So, could that mean that IRC clues are first step to decode HALOS (21 into 1)?
Perhaps something in the IRC clues can help us with the HALOS code. If only we had been discussing that earlier, say, in the last few posts.
The clue says ā21 goes into 1ā and not ā21 went into 1ā so, the answer matches perfectly.
The same happens here.
Whiteboard C2a4x labboard15.jpg references Anamalous Materials which is the chapter name of where the Anti-Mass Spectrometer is located and it also mentions the Resonance Cascade which is what the Anti-Mass Spectrometer caused. Storm had aslo said āItās everywhere you lookā which would indicate seeing the results of the resonance cascade. His comment that āthe password will probably be hinted at, perhaps in a less than obvious wayā also matches
Iām not disagreeing with you. If the password works, then it works. Try it and we will know. In the mean time, Iāll continue following Stormās other advice, and work out the story.
I think āits everywhere you lookā is in relation to the fact that that particular message was decoded by SECOM, which was hidden in the very message we were reading. Also, where is that second quote from, I donāt think Iāve seen it before
Itās from the PM from 0418_08151814, an alias of Stormseeker. Itās on his page on the wiki. The PM includes several hints at the method of encryption.
At this point, I am pretty much convinced that our key is āBiodome Still Under Constructionā (with varying capitalization, which is the toughest part about decoding). Itās exactly 32 bytes with whitespace included, and it fits the bill for 256-bit encryption. Therefore, Iām thinking we are dealing with 256-bit AES or Rijndael; the standard is a 128-bit block size, which means we need another 8 bytes added to our hex code. If this is the case, a word like āscandiumā could fit the billāperhaps adding the bytes to the hex code in some way will result in something. I realized this whilst looking at the hex code on Notepadāitās too perfect for those last 8 bytes to be missing in the manner they are. Furthermore, the whiteboard seems to indicate at the key, and it all fits so neatly that I canāt help but think this is the right track. Iāve run some decryption attempts, but to no avail (as of yet). Itās difficult to use online decryption tools because of the varying modes. So far, this is the best one Iāve found that doesnāt require any sort of payment/credit system: Code Beautify
Iām going to start running some decryption methods regarding this new insight about the whiteboardsāif I recall correctly, it was Code_ / Storm who had the idea to put them up on the Wiki to begin with, although my memory of those first few days is hazy, so perhaps thereās something valid there. Furthermore, I had another idea regarding the ā21goes into 1ā. I was digging around on the internet and came across an interesting concept that I had previously heard about but never investigated. Apparently, the soul has a weight to it, at least according to (potentially flawed) analysis done by a Massachusetts physician named Duncan MacDougall. His work included a hypothesis that 21 grams was the weight of the human soulāhis work was later popularized in science fiction and even a comic series, wherein the experiment was meant to be replicated by more high-tech equipment. Considering all of the references we have to AI and niobium, as well as the yet unclear motivations behind Dr. Hornās research, is it possible that he was attempting to recreate the human soul via a machine? The ā21 goes into 1ā could be a reference to how the human soul weighs 21 grams, and perhaps Dr. Horn was attempting to figure out exactly what it was that went into those 21 grams. This is just speculation, but it makes sense as to why the machine began (apparently) running rampant and developing a āmind of its ownāāperhaps it truly does have a mind . . . and a soul.
EDIT: The phrasing of the hint seems to be indicative of 21 somethings going into 1 somethingāin other words, it may not be explicitly numeric in meaning. Storm could have simply said ā21 into 1ā if that were the case. Again, this is complete speculation, but the phrasing has been bothering me.
EDIT 2: Okay, so letās take a look at this whiteboard:
The right side carries some very interesting suggestions. First, the three steps to the right of the āCODEā portionāencode, submit, server. This could just be a canonized inclusion, but it could also indicate that these steps may be included in solving the HALOS.txt puzzle. Weāve already had some pretty hefty decryption, so it would definitely not surprise me if another step was needed to get the āfinalā solution. Furthermore, weāve been looking at cascade ciphers, but what about the part below it? 1024-bit (RSA) isnāt too difficult to imagine showing up at some point, especially because we have a huge advantage over the NSA and CIA in this attempt: we will likely have an inclination as to what the key might include. Therefore, Iād say itās important we limit ourselves to cascade ciphers for this part (because of the hex code size), but we should not exclude the other ciphers mentioned down the road. All in all, Iām thinking we are on the right track here, but we may be missing a stepāhence Stormās reminders to review the story.
It was that exact phrasing that stood out to me as referencing division.
Iāve always felt that the phrasing ā21 goes into 1ā is indicative of some form of metonymy. Subject-verb agreement requires that ā21ā be a singular object. Youdonāt say ā21 somethings goes into so.ā That why I agreed with CPU regarding a reference to Xen crystal EP-0021.
Itās mentioned quite a bit on some of the whiteboards. Also, since itās referred to as a specimen, I would guess that it was the specimen transfered to the biodome.
Either way, I would agree that the key probably references the biodome, and the encryption is probably referenced in the PM from code. Personally, my (metaphorical) money is on an AES encryption, since it is mentioned in both the PM and the whiteboards.
EDIT: Remember the OTR-style security breakdown from Code_'s PM? It mentioned cascade ciphers later on, but only a single cipher for the hex code.
Well one Wikipediayou can see that cascaded ciphers are multiple times encrypted. So maybe we have to try out decrypting our results multiple times with either the same of another algorithm?
I remember reading about this years ago, but I entirely forgot about this study - And this seems like the sort of thing that might hold a key to this entire puzzle. Definitely something to look into further.
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA. Storm, you snake! I had a sneaking suspicion, but wasnāt sure. Until now. I was reviewing the thread, and noticed this message from JohnNotJohn:
"Iāve been looking over some of the earlier pages of the thread, and I noticed that Storm said we were close two years ago, when the HALOS file was found. All of the work that has been done since then has focused on ultimately solving that one puzzle. Meaning everything Storm has done since then must have been subtly hinting at the solution to that puzzle. However, he might just be messing with us. Also, I personally recommend the 80s and 90s, corresponding to about a year ago. Lots of interesting stuff, including acronyms, anagrams, analyzing static, large amounts of numbers, and more. Old thoughts sometimes inspire new thoughts. See if anything occurs to you while re-reading.
Just keep your eyes peeled, and you might find something."
Notice anything?
āI AM HALOSā
Well then, welcome, HALOS. Now, tell me your secrets or this little care package Iāve been working on will be uploaded directly to your server. Ladies and germs, I think itās time we added another page to the Wiki: Posts by JohnNotJohn. We will (likely) find our answer within them.
EDIT: We would also likely benefit from cross-referencing his posts and Stormās previous PMās/posts on that page. I will start collaborating something on the blog over this week, which I could eventually turn into a Wiki page, or at least add to an existing one if someone gets there first.
Thatās an extremely good point about the subject-verb agreement! I completely missed that.
As for the whiteboard(s), Iāve begun an exhaustive campaign to input keys ranging from 8-32 bytes into AES and Rijndael decrypters (128-256). Could someone who is more familiar with the input methodology verify whether or not the input format matters. If I recall correctly, my eventual input of the SECOM code was spaced like the depiction of it on the whiteboard, but I could be wrong about that. If you know whether or not whitespace and capitalization of the hex code matters, please let me know, although Iām pretty sure it doesnāt. I am aware that the key capitalization is significant, however. Thanks!
EDIT: Annnnnnd frustration wins again. Iām working from home today, so if anyone has any insight that might help, no matter how crazy, tack it up! Iāll come back to my desktop every once in a while to run some more combinations.
You fucking genius Guns. I thought John was a bit suspicous didnāt think to mention it. Hats of to you for finding that
Hey, thanks, man. TornadoAP also sent me a message a while ago with some suspicions, and Iām sure some others had similar thoughts. The good new is, we now have some information that could potentially help us; Iām currently collaborating right now on the blog/Wiki, and will post here once itās up and running. We got this, guys!
Iām wondering now; do we trust JohnnotJohnās comments? Would HALOS want us to solve the Pizza code mystery? Iām going back and looking over the old threads, but I think we should follow every instruction he has given us closely
Thatās the conundrum. Iāve finished the blog post, and will also create a new Wiki page. Iād like to include kind of a cross-reference section where we can compare JohnNotJohnās comments with Stormās PMs and posts. I will begin working on that later tonight, unless someone beats me to the punch.
So I went back to just after HALOS.txt was uncovered, and someone asked whether they could convert the hex code to a QR code. Maybe we should try that? People attempted to create an image but it only ended up with static, but none converted it into a square format
Looking through the IRC clues, I found the message that IRC clue 5 was decoded from to be quite interesting, saying ITISPROOFOFABASEANDLOWMINDFORONETOWISHTOTHINKWITHTHEMASSESORMAJORITYMERELYBECAUSETHEMAJORITYISTHEMAJORITYTRUTHDOESNOTCHANGEBECAUSEITISORISNOTBELIEVEDBYAMAJORITYOFTHEPEOPLE,
or
It is proof of a base and low mind for one to wish to think with the masses or majority merely because the majority is the majority. Truth does not change because it is or is not believed by a majority of the people, for easier reading. Could this mean something. It seems an odd message just to store a code in
ITISPROOFOFABASEANDLOWMINDFORONETOWISHTOTHINKWITHTHEMASSESORMAJORITYMERELYBECAUSETHEMAJORITYISTHEMAJORITYTRUTHDOESNOTCHANGEBECAUSEITISORISNOTBELIEVEDBYAMAJORITYOFTHEPEOPLE,
AES TWOFISH?
Iām not so sure, after looking it up it was apparently attributed to some astornomer called āThe Nolanā, who described that stars were suns with their own exoplanets. Iām not sure you would find any code in it, but its might be worth a shot.