Halo Graphic Novel, Page 122

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Page 122, by Robert McLees.

In the Gallery Art section of the Halo Graphic Novel, Pg 122 (shown right), there are two main boxes of text, along with pictures and maps of Operation: KALEIDOSCOPE.

The text boxes contain one chat log between two people and the other appears to be a log of a data query. Surrounding the boxes are pictures and maps of Operation: KALEIDOSCOPE and other smaller text areas relating to the operation. One image shows then-Corporal Avery Johnson firing an M99 "Stanchion" from a table, while the other picture shows his target.

Summary

One major point of interest is the implication that Johnson is a SPARTAN-I. This is supported by a reference to a program called "ORION" in Halo: Contact Harvest.

First the info boxes from Page 122 of the Halo Graphic Novel:

Chat Log Note: Parts of the log are covered by photographs on the page. Partial sub-chatter transcr[obscured] submission of official releas[obscured] 2552:09:12:15:25:30:08 - 2552:09:12:15[obscured] mike44236: No, this is not a thinly veiled attempt to query how many ones are still active. I am merely trying to discern what is up with this interest spike on alpha juliett juliett 20114? echo23023: I don't know? His current proximity to one of the twos MB? Isn't all that junk automated? mike44236: Thanx and yes. The query was intercepted with the Paris/BS spoof, but what am I supposed to do now? echo23023: Whaddayamean? Send a counter-query. right? Isn't there anyone local? WTF? RUnoobMB? mike44236: Ha ha ha :-P. The query is from the Gettysburg and it's got charlie hotel 4695's thumbs all over it. echo23023: First that ass juliett alpha 20101: now goddamn charlie hotel 4695!?! It sounds like a big red button time to me, cupcake! I guess the whelps see all that grey hair and figure they can run willy-nilly through their elders' secret dells. mike44236: Umm... that's what it sounds like to me, too. But you do see the pickle I'm in now, don't you? Uh... The young Masters may be wise in the ways of magick but the Sorcerer Kings have not yet--- echo23023: WTF!?! Lolz!!!!one! Wise in the ways of MAGICK?!?! Sorcerer Kings?2?!?!! Roflmao!!!!!!eleven!! mike44236: Ok fine! You can make allusions about wolves you SOB but when I try to get creative you've gotta be a total--- echo23023: Sorry sorry! Look I didn't mean it like that. Anyways... what level is your Elf Wizard? (^o^) hehehe! mike44236: </groan> Soooo... alpha20101 and hotel4696 have both made queries and even though both of them have deep deep access, the files they are looking for are SEALED from the TOP and are STICKY to boot! echo23023: Either of them given you reason to think they suspect juliett20114 is a one? mike44236: Hotel4695 didn't, but alpha20101 made several other queries along the line. I didn't counter-query - didn't want to heap that kind of grief on any of ours - so I gave it a red check and forwarded it to Section 0. echo23023: Well, that's a bit like spinning the cylinder, isn't it? That hammer's gonna drop eventually. mike44236: Yeah, but not on me! Not with 'golf51979' as Section Head. he was top at Misriah, MISRIAH for Pete's sake! echo23023: And for some reason you don't think it was a political move? Alpha20101 was a yoan gahn dur tzan sze at one time too, right? mike44236: Be that as it may, golf51979 doesn't play that fiefdom crap like tango12756 did. Golf51979 was a military appointment . Sierra10852 [obscured, possibly "was"] executed for the Herzog killing. echo23023: Oh no you didn't!

Data Query Log Proof of data query "spoof" voluntarily submitted after submission of official release of information request 2552:09:12:04:16:22:01 C:\>sftp -ks 1024 sftp.unsc.marmedrec.mil Connecting to ely.sol.terra.au.marmedrec.mil (1024 mbit tunnel) Connected to ely.sol.terra.au.marmedrec.mil 220 ely.sol.terra.au.marmedrec.mil SFTP server ready User (ely.sol.terra.au.marmedrec.mil:(none)): HALSEYSRB4695 Password: < <login page data excised for brevity> > sftp> hash Hash mark printing on (1024 bytes /hash mark). sftp> get 48789-20114-AJ.txt 450 file unavailable, please retry sftp> get 48789-20114-AJ.txt 200 PORT command okay. 150 Opening data connection for 48789-20114-AJ.txt(FAE;144:FEAC:67:CCF8187:AEAA:81:322). ################### 226 Transfer complete. 16494 bytes sent in 0.98 seconds (16 Kbytes/s) hunter>watching *;*;*;*;*;*;* sftp.marmedrec.mil (ARP) hunter> sftp init EA15EE95CE32:EE28:AA34:3:3283:EA83 *> sftp.unsc.marmedrec.mil [1024 mbit tunnel] hunter>RACE START sftp.unsc.marmedrec.mil [36k CPU utl] hunter> hunter> hunter> hunter> RACE FINISHED [1024 mbit tunnel in 0.239238s] rly sftp.unsc.marmedrec.mil blk PUT:GET:SEND hunter> sftp.unsc.marmedrec.mil> Connected to ely.sol.terra.au.marmedrec.mil hunter> sftp.unsc.marmedrec.mil> ely.sol.terra.au.marmedrec.mil SFTP server ready hunter> sftp.unsc.marmedrec.mil> User (ely.sol.terra.au.marmedrec.mil:(none)): hunter> EA15EE95CE32:EE28:AA34:3:3283:EA83> HALSEYSRB4695 hunter> sftp.unsc.marmedrec.mil> Password: hunter> EA15EE95CE32:EE28:AA34:3:3283:EA83> dOc7OR$Ord3r5 < < Login page data excised for brevity > > hunter> EA15EE95CE32:EE28:AA34:3:3283:EA83>hash hunter> sftp.unsc.marmedrec.mil> hash mark printing on (1024 bytes/has mark) hunter> EA15EE95CE32:EE28:AA34:3:3283:EA83>get 48789-20114-AJ.txt hunter> BLK 48789-20114-AJ.txt RPUT c:\files\P_BS48789-2011-AJ.txt ON NEXT GET hunter> EA15EE95CE32:EE28:AA34:3:3283:EA83>get 48789-20114-AJ.txt hunter> PUT c:\files\P-BS48789-20114-AJ.txt hunter> 200 PORT command okay. Hunter> 150 Opening data connection for 48789-20114-AJ.txt(FAE;144:FEAC:67:CCF8187:AEAA:81:322). hunter> ########### hunter> 226 transfer complete hunter> 16494 bytes sent in 0.98 seconds (16 Tbytes/s)

The Players

In the Chat Log, we see that echo23023 and mike44236 are talking in code.

A Project ORION patch on the upper left corner of the page reads:

Project: ORION/RESTRICTED ACCESS
CRPL Johnson, Avery Junior
48789-20114-AJ

Alpha juliet juliet from the Chat Log is AJJ written in the phonetic alphabet. The excerpt above shows that the AJJ in question is Avery Junior Johnson. The 20114 is part of the serial number on his dog tag.

Similarly, charlie hotel 4695 is CH, or Dr. Catherine Halsey. The 4695 is also shown in the Data Log, when HALSEYSRB4695 -- Dr. Halsey—requests Johnson's medical log aboard the UNSC Gettysburg (presumably by means of a slipspace COM launcher or similar device kept secret from the rest of the crew). On a side note, the file that she receives is P_BS48789-2011-AJ.txt, also known as the Paris/BS spoof—a falsified medical record for Avery Johnson.

The third character mentioned in the Chat Log is juliet alpha 20101 -- JA. Due to the subject matter, JA is probably Colonel James Ackerson. Ackerson's projects were often competing for funds with those run by Dr. Halsey, so he was always trying to spy on the Spartan program in hopes of sabotaging Halsey's work.

Mike44236 and Echo23023 also talk about ones and twos, meaning SPARTAN-Is and SPARTAN-IIs, respectively.

mike44236 and echo23023 may work in Section 3 of ONI, because they talk about forwarding the information to Section 0.

So a legend would look like this:

• alpha juliet juliet 20114 = Avery Junior Johnson
• charlie hotel 4695 = Catherine Halsey
• juliet alpha 20101 = James Ackerson
• ones = SPARTAN-Is
• two = SPARTAN-IIs
• Section 0 = ONI Internal Affairs
• golf51979 = Probable head of ONI Section 0
• tango12756 = Former head of ONI Section 0
• Sierra10852 = Standish

ILB Connections

mike44236 Be that as it may: golf51979 doesn't play that fiefdom crap like tango12756
did. Golf51979 was a military appointment . Sierra10852 [was ...]
executed for the Herzog killing.

Herzog was a character from the alternate reality game i love bees. Herzog was assassinated by another character, Major Standish, when the latter's secret "Covenant artifact" was in danger of being revealed to his superiors. "Sierra10852" contains sierra, which is S in the phonetic alphabet; S may stand for Standish, or some unidentified underling of his whose name also starts with "S".

The passage seems to imply that Sierra10852 was executed, though the obscured words in the passage could easily have been "was never", "was almost", etc..

Analysis

Looking at the date, we see that the events are dated September 12, 2552. From the novel Halo: First Strike, we know that about this time, on the UNSC Gettysburg, Dr. Halsey is talking to John-117 and Sgt. Johnson about how Johnson survived the Flood. On pg 243 Halsey talks about how Johnson wasn’t infected by the Flood because he developed Boren's Syndrome on Paris IV.

This brings up an interesting point as in the conversation mike44236 says, Thanks and yes. The query was intercepted with the Paris/BS spoof. But what am I supposed to do now? Paris/BS spoof? Paris/BS spoof could mean the method used to bring Halsey's data query to mike44236 's attention or it could mean something quite different.

Boren's Syndrome hoax

Other users have examined the same data and come to the conclusion that Boren's Syndrome is a hoax. This conclusion is based on the Paris/BS spoof, whose name under this theory refers to Paris IV and Boren's Syndrome, the former being the location where Johnson supposedly contracted the disorder. No media currently mentions Johnson suffering from any of the other symptoms of the disorder, so it is entirely possible that he doesn't have it at all.

On a side note, when the Master Gunnery Sergeant from the Halo 2 Campaign level The Armory, asked, "Hey Johnson, when're you gonna tell me how you got back home in one piece?" Johnson replied, "Sorry Guns, that's classified."

Perhaps more incriminating is the Data Query Log, which is split into two parts; the first part is evidently what Dr. Halsey saw. The second part shows what an unidentified entity named Hunter saw.

First, Dr. Halsey tries to download some kind of medical records for Avery Johnson: 48789-20114-AJ.txt.

sftp> get 48789-20114-AJ.txt
450 file unavailable, please retry
sftp> get 48789-20114-AJ.txt

When Halsey first tries to get the file, she gets a file unavailable message, prompting her to re-attempt the download. The second attempt to get the file is successful. This oddity is explained in the second part of the query log.

 hunter> EA15EE95CE32:EE28:AA34:3:3283:EA83>get 48789-20114-AJ.txt
 hunter> BLK 48789-20114-AJ.txt
 RPUT c:\files\P_BS48789-2011-AJ.txt ON NEXT GET
 hunter> EA15EE95CE32:EE28:AA34:3:3283:EA83>get 48789-20114-AJ.txt
 hunter> PUT c:\files\P-BS48789-20114-AJ.txt
 hunter> 200 PORT command okay.
 hunter> 150 Opening data connection for 
 48789-20114-AJ.txt(FAE;144:FEAC:67:CCF8187:AEAA:81:322).
 hunter> ###########
 hunter> 226 transfer complete
 hunter> 16494 bytes sent in 0.98 seconds (16 Tbytes/s)

Halsey tries to get the file but an unidentified entity named Hunter blocks (BLK) the first request. It then runs a command so that the next time that Halsey tries to retrieve the file (ON NEXT GET), the server instead sends her P_BS48789-20114-AJ.txt - the Paris/Boren's Syndrome spoof, whose filename is identical to that of the original file save for the "P_BS" prepended to it.

The Hunter, who might be a kind of Office of Naval Intelligence security AI or admin, watched Halsey's request and redirected it to a falsified medical record containing the information on Boren's Syndrome.

ONI Cover-up

There is a lot of speculation as to why ONI is trying to hide the fact that Johnson was a SPARTAN-I, but currently, there are no concrete answers. Some speculate that they are not covering up Johnson's status as a SPARTAN-I, but rather some kind of immunity that the genetically-enhanced humans may have to the Flood. However, it is shown in Breaking Quarantine that Johnson escaped the Flood without any attempted infection, unlike the story he told and the cutscene in Halo: Combat Evolved, although an attempted infection could have occurred at any time between the footage in Jenkins' helmet and Breaking Quarantine.

48789-20114-AJ.txt

On the same page of the Halo Graphic Novel it appears to reveal the contents of file 48789-20114-AJ.txt. It is another patch and doesn't reveal if the file is the real one or the spoof sent to Halsey. It does, however, offer more evidence that Johnson is a Spartan because it links him with the ORION Project, or the SPARTAN-I program.

The first patch revealed on the page: reads:

Project: ORION/RESTRICTED ACCESS System: Harvest Operation: KALEIDOSCOPE 2502:03:13:14:50:23:13  Project: ORION/RESTRICTED ACCESS CRPL Johnson, Avery Junior 48789-20114-AJ

Another article, Operation: KALEIDOSCOPE, talks about the contents of the other patches and the killing of Jerald Mulkey Ander.

Other text

There are also four small text boxes on the page that refer to the equipment and vehicles involved in the assassination of Jerald Mulkey Ander.

 M99 5.4mm SASR 'Stanchion'
 In Production: 2491-2521
 Cartridge: 5.4mm RPS
 Magazine Capacity: 10
 Length o/a: 1710mm
 Loaded Weight: 20.0Kg
 
 Type: Asynch, linear-induction motor
 Rate of Fire: Semi-automatic only
 Muzzle Velocity: 15k mps (±10)
 Muzzle Energy. J: 30,675
 Killing Range: >4.5km
 
 *Markings
 **Factory identifier and serial number on right side of receiver.
 *Safety
 **Button type above trigger on right side of receiver in for...
 *Unloading
 **Magazine catch behind magazine. Removable magazine... 

There also appears to be the crest of an armory within the text box.

OHANA PRESCIENT SYSTEMS ATLAS+
6.25Zhz ATLAS+, 64ZBs PXO-2.7k Sorsogon DDR,
BEntanaEksP "NavSpecWarGrEd", Raider 9.8k
512EB (mhs/q), 64x Blok SDP 96x82x96x LOI
Dagon SDP-RW, 2x 34ZB LB EKE/313 7.2k rpm
Kogl, 1x 50ZB LB EKE/313 7.2k rpm Kogl, 18Eb
T/TAL, 300W (100VAC-240VAC 50Hz/60Hz),
NEMA 12/IP 54, 72in FD-C, 24hr IBP,
OpRng: +60°C--30°C.

This box is accompanied by the logo of Ohana Prescient Systems.

2498 SinoViet HM 1220 LTUV-M (ECC)
standard LUT Hvt\NatGrd, M-type eq'd CNT
tyres, 6mm CerTi Armour, 4mm TransAI VPs,
HD DT, HD\Mag Suspension, HdSpAI Aux, FC,
8s CR MTrans, VA DbW.

ID#: SILU42E3IY3060, SILU42E3IY3086, SILU42E3IY3112,
SILU42E3IY3341, SILU42E3IY3487, SILU42E3IY3556:
converted 2502:01:22 from Ft. Newton Armory.

The logo of SinoViet Heavy Machinery is present within this box.

2501 Mainz Träger Dynamik 4.3L AWD
standard LTV Hvt\NatGrd. M-upgrade inl's
2mm CerTi Armour, 3mm TransAI VPs, HD
DT, HD\Mag Suspension SpAI Aux, FC, 8s
CR MTrans, VA DbW.

ID#: MIGA35F2BC6113, MIGA35F2BC6116, MIGA35F2BC6121:
converted 2502:01:22 from Ft Newton Armory.

The logo of Mainz Träger is present within this box.

Project: ORION\ RESTRICTED ACCESS

45012-0508-FD-00272
Sedition/Weapons Violations-Class A/
Destruction of GP/Theft of G.P.

Ander. Jerald Mulkey
Section Head/ Secessionist Union
980811-684-JMA4784 DOB: 2461:02:16
HT: 188cm         Eye: Brn (#32a)
WT: 77kg         Hair: Brn (#14d)
BT: A neg         Comp: Cau (#2s)

Former CP NewtonPD (cv. SWAT,
O/DVT, EPM): ties to Harvest for
Harvesters and People Occupa-
tion Government: pedagogue.

This box is framed around a picture of Jerald Mulkey.

Trivia

• On this page there is a reference to Misriah Armory, which is itself a possible Marathon reference. Also, 'Top' may or may not refer to the Marine slang terminology for 'Master Sergeant'.
• In Halo: Silent Storm, it is confirmed that Johnson is in fact a Spartan-I.