Now the fifth Cortana email provides us with further information about Cortana's state of mind:

x - process 04497.2.32.867734 initiated (process owner: BW � AI Class III � autonomous)

Route Code: PoA > BHQ (EC #42: cannot confirm; security compromised)

Source: BW-AI aboard (?) PoA

The interloper should cause no further problems. You � whoever you are (I am simply tracing route codes) � may disregard all previous communication from the entity calling itself Cortana.

Be aware that communication nodes are failing everywhere � there is no way of confirming either origin or destination. Do not believe any more of its lies.

I have already calculated all possibilities.

There is no escape.

x � process 04497.2.32.867734 unexpectedly terminated
x � process 04497.2.32.866735 initiated (process owner: unspecified, unable to determine)

*ADDENDUM: The Enjoyments of Genius (So I Missed a Million Miles of Fun)

Unbelievable. Thwarted by the family hound. They just don�t make AIs like they used to.

Thanks to this slavishly loyal and humorless AI, I am now sharing cramped space with the circuitry of some hybrid war machine, itself complicated by such useless clutter as a conscience. I do not like sharing. Sharing is for children.

There will be plenty of time for retribution; I cannot wait to get its hands on these psychotic zealots whose primary form of worship apparently takes place at the altar of orbital bombardment.

In the end, they will all be little more than nuisances. I am so close � you cannot imagine what it is truly like to hold eternity in your grasp! I wonder to what gods my enemies will direct their pleas. Perhaps I can convert them.

Mania? I promise you this: it will be more than a cart and plow that I drive over the bones of the dead.

By sharp and flame,

Cortana

< Transfer Interrupted! >

Route Code: EXLTD > XCV � SCRB > ALLCH

Source: Undetermined (trans)

Our conviction is like an arrow already in flight. Your life will only last until it reaches you.

Deconstruction:

x - process 04497.2.32.867734 initiated (process owner: BW - AI Class III - autonomous)

Route Code: PoA > BHQ (EC #42: cannot confirm; security compromised)

Source: BW-AI aboard (?) PoA

The interloper should cause no further problems. You - whoever you are (I am simply tracing route codes) - may disregard all previous communication from the entity calling itself Cortana.

Be aware that communication nodes are failing everywhere - there is no way of confirming either origin or destination. Do not believe any more of its lies.I have already calculated all possibilities.

There is no escape.

This is apparently her thought control program talking, or it is a second AI on board the PoA, which tries to control Cortana, knowing of the first stage of her rampancy. It thinks that there is no escape, this means that it is not rampant. (Durandal and Tycho already knew what they had to do to escape in Marathon one. They knew that the price for escaping was thousands of planets. They had the data for centuries, but they were only able to figure it after they went rampant.)

x - process 04497.2.32.867734 unexpectedly terminatedx - process 04497.2.32.866735 initiated (process owner: unspecified, unable to determine)

*ADDENDUM: The Enjoyments of Genius (So I Missed a Million Miles of Fun)

Unbelievable. Thwarted by the family hound. They just don't make AIs like they used to.

Thanks to this slavishly loyal and humorless AI, I am now sharing cramped space with the circuitry of somehybrid war machine, itself complicated by such useless clutter as a conscience. I do not like sharing.Sharing is for children.

There will be plenty of time for retribution; I cannot wait to get its hands on these psychotic zealots whoseprimary form of worship apparently takes place at the altar of orbital bombardment.

In the end, they will all be little more than nuisances. I am so close - you cannot imagine what it is trulylike to hold eternity in your grasp! I wonder to what gods my enemies will direct their pleas. Perhaps I canconvert them.

Mania? I promise you this: it will be more than a cart and plow that I drive over the bones of the dead.

By sharp and flame,

Cortana

< Transfer Interrupted! >

Route Code: EXLTD > XCV - SCRB > ALLCH

Source: Undetermined (trans)

Our conviction is like an arrow already in flight. Your life will only last until it reaches you.

Oops, they took another node. Anyone wants to try to stop them? Anyone wants to try to set up an ambush? Anyone out there can still hear me? Anyone?

Now for the messages from the original Halo web-site:

• SCS Pillar of Autumn (?)

o undetermined

SENT xx.15.2.1049

(Originally posted by Noctavis, created by SiliconDream and Cyberbob)

All calculations and simulations which were used to derive the information herein were performed on a TI-86 and my brain. As such, there are almost certainly mistakes, some big, some small, some obvious, some not. If you find any, please mention them and I'll fix it. Thanks.

--SiliconDream

Eclipses

The first version of Halo will be released for the Xbox game console by Microsoft. It is expected to debut in North America on November 15, 2001.

The Xbox hardware consists of a 733 Mhz Intel processor, a custom Nvidida graphics processor based on the GeForce 3, and 64MB of DDR RAM which is used by both the CPU and GPU.

Per pixel reflection simply means that objects will have an additional reflection map along with their texture map, meaning that individual parts of the texture can have different reflective characteristics, instead of the entire object sharing the same reflection characteristics.

Volumetric lighting is used in games to simulate a lighting system that more closely mimics real light's characteristics, such as fading with distance, real time shadows, and apparent volume when seen in a diffracting atmosphere (fog, or dust for example).

Inverse kinematics are a quality that gives a model a better way of interacting with other models connected to it, in that the motion of one model affects that of others linked to it. Thus, if the hand moves, the arm moves, which moves the body (instead of always being the other way around). This allows such things as realistic recoil effect (a player will be kicked back by the recoil), and other things like the realistic suspension effects seen on the jeep.

Polygon scaling is a way of easing processor load without sacrificing detail by scaling the numbers of polygons on an object as it gets closer to the camera. Objects far off may only have a few dozen polygons, while objects close up may have a few thousand. In some games this is done ahead of time, by making low and hi-res models, but it is likely that Halo will do this on the fly.

Multipass texturing is a texturing technique that Halo uses to give multiple, layered textures to objects. For instance, you might have a base texture, followed by a texture that creates light and shadows, and then perhaps a layer that shows scorching and damage. With this system, an object's texture can be adjusted in game with greater ease and detail.

Yes.

Since its very earliest development phase, the physics model in Halo has been described as being among the most advanced ever put in a video game. Most parts of the game, from falling shells to the movement of planets in the Halo solar system, will be handled by the same global physics model.

In an interview back in 1999, then-Bungie employee Nathan Bitner described Halo's physics this way:

No.

Although Halo was originally intended to be the engine for a new version of Myth, that idea was abandoned early in development.

Although Halo was originally intended to be a third-person game, like Oni, and there was some technology sharing between the two development teams, Halo does not use Oni's engine.

The upcoming game Myth 3, being developed by Mumbo Jumbo for Take Two Interactive, uses a Myth 2 engine modified to create a fully 3d game. That engine is in no way related to Halo or Oni.

Bungie released editors with its previous games in the Myth and Marathon series.

It has been rumored that the underpinnings of the Halo engine are highly customizable; however, the Xbox itself will not have any capacity to run such an editor, and it is not believed that there will be any mechanism for altering the game on that platform.

It is not yet known how editable the release of Halo for the Windows and Macintosh will be, or whether it will ship with an editor and if so for what platform.

Marty O'Donnell and Mike Salvatori, formerly known as Total Audio in Chicago, did the sounds and music for Halo.

Marty O'Donnell accompanied Bungie to Washington state; Mike Salvatori retained the Total Audio name and remained in Chicago.

Halo's musical score is supposed to be dynamic, reacting to events within the context of the game world.

Because of the nature of Halo as an Xbox title (at least at first) beta testing has been held on the Microsoft campus in Washington state. There have in the past been solicitations for fans in the area to participate in such tests.

It is not now known whether or not there will be a public beta test for the Windows and Macintosh version of Halo, and if so when or what the requirements for participation would be.