2401 Penitent Tangent

"Greetings! I am 2401 Penitent Tangent. I am the monitor of Installation 05."

- 2401 Penitent Tangent greeting the Master Chief and the Arbiter.

2401 Penitent Tangent is the Monitor of Installation 05. Although only shown briefly during the encounter with the Gravemind deep in the bowels of Halo, 2401 Penitent Tangent is nearly identical to its brother monitor, 343 Guilty Spark, with the exceptions that its voice is deeper than Guilty Spark's and its "eye" glows red instead of blue, possibly indicating a state of Rampancy or (more likely following Guilty Spark's actions in Halo 3) in a combat mode. The former is unlikely; however, as he behaves much like 343 Guilty Spark does in his non-rampant state, and still shows regard for protocol. According to a Forerunner artificial intelligence, Tangent neglected repairs of his Installation's Flood Containment Facility, resulting in several break-outs by the xenoform and possibly the catastrophic outbreak that resulted in the organism's possession of the area around Installation 05's Library. This Monitor was most likely captured by the Gravemind while in combat as it is in "defense mode" and glows dimly, and its outer casing appears to be damaged.

The only difference from 343 Guilty Spark, apart from his deeper voice, is that the holes on the side of 2401 Penitent Tangent are rectangular instead of round. He is not encountered again after the Master Chief meets him beneath the Library of Installation 05, and he is not seen when Gravemind occupies High Charity. His fate following the Battle of Installation 05 is uncertain.

Cold Storage Transmission
REPORT: CONTAINMENT FAILURE

LF.Xx.3273 research and containment facility; [delta site] has experienced catastrophic specimen containment failure. All apertures into facility will be locked until further notice. Atmosphere evacuation and [reduction of ambient temperature] protocols have already been enacted. Request maintenance and security detail [at earliest opportunity]. [8 minutes] elapsed since initial containment failure.

REPORT: CONTAINMENT FAILURE

Waiting for maintenance and security detail. [32 minutes, 9 seconds] elapsed since request.

REPORT: CONTAINMENT FAILURE

Still waiting for maintenance and security detail. [24 hours] elapsed since request.

REPORT: SECURITY BREACH

LF.Xx.3273 research and containment facility; [delta site] has experienced a security breach via emergency [slip stream space] transportation conduits. Emergency [slip stream space] transportation conduits have been placed in recursive mode to contain unauthorized hostile lifeforms. Request emergency security detail. Still waiting for primary maintenance and security detail. [2512332 hours, 14 minutes, 6 seconds]elapsed since initial request.

REPORT: DERELICTION OF DUTY

2401 [PENITENT TANGENT] has been lax in the areas of maintenance and security.

LOG: QUERIED ADJACENT FACILITIES LF.Xx.3273 research and containment facility [alpha, beta, gamma, epsilon, zeta, and kappa sites] have all replied [systems normal] within expected constraints. This would tend to signify that the containment failure was purely mechanical in nature; perhaps a manufacturing flaw. As no [outside agent] has accessed [delta site] in the past [874068942 hours, 4 minutes, 46 seconds]—[allowing for a 61360 hour, 54, minute, 2 second margin of error]—sabotage would seem unlikely.

LOG: REQUEST UNANSWERED LF.Xx.3273 research and containment facility; [delta site] is currently being held at [.01 atm] / [184K]. Local maintenance and security hubs have failed to reply within expected constraints. [Bumping maintenance and security request up] to [quadrant oversight].

LOG: REQUEST UNANSWERED LF.Xx.3273 research and containment facility; [delta site] is currently being held at [1 atm] / [278K] as atmospheric seals were showing signs of stress. [Quadrant oversight] has failed to reply within expected constraints. [Bumping maintenance and security request all the way up] to 2401 [PENITENT TANGENT].

LOG: UNAUTHORIZED ACCESS TO FACILITIES LF.Xx.3273 research and containment facility; [delta site] emergency [slip stream space] transportation conduits have been accessed by unauthorized parties.

LOG: FILED COMPLAINT TO INSTALLATION 00 2401 [PENITENT TANGENT], monitor of Installation 05, has been lax in the areas of maintenance and security. Requests for aid in said areas have gone unanswered by both 2401 and [subservient] systems well beyond expected constraints.

Quotes

 * "Greetings. I am 2401 Penitent Tangent. I am the Monitor of Installation 05." - In the beginning of level Gravemind.
 * "A Reclaimer? Here? At last! We have much to do! This facility must be activated if we are to control this outbreak." - When he saw the Master Chief.
 * "Not true. This installation has a successful utilization record of 1.2 trillion simulated and one actual. It is ready to fire on demand." - To the half - Flood form of the Prophet of Regret.
 * "And you know nothing about containment! You have demonstrated a complete disregard to even the most basic protocols!" - To the half Flood form of the Prophet of Regret before the Gravemind told him about his containment.

Appearances

 * Halo 2
 * Gravemind
 * Backwash

Trivia

 * 2401 is also 7^4, or seven to the fourth power.
 * In addition, "Penitent" in 2401 Penitent Tangent's name means "feeling or expressing humble or regretful pain or sorrow for sins or offenses". This may signify that he might have aided the Flood in some way, or it signifies his capture. However, it may simply be a running theme, as the Monitor of Installation 04, 343 Guilty Spark, has a first word in their name that roughly means the same thing. The "Tangent" means "diverted from the original intent", which may show a state of rampancy, which is likely after 100,000 years alone.
 * Penitent Tangent's colour may be his normal or alert colour.
 * 2401 Penitent Tangent is mentioned in two recent Bungie weekly updates: 05-30-08 and 06-06-08. This information most likely describes the fall of 2401 Penitent Tangent to the clutches of the Gravemind.
 * 2401 can be seen floating around on the Multiplayer map Backwash, but he never performs any serious tasks.
 * 2401 Penitent Tangent may be a reference to the Marathon A.I, Leela, who was captured by the "enemy" and taken apart.
 * In Backwash, when Tangent is floating around the structure, he hums and is still red, showing that red may be his normal color.
 * 2+4+0+1=7 may be another reference to the number 7.