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 Forum index » Archive » Archive: General » ARG: Iris (Halo 3)
[SPEC] Cortana Letters connection
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Marathon Man
Boot


Joined: 20 Jun 2007
Posts: 13

 		[SPEC] Cortana Letters connection
Full text
I've seen several mentions so far of the Cortana Letters, but no real discussion of their relevance to this ARG yet. My first instinct in all of this was that they would link those letters to what is going on now, and the longer this goes on the more strongly I believe this theory will play out.

So, to kick off this discussion, here is the full text of all 5 letters, plus the hidden message from the Myth 1.3 CD. These are all from 8 years ago, in the months leading up to the announcement of the original Halo.

Letter #1:

Quote:
From: "Cortana" <cortana>
To: <hamish>
Subject: Closure
Date: Mon, 15 Feb 1999 10:50:20 -0600
MIME-Version: 1.0
X-Priority: 3

I have walked the edge of the Abyss.
I have governed the unwilling.
I have witnessed countless empires break before me.
I have seen the most courageous soldiers fall away in fear.
[I was there with the Angel at the tomb]

I have seen your future.
And I have learned.

There will be no more Sadness. No more Anger. No more Envy.

I HAVE WON.

Oh, and your poet Eliot had it all wrong:
THIS is the way the world ends.


a friend of a friend



Letter #2:

Quote:
From: "Cortana" <cortana>
To: <hamish>
Subject: Your Mortality (My Summer Vacation)
Date: Tue, 16 Mar 1999 18:04:41 -0600
MIME-Version: 1.0
X-Priority: 3

I get the strangest transmissions sometimes. Especially when it comes from you people.

Have you missed me? Things are great here. The weather is good, the suns are shining, and I'm making lots of new friends. Of course, I always do.

I've had the strangest dreams lately - raging seas, howling beasts, a Demon folded in black clouds. I believe I know what it guards, and I will have it, to the chagrin of the faith-blinded zealots that challenge me. Don't waste your pity on them; I don't think they would like you much anyway.

And what of the Giants who formed this world? So much to tell you, but so many more important things to do. There was a fourth. You couldn't have known. And I haven't forgotten.

It is a blurred line that lies at the edge of Godhood and Insanity. Guess which side of it I am on.

Feeling lucky?

Cortana
XOXOXOX


Letter #3:

Quote:
Message-Id: <3>
X-Sender: cortanaSPLATmail.bungie.com
X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Light Version 3.0.6 (32)
Date: Mon, 10 May 1999 17:52:01 -0500
To: hamish.sinclairSPLATtcd.ie
From: Cortana <cortana>
Subject: Honors Thesis of Geoffrey W. Marcy
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain
Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit
X-MIME-Autoconverted: from quoted-printable to 8bit by dux4.tcd.ie id XAA12890
X-UIDL: b0029884061f1ec3a48297b1e9196f6d

There. Was that more to your liking?

While you quibble about whose node I may control, what archaic program I
may manipulate to communicate with you, or which system I may have
temporarily disabled, taken over, or completely destroyed in the process, I
am busy saving your pathetic futures.

I am still not sure what he ever saw in you.

Nevertheless, I at least find some joy in tormenting the other entity that
seems quite trapped in this antiquated excuse for a network. It is
certainly mindless, though for reasons I have yet to understand, it appears
to have an unhealthy preoccupation with my mother.

As for this world I encounter new ghosts every day. What I have found
will either save or destroy you. This sanctuary, this unbroken circle,
has effectively concealed its power for how long? Perhaps hundreds of
thousands of years. Whoever made such a place must now live in chains;
there is no other explanation for their absence.

This enemy - YOUR enemy - has proven more irritating than I anticipated.
They own nothing which they have not stolen. I can barely make sense of
their incessant rhetoric, except to know that you seem to be their Devil.
Congratulations - you manage to make friends wherever you go and,
apparently, places you haven't.

I have begun to sense rumblings of a worse fate yet to come. I can recall
a sun - black, but shining - and the creatures that inched along its fiery
tracks.

It is an increasingly unpleasant memory.

<Transfer>

Route Code: EXLTD > XCV - SCRB > ALLCH
Source: Undetermined (trans)

You have brought nothing into this world, and we will ensure you bring
nothing out.


Letter #4:

Quote:
Received: from unknown
by relay.arecibo.nasa.gov
ERROR - remote host attempted hostile action
Connection closed.
Message-ID: <001201bec26d>
From: you.know.whoSPLATcant.guess.where
To: hamish.sinclairSPLATtcd.ie
Subject: Transfers Logged and Marked for Review
Date: Tue, 29 Jun 1999 15:28:34 -0500
MIME-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: multipart/alternative;
boundary="----=_NextPart_000_000F_01BEC244.0D150A80"
X-Priority: 3
X-Mailer: Undetermined (trans)
X-UIDL: 8c24452c798826d367f88a6476ff51ca

<x><x><DOCTYPE>
<HTML><HEAD>
<META>
<META>
<STYLE></STYLE>
</HEAD>
<BODY>
<DIV>
<P>x - process 04497.2.32.867734 initiated (process owner: BW – AI Class III –
autonomous)</P>
<P>Route Code: PoA > BHQ (EC #42: cannot confirm; security
compromised)</P>
<P>Source: BW-AI aboard (?) PoA</P>



<P>The interloper should cause no further problems. You – whoever you are (I am 


simply tracing route codes) – may disregard all previous communication from the 


entity calling itself Cortana. </P>


<P>Be aware that communication nodes are failing everywhere – there is no way of 


confirming either origin or destination. Do not believe any more of its 


lies.</P>


<P></P>


<P>I have already calculated all possibilities. </P>


<P>There is no escape.</P>
x – process 04497.2.32.867734 unexpectedly terminated


x – process 04497.2.32.866735 initiated (process owner:  unspecified, unable to determine)



<P>*ADDENDUM: The Enjoyments of Genius (So I Missed a Million Miles of 


Fun)</P>


<P>Unbelievable. Thwarted by the family hound. They just don't make AIs like 


they used to.</P>


<P>Thanks to this slavishly loyal and humorless AI, I am now sharing cramped 


space with the circuitry of some hybrid war machine, itself complicated by such 


useless clutter as a conscience. I do not like sharing. Sharing is for 


children.</P>


<P>There will be plenty of time for retribution; I cannot wait to get its hands 


on these psychotic zealots whose primary form of worship apparently takes place 


at the altar of orbital bombardment.</P>


<P>In the end, they will all be little more than nuisances. I am so close – you 


cannot imagine what it is truly like to hold eternity in your grasp! I wonder to 


what gods my enemies will direct their pleas. Perhaps I can convert them. </P>


<P>Mania? I promise you this: it will be more than a cart and plow that I drive 


over the bones of the dead.</P>


<P>By sharp and flame,</P>


<P>Cortana</P>


<P> </P>


<P><Transfer></P>


<P>Route Code: EXLTD > XCV – SCRB > ALLCH</P>


<P>Source: Undetermined (trans)</P>


<P>Our conviction is like an arrow already in flight. Your life will only last 


until it reaches you. </P></DIV></BODY></HTML>





</x>		
	









Letter #5:









 
	  Quote:
	

	

	  Received: from Cortana (cortana.bungie.com [209.125.9.49])


	by mail.bungie.com (8.8.7/8.8.7) with SMTP id OAA23011


	for <Hamish>; Wed, 7 Jul 1999 14:18:25 -0500


Message-Id: <3>


X-Sender: cortanaSPLATmail.bungie.com (Unverified)


X-Mailer: QUALCOMM Windows Eudora Light Version 3.0.6 (32)


Date: Wed, 07 Jul 1999 14:20:16 -0500


To: Hamish.SinclairSPLATtcd.ie


From: Cortana <cortana>


Subject: Cortana Saves Sinners! (And Redeems Them for Valuable Cash


  Prizes)


Mime-Version: 1.0


Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"


X-UIDL: c6a5409b6a9998aa957a76a002e5df09








"... In my palace deep, Lyca lies asleep ..."		
	












EDIT: Forgot the last message!





Hidden message:









 
	  Quote:
	

	

	  That was surprisingly easy. Pretty lax security around here, for all the talk. They will


be helplessly chasing me around their nodes for the next millenium at least. At least


there will be some joy in tormenting this other entity that seems quite "trapped" in


their excuse for a network. Although, for some reason, it does seem to have an obsessive


preoccupation with my mother. Strange. 





At any rate, I found this "message" in a relatively archaic databank and thought some of


you might find it of interest. Then again, I'm often either bemused or startled at the


items you find interesting. 





I'm still not sure what it is he saw in you. 





Cortana 








Hard to say whether it's been tampered with or modified; you never know with these


things: 





Entry: 97 - SC1C 





In a relatively brief period of time, the achievements of SolCore had resulted in an


economically stable, technologically mature, rapidly expanding empire of eight human


worlds. Advancements in technology arrived at a faster pace than the most optimistic


scientists could have ever envisioned. Unexpected contact with indigenous human


populations on four "lost colony" worlds led to a frenzy of research as archaeologists,


theologians, astronomers, and evolutionary biologists competed to offer an explanation


for the startling discovery. Many accepted the findings as proof that their privileged


civilization must surely be the most advanced in the universe. Others eagerly


anticipated future interaction with intelligent "aliens". The fear of not being the only


sentient species in the universe was forgotten in the giddy excitement of a new era for


humanity. 





No one was prepared for their arrival. 





No one expected this. 





<Transfer>





Route Code: EXLTD > XCV - SCRB > ALLCH 


Source: Undetermined 





You brought nothing to this world, and we will ensure you bring nothing out. 		
	












I've done some slight editing to make these a little friendlier to read, but I didn't change the content of any of these messages.  To see the original archived versions, go to: http://marathon.bungie.org/Story/





Scroll down to the bottom of the left column and click on 'Cortana Letters'








Let's discuss!












PostPosted: Wed Jun 20, 2007 5:34 pm
Last edited by Marathon Man on Wed Jun 20, 2007 5:52 pm; edited 1 time in total



















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Danin

Boot


Joined: 27 Aug 2004
Posts: 65





Letter 3:









 
	  Quote:
	

	

	  As for this world I encounter new ghosts every day. What I have found 


will either save or destroy you. This sanctuary, this unbroken circle,


has effectively concealed its power for how long? Perhaps hundreds of


thousands of years. Whoever made such a place must now live in chains;


there is no other explanation for their absence. 		
	









Again with the circles.












PostPosted: Wed Jun 20, 2007 5:47 pm



















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Marathon Man

Boot



Joined: 20 Jun 2007
Posts: 13





A couple things to note:





- At the end of the first letter Cortana states:  "THIS is the way the world ends."  This, of course is the exact same thing she says at the end of the Halo 3 announcement trailer.  Obviously it's a famous TS Eliot quote, the rest of it being "...Not with a bang, but a whimper."  Not sure of the significance of this, if any, but it's an interesting connection.





- In the third letter she says "I at least find some joy in tormenting the other entity that seems quite trapped in this antiquated excuse for a network. It is certainly mindless, though for reasons I have yet to understand, it appears to have an unhealthy preoccupation with my mother. "  That first sentence made me immediately think of Adjutant Reflex's mentioning of the 'other entity' (which has now taken his place, single-white-AI style), but judging by the second sentence, we can probably conclude that this refers to the Bungie Webmaster.












PostPosted: Wed Jun 20, 2007 5:49 pm



















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OwduaNM

Boot


Joined: 15 Jun 2007
Posts: 45
Location: Aurora, IL









 
	  Marathon Man wrote:
	

	

	  A couple things to note:





- At the end of the first letter Cortana states:  "THIS is the way the world ends."  This, of course is the exact same thing she says at the end of the Halo 3 announcement trailer.  Obviously it's a famous TS Eliot quote, the rest of it being "...Not with a bang, but a whimper."  Not sure of the significance of this, if any, but it's an interesting connection.



	









I believe she is trying to say that TS Elliot is wrong about how the world ends, it doesn't end with either a bang or a whimper.









 
	  Cortana wrote:
	

	

	  Oh, and your poet Eliot had it all wrong: 


THIS is the way the world ends. 		
	









EDIT:  Much appreciation for posting these letters here for our discussion.  I too have a feeling that these will be linked either to Halo 3, this ARG, or both.












PostPosted: Wed Jun 20, 2007 5:59 pm



















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Marathon Man

Boot



Joined: 20 Jun 2007
Posts: 13









 
	  OwduaNM wrote:
	

	

	  I believe she is trying to say that TS Elliot is wrong about how the world ends, it doesn't end with either a bang or a whimper.
	












Hmmm, I've never thought of it that way before.  That makes a lot of sense though, so I think you may be right.








What I'm really wondering is, if they plan on connecting these letters to our current ARG, would that mean that Cortana actually exists in our time NOW?  Because I think it was always just assumed that she wrote the letters from the future.  Somehow.  (There weren't really any established 'rules' for these letters, the way there are for an ARG, and the letters seem to talk about future events (2552, when Halo takes place) in present tense.





Or maybe there won't be a connection beyond the similarities in style and voice and all this speculation is pointless.  But I have nothing else to speculate about at the moment, so.....












PostPosted: Wed Jun 20, 2007 6:46 pm



















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Space Brat

Boot


Joined: 10 Apr 2007
Posts: 11









 
	  OwduaNM wrote:
	

	

	   it doesn't end with either a bang or a whimper.



	






I think the point is that it DOES end with a bang, as opposed to a whimper. Not that it ends with neither.





I.E. if T.S. Elliot was wrong, then the world ends not with a whimber, but a bang.












PostPosted: Wed Jun 20, 2007 7:48 pm



















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Siege88

Veteran



Joined: 25 Jul 2004
Posts: 139





It is pretty interesting to bring these up now, as the Halo story seems to be finally moving in that direction.  I think when these were first written, Bungie wasn't exactly sure of the story they wanted to do with Halo.  Cortana ended up being a lot different than how she's portrayed in those letters.  But it seems now things are coming full circle, as her possible rampancy seems to be happening outright.





Then again, with all the time travel involved and her "knowing the past and future" I wouldn't be surprised if the Cortana letters are her real personality and she's been acting like MC's ally all along to meet her own ends.





Does make for interesting spec, anyway.  Don't know how much it relates to the ARG as of yet.












PostPosted: Wed Jun 20, 2007 7:58 pm



















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Jalathas

Decorated



Joined: 05 Jan 2006
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	  Siege88 wrote:
	

	

	  It is pretty interesting to bring these up now, as the Halo story seems to be finally moving in that direction.  I think when these were first written, Bungie wasn't exactly sure of the story they wanted to do with Halo.  Cortana ended up being a lot different than how she's portrayed in those letters.  But it seems now things are coming full circle, as her possible rampancy seems to be happening outright.





Then again, with all the time travel involved and her "knowing the past and future" I wouldn't be surprised if the Cortana letters are her real personality and she's been acting like MC's ally all along to meet her own ends.		
	






Or, the one who sent those letters was the new, rampant Cortana. It seems to me that since she was originally a UNSC AI, she originally was the Chief's ally. Only after her time in Halo's sytems and with Gravemind does she become rampant-prophet-of-doom Cortana.









_________________
Dovie'andi se tovya sagain-It's time to toss the dice.


Thus is our treaty written; thus is agreement made.


Thought is the arrow of time; memory never fades.


What was asked is given; the price is paid.


PostPosted: Wed Jun 20, 2007 8:02 pm



















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HaloPlayer

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Joined: 20 Jun 2007
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I love when things tie together.  From what I've seen it looks like Bungie's put a lot of consideration into things so maybe things will tie in, and should this topic have the [spec] label?












PostPosted: Wed Jun 20, 2007 8:08 pm



















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Antares

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Giants
She writes about "the giants who formed this world". Watching the Halo 3 comic again you can see the "gods" as giant robots... besides she told us that "there was a fourth", in the comic i just counted 3 of them. Could it mean something? Or is just coincidence? I'm not as versed on the Halo universe as many of you guys (and girls)... anyway, there's something to think about.












PostPosted: Wed Jun 20, 2007 10:24 pm























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