Axons

From ILB

The literal definition of an axon can be found here: Axon Definition (http://www.mult-sclerosis.org/axon.html)
(for game data, see Axon Clips and Axon Spikes, for definition, see below)

However, in terms of this ILB saga, axons are The Operator's way of communicating. On August 10, a new white-text-in-black-box message appeared on links.html (http://www.ilovebees.com/links.html), containing the enigmatic phrase "AXONS GO HOT" above the same countdown to August 24 that appeared on the site's main page. Beneath the black box, a two-column table containing 220 pairs of numbers. They look like GPS coordinates.

After much speculation and gnashing of teeth and banging of heads -- and Melissa deleting the entire list of coordinates and posting an entirely new one -- it was determined that the axons are actually pay phones spread across the United States of America. The out-of-game site payphone-directory.org (http://www.payphone-directory.org) is a list of public phones, many of which include the address. Another such OOG site is payphone-project.com (http://www.payphone-project.com/numbers/usamap.html). Plugging the address into the equally OOG geocode test site (http://www.geocode.com/modules.php?name=TestDrive_Eagle) returns GPS coordinates that appear to coincide exactly with the coordinates that Melissa has been posting.

(Credit to Iky on unforum (http://forums.unfiction.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=5921) for the connection.)

Apparently, Melissa is using these axons as venues for voice communications to her crew. Each list of axons is divided into groups, and each group has a name, like "pqi" or "troy" or "beer." Each axon in each group has a unique GPS coordinate, and a corresponding time between 06:07 and 18:06 (PDT). Initially each group is green in color. There is also a status bar next to the group name, indicating the number of axons that Melissa wants connected.

At the appropriate time, a pay phone rings at the address corresponding to the GPS coordinate. When you pick up the phone, Melissa asks if you are there, and then complains that "damage to your hardware is making it difficult to maintain this voice." And indeed, her voice does sound very odd, like a combination of at least two separate female voices with the occasional exclamation of "I love bees!" thrown in for variety.

Next, Melissa says, "I have something important to tell you. But I'm not sure you're who I think you are." She then asks a question to verify your identity. That question was initially "What's my real name?" to which the correct answer is "Melissa." Sometimes she asks "Crewmember, what is my nickname?" to which the correct answer is "Operator."

UPDATE: As of September 7, Melissa is asking "What ship are you assigned to?" to which the correct answer is "Apocalypso."

UPDATE: As of September 14, Melissa is asking "What is your captain's last name?" to which the correct answer is "Greene."

UPDATE: As of September 21, Melissa is asking "What is my favorite game?" to which the correct answer is "Hide and Seek."

UPDATE: As of September 28, Melissa is asking "What is my favorite song?" to which the correct answer is "Stormy Weather."

UPDATE: As of October 5, Melissa is asking "What must we reveal?" to which the correct answer is "The Truth."

UPDATE: As of October 12, Melissa is asking "Who is the enemy?" to which the correct answer is "The Covenant."

UPDATE: As of October 19, Melissa is asking "On what colony was I created?" to which the correct answer is "Reach."

UPDATE: As of October 26, Melissa is asking "What insect do I hate the most?" to which the correct answer is "Bees."

If you get the answer wrong, Melissa tells you that you're not meant to hear this, and instructs you to "purge the contents of your chatter." You then hear an endless, spooky repetition of "I love bees!" until she hangs up on you, unless you hang up first.

Once Melissa verifies that you are who she thinks you are, she plays an audio clip. The particular clip that plays is the same for each axon in any given group. You will also notice that the group name has something to do with the clip -- for example, someone will say "much lifting" in the clip played for an axon in the group named "much_lifting."

After the audio clip is played, Melissa will ask whether she should "repeat or continue?" If you say "repeat," the audio clip is repeated until you are brought back to the same question to repeat or continue. If you say "continue," Melissa states that the communication equipment that you're using is not allowing her to continue, and the phone call ends with the same "I love bees!" repetition.

Each time Melissa makes a successful connection, she updates her list of axons, marking it "CONNECTED" and "AXON HOT," and she also increments the status bar. When enough axons are activated in a group -- that is, when the status bar for that group is full -- the group color changes to orange, and the name of the group becomes a link to the same audio clip, so everyone can hear it.

At the top of each page containing axons is a giant status bar, keeping track of the total number of connected axons and counting down to 777. What will happen when we reach that magic number was anybody's guess; we now know that live conversations between Melissa and players were triggered.

Melissa's opening text from September 14: "Hello. I was starting to think no one was there! But...I'm still detecting strange connection hardware. This is getting quite suspicious, and making it harder and harder for me to maintain this voice. I need you to prove that you're one of my crew. What's our captain's last name? <Greene> Good. These strange hardware incompatibilities are making it so hard for me to reveal the truth. But...I'll try. Listen."

Melissa's opening text from September 21: "Don't hang up. If you really are who I think you are I must tell you something. But I'm still detecting strange connection hardware. This is getting quite suspicious and making it harder and harder for me to maintain this voice. I need you to prove that you're one of my crew. What's my favorite game? <Hide and Seek> Good. These strange hardware incompatibilities are making it so hard for me to reveal the truth. But...I'll try. Listen."

Melissa's opening text from September 28: "They must be listening! They seem to be everywhere! But I'm sure I can find you if I just ask the right question. Can you tell me the name of my favorite song? <Stormy Weather> Good. You remembered. These strange hardware incompatibilities are making it so hard for me to reveal the truth. But...I'll try. Listen."

Melissa's opening text from October 5: "I knew you'd be there. I think you've been watching me for a long time. I doubt you're part of my old crew, but perhaps you can be part of the new one. I need you to help me, but first I need to know if you can be trusted. What must we reveal? <The Truth> Good. These strange hardware incompatibilities are making it so hard for me to reveal the truth. But...I'll try. Listen."

Melissa's closing text: "End of segment. Should I repeat or continue? <Continue> The damage to your hardware is making it impossible for me to continue!"

Melissa's failure text: "You don't know who I am, and I don't know who you are. You're not meant to hear any of this. You must purge the contents of your chatter immediately."