I didn’t see the URL. Some gaming site, probably this one, tipped me off to its existence. I was certainly amused. I was entertained. I watched the countdown count down for a few moments, clicked a few links, looked at a few scrambled images, and then hit the back button, never intending to return.

I read my fair share of blog posts, news posts, post posts, and updates about the subject. People were finding clues hidden in source codes, finding hidden directories filled with treasure troves of secret information, and racing around the country to pay phones they knew only by their GPS coordinates. I was certainly impressed. I was entertained. The countdown had counted down and was now counting down some more. There was stuff and things, but it was over my head. Halo 2 sure would be neat.

Unfortunately, the conclusion was a pretty massive letdown. I can only imagine what those who had been closely following the game felt. I’m sure more than a few bee keepers were slightly upset. Four theaters playing Halo against one another. Disappointing.

I was browsing FilePlanet as I often do despite my better judgment at a point in time we’ll call a month ago, though in reality it was probably a little more than that. Somebody, probably fully endorsed by Microsoft, had uploaded the contents of the I Love Bees DVD they were giving out during those “training sessions” to FilePlanet’s rich stores of mostly crap. I had no idea what was on the thing, but I was curious enough to spend 45 minutes in a virtual queue and another four hours downloading the 1.9 GB file. I sure are glad I done.

Included in the download, which I will henceforth refuse to believe was ever burned to a DVD, were a series of not-so-mysteriously named .vob files containing the entirety of the I Love Bees radio drama. Apparently there was an I Love Bees radio drama. And it’s very good stuff. Standard Bungie fair, no doubt, filled with enough rampancy, alien artifacts, and instances of the number seven to be ridiculously entertaining, but very good stuff.

The whole mess exists in these .vob files, which are played quite nicely using the VLC Media Player. It’s twelve chapters told in thirteen parts and I’m sure it’s everything Halo 2’s narrative isn’t and everything it should have been. It clocks in at about five hours, give or take I never actually timed them and VLC uses a currency of time understood by no one, and it’s breathtakingly good. Probably the best thing I’ve thinged all year. Certainly the best radio drama I’ve listened to in a good long time.

It’s sort of difficult to discuss though. I could really only talk about it in the most general of senses without completely ruining the experience for the few of you who decide to download this mess. It’s this sort of tragic story about a handful of people and their lives leading up to the end of the world. It has rogue military AIs and shady government conspiracies. It’s ridiculously funny, exciting, and very , very sad. It’s certainly worth your time. If you’re even remotely a fan of Halo or anything Bungie’s done, I’d definitely say it’s worth checking out. If you’re not a diehard Bungie fan, be forewarned that downloading and listening to this will probably make you one.