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TheBiggestSean · Veteran Joined: 26 Jul 2004 Posts: 90

This is just ridiculous. No choice should be made until the body of the community determines the most probable courses of action toward success.

Such a drastic action must be made as a consenus decision. Acting on our (more accurately, the crew's) own will only serves to separate us and compound the problem. A vote MUST be had.

**Posted:** Sat Oct 23, 2004 6:21 pm

vpisteve

**Posted:** Sat Oct 23, 2004 6:28 pm

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rose · ...and then Magic happens Joined: 26 Nov 2003 Posts: 4117

Isn't this really a conflict between Melissa and, um, in Halo terms: the humans?

Melissa is threatening Aunt Margaret and Dana. Just because Aunt Margaret never emailed us or chatted with us or made us puzzles is no reason to abandon her to Melissa.

And despite what the ARGN email update says about us not interacting with Dana, I have received emails from her several times throughout the course of the game and so have many other players.

We need to keep in mind who the real enemy is here.

**Posted:** Sat Oct 23, 2004 6:56 pm

BGMalone

I just can't believe that we are discussing a vote on helping Ms. Effendi live or die Shocked

We should help Dana. I don't care about the radio drama, the mysteries or anything about ILB's if it means death.

Notice a similarity on the storylines. Durga appears on Jersey's computer and The Operator does the same thing on Dana's computer. Durga and Jersey became a super-team, productive and cooperative.

We need friendship (or at least a working relationship) between Dana and The Operator.

I believe that The Operator will be less "evil" if the SP becomes the core of her personality, this would present us a new well-tempered and cooperative AI. She should stop with all this Axon stuff and begin talking and taking orders, perhaps then we will see true development in all this mistery.

**Posted:** Sat Oct 23, 2004 7:13 pm

vpisteve

**Posted:** Sat Oct 23, 2004 7:35 pm

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Skyfall · Boot Joined: 25 Aug 2004 Posts: 28 Location: Claremont, CA

This is really not good. I'll just toss out my .02 . . .

I don't like helping Dana destroy the Sleeping Princess. I, for one, do not belive that the Sleeping Princess is a highly advanced Covenant AI bent on screwing all of us over by faking the demeanor of a young girl. I think she's all that's left of Yasmine, and may be very necessary to saving the collective AI.

On the other hand, someone pointed out that she might be going Rampant earlier than the other entities, and that her presence out of the glass coffin may be causing the instabilities we've seen in the personalities. So one could argue that the world will be better off with her locked up or neutralized. That one would not be me.

I am utterly incensed by people who are siding with the Sleeping Princess because Dana and Aunt Margaret are "less real." I don't mind you siding with the Sleeping Princess, but Dana and Aunt Margaret are human beings from the present. If you're going to side against them and stay in-game doing so, you have to acknowledge that they are flesh and blood and that your stance may very well lead to one of their deaths.

So there's that angle to consider.

Unfortunately, the third option--eliminate the Pious Flea--is also dicey, given that he's an important link in getting Subject 5 material transmitted to Durga. Why is he doing this? Why is Melissa *withholding* the Subject 5 material? If the Pious Flea is a Covenant AI trying to allow the device to go off, and is being tricked into thwarting himself by the Sleeping Princess, then by all means--let's sic Melissa on him and be done with the pest. But if the Pious Flea is a black-op bug placed by Herzog, then running for the Raid can will severely hamstring our heroes just when they need the information the Flea is providing. (Why is Melissa withholding Subject 5 material? Is it the Flea's doing? Is the entire Axon Plot the Flea's doing? Who did Melissa answer to when she was the Operator of the Apocalypso?!)

Our options all suck. It may be time for us to start seriously solving puzzles--not the weekly set the Sleeping Princess has given us, but the meta-puzzles, the ones whose answers may very well the decide the game in the next few weeks.[/list]

**Posted:** Sat Oct 23, 2004 8:32 pm

SpghEddy · Veteran Joined: 24 Jul 2004 Posts: 88

**Posted:** Sat Oct 23, 2004 8:52 pm

Danin · Boot Joined: 27 Aug 2004 Posts: 65

While I agree that the reunification of the AI is most likely our ultimate goal, giving the go on !attach is a risky call at best. I'm not going to SPEC on whether the Flea is a Covie AI or not but we've seen the Flea in action for months now and we're still no closer to determining its intentions. At best we convince SP to !attach and successfully conclude the game with a reunified AI, but at worst the Flea could take control of both aspects and turn out to be a Covenant worm, in which case we're totally effed.

Unfortunately our options are limited. Melissa has clearly stated that she intends to not just contain but outright terminate the SP process. At present we appear to have no means by which to impede Melissa's progress, and Dana has clearly freaked out and will be of no assistance in saving the Princess.

The hardest part is figuring out when and if we have to make a decision. The game is obviously designed to end on the 9th and will most likely do so no matter what our input is--the ending may already be set in stone, since at some point the events of this game will probably tie into Halo 2.

**Posted:** Sat Oct 23, 2004 11:01 pm

Cherry Cotton · Decorated Joined: 04 Aug 2004 Posts: 237

**Posted:** Sat Oct 23, 2004 11:09 pm

Danin · Boot Joined: 27 Aug 2004 Posts: 65

**Posted:** Sat Oct 23, 2004 11:33 pm

Flidget Jerome · Unfettered Joined: 26 Aug 2004 Posts: 308

**Posted:** Sun Oct 24, 2004 1:13 am

Skyfall · Boot Joined: 25 Aug 2004 Posts: 28 Location: Claremont, CA

**Posted:** Sun Oct 24, 2004 1:20 am

johnny5

Why are we assuming that Melissa is "rampant" or crazy, or deranged?
She is acting in accordance with her mission parameters.
Her animosity towards Dana, while unfounded, is also in accordance with her mission parameters. Dana attempted to interfere with a military weapon:

**Posted:** Sun Oct 24, 2004 3:51 am

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Starblade · Veteran Joined: 24 Sep 2004 Posts: 94

Thinking about it, I think we ought to protect the SP, merely because she is a link to the going ons at the Castle, and because she transmits certain things to us.

I don't think Melissa, the SP, the PF or Dana can be wholy trusted anymore. For all we know, since the SP has been inside Melissa, in her glass coffin, Melissa could have put some spyware or subroutine in her, and the SP could be under her control. Melissa could be controlling her to meet her goals, or find the traitors in her army. Of course, the SP could be innocent of this, too. We simply don't know. And because we don't know, we can't completely trust them. We will have doubts.

Just because there was a 'SECURITY BREACH!', doesn't mean there aren't any defenses.

**Posted:** Sun Oct 24, 2004 9:46 am

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BGMalone

I do not believe we should treat the AI's as human. They should be treated as tools.

There is nothing sadder (or more horrific) than knowing that the SP is quite likely the remnant of a dead child. Well, there is something sadder, the fact that humanity in the future is using "dead children" to help them wage war.

In my opinion, the SP is just but an endless loop of a past memory, a past life. Honor the memory of the child by ending that process.

**Posted:** Sun Oct 24, 2004 10:36 am