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Subject: Answers? - A consistent theory about bees, AIs, and viral maketing ...
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My own take on the whole "I love bees" thing

First I'd like to apologize if I repeat anything that has already been said before, I did not take the time to read absolutely everything that has been written on the subject. Also keep in mind that English is a second language for me, so sorry about the poor writing.


--The hidden part of the Halo story--

I think it is widely admitted that Cortana, at some point during the Halo story, has gone rampant. The logical time would be when she first gets uploaded into the halo mainframe, but the old cortana letters, wich were sent before the release of the first Halo, tend to suggest that cortana was already secretly communicating with Durandal, the AI from the Bungie Marathon games. The halo network would then be perfect the occasion for her to "grow" further and unleash her potential.

Of course, the master chief doesn't know anything about this, that is why everything that cortana says during the halo game must be taken with a grain of salt. I believe we are being lied to on a number of important points.

For example, when the halo ring is destroyed, Cortana says that absolutely nothing has survived. Now that wouldn't make for a very interesting story would it? In addition to the master chief and cortana, we know that 343 guilty spark has survived, since we see him at the end of the halo credits, but cortana might not know this.
That's not all: the halo ring was supposed to destroy any form of life in the galaxy in order to stop the flood, now that would be a little extreme if the flood could be destroyed by only blowing halo up wouldn't it? I believe that the flood has survived and that cortana has reasons not to tell the truth about it.

I also have reasons to believe that there is at least one other survivor, but who might that be?...


--Who is the AI who hacked Ilovebees?--

The website contains a lot of information about that AI, in the form of text wich ressembles emergency transmissions or journal entries.

Insects are a reccuring theme in all of the clues, there is talk about bees (of course), spiders, fireflies, fleas etc... I believe that this is not done accidentaly and that the bugs are clues and represent the characters of the story

-THE MAYDAY TEXT
The first information comes in the form of the MAYDAY text, found in the source of the webpages.
A clean edit can be found here:
http://bees.netninja.com/wiki/index.php?title=Mayday_Text


So we have this ship AI, the operator, who suffers from some kind of amnesia. All that she can remember is a crash of some sort, with visions of shipwrecks and all that Robinson/gulliver talk. Also, a dark beach, wich may or may not have to be taken literally, the AI says that her head is "full of sand".

It seems the AI has lost most of her senses and connections with the outside world, all she can see is this beach of dark sand and the debris of her own brain (no stars, no sun, etc...) except for...

One entry says: I was exceedingly surprised with the print of a flea's naked foot on the shore
This is taken from Robinson Crusoe, with flea instead of man. Who might be this flea person? Could it be a "friday", meaning the AI is not alone on this "beach" ? more on this later

During the first transmissions, the AI says that she is "behind ennemy lines", and that she is waiting for "the crew" (the humans who were onboard obviously) .

But she realizes that they might all be dead, and that's when we can see that somehow she starts becoming different announced by the poem:
"Those are pearls that were her eyes:
Nothing of her that doth fade
But doth suffer a sea-change
Into something rich and strange "
She says she feels something walking on her, and hears voices, and that she is becoming "a most delicate monster indeed"

That is also when the "spiders" comes in these are a bit ambiguous as I believe they represent two different things. Here we hear visions of spiders as a destructive force a "tide" (souds familiar?) wich destroys any creation in their path.

Apparently these spiders are repairing the AI "Gap in the clouds: head suddenly much clearer. The spider is working on me."

Finally, note that the countdown on the front page says that " Control has been yielded to the SYSTEM PERIL DISTRIBUTED REFLEX " Or "SPDR" So the AI, seeing it was damaged, now counts on the SPDR to save her.

Explanation: While this may seem a little far fetched at the moment, it may become clearer later, I believe that The AI wich sends this messages is actually Cortana. But that is, not the cortana who left with Master Chief. I believe that when halo was destroyed, The Cortana AI was still in the circuits of its network, and that she survived the destruction of the ring and now survives among the debris of halo, along with the flood. All she can remember now is vague memories of the crash of the pillar of autumn, and the flood (the tide memory). The SPDR she counts on would be the version of cortana who still is with master chief, and will assist him during halo 2, but all the while probably thinking about a way to get back to her other, greater self and save her.

(CONTINUES IN REPLY)



  • 07.26.2004 12:38 PM PDT
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(CONTINUED)
-THE WIDOW'S STORY
The other text can be found in the corrupted images, there is an organized version wich can be found there:
http://bees.netninja.com/wiki/index.php?title=Story
An interesting edit wich draws parralels between the story and the commands found in the source can be found there:
http://bees.netninja.com/wiki/index.php?title=Widow%27s_Journ ey_-_Computer_Text_Comparison
I won't be repeating everything here so read these two pages.

So we have this mighty castle, and that's halo, the Queen is, of course, the Halo Cortana. The Enchantment would be the Flood, and the subsequent destruction of the ring.

The Widow is one of the three who survived the destruction, she is the SPDR (black widow), or master chief's cortana. She may be named "widow" because she was separated from halo.

The second survivor is the sleeping princess, the desciption looks a lot like the master chief (sleeping in a coffin of glass) But it says that the widow cannot contact her, and that she lay in a chamber of the dungeon, so that's probably not MC... But who then? I have no idea... Maybe the forerunners who built halo? (sleeping in a coffin in the dungeon)

And the last survivor is the "pious flea", the one that the queen detected as stated in her mayday messages. The widow does not see him, he is too small. That would be 343, since he also survived. "pious" because of the way he is bound to the protocol.

The story takes places when MC's cortana, the widow, or SPDR, goes back to the ruined halo to return her other self to her former splendor, this is probably taking place waay after halo 2.

The fireflies, wich provides the light SPDR needs to use her tools are probably the humans, or the cyborgs she uses, master chief being the first one to host her.
Or they could just be networking processes, either way, they are a way for SPDR to access what is outside her.

The "hell" where the queen is is made of hot dry sand, another clue that the queen is the AI with the head in the sand from the MAYDAY messages.

The manticore:
"At the gates of the Inner Keep all the guards were dead but one, who when the palace was blasted by enchantment had not died, but had been witched into the form of a hideous Manticore." and later "the bodies of her servants and subjects that lay dead or enchanted" Since the enchantment is the flood, enchanted bodies could be the corrupted covenant/humans/whatever who survived, and the manticore would be one of them, maybe a bit more monstruous than the other, or most probably they all are corrupted processes in the halo network (the flood could be computer parasites as well). The whole story actually seems to take place not in physical space but inside of the halo network, as the parralels drawn with the computer commands show.

The Queen being trapped and surrounded by mirrors is an interisting way of illustrating the fact that the halo cortana has no more connections with the outside world, she lives only inside herself, her universe is her mind and she is trapped there until SPDR comes to free her.

SPDR then proceeds to rebuild the Halo Cortana, using bits and pieces of processes she finds everywhere on the network, the "servants", but aren't these "servants" enchanted? aren't they corrupted by the flood?...
This corresponds to the time when the Halo Cortana begins to feel a spider working on her in the MAYDAY messages. And when she feels herself becoming a monster.

Cortana the Queen is then ressucited and prepares to reign once more.


--On Bees--

The analogy between bees and the queen and her servants is obvious here. And JonR2000 has found something worth noting that I believe might be very significant:
http://www.bungie.net/Forums/posts.aspx?postID=384449&vie wreplies=t%20rue#end
The Ilovebees webpage says that Aunt M's beehives are currently infected by "varrao mites" a parasitic mite that infects the bodies of bees and triggers deformities etc... Exactly like the flood.
Queen Cortana has probably become a new kind of AI, having been infected by the flood she is now the queen of the infected bees. I believe this whole thing is the story of how Cortana came to become some sort of "hive mind" for the Flood.
This might also explain while the flood and SPDR are bot represented by spiders in the visions, they come together, it is the SPDR cortana who let the flood corrupt her queen in order to revive her.

We can now probably expect cortana to want to achieve godhood, or completeness, as most immortal rampant AI do.. Since she is in control of the flood that means a lot of trouble for the inferior life forms in the galaxy.

--Questions still to be answered--

-What is the countdown for???
-Who is the sleeping princess???
-Bees are used to produce honey, was the flood created by the forerunners for a purpose? To make "honey"? What would that honey be?
-We still don't know the motives of the covenant besides religious fervor, is their "god" another AI who managed to become allmighty???

  • 07.26.2004 12:38 PM PDT
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very interesting. maybe we shall just wait and see.

  • 07.26.2004 12:43 PM PDT
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that theory makes alot of sense because in the books someone talks about AI's of Cortana's calibur overloading and going insane and stuff.

  • 07.26.2004 12:52 PM PDT
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Yes, but that kind of behavior is not limited to the halo books, Rampant AIs are the main theme of the Marathon games by Bungie. In fact if there is an AI in a Bungie storyline, you can almost be sure it'll go rampant :P

  • 07.26.2004 4:52 PM PDT
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Lazy Links

-THE MAYDAY TEXT
http://bees.netninja.com/wiki/index.php?title=Mayday_
-The other text can be found in the corrupted images, there is an organized version wich can be found there:
http://bees.netninja.com/wiki/index.php?title=Story
-An interesting edit wich draws parralels between the story and the commands found in the source can be found there:
http://bees.netninja.com/wiki/index.php?title=Widow%27s_Journ ey_-_ Compu ter_Text_Comparison
-The analogy between bees and the queen and her servants is obvious here. And JonR2000 has found something worth noting that I believe might be very significant:
http://www.bungie.net/Forums/posts.aspx?postID=384449&vie wreplies= t %20rue#end




[Edited on 7/26/2004 4:57:59 PM]

  • 07.26.2004 4:53 PM PDT
Subject: Hmmmm
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Bees come in hords, or swarms. If there is no software release (if thats the point of it) on the 24th, there might be hords of content for the game. (again, if thats the whole point of this thing.) thats what i think.

  • 07.26.2004 4:56 PM PDT
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i thought the "ai" you talked about sending out the mayday signals was keyes because it talks about how he doesn't know who he is but people called him a master of the stars or something like that

  • 07.26.2004 5:01 PM PDT
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Posted by: ERA
Bees come in hords, or swarms. If there is no software release (if thats the point of it) on the 24th, there might be hords of content for the game. (again, if thats the whole point of this thing.) thats what i think.

But this site seems like alot of work just to publicize content... but you never know.

  • 07.26.2004 5:02 PM PDT
Subject: Answers? - A consistent theory about bees, AIs, and viral maketing ...
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This has got to be the best theory I have read to date. Makes perfect sense with only a few missing parts. Maybe they'll fill themselves in when the timer runs out? I guess we'll have to wait and see. Great job.

  • 07.26.2004 5:06 PM PDT
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They know we know so there trying their best to cover everything up (fake person that talked about "damage" to the site.

About my last post, you right, you never know, but it could come in mass loads, one mega file, or dozzens of smaller files. I'd rather have a lot of content than an unfinished (maybe) product.

  • 07.26.2004 5:14 PM PDT
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great theory, u've taken alot of time to read through stuff and make a great summery of everything. to re-enforce your cortana point, First strike, Cortana can make copies of ehreself very easly, AND during the game, she says before pluggin into masterchief that she left some aprt sof her in the main comp of the computer core. So there's one way for that to survive.... the other is this..... During the first part of the game, cortana BRAGS about how she can get into the battle network of the COVENANT so easly... what would stop her from making a copy of herself in there... this would re-enforce the BEHIND enemy lines, and since she knows that the first mission of the spartans was to hijack a covenant ship..... she knows they will come after her.... just a thought

  • 07.26.2004 5:17 PM PDT
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One thing worth noting, in First Strike MC and Cortana do find survivors of Halo, 3 in ejected Cryo tubes and 4 in a pelican that escaped Halo. Another thing I was thinking this sleeping princess in a coffin of glass, could be someone in a cryo tube, thats my guess.

  • 07.26.2004 5:29 PM PDT
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Posted by: Nobes2k3
great theory, u've taken alot of time to read through stuff and make a great summery of everything. to re-enforce your cortana point, First strike, Cortana can make copies of ehreself very easly, AND during the game, she says before pluggin into masterchief that she left some aprt sof her in the main comp of the computer core. So there's one way for that to survive.... the other is this..... During the first part of the game, cortana BRAGS about how she can get into the battle network of the COVENANT so easly... what would stop her from making a copy of herself in there... this would re-enforce the BEHIND enemy lines, and since she knows that the first mission of the spartans was to hijack a covenant ship..... she knows they will come after her.... just a thought


There is just one problem with that thought. Cortanan cant make copies of herslef until she comes in contact with a covenant AI on the captured flagship and even when she does there are devastating errors with the copies.

  • 07.26.2004 5:32 PM PDT
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*Clap Clap Clap* This is a very good theory, Mainly because of good grammar, no spelling errors noteable, and well studyed. Good work. Also, Good strong points too! Bravo

With a broken heart,
The Red Dude

  • 07.26.2004 5:41 PM PDT
Subject: coffin on glass
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remember that the spartan kelly was frozen in a cryo tube to be unthawed. . .

  • 07.27.2004 9:53 AM PDT
Subject: Answers? - A consistent theory about bees, AIs, and viral maketing ...
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Hey I posted this over on rampancy.net and here a few days ago but can't find it. In light of the info posted on ilovebees I decided to post again with NEW info that makes the theory seem more accurate. Thanks to all who found clues.

1. The huge decoded anagram from the countdown timer the last phrase is: Earth will never be the same. That phrase was also in the 1st halo 2 print ad. (google it).

2. New text on ilovebees ONI referencing Troy:

Capt Greene: ...Even leaving aside our particular mission, there's the issue of letting them know we've broken their codes. If we bug out and scramble home to warn HQ about Troy, people like Standish will say we've already

Well whats Troy famous for? The Trojan War and the TROJAN HORSE. Designed to circumvent defenses.

3. Microsoft Meltdown. Someone posted one of the confrence topics as:

Creating buzz for you product. Or something along those lines.

4. The AI makes more refrence to being stitched together.

***revised theory***
The AI was split into 3 pieces and put on board the Lark, Circumfrence, and Applebee. These ships were subsequently salvaged by the covenant. It is in the process of being reassembled by the covenant and getting stronger by the minute. Operation Troy.

Ok heres the second part. Specifically the part that deals with the AI.

Source: Captured human AI. Human interface is female, it refers to itself in the feminine.

The AI makes refrence to here ship and crew: Length: 120m
Crew: 40
Cover: Pleasure Craft
In the novel Fall of Reach the MC and 2 other Spartan's had to board the Circumfrence to destroy a navigational database. The Circumfrence, Lark, and Applebee were all ONI ships outfitted for a covert operation that we never hear anything else about.

We also know that Col Ackerson (head of ONI) has his own agenda. What we don't know but it's important enough to get coverage in First Strike.

The AI knows it's behind the lines and captured. She still has a mission to perform. Survive Evade Reveal Escape.

She is always trying to establish here position with a solar compass or star alignment. She says she was a good celestial navigator.

She makes refrence to being operated on, taken apart and put back together. A Covenant engineer/AI would disassemble and reassemble her to better understand what it's dealing with. A single entity making multiple simultaneous probing attempts would seem like a spider to a delusional AI.

Our human AI knows she needs to hide she refrences Phasmida Elegans. But she also wants to be found. In the movie Master and Commander Phasmids are said to be insects that desguise themselves as sticks in order to hide from predators. Elegans appears to refrence a sort of worm.

The Spartans initial mission was to discover the covenant homeworld before the slipspace jump to halo.

My hypothesis: This AI is a trojan. Meant to be captured. Taken back to the Covenant homeworld in order to reveal it's posistion. Driving motivation:
Survive:Fighting to stay concious/coherent
Evade: Hiding; Phasmida Elegans
Reveal: Location of Covenant Homeworld
Escape: She's had it drilled into her that her "crew" will come get her. Extraction.

Seek the truth
Behold the truth
Reveal the truth

I think that the Ilovebees mystery works on 2 levels. The first and most obvious to me is the marketing angle. Right now the internet is on fire with speculation about what it could be. Here's mine.
Marketing:

What do bees do? They generate buzz. Buzz being slang for interest in the marketing world. The Ilovebees site has generated HUGE buzz in only a few days.

What else do bees do? They make honey. Or in this case MONEY. We all know M$ is all about that.

Microsoft knows that Halo contributed more to the success of the xbox than any other game. They know that Halo was the reason why people went out and bought an xbox. Halo 2 is set to become THE killer app not only for the xbox but for XBOX LIVE. People that don't already have an xbox live account or an xbox will get one just to experience Halo 2. $$$$

The buzz is already at a fever pitch for the game. How do you make it bigger? I don't know about you but I'm all movied and screenshotted out. I'm ready to play just like those lucky bastards at E3. IF, a really big if, they realeased a demo. A single player one with no access to live play. Do think BUZZ for the game would go up or down. Most certainly up in my opinion. The first hit is always free right. After that you'll have to pay to play so to speak. People would see first hand how great the game is and specualte even more about how awesome multiplayer is.

A few of the gaming mags are in on it too. They all point to something huge coming up soon in the industry.

This brings me to the next important part of the marketing angle. The clock on the website is counting down to Aug 24, 2004. Bungie wouldn't go thru all this just to release another movie or screen shot. Not the Halo bible either, that would give to much of the story away. No they want to give people a small taste not the whole thing.

Countdown timer text:
HALT - MODULE CORE HEMORRHAGE(nothing)

Control has been yielded to the
SYSTEM PERIL DISTRIBUTED REFLEX.(first letter of each word SPDR)

This medium is classified, and has a
STRONG INTRUSIVE INCLINATION. (If this is a demo it will spread like a virus)

In 3 days, network throttling will erode.(speed will increase, not slow down)

In 17 days this medium will metastasize.( there will be another site like this in 17days)

COUNTDOWN TO WIDE AWAKE AND PHYSICAL:(playable version of game)
30:12:32:23:040

Make your decisions accordingly.(go to work/school or play Halo2)

Someone pointed out that someone from a game mag said to focus on SPDR. SPDR does figure prominetly in the blog by Dana(bungie princess?). SPDR=Single Player Demo Release.

  • 07.27.2004 10:09 AM PDT
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I'm speechless.

  • 07.27.2004 10:12 AM PDT
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The flood were built by the Forerunners. The purpose of the Flood was to be a ultimate killing maching. Then the Coventant discovered and released them. Which WAS NOT supposed to happen but the Covenant wanted us dead.

  • 07.27.2004 10:18 AM PDT