It does sound like something that could be used–its sole purpose is to hide its users, and it seems like that’s exactly what Dr. Horn or HALOS would want. It seems kind of convoluted with only a couple obscure clues to go on, however, so I’m with you in the hesitant-to-jump-on-board department.
Why must you poke? I think you can still bring something to the table, but you gotta let that shit go, man.
Nevermind, I misread that, haha. I thought you were siding with the herp a derps.
Yeah, but we should probably get back to work. I should get back to work as well. Maybe twenty-onegoesintoone is a key.
Can anyone remind me what the block of UK IP addresses are on? I believe it’s 80?
I just wanted to point something out. This is what Storm sent me in his PM:
"I ran the code through a few programs that analyze entropy via auto-correlation, the n gram results indicate a weak encryption, but one that results in highly entropic data (which I correlated against a similar data set size from a randomness extractor) when decoded via Hex, which I suspect is a secondary encode, as most encrypted data sent via communications is encoded in order to avoid corruption. This may have skewed the block size analysis done previously (resulting in 376bytes or 64bits).
Source Code[/size]
Now, I ran this result through a UTF-8 “decoder,” which resulted in it paring things down to this:
+:5fW|$OCF1K/“aWw$y#!,.ògEaQN3q10($=TDbٿ9~C2xO]iuIbYZc=>:8E5Aȃ2/(bOjQd:,.8yYmHǹScDau$,؏Q֕Qj|{@I"A0f̳9F:~7?x1y~y@eFLb&*KX7_sī”)q36GJ(֏Ti^[PgFvZo%ޤ@eE$i6=!Z)6+]
Granted, all this has really done is convert the data (the decimal representations are still the same) but it does clean it up a bit. This “weak encryption” with “highly entropic data” really bugs me. The classic example of shit entropy is ROT-13, where literally the inverse letter of the alphabet is used for both encryption and decryption. This is a very weak encryption, and it also results in terrible entropy.
However, and this is something we should seriously consider, what if instead of using the same rotational method, you implement a method that changes for every instance. For example, if I have the message:
THEBEARS
I can encrypt this using ROT-13 to get:
GURORNEF
Unfortunately, what if I need to encrypt something longer? Say I want to encrypt:
THEBEARSANDTHECATS
This results in:
GURORNEFNAQGURPNGF
Now I’ve got two instances of the exact same grouping of three letters, which most people will narrow down to be “THE”. This suggests that this weak encryption method has terrible entropy.
However, if I take that same phrase:
THEBEARSANDTHECATS
and encrypt it using the same weak encryption method, but by changing the rotation for each instance (ROT-1, ROT-2, ROT-3, etc.), I would get:
UJHFJGYAJXOFUSRQKK
Now my two instances of “THE” are masked by the changing rotation, thus resulting in more entropy than before. Now, this doesn’t necessarily mean that our data is rotated in exactly this way, but it’s possible to use a relatively weak encryption method but still have a result with high entropy. In cryptography, this is usually done with a random number generator, but the odds of Storm using one is unlikely due to how nigh impossible it would be for us to crack. Therefore, if he specifically designed it to have high entropy, then it’s possible he is simply using a method derivative of ROT-13 but in terms of hexadecimal. This doesn’t really help us much, as we still have no way of knowing the potential method for doing this, but hopefully it will spark some imaginative reflection.
EDIT: If you check out the ARG called “Torment” that Storm mentioned he was a part of, it references one of the ciphers using a type of cryptography used in the Edgar Allan Poe story “The Gold-Bug.”
Although that used simple substitution, it’s not impossible that Storm implemented something similar with a rotation or other method implemented. Or, he could simply have substituted the characters in UTF-8 or a similar encoding.
When storm said something about CSM terminator fitting the theme I kinda looked into on wikipedia, and I read that someone tried sueing the makers of terminator for copying a story from an episode of the outer limits ‘the soldier’ I looked into the outer limits and alot of the episodes have to do with aliens.
Actually, I was wondering do you suppose there is some sort of time travel involved in the arg?
Gunsreqiuem, you might be onto something there.
Something just was made apparent to me: if what we’re looking is indeed not encryption (or so? who knows at this point), then it should be a simple cipher. Remember, nothing is free from being reused or rehashed, so I want to point out another possible anagram we might have been missing:
Guns, you mentioned the ROT-n function.
Those letters, R O T
are also present in OTR
as in, the message header classifications.
Combined with your “changing rotation”, perhaps we can determine a pattern for how to rotate each character by just reading the OTR header values in each of the IRC clues.
Remember that Storm sent that one PM with a huge expository on the OTR states? As if to focus on that? Perhaps the values are indeed important.
For reference:
IRC clue 1: " … ?OTR,1,3,?OTR: … " and " … OTR:~’// … " (obscured by transmission interference, assuming 1.0 based on the other clues?)
IRC clue 2: No OTR heading
IRC clue 3: " … ?OTR,1,3,?OTR: … "
IRC clue 4: " … ?OTR,1,3,?OTR: … " and " … ~[OTR//2.0] … "
IRC clue 5: " … ?OTR,1,3,?OTR: … " and " … [OTR//3.0] … "
IRC clue 6: " … ?OTR,3,4,?OTR: … "
And the HALOS file: " … ?OTR,3,4,?OTR: … " and " … [OTR//4.0] … "
=====
Maybe the sequence isn’t apparent via the numbers surrounding the OTR text in the clues. Maybe we need to go back to 21 goes into 1 by looking at it literally once again:
1 ÷ 21 = 0.047619047619047…
(Repeating: 047619)
So: ROT-0, ROT-0, ROT-4, ROT-7, ROT-6, ROT-1, ROT-9 (or ROT-19?), ROT-0, ROT-4, ROT-7, etc.
(Also, slightly off-topic, the symbol for ÷ is ALT-pad key 0247. I know there have been a lot of people posting about 247 and how it’s just for the portals in Lambda Core, but what if Storm gave it a hidden second meaning? “21 goes into 1” = 1 divided by 21 = 1 ÷ 21, so…)
Not to toot my own horn here, but I just realized that I posted this theory before–and it just so happens that it was a month before Storm made the “someone is already close” comment.
There were, of course, many theories prior to that time–so please only take this at face value. It’s possible that this is completely wrong and will end up keeping us off track for another X number of weeks. It’s just a possibility that I think we should consider.
Here’s the original post:
"Something I wanted to mention regarding the Benaloh / Paillier references in this ARG. It’s been mentioned before by someone on the forum that these two encryption systems are examples of homomorphic encryption. That said, I’m wondering if perhaps we have missed a step with the HALOS.txt file.
Granted, we correctly decoded the ASCII-85 text, yet were are having tons of trouble with the hexadecimal portion of the code–despite having various potential leads. One thing we’ve not considered is that the hexadecimal portion of the code may need to be shifted in some manner–for example, ROT-1 = rotate each input once. Granted, this is somewhat backwards thinking considering the input itself should be rotated, but perhaps some of the results we’ve been getting (from a one-time pad decrypter, for example) simply need to be shifted.
Anyway, just thought I’d throw it out there as some food for thought."
I regard it as more than coincidence that we’ve come to the same conclusion from different directions. A good puzzle points to its solution from multiple directions. While it is true that there are many possible solutions that we need to check, perhaps it would be best if we did pursue one course to see how far we could get, then reevaluate if we should continue or backtrack. If ROTing is what we need to do, then more clues and leads will present themselves to us. If not, then at least we can remove one possibility from the board. Which is a form of progress.
If you think this is still unsure, perhaps we can organize a team to pursue a direction while the rest of the ARG followers/players/gamers (?) keep with the story and other possible clues?
That’s a really good idea, and I do think this idea warrants an investigation. I also want to make note of something for those who are attempting passwords on online tools and the like. Storm told faed directly that OpenSSL tools would not help with the decryption, and flavrans9 summed up quite nicely in this post exactly why that is. Therefore, I suggest you get comfortable with a package like CrypTool 2–not only does it remove the issues with OpenSSL, but it also allows you to do multiple encryptions at the same time. Very handy.
Just spitballing here, but between this post and the works of Adam Foster, I’m starting to think that maybe HALOS isn’t technically the entity itself - maybe it was designed to be a computer system, but ended up being some sort of container for an energy-based intelligence, whether by design or purely by accident.
So, it’s not an artificial intelligence, so much as an artificial body for an existing natural intelligence. Could be the LOLIA’s “bridging” experiment caused this being to be sucked from another dimension to ours, and then into the monitoring equipment or something.
Or perhaps HALOS actually contains the consciousness of Dr. Horn, and all these strange messages are his way of trying to draw attention to his plight.
Here’s how I’m looking at this right now:
Over these past few years, we have dedicated thousands of responses, hundreds of ideas and multiple implementations of said ideas to the ARG. To put it quite simply: we have done the legwork and shown our commitment.
Seeing as how Storm has been a part of an ARG that ultimately remained unsolved, I sincerely doubt he would do the same thing to us. Based on how batshit crazy I’ve been about this thing, I can only imagine how that unsolved ARG must have eaten away at a man of his intelligence. If you look at the facts, we’ve been on ice for going on 3 years now–in fact, next month it will have officially been 3 years. In terms of an ARG, perhaps that’s not a long time–but it sure feels like it.
My point, I suppose, is that we have shown our dedication and ultimately proven to him that we are in it for the long haul. Whatever he throws at us, even if the prize is a cereal box toy, I know I’m personally gung-ho for it. In other words, we are invested.
With that in mind, I compare it to a famous fantasy author–a George R. R. Martin or a Patrick Rothfuss, just for example. Their next books are long overdue partially because they have so much material to work out, but you bet your ass that the second they hit shelves, millions of fans will be there to gobble them up as if they’d never waited. The same applies here, though admittedly in lower numbers. As soon as we get something, even if it leads to an immediate solution, there are still going to be people who eagerly await to see what’s next. And, even though he may take his time, I really doubt he will ultimately leave us unsatisfied.
That’s just poor marketing. 8)
So then H*** Alien Lifeform Operating System? I guess it could make sense, as they definitely knew about, and visited, Xen long before the resonance cascade. Maybe they were trying to trap the Nihilanth’s conciousness in the computer or whatever HALOS is being stored in?
There’s too many plausible theories right now, I’m doubting we’ll be able to understand what HALOS(other than it’s a form of AI) is at this point in time. I think that we’ll probably know when we decode HALOS though(Captain Obvious, I know).
That would also add up to the “Cage for Satan” and linking back to the Bugs Tv show ( yeah im a sadist for watching that series over and over again ) and a computer based network was a housing for Cyberax a Mind Controlling AI, which had child like tendencies, and in its early form was basically a small child learning and growing. Kinda funny the Terminator was mention as well what with Skynet being a AI as well, and in the latest film was shown as a small child itself, growing and learning, though that’s just a coincidence at this point as T5 only came out this year.
I had previously posted about wanting to put together a composition of story lines for quite some time and today I’ve created [ARG] The Pizza Code Mystery Story Line [/size]thread.
[/size]
Previously, someone trying to read other user’s ideas was next to impossible because they are buried in multiple places throughout this thread.
Since finding these would be a huge pain in the a$$, I thought it would be best to create an entirely new thread that deals only with the story and not with trying to solve codes or puzzles. This way, we can see others ideas and give newer members a single source to turn to for what story line ideas have been suggested so far.
This new thread is only about the story line and not about solving codes. Hopefully, posting this info in one location will prompt users to examine what’s been said so far and to get them thinking about the importance of the story itself. Storm has said that the story line is important more than once and hopefully, this will give all of us a place
to turn to just for that one aspect of the ARG.
Good job, we really needed someone to make a thread entirely dedicated to story.
You know, I just realized, if one of those theories from the beginning is true, where the IRC clues and current HALOS code is transmissions sent to Doctor Horn, then Dr. Horn is just using us to decode the transmissions for him. This also could mean by now that Dr. Horn has actually already cracked the HALOS code, and if and when we do it will be too late. When we finally crack the HALOS code, we might just be dealing with the aftermath of the story.
I doubt Storm would be THAT evil. The Story is for Us, the Players, cutting out the story, because we “missed” our window of opportunity goes against the point of the ARG.
I’m not saying we missed our opportunity, I’m simply suggesting that perhaps instead of dealing with the story as Dr. Horn was solving it as well, storm would have us see what happened after Dr. Horn cracked all of this and deal with that instead. Honestly, that might make it an even better story.
Though really, I know think this idea might be a bit moot because the reason BMRF.us changing is HALOS or Dr. Horn trying to entice more people to try to crack the HALOS code.
Going back to Tim Evens= TV in mesa.
I am doing another play through of the steam release of BM i did notice something in the chapter office complex on one of the TVs with static.
I am unsure if this is just an illusion or actually something but i noticed on the TV that the houndeye stares at has what looks like text and maybe an image.
Perhaps someone can take a closer look at this.
What’s the location, what map, that would help. Obvilous it’s Questionable Ethics, but what part of the office as it is pretty big.
Founded in 2004, Leakfree.org became one of the first online communities dedicated to Valve’s Source engine development. It is more famously known for the formation of Black Mesa: Source under the 'Leakfree Modification Team' handle in September 2004.