According to discussion over at Unfiction forums, it appears that the Iris ARG has now run its course. With all five of the "servers" having been unlocked (Server 05 just unlocked last week on 8/16) apparently the mystery and story of this ARG has been fully revealed for all those who were following it.

Fortunately, several Podtacular members were able to get in on the action and score some exclusive Halo 3 goodies, including Klutch27, Unr3alChi3f, ClownX, Kiaffex, Face Head, QualityJeverage, iNoob, t3hreaper, crashMMVII and, thanks to these guys, yours truly.

For those who didn't manage to get so lucky, your time and efforts were definitely appreciated. And even though this looks like Iris has now all come to a close, don't be surprised if other exclusive events or promotions start to pop up from Microsoft around the Halo 3 launch.

Over the weekend, I thought maybe I was just too busy to keep up and would come back to a whole new wealth of info on Iris, but after some checking... has nothing really happened in the last five days? Did I miss something? After all the excitement of the last couple of weeks, it seems like the game really has come to a full stop.

Is there something we're waiting for? Are we expected to find new clues and get the game going again?

In today's biggest developments, Adjutant Reflex (widely presumed to be a Forerunner AI) has ceased to exist as we know it.

After some communication with a bungie.net user named x Foman123 x, Adjutant Reflex indicated another "presence" and the inability to combat its actions. Now it seems to have been taken over or consumed entirely. A look at its user profile shows the following message: "This entity has been terminated, its matrix comandeered."

While the Adjutant Reflex bungie.net profile still exists (with a new avatar) and continues to post messages, they are decidedly more sinister and forewarn of events that will be occurring very soon.

from http://www.bungie.net/Forums/posts.aspx?postID=11393329

Even the countdown timer at the Transmission Log has stopped and now shows the following:

It was believed that the countdown would end on June 21st, the first day of summer, and provide some new information about Adjutant Reflex and its mission, but now, things have come to a full stop. It's not clear if this new presence is friendly or hostile, but it's clear that something has gone wrong.

Looks like something big could happen at any moment now, so stay tuned. The ARG Watch continues!

After yesterday's e-mail about looking for "signs" and "keepers of the flame" it looks like things are starting to pick up a notch with new findings.

First, there have been some developments at halo3.com, which the links in yesterday's e-mail were presumably meant to drive people to. There you can find a new comic, specifically at halo3.com/comic.

Then, a new web site called The Society of the Ancients was found, which clearly shows new evidence with the symbol above AND a link to a new URL.

This URL was also found in the last page in the Halo comic (that also show both the repeating symbol) as a series of numbers, which when translated into URL form lead to http://206.16.223.65/

At this address, there's a countdown leading up to some time next week. It looks like that could be the reveal of something even deeper.

Also, I've created a special group just for this here at Podtacular.com. Everybody's welcome to join and take part in sharing their ideas, links, etc.. Time to put on your foil hats and watch all the pieces come together!

I just received this email this morning, and it clearly looks like what's becoming another alternate reality game revolving around Halo 3.

While the fine folks over at HushedCasket have already built a fine summary of happenings to date, it looks like this is just the tip of the iceberg if the "I Love Bees" ARG was any indication of what to expect.

That said, there could very well be a tip-off that comes in the form of an obscure, nearly-hidden detail in any Halo 3 related material (like the brief flash of a URL in a trailer). So, if ARGs are your thing, or you just missed out on I Love Bees, keep your eyes open and be on the lookout for clues!