1999 ARG

In 2024, an ARG (alternate reality game) was played out in order to promote the Warframe: 1999 expansion. This ARG took place over two main phases: the first in July, leading up to TennoCon and the first look at 1999, and the second in October/November, leading up to the update itself. Most of the ARG took place on dedicated web sites that purported to be administered by 1999-era Höllvanian organisations or devices, while clues for solving the puzzles were mostly distributed on Twitter from the official Warframe account. Below are described the events of the ARG and all related events leading up to the release of Warframe: 1999. All timestamps are in UTC.

---

11 July, Thursday

[19.07, Twitter]
On 11 July, the official Warframe twitter account tweeted the following:

*ding*

Please make way for any specially marked VIPs and their escorts. Personnel such as military advisors, politicians, scientists, and authorised entertainers have the right of way at all stops.

Their punctuality is a matter of state safety!

*ding*

The tweet included a video of a poster of Doctor Entrati, with various metro noises in the background, including indistinct announcements and Techrot roars. The tweet also had a link to a new page on the Warframe website, titled "Suspicious Correspondence Flagged for Review" (link now redirects; original site no longer available). This page would host the new lore.

The web page took the form of a computer desktop, with a single text file, "Entrati.kin". The desktop background featured the Entrati eye motif done in ASCII art.

Selecting Entrati.kin opened a window on the desktop with a text conversation.

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> Intercepted from unregistered PC at: [DATA CORRUPTED]
> Priority Level: 15%

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[Session started on -̵̡͈̳̝̠̪̻̘̊̆̊͂≮̫̯̟̙͚̮͈̿̈́̎̉͘/̶̧̲͔̹̌̉͌0̷̦̓͑̒̐̿/1999 at 16:47:38] [ r--r--r-- ] [ restricted ]

> Letterbomb says:
did you guys here about this doctor guy

> SockIt says:
hear*

> Letterbomb says:
he's like this super scientist or whatever
i heard he's got a cure :‑O

> Odyssey says:
Who are we talking about?

> Deadboy says:
o_0

> Mothership says:
Doktor Friday

> SockIt says:
No, you mean Doctor Entrati. How have you not heard of him? He's all over the net.

> Mothership says:
Aren't they the same guy?

> SockIt says:
Well, not really "all over," but if you know where to look…

> Mothership says:
Whoa. You take that pic yourself? You met him in person?

> Letterbomb says:
lmao posers don’t act like you guys know something special

> Odyssey says:
You brought it up, dude.

> Deadboy says:
XD

[Session ended on x̵̮̲̽͗̚̕x̴̛̠̺͈̬̟|̶͖̫̼͖̺͈͆~̶̜̗͙̻̰̳̗͑̈́̀̈̊̚͘͝/1999 at 17:03:13]

Pressing the "h" key would bring up a new file, "Help.bat", which read:

Dave, I told you to fill out the text for this Help section two weeks ago. Don't forget again before we ship!!! We're military contractors for Sol's sake. Show a little professionalism.

---

13 July, Saturday

[19.46, Twitter]
Two days later, there was another tweet:

*ding*

Working late on that big project? Stuck behind the cordon after curfew? Maybe you just need a delicious meal for the kids!

Whatever the case, there's no better place than Big Bytes Pizza. Load some cheese and process our pepperoni today!

*ding*

The video focused on an advertisement for Big Bytes Pizza. This tweet heralded another file added to the Suspicious Correspondence page, MIA.kin.

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> Intercepted from unregistered PC at: [DATA CORR̵͙̮͊̔U̴̹͝͠P̸̦̒T̴̠̑̓Ĕ̸̢̙D̷͎̠̈͠]
> Priority Level: 23%

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[Session started on #̴̹̊̆̏͜≠͉̠̺͕̑~̵̨̙͚̄/1999 at 03:28:07] [ r--r--r-- ] [ restricted ]

> Letterbomb says:
holy crap guys did you just hear that
it was like an atcual ROAR, but like weird
i dunno
weird

> Deadboy says:
D‑:

> Odyssey says:
How should we know? It’s not like we know where you live.

> Letterbomb says:
i think it came from under the street like in the sewer or something
you must have herd it

> SockIt says:
Just logging on now. I heard it, too, folks.

> Mothership says:
Oh, Lua… Something is seriously wrong around here.

> Letterbomb says:
it was so loud
im gonna go check it out ill try to tkae a picture

> Odyssey says:
Dude what? Are you crazy?

> Mothership says:
That's a terrible idea!

> SockIt says:
You still there, LB?

> Odyssey says:
This isn't funny! >:(

> Mothership says:
Hello?

> Letterbomb says:
[This message has been deleted on the authority of SCALDRA according to Section 21.c of the Emergency Powers Information Access Act. Thank you for your cooperation.]

> Odyssey says:
What in Sol's name is that?

[Session ended on *̵͙͈͓̭̭̾̒͊̅͠&̵̖̫̱̖͙̈͌̇&̷̡̜͛]̶̟͓̻̣͈̂̋́͘͝/1999 at 05:42:59]

---

15 July, Monday

[18.43, Twitter]
Two days later, there was another tweet:

*ding*

When speed is all you need, the new 1999 ZeViLa MK III Atomicycle is your one true escape. Take to the streets like a phantom and slip into a world of streaking lights and quiet shadow entirely your own.

Only the best. Only from ZeViLa.

*ding*

The video focused on an advertisement for the MkIII Atomicycle. This tweet heralded another file added to the Suspicious Correspondence page, Barricade.kin.

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> Intercepted from unregistered PC at: [DATA D̸͚̿͌ I̴̧̩̍͂ G̵̥͛̎ Ë̶̟̫̕ Ș̴̫͗͊ T̷͕̐̈ I̵̛̤͐ N̷͓̠̐ G̵̣̦̈́]
> Priority Level: 53%

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[Session started on _̷͎̣̋͠`̷̡͕͓̘̾̀1̷̼̫̯̦̀̈́̊^̴̢̛̱͈̺͑̂͐̆/1999 at 06:56:15] [ r--r--r-- ] [ restricted ]

> Odyssey says:
this place is so totally dead right now |‑O

> SockIt says:
That's not funny.

> Odyssey says:
What? There is NOTHING to do.

> Odyssey says:
Can't even rent a movie. All the good stuff is totally cleaned out.

> SockIt says:
Don't know what you expect when everybody is trying to get OUT of town right now.
Everybody who isn't trapped inside.

> Deadboy says:
,:-|

> Mothership says:
What's that supposed to mean?

> SockIt says:
They're stopping people from crossing the bridges now. Both ways.

> Mothership says:
Be serious.

> SockIt says:
It's true! Those new guys with that nasty green stuff aren't messing around, either.
I saw somebody try to slide their Tommy through the tunnel traffic and one of their big dudes just clotheslined them right off.

> Mothership says:
Off their bike?

> SockIt says:
With his bare hands.

> Mothership says:
Now who's joking around?

> Deadboy says:
Maybe they're the ones who took Letterbomb. :{

> Odyssey says:
Oh, crap. I'm sorry. I wasn't thinking…

[Session ended on x̵̮̲̽͗̚̕x̴̛̠̺͈̬̟|̶͖̫̼͖̺͈͆~̶̜̗͙̻̰̳̗͑̈́̀̈̊̚͘͝/1999 at 07:20:42]

---

17 July, Wednesday

[21.21, Twitter]
Two days later, there was another tweet:

*ding*

Did you know our brave warriors in Scaldra protecting us at home employ the reliable AX-52 assault rifle? This adaptable peacekeeping tool is already used to keep you safe every day!

This was another true ███████ fact.

*ding*

The video focused on a recruitment poster or notice for Scaldra. This tweet heralded another file added to the Suspicious Correspondence page, Questions.kin.

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> Intercepted from unregistered PC at: [̸̺̹̑̉S̷̝͎̆̏T̷̨͓̅̐Ị̷̼̿͠L̴͙̣̒́L̴͈̅̅ ̵̙͚̑̉Ȟ̴͎Ų̷̈N̸̗͂Ǧ̵̱̘R̴̠̋͘ͅẎ̴͎͝]̵̼̂̆
> Priority Level: 75%

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[Session started on +̷̷͚̘̇̽̀́̀́͌̆͜;̵̝͈̪̠͓͗̏8/1999 at 18:03:20] [ r--r--r-- ] [ restricted ]

> SockIt says:
Hey, Letterbomb. You there?

> Mothership says:
…

> Deadboy says:
Still nothing. :'‑(

> SockIt says:
Figured it was worth a shot. Gotta keep trying something.

> Odyssey says:
This can't be real it's like a marketing thing.

> Mothership says:
How is this a marketing thing?

> Odyssey says:
like a movie thing like an ad for that new horror movie

> SockIt says:
I heard whatever LB heard, Ody.

> Odyssey says:
yuo don't know wit was the s;me thing

> SockIt says:
There were more of those Scaldra guys with weird guns in my neighborhood the next day.

> Letterbomb says:
[This user has been suspended on the authority of SCALDRA according to Section 21.c of the Emergency Powers Information Access Act. Thank you for your cooperation.]

> Mothership says:
Well, that's new.

New User [LordSaberwulf] has entered the chat.

> LordSaberwulf says:
Hey, everybody.
I’m hoping you can maybe help me find my sister.
I know that she used chat rooms for local residents like this one.
Have any of you had contact with the person in this photograph?

> Deadboy says:
Oh, hey yeah! 😀 I know this person super well actually.

> Mothership says:
Come on. DO NOT feed the trolls.

> LordSaberwulf says:
How do you know this person?

> Deadboy says:
We used to date! :‑J

> LordSaberwulf says:
You did? Do you remember the last time you saw them? Can you provide details as to a specific time and location?

> Deadboy says:
I don't think so. See, I'm a famous supermodel and I really need to keep my privacy, or the paparazzi just won't stop harassing me. I told them we had to break up for their own safety. It was really heartbreaking stuff. 🙁

> SockIt says:
We didn't see anything, but we'll be sure to let you know if we do, officer.

> Odyssey says:
i gotta go. I just cn't deal with this right nwo

> User [Odyssey] has left the chat.

> User [LordSaberwulf] has left the chat.

[Session ended on *̷͈͑-̵͍̰̥́̐:̴͚̥̐͐̀͛{̸̬̭̻̪̭́/1999 at 18:25:51]

---

19 July, Friday

[20.56, Twitter]
Two days later, there was another tweet:

*ding*

As a reminder, please have a valid form of identification and your printed medical history ready to present at all Scaldra checkpoints. An officer will be available to assist you.

Your purification is a matter of state safety!

*ding*

The video focused on another Scaldra notice. This tweet heralded another file added to the Suspicious Correspondence page, Breach.kin.

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> Intercepted from unregistered PC at: [COM̵͈̐M̵̯̜̐̀E̴̙̩͊͌N̶̘̆͘C̷̱̣̎̾I̷͎̫̚N̷̮͍͒̄G̴̯̍͝ ̷̙̯͋͝Ȑ̶̲ͅḘ̴͝P̵̤͛͗LICATION]

> Priority Level: R̴̫̊̎̇̂̈́͛̔I̶̧̎͌́̇̐̆́̚͘͠P̵̘̤͔̹̞͍̥̅̀̽̓̍̒͗̎͋̽ͅË̶̛̗͚̤̖̥̱̙͖́̆͌̿̈́͐

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[Session started on ĺ̷͇̘̼̀͌&̷̢͚̹̈̓͗#̸̤͕͂̓̕|̷̨̝͔̩͖́̍́͠/1999 at 00:03:13] [ r--r--r-- ] [ restricted ]

> SockIt says:
Whole bottom floor of my building got taken today.

> Mothership says:
Oh, Sol… 🙁

> Deadboy says:
D8

> Mothership says:
Guess we really do know what happened to Letterbomb now.
They're not even trying to hide it anymore.

> SockIt says:
Starting to think we should get out of here.

> Mothership says:
Obviously.

> Deadboy says:
Obviously. 😐

> xX GLIMMER Xx says:
Especially with Scaldra reading your messages.

> SockIt says:
Yeah.

> SockIt says:
wait what

> Mothership says:
I didn't see anybody new enter the chat.
I can't kick them.

> Deadboy says:
Hacker. Very, very uncool. >:-|

> Mothership says:
Who are you?

> xX GLIMMER Xx says:
The person in the photo. Maybe the one you got, or another just like it, staring back at a dozen other groups just like this one.
You need help. Sooner or later they will resent you for that. My money is on sooner, since they're already watching you.
But I'm watching them.

> Mothership says:
Oh, I do not like this.

> SockIt says:
Me neither.

> Deadboy says:
>:-[

> xX GLIMMER Xx says:
That's good. Stay paranoid. Keeps you smart. You always have options. Think them over.
You're circling the drain — slipping downward into the ooze like so many others.
But I'm saying that you can always crawl back up instead.
Stop hiding. Start seeking. There are people who can help pull you up.

> SockIt says:
What do you have in mind?

> Mothership says:
I'm listening.

> Deadboy says:
>:3

[Session ended on -̶̖̂͘͝͠ͅ7̵̣͙͗?̷̨̛͕̾ͅ&̶̢̙̘̼͎̎̒/1999 at 8̸̤̝͍̈́̿͑̕8̵̡̯͍͕̒̇:̶̣̙̦̑̍͜ͅ8̴̘̯͇̤͖͗̆̿͝8̸̧̭̲͍̂̀͝:̷͉͖͐8̷͙͇̙̅̋̅̒ͅ8̸̱͓̭̋̇̀]

---

20 July, Saturday

[15.00, Twitch and real life London, Ontario]
Saturday was TennoCon 2024, with many reveals for the Warframe: 1999 update shown off across many panels, especially TennoLive.

[~20.30, in-game]
When the TennoLive panel began, a new location appeared in the game, on Earth, called Höllvania Central Mall. This was a hub area set in a deserted shopping mall in the year 1999. Players were free to explore the area and note the décor and environmental details.

[~21.50, in-game]
After the TennoLive demo concluded, the Hex, a faction shown off during the demo, were suddenly present in the Mall. They had idle dialogue when players were nearby.

The Höllvania Central Mall location would persist after TennoCon ended, until 15.00 on 27 July, remaining active for almost 7 full days.

---

Shortly after TennoCon concluded, a collection of pages were posted to the Warframe website. These were hosted at https://www.warframe.com/1999, which provided links to three other web pages. All these pages offered a 1999-themed version of the normal Warframe website features (such as link directories and Warframe account access).

---

#1 On-lyne Fansite!!!

The On-Lyne fansite could be found at https://www.warframe.com/1999/on-lyne and was essentially what it claimed to be – a fan-made informational website about the boy band On-Lyne. It had links to the "Party of Your Lifetime" song and music video and photos of the band members.

The main body of the website read:

Welcome to the world's #1 On-Lyne Fansite

Read about the entire band, including athletic all-star Harddrive, stylish Zeke, strong-but-sensitive Drillbit, tech-whiz Packet and musical genius DJ RoM.

Latest Update:
On-Lyne has a super secret show coming up at the new Hӧllvanian stadium, and yours truly got tickets! It's gonna be OUT OF THIS WORLD!!!!

If you love the boys as much as I do, you'll love my site! Don't forget to bookmark this page.

This On-Lyne fansite is owned by Rebecca F.

Clicking on each band member's photo brought up a short description of them. However, clicking on it again would cause the photo to become distorted, and the text to exhibit corruption and change slightly. Clicking anywhere would reset the website.

---

Harddrive

"I'm not the type of person you should put on speakerphone."

HARDDRIVE is strong, but sensitive. He really knows how to treat a girl and make her feel like she's the only one in the world!

He's always positive and focused on the bright side of life. And that's important, because whenever things get tough, there's always time to party. Harddrive tells it like it is and isn't afraid to speak his mind <3.

Don't let the muscles and the tough-guy act fool you, though. He's more of a cuddly teddy bear than a ferocious grizzly! 😉

[Corrupted Harddrive]

HARDDRIVE is S҉O҉F҉T҉F҉L҉E҉S҉H҉. He really knows how to C̶̘̏͛̿O̵̠̊N̷̖͊̃S̶͔̐͠U̷̡͔̎͒͜M̸̠̫͛̋͝E̷̡̞̓͆͜ a girl'₴ ØⱤ₲₳₦₴ like she's the only one in the world!

He's always [̲̅P][̲̅U][̲̅T][̲̅R][̲̅I][̲̅D] and ₣Ɇ₴₮ɆⱤł₦₲ on the bL̶̯̘͑̾ight side of life! And that's important, because whenever things get tough, there's always time to F҉E҉A҉S҉T҉. Harddrive Ş卩ｒẸⓐᗪ丂 𝑜Ｕℝ ķŇ𝔬ω𝓵𝑒ᗪ𝐠𝔢 𝐖ιĎ𝑒.

Ƕҽ ìʂ ʂէɾօղց ąղժ ցìѵҽʂ օƒ հìʍʂҽӀƒ. Bᵤₜ ₕₑ ᵢₛ ₙₒ dₑₘₒₙ… ₓ.ₓ

---

Zeke

"Never follow the trend… set your own!"

ZEKE never thinks about himself. He's all about the fans, and even though ON-LYNE is the biggest thing in the entire world right now, he always stays humble.

Zeke is real… like the kind of guy you could tell your secrets to. He doesn't focus on the differences in people, and believes that everyone deserves the same level of respect. He can be a bit superficial, but is that a bad thing? Zeke has sex appeal because he knows how to wear sexy clothes. The other members of the band (especially Drillbit) might be a bit J-e-A-L-o-U-S!!

[Corrupted Zeke]

ZEKE ｈ𝓊ήᵍ𝐞𝓡ᔕ 𝓽𝕠 𝐔ℕ𝓶ａ𝕂έ 卄ᎥⓜⓢẸĻ𝐅. He is օƒ հìʂ P̷A̷R̷A̷S̷I̷T̷E̷S̷ and will make EᖴᖴIᑕIEᑎT ᑌᔕE of their ₴Ø₣₮ ₩₳Ɽ₥ ₵Ø₥₱Ø₦Ɇ₦₮₴.

Zêkê ï§ mê andＩ ά𝓶 Ⓩ𝑒Ҝ𝑒. He believes that everyone deserves the same level of respect ƎW∀S ƎH⊥ SI Ǝ∩˥∀Λ ˥∀NOI⊥Iᴚ⊥∩N ᴚ∩O ƎS∩∀ƆƎᙠ. Is that a bad thing? Zeke has sex appeal because he knows how to wear Ḟ̷̯̀Ḷ̷̨̧͆̈́̒͊ͅȆ̷̙̞̻͊̍̋ͅŞ̷̰̥̾̓̒H̸̝̯͉̼̿̀͆̈́S̶̯͕͍̤̾̚͜Ḳ̴̥̝̖̦͗̀̈Ȋ̵̗̏̈̆N̸͔̦̈́͒̓̿. The other U̸͓͊̏S̷͚̲̎ of the band might be a bit ₩-Ɇ-₳-Ɽ-Ɇ-Ø-₦-Ɇ!!

---

Drillbit

"Every artist is also a powerful heartbeat."

DRILLBIT gets to the heart of the other bandmates. He knows just how to say what the rest of the boys are thinking, even if they don't themselves.

Sometimes it feels like he speaks directly to the fans. He's highly intelligent, and his voice is calm and reassuring… you might think he already knows everything about you.

[Corrupted Drillbit]

DRILLBIT ฿ØⱤɆ₴ ł₦₮Ø the B♥E♥A♥T♥I♥N♥G♥ ♥H♥E♥A♥R♥T of the other U̸͓͊̏S̷͚̲̎. He knows just how to say what the rest of the boys are thinking, even if 𝐓ｈ𝕖Ɨℝ 𝕓яค𝐢𝓝𝐬 ⓗⒶѶｅ ⓐ𝓽ŘỖρ𝐡ｉ𝔼𝕕 .

Sometimes it feels like he R̵͙͛͊E̸̳̜͝Ḡ̵̹̾U̸͔̓R̸͚̙̓Ǵ̵̣̄Ỉ̸̙͉T̶̟́͆A̴̫̓T̸͖͙̔͆Ḙ̴̠̂̃S̷̖̜͝ directly to the P̷A̷R̷A̷S̷I̷T̷E̷S̷. His 𝐁𝓡Ãᶤ𝔫 is Ļ𝐚ⓇＧ𝔢 ａᑎ๔ 𝕁𝔲ｉ¢𝓎 and his 𝓛ΔŘƳภ𝔵 is T̴̛̰͋͘É̶̺N̵̢̝̈͊̎ͅD̵̻̦͉̒̕E̵̺̿̀͑Ȓ̷̮-̶̦̿̈́Ṣ̵̼̼̾W̷̻̺̊͑͐Ȅ̷̡̳͍̚̚Ḙ̸͌T̸̯̠̒̀͝ͅ… you might think he f໐rētēllŞ ฯ໐นr ē๓๖rค¢ē of U̸͓͊̏S̷͚̲̎.

---

Packet

"Don't hate the hacker, hate the code."

Sometimes it's tough being the youngest, but Packet knows how to hold his own! He might get flustered on camera when he's nervous, but that just makes him cuter.

He's into hacking and computers and stuff like that, which is pretty crazy for someone his age. He's a total nerd and super smart, too.

Packet keeps the peace between the boys, and it's hard not to sympathise with him. He hates aggressive journalists and wishes that everyone could just get along.

[Corrupted Packet]

Sometimes it's tough being R̸̟͙̩̫͗̀͜͠͝Î̵̙P̴̛̺̏̐È̵̠̙͝F̵̢̻̦͓̉́͌̓̕͜L̵̪͖͎̝̙̐̇̓͘͝E̴̙̭̘̋͊͋ͅS̵̱̤̺̼͂͆͐͋͘Ḧ̴̤͔́̈̃, but Packet knows how to hold his own! He might look 𝐁𝓛Ｏᵒ๔𝐬𝐇𝕆т on camera when he's nervous, but that just means he's 尺𝕒Ｖⓔภό𝓊ⓢ.

He's into ▌│█║▌║▌║ and ║▌║▌║█│▌ and stuff like that, which is pretty crazy for someone so ƒ𝐫乇𝓈ｈ. He's a total nerd and his B̸̮͝R̸̫̫̔̅A̸̠̬͝Í̵̦̚N̶̡̓-̵̖̠̚Ṁ̵̳̚Ȁ̴̺S̶̟̽S̴̫̈́̉ ̶̰̒̕H̷̪̗̉Ò̸̟̩L̸͚͎̋̿D̵̠̪̑̚S̸̤͑͠ ̵̣͑͗N̶̝̎̒E̵͕͑͗Ẃ̵̜͕̚,̴͙͎͘ ̵̰͍̅U̶̝̳͗S̷̳͊̇E̷̲̱̅F̷͇͆Ŭ̷̡̘L̴̡̬̅͝ ̵̰̀͠T̶̤̔A̵̹͔͐Ć̶̞̖T̵̒͜Ï̶̢̺C̷̱̒͝S̸̝̽̋.

Packet S҉O҉O҉T҉H҉E҉S҉ ҉T҉H҉E҉ ҉D҉I҉S҉S҉E҉N҉T҉I҉N҉G҉ ҉V҉O҉I҉C҉E҉S҉ ҉W҉I҉T҉H҉I҉N҉, and it's hard not to —(••÷[ €ｍᵇᖇᗩⒸ𝔼 丂𝐲ｍ𝔟ⒾⓄｓ𝒾Ŝ ]÷••)— with him. He hates T̳̿͟͞H̳̿͟͞E̳̿͟͞ S̳̿͟͞E̳̿͟͞L̳̿͟͞F̳̿͟͞L̳̿͟͞E̳̿͟͞S̳̿͟͞S̳̿͟͞ and wishes that everyone could just ₲ⱤØ₩ by 𝓞𝕣𝔡ｅŘ𝔰 όℱ 爪αⒼⓃ𝔦ᵗ𝓤𝓓έ.

---

DJ RoM

"Give people more than what they want. Give them their dreams."

DJ RoM always stays true to himself, and never tries to change who he is or how he acts around others. The rest of the boys are special and unique in their own way, but there's no denying that DJ is the group's ultimate maestro!

He's quiet and soft-spoken, but has really big ideas. He LOVES his family and his hometown but yearns for something more. He always wants to make them proud.

Whenever the band has a new hit that makes people go crazy, you can hear DJ RoM's signature touch all over it!

[Corrupted DJ RoM]

DJ RoM always stays true to U̸͓͊̏S̷͚̲̎ and never tries to change W̶̛͉̯̝̘̼͔̙̱Ḥ̴̔̀̎̿̎̊͆͊̏Ǫ̵̡̝̞̰͕̱̻̹̩̈́̈́͒ or Ẅ̸͔̳̹̻͆͛̽̑̕͠H̶̖̰̻̗̫̝͙͓͛̑͋̂̚Ę̷̢͔̝̝̙̖̯̝͗̍̀͛͌̂̇͝R̵͈̤͕̺̆̈́̾́̍̀́̕͝E̴̱̫͙͕̩̜̘̔̀̃̌̆̎̽͗̚̕͜͜ or W̶̟̳͓͚̒̆͌̀̎͒́̔̚̕͜Ḧ̸̢̡̯̘̜̖̣̳̲̖͓̯̙̻̤̘͇̤̺̜̼̺̬̖̼͎́͆̎͝ͅY̵̡̨̯̜̗̥̩̪̲͈̣͚̪͌̊̋͑̄͒̀̾́̇̈́̅͑͊͐̓͜͝͝ͅ ̴̢̈́̾̆̏͒͐̐͑͂̐̓̏͛̾̊͑̓͒̾̈́̕͠͝Ẃ̸̨̡̡̜̯̟͕̼̼̭̼̰̮̺̯̰̳̘͔̭̓̏̅̍́̏͂̏̇͐̚͘͘͠E̶̛̫̎̀̊̂̇̆̅̐̎̓̂̏̈́̇͊̓͗̈́͗́̋͒͠͠ ̷̨̧̧̧͕̭͕͖̬̩̝̹͍̭͔̖̺̪̦͚̱̭̠̳͙̊̽́̇̓̈̈́͐͜ͅȂ̵̢̛̛̭͈̟̰̹̠̍͒̿͊̍̿̚͠R̶̘̲̹͕̃͑́̈̀͋̑̃̏̕̕E̴̢̡̛̫̯͇͔̱̺̯̪͕͈̟̖͈̰̝̠̺̊͑̓̈́͛̍͛́̿̑̇͋̓̄̔̿́̃͗̄̓̉̑͘̕͝͝ͅ. The rest of the boys are S∩OIƆS∩˥ and ᎮͶIꙄAƎ⅃ꟼ in their own way, but there's no denying that DJ ł₦₵Ʉ฿₳₮Ɇ₴ ØɄⱤ Đł₴₴Ø₦₳₦₵Ɇ!

He's §ÌLÈñ† and (¯´•._.• 𝐯𝒆𝐑𝐒𝔞𝐭𝓲ｌ𝕖 •._.•´¯) and ＦＵＲＮＩＳＨΣＳ░♢ＵＲ░Ｃ♢ＮＴΛＧＩ♢Ｎ. The 𝔤𝔦𝔣𝔱𝔰 of his ρяσgєηιтσяѕ нυмвℓє нιм, but he ʸέ𝔸Ｒ𝓃𝓼 t̴o̴ ̴p̴a̴s̴s̴ ̴o̴n̴ ̴t̴h̴e̴i̴r̴ ̴s̴u̴p̴e̴r̴i̴o̴r̴i̴t̴i̴e̴s̴. Ḫ̷̒̀Ĕ̶͔̮ H̴̢̰̪̔O̶̞̯̟̿N̶̢͚͊͑͝Ò̶̹͚̰͉̠̔R̵̟̣̺̣̠̀̏Ś̷͍̝̮͔̂ ̵̯̍̆Ṫ̷͍̋͜H̶̡͂͐Ẹ̸̻͐M̴͇̖̈́ ̸̪̠̓̈W̷̨̃Í̶͓T̶̙̓͛H̶̱̽͋ ̶̢̘̕͠P̶̨̾Į̶̭̊̏Ẹ̶͓̒̐T̴͚͌̿I̸̳͑Ḛ̷̈͐Ș̴̹͋͝ ̴̩̗̑Ą̴̨̀͠Ṉ̷͘D̵͎̺̎ ̸̙̗̑S̷̟͠É̶̺R̷̤͛̃V̶͎͌I̴̝̎T̶̥̳̽U̷̮̓̚D̸̩͆̂Ĕ̶͙͈.

Whenever the band is 🄳🄸🄶🄴🅂🅃🄸🄽🄶, you can hear DJ RoM's ░P░A░L░P░I░T░A░T░I░O░N░S░ R҉E҉V҉E҉R҉B҉E҉R҉A҉T҉E҉!

---

ZeViLa Motor Company

The Atomicycle page could be found at https://www.warframe.com/1999/atomicycle and consisted of a single webpage advertising the new Atomicycle model from ZeViLa.

The website featured a photo of the Atomicycle, with various paint schemes that cycled over time. A number of sketches and notes were drawn onto the photo in a gold pen. The page's text included many highlighted sections with sticky notes attached. The highlighted text is shown in brackets below, with the sticky notes represented in the footnotes. On the site, the sticky notes could be dragged around to different locations, and rotated by scrolling while pointing at them.

The main body of the web page read:

The 1999 MK III has arrived.

The 1999 MK III represents a pinnacle step in the evolution of the Atomicycle sports bike, borne from ZeViLa's wealth of real-world experience [marrying proven knowledge with cutting-edge technology]¹ – all the way from the racetrack to the production line.

With the new '99, the Atomicycle project has been reimagined and redefined like never before, improving markedly in all areas: [aerodynamics, ergonomics, engine, chassis and electronics]². The result is a stellar new form that performs as well on the track as it does drifting through the city; more intuitively and with significantly less fatigue for operators. A must-feel for both [pro-riders and amateurs alike]³.

After that section, there was a table with five clickable sections: Aerodynamics, Ergonomics, Engine, Chassis, and Electronics. Clicking on a section would bring up another couple paragraphs, also with highlights and sticky notes.

Aerodynamics

The first thing you'll notice about the Atomicycle '99 is its appearance: ZeViLa engineers concentrated especially on the fairing, which now integrates thinner, double-profile wings to guarantee the same vertical load at up to 37 kg at 300 km/h.

[If you look lower along the new fairing, you'll notice redesigned extraction sockets which greatly improve cooling, and, ultimately also engine efficiency.]⁴ For better performance on racetrack days when you need it most, look no further.

---

Ergonomics

The feel and handling of the Atomicycle has always been paramount during its development. Successes with the '99 model include improved control during racetrack sessions and more explosive performance during both single-lap and [heavy-use runs]⁵.

Crafted with a new shape and fit area, the fuel tank now has [+1 litre more capacity]⁶ and allows riders of all shapes and sizes to better anchor themselves during braking. The new design also integrates the rider into a more aerodynamic – and more comfortable – position within the bike's form. Contact area with the handlebars has been improved, while the saddle now offers a more horizontal plane and includes an additional coating for [easier dismounts]⁷ while reducing physical tendencies to shift forward during braking.

---

Engine

Deep within the heart of the latest Atomicycle beats the MK III, a HӧllvaniaTT-derived powertrain featuring our most advanced improvements yet. Feel the thrill of the ride as soon as you hit the throttle, wherever in Hӧllvania your journey takes you. Delivering [220hp at over 12,500 RPM]⁸, the MK III also delivers a torque of 90.6 lb-ft @ 11,000 rpm.

Experience a lengthening of the gear ratio while in first, second and third gears for a more authentic "racing" feel. With the Atomicycle's new gearbox, you can confidently enter tighter corners in first gear, while enjoying more responsive braking and faster acceleration out of them.

---

Chassis

The swingarm pivot on the Atomicycle '99 is located 4mm higher than on the 1998 model, increasing its latent anti-squat effect and allowing for better stabilisation during open-throttle phases of your journey, including [unexpected direction changes and straight-away acceleration]⁹. The fixed and non-adjustable positioning of the pivot offers a suspension that feels much more secure and satisfying.

The standard version of the Atomicycle '99 features 43mm diameter fork pistons, an updated steering damper, and fully-adjustable monoshock and cast-aluminum rims with a commanding 5-spoke design. The monobloc front-mounted brake calipers feature four 30mm diameter pistons each working on 330mm diameter discs, [ensuring the most exceptional stopping power when you need it most]¹⁰. The rear axle sports a single 245mm disc with a 2-piston caliper.

---

Electronics

Enjoy the latest-generation electronics package with a sophisticated new platform that detects [your bike's roll, yaw and pitch angles]¹¹.

The internal computer controls all of the bike's riding phases, whose parameters are connected by default to the 4 Riding Modes available (Standard, Race, Sport, Street). The Atomicycle's functions are managed via intuitive physical controls, and key metrics are displayed on a cutting-edge, multi-colour [LCD display]¹².

---

At the foot of the page it read "©1999 ZeViLa Inc.", and there was a box at the bottom reading:

The Highly-Sensitive Documents used to create this site were stolen by Spark.

---

Classified Dossiers

The final web page was labelled "data:harvest:protoframes" and could be found at https://www.warframe.com/1999/protoframes. It consisted of a dossier for each of the Hex, with information and a photo of each individual.

Leticia (Lettie) Garcia

"Belladonna"

MATCH: CONFIRM

// TEAM ROLE:
Medic and strategist.

// CHARACTERISTICS / HABITS:
Observable paranoia (often seen surveying), cracking knuckles, cricking neck.

// REPUTATION:
An unflinching realist far less occupied with personal problems than the others. Skilled as a medic, but struggles to connect with them emotionally.

// SPECIAL NOTES:
Appears to be nurturing a colony of rats. Has named several of them.

---

Amir Beckett

"Jitter"

MATCH: CONFIRM

// TEAM ROLE:
Technician, electronics specialist.

// CHARACTERISTICS / HABITS:
Often jiggling a leg or tapping a heel. Plays handheld video games, checks watch obsessively. Arcs electricity between his fingertips like Cat's Cradle.

// REPUTATION:
Reckless, fickle and entirely unpredictable. Either a liability, or a lucky rabbit's foot. We shall see.

// SPECIAL NOTES:
Known to avoid the use of vehicles in favour of running. Enters occasional states of extreme focus.

---

Arthur Nightingale

"Broadsword"

MATCH: CONFIRM

// TEAM ROLE:
Leader and combat coordinator.

// CHARACTERISTICS / HABITS:
Highly disciplined, professionally trained. Curiously, no known personal relationships beyond the others.

// REPUTATION:
Volatility?? Proven leadership, demonstrated selflessness, competent field command, yet still regarded as a loose cannon…

// SPECIAL NOTES:
Exceptionally loyal to his sister despite their clashes; this may prove problematic for group cohesion.

---

Aoi Morohoshi

"Chopper"

MATCH: CONFIRM

// TEAM ROLE:
Second-in-command. Crowd control.

// CHARACTERISTICS / HABITS:
Bouncing on her heels, levitating/folding metal like origami, animating twisted metal marionettes and making them "dance"

// REPUTATION:
The heart to Arthur's head. A matriarchal figure to the group… protective, but with all of the violent ferocity that can sometimes entail.

// SPECIAL NOTES:
Expert bike mechanic

---

Eleanor Nightingale

"Salem"

MATCH: CONFIRM

// TEAM ROLE:
Psychonaut. Stealth communications. Distraction runner. Psychological warfare-monger.

// CHARACTERISTICS / HABITS:
Possesses an impeccable memory. Spiritually receptive, but interacts better telepathically than physically.

// REPUTATION:
In a word: intimidating. Comrades wary of both telepathy and additional mutations. Spiritual insights may be of use… watch this one!

// SPECIAL NOTES:
Technocyte presence more pronounced than others

---

Quincy Isaacs

"Stepper"

MATCH: CONFIRM

// TEAM ROLE:
Ranged fire support. Sharpshooter.

// CHARACTERISTICS / HABITS:
Cocky. Often places bets on his own shots. Hand and trigger-finger often observed flexing involuntarily.

// REPUTATION:
Arrogance. Sense of superiority is tolerated due to his (impressive) skills and sense of duty. Would be a leader with more self-awareness.

// SPECIAL NOTES:
Expert gunsmith and ballistics specialist.

---

The foot of the page had a box that read:

This Classified Protoframe Dossier is the intellectual property of Albrecht Entrati.

---

21 August, Wednesday

[~15.43, in-game]
The Lotus Eaters quest was released with Update 36.1. This short prologue would be a prerequisite for the quest in Warframe: 1999. At the end of The Lotus Eaters, the player is given Arthur's KinePage device as an Orbiter decoration. This would occasionally be used to deliver clues in the later days of the ARG.

---

25 October, Friday

[19.52, Twitch/YouTube]
DevStream 182, which started streaming around 18.00, was interrupted at the end by static, which then resolved into an advertisement for War Sector, an upcoming video game from Digital Extremes in the year 1999. This ad was frequently distorted and intercut with ads for Big Bytes Pizza, the band On-Lyne, something called "Drippy", and other 1999-era businesses, as well as security footage showing Techrot monsters.

narrator: "War Sector. [unknown] Digital Extremes, Höllvania's #1 video game company. War Sector. Defend the galaxy from [unknown] using state-of-the-art technology. War Sector. Coming Winter 2000. From Digital Extremes."

The video then returned to static, with the words "we end as we began" shown over it, which then became "???.?????????????.com". The static was also quickly overlaid with an image of Albrecht Entrati smiling for a few frames.

Based on the image of Albrecht, and keeping in mind the "Doktor Friday" moniker mentioned in the Entrati.kin file seen in July, the community quickly found out by guesswork that the question marks corresponded to "www.doktorentrati.com", which redirected to https://www.warframe.com/1999/doktorentrati.

This website presented an Entrati eye logo, the phrase "WE END AS WE BEGAN", and a button labelled "BEGIN". Clicking it brought the player to a new site titled "Classified Archive: Inflammatory Evidence".

This was a web page, similar to the Suspicious Correspondence page from earlier, in the form of a computer desktop, and in fact the text files from July could be found on the desktop: Entrati.kin, MIA.kin, Barricade.kin, Questions.kin, and Breach.kin. The Suspicious Correspondence page was gone, with the URL (www.warframe.com/news/suspicious-correspondence-flagged-for-review) now redirecting to the Doktor Entrati splash page. In addition to the five .kin files, there was a locked folder called "Oubliette", and a toolbar of 9 icons at the bottom. The five .kin files already on the desktop served no purpose at this point, and were there merely as a holdover from July. The Oubliette folder, when opened, presented a message stating "This file is encrypted by your organisation."

Settings

The first icon on the screen, a gear and axle, controlled settings for the "desktop" (ie the web page).

It had the system time (set by the player's computer), a volume control (the website produced many sounds when clicking and performing activities, which could be modulated here), a language menu (changed the language of the entire web page), and two customisation options. "Wallpaper" allowed the player to change the background of the desktop, which by default was the Entrati eye logo done in ASCII art, but could also be changed to the Ollie's Crash Course logo or an ASCII art of the On-Lyne logo.

"Screensaver" allowed the player to set a screensaver that played after 1 minute of idle time on the site; by default there was none, but the two other options were a stream of stars in space, or a teardrop icon with a face (mentioned in the DevStream broadcast interruption as "Drippy") bouncing around the screen. The space screensaver occasionally featured a Liset landing craft flying through it.

Yappr

The second icon, an envelope, opened a program called Yappr.app which appeared to be an email client. The icon had an unread message dot until opened for the first time. Upon opening, the program showed an email message from ads@BigBytesPizza.com with the subject line "What's YOUR Favourite Pizza Topping?"

From: ads@BigBytesPizza.com
Subject: What's YOUR Favourite Pizza Topping?

Try our limited-time pizza experience – the Devil's Bargain – a new creation topped with classic PEPPERONI, nutritious IMITATION BACON, our signature NACHO CHEESE, buttery EDAMAME, funky ANCHOVIES, fresh-caught PRAWN, toasted PARMESAN, fragrant LIMBURGER, and crisp ENDIVES.

Did you think we were done? No way, bro! Finish it off with DILL, UNAGI and HOT SAUCE for a pie we guarantee you will never forget!

Reply with your favourite style of topping for a chance to win!

There was a "Reply" button, which opened up a new message in which the player could type anything. Sending the reply closed all Yappr windows with no noticeable effect.

Kinemantic

The third icon, a magnifying glass, opened a program called Kinemantic-Online.app which appeared to be a web browser. Upon startup, it ran through a short boot sequence before loading a search engine called AscLoid.

Clicking in the search bar revealed a set of prior searches. The first three, when clicked, linked to the three websites revealed back in July: the On-Lyne fansite, the ZeViLa Atomicycle ad, and the Hex dossiers, respectively.

The fourth search brought up a program called De/cryptr, which could be downloaded from the browser. Once downloaded, it appeared on the desktop.

Trying to search anything other than the four listed searches brought up an error message: "Could not connect to search server, please check your connection."

The AscLoid home page also displayed the Höllvania temperature (16°C) and weather (sunny). This did not change.

Documents

The fourth icon, a sheet of paper, opened a folder named Documents. Inside were seven files: Transmission.brush, Firmament.brush, Chantenay.brush, Scarlet.brush, OneTwoThree.kin, OpenRoad.kin, and VirtuesOfPizza.kin. The .brush files were simple images.

The three .kin files were more text files. Unlike other .kin files, these three opened in a program called TypeFlyte.app. Although this word processor did not allow the files to be edited, the player could toggle some settings, such as right/left/centre justification, capitalisation (all caps, all lowercase, or standard), and a spellcheck option, which underlined any misspelled words. Each text file had multiple misspellings.

OneTwoThree.kin:

Anticipation is building as another HOT On-Lyne performance promises to boil over! Fans are as eager as ever touncover new layers of emotion only truly accessible when you see the superstar group live and in-person.

This upcoming performance is one yuo won't want to miss – with hints of an all-new, all-secret song the boys have been cooking up behind the scenes.

What surprises does the gang have in store? Why have these beats been hiddn from the world until now? The group has been coy about the new tune, refusing to confirm or deny its existence. I guess we'll just have to see the show ourselves to find out!

OpenRoad.kin:

Introducing the latest marvel in engineering: the unstoppable 1999 MK III from ZeViLa. The alluring exterior of a natural predator hides innovative, man-made technology to make this our most unforgettable ride yet. Ask yourself: What other seecrets does this sleek beast contain?

Whether you're looking to make a statement, or just make it to your next meeting on time, the MK III refuses to hodl back. Like all ZeViLa products, this is one experience that demands a rider who can keep up.

The 1999 MK III will meet al your needs. Just make sure you're ready to rise to the challenge.

VirtuesOfPizza.kin:

Pizza is one of the most versatile and celebrated foods across the globe. One of the kleys to its popularity lies in the all-encompassing flavours it can offer, from the classics like pepperoni, to adventurous toppings like pineapple and jalapeño! Pizza provides something for everyone.

Yet the perfect pizza is defined by the harmony trhee major components: a crisp, golden crust, savoury tomato sauce, and a melting blanket of gooey cheese. Each element plays a vital role, accented with delicious toppings to elevate each pizza to a mainstay of cuisine for hungry customers – on the go or at the dinner table!

Pizza is more than just something to fill your belly, though. Crafting the perfect pie is a form of art to the high-quality chefs like those of us here at Big Bytes Pizza. To stay on top, we muzt also remember that the real secret ingredients are creativity, joy, and even love.

Access

The fifth icon, a grid of squares, simply produced an error message when clicked:

ERROR
Access Blocked: Authorisation Error
Please ask an Admin to grant access.

Hardware Manager

The sixth icon, a pair of hard drives, produced the same error message.

Bandbooster

The seventh icon, the USB logo, produced the same error message.

Recycle Bin

The eighth icon, a recycle bin, opened the recycle bin, Rubbish.app. Inside were two files, Welcome.kin and 01_Lure.kin.

The files could be restored to the desktop via a button at the bottom of the folder. Once on the desktop, they could be opened. Welcome.kin read:

> Intercepted from unregistered PC at: [DE TEST SITE 1]

[Sent on -̵̡͈̳̝̠̪̻̘̊̆̊͂≮̫̯̟̙͚̮͈̿̈́̎̉͘*̸̢̖͆͒̆̑̊(̷̤̪͌͆̋$̷̨̟̀̓̈́͋̂̓/1999 at 10:18:11]

Your email application has been reviewed and we are thrilled to inform you that you are a perfect fit for Digital Extremes. As one of the premier, government-sponsored game developers in the illustrious nation of Höllvania, we pride ourselves on employing only the best developers in any particular field.

Your new role as Junior Programmer will provide you with the best possible on-ramp to a sterling new career through our storied halls. To that end, we would like for you to begin immediately, and start work on our brand-new (and EXTREME-ly exciting) new project that you have no doubt already heard of: WAR SECTOR.

You will find all pertinent details for your new role – including directions to Digital Extremes' highly advanced and secretive office location – attached to this email. An attendant will be available to help you find your new desk and begin onboarding you for your new role.

Welcome to the team, [name here]!

Gwen Arran, Senior Head of Human Resources

01_Lure.kin was locked. When opened, it only displayed a password box, and would not show the file until the correct password was entered.

Restart

The ninth icon, a power symbol, restarted the desktop. This closed all open windows and faded the screen to black while displaying "Please wait while your computer shuts down.", "It's now safe to turn off your computer.", and finally "It's not safe to turn off your computer." An image of Major Neci Rusalka, presumably a reflection off the computer screen, flashed briefly, and then the desktop booted up again, with the Entrati eye logo and "DE-OS" briefly appearing in the centre before fading away.

Hidden files

01_Lure.kin was the first, but there were several other numbered, locked text files hidden in the computer system.

The second could be found by opening the De/crypter.app program downloaded from Kinemantic. Upon opening, the program automatically detected the encrypted Oubliette folder on the desktop, and set it up for decryption.

To decrypt it, the player had to click the four lock icons in the correct order. Clicking the incorrect sequence reset the progress but had no other penalty, so it was trivial to determine the correct sequence (2-1-4-3) through trial and error. This unlocked the Oubliette folder. Upon opening it, a dialog box asked to extract the file within.

Doing so placed the file 02_Cheat.kin on the desktop, and the Oubliette folder vanished.

The third file was obtained by sending a reply to the Big Bytes Pizza email. When reading the Yappr message from Big Bytes Pizza, the first letter of each ingredient listed in the Devil's Bargain pizza – Pepperoni, Imitation bacon, Nacho cheese, Edamame, Anchovies, Prawn, Parmesan, Limburger, Endives, Dill, Unagi, Hot sauce – spelled out PINEAPPLE DUH. Replying to the email with "Pineapple duh" resulted in a new incoming message. This message, along with all other messages or passwords requested during the ARG, was not case-sensitive.

From: ads@BigBytesPizza.com
Subject: RE: RE: What's YOUR Favourite Pizza Topping?

Password Accepted. There is more to learn….

The email had a file attached, 03_Paper.kin. Clicking it downloaded the file to the desktop.

The fourth file was obtained by going into Settings and selecting the space-themed screen saver.

Once the Liset appeared, clicking directly on it would dispel the screen saver, also placing the file 04_Speak.kin onto the desktop.

The fifth file was obtained by examining the files in Documents. The TypeFlyte.app program had a spellcheck feature, which highlighted the numerous misspellings in each .kin file. The misspelled words from all three documents were: touncover, yuo, hiddn, seecrets, hodl, al, kleys, trhee, muzt. If rearranged, these words form the sentence "To uncover hidden secrets, you must hold all three keys." Which keys, exactly, were hinted at in the .brush files.

• Transmission.brush depicted a stick shift, indicating the SHIFT key.
• Firmament.brush depicted a ringed planet and a rocket, indicating the SPACE key.
• Chantenay.brush depicted a carrot, indicated the carat (^), found on the 6 key (on US-formatted keyboards).
• Scarlet.brush depicted a fish. This was a red herring, and indicated nothing.

Pressing SHIFT + SPACE + 6 caused the file 05_Bite.kin to appear on the desktop.

All the files were locked with a password and could not be opened.

Only the password to the first file, 01_Lure.kin, could be obtained. The Doktor Entrati splash page, when inspected, showed ASCII art in its HTML code.

The ASCII art showed the Requiem symbol and the words "time", "form", and "truth". These correspond to the Requiem words khra, jahu, and xata. Entering "KHRAJAHUXATA" as the password unlocked 01_Lure.kin.

> Intercepted from unregistered PC at: [DE TEST SITE 1]

[Sent on -̵̡͈̳̝̠̪̻̘̊̆̊͂≮̫̯̟̙͚̮͈̿̈́̎̉͘@̶̯̬̬̤͈̦̫̃̌̌͗̆͗2̴̩̈̅/1999 at 15:31:47]

Hi Gwen,

Thanks very much for the warm welcome! I'm really excited to start my first day. And so soon, too! Honestly, I couldn't believe I got hired without any interviews… Digital Extremes' screening process really must be state of the art. I guess that's what I should expect from the best in the business.

I just wanted to check, though: are you sure that's the right address for the office? I drove by the other day and the place seems a lot less busy than I expected. But maybe I just have the wrong spot? Let me know whenever you can!

Anyway, thanks again for the info and for giving me this wonderful opportunity. I've been trying to break into the industry for a while now and I'm really excited to work on WAR SECTOR. I picked up the latest issue of Prime Gamer Monthly just to watch the new trailer on the demo disc. It looks absolutely awesome!

Talk to you soon,
Sam Paige

Pressing the 'h' key brought up Help.bat again, which now read:

PLEASE JUST OPEN THE DAMN DOOR ALREADY I CAN SEE IT N OW IT ITSS HEREI CANT GET OUT PLEASE PLEAS EPLASE JUST WANT TGO HOOME SOMEONE PLEASE DONT LEAVE ME HERE

This text was the same no matter what text file the player used to open Help.bat. Even the older .kin files from July now had this help message. It is not clear if this was changed at this point or later in the ARG.

---

28 October, Monday

[20.23, Twitter]
The official Warframe Twitter account posted a tweet that read "Are you EXTREME enough to handle this mind-melting new experience using state-of-the-art 1999 technology? We'll be the judge of that, maggots" and included a link to the Doktor Entrati site, as well as an image.

WELCOME TO THE WAR SECTOR, MAGGOT!

CHEAT CODES: ████████████████████████████

You think we'd just give away all our best secrets?
Think again.

Only the sharpest minds in the galaxy survive the WAR SECTOR. To prove you've got what it takes, and gain access to the wildest cheats this side of Sol, you'll have to decode SIX mind-bending puzzles hidden throughout the game! Each one you unlock comes with a different cheat code for maximum crazy carnage.

We combine(d) all of the world's prime gaming minds on words and together created devious puzzles and secrets. Then we told them: multiply those maggots' brain cells now, by times nine!

Don't believe us? We've hidden one right here in the previous paragraph of this manual to get you started! That way you'll be PRIMED and ready to get into the fight faster than you can crawl, maggot.

The word "PRIMED" in the final paragraph had been circled in red ink, along with the prime numbers 3, 5, and 7 being written in the space above, hinting at the solution. Reading only the prime-numbered words in the penultimate paragraph revealed the hidden message "combine¹³The word is "combined" in the original paragraph, but the 'd' is faded, indicating that the puzzle should use the word "combine" without the 'd'.{/efn_note] all the prime words together and then multiply by nine". Combining the prime words – by adding the prime numbers they represented – resulted in 2 + 3 + 5 + 7 + 13 + 17 + 19 + 23 + 29 + 31 = 160. Multiplying this by 9 gives 1440. 1440 was the password to open 02_Cheat.kin.

> Intercepted from unregistered PC at: [DE TEST SITE 1]

[Sent on )̷͙̂̓̽͝#̷͓̯̭̅͜&̶͈̭͚̫͋͛̅̀/1999 at 12:49:28]

Hey again Gwen,

Hope you're doing well! I just wanted to check in since I haven't heard very much from the rest of the team yet.

Actually, I haven't really heard from anyone yet. It's a bit of a ghost town here right now. Though I did see a task list waiting for me at my work computer. Really appreciate that! I've had no trouble getting oriented, since it's all pretty straightforward stuff. Really, really straightforward, actually. This must be some of that state-of-the-art development tech mentioned in the promotional material? It sure seems to automate a lot of the process, but I wonder if I could talk to someone about the end results. They seem a little… off. Not that I want to rock the boat on my first day or anything!

You're probably not the person to ask about this, haha, but I haven't seen anyone else in the office today. I can definitely hear folks walking around and talking (at least I think). Honestly, it's just a little bit spooky. Not that I'm complaining about all the extra desk space, haha! Is the department team on holiday or something, though? I'm probably still getting added to mailing lists, so maybe I just missed a memo.

Let me know if there's any update,
Sam

---

31 October, Thursday

[19.01, Twitter]
The official Warframe Twitter account posted a new tweet that read "The boys are back to talk lyrics, life, and even a bit about love!", with an image of a newspaper or magazine article.

MARCH 1999 // KINEMANTIK PUBLISHING

The Sentinel

LOVE ON THE LINE WITH ON-LYNE!

"It's all about the passion," DJ RoM hits us, and the boys around him nod. In music or in love, we ask? Harddrive winks, and then replies: "Well, you can't have music without love." Swoon!

If you've been anywhere on the planet in the past year, you've probably heard "PARTY OF YOUR LIFETIME," the unstoppable earworm from heartthrob boy band On-Lyne. It's certainly been playing non-stop here at The Sentinel! So when we got to sit down with the boys themselves, we made sure to ask them all our burning questions.

"Sorry, fellas," Drillbit smiles, "but I'm getting kinda sick of pizza." The others boo and playfully give him a shove. The five boys share about life on the road for their new tour: "It's a lot of takeout," muses DJ RoM. "When we're on the move, it's always there for us." Packet insists that tacos beat pizza any day. "They're entitled to their opinions," Zeke smirks – a known lover of Big Bytes himself.

Harddrive is the first to jump in when we ask about girls. "Dude, who doesn't love girls? They're so rad. Thank you, women!" he shouts, flexing a bicep – a picture-perfect shot.

"We gotta show love to the ladies, no question," Drillbit adds. "They keep us inspired." Do any of them have lucky ladies? "That's a secret," says DJ RoM. Harddrive winks. Is that a yes? Who knows, maybe their next muse will be one of you!

All eyes have been on On-Lyne since their first hit, "RUNNING LATE". Packet tells us he first realised they were famous when he was recognised at the grocery store. "I was out buying a Pep-Cola Clear when someone asked me to sign their CD," he shared. "I couldn't believe they were starstruck by me!" The boys love their fans, but their super-charged rise to fame has taken some getting used to. "I'm grateful for all the love," says Zeke, running a hand through his perfectly styled hair, "but I kind of miss going outside without dodging camera flashes, you know?"

"The internet is wild," says DJ RoM, about On-Lyne's message as a band. "The tech is developing every day. There's so many ways to connect, and our music is all about riding that wave." There's a moment of quiet, with nods all around, when Drillbit speaks up. "I just want this all to mean something," he concludes with a smile. "What we do goes way beyond the tracks, the crowds, the tours. I'm tryna create something that lives on, long after we're gone." Don't worry, boys – we already know you're unforgettable!

Some of the letters in the article were highlighted with pink marker – a, c, n, p, o, o, y, c, h. When rearranged, they spell "cacophony", which was the password for 03_Paper.kin.

> Intercepted from unregistered PC at: [DE TEST SITE 1]

[Sent on #̷̰͚̰͚͔͇͇̈́͊̇+̴̰̠̣̩͒͛̔́́͠^̵̡̣̻̯̗̱̀̿͊̿̿͠͝/1999 at 09:48:33]

Gwen,

Just wanted to check in and make sure everything is okay! The last couple of responses I got seemed like they might be automated or something. I was hoping I could catch you now after the weekend. I even tried knocking on your office door, but it didn't sound like there was a person in there. Maybe a machine or something. Did you end up taking some time off, too?

There's someone else here. Obviously other people are supposed to be here, even though the place still looks empty, but they won't actually show themselves. I think somebody might have broken into the office? Maybe one of the people who got sick? I definitely saw something down the hallway this morning.

I didn't follow them. I'm heading out until I hear back from you, or the authorities, or anybody at all. I really, really don't mean to just ditch a dream job like this, so please let me know if you get everything sorted out, but this is just too weird.

Best,
Sam

It was around this time that two new options were added to the De/crypter web page (accessed through AscLoid / Kinemantic-online, not the De/crypter program on the desktop): ABOOT and RECROOT.

"ABOOT" led to a page written in leet-speak:

Wash away deception, reveal the truth below the surface….

Welcome to the search, fellow truth-seeker! Whatever your reasons, and whatever info you hunt, welcome to the Drip Squad. Help us cut through the LIES and spread the FACTS with the power of modern technology.

Just remember: the Drip Squad doesn't LIE, CHEAT, or STEAL… unless someone deserves it. B-) The real Drip Squad solves life's great riddles with brains and not brute force. The journey is the destination, fellow Dripster.

"RECROOT" was just a link to the official Warframe Discord server, specifically the #decoding-signal channel, which was dedicated to solving the ARG.

---

04 November, Monday

[19.09, Twitter]
The Warframe account posted a new tweet entirely in Morse code, reading ".-. . ... ..- -- . / ... . .- .-. -.-. .... .. -. --. / ... - --- .--. / ..-. --- .-.. .-.. --- .-- / - .... . / .-- .... .. - . / .-.. .-.. .- -- .- / ... - --- .--. / - .... .. ... / -- . ... ... .- --. . / .... --- .-.. -.. ... / - .... . / -.- . -.-- / ... - --- .--.". When translated, this reads "RESUME SEARCHING STOP FOLLOW THE WHITE LLAMA STOP THIS MESSAGE HOLDS THE KEY STOP".

This clue indicated that players should use the search engine (AscLoid on Kinemantic-online) to look for the white llama. Typing "llama" or "white llama" into the search bar turned up a page for a program called Llama Kicker, with a link to download it to the desktop.

LLMAKIKR.app appeared to be a simple music player, with only one song loaded into the library – Party of Your Lifetime by On-Lyne.

However, after clicking the STOP button three times ("This message holds the key"; the message had three STOPs), a new track appeared labelled "WON RESOLC GNITTEG ERA UOY". Read backwards, this reads "you are getting closer now".

The track was an automated voice speaking backwards. By reversing the message, the sequence "45 6d 62 72 61 63 65 54 68 65 55 6e 72 65 61 6c" could be deciphered; these hexadecimal codes could be converted to ASCII encoding to read "EmbraceTheUnreal". This was the password for 04_Speak.kin.

> Intercepted from unregistered PC at: [DE TEST SITE 1]

[Sent on *̷͙̬̞̘̝̓̉̏̊̾͐̕@̶̡̩̪͚̞̫̒ͅ~̶̡̟̣͙͓̎/1999 at 19:08:17]

Hey dude,

This is REALLY URGENT, so please read carefully!!! I'm stuck at work. I don't mean like stuck here late or my tommy broke down or whatever. I mean I literally CANNOT LEAVE.

Can you maybe come pick me up? Maybe bring a crowbar or like a knife or something. I don't mean to scare you, but I can't get the front door open. That's gotta be a major fire hazard at BEST, right?

Speaking of scaring you: I think someone sick might actually be LIVING here. At worst, I could wind up catching that weird rot from whoever's shuffling around here. Normally I'd just call you, or the authorities, but all the phones here just give a busy signal! Every single one!!!

I'm really hoping this is just one of those new fad prank shows. I didn't read my "contract" as well as I probably should. Maybe it was actually some kind of weird waiver? Lying to someone about getting a job is in really sick taste, but hey! Maybe I'll wind up on TV, haha….

Yes, I KNOW you told me so. This place was definitely weird from the start and I should have listened to you but you're my best friend. Please, please, PLEASE come over here and get me! I just want to go HOME!!!

—Sam

It should be noted that some members of the community actually solved most elements of the puzzle before the clue was first posted to Twitter, via trawling through the Classified Archive's HTML code and noting when it was updated.

---

07 November, Thursday

[20.04, Twitter]
The Warframe account posted a new tweet reading "A Memory in Every Byte!", with an image.

This was a crossword puzzle with pizza-related words (for the most part). Four of the words could be found in the centre of the puzzle.

The eight letters beginning and ending the circled words, starting from the top and going clockwise, spelled out "CALLBACK", which was the password to 05_Bite.kin.

> Intercepted from unregistered PC at: [DE TEST SITE 1]

[Sent on %̸̡̯̖̬̲͉̂͑̾̒̃̍̚!̶̡̫͓͈̘̠̯̒͌́̀(̶̨̦͉̝̥̊͑̋̿̏/1999 at 11:21:55]

Someone contacted me. Sent files. Not "Gwen." There is no Gwen. Not anymore.

Don't know who. Don't even know who I'm talking to now. They asked for help. MY HELP. I'm the one STUCK HERE, dammit!!!

Place was bought out months ago. Shell company. Tried to replace them. Us. Whoever. Doesn't matter. Didn't work. Left some kind of failsafe. Needs a "proactive mind" to activate. As opposed to WHAT? Don't know. Doesn't matter.

Doesn't matter.

Doesn't matter.

Doesn't matter. Doesn't matter. Doesn't matter.

Doesn't ma

Getting out of here. Someone else can help. maybe you I guess

whatever idc

Help?

Help…

or don't

I'll take it with me. I just need to get out of here. We can share it together.

the signal

---

12 November, Tuesday

[20.00, Classified Archive]
The sixth icon on the Classified Archive desktop, the Hardware Manager, could now be opened (as could the seventh, Bandbooster). When opened, it showed 4 damaged hard drives with corrupted names. None of them could be opened in their current state.

There was, however, a "Repair" button at the bottom of the window that launched a program called Kommandir.app, showing a command that could be used to repair the hard drives.

The player needed to type the name of each hard drive in order to repair it. Although corrupted, the names of the first three drives could be determined: A:\ was named Cerulean, B:\ was Ochre, and C:\ was Vermillion. Typing the repair command with these names would allow the player to repair the drives one at a time.

The progress bar, when complete, showed an image of one of the Origin System's terrestrial planets: Earth for A:\Cerulean, Venus for B:\Ochre, and Mars for C:\Vermillion.

However, even once repaired, the first three drives could not be accessed.

The fourth drive was damaged so severely that its name could not be determined; however, it could be guessed by process of elimination. The only terrestrial planet not used the first three hard drives was Mercury. The other drives were named after the colour of their respective planets; since Mercury's surface is silver or gray, the community correctly guessed that Argent was the name of drive D:\. Running the command with the name Argent was able to repair it. However, upon opening it, a dialogue box explained that the drive had been too damaged to repair entirely, and only some files were salvageable.

Clicking "Recover" placed the file 06_Contact.kin on the desktop. Like the others, this was also password-protected.

[20.22, Twitter]
The Warframe account posted a new tweet that just contained a video. The video, shot on a handheld camera, depicted a person frantically running through an otherwise uninhabited office building.

The person holding the camera, mostly unseen, made their way through dark corridors, past a handwritten sign that said "Techrot" in Höllvanian script, and into an unlit room where they gathered some loose papers into a folder. One of the papers was covered with Höllvanian writing, all crossed out, with the word "firebreak" written clearly on the bottom of the page (also in Höllvanian, but not crossed out).

The person then slowly opened the door to leave the room, hearing a strange buzzing sound and seeing a strange red light. The video then cut to the person running down another dimly lit corridor, before ending in static and the words "we end as we began".

The strange buzzing sound towards the end of the video concealed an image, which could be seen when running the sound through an audio spectrograph.

The word "firebreak", seen on the papers in the office, was the password for 06_Contact.kin.

> Intercepted from unregistered PC at: [DE TEST SITE 1]

[Sent on .̸̜̦̋͋̋̔͒̚͝?̷͉̍̅̿͂͐͝͠=̴̟̳̪̺͈̜̈̓́͗͘/1999 at 23:49:28]

How unfortunate. It would appear my firebreak was insufficient to the task of sealing off this unsightly ordeal. Playing with such an invasive organism as if it were common clay… gauging the limits of its creative ability for the purposes of, ugh, popular entertainment. Folly. Worse than that: a waste of precious time.

As this site now appears able to lure fresh meat into its charnel halls – unintentionally, I might wager, as it mindlessly mimics data long since absorbed – it has become too dangerous to leave to simple quarantine. Even scraps of technology derived from these aborted tests will already be infested. The very source code is now amenable to contagion.

Wasting even more time, I am working on a solution. If you are reading this, you must remain in contact. Look for a dead drop on the City Metro in one day's time. I will leave new instructions for you there.

—E

The seventh icon on the desktop could also now be activated. Clicking on it opened a program called Bandbooster.app that purported to connect the computer to the internet.

Clicking "Connect" played dialup noises for a while, followed by some odd tones.

After that, the program would fail to connect, saying the line was busy.

Running the audio of the dialup noises through a spectrograph showed that the strange tones at the end concealed a message: "HANG UP".

---

13 November, Wednesday

[19.02, Twitter]
The Warframe account posted a new tweet that read "STATUS UPDATE: Service changes are underway due to temporary Techrot obstruction. Please head to http://citywidemetro.com for more information. Thank you for your patience!"

The website listed in the tweet redirected to https://www.warframe.com/1999/citywidemetro, which showed a 'live' video feed of a subway car, covered in streamers and confetti, with a cell phone resting on one of the seats.

The phone could be clicked on, which would 'pick it up' and display it on the page. The screen showed only the Entrati eye logo. Using the arrow keys to cycle through the phone displays showed two other screens:

The number from the contact book, 1-555-827-4828, could be dialled into the cell phone, which then played a voicemail from Dr Entrati.

Dr Entrati: "Congratulations. If you are hearing this message, you are now the best hope to thwart an existential threat against your species. I do not have time to care who you are or why you stumbled into this… unsavoury business, but the messages you have decrypted thus far were left intentionally. This was— you are— my failsafe against this old, dead-end experiment. The solution is simple, but requires the addition of a signal not found in your reality. Unfortunately, our connection will remain interrupted until you cancel the busy signal. All you need to do is hang… it… up."

The phone would not dial any other numbers, only producing a busy tone. There were no other interactable elements of the website.

The City Wide Metro website was one of the "featured websites" on the Warframe 1999 page, which had apparently been added alongside the previous three (the On-Lyne fansite, the ZeViLa Motors page, and the protoframes dossier) on or shortly before Wednesday.

There was a fifth site listed as well: a site for Big Bytes Pizza, at https://www.warframe.com/1999/bigbytespizza.

The website mostly consisted of a menu for the pizza chain, with no interactable elements at this time.

---

14 November, Thursday

[16.00, in-game]
At roughly 16.00, the Höllvania Central Mall became available again on Earth for players to visit in the game. Around this time, the Doktor Entrati splash screen for the Classified Archive website was updated, with a non-functional (grayed-out) "End" button appearing next to the "Begin" button. The eye was now also animated to follow the player's cursor.

If the player was not logged in to the Warframe website with their in-game profile, then the "End" button would instead say "Log in", and clicking on it would prompt the player to log in to the Warframe website.

This ensured that in-game actions could be linked with the player's progress in the ARG (since the Doktor Entrati site, Classified Archive, and other sites were hosted on the main Warframe website).

In the Höllvania Central Mall, a few things were different from its previous iteration. There was a secret Techrot cave hidden behind some plants, where a Drippy glyph could be obtained from a vending machine. In the security booth behind Arthur, the office phone on the desk was off the hook and playing a busy tone. The player had the option to interact with the phone and, per the last instructions received in the ARG, hang up the phone.

Once that was done, the "End" button on the Doktor Entrati site was now active.

Clicking it revealed a table of many, many electronic devices wired together.

A large screen at the top displayed a message:

Good. The stage is set, as it were, but the signal must be spread. I will share more details in a manner similarly encoded as my messages up to this point.

Once you have the proper order, enter it here. I have secured, appropriately enough, a most "viral" medium to carry the signal. Yet you will need to work in tandem to boost its reach. Find as many like-minded individuals as you can to enter the code.

Do not fail.

—[Entrati eye logo]

Below that was a screen with a moving eye logo and a "Compiling…" bar that constantly fluctuated at various completion points, and another screen where six genetic sequences could be entered (in 12-character strings), with a "Submit" button. Below that was a screen showing the Classified Archive desktop, which could be clicked on to take the player there, as well as other screens portraying drawings of a coffin, a die, a snowflake, a guitar, an ant, or an eye, as well as simple messages such as "SPREAD THE SIGNAL" and "MUST BE SPREAD THE SIGNAL MUST BE SPREAD THE SIGNAL".

The genetic sequences to be entered could be found on the Classified Protoframes Dossier previously available on the 1999 site. The Dossier had been updated, and now the series of gray rectangles in each protoframe entry were replaced with a sequence of coloured rectangles in yellow, red, green, and blue. The sequence of colours matched the length of the genetic sequences on the website (12 characters for each), but the exact sequence to enter was not yet clear.

The sequences so far read:

• Lettie: YBREEYYRRBBE
• Amir: EYYERBREYBRB
• Arthur: RERYEBBYRBYE
• Aoi: BYBBRERREYEY
• Eleanor: RRYBRBEEYYBE
• Quincy: YRYEEYERBRBB

where Y is yellow, R is red, E is green, and B is blue. This set of sequences was not correct, and produced no results when entered into the computer other than an error noise. The order of the sequences was also not clear.

---

15 November, Friday

[20.00, in-game]
Arthur's KinePage device from the Lotus Eaters quest displayed a new message: GR8 DEALS @ BIG BYTES.

[20.00, Big Bytes Pizza]
The Big Bytes Pizza site was updated, now displaying a number to call: 1-800-555-2983.

This number could be dialled on the cell phone at the City Wide Metro site. Upon doing so, the cell phone merely played a jingle, but this would trigger a change at the Big Bytes Pizza site: a cartoon tomato tucked behind one of the photos at the bottom.

Clicking it would 'pick up' the tomato, and clicking elsewhere on the site would 'throw' the tomato at the screen, leaving a persistent red stain.

Throwing the tomato at the piece of pizza featured at the top of the screen revealed a secret drawing: the chemical structure of guanine.

Guanine is one of the four nucleotide bases in DNA sequences. Its association with the tomato on the Big Bytes Pizza page linked it to the colour red. If the red squares in the genetic sequences from the dossiers are replaced by guanine, the sequences become

• Lettie: YBGEEYYGGBBE
• Amir: EYYEGBGEYBGB
• Arthur: GEGYEBBYGBYE
• Aoi: BYBBGEGGEYEY
• Eleanor: GGYBGBEEYYBE
• Quincy: YGYEEYEGBGBB

where Y is yellow, G is guanine, E is green, and B is blue. This set of sequences was still incomplete, and the other nucleotide bases (cytosine, adenine, and thymine) needed to be matched to their correct colours.

---

18 November, Monday

[20.00, On-Lyne fansite]
The On-Lyne fansite was updated. Clicking on the band members' pictures, while still displaying their bios, now also played a short electric guitar chord, with each member having a specific pitch. Clicking 8 times, playing them in an order roughly resembling the chorus of "Party of Your Lifetime" – Zeke, Drillbit, Packet, DJ Rom, Packet, Drillbit, Zeke, Harddrive – caused a sixth card to appear, bearing musical notation of a guitar chord.

If the card was clicked, it would flip over to reveal a hand-drawn Ris requiem symbol.

Ris, meaning light, was a clue to alter the light levels of the card image; doing so revealed the chemical structure for adenine.

Given that the front of the card was blue/purple, this suggests that blue rectangles in the genetic sequences signify adenine. Applying that substitution results in the following sequences:

• Lettie: YAGEEYYGGAAE
• Amir: EYYEGAGEYAGA
• Arthur: GEGYEAAYGAYE
• Aoi: AYAAGEGGEYEY
• Eleanor: GGYAGAEEYYAE
• Quincy: YGYEEYEGAGAA

where Y is yellow, G is guanine, E is green, and A is adenine. Two of the bases still required identification.

---

21 November, Thursday

[~21.00, City Wide Metro site]
The City Wide Metro site was updated, with a new button labelled "Report a Dangerous Sighting". Additionally, a comic book appeared on the floor of the metro car; clicking it led to the Warframe: 1999 comic.

Clicking the new button at the top brought the player to a page with a list of short comments from metro passengers and a form at the bottom of the page to submit a comprehensive report.

The player had to synthesise the 16 anonymous comments into a single page, comparing the information in each comment against the others to compile a complete picture of how many passengers were in which car, the type of incident, the description of the suspect, and any missing items. This was a complex logic puzzle that took some time to solve. Submitting an incorrect form resulted in the message "HTCPCP Error – 418. Incorrect signal, please try again."

Once the correct form was submitted, the player was taken to a 'thank-you' page.

One of the ads on this page was for a site called "NetMD", with the logo of a smiling cytosine molecule. The "mind the gap" warning directly above it was solid yellow, implying a connection between cytosine and yellow.

If the yellow squares in the genetic sequences are replaced by cytosine, the sequences become

• Lettie: CAGEECCGGAAE
• Amir: ECCEGAGECAGA
• Arthur: GEGCEAACGACE
• Aoi: ACAAGEGGECEC
• Eleanor: GGCAGAEECCAE
• Quincy: CGCEECEGAGAA

where C is cytosine, G is guanine, E is green, and A is adenine. At this point, the remaining nucleotide (represented by the green rectangles) could have been either T for thymine or U for uracil.

[~21.30, in-game]
Arthur's KinePage was updated with a new message, reading "METRO INCIDENT – EXPECT DELAYS", pointing players to the City Wide Metro site.

---

25 November, Monday

[~20.00, ZeViLa Motors site]
The ZeViLa Motors site was updated, with a new section labelled "Detailing".

Blaze your own trail with hot new Atomicyle decals at any licensed ZeViLa dealership. Inspire that style with some other classic designs made to order for other satisfied ZeViLa customers. Make it your own. Make it ZeViLa.

This section displayed cosmetics for the Atomicycles, and like the other sections had a sticky note commenting on the site's contents. However, this note had a small 'flip over' icon on the bottom-right corner; clicking on it flipped the sticky note around to reveal a fragment of a QR code. Flipping this note around also enabled all other sticky notes on the site to be flipped over if clicked in the same place, and notes flipped this way would persist on the screen even when switching to different sections.

If all the post-it notes were flipped and assembled together (the notes could be rotated by scrolling over them; this was a pre-existing functionality of the site), they formed a complete QR code (along with a hand-drawn Xata requiem symbol).

This code directed the player to https://www.warframe.com/1999/atomicycle/e39c1e134, which displayed the chemical structure of thymine on a green background.

If the green squares in the genetic sequences are replaced by thymine, the sequences become

• Lettie: CAGTTCCGGAAT
• Amir: TCCTGAGTCAGA
• Arthur: GTGCTAACGACT
• Aoi: ACAAGTGGTCTC
• Eleanor: GGCAGATTCCAT
• Quincy: CGCTTCTGAGAA

where C is cytosine, G is guanine, T is thymine, and A is adenine. This could have been done earlier through process of elimination, but the ZeViLa Motors puzzle provided closure and left no doubt.

This set of genetic sequences, although complete, did not produce a successful result when entered into the website. It needed an additional transformation before it could be accepted.

[20.11, Twitter]
The Warframe account posted a new tweet:

This implied that the letter G in the genetic sequence, deduced from the Big Bytes Pizza site, needed to be shifted forward 5 places in the alphabet, to L. In the same manner, C (from the City Wide Metro site) needed to be shifted to O, A (from the On-Lyne fansite) needed to be shifted to H, and T (from the ZeViLa Motors site) needed to be shifted to K. These letters spell out LOHK, the requiem word for Void, which was reinforced in the second tweet. Replacing GCAT with LOHK resulted in the following genetic sequences:

• Lettie: OHLKKOOLLHHK
• Amir: KOOKLHLKOHLH
• Arthur: LKLOKHHOLHOK
• Aoi: HOHHLKLLKOKO
• Eleanor: LLOHLHKKOOHK
• Quincy: OLOKKOKLHLHH

These needed to be submitted to the Doktor Entrati site in the following order: Aoi, Lettie, Amir, Quincy, Eleanor, Arthur.

How the order was determined is not clear. It is possible there would have been additional clues to reveal the correct order, had it not been solved through brute force by the community. Once the correct genetic sequences were submitted, the site displayed the following message:

Excellent. Your efforts are added to the signal. We need many voices, however, and I know just the carrot to entice more to join the chorus…. In the meanwhile, here is a small token of gratitude.

TH3GR8D3SP41R

—[eye logo]

The "Compiling…" meter on the monitor next to it would progress from 0% to 100%, after which it displayed a countdown. This countdown ended at 19.00 on 29 November, Friday, the same time that DevStream 183 started.

[~22.18, in-game]
Arthur's KinePage was updated with a new message: "CUSTOM DECALS @ ZEVILA"

---

29 November, Friday

[19.00, Doktor Entrati site]
The countdown reached 00:00:00 and was replaced with a button reading "DEPLOY ANTIVIRUS".

Clicking it took the player to the Warframe Twitch page, where DevStream 183 was beginning.

The Classified Archive desktop was also updated. The fifth icon was finally unlocked, the last one to be activated. Clicking it opened a program called Access.app, which displayed the following message:

In shadows I weave my stories tight
Clever trickster, my words are my byte
Master of webs, on my work you depend
Both foe and friend, one more riddle for the end.

You seek access?

S4Y MY N4M3

Enter Password to Access

The password was "anansi", a spider trickster god in West African folklore. Entering it opened a "Thanks 4 playing!" page listing credits for people who helped create the ARG.

Back on the Doktor Entrati site, the screen in the top left now said the following:

5QU4DLYF3.app
TO HONOUR THE SQUAD:

A Totally Awesome Drip Squad Emblem to go with your On-Lyne Display launching with Warframe: 1999.

[20.30, Doktor Entrati site]
After the DevStream ended, the "Deploy antivirus" button no longer linked to the Warframe Twitch page, but to the YouTube video for "The Great Despair", which debuted at the end of the DevStream.

After clicking it and returning to the Doktor Entrati site, the button now read "THANKS KIDDO."

Clicking it triggered a loud laugh, and every screen on the site changed to either a picture of The Man in the Wall or the words "THANKS KIDDO".

This marked the end of the ARG.

---

05 December, Thursday

[~16.00, in-game]
The Höllvania Central Mall relay on Earth disappeared. Now that players could no long 'hang up' the phone in the mall, the "END" button on the Doktor Entrati website was once again grayed-out and inactive, and the ARG could not be progressed beyond this stage for any who wished to participate after the fact. However, all other features of the ARG remained active.

---

13 December, Friday

[~16.39, in-game]
Warframe: 1999 was released as Update 38. Along with the update, those who had participated in the ARG received an inbox message from Ordis containing a Drip Squad 4 Life glyph.

Inbox message:
Calling Out to Those Who Sought the Signal

Nice job, squad. You sought the truth (and it sought you) without ever wavering in your convictions! Well, mostly….

In honour of your hunt for answers, here's a small token to commemorate your unshakable dedication.

Drip Squad 4 Life!

---

[Navigation: Hub → Other → Update Hype → 1999 ARG]

1. I think not! I wouldn't be reading this drivel if that were even HALF-TRUE.
2. Starting point. Adjust the tech (benevolently) and see what can be done.
3. Skill level will not matter. ANYONE must be able to operate!
4. Aesthetics = less of a priority than usual. Engine efficiency = everything!
5. HOW HEAVY-USE?? They pursue with boundless energy already!
6. Bound by physical limitations or budgetary considerations? Increase massively if the latter.
7. Combat a must. They will appreciate this. Adjust seat-mount angle for easier dismount while operating.
8. Expose to Void Energy for a simple augment?
9. Fix swingarm pivot 1.5mm higher.
10. Increase caliper size x0.0125% – stopping power will be as important as STOPPING power.
11. Implement gyroscopic reading for advanced bike positioning analytics.
12. Surely we can find SOMETHING better???