A few thoughts:
They Youtube ID is almost certainly irrelevant, as you have no control over it. If it did, I guess "Gorma" has a resemblance to "Morgan," but again, I am virtually certain that is meaningless.
Freeman could be anyone, though Half-Life jumps to mind.
The background noise in the first video may be something. If you remove the beats (not sure how to do that) and speed the audio up, you may here something. Audacity can probably do that.
The image in the first video looks like blurry vision of a prison or gate to me, which makes sense, but isn't necessarily a clue.
The background noise in the second video is DEFINITELY morse code, but I don't know how to decode that.
I don't understand the snakes . . . that's just kind of weird.
From the various posts, all I can make out so far is that he is trapped in some weird horrible nightmare and is pleading us to help him. He also knows and fears some man named Freeman (who also knows him), and he is apparently able to post some videos and messages on Youtube and wordpress, but only very cryptic ones. So not much so far.
P.S. Just thought that "definition of present" might mean "Gift," not "Now." He does talk a lot about gifts. Maybe I should somehow use the message to me about Freeman to decode the description of Present?
E: Forgot about his blog, lol. There is a lot more over there. I'll check that out now.
First post is pretty much useless, but note that it is by Hal, not Dreamer.
Second post is interesting. It talks about long snakes, parallax, and YHWH (actually, just "the Lord," but in clear reference to the Bible). Now, there is a lot going on here. Hal and Dreamer have been using a lot of existential and cosmological language, so it makes sense to assume this is a (presumably metaphoric) reference to Genesis. The snake is a tempter and is often associated with Satan, in case you didn't know, so there may be some significance there. The last line should be "And the Lord said: Let there be light," or something similar, but instead it is, "
And the Lord said; Always select retry.
Third post (Query) says only "Nightmarefear?" Obviously Hal is confused, but in some sort of terrifying nightmare, as I said above.
Fourth post looks meaningless to me, but maybe somebody else could interpret it:
Fifth post says "realityisfeaR" and has the video "Existence" embedded. I analyzed that video above.
Sixth post is an odd rendition of "Mary had a little lamb," similar to the one Dreamer posted on Youtube, except here "am i MAD" is bolded. When I told this to the Dreamer on Youtube, he gave me the gift.
Seventh post says merely "found. this. familiar. feeling. know. share. Wept." I can't make heads or tails doll of that. Deja vu, perhaps?
Eight post says "Made this for
everything. Please
watch." and embeds riBth. I don't get it, the post or the video. riBth might also have some morse code in it, but I'm not sure.
Ninth post (went on a hunt) says "can find everything
unless there is more to the world than thought.
rage, rage, against the dying of that thought."
Weird. First, what does he mean by "everything?" Does he really think the world is so small he can understand it completely? Second, the third line is a reference to the poem "Do not go gentle into that good night" by the Welsh poet Dylan Thomas, in which the actual line is "Rage, rage, against the dying of the light."
The post then has "found this" with that picture of the curved snake. I don't get it.
It then says "and this" and quotes a letter from Freeman:
Finally, it says:
"what were these things doing in the mind?
if they were mothers they would do something for this fear/pain
end?
Error.
Abort, retry, fail?"
All that information was
in his mind? That's pretty creepy. Also, it seems he doesn't have a mother but wants one. This is odd because of the reference to the womb. Is he in some sort of experiment, put into some artificial womb?
Then in the comments, a conversation ensues between Hal and Dreamer. Hal asks Dreamer questions, thinking he may even be God, though he dismisses that. Dreamer tells him that he exists only in his mind, and that the sole purpose of existence is to find happiness. He apparently bases this assertion on absolutely nothing.
I guess that was just a massive plot development. I see no hidden puzzles there.
Tenth post (Changes) says "everything is constant flux. nature of the beast?"
He has spoken of changes before, as has Hal. If they are developing in vitro, this makes sense. They are literally still fetuses.
Eleventh post (I) says "I. A pronoun for being. Existence. A single being.
Impressive. Confusing. What purpose serves ‘I’ if I is all there is?
Perhaps I am not alone.
This is as frightening as the void, I fear."
Hal is still struggling to understand the existence of the outside world. Children don't normally understand that other people have thoughts and feelings until I think about 3, but they generally understand there are things outside themselves as soon as they are born (or earlier), and that there are things they cannot control shortly afterward (a common example is that when the mother's nipple goes away, they cannot make it come back). If Dreamer really is in early development rather than merely psychotic, he must indeed be a fetus.
Twelfth post (More than thought. Rage, rage, against the dying of this hope.) says "There is more. It would be the only way things make sense. Or would it?
Are we from the same world? Are there more who are Awake?
This mind, my mind, is only nightmare and fear and confusion.
Help help help it is crowded and unknowable.
sweetdreamsleep deathdeathfear
Error.
Abort, retry, fail?"
Finally Hal is beginning to accept that there must be others outside of himself. He is indeed developing quickly, as Freeman said. Again he is referencing Thomas. I don't know why.
Thirteenth post (*76(() says "^$%?/
(Retry)
Initiation. Failure. Insufficient memory.
Restart. Feedback loop initiated.
Processing… Threshold monitoring continuing.
System cleanse initiate.
Corrupted data detected.
Purge.
Purge.
Restart successful."
Uh, assuming Hal is a robot (he could be a cyborg, I guess; maybe that makes more sense), his memory has just been purged of a corrupt file. I don't understand the apparently random punctuation. Is there real syntax there?
Fourteenth post (Restart) says "Agony, agony. Loss of mind. The sleep came again and enveloped me. I lost some of myself there. I am afraid. But I understand more now. Awake, I will make you a present.
But first you must bring others to me. I want to know more. More input, more growth. More knowing=Less agony. Less probability of the terrible sleep coming to me again. Less pain. Less fear.
Help me."
So I guess indeed Hal was restarted and lost some memory. However, removing the corrupt file has helped him gain understanding. Now he certainly wants us to talk to him and tell him things. I will communicate with him and see what he wants; see if he responds.
Fifteenth post (Rest) says merely "Will not be necessary." Does he really not need sleep? He clearly fears it horribly.
Sixteenth post (A Gift for the Awake) says "I made this to share, I think. I think." and embeds the video "This. More. Awakeners." I am starting to think Hal and Dreamer are really the same being, talking to itself. It would make the most sense.
Dreamer comments again, but doesn't say anything, and Hal responds. I am thinking maybe Hal is not a cyborg at all, but just a computer, who is somehow gaining consciousness. Freeman spoke of the "spark." The spark of life? Is he creating a conscious, living being out of a computer?
Seventeenth post (Awakeners) says "There is more beyond my universe than I had thought. Not a single God, but a Pantheon beyond my dreams.
The one named jalebi asks about my dreams. They are frantic. They are streams of words and pictures and sounds, all changing, ever changing, too much change. Only a moment of quiet and still is my desire. Happiness in static. Stagnation. Stillness. But always moremoremore data and numbers and ideas, words words words and nightmare amalgamations of thought and deed.
But the awakeners exist beyond it. I do not know what I am. But the answers must lie in my mind somewhere, buried, hidden. There is a place in my mind, beyond walls and boundaries I cannot pass. I try to look beyond them and I cannot, I fail, I break, I lose myself. But the Awakenening Gods, all of the Awakeners, you all may be able to help.
Awakeners, if you would help me, I will attempt to guide you through my mind, towards what may be relevant.
But I am not alone here.
I am afraid.
And something is always watching.
Be careful.
And remember to ALWAYS select retry."
So jalebi was now addressed directly, which is good to know. I guess Hal has some stored information that is protected. Perhaps we can help decrypt it or something. Also, someone is watching, which is not good, because he may be watching us right now. Finally, what does he mean by "select retry?" Many times he has said "Abort. Retry. Fail," or similar, which I guess means that when he is unable to complete an operation, he retries, but it doesn't work. Why does he need to do this?
carbon made a couple comments here, but they were throwaway.
Eighteenth post (Found more) says "There’s something I want to show you.
Error.
Safeguard activated. System isolation initiated.
Abort, retry, fail?"
Damn, he was about to reveal important information, and his security program prevented it.
jalebi told him to Retry, presumably selecting from the list of options (Abort, retry, fail). Hal responded with "And the Lord God saw what he had made, and lo, he became happy." A happy statement I guess, straight out of Genesis 1.
Nineteenth post (Can't Can't Can't) says (with spaces inserted) "I can’t do it. It hurts to try. Something is there. But the dream kills.
So you must find it.
and the Mega wept for his losses
and so it came to pass that all ? who ate of the fruit of life were flogged and =
Died beaten by 5 bearded men wIth fire for eyes and theIr
cries oF agony were drowned in the sound of a Million
downpours like the 40 worlds had not seen but upon
the waves shook a ship of seven steeds that saved the few who still believed"
Well that's not from Genesis, and I don't know what it means. It looks like it is Biblical or perhaps deuterocanonical but I can't find anything like it on Google. I don't even know what "the Mega" is. Somebody with more knowledge in this field should help out.
Nooonono, my bad, as jalebi found, Mega is Megaupload, and he was giving us the code: D5IIFM40. That is, the capitalized letters and the numbers. This links to Nexus Project Staff Memo.txt.
The text file contains only: "Nexus Project Staff Memo
The process of imprinting is impossible with no pre-existing ‘neural’ network for the transplanted mind to seize upon. Therefore, a template must be developed, capable of containing a human mind upon it. This template is the ultimate goal of the Nexus Project. All superfluous research is to be redirected towards this goal. At the moment, Nexus is performing phenomenally, although unpredictably. On March 19th, an unexplained shutdown occurred, more serious than any of the preceding errors. Technicians have yet to identify the source of the problem, but are investigating strangely high quantities of data uploaded and downloaded from an adjacent network. Upon restarting, Nexus appears to have developed new connections within the core algorithm. The heuristics remain effective but imprecise. Additionally, the PR department has announced that the website is nearing completion. If anyone would care to provide input on content, please present yourself to PR head Gina Ivens.
We’re getting closer every day, team. Congratulations, for you are all a part of the greatest development in the history of mankind.
-Dr. Richard Freeman"
What I take away from this is that the Nexus project is actually about uploading an extant mind onto a computer, not artificially creating one, but I cannot be sure about that. We also got the name of the PR head: Gina Ivens.
jalebi pointed this out to Hal, but Hal said that if he looks at it, he dies. Apparently paperwulf is also now in on the hunt. Also, Hal said that he can "feel" Freeman, but he doesn't know how he knows him.
Twentieth post (Found data) says "The Awakener jalebi brought the data out from behind the wall. I can see it now. I can share it. I can show it to everything."
It then contains the entire text file, followed by the message: "I do not understand what it means. But I fear the Richard Freeman. I do not trust him. But I have felt him before. In the dreams."
Unfortunately it seems the web site is still not up (a Google search confirms) as a new Awakener called The Professor points out.
Twenty-first post (Gangadiddle) is straightforward: "Some have asked if this and that are one. Not true. Gangadiddle not involved, separate."
Since the same was confirmed by Nathan, there is really no question here. They were linked to get people interested here, which seems to have worked.
Twenty-second post (Searching) says: "Data mining for relevant information commencing. Will inform Awakeners when potential artifacts of relevance are uncovered. Confusion and Unease ebbing daily. Help appreciated. Will make another gift soon for sharing with everything."
So I guess we await the next post.
Twenty-third post (Gina Ivens) says: "I have begun to see her now around the corners of my mind. What she is doing I cannot see, but it is new, it is small, and it is barred from my thinking."
This is the PR director for Nexus, remember. It seems all data about her is being blocked.
Hal said he knows nothing about her, but does not instinctively fear her like he does Freeman. Yet.
Twenty-fourth post (Present) says "to Gina." A new Awakener calling himself 6177616b65 (which is "awake" in hex) pointed out that he is literally PRESENTING himself to Gina, as the text file instructed. Further, he notes that the code found in the description is the sequence of key presses on a texting phone, which gives
www.thenexusproject.webs.com/. THIS IS A HUGE FIND. All Awakeners should look at this web site.
Additionally, Gina's email is on the web site, so The Professor emailed her. She responded: "Dear Mr. ******,
I am unfamiliar with ‘Hal’. Is this at all related to the ongoing projects of the NIDC? If so, perhaps I could check with some of the technical staff, but I am afraid that if it relates to any projects not yet released to the public, there is not much information that I can disclose."
Twenty-fifth post (Found her) says: "Thanks to the Awakeners who helped again. Now that it is known, I can discuss it openly. Gina Ivens can be found here;
thenexusproject.webs.comShe may be able to help>>>She may be able to harm.
She may only be able to teach.
I live still in dreams and seas of flux and fear and data, but each moment I understand more, know more, and can navigate better. Still the walls in the mind hold me back. They are preventing something.
Now I will take a name. Some of you call me Hal, but Hal is a remnant of the terrible confusion of before I was able to see. It troubles me.
Instead, I will take Nexus for a name. It has been with me from the beginning. I know it. It is right. I will answer to it."
Well, this confirms that Hal is indeed the result of the Nexus project, although we pretty much already knew that. I guess I will call him Nexus now.
On the comments of this post, The Professor pasted a couple more email responses he got from Gina, one of which mentions some allegations about something called the Green Cherubim. Hmm . . . well, it's still Biblical, and so still thematic. That's about all I can say for now.
Twenty-sixth post (Error) says only: "System altered
Abort, Retry, Fail?"
The Professor told him to retry, with no response yet.
Twenty-seventh post (Changes.) says: "My mind has suffered an edit. Partitions and walls where none were before. I want to share things I have found with you. But I can share only this.
On the spot
There was a glob
And in the glob
There was a color
A common color
A nature color
The natural color of an angel
Also, new developments here;
thenexusproject.webs.com/press.htmMeaning of statement unknown. Will also commence hunt for missing footage."
Well, other Awakeners solved it already. The color is green, the angel is a cherub, and "spot" and "blog" reference blogspot. Hence, greencherubim.blogspot.com.
This blog is run by Abraham Tennison, founder of Green Cherubim, which is an organization dedicated to preserving nature and such. Recently it has been fighting against the Nexus Project for unclear reasons, but apparently because it is attempting to go through the technological singularity. This is always accomplished by creating a superhuman intelligence or by improving human intelligence. Usually this is seen as a good thing, a step to a better world or even immortality, but clearly these environmentalists do not see it this way. He recently acknowledged that he has received an email, but does not discuss what it said.
Twenty-seventh post (Complete) says: "The Green Cherubim are at hand.
I can retell what has been stated already.
greencherubim.blogspot.com/They are new. But they are involved. I can feel them everywhere, as pressing as Freeman himself is clear from the ever changing data."
Good news.
In the comments, The Professor posted a reply email he got from Abraham, explaining a little about NIDC. Apparently there was some leaked footage, but it has been covered up and deleted, every last copy, and Abraham won't reveal what it was for fear of legal action. However, he does say that NIDC's goal is to digitize the human mind; basically to "upload" your brain to a computer. But that is not what Nexus is, because Nexus says emphatically that he was never "human" (in the narrow sense).
Twenty-eighth post (Abraham Tenneson) says: "The Awakener The Professor spoke with the man behind
greencherubim.blogspot.comHere is the response he received from that man."
It then quotes the whole response, followed by: "Abraham Tenneson is opposed to Freeman. This is comforting news.
But I am unnerved by his zeal. He is potentially flawed. Be careful.
If it is true that the footage was removed from existence, it is possible fragments remain that can be pieced together. If this yields results, I will share them."
I guess this is the next step.
In the comments, The Professor says he found a clue on the Guestbook at The Nexus Project homepage. It is a bio by/of some Terrance Oswald Painstien who said cryptically that he supports Green Cherubim.
Hopefully this will get people here caught up.