: It's hard to know how much of the interaction with Halsey is ONI mind games;
: Halsey hasn't interacted with the public at large in a very long time, and
: likely hasn't been allowed access to the net or anything like that since
: her recovery from the shield world.

: As far as Buck knowing, I don't really have any clue except that his
: connection with Dare might make him privy to secrets, rumors, and the
: like...but that's some top level stuff to just be gossiping about. I
: imagine that conspiracy theorists within the Halo universe have figured it
: out, at least somewhat; maybe Buck is a bit of a conspiracy buff?

It seems to at least be an open fact acknowledged by the Spartan IV higher-ups and Buck by extension. It seems odd the Spartans would all know when no one else did, but then again we still don't know how effective the UNSC's totalitarian control over info streams is.