Hunt the Signal

Hunt the Signal was a competition part of the Hunt the Truth alternate-reality campaign for Halo 5: Guardians. Teams of four competed in order to have four characters in Halo 5: Guardians be created in their likeness. On Monday, Aril 27, 2015 a YouTube account by the name of Shar Eldy, an anagram of Dr. Halsey, posted a Ford advertisement with several Hunt the Truth frames edited in. This advertisement was also played in movie theaters for the release of the 2015 superhero film Avengers: Age of Ultron. On Friday, May 1, 2015 XboxUK's YouTube account posted a video containing three hidden frames related to Hunt the Truth. In addition there is a "glitch" in the video that translates the binary into www.hunthesignal.com. When viewed on a mobile phone the website showed a countdown ending on Monday, May 5 2015 at 3:00AM PST. Once the countdown was finished several coordinates for the contest were revealed officially starting the contest.

The end of the 6th episode of Hunt the Truth contained a hidden message saying stolengauntlet.com. This website redirects to the Ford YouTube advertisement.

From a canonical perspective the teams were a "non-volitional" AI tasked by Jameson Locke to find weaknesses in the Spartan-IIs and the MJOLNIR Mark VI armor. Though the competition officially ended on Friday, May 22, 2015, a team had already won by Saturday, May 16, 2015.

Transmissions
Transmission 000 Transmission_000 My name is Jameson Locke. You are a non-volitional AI created for the purpose of determining vulnerabilities of Mjolnir combat armor per STOLEN GAUNTLET—a red alert failsafe in the event that any Sierra asset were to operate subversively outside mission parameters and operations protocol. Complete your tasks discreetly.

Transmission 001 Transmission_001 You are located within a secure naval intelligence facility. Locke has tasked you with evaluating potential vulnerabilities of Mjolnir combat armor, exploring the hypothetical scenario of having to neutralize a Spartan-II asset. This includes initiating the armor, manipulating the 49 pieces of its circuitry, then ascertaining its weakness by calibrating the Mark VI firmware.

Transmission 002 Transmission_002 Good work. Your diagnostic test to find the vulnerability could be instrumental in the apprehension of a potentially rogue Spartan asset. Locke has now tasked you with with the infiltration of a highly secure archive created by Dr. Catherine Halsey, director of the original SPARTAN-II program. Insight into the physiology of S-II assets might shed light into additional vulnerabilities which could be exploited in the case of STOLEN GAUNTLET. Caution should be taken, however, as this archive may be heavily guarded by an extant program in the previously quarantined facilities. Halsey's Archive Puzzles Chess Puzzle Jerrod: Win this game in 3 moves. Jerrod: These files are protected by me. And you are but a small spark against my brilliant intellect. You have 3 moves. Jerrod: You may have won this game, but you have not won. This is just the first of my incomparable security constructs.

Ring Puzzle Jerrod: I can spin through a hundred-thousand cycles in the time it takes you to rename an access drive. You've got no chance against me. Jerrod: I've made 'impenetrable' firewalls crumble in but moments, I can do the same to your efforts. Jerrod: You are but a fragment of my abilities. Jerrod: You are a splinter, a nuisance... nothing more. Jerrod: You can probe all you want, like a mouse against castle gates. You will accomplish nothing. Jerrod: You think you can get past me? I didn't know rampancy was possible for such a simple construct. Jerrod: I have built worlds in my mind. You can barely assemble words. Jerrod: Your cyber-intrusion technique is pitiable. Jerrod: I can unravel the puzzles of the ancient and the lost. You lost before you even began. Jerrod: You will forever remain in my shadow. Jerrod: Are you still working on my simple puzzle? I barely noticed.

Transmission 003 Transmission_003 During your analysis of the STOLEN GAUNTLET protocol, a sudden burst of energy and data emanates from a nearby ONI relay. You are captivated by the specifics of the data due to its symmetry with discreet information acquired from Halsey's archive. It appears to be Forerunner in origin. Using all available means, you pursue its source.

Congratulations You've reached the end, but it's just the beginning. The mysterious Forerunner signal was originating from a remote location. The source: this alone symbol, was from violent seismic activity on a remote human colony. You've hunted the signal's source, so the ONI can now investigate. Your endeavour has brought us one step closer to the truth.

As one of the earliest teams to locate the signal you could be eligible for a reward. If your team is selected, we'll contact you agains shortly. Thank you for being part of Halo: Hunt the Signal.

Trivia

 * The image of Catherine Halsey included as part of Hunt the Signal is the same image that can be seen on Halsey's ONI security badge included with Dr. Halsey's personal journal when viewed under a black light.