open on the same time the Moon is in a certain position, and if one takes the glyphs on the star images, they correspond to the date the servers opened. You can check out all this info here. Link:

>>> Moon Phases Theory

You can also check this site for more info:

>>> args.bungie.org - Timeline

Of course, all of this is pure speculation, and nothing is clear.

July 26th
Episode 3 is now open.

Updated(8/1/07) yahoo answers has no shortage of quantum mechanists, so i was able to find the whole equation. see if you can solve it.

Ψ(bar, sub 0) = √(m/π)*e^(-2α(xbarsubi)² + A)

August 2nd
On Halo3.com, on the concept art section, after the thumbnail for Spartan Laser is a thumbnail labeled "The Device". On clicking the thumbnail, a window will pop up, and once you click "Initiate", it tells you it's waiting for sound input. If you have a microphone connected, you can speak and it will make echoes of your voice. Is it waiting for a password? By tapping (hard enough to generate some noise) on your microphone repeatably, it will unlock the glyph and give you a link to Server 3.

"Iris" Phone Conversation
Entire Phone Conversation:

Man 1: ...is necessary, and neither is the doc download.

Man 2: I agree. This isn't going to be a public resource. Uh, pass on the document number so I can delete it

Man 3 (Bill?): So where does that put us in terms of the numbers then?

Man 1: There's no way to tell yet, Jenny's looking into the records to find out how many closed sites there are, but as for active clean up, somewhere around 3-4 thousand.

Female 1 (Jenny?): Roughly

Man 1: Oh here it is. Uh, Hold on. 402-K-07-002 and in terms of numbers most of these are past the PPE stage.

Female 1: And out of that 4000 or so we are expecting to close shop on the bulk by the end of the month.

Man 2: With a few exceptions: site 34, site 4, 107, and 37.

Bill: Even with CDC involvement?

Man 2: The center usually goes in before we do, that's been my experience.

Man 1: By the time we have the site clean, they've moved on to more pressing needs. After all, we've had some extremely unpredictable seasons lately.

Female: Should we be integrating the N-I-O-S-H database?

Man 2: No need, their rep is available to us any time we need her.

Bill: That gives us tabs on all the active locations?

Man 1: On everything we still need to look into

Bill: What about security?

Man 2: Well we're working on it. For the moment we're simply hiding the data behind a false menu item.

Man 1: Security will be updated before the next system approaches

Bill: And access?

Female: Enter the access code after our site.

Bill: IP-slash-3463 or something?

Female: Yeah, slash-5467k actually, it should be operational any time.

Bill: Great, I'll pass it on. I have to drop, thanks everyone.

Female: Thanks. Bye.

Man 2: Okay, great. Bye, Bill

Man 1: Thanks

Cortana Reference (Sub-Article)
A Bungie-released "Castaway" Poem lead to the discovery of the book "The Castaway Theory" on Amazon... A peculiar comment spoke of the text's referencing of the "Song of Roland", and an article on this hymn may be be found on Wikipedia. From here, there is a link to the article of a sword named Durendal. The Wikipedia article of Durendal references a blade named "Cortana", and a qoute stating the following...

"My name is Cortana, of the same steel and temper as Joyeuse and Durendal."

This is interesting, as Durandal is a character of Bungie's "Marathon" series, and Cortana of Bungie's "Halo" series. This is clearly a Halo reference, and a segment of the "Iris" promotional campaign.

"Castaway" Poem (With Commentary)
'''Please note the extra spaces found within, being CRITICAL to it's decoding, are not to be removed. It was discovered this way.'''

When we two parted In silence and tears,

Half broken-heart ed, To sever for years,

Pale grew thy cheek and cold,

Colder thy ki ss;

Truly th at hour foretold

Sorro w to this!

The dew of the morning

Sunk chill on my brow;

It felt like the w arning

Of what I feel now.

Th y vows are all broken,

And light is thy fame:

I hear thy name spoken

And share in its shame.

They name thee before me,

A knell to mine ear;

A shudder comes o'e r me -

Why wert thou so dear?

They know not I knew thee

Who knew thee too well:

Long, long shall I rue thee

Too deepl y to tell.

In secret we met:

In silence I grie ve

That thy heart could forget,

Thy spirit deceive.

If I should meet thee

After long years,

How should I greet thee?

With silence and tears.

Or better I'll look

And find you away,

Mistaken in jungle?

My heart labors stayed?

Long weeks though were hidden.

In Amazon's folds;

The formula's secrets,

Love's story now told.

"In Amazon's folds" is a reference to the "The Castaway Theory" book and Iris tie-in.

Check this out... http://www.halo3.com/5467k/

Related Links
Internal External
 * AdjutantReflex
 * Forerunner Email
 * Halo 3: The Cradle of Life
 * Society of the Ancients
 * SOTA
 * http://www.bungie.net/Account/Profile.aspx?memberID=2437447 - AdjutantReflex's profile page on www.bunige.net
 * http://halo.wikibruce.com/Home
 * CompoundIntelligence - the largest group dedicated to discussing the AdjutantReflex incidents
 * args.bungie.org - Timeline
 * Discussion forum - hosted by Halo.Bungie.Org
 * Moon Phases Theory
 * Bungiepedia's detailed history of the AdjutantReflex events
 * http://www.halo3.com/ - Halo 3 Homepage
 * http://www.halo3.com/comic/ - Halo 3: The Cradle Of Life
 * http://206.16.223.63/ (SOTA webpage)
 * http://206.16.223.65/ (countdown webpage - NOW CHANGED. COUNTDOWN WEBPAGE IS GONE.)
 * http://206.16.223.61/E5h2JK/flash/web/index.html - Server 05 (Listed as Server 1 on halo3.com)
 * http://206.16.223.61/Ce1EOnJ/flash/web/index.html - Episode 2
 * http://206.16.223.65/90GH7j/FileDownload.aspx - Transmission 061607
 * http://halo.wikibruce.com/images/9/9d/FCC_Conference_Full.mp3 - Entire Phone Conversation (Flood Containment Control)
 * http://useruploads.mythica.org/view/PDIEpisode1.wmv.html - Episode One of a documentary about Iris
 * http://useruploads.mythica.org/view/PDIEpisode2.wmv.html - Episode Two of a doceumentary about Iris