![[who-is-the-messenger.png]] *Published on September 5th* --- Hey there, Comet here! In the Season 4 Narrative Hunt, we were tasked with finding the evidence that America caused the Blackout of 2040. Before the Battle of Richtersveld (which started while the Exodus was finding the Blackout evidence and testing the Shearwater-II satellite), Oz broadcasted a speech to all No-Pats, calling on them to fight for their burgeoning homeland. He also mentioned that he has evidence that America was the perpetrator of the Blackout. So, how did Oz get this proof? Maybe a better question is who gave Oz the proof? That is what I am aiming to answer in this theory. Below, I have compiled all mentions of this mysterious Messenger. S4 Narrative Hunt: >Blasco: "The only way we ensure the No Pats’ survival is if we neutralize Wolff. A long time ago, Oz collected intel proving the United States’ role in the Blackout. If we release it, we sabotage Wolff’s operation. An associate here has kept that intel safe for Oz."[^1] >Blasco: "Contact made – they were watching us. Like a specter in shadow. That message reveals the dropsite where the associate left the intel. Once we locate it, and broadcast globally… everyone will know America’s role in causing the Blackout."[^2] "The Messenger" player card: >There had been other meetings. Always a different location. Always alone. But for some reason the contact never showed. Oz knew this was a test he had to pass. <br><br> Then the contact - this ghost who lived in the shadows - would reveal themselves and hand over the evidence. The smoking gun that linked America to the Blackout. <br><br> Whether Namaqualand lived or died, the world had to know the truth. <br><br> And Oz would be the one to tell it. --- Here are my thoughts on this Messenger. We're told that an associate has kept the intel safe in Alang, India (the setting of the Discarded map). I believe based on the use of the word "associate" that there might be more than one person involved in this. My thought process is that the "Messenger" was the person who attained the evidence and then the "associate" was given the evidence for safe keeping. I think Oz's associate is Mitahli Reed. She is a well known journalist who has aligned herself with the No-Pat cause. Her coverage has even been picked up by the No-Pat News Network and has gotten her special "the Reed Report" featured on the aforementioned network. According to the Codex, she was born and grew up in Alang, India. Her father worked at the same ship recycling yard found on the Discarded map. Mitahli has fond memories of playing in the deconstructed ships and "\[developed] a talent for trading information instead of \[ship] parts." So, the big question: who is the Messenger? I think it's the Sparrow, a member of the Dark Market Council. We learned a lot more about this person in the Codex entry titled "Dark Market Council." >The Intelligence venture is led by The Sparrow. Originally from Germany and a high-ranking member of the BND, she was a chief intelligence asset with access to agencies in both East and West. Years before Germany fell, she was one of the first to sound the alarm to her allies in the CIA and the KGB, only to have her warnings ignored. When her country collapsed, she could only watch as they did nothing to help. > >By feeding intelligence to both sides, The Sparrow can further sow disorder between the nations that betrayed her and all No-Pats. She wishes them to feel the same sense of abandonment she once did. I think this bio of the Sparrow perfectly encapsulates the *motive* for exposing America's cover up of the Blackout. Her warnings of the impending European collapse to other intelligence agencies were cast aside. The mention of the CIA is also important as Noah Wolff was working to cover up America's involvement in the Blackout. Once the Sparrow presumably got the evidence of Wolff admitting America caused the Blackout, she could get her revenge on the bureaucrats who ignored her. You might ask, how did the Sparrow get the evidence? That's where Daesong comes into the picture. The Korean company provided the world with its K-Net ISP, an earth bound solution to internet after the Blackout. In the Codex entry about Daesong, it mentions: >Access to such secrets makes Daesong vulnerable to attack, or infiltration. The Dark Market’s preferred strategy – why fight the competition when you can control it from the inside. They have their asset in place. Executive Yoon is proving valuable. For now. The Dark Market has a puppet in Daesong: Yoon. Given that a majority of internet traffic went through Daesong by 2041, I don't think it's far-fetched to suggest that Yoon provided the evidence to the Council. The Sparrow then withheld the information until the opportunity struck, the turning point in the No-Pat struggle, November 2043. >[!info] Note >After the Blackout, the Dark Market did have a monopoly over intelligence gathering that did not require satellites. This could've been another way that the Sparrow attained the evidence. Furthermore, there very well could be Dark Market operatives in the CIA. Recall how the player card "The Messenger" made it clear this person wanted to remain anonymous, "There had been other meetings. Always a different location. Always alone. But for some reason the contact never showed." The Dark Market Council members do not want their identities to be known by anyone, thus their names being animals. Perhaps the "test" mentioned in the player card is Oz's goal to create the No-Pat homeland. Once the Sparrow saw that Oz was going to succeed, she released the information by herself, or with the help of someone like Mitahli Reed. All of this was in an effort to not reveal her identity. One last note is that the dropsite of the intel was on the map Flashpoint. We know based on the "Borrowed Time" player card that the Broker was present in the Richtersveld before the battle occurred. It could be possible that the Broker left the evidence there and contacted Oz's associate, telling them the coordinates. I know that I pulled information from a lot of different places, but I hope you enjoyed this theory and maybe it got you thinking about who this Messenger could be. Please let me know your thoughts either on Twitter or Discord! Thanks for reading and visiting The Exodus Archives, Comet [^1]: This is the first interaction on the Discarded map in the S4 Narrative Hunt. [^2]: This is the second and final interaction on the Discarded map in the S4 Narrative Hunt.