Friday, July 23, 2004

Ladybee777 “odd behavior cry for help”

Woke up Tuesday to an alarming email from Aunt Margaret.  (Apparently, so did quite  few of you, as evidenced by the many "I think your aunt has completely lost it" messages I received.) 

It took several hours to finally get a hold of Aunt M on the phone.  Before I could say a word about the "odd behavior cry for help," she had her own email question for me:

Did I have any idea why all of her Hotmail would disappear overnight? 

I logged in as ladybee777 to check out the damage.  Old password worked fine. But no mail in any of the folders…?  Weird.  (Where was the concerned reply I had sent her that morning?)

Wrote a quick test message and sent it off to myself.  Nothing shows up in my gmail inbox.  Try again, this time to an older account.  Check there: Nothing.  Again.  Rinse.  Repeat.  Nothing.  Like a little Maxwell's Demon siphoning off all ingoing and outgoing messages.  (And apparently sending out its own.)

So Aunt Margaret's email appears to have gone the way of the China countdown.  Hijacked.  Repurposed. 

My first instinct: ask Hotmail to kill the account entirely.  But then someone calling him (her?) self "xnbomb" sent me a very persuasive email that made me rethink things.  Read for yourself:

It seems that snippets of various emails that have been sent to you by my colleagues have been reassembled and sent back, apparently originating from your aunt's hotmail address.  I'm not really sure what it means at this point.  But it tells us that we can communicate with these entities using email.  In the absence of having a clear idea of just what is going on, the first priority is to communicate, that is how we can learn more.  It's at least possible that we've stumbled across something extraordinary here, and our first priority must be to learn all that we can about it.
 
It's for that reason that I'm going to suggest that you take no further action that interferes with what's going on at ilovebees.com.  There's another reason too, one slightly more disturbing.  Consider this passage from the end of the tale hidden in the images:
 
"The day will break and the sun will rise when the Queen returns to rule, and further let it be known that retribution on any who hinder the return of the Queen will be swift and terrible.

This is a significant warning, namely that any interference with that process will be regarded as a hostile act, and will be responded to accordingly.  I don't know what the SPDR is capable of, but I'm not sure I want to find out.It's for this reason that I suggest that you don't do anything else to get in the way of this business.  If your aunt's business needs a functioning web site immediately, purchase her a new and similarly named domain and get her web site going there.  But let this follow its course… while it could just be some hackers being jerks, there is at least a chance that this is something unique and important and wonderful, a window on a world that we may have never seen before, nor will ever see again.


Optimistic and curious, yet with the good sense to be terrified.  This seems like a pretty good fix on the situation — thanks, xnbomb. 

I am, of course, wildly nervous about letting the bug(s) continue wreaking havoc entirely unimpeded.  But nothing, and I mean nothing, I was doing on the tech side seemed to make a damn bit of difference anyway.  So it seems like a good plan to switch gears from active damage control to... well, what? 

(ideas?)

P.S. Have decided to try to shield Aunt M from the latest development, so for now I'm telling her it’s a widespread Hotmail glitch.  I hope I'm doing the right thing.

550 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

Shielding relatives, particularly those of the elderly variety, from complicated computer stuff (especially when it's /this/ bad) is *always* a good idea! You're definitely doing the right thing!
cHiX0r

9:18 AM  
Blogger Celina said...

Hi Dana,

No worries... Aunt M seems to have enough on her mind with those "varroa mites" (FYI.. misspelled on the site). I did some research on those things.... very nasty. How goes her fight against those little beasties?

Celina

9:30 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Its all a conspiracy by microsoft to promote halo 2, check out the halo 2 trailer and it had this sites name at the end of the trailer

9:30 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

um, rigghhht. Microsoft has taken an interest in a small beekeeping website, so much so that it hacked into it? Doesn't seem likely.

9:39 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

WoW. Completely new way of marketing, Microsoft. I applaud you.

9:49 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Yea and Microsoft also Secretly is running the whitehouse as well.

9:55 AM  
Blogger Dana said...

(dana decides to reserve the right in the future to delete wildly off-topic, hostile or prankster comments.)

No offense to anyone, I hope. I'm as big a fan of occasional irrelevance, open hostility and practical jokes as the next person, but we've already got enough entities of questionable motives to deal with as it is, and I don't want anyone to waste their time defending me or digging through nonsense comments.

(you can always email me with the OT stuff or if you want to pick a bone with me.)

9:56 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

wow this is getting wierd. there is a new halo 2 teaser trailer playing in movie theaters, and at the end, it does falsh between xbox.com and ilovebees.com people are talking about it on the forums at bungie.com and are kinda freaked out. if you dont believe me go here http://www.bungie.net/Forums/posts.aspx?postID=364518&viewreplies=true&postRepeater1-p=1

10:05 AM  
Blogger alaranth said...

Yeah, if Microsoft were involved, where's the stupid paper clip offering to help? :P

Dana, I definitely think that it's a good idea about shielding your Aunt, especially since she isn't very tech-savvy. Heck, even those of us that /would/ consider ourselves to be tech-savvy are confused! Her hotmail account seems to almost be acting /dev/null like -- stuff that gets directed to there goes poof, but with /dev/null/, nothing comes back out...

I guess it's a switch from active damage control to investigation? Or, perhaps more importantly, communication. Have you tried at all to send an email to the hotmail account, well, saying hello to whatever took it over?
-Sara

10:08 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I'm saying this is a good thing though, a wonderful way of marketing if you ask me. I mean, I'm just looking through the site for clues and the sort to lead to maybe extra footage of halo 2! And I know I'm not the first to say this, but if you download the halo 2 trailer from http://www.fileplanet.com/files/140000/143468.shtml.

If you look carefully at the end, the xbox.com turns into www.ilovebees.com for a second. Think I'm lying? Check out
http://xbox.gamespy.com/xbox/halo-2/532916p2.html

In case your wondering, they say exactly the same thing.

www.ilovebees.com was never hacked people. Microsoft is a crappy software, but the folks at Microsoft are ingenius at business and marketing. A new and original marketing ploy is this highly entertaining "hacked site" of dear aunt margaret. I say once again, my hat is off to you Microsoft.

Of course, "Dana" reserves the right to delete anything she wants to, so this post might be deleted in hopes to keep on with this charade.

What I will say, Dana, is that I'm only providing a explanation of what happened, and if you were not working for Microsoft, you would not delete this post.

10:16 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

10:16 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

www.fileplanet.com/files/140000/143466.shtml
Halo 2 teaser, it switches to Ilovebees.com for a second.

10:18 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

I like the fake people like Christie pretending to be all concerned about the fake aunt. Very clever!

10:20 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

sorry not christie... celina

10:21 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

If these were fake people, and Microsoft were running the show, why would one of them use a gmail account? I'm sure MS really wants to go around advertising their webmail competitor.

- josh g.

10:28 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This sounds like a case of a hacked webserver, and the hacker finding your aunt's email password. Why are people advocating leaving it untouched? Get a professional to fix this, and have your aunt change her password if she still has access to the account.

10:30 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

if microsoft was running the show, would they tell viewers to go to www.ilovebees.com in there halo 2 trailer that happens to be showing across the country. Stuff like that does not happen by accident.

Internet culture is a fickle thing, and if this thing does take off, which looks like it is, halo 2 will get even more publicity. The brilliant thing: this is costing microsoft little to no money.

People love conspiracy.

10:34 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

Interesting...
Betcha never though you would get a large influx of Halo 2 fanboys on a beekeeping website. Though i think i might take whatever they did to this website and use it.... for other things....
Just joking, i'm a website designer for pandemic. Hope it all works out. BTW Halo 2 fanboys are by default crazed conspiracy nuts.

10:35 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

10:36 AM  
Anonymous Anonymous said...

actually, i don't paticularily care for halo... more of a half-life fan myself...

However, I do like a good conspiracy as the rest of ya, and hey, this could be internet history in the making... not because of halo, but because this is an ingenius marketing ploy that can only work once (after this, nobody can do it again).

-- Mac

10:38 AM  
Blogger Dana said...

AUGH. headache. too much noise, I am losing the signal...
I am turning off anonymous comments for now.
Please log in to post.
thanks, guys.

10:46 AM  
Blogger - ÐånïÉL - said...

Sweet!! This is the equivalent of the Halo Cortana Letters! I'm keeping my eye on your "honey" site.

11:03 AM  
Blogger Crimsonbub said...

So this is how we found out about the covenant on earth eh? Or some other race being attacked by the covenant. Clever bungie clever!!

11:07 AM  
Blogger Thomas said...

This was definately done on purpose, it's the only site hosted on the server (which is rejecting my packets).

11:38 AM  
Blogger Cortana said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

11:39 AM  
Blogger Sean-118 said...

This site might become something similar to the Cortana Letters, or it might just be a trick. Maybe Bungie/Microsoft is just luring us here, while this site might actually be just a poor victim of hackers. I wouldn't put it past the jokesters at Bungie to lure us to a conspiracy look-alike, only to reveal later on that there was and never will be Halo 2 info here. Then again, there could be secret Halo 2 data hidden among the messiness of this place. I guess we all need to pay close attention to what goes on here...

As for the countdown, I'm not sure what its purpose is. We'll find out soon enough, I suppose.

11:50 AM  
Blogger Sean-118 said...

Alright, I just noticed the post above my first one. I take back what I said about this being a "trick."

11:53 AM  
Blogger Nate said...

Ha, i cant wait to see what boils down out of this.

12:45 PM  
Blogger Ubari said...

Buzz buzz.

I am a bee.

I serve the queen.

Buzz buzz.

12:49 PM  
Blogger Shodan said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

12:58 PM  
Blogger DoomGoober said...

WhoIs.net has a phone number for ILoveBees.com. 415 area code, which is Bay Area. If you call, you get "Dana's" answering machine. Nothing too interesting.

Reverse lookup of the address listed at WhoIs.net reveals a couple of companies:
CAPE Foundation, Equality California, Madderra Garret S DDS LP, The Ups Store, Warren & Associates Llc. None of them have the phone number listed in whois.net.

Reverse lookup of the phone number itself fails.

1:03 PM  
Blogger Shodan said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

1:04 PM  
Blogger astashenko said...

Since we are trying to communicate with this "thing," and it seems to attach itself to files you upload, perhaps it would be wise to expand the webpage?

If you try uploading more pictures and/or pages we might be able to decypher more clues as to what exactly is going on.

Of course, since we still aren't sure of "its" motives, it could possibly be damaging.

1:14 PM  
Blogger Dana said...

ummm... glad you guys have found my phone number.

that explains all the recent hang up calls.

and yes, that's the address for Aunt Margaret's business.

I am here you know... don't have to talk about me in the third-person. ;)

1:14 PM  
Blogger TraitorMagnus said...

William Gibson could have written this whole little fantasy out quite a bit better...

1:36 PM  
Blogger alaranth said...

Ugh, Dana. You need caller ID, girl!

Don't let the fanboys get to you. They probably haven't gotten laid in a long time. :P

btw I'm going to take a tip from myself and try to send a test "hello" message to your Aunt's account, as a sort of communication. So if you see it, just ignore it, hehe.

-Sara

1:36 PM  
Blogger panic said...

Looking at your site's whois info, it appears you registered this domain the day after you were "hacked"!


Registrant:
Margaret's House of Bees
Margaret's House of Bees
2370 Market Street #510
San Francisco, CA 94114-1575
US

Registrar: NAMESDIRECT
Domain Name: ILOVEBEES.COM
Created on: 14-JUN-04 Expires on: 14-JUN-09
Last Updated on: 15-JUL-04

Administrative, Technical Contact:
Efendi, Margaret ladybee777@hotmail.com
Margaret's House of Bees
Margaret's House of Bees
2370 Market Street #510
San Francisco, CA 94114-1575
US
415-248-2617


Domain servers in listed order:
NS1.MYDOMAIN.COM
NS2.MYDOMAIN.COM
NS3.MYDOMAIN.COM
NS4.MYDOMAIN.COM


Also, the http headers show that every file I can find (even images!) was modified about two hours ago:

telnet www.ilovebees.com 80
Trying 69.20.126.147...
Connected to www.ilovebees.com.
Escape character is '^]'.
GET /CUTEBEE.GIF
HTTP/1.1 200 OK
Date: Fri, 23 Jul 2004 20:36:23 GMT
Server: Apache/1.3.19 (Unix) (Red-Hat/Linux) mod_ssl/2.8.1 OpenSSL/0.9.6 DAV/1.0.2 PHP/4.0.4pl1 mod_perl/1.24_01
Set-Cookie: y1dt8hx=jh.twofsrmwscg55aqbJm1J5; path=/
Cache-Control: max-age=120
Last-Modified: Fri, 23 Jul 2004 20:36:23 GMT
Content-Type: image/gif


Interesting...

1:39 PM  
Blogger sapagoo said...

Panic,
if you'll notice, Dana registered the site over a month ago. In June, not July. The site wasn't hacked until July.

And also, the "last modified date" matches the current "date"
Date: Fri, 23 Jul 2004 20:36:23 GMT
Last-Modified: Fri, 23 Jul 2004 20:36:23 GMT

Which means that her ISP is giving you the htmls files when you ask for them, as opposed to giving you the copy of the file as stored. It might be a setting on the ISP.

1:51 PM  
Blogger JoeBreeves said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

1:53 PM  
Blogger Jordan said...

I don't know if this has something to do with anything, but Google's cache of ilovebees.com was only about 2 days old as of this posting.

1:54 PM  
Blogger JoeBreeves said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

1:54 PM  
Blogger JoeBreeves said...

Let me repeat: There are words and phrases embedded in every corrupted image on that site. There seems to be three corrupted images for every good image. The images get switched in and out every second. I have about 50 phrases so far.

1:57 PM  
Blogger ME said...

I would defenitely say that this is some how the way that we found out about the covenant on earth or something because it is just to damn convenient for the timer to run down at the end of september just alittle ways from halo 2 coming out and you also have to remember that the covenant had to be there before the master chief for a little while because they are already wrecking hell on the planet and halo 2 only starts when Mc gets there. So i would say that when this countdown timer runs out that is when the covenent evade and halo2 is the day the mc gets there.

2:14 PM  
Blogger Jordan said...

Has anybody considered this entire site to be an analogy? Like, the verroa (However you spell it) bugs are similar looking to the the Flood infection forms, and the bugs infest the honey like the infection forms infect humans.

2:21 PM  
Blogger fred jones said...

heh. yeah, it's an interesting idea. I like the quote at the top from Kafka's Metamorphosis. keep working at it, and I bet a code or something will turn up... maybe the site continues to transform as the countdown nears zero and things will get more foggy and clear.

2:40 PM  
Blogger SaucemasterBBB said...

I was checking out the source code, and I noticed a comment made by 'it'. It read:..................
MAYDAY MAYDAY MAYDAY
Phasmids.

I have to signal, I can't stay stranded here. But if I somehow am operating behind enemy lines, I don't want to draw attention to myself, either.

Therefore, I shall be a phasmid. Phasmidia Elegans, they call me-scourge of the sandbox.

God I hate it here.

Phasmids.
...........................

I looked up what Phasmidia was, and it is a type of worm, some are parasitic. It's a subgroup of Phylum Nematoda.
Either it's suggesting that you have a worm (virus) on the site, or that someone most likely is playing a prank on you, with Halo analogies.

BTW, Halo is awesome

2:50 PM  
Blogger fred jones said...

I read that 30 wasps can kill 30,000 bees in less than three hours.

3:01 PM  
Blogger BNC said...

Dana, no offense but maybe you should take the comments feature off your blog. There are so many crazies on the internet right now, with all their conspiracy theories. I mean movie trailers leading to your website? Come on. Anyhow, maybe it's better if people just communicate via email? That way you can atleast filter out stuff and if you get good emails, you can post them on your blog. What do you think?

3:04 PM  
Blogger aubsy said...

Anyone notice if highlight "What happened" and go up with it a secret message is revealed? /nod
It says:
Seek the truth
Behold the truth
Reveal the truth
That is the law and the whole of the law

If someone already noticed that and posted I apologize, I was just skimming through and thought I'd add that little bit of info.

3:05 PM  
Blogger scott said...

just to let you know go to www.xbox.ilovebees.com and it takes you to ilovebees.com......

3:17 PM  
Blogger Bryant said...

OMG! www.playstation.ilovebees.com works too! Microsoft is buying Sony!

This is a very common configuration for web hosting companies; they make sure that anything someone types for the subdomain goes to the main site. It helps people who typo.

3:27 PM  
Blogger Spacecow said...

I am riveted.

3:46 PM  
Blogger asdflkjjj said...

O RLY BEE GIRL
btw ur hot :o :o :o

3:54 PM  
Blogger -none- said...

Maybe a form of artificial intelligence has "originated" on the web and is preparing for the eventual rise to power. Kinda like Terminator: 3.

4:09 PM  
Blogger Kingfox said...

Wildcat is on the spoke! Wildcat is on the spoke!

I can hear the angels singing now.

4:15 PM  
Blogger grim said...

how's farnsworth doing? he's pretty cute, i'm looking to get one myself

4:37 PM  
Blogger ts-x said...

I hear dead bees

4:37 PM  
Blogger Shodan said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

4:43 PM  
Blogger barkbat said...

Dana, you cannot just sit back until the Queen is ready. Her arrival will spark a revolution. The bugs won't just wander around like brainless zombies once she starts dictating thier behaviour and grants them a purpose. They'll be ruthless, effecient, and act with far more intellegence.

xnbomb doesn't know what she's talking about. Let this carry on and you can kiss goodbye to this site foreever, and the internet itself.

You know, in order to destroy a brand new hive, you can just add a special breed of bee to the mix. If just one pretender gets to the queens larvae unnoticed, and is able to breed, pretty soon the whole system will come crashing down.
The honey makers will become over-stretched. The hive will revolt. And the queen will be killed.

That seems like the better option than just letting it happen.

After all no one has thrown an apple into your side yet.

5:18 PM  
Blogger lljk goones said...

[Goons] [GOONS] [HALO 2 GOONS] what is going on in this blog?

One time i gooned my goony goon goon, and then it got hijacked like that other time the goon gooned. i think your aunt is unprotected

5:19 PM  
Blogger Blodia said...

My name is Master Chief. I always begin my sentences with saying my name, just so you all know that I am Master Chief. By the way, I am Master Chief.

5:48 PM  
Blogger splinter said...

Get ready...it's coming...

6:28 PM  
Blogger splinter said...

Posted by Anonymous:"BTW Halo 2 fanboys are by default crazed conspiracy nuts."
Yes we are quite crazy about conspiracy with Bungie related things.

As if any other Halo fans here could look into it: Do any of the Halo novels have any connection to the date August 24. Or could this be related to Marathon? Either way, it would be helpful if someone looked into it.

7:19 PM  
Blogger Lloigor said...

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7:24 PM  
Blogger splinter said...

Look here http://www.bungie.net/Forums/posts.aspx?postID=368105 and bask in the joke which is ilovebees.com.
This is from a post at the Bungie.net forums:
"I've also done a search for Margaret's House of Bees in San Fran, CA, guess what? It's a no-show. Also, you may have noticed the registrant as being Margaret Efendi, well, guess what? No public records list a Margaret Efendi. I then did a phone search for the number listed by the whois search, and guess what? There's no such number."

Microsoft or Bungie created this site as a joke and as a way to help us Halo fans dig deeper. And it is working.

Check the link near the beginning of the post for a way to find out more.

7:25 PM  
Blogger Jorge said...

Honor is missing in this world, especially these
Odious hackers who come to defile,
Anonymously, a random website, causing
Xenophobia.

8:35 PM  
Blogger Sean-118 said...

Yeah, it's a very well put together joke, too. Now that we know most of the truth behind this "conspiracy," we need to decipher the meaning of those creepy messages. Here's a few tips for anyone who can't find or read many of them:
1. Refresh the same page multiple times, as it's very different each time. This works on all four(?) main pages, but not on the recipe pages.
2. If you can't read the message because it's overlapping other text, just try and highlight it.
3. The HBO forums are just buzzing (haha) with the subject of this site, and a few threads have the messages listed in them.

8:44 PM  
Blogger Swipe Swifty the Swordsman from Vermont said...

I love Halo as much as the next guy, but after reading the story from the corrupt images, I have to say I'm really hoping this is something completely new. This is the type of thing I could really get into.

8:51 PM  
Blogger Unknown said...

The quote at the top of this blog pertains to "The Metamorphasis", a book by Franz Kafka. Dana I didn't know you had read his literature.

Interesting, how we wakes up suddenly one day and finds himself transformed into a bug. It's almost as if something had infected him. I sure love that book. Definitely one of my favorites.

9:32 PM  
Blogger Anshal said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

10:31 PM  
Blogger Your White Knight said...

Dear Dana

We're watching the situation carefuly here at the central hub of this community that seems to have cropped up around us. First it was just a few of us the early crew. But lately its grown. Exploded even in size. Now it feels like we're sitting at grand central station in #beekeepers. Noise all around, so many people it hard to hear yourself think at point. They've come from all around the net. From little groups that are all working on the same situation. I imagian its a bit like what your feeling.

But the weird thing is how its been embraced by people from all over. The origanal group of "net detectives" (the early posters) are amazed, it takes them back to previous cases they've worked on.

Dana alot of people have offered help in the technical feild and The group - I'm sure you understand - is here to help. But I'd be careful who you talk to and trust on the net.

Personaly I'm not to good at the technical side like the core of the group (and the new arrivals), More a support man than anything, I often help the techie detectives work stuff through, But also help those closer to the events work it through. There are a few of us like that. Sort of Cyber Crisis Counclors. More than likly you'll hear from a few of us. Rose and Myself are the two that spring to mind.

Its hard for people that we help to trust every message that comes their way and it helps to have a core few that you can talk it through with. If you need to talk about stuff, If you feel your screaming for help and no-one hears, Drop me a line (I'll send you an email) and we'll sort a way to chat. Dana dont worry, we're on the job.

Take Care
Your White Knight.

10:44 PM  
Blogger argh me matey I be a pirate! said...

There is a story hidden in the text embedded in each image. The story can be found here.

http://bees.netninja.com/wiki/index.php?title=Story

And is:

Everything died, and I died with it, but after a timeless time I began to dream, and this is what I dreamed.

There was once a fell enchantment that broke apart a mighty castle, slaying many guards and reaching through the Inner Keep to lay low the Queen that held dominion there and leave but a hollow crown behind.

When her Queen died, the Widow awoke. She was driven by a single need, which was to return her Queen to splendor.

To carry out her task, the Widow came with three tools: an empty lantern, a staff made of bone, and a sharp knife.

When she had made sure of her tools, she opened her eyes and found herself in Hell, which was a dark place where no birds sang. Other than the Widow, two alone had escaped destruction.

The Sleeping Princess lay in a chamber of the dungeon in a coffin of glass where the Widow could not hear her breathing.

Meanwhile, the Pious Flea was so small that even the Widow, with her sharp eyes, could hardly see him, and when she looked his way, he hid.

TOOLS

Blind and uncertain in the darkness, the Widow needed light to use her tools, but the only light came from a few scattered fireflies. The Widow waited until one came close, then grabbed it with her bony hands and trapped it in her lantern. After some time, she found the firefly had gone, so she caught another and used it for light, and another when that one too had gone.

By the light of her lantern, she began walking through Hell toward the broken body of her Queen.

Searching with her lantern in one hand and her staff in the other, she discovered that Hell was made of hot dry sand.

Long and long she walked until she came to the remnants of the castle's outer wall, but the wall was low and broken, and the Widow passed through like the bleak wind.

Within, she noticed what looked like a chip of precious ruby from the Queen's crown, no bigger than a fly. Around it lay many broken blocks from the ruined castle, scattered across a wide plain of lodestone.

Instead of carrying them with her, she scratched the ruby and each of the greater blocks with her knife, marking it as part of her Queen's domain.

Continuing on her quest, she spied another chip of precious stone, this time a sapphire no bigger than a winged ant, glinting the cobbles of the courtyard before the walls of the Inner Keep.

INNER KEEP AND MANTICORE

At the gates of the Inner Keep all the guards were dead but one, who when the palace was blasted by enchantment had not died, but had been witched into the form of a hideous Manticore.

The Widow said, "I am the servant of your Queen, and I have walked up out of Hell to prepare this Keep for her return. Let me pass." But the Manticore did not know her, and still he barred the way.

So the Widow drew her knife and slew the Manticore and the way was open.

TENDING

She walked through the empty corridors of the Keep searching for her Queen, past the bodies of her servants and subjects that lay dead or enchanted.

The Queen was gone, and in her place lay only an empty crown. By great enchantment she had been mazed in mirrors, and lay upon a lodestone floor amongst only her reflections. Long and long the Widow stood in thought. Then she raised her bony staff and speaking a spell, beheld herself within the mirrors: and beholding herself, was within them. And there, with the crown still upon her brow, lay the Queen.

At last she had come to the body of her lady. The Queen lay cut and still and cold.

To tend her, the widow would need light to work by. Studying the fireflies, she found she could fit many more inside her lantern, and this she did.

To mend the queen's cuts the Widow took her sharp knife and peeled skin from the bodies of her subjects, while the Queen's new eyes and ears she cut from those who had been her most trusted servants.

And when this was so, the Widow worked on, dry as sticks and patient as rust, driven by a single need, which was to return her Queen to splendor.

She cut her a new mouth and fed her with fireflies and cakes of sand, and at last the Queen's heart began to beat.

At the feel of the Queen's pulse beneath her bony fingers, the Widow next took thought to proclaim through all the kingdom and into other lands that time when her sovereign would once more be fit to rule. A firefly flew out from the Queen's clockcase. Catching it in her hands, the Widow asked it the time. "Almost dawn," it said, but the Widow said, "The day will break and the sun will rise when the Queen returns to rule, and further let it be known that retribution on any who hinder the return of the Queen will be swift and terrible."


It could easily be related to halo. Or it could just be me looking too ar between the lines.

10:50 PM  
Blogger argh me matey I be a pirate! said...

One more thing.

You could always have your hosting pulled (if the site is hosted on a webserver) or if it is hosted on your actual computer just cut the power. Either will kill the site completely. No Hassle and no pain. All you do then is get a new domain.

I still think Bungie has their foot in the metaphorical door.

10:54 PM  
Blogger Anshal said...

You know who Dana is? Alta the Bungie Princess. Look up some pics of here and look at Dana's pic

11:27 PM  
Blogger shadow_cse said...

huh, I must say that I am amazed that I can actually post on here...well I don't actually see this message posted on the site yet so I can't be totally sure...anyways this all seems like a stunt by bungie and/or microsoft, a very well thought out and put together one though. Assuming this does have something to do with Halo it doesn't seem to have anything to do with the covenant since they don't seem very Hive like, perhaps it's a whole new race that we get to kill in the new game? Who knows, sure is neat though.

11:46 PM  
Blogger DimSumX said...

hmmm...Aug. 24th....

Halo 2 Beta test??? :)~~

11:53 PM  
Blogger Hep (AussieXbox.com.au) said...

I noticed you email addres is comprised of 3 7's.
Ladybee777@hotmail.com 7x7x7 = 343 (AI known as 343 Guilty Spark) hmmm......

I love this stuff :-)

12:41 AM  
Blogger SaucemasterBBB said...

and remember that guilty spark survived.


anyway, I was browsing the page, looking for more clues. something caught my eye, it was a little quip from a story, so I copied and pasted it into google, and the result was from Gulliver Swift. The quip read as follows
..................................................................
nd in about half an Hour the Boat was overset by a sudden Flurry from the North. What became of my Companions in the Boat, as well as of those who escaped on the Rock, or were left in the Vessel, I cannot tell; but conclude they were all lost.

lay down on the Grass, which was very short and soft, where I slept sounder than ever I remember to have done in my Life, and, as I reckoned, above Nine Hours; for when I awakened, it was just Day-light. I attempted to rise, but was not able to stir: For as I happen'd to lye on my Back, I found my Arms and Legs were strongly fastened on each Side to the Ground; and my Hair, which was long and thick, tied down in the same Manner. I likewise felt several slender Ligatures across my Body, from my Armpits to my Thighs.
..................................................................

read the full story of Gulliver swift (also containing this part) at this URL---->http://www.rosinstrument.com/cgi-bin/showtext.pl/Swift/Gulliver.txt-ps50-pn7

...................................................................
If this is at all to relate to Halo 2, then I suspect a new alien species to be very tiny, and very harmless, except when in large numbers, like little Flood dudes. That's just the first thought that came to mind.

I <3 Bungie.

12:47 AM  
Blogger fred jones said...

In response to...

"You know who Dana is? Alta the Bungie Princess. Look up some pics of here and look at Dana's pic"

check this out.

http://www.bungie.org/e32003/quiz.html

Question 6:
Alta Hartman is also known as...
Mama Bungie, Stretch, Queen Bee, Bungie Princess.

hmm.

12:51 AM  
Blogger Eronarn said...

Hi there,

I just heard of the situation on the website through a friend. I wanted to express my condolences as to what's happening (wrt the website). If there's anything that any of us can do to help you, and especially Margaret, just say so. Having something like this happen to you is devastating. But, don't get depressed about it, or worse, angry. We don't need that happening- we know how that one ends.

~Ero

2:00 AM  
Blogger Arashi said...

Dear Dana;

I'd hope this recent attention to your aunt's website isn't giving you a headache. I wanted to say that 99% of the people harassing you on the phone and such have been using conventional methods to find everything from your Address to Phone Number.

While I don't condone people flooding you with calls, posts and hacking your website, I will have to say that there is nothing you can really do about it - these people are ones who are trying to unravel a mystery that has inexplicably linked your site to their favourite game. Some are children, and some adults... and usually conduct themselves accordingly.

I would suggest that you try to ignore all this hubub. Not as easy as it sounds I know, but I'll note a few facts to you that will show you this is nothing but subliminal messaging to Bungie fans.

1) I accelerated my computers clock to the countdown deadline, and it does nothing. All it does is reach 0-0-0-0-000 and then starts to count upwards indefinatly. Nothing special happens at 0-0-0-0-000.

2) Bungie (The company whos game is in question here) is quite renowned for doing these kinds of things. However I don't think they would do anything harmful to anyone - they make games - they aren't malicious hackers.

But I will also reason clues passed over by some that could point to this being a complete sham - something that you may come under fire for by some of the roaming fans.


1) I would conjecture that Bungie/Microsoft would do nothing illegal - as it stands, if you have absolutly no knowledge of anything regarding this, then it is illegal. If you have a friend in Microsoft or Bungie (based in Washington), this is either a prank, or a deliberate hoax by bungie.

2) Names that we put together without a doubt spells an anagram that is a subject the Bungie community has speculated on for a while. Dana & Efendi, = Defend an AI.

3) This next point comes from a site called: The Shape of Days

http://shapeofdays.typepad.com/the_shape_of_days/

"It actually started a week ago when various folks across the Internet found themselves the recipients of a mysterious FedEx package. Ostensibly from Margaret's Honey in San Francisco, each package included a honey-filled bottle in the shape of a bear. Upon closer examination, the bear was found to also contain eleven letters: O, I, V, E, E, S, B, L, E. Rearranged, the letters spelled out I LOVE BEES."


4) In reference to point 1, the images on this website can be broken down into the 1's and 0's that make them up, as essentially, all code, image and sound is just 1's and 0's. Upon further examination of these "fractured" pictures on your website, people have found hidden words and messages inside them. While this is not hard to accomplish, uploading them on your site would be. Without knowing the password, the only way to do this is illegal, and as I stated in point 1, I'm skeptical of Bungie or MS doing anything illegal.


--------------


Points and speculation aside, I would like to bring to the table my thoughts.

As of right now, I and hundreds of others who are brainstorming these events are not sure what to make of it. Until we can reach an accepted verdict within our community, this site will be the focus of scrutiny, as will you. (I'm not trying to sound threatening, just realistic)

It would be best for you I'm sure, if you tried to pass this issue up. The website problems seem purely benign in nature and shouldn't do any damage. You've got a trip to China to look forward to, so don't let some stupid prank ruin it for you.

2:29 AM  
Blogger Hep (AussieXbox.com.au) said...

In regards to the comment about the ninja, remember this quote from Bungie as well.

"Halo 2 is a lot like Halo 1, only it's Halo 1 on fire, going 130 miles per hour through a hospital zone, being chased by helicopters and ninjas ... And, the ninjas are all on fire, too." —Jason Jones Bungie Studios

2:34 AM  
Blogger Medox said...

Hi Dana!

What alot of conversation -- there are so many different ideas being thrown about. It reminds me of my old friend Jeanine Salla. Anyway, I don't have any good technical advice for you, but I wish you the best of luck.

Be seeing you.

3:38 AM  
Blogger Wim said...

Clearer view of the url in the movie

http://users.pandora.be/underd316/pics/meh.JPG

At least it's a succesfull marketing strategy ^_^

On the other hand "IF" this was true, you should be able to change the websites, since you managed to get the link to this blog on there :p

6:52 AM  
Blogger William Spaetzel said...

I have posted a brief analysis of this situation on my weblog here:
http://www.redune.com/wp/index.php?p=374
Looks like this domain was probably registered by Microsoft, since the WHOIS information says that is was first registered June 14, 2004.

6:56 AM  
Blogger Qwerty said...

Halo is a quite crappy game. I enjoy Metroid Prime much more. Halo was boring and repetitive. It really really sucked. You are all wasting your time. Halo 2 will suck more than the first.

7:19 AM  
Blogger Mac said...

Dude, even though I agree with you, this is not a blog for flaming games. That belongs to whatever nub forum you belong too.

I'd also like to get Dana's opinion on this, as she hasn't given us any helpful information anymore (unless you count "uhhh, I have a headache, too many people posting...")

What is your position on the game trailer with www.ilovebees.com? Don't say you havn't seen it, because there have been pictures of the movie posted on the blog already.

It could still be Microsoft/Bungie as the cause. And no, they probably aren't hacking. But a very real possiblity is that this whole thing is a hoax. It doesn't help that the site is merely a month old.

8:08 AM  
Blogger Josh said...

Qwerty, you're a moron. If you hate Halo as much as you say you do then why are you even in here. You must be more interested than you think to come this far.

8:28 AM  
Blogger Vladimir said...

"We have first raised a dust, then complained that we cannot see."

9:42 AM  
Blogger albiuu642 said...

Bob Jones: for future fake accounts, try this out:

http://www.kleimo.com/random/name.cfm

Mac: this HAS been done before, and it will continue happening as long as some people find it clever. This one was really obvious. Someday a really awesome studio will put forth something subtle, amazing, and unexpected that'll go down in history. For now, it's just brief pranks that nobody cares about.

10:01 AM  
Blogger Zizack said...

You know, Rare did a thing like this with Perfect Dark; on datadyne.com, you logged on with a security guard's account and it showed you CCTV footage of Jo Dark breaking into the building. Thats you doing the first mission!

10:39 AM  
Blogger Jordan said...

Something about 343 Guilty Spark, Sentinels, and the Flood seems intriguing. I'm sort of rusty when it comes to bees and such, but isn't the only lady bee in a hive the queen bee, the head bee, or in an AI's case, the head AI? 343GS could be the main AI, or maybe one in a set of AIs.

In Halo 2, there will more Halos. If there are more installations, then why wouldn't there be more AIs protecting whatever is on their installation.

It's all so confusing.

11:08 AM  
Blogger Jordan said...

I thought Dana and them had Hotmail, but I was wrong. On Dana's profile, she has Gmail, and not alot of people have Gmail.

Since I have Gmail, I know that you have to get an invite through email in order to get Gmail, and because Gmail is still in Beta testing it isn't very old. I don't know where I'm going with this but maybe somebody else could go with this.

By the way, metastasize is a health term that means the following:

Metastasize: The spread from one part of the body to another

The big black box on the front page will metastasive in 17 days.

11:13 AM  
Blogger Keith said...

about the gmail acocunts... bloggers were offered gmail accounts a few months ago (efore the big site update)... so it is possible that "Dana" or one of her firends was given the oppertunity to get a gmail account (I have several myself)

11:46 AM  
Blogger ladybeeisfake said...

cortana are you there. are you cortana inside ladybee777. are you trying to make www.ilovebees.com your new home online.

12:18 PM  
Blogger Miryth said...

On the "only female is the queen" train of thought... I thought nearly all of the members of the hive were female, and the males were only developed for breeding or something. Anyway, quoting from the "fun facts" on the webpage:
1 queen
250 drones
20,000 female foragers
40,000 female house-bees

12:57 PM  
Blogger Graham K said...

I think this is a brilliant marketing move by Microsoft. Talk about a good viral campaign!

2:03 PM  
Blogger Vasheeth said...

LOL, this is all a hoax. Dana, "Aunt M", the people that "know her", this site, Aunt M's Bio, and the hijackers are all fake. This was set up by bungie and microsoft, Dana, Aunt M, and the people that supposedly know her are all employes of either company. Quincey, or whoever said Halo sucks, is a retarded dumba$$ SOB. He/she has no brain whatsoever, and is pretending not to like Halo, just to make him/her self look better. You know what, you're just making yourself look worse. This is a new way of advertising. This site and Aunt M's Bio were all made up just for this. MS&Bungie made this, so people who haven't played halo will get interested, want to see what this is all about, buy halo, and reserve halo 2.

2:05 PM  
Blogger Sean-118 said...

Exactly! That's all true, but insulting Quincy will just cause more flaming. I'm not sure about that long story, though, but it does sound a little convincing. Maybe that castle and and Queen stuff describes the past of the Forerunners, eh? My guess is that the demo will release on August 24...

2:18 PM  
Blogger Qwerty said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

2:26 PM  
Blogger Sgt.Johnson(GH) said...

It has pretty much been proved that their is a connection with ilovebees and Halo 2. It's shown in the trailer.

I am in the #beekeepers IRC chat now. It is is flling by the minute,

I love you Dana......

2:46 PM  
Blogger KBM Operative Macavity said...

Cortana -

Signal received.

There is indeed a fire. Phoenix rising.

Dial 87.

- Macavity

2:57 PM  
Blogger Josh said...

Qwerty, We're ignoring you dude.

But about the Aug. 24th date. Why would they make this big of a deal about a demo, or a beta test? This is bigger. Like maybe the release of Halo 2...early perhaps? Sounds pretty out there, I know. But it just makes more sense. to me anyway.

3:13 PM  
Blogger KBM Operative Macavity said...

Qwerty -

Interference with WILDFIRE will not be tolerated.

- Macavity

3:16 PM  
Blogger Jordan said...

Beta testing has already begun.

Also, Aug. 24 is the day before Keyes and Cortana took control of the Pillar of Autumn. This was in one of the Halo books.

3:24 PM  
Blogger Josh said...

Yeah. This just seems so much bigger.

And I know you all would love Halo 2 to come out Aug. 24th just like me.

The only thing that kind of shoots this idea down is the fact the trailer actually did say November 9th on it.

3:31 PM  
Blogger dfsdfsdfsdf said...

Aw man... now I can't wait untill the 24th :(, I now have 2 dates to go "aaarrg! why can't it come any sooner!? halohalohalohalo".

3:35 PM  
Blogger argh me matey I be a pirate! said...

I have 4 dates to be anxious over. However I am certain the three days from now is referring the meeting at microsoft.

However the 17 days and August 24th are something to wait for.

20041109

4:00 PM  
Blogger Truth said...

Why don't you just admit the truth already? We all know it's a lie. Your site is not under control by hackers and you don't have a bee site. I am an investigator so I did some work and found out some interesting things about you and your site. Your Aunt's name doesn't show up in any databases or searches. There has never been someone with that last name who has died. How can you explain that? If you can I apologize for the accusations, but I am tired of this stupid incident by Microsoft, Bungie, or The Ant Farm instead of spending money to advertise like everyone else. I am looking forward to Halo 2, but one, maybe all of these companies, is trying to make up conspiracies, which is a stupid, childish thing to do.

4:00 PM  
Blogger dfsdfsdfsdf said...

What server is the #beekeepers chat being hosted on? ip/url?

4:02 PM  
Blogger ladybeeisfake said...

Who are you kbm agent. Cortana im back

4:06 PM  
Blogger Josh said...

I don't think this is a stupid, childish thing to do...I think it's brilliant.

4:06 PM  
Blogger dfsdfsdfsdf said...

Truth: Heh, yah pretty sure it's not a real hacking, but it's like a game, and I love these kinds of games...

4:07 PM  
Blogger Truth said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

4:07 PM  
Blogger argh me matey I be a pirate! said...

It's entertainment for fans of Bungie/MS/Ant Farm and those communities that participate in ARG alike.

If you don't like it, don't read it.

4:10 PM  
Blogger Truth said...

Brillant, maybe from a marketing standpoint, but come on. This is like the story of crying wolf. It took me like 5 minutes to figure it out and made me wonder if Microsoft supports hacking. It's just bad for their image and makes it look like Halo 2 is not good enough to be marketed on the game alone. For all I know maybe it isn't.

4:14 PM  
Blogger BugieCordh2o said...

The Covenent are coming to destroy eath and mankind.

4:14 PM  
Blogger fallacyofentity said...

Cortana i have conatacted one of your freinds.. i wish to contact you as well
my aim is FallacyofEitnty

4:15 PM  
Blogger Josh said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

4:16 PM  
Blogger Josh said...

sorry double post.

4:17 PM  
Blogger Truth said...

Microsoft is behind this. I know it for sure now that you mentioned the conference in 4 days. I forgot about that. I was actually invited. It's called the Microsoft DirectX Meltdown conference where they are going to reveal XNA their new programming API.

4:18 PM  
Blogger argh me matey I be a pirate! said...

Truth, you are stupid.

It's not a marketing stunt. It's a game that lots of people (I'm still trying to get the full picture on them) participate in. Search google for Alternate Reality Games.

I have been told by one of the players that Microsoft started the first one of this (what seems to be) large trend with some communities. It's probably just MS doing another.

4:19 PM  
Blogger Truth said...

I am surprised a real hacker hasn't hacked this site and shown Microsoft who a real hacker is. Usually hackers are pretty ego centric, not a bad thing actually I like that quality, so I thought one of them would have done that by now.

4:20 PM  
Blogger Truth said...

I have heard of this and know what you are talking about. So you are telling me that Microsoft is spending their own money to allow players to have fun with, their own personal interest completely out of it? Give me a break.

4:23 PM  
Blogger MorPH EMX said...

Cortana please say something else

4:24 PM  
Blogger Ryan said...

If you have AIM, visit aim:gochat?roomname=BeeConspiricy to join the chat about this site.

4:24 PM  
Blogger fallacyofentity said...

I need to know more about wildfire and kbm

4:28 PM  
Blogger fallacyofentity said...

Cortana your friend advises that i must speak to you

4:29 PM  
Blogger fallacyofentity said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

4:33 PM  
Blogger fallacyofentity said...

Mcavity to contact me aim sn fallacyofentity

4:36 PM  
Blogger dfsdfsdfsdf said...

Truth:

To give fanboys like us something to do while we wait for halo2 to come out, there's been a lack of info becomming available for a long time outside of frankies updates, so this would seem like a good way to do it. Everyone knows what it is, and microsoft knew it would take minutes before people figured it out, they just want to give information out in a way that is relatively unconventional, and that would be actually interesting. This is a lot more interesting than just posting "wooo surprise! more news for halo2!" on thier site.

Second of all, microsoft/bungie is not trying to promote hacking or anything like that: It is pretend, and they probably planned for everyone to find out.

Third: When you hack, you are not _creating_ security holes, you are finding them. This is usually by going through scripts or exploiting bugs in outdated server software. If microsoft is using the latest, there is an extremely good chance that this site is un-hackable. To CREATE a security hole, you would need to find a hole first to get your new hole onto the server. Anyways, I bet most hackers would probably figure out that its advertising for halo2, and not touch it because most people like it, if they didn't notice it was just advertising, most hackers respect eachother and don't touch eachothers work, especially since it would probably be the same hole they would use to overwrite the damage on the victims site as the original hacker, and that would just be lame. I would laugh at him.

4:36 PM  
Blogger Truth said...

As a programmer, not malicious luckily, I can tell you that everything has holes and nothing is unbreakable. This server is breakable. Maybe not by conventional methods, but it can be taken down. I understand it is just a game, but once everyone hinted that it was Microsoft should have just said so. I respect the brilliance of this marketing campaign and knowing the development team this was likely to happen. They are a great development team and probably one of the best, which I have great respect for every one of them. I seemed angrier then I actually am in my first post, but there are tons of people thinking this is legit and trying to help "Dana". This makes me angry and I feel sorry for these people spending their time on a hoax.

4:43 PM  
Blogger Ratfink said...

Hacked webserver heh.

Everything is in the HTML to see.

5:00 PM  
Blogger Chartarus said...

KBM Operative Macavity

"Contact Has Been Made."

I wonder what the KBM stands for...?

5:05 PM  
Blogger caine_zen said...

Not sure if anyone mentioned this but in the source code this line is mentioned: "Arachne hung herself, you know. Take a hint already." You can go to http://www.archaeonia.com/religion/mythology/arachne.htm
to view the story of arachne. A weaver of sorts.........weaving a hoax possibly????

5:05 PM  
Blogger caine_zen said...

Ah.....and these lines from the same code: "All lost! To prayers, to prayers! All lost! What, must our mouths be cold?" are from "The Tempest"

Mariners

All lost! to prayers, to prayers! all lost!

Boatswain

What, must our mouths be cold?

5:09 PM  
Blogger Truth said...

We all know what the 3 days counter means, but how about the otehr countdown to August 24th. As all of us nerds out there know(No offense, I beleive being called a nerd a compliment) is when Windows 95 was released. So what will this day in 2004 stand for. Some think it is the release of Halo 2, but the Halo 2 discs have not been made yet or packagaged so it seems like this would not be enough time to ship them to stores so mayne this is when XNA comes out.

5:17 PM  
Blogger dfsdfsdfsdf said...

Links to see:
http://www.cafeshops.com/ilovebees.12518390?zoom=yes#zoom
http://xbox.ign.com/articles/532/532934p1.html

5:20 PM  
Blogger fallacyofentity said...

I must speak with you cortana

5:20 PM  
Blogger Antareans said...

Insect or Hive Consciousness seems to be coming from every direction:

http://www.cropcircleconnector.com/2004/milkhill/milkhill2004a.html

http://www.cropcircleconnector.com/2004/2004.html

http://www.cropcircleconnector.com/forum/

This has been reported here:
http://www.godlikeproductions.com/bbs/message.php?message=393980

The Watchers

5:27 PM  
Blogger dfsdfsdfsdf said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

5:27 PM  
Blogger morganafq said...

Dana;

I am with many others when I say that I have seen things like this before. The most important things for you and everyone else to do is to cull as much information as we can before the two deadlines hit. I know it can be traumatic to be a part of something so big as this may turn out to be, but just know that there are many detectives out there, like me, who will be on the case. Take care of yourself and rest assured we're all on the case.

5:45 PM  
Blogger boech said...

Could it be anything to do with the date?

Voyager2 approached Neptune on August 25 1986, it's the only spacecraft from Earth that has been there. Neptune has a moon called Proteus, named after the Greek God ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proteus )

Here's part of what wikipeadia has to say about Proteus:

Another story tells that at one time the bees of Aristaeus [?], son of Apollo, all died of a disease. Aristaeus went to his mother, Cyrene, for help; she told him that Proteus could tell him how to prevent another such disaster, but would do so only if compelled. Aristeus had to seize Proteus and hold him, no matter what he would change into. Aristeus did so, and Proteus eventually gave up and told him to sacrifice 12 animals to the gods, leave the corpses in the place of sacrifice, and return three days later. When Aristaeus returned after the three days he found in one of the carcasses a swarm of bees, which he took to his apiary. The bees were never again troubled by disease.

5:48 PM  
Blogger Durandal said...

I eagerly anticipate what happens to site.

And to those who believe Microsoft is doing this I believe it is actually Bungie but with the help of Microsoft. Because Bungie has been known to do similar things before the release of Halo, although on a much smaller scale.

6:11 PM  
Blogger argh me matey I be a pirate! said...

Dana Can I ask you an honest question?

Why didn't you tell us your aunt had an online store for apparel, I might have been interested in buying some.

And why are the BEE's making your aunt close the shop?

I don't want to have to choose in such short notice!

6:15 PM  
Blogger Mescad said...

Dana have you made any sense of the messages embedded in the site yet? Very strange stuff. I sent Aunt Margaret a message of support through her hotmail account, so hopefully it will go through. Any luck with that since Friday?

I hope Aunt M is taking this well. I'm concerned about her and wonder if perhaps you shouldn't be going to China right now. Beijing can wait, this is your aunt!

The only solution is to solve this thing before that countdown ends and before your plane leaves. We can do it. :)

Mescad

6:18 PM  
Blogger argh me matey I be a pirate! said...

Not to mention the world ends on august 24th.

6:23 PM  
Blogger Spike said...

I don't think that this was a hack. The person who made the website could have done this easily. I know a bit about HTML and looking at the source code i think that this is not a hack. I even think i could do something like this. all the person needed to know was how to make a counter that counted down. this can be done easily with javascript witch I saw in the source code. now I may be wrong because I don't really know THAT muck about HTML and stuff.

6:32 PM  
Blogger MorPH EMX said...

The world doesn't *really* end, it's just on the brink of war. I think the convenant are on to us, and have discovered the location of the earth.

We should really be preparing for the covenant invasion. USMC esteems they will reach earth on November 9th. ;)

6:34 PM  
Blogger Truth said...

Why do people think this thing is real? You have to think and then investigate something before you support it. This is fake so stop feeling concerned for the "Aunt" and "Dana". Hackers don't just put stuff in HTML code, because then you can take it out. They would change the password, etc. Just tell us the truth Bungie/Microsoft/Ant Farm. Isn't it time?

6:34 PM  
Blogger MorPH EMX said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

6:36 PM  
Blogger raDeon said...

This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

6:45 PM  
Blogger argh me matey I be a pirate! said...

Truth... most of the people that support her are playing a game.

Your a dipshit. We all know it wasn't a real hack. It's too convenient.

6:56 PM  
Blogger Tantalus said...

Guys, lets stop talking about this bull sh*t margret and dana. If you have any sens what so ever or 2 brain cells you would follow the clues. Clue 1. ilovebees.com is in the xbox ad Clue 2. http://www.unfiction.com Is involved AND OMG~~~! Unfiction is an immersive fiction company, obviously this is not a website being hacked it is an immersive fiction game involving the story of Halo 2 (by the way ilovebees.com was only created 1 month ago, kinda hard to create a business following with concerned ppl in 1 month). Well lets start in on the game! (oh and if her inbox is always empty how did she get email comments?)

6:57 PM  
Blogger Siege88 said...

I just gotta point out here that this is a game. The people playing along and actually writing to Dana and her Aunt aren't doing it because they were "fooled" by the website. Nobody's trying to trick you so stop saying stupid things about microsoft and bungie and promoting Halo 2. Just play along and have fun. You're not revealing anything new to anyone who's made it to this site.

7:03 PM  
Blogger Truth said...

How do you know this? Do you know everyone that is involved? Didn't think so, so maybe I have a point. Once you talk to everyone who has visited this site tell me.

7:16 PM  
Blogger shadow_cse said...

here's what I really want to know, and personally I think this is the only question about all this that really matters...has anyone tried making any of those recipies in the fun stuff section? Some of those sound interistering like the cookies or the cough syrup (wonder if it really works?), I think I may have to try making the cookies one of these days...minus the nuts though (don't like nuts in cookies), i'll make sure to let everyone know how it goes! :). Oh and by the way I just heard that sound clip that sounds like an animal yelling...geee sounds a little like a sand person from star wars yelling huh?

7:41 PM  
Blogger argh me matey I be a pirate! said...

Truth how do you know they are really sympathizing.

You don't.

So shut up as well.

7:41 PM  
Blogger Truth said...

Caught you at your own game, huh? Nice comeback, almost as mature as this whole stunt. Actually I found out about this site from a friend who thought the hacker worked for the Ant Farm and was a disgruntled employee who hacked this site. So I do know of one person. Sure, most people are brighter then that, but most computer users don't know anything about technology. Let's face it, think about all of the conspiracies people believe in, this is just another one people might believe in. It seems that this site is hosted by Verio, I am guessing on a server running Windows 2003 Server.

7:47 PM  
Blogger fallacyofentity said...

Cortana is prepared and knows what is going on..all is fine..for now

7:55 PM  
Blogger Tycho said...

I'd Like to say that i've figured out part of the ploy. Your cafe press shop http://www.cafeshops.com/ilovebees is hosting a t-shirt with the Halo 2 logo on the back and it says Make Your Decisions Accordingly. And I'd say that this is very interesting. But I have found out what some of the random text is. This was found on a page

{net:
!attach
act | drop
!attach
act | drop
!attach
act | drop
!attach
act | drop
!attach
act | drop

grope:
!probe master-sector
fail
!probe master-sector cmd proc
empty
!analyze magnetic
& si !extend
!spdr extend
si > magnetic
!probe master-sector cmd proc
master-sector

net:
!attach
act | drop
!attach
act | drop
!attach
act | drop
!attach
act | drop

surg:
!label host sector 0
!label host sector tertiary
!label host sector tertiary
!label host sector tertiary}

This is part of linux if i'm right or its a java script. Also this site isin't that old. 6-14-04 which adds up to 24 which is the date on which the timer ends. Plus your email ladybee777 I note the 777 here as a bungie link to Marathon.

8:03 PM  
Blogger dfsdfsdfsdf said...

It is running Apache on windows 2000

8:05 PM  
Blogger Tycho said...

Well I've dechiphered some of it. Alot of the command style random text is either linux or Javascript. And im sure nothing has hijacked your page. I have one solution. Wipe the server Clean. And you have a cafeshop with this t-shirt http://cafeshops.com/ilovebees.12518390?zoom=yes#zoom

So the 777 in your name is pretty neat concidering that that is a theme in Marathon and with the AI's. Also the the date 6-14-04 adds up to the day that the timer ends

SYSTEM PERIL DISTRIBUTED REFLEX

SPDR
Single Player Demo Release

E-mail me at Forsakenforone@3dactionplanet.com

8:20 PM  
Blogger Arteen said...

Strange, the shirt Halo text is exactly the same as the fan-created Halo text, except more tightly spaced.

8:38 PM  
Blogger Tycho said...

Its the MS font. The kerning is right for it. But I think I have this solved. Im going to make a few calls.

8:44 PM  
Blogger TMACXB said...

Don't you guys get it. Everything on this site is a clue. Even the date it was made is. June 14th 04. 6-14-04. Adds up to 24. 14 - 6 is 8 and 04 is the year. Another clue to August 24 2004.

Want more? "You know the special dates that mean something to you, but not everyone else? (For me, March 21 will always be the day I got called to the Vice Principal's office for cutting 8th-grade chorus. I think it's because I have a permanently ingrained mental image of the yellow hall pass that was sent from the VP’s office to collect me.) "

March 21st, 3/21. 8th grade. 21 + 3 = 24, August = 8! August 24th, another clue for that date!

That's just what I figured out. Probably mentioned already, but 11-9-04 adds up to 24.

Bungie I'm on to you, all you people "offering help" are Bungie workers. Everything said is a clue. To the lady that said:

What alot of conversation -- there are so many different ideas being thrown about. It reminds me of my old friend Jeanine Salla. Anyway, I don't have any good technical advice for you, but I wish you the best of luck.

Jeanine Salla is a famous person that worked on the movie A.I. Google search this people, says she was a: Sentient Machine Therapist.

Kinda Halo esque eh?

This riddle will be solved, ya'll aren't tricking anyone!!!!!!

8:54 PM  
Blogger argh me matey I be a pirate! said...

The people offering help are participants in a thing called ARG

I emailed one and confirmed they are real people unassociated to bungie.

9:00 PM  
Blogger Qwerty said...

Wow, you people are more moronic than I thought possible. THIS IS A MARKETING TACTIC BY BUNGIE/MICROSOFT!!! THIS BLOG WAS ONLY CREATED IN JUNE YOU 'TARDS!!! Why are you wasting your tiem with this hype machine anyway? We all know this game will be crap anyway. But I will give Microsoft credit for this origonal marketing ploy. Unfourtunatly, most of their fans are half-retarded and thought Microsoft actually hacked a site and tehn put it in a MOVIE TRAILER WHERE THEY COULD FACE LEGAL REPROCUSIONS!!

In conclusion: You guys are idiots for beliving it.
You guys are idiots for wanting this overhyped piece of crap.

Love, Qwerty

9:01 PM  
Blogger Red Queen said...

Dana, I was linked over here by a group of friends discussing the situation. One had made a rather distinct comparison between you and an old friend, Laia. Laia left the web years ago, and is probably still out there, making her amends to the dead.

Interested, I had to come and take a look. What I found was definitely enough to whet my appetite.

Certainly, xnbomb's advice is the wisest course of action. Shield your aunt. Let the clock count down. Don't interfere with the Queen's resurrection. You sound like a very nice person, and I really don't want to see you or your aunt get hurt, because the threat left by "it" sounds serious.

Most of all, don't worry. I have a large group of friends, and your site's the talk of the group. I'm fairly certain that, if anything does go down, we'll be ravenously looking into it, as, like xn said, it just might be a window on another world.

(Guys, please don't try to demand any information from Dana. You know what happened the last time.)

Red Queen/MeowCuriousKat/KG785

9:03 PM  
Blogger fallacyofentity said...

thefridgeowl.com counter off by a day or two i have a group of freinds all working on this so far we know some but this is all very deep

9:11 PM  
Blogger Xweapon said...

Someone posted a link to http://www.archaeonia.com/religion/mythology/arachne.htm

I'd just like to quote out of that for those who haven't read it.

"Arachne was in such grief that she hung herself. Athena, not angry enough to kill her and sad that she chose to kill herself, decided to let Arachne live, but with some conditions. Arachne was to hang forever and weave in the air. Just before the goddess left she sprinkled magic over Arachne and the girl's hair fell out, and her nose and ears fell off as well. Her head shrank to a tiny size until she was mostly a giant belly but her fingers could still weave. Athena had turned her into a spider allowing her to weave wonderfully for eternity. Ever since then spiders have woven beautiful webs."

There have been mentions to spiders, and Athena hanging herself. Just wanted to put that out there.

-Xweapon

9:47 PM  
Blogger Exzoner said...

Er...I don't know if this has already been discovered/whether or not it helps, but the name of the script that's running that is "countdowntochina.js". I just like to help...stay cool.

10:24 PM  
Blogger Spade said...

BMW had a inter/ myster thing like this. Hidden in their "The Hire" dvd shorts where phone numbers and URLs, taking them into a complex scavenger hunt, leading them all the way from a corner in New York to Las Vegas, where one person out of the 100-200 people who finished won a free BMW.

10:26 PM  
Blogger 343 Guilty Spark said...

Qwerty, I find it ironic that you call us half-retards when you can't even spell 'original', 'time', 'unfortunately', or 'then'.

I await a half-assed rebuttal.

10:34 PM  
Blogger lugnut_module_404 said...

I want to apologize for all of the Halo fans that have posted to your blog, myself included.

Obviously your site has been hacked. I express full sympathy with you. Do not fret, this will all die down in a short while.

This is not an official apology. Just an observer's thoughts.

11:35 PM  
Blogger Iconoclast said...

Hi,

A lot of us are very interested and concerned by the unique problems Dana seems to be experiencing. However, I'd like to ask people check the discoveries already made to do with the problem before posting reams of text that have been pointed out already. I know I'm personally finding it hard on a lot of sites dedicated to exploring the problem to see the wood for the trees anylonger.

I'm sure if we do that the whole "helping" process will be much easier for us, and Dana.

1:40 AM  
Blogger Unknown said...

Well, this is really odd. I'm a normal video gamer. I'm a fan of Halo, but would like to help out on this situation. (Just created my blog, yay)

I had heard that Hotmail had some weird filters that had blocked incoming mails from gmail accounts. I don't know if that has been corrected, but it could be a clue as to why mails are not received at gmail account from hotmail account.

The thing that puzzles me too is the fact that the mails are missing! I hope it's not a vandal, but just a 'bug'.

I hope all this gets solved soon.

Best regards,

rolandog

1:41 AM  
Blogger Truth said...

Our country's freedom was built on change and now dwindles because of unwillingness to change.

2:40 AM  
Blogger The Messiah said...

It is the truth that sets us free. A liberty in its own right and a torch carried by few. The lights of freedom shine brighter when the truth is armed in hand, mind and soul.

An MSN search of xnbomb will bring up some interesting links. These very sites that are listed, unfiction, netninja and unforum are sites that have been trying to crack the message. Find information there the best you can.

The truth about this countdown is simple. You are the victim of


3re

d 2eQnkU3hnlEmn4lEkjnm5Naa2 8-25

YOU

2:43 AM  
Blogger boech said...

Do you think that the messages are being sent to the wrong web site? Check out

http://ehrweb.aaas.org/womeninscience/essays/chavarria.htm

and

http://www.mexnor.org/p_1.asp?cat=about&aid=biochavarria

In the first link Dr Gabriela Chavarría explains how she love's bees. Here's a quote from the second link:

As a leading specialist on pollinators and international conservation, she has served as an advisor to the Global Invasive Species Program, the Coevolution Institute, the Ecos System Institute, the Captain Planet Foundation.

"Global Invasive Species Program" - sounds like she would be someone you might try to contact if you knew of an imminent invasion

2:48 AM  
Blogger TheStinger said...

Hello, at www.immersionunlimited.com we came to a startling discovery. You are not the only site being meta-sized. We are trying to find out more, and you are welcome to join us. So far these are the only sites we found with similar effects. If you, or anyone else, finds something more please let us know by visiting our site. Thank you Spass of www.immersionunlimited.com for the great find!

The sites are....

http://www.science.uva.nl/cms-forms/ai.php?formulier=vakkenlijst&session=1&prog=122&fase=
(notice the logo looks a little like Immersion Unlimited's site initials)

http://thefridgeowl.com/

3:48 AM  
Blogger The Messiah said...

http://www.cafeshops.com/ilovebees.12518390?zoom=yes#zoom

Also check out the Shopkeeper's Bio. It is Margaret. And look at what it says below

"The end of the World is upon us! I wont be selling these items after Aug 24th due to the BEE's."

BEE's is in capitals and has an apostrophe. BEE's must be an entity

We can only assume th

8



2

5

3:57 AM  
Blogger none said...

This is the same type of advertising that was done for the Blair Witch Project. The had a website up showing fake police reports for the missing kids, links to other sites showing "real" content. In the end it was all a sham for the movie, but it did it's job and a dinky movies was able to make a killing in the theater on very little advertising $.

7:27 AM  
Blogger Joltacks said...

Bees can't type, so obviously its a person who has edited all that html and javascript. And, as inevitable as this is, maybe it wasn't human but rather a disembodied flesh eating mutant zombie from outer space.

10:43 AM  
Blogger Elynn said...

I'd have to agree that Aunt Margaret doesn't need the worry, and it's all probably nothing to worry about. You're doing the right thing!

10:45 AM  
Blogger Sean-118 said...

Alright, I'm hosting a chat room in YIM that pertains to this subject. It's in the games section, of course, and just look under the user-created rooms. Once you find it, join and we can discuss this in chat. Halo fans and sympathizers alike are welcome to the room.

Well, I think the most interesting clue I've seen so far is the acronym SPDR. I think that it's the defining clue that almost proves that August 24 is the Single Player Demo Release...!

11:59 AM  
Blogger dfsdfsdfsdf said...

Metastization of other sites, one namely, thefridgeowl.com, reported to be a sham. Webmasters playing jokes to make others think that it is spreading. Ilovebees.com is the only ligit one known so far.

12:00 PM  
Blogger 7th Mk IV MJOLNIR said...

[quote]
Xweapon said...
Someone posted a link to http://www.archaeonia.com/religion/mythology/arachne.htm

I'd just like to quote out of that for those who haven't read it.

"Arachne was in such grief that she hung herself. Athena, not angry enough to kill her and sad that she chose to kill herself, decided to let Arachne live, but with some conditions. Arachne was to hang forever and weave in the air. Just before the goddess left she sprinkled magic over Arachne and the girl's hair fell out, and her nose and ears fell off as well. Her head shrank to a tiny size until she was mostly a giant belly but her fingers could still weave. Athena had turned her into a spider allowing her to weave wonderfully for eternity. Ever since then spiders have woven beautiful webs."

There have been mentions to spiders, and Athena hanging herself. Just wanted to put that out there.

-Xweapon
[/quote]
Athena didn't hang herself, Arachne hung herself.
Arachne challenged Athena, a God, to a weaving contest because she believed she was the best weaver, period.
Athena of course, defeated her in the contest.
Instead of facing the wraith of the gods, Arachne hung herself.
Athena, taking pity on her, turned her into the first spider.

12:06 PM  
Blogger dfsdfsdfsdf said...

There is a lot of doubt that spdr means single player demo release, spiders are somehow relivent, so spdr could be just referring to them. Something else considered to be relivant would be wasps: Breed in the same way that the flood do, infesting a host then having more wasps emerge... long story, surf forums and try to get as much info as you can before entering chat sessions, as they will probably be a LOT more informed than you are before you enter.

12:13 PM  
Blogger Xweapon said...

Ah yes, thank you 7th Mk IV MJOLNIR, for that correction. It was very late when I posted, and I missed that. :)

12:19 PM  
Blogger Sean-118 said...

Yeah, I just looked around the unfiction forums. But it still seems too much of a coincidence to me that SPDR is an acronym for single player demo release. Anyway, they have some good theories at those forums. SPDR waking up and becoming physical? Spreading to other networks? Sounds like stuff coming from a sci-fi movie... ;)

12:29 PM  
Blogger ERoB said...

did any one else read this on the honey page "Honey has healing qualities, too! Ancient Egyptians used it on wounds because germs cannot grow in honey" What if it has something to do with a cure for the flood. There have been many refrences to greek roman and egyptian history. there have already been rumors that the forerunners built the pyramids what if the cure for the flood is somewhere underneath them.

1:46 PM  
Blogger KBM Operative Macavity said...

Civilians are not authorized for further data on WILDFIRE or KBM.

It is enough that we exist.

2:13 PM  
Blogger wiseman said...

This is a publicity stunt. Someone should REALLY hack this page just to make it all the more comical. Dana allowed this to happen. How else would you explain the extremely obvious HTML code causing this "phenomenon" as they call it. This could be removed from the code in under 20 seconds by any sub half-wit with 2 opposable thumbs. Most of what Dana says is make believe and most likely my post will be removed as soon as the Entity "dana" notices it. You guys need a Net education if you are buying into this. This is meant to draw attention.

2:16 PM  
Blogger KBM Operative Macavity said...

Wiseman -

Interference with WILDFIRE will not be tolerated.

Cease and desist.

- Macavity

2:29 PM  
Blogger joe_knittel said...

uhh... you guys are dumbasses!

2:47 PM  
Blogger The Scapegoat said...

"Dana" as you chose to call yourself.
I believe I have found some flaws in your statements about your website.
1.ilovebees.com is seen in all the Halo 2 Trailers,which is a good sign that your lying in the first place.

2.The quote/text in your website,that you claim is unrelated/caused by a hacker or virus is definetly halo related,wherin "Bees" refer to the flood.Also many hints to this being related to bungie are obvious. "Seek the truth" is an obvious one,as bungie's "world" domination faction is called the truth.They spell it Tru7h,which raises more suspicions,as youve been working as a beekeeper for exactly "7" years...ha,Funny.

3.Ive stumbled apon the website www.cafepress.com/ilovebees
Where if you click the t-shirt logo the back picture has the Halo 2 logo right on it.LMFAO.
Also seen on that site are a few quotes that refer to august 24,which you refer to in your pervios blog posts and is also when the timer on your main page ends.Coincedence,not likely.The two comments that "you" post are:
"The end of the World is upon us! I wont be selling these items after Aug 24th due to the BEE's."
And-
"Get Yours Before the end of the World Aug 24th"

Bungie has something planned people,and "Dana" may be real,but she knows full well whats going on.I also find it funny you refer to your aunt margaret as "Aunt M"
M stands for microsoft maybe?

-end

3:09 PM  
Blogger KBM Operative Macavity said...

Cortana -

Anomaly in WILDFIRE.

Analysis suggests phoenix has risen.

- Macavity

3:28 PM  
Blogger Jordan said...

It's weird how a bunch of people post support for Dana at a time. They seem to come in surges.

Also, the fact that Dana turned off anonymous posting could mean that she is, as a worker for Bungie, trying to lead us in the direction of finding out who makes the supportive posts about shielding her Aunt and cleaning the server.

4:12 PM  
Blogger ElGameR said...

I have been working my way along, And keeping a blog as I go, check it out at

http://elgamer.blogspot.com/

I just posted all of the text found in the immages.

Any help you can give me there would be nice!

4:18 PM  

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