Strange goings-on in the comments section…

Once again just flying in under the deadline thanks to my new smart phone, and its WordPress app…

So my last post was fairly innocuous; simply a short piece on a nice piece of software I use to help catalog my comic book collection.

Things took a turn for the surreal, however, when a fine…someone/thing by the name of “Combine Overwatch Dispatch” began posting rather odd things in the comments section. It began like this:

Comment by Combine Overwatch Dispach on January 24, 2011 3:16 am

[Anti-Citizin One] not detected//
Resuming [Secter] sweep//

Wtf? First of all, whoever this Combine Overwatch Dispatch person/thing is (hereinafter referred to as “COD” for brevity’s sake) is, they do not know how to spell. 😉 Obviously, therefore, it must be someone fairly high up in the government. (heh heh.)

On a serious note, I actually did almost delete that post as spam; I assumed it must be some kind of weird bot. I thought better of it when I realized that a) it wasn’t advertising anything, and b) the name was unlike any other bot I had ever seen. (This blog doesn’t get nearly enough hits to attract much in the way of spam anyway, especially weird spam.

So I decided to have a little fun, and see what would happen if I actually replied. To COD’s initial post, I said the following:

Comment by SoldierHawk on January 24, 2011 11:37 am

Should I be creeped out by this?

Quite honestly, I assumed that would be the end of things. I was still at least 75% sure it was a bot, and bots don’t care what you do. So imagine my shock when, a little while later, I find this:

Comment by Combine Overwatch Dispach on January 24, 2011 2:21 pm

-Statement observed and cataloged-
Lack of [Acknowledging] Overwatch authority has bin observed//
Seeking explanation>
Searching}
Scaning}
Prossesing}
Explanation found: “BLIND” meaning a lack of knowlige on a [given] subject//
A [fillter] has bin placed over this communication line to provent the leak of critical data//

Well! The plot thickens. Clearly, this is an actual human being. I am now officially intrigued. They aren’t being malicious and, since this post makes at least a tiny bit more sense than the initial one, I can see that they’re obviously having a bit of fun at my expense (since it’s obviously crystal clear that I have no idea what they’re talking about or who they are.) But my sense of humor is good, and I do love a good mystery. So I decide to play along.

The question, of course, is how. I’m at a huge disadvantage since I don’t have the foggiest idea what they’re referring to. For lack of a better idea, I decide to reply with pictures that play off their screen name:

Comment by SoldierHawk on January 25, 2011 11:14 pm

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/CAT_combine_harvester.jpg

http://www.cehwiedel.com/blogs/traces-pix/2006/07/CENTCOM-Overwatch.png

http://assets.wnec.edu/29/dispatch.jpg

[/?]

Those are the only references I have to any of the words in the screen name (a combine being a machine used for harvesting grains, an over watch being a position to provide covering fire and observation from, and a dispatch being either a letter or communications center.) And, just to show I’m in the game and playing along, I add the vaguely computer-like [/?], to show that I’m asking whether I’m on the right track with any of this. Shortly thereafter, I receive my reply:

Comment by Combine Overwatch Dispach on January 26, 2011 2:30 am

-Statement observed and cataloged-
PRIMARY NOTICE: Request a more detailed clairifacation on your suspicions//
SECONDARY OTICE: The collection of [visual data] is non-sensical//
Linking to more acurite data//
Data was blocked by the [fillter] to provent leak of information you do not already posses>
New [non”SPOILER’] data found}
Veiw with disgestion:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Combine.svg
FINAL DARECTIVE: Do not seek out more information on your own; The [fillter] does not expant out side this communication line// Meaning you will finding [undesired] information//

A-HAH! NOW things are coming into focus, at least slightly. COD must be a fan of my Half-Life LP, and is playing the part of a…um…well, I don’t know what. It MUST be some kind of Half-Life reference though; it has to be, since COD is warning me away from seeking out further information because of spoilers. The only thing I AM worried about spoilers for IS Half-Life and its episodes, so that must be the answer.

As per COD’s request (and for the same of my and my viewers’ enjoyment of my LPs), I haven’t dug any deeper (and I would appreciate an equal care for not leaving spoilers or further info in the comments please.) However, COD did leave me one small clue that apparently is safe for us see. They linked me to a rather interesting image. Let’s take a look:

Strange…very strange. Depending on how you look at it, I’d say that’s either a Halo energy sword (in which case, wtf?) or a meteor smashing into a planet’s surface. I’m going to assume the later, on the assumption that COD is not an anti-Valve plant on Bungee’s payroll. Do I have any idea what this has to do with Half-Life? No, but it’s certainly an intriguing little tidbit of information. You can bet I’ll be keeping a close eye out for this symbol in the rest of my LPs.

Ultimately though, in the words of Phillip Henslowe…”I don’t know. It’s a mystery.”

(Speaking of my LPs, I actually have two 20 minutes-ish episodes pretty much done. Between closing out grades for this semester and getting ready for my new student teaching assignment that starts tomorrow–not to mention the beginning of my own school and ROTC semester–I haven’t had time to edit, convert, or upload them. Patience though…you’ll see ’em both this week.)