CODEX
One of the internet?s most infamous mysteries
Nowadays, the internet has established itself as an essential tool of nearly everyone?s daily life. Despite both the web?s usefulness and usableness for the world, there exists plenty of conspiracy theories that question its credibility. Erratas can likely be credited as the most disturbing one of those.
What Exactly Is Erratas?
Erratas ( often misspelled ?Eratas? to avoid detection ), is the name of an alleged computer algorithm that is said to conduct data surveillance of anyone that searches for that particular word on the web, while also leaving no traces of itself behind. Many suggest that the data collected by the algorithm is used by colossal companies, such as Google, in order to develop an A.I. (Artificial Intelligence) machine that can filter out humans, while others seem to think that its main use is the removal of copyright infringement from content on websites, like Youtube. The idea of it being an Alternate Reality Game (ARG) is also present.
How The Theory Initiated
The mystery began with a post an anonymous user made on November 26th 2015, on the website 4chan in which the user describes a conversation between him and a woman he knew. Long story short, the woman in the conversation used to work for a disreputable company when one day she was tasked by her superiors to pack boxes with the use of a tape gun, alongside a coworker of hers. The tape gun she was given though, had the word ?Eratas? written on it when it seems like it was supposed to have the name of its respective department instead. Her coworker, who had previous professional experience as a programmer, advised her to throw away the tape gun as anyone who looked up the word, received an immediate dismissal from the company. The theory took off from there, as other 4chan users starting sharing similar stories that were associated in some way with erratas.
The Possible Disappearance Of A Youtuber
This is where the rabbit hole truly begins. A small YouTuber known as Chronos for life uploaded a video on youtube called: ?Jurassic Park 3 Tribute?, in 2015. Around the 2 minute and 37-second timestamp of the video though, a strange beeping noise can be heard. Independent researchers have identified the noise as it being morse code. The decrypted version of the code states the phrase: HOLLYWOOD ASTRAL PROJECTION CLINIC. Until this day no one is certain about the meaning of the phrase.
On January 26th 2016, Chronos for life uploaded another video called: ?Here goes nothing?. The user claims that the video is purely made to act as bait for the supposed erratas algorithm. To put it simply, Chronos believed that if that particular video got removed from the website, that could be considered evidence of the existence of the erratas algorithm. To add to the creepiness of the video, many internet users have discovered that the automatic caption system Youtube uses, appears to make a couple of questionable ?mistakes?. At the 12 second timestamp, it used to read: ? are far from over 200 Corbin KY 40219?, at the 52-second timestamp used to read: ?111111?, at the 1 minute and 43-second timestamp it used to read: ? 10.3% 10.4% ? and lastly at the 2 minutes and 17-second timestamp it used to read: ? overthrow the government ?. Keep in mind, that automated captions on Youtube neither can be reviewed nor changed manually. As the name states, they are automated. The captions have since been improved and are more accurate, though concrete evidence of the ?malfunction?, previously mentioned, existing can be found throughout the web.
The last video uploaded on the Chronos For Life Youtube channel was on January 28th 2016. No further updates were made on the channel since then. To this day, nobody knows what exactly happened to Chronos For Life causing many to speculate that the erratas system had the user ?silenced? for exposing the truth behind it.
An Overview Of Chronos?s Story
In a video of his, called ?Youtube is MONITORING and controlling my life?, Chronos stresses his belief that his mother?s life was controlled by Youtube in numerous ways. He explains that she had ?uncovered? secrets related to the Jurassic Park film trilogy, that could negatively affect the work as well as the lives of several Universal Pictures employees. He analyzes his harassment theory while also justifying it by saying that Youtube had unfairly removed his deceased mother?s ?Jurassic Park Tribute? videos due to copyright claims. It is also stated that Chronos is mentally stable with no disorders or whatsoever. Throughout the duration of the video, Chronos makes his mother’s obsession with the Jurassic Park films obvious, even mentioning that his mother used to consume Jurassic Park branded sugary foods even after the point her doctor advised her against it. Both the video?s poor resolution and audio quality can be attributed to the fact that the creator wanted it to remain undetectable by the erratas algorithm. Here?s a readable version of the video?s text :
I strongly believe that my mom was being monitored and harrassed by Youtube, Universal Pictures, and their affiliates because of secret of sorts, she had uncovered within the original trilogy of Jurassic Park films. Let me start by saying as early on as I can that I am not crazy ? never been diagnosed with schizophrenia, anxiety disorder, or any other mental illness. I?m just good at noticing patterns. I?ve always been a big Jurassic Park fan. I saw the first film when i was 5 years old and always shared with my mother. It?s possible that Youtube?s part in the harassment campaign may have started with their removal of her various tribute videos to Jurassic Park after her passing, but those may also merely be the result of the churning of the vast machine that is the automated copyright-takedown system. As big of a JP fan as I am, though, I was never as deeply into the franchise as my mom was. She would watch the entire trilogy (this was before Jurassic World?s release) on the last weekend of every month. She would buy JP-branded oatmeals and sugary cereals, long after her doctor advised her to steer clear of these for her health. [???????] editing together tribute videos on Youtube ? basically like those Linkin Park anime music videos, sans anime. I started noticing their absences toward the end of 2015. Without access to her Youtube password, I could only re-upload the videos she had created on her old laptop. I?ve contacted Youtube many times regarding the videos, but have only received canned auto-responses and unhelpful, yet sympathetic, responses from actual employees after pressing the matter.
KFC Murder Chicks And Tod Ellsworth
After further analyzing the ? Here goes nothing? video, internet users found out that ?200 Corbin KY 40219? was listed as the address of a band on the Bandcamp website, named KFC Murder Chicks. Many 4chan users that were investigating the mystery at the time, uncovered that KFC Murder Chicks? band members were homeless and female. Besides that, it is said that the group was produced by DJ Rozwell. There also exist rumors that one of the band?s girls previously worked in a warehouse. These findings seem to perfectly fit in with the story of the anonymous 4chan user?s post, as the girl described in it was also homeless and in a band.
On the other hand, mystery hunters discovered a Twitter, as well as a Youtube, account by the name of Tod Ellsworth that seemed to be connected in some way with erratas. To begin with, a video uploaded on November 22th 2015 by the Tod Ellsworth Youtube channel, had the phrase ?erratas or rusts? written on its description. Keep in mind that the video was uploaded just 4 days after the initial appearance of the mystery. While looking more into it, a now-deleted Twitter account by the same name was discovered that brought to light many ?interesting? information to say the least. The account contained 3 tweets. One of them included a police sketch of a serial rapist located in Maui, Hawai. After a short while, the face pictured on the sketch became the ?logo? of the erratas mystery. It also worth mentioning, that Tod Ellsworth is an anagram of the phrase ?The Lost World?, which is actually the name of a Jurrasic Park film. Don?t forget that the Jurrasic Park franchise was an obsession of Chronos?s mother. Lastly, in a KFC Murder Chicks? song called ?Get Shit Straight?, the name Tod Ellsworth is constantly mentioned. It has been made clear by now that the apparent ?coincidences? are endless.
Conclusion
To this day there has been no definitive answer to the mystery. Many believe that the whole thing was an A.R.G. created by an upcoming DJ (DJ Rozwell to be exact) with the sole purpose of promoting his/her music, while others tend to stick to the original idea of it being a malicious algorithm. Nowadays the erratas mystery has become a meme amongst 4chan users and is commonly used in sarcastic ways. Why did the original 4chan thread(the place where the anonymous user first presented the mystery) as well as the Tod Ellsworth Twitter account got deleted? Was Chronos For Life a real person and, if so, then what did exactly happen to him? These questions will probably remain unanswered until the end of time. One thing is for certain, though: Be careful of what you search for on the internet.