I posted yesterday about a cryptic message from XBOX via their twitter account.

Here was the picture scramble:

Several people e-mailed me with the correct answer. The image below comes courtesy of Brandon Howard:

Now this could be either something intriguing or nothing at all. Why is the word Monitor over the Forerunner symbol and why is it in the Orion Arm on Halo Starscope?

We know from Halo lore that not only do Humans come from the Orion Arm, but so too do the Covenant and Forerunners. Since we already know this, might the message just be something for us to unscramble for fun, as XBOX eluded to. OR, is there more meaning to this?

I’d like to hope that there is something more to it. But what could that ‘more’ be? Since Halo Starscope is not in the Orion Arm, might it be another race looking in? Starscope is not to scale of course. As it is, Mars is on Starscope, but Earth isn’t and they are of course both in out solar system. With ‘Guardians’ being one of the words in the title for the next game, is there an implication of that here? Possibly.

There is some argument over who the guardians really are. Many will say it’s the Forerunners as they were guardians of the mantle. Some say it’s simply the tech left behind by them. Others still say it’s really the Precursors. In Halo 5 Guardians, does this term stand for Locke and his squad of Spartans?

If you think either the Forerunners or Precursors are the Guardians, then this cryptic scramble message could mean a LOT. Perhaps we will get to explore new uncharted Forerunner installations. Not just Halo rings or even shield worlds, but something else entirely. Might the Precursors come back? While it’s been stated they were wiped out by the Forerunners, I think it’s quite possible that they were not ALL wiped out. Even if only one survived and had reached transcendence, then that being could either bring judgement and/or doom upon all remaining sentient life or could usher in a new age with humanity as the new stewards of the mantle.

Okay, so how does the word ‘Monitor’ play into all of this? Obviously we know what Forerunner Monitors are. Perhaps we meet ones we haven’t yet before in the games. Could they now be monitoring us from afar? While communication between monitors was not to have happened, with the near activation of the all the Halo rings on the Ark, they could have been made aware of what else was going on around the galaxy. From there, they may have made contact with other Forerunner installations. This is just conjecture of course.

If we take the Precursors into account, could it be they instead who are ‘monitoring’ the galaxy? Specifically humanity?

Okay, maybe I’m over thinking this, but this is what I do…LOL. I love getting into the cracks of Halo lore and trying to look for more answers.

Anyone else have a guess as to what the message may mean?

-Sal