As you may or may not be aware, the inner conspiracy theorist in some people has been acting up lately. There is quite a bit of chatter about secret codes and hidden messages in images and bulletins by Waypoint lately. I chalked it up to over zealous fans who were incredibly excited (understandably so) about the impending release of Halo 4.

Then I recieved an email from Xbox a few days ago. It was a flash email with the Didact symbol as well as their tagline #evilawakens. I didn’t think much of it, however I was recieving the email on my iphone, and I accidently tapped a strange symbol at the bottom of the email. This opened up a browser window which took me to a download section of Halo Waypoint with a strange image.

It was then I started thinking that there was alot of smoke to this conspiracy theory, but there might also be some fire. I was reminded of the “I love bees” campaign from Halo 2.

Here is what I have found so far:

There have been several cryptic videos about #evilawakens lately as follows.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=B76QgnZcgI4

http://www.youtube.com/watch?&v=4QlL2Vbd0-M

If you look very closely at both videos, besides the obvious Didact symbol, at the end during the #evilawakens a number flashes on the screen. In the butterfly video it is a number 11 and in the Glacier video it is a number 5. There has been alot of speculation about what those numbers mean, the most obvious is a date 11/5. My personal belief is there could be more coming.

There is also the secret messages in the Halo Waypoint Weekly Updates. It seems as if you highlight the text with your mouse, you can see some hidden text. Here are some before and afters to show you what I mean.

Those are from the Halo Bulletin on 10/10. There is hidden text down the entire article. Here is what it all says:

PLNB PRIORITY TRANSMISSION [CLASSIFIED]
ENCRYPTION CODE: [CLASSIFIED]
PUBLIC KEY: N/A

FROM: CODENAME SURGEON
TO: CODENAME COALMINER

CLASSIFICATION: ELEVENTH HOUR [1/5]
SUBJECT: AFTERMATH

/FILE EXTRACTION-RECONSTITUTION COMPLETE/
/START FILE/

Decades from now, when historians evaluate the war, what will they say about us? Will they claim that our victory was ultimately fruitless? That it failed to secure a lasting peace, or worse, that it was only a prelude to far greater horrors that now lay ahead?

My hope – OUR HOPE – is that history would instead view this war as a catalyst. That the last thirty years were a crucible, a threshing floor for our species, sifting out our fears and frailties. And that ultimately it made us stronger and more vigilant in the end, fully prepared for whatever will come next. After all, what good is struggle if there is no change? What good is a fire if the sword is not made stronger?

Attached are four reports accounting the major contingency structures our species currently faces in the wake of the war. Please evaluate them closely. Their outcomes will dictate how history views us, or if history even views us at all.

Xenomorphic element [2/5]
Martial element [3/5]
Provenancial element [4/5]
Primogeniture element [5/5]

As Machiavelli once said: “the Romans, foreseeing troubles, dealt with them at once, and, even to avoid a war, would not let them come to a head, for they knew that war is not to be avoided, but is only put off to the advantage of others.”

Likewise, we must deal with these issues head-on, without fear and without hesitation. We can afford no other stance.

/END FILE/

Just what do all of these secret codes and numbers mean? Who are the Surgeon and the Coalminer? What do you think, or more importantly….what do you believe?