2401 Penitent Tangent
From Halopedia, the Halo wiki
2401 Penitent Tangent is the monitor of Installation 05, referred to by the humans 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.
Biography
The Monitor of Installation 05, 2401 Penitent Tangent spent millenia foating 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 here for years, and was joyful 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.
Theories
Revealed by Penitent Tangent is the fact that the ring(s) have been activated exactly once before, and is/are quite capable of being activated again. It shouts at Regret for the Covenant's "blatant disregard of protocol" in controlling the Flood. Before anything more can be said, 2401 Penitent Tangent is taken away.
Even so, however, suggestions, and fans say that this, along with Guilty Spark, should play an important role when meeting even another monitor in Halo 3. Anyone who has played through Halo 2, and watched the cutscenes, saw that there were seven halos, and if the Bungie team makes another Halo game, there should be a time where all three monitors meet. However, this is purely speculation.
Trivia
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 occasionally says, "oh, hello". Note: Penitent Tangent's voice is not his own. it is actualy that of Guilty Spark.
