Side Channel - Sy05
This channel (Whose username is "K-9", written in Base64) was known for leaving long, cryptic comments written in Base64 on several installments of The Walten Files. At one point, these comments were pinned, solidifying their canon relevancy to the series, but several appear to no longer be.
These unpinned comments cannot be seen through use of The Wayback Machine, as YouTube comments are not displayed in a way that allows them to be archived along with the rest of the page. At the time of writing, at least one comment remains pinned, this one, which can be seen in the comment section of "Teaser", a now-unlisted upload which teased the release of TWF2.
Translated from Base64, this comment reads:
"An upcoming tape will open a new pathway. Hopefully you are able to follow previous instructions correctly. Take note of important events, but don't doubt yourself. Your knowledge might be greater than you once believed. Stay tuned. -Sy05".
The reply from Martín Parédes, when translated from Morse, reads:
"YOUR CONFESSION IS HIDDEN, YOU CANT SPEAK BUT YOU NEED TO. ILL GIVE YOU A VOICE AND HOPEFULLY THEY ARE ABLE TO LISTEN TO IT"
Sy05's channel itself contains very little. Translated, their channel description reads:
i watch within the shadows.
i guide others to success.
i am here to help you piece this puzzle together.
i cannot give you the answers directly.
but i can help you find them.
be wise or the puzzle shall forever remained unsolved
-Sy05
In the "Links" section of the channel, there is one link, that when translated from Base64 reads "Find." It directs to the homepage of Findjackwalten.com
It's widely believed that the Findjackwalten website was first announced through a now-deleted tweet posted by Martín Parédes (link broken), and while this was certainly the way the majority of people found the website, the actual announcement came instead from Sy05 in the Official Walten Files Discord. At 12:07AM on July 22nd, 2021, Sy05 posted the following image to the "twf-discussion" channel of the official Discord server.
It crudely depicts the "About" section of the Sy05 YouTube channel, with obvious emphasis on the "Links" section, which was empty before. The time of posting here can be obviously contrasted with that of Martín's tweet, being 3:50PM on July 22nd, 2021. To date, this is the most recent activity from Sy05.
The only video upload, "the ticking clock" appears to have been a countdown for the release of TWF3: BunnyFarm.
During a Twitter Space on the 21st of January, 2024, series creator Martín Parédes answered a question about Sy05, which I have transcribed as follows:
"'Talk about Sy05... will we ever see the return?" I'm not sure. I really am not sure. I think- because, you see, Sy05 wasn't really my idea, that was, um, Brian's voice actor... they gave me the idea of the channel, and I was like, 'Yeah, sure, I'm on board with it', and we were really going with the ARG idea... It was like, we could add this, we could add that, and then we were like, the more we went on with the story, the less use there was for Sy05. The story was way too big for Sy05 to be involved in everything, so. I feel like, unless I don't find a proper use for the channel anymore... I don't think he will appear anymore, honestly."
Despite this, the character's place in the history of The Walten Files is, to me, absolutely worth documenting.
All of Sy05's activity, including Discord messages and now-lost YouTube comments which have not been detailed here have been cataloged on the Google Doc: Sy05 - The History