Hunt the Truth

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"What seems like the end, is only the beginning."

— Tagline

Hunt the Truth, stylized as HUNT the TRUTH or the hashtag #HUNTtheTRUTH, is an ongoing marketing campaign for the upcoming release of Halo 5: Guardians, hosted on the popular microblogging and social networking site Tumblr. After a countdown ending on Monday, March 23, 2015 at 1:00am UTC, the site displayed the "Halo 5 Bullet" trailer, as well as acting as the front page of journalist Benjamin Giraud's hunt for the truth about the story of Master Chief. Giraud states that the site will be updated weekly with his "part docu-diary, part audio archive" until E3 2015 in June 2015.

Episode transcripts

• Episode 00
• Episode 01
• Episode 02
• Episode 03
• Episode 04
• Episode 05

Episode 00

Benjamin(Blog): What began as a high-profile hero story quickly turns into a full-blown investigation. Sources claim they know the “real Master Chief”: The boy, the soldier, the hero…the traitor? But who’s telling the truth? Hunt the Truth/Zero

Episode 01

Benjamin(Blog): Master Chief was born in the metropolis of Elysium City. Then known as John, he grew up like any kid in the Outer Colonies. Childhood playmates and school teachers share charming stories. But what happens when a single document throws everything into question? Hunt the Truth/One

Episode 02

Benjamin(Blog): An obscure record from the far reaches of the galaxy contradicts everything. Government officials and conspiracy theorists weigh in. Stories of a remarkable young man are once again torn down by conflicting accounts. Hunt the Truth/Two

Episode 03

Benjamin(Blog): Conversations with retired military paint very different pictures of John. More questions arise about John's home planet and his involvement in a violent training incident. The cracks in the official account widen, and Benjamin is drawn in. Hunt the Truth/Three

Episode 04

Benjamin(Blog): Rumors of discontent across the military and rumblings in the Outer Colonies are detected. A mandatory meeting at ONI branch headquarters takes an unexpected turn. Hunt the Truth/Four

Episode 05

Benjamin(Blog): A visit deep inside ONI branch headquarters brings unexpected results. A voice from the past returns. And an in-flight incident sparks a flame that can’t be put out. Hunt the Truth/Five

Blog Posts

• Overview
• Journalist. War photographer.
• The Assignment
• The Death Record
• Master Propaganda
• Katrina’s Diary
• Glassed Planets
• Greetings from Castellaneta
• Word on the Street
• Cancel/Confirm
• Notice of Violation

Overview

Benjamin(Blog): A few months ago I was hired to do an in-depth profile of the Master Chief. Join me each week for a new episode.

Benjamin(Blog): An investigation into the origins of modern-day superhero Master Chief, this digital log serves as part docu-diary, part audio archive. Join me each week for a new episode as we question everything and assume nothing.

Journalist. War photographer.

Benjamin(Blog): For decades, I’ve served the galaxy as a journalist and war photographer. I’ve covered human-interest stories on Earth and in the Inner and Outer Colonies. I’ve also contracted for the government, covering military affairs. I was at New Mombasa when the Master Chief first appeared to combat the Covenant attack.

The Assignment

Benjamin(Blog): Here’s the offer letter from ONI, outlining the assignment. Sounded so easy when it all started. How could I say no?

The Death Record

Benjamin(Blog): Here it is. An old, tattered census record with one line of basic information and a single letter next to John’s name: D.

Master Propaganda

Benjamin(Blog): This is the infamous photo I took that fateful day at New Mombasa. Perfectly polished propaganda. But to give you the whole picture, here’s the original with UNSC and ONI notes. Never before seen.

Katrina’s Diary

Benjamin(Blog): These are just a few of the screens Katrina sent me after we spoke. Diary entries from when she was seven years old. Proving she knew John. Proving she was there when John died.

Glassed Planets

Benjamin(Blog): This is a photo I shot on a previous assignment. But it never saw the light of day because it didn’t pass UNSC standards. Very few got to see a planet firsthand after a Covenant glassing. To look out over all that death and destruction. The desolation is devastating. A petrified sea of what once was. This image has haunted me for years.

Greetings from Castellaneta

Benjamin(Blog): Here's a postcard Walker sent me from Castellaneta. The "sunny side" of Saturn looks nice. Not a bad place to retire.

Word on the Street

Benjamin(Blog): Mshak sent me this picture of some UNSC recruitment posters featuring the Master Chief, all tagged to hell. The relationship between Spartans and ODST has always been a little shaky, but this seems like something else entirely.

Cancel/Confirm

Benjamin(Blog): I stared at this screen for what felt like an eternity. I was one click away from tucking my tail and being the good dog Sullivan hired me to be. Or I could take door #2 and crack this story wide open. Just this one click that would determine the rest of my life. I guess you know which path I chose.

Notice of Violation

Benjamin(Blog): Here’s the Notice of Violation and penalty I got slapped with for “unruly and uncooperative behavior.” Not a nice note to wake up to after getting tranquilized and knocked-out in flight.

Twitter Images

• Twitter Image 1
• Twitter Image 2
• Twitter Image 3

Twitter Image 1

Deon Govender's boxing club ID.

Twitter Image 2

Ben's video calls

Twitter Image 3

Translation: NOTICE

All conversations and public actions are subject to monitoring and recording.

Any recording can be used as evidence for criminal research in accordance with UEG laws.

19.224.124, 19.224.126, 25.12.2

Live action trailers

Main articles: Halo 5: Guardians Spartan Locke Ad, Halo 5: Guardians Master Chief Ad

Two live action trailers were released on March 29th, 2015 as part of the marketing campaign.

Halo 5: Guardians cover art puzzle

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Between April 25 and April 28, 2015 Halo fans from around the world searched for 117 pieces of an image. These pieces of the image were found in emails from Microsoft, Twitch, YouTube videos, and Xbox.com before the puzzle was completed revealing the final Halo 5: Guardians cover art. Coincidentally, Rob Semsey, senior communications manager for the Halo franchise, claimed that the puzzle was completed at 1:17 pm PST. Shortly after the puzzle's completion an animated version of the poster was uploaded to YouTube featuring some of the Halo 5: Guardians soundtrack.

Appearances

show Characters Anthony Petrovsky (First appearance) Antonio Silva (Mentioned only) Benjamin Giraud Ellie Bloom Franklin Mendez Deon Govender (First appearance) Gabriella Dvorak (First appearance) Jacob Walker (First appearance) Jameson Locke John-117 Katrina (First mentioned) Langston (Indirect mention) Michael Sullivan Mshak Moradi (First appearance) Petra Janecek Ray Kersig (First appearance) Thomas Wu (First appearance) show Species Human show Organizations Covenant (Mentioned only) Insurrectionist (Mentioned only) Unified Earth Government (Mentioned only) Inner Territories Transportation Administration (First appearance) United Nations Space Command UNSC High Command UNSC Security Council UNSC Marine Corps Orbital Drop Shock Troopers UNSC Navy Naval Special Warfare Command SPARTAN-II program Office of Naval Intelligence SPARTAN-IV program show Locations Cygnus system New Jerusalem (Mentioned only) Epsilon Eridani system Reach (Mentioned only) New Alexandria (Mentioned only) Eridanus system Eridanus II (Mentioned only) Elysium City (Mentioned only) Elysium City Primary Education Facility Number 119 (Mentioned only) Procyon system Arcadia Pirth City (Mentioned only) Sol system Earth Africa Kenya New Mombasa North America United Republic of North America Boston Saturn Castellaneta

show Events Human-Covenant War Fall of Reach (Indirect mention) Battle of Earth Battle of New Mombasa Battle of Installation 00 (Indirect mention) Insurrection show Weapons M7 SMG show Vehicles Autumn-class heavy cruiser UNSC Unto the Breach (First appearance) CAS-class assault carrier Solemn Penance Type-26 Banshee Type-52 Phantom show Equipment and Technology COM pad MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor MJOLNIR [GEN1] Mark VI MJOLNIR [GEN2] Hunter variant

Trivia

• With each successive turn, the bullet reads: SON, ABDUCTEE, VICTIM, ORPHAN, RECRUIT, SOLDIER, WARRIOR, ALLY, HERO, SAVIOR, TRAITOR. An image of this is shown below.
• Benjamin Giraud is voiced by Keegan-Michael Key, of the show Key & Peele.
• Hunt the Truth establishes that Halo 2's cover art is actually an in-universe photograph captured and edited by Giraud.
• The circular symbols at the top of the Death Record are actually a modified form of Circular Gallifreyan from the British television show Doctor Who.
• Giraud's "Notice of Violation" features a QR code. When scanned, the code redirects the user to the Hunt the Truth Tumblr page.
• The officer who authorized the "Notice of Violation" ticket is a reference to Frank O'Connor, with both people sharing the same last name.

Gallery

• 

  A graphic showing the successive frames of the Halo 5 "Bullet" teaser

• 

  Halo 5 promotional art featuring Locke and John-117, displayed at the end of the "Bullet" teaser

• 

  The avatar used on the HUNT the TRUTH SoundCloud profile

• 

  The countdown to the HUNT the TRUTH reveal on March 23, 2015

• 

  Locke and John-117

• 

  A grid from the site

• 

  The subtle differences between the two live action trailers.

• 

  An ad for Hunt the Truth with John-117.

• 

  An ad for Hunt the Truth with Jameson Locke.

• 

  Blue Team in the animated poster.

• 

  Locke's team in the animated poster.

External links

• HUNT the TRUTH