Thanks to Bronwen Liggitt, for her constant help and support from the beginning.
Thanks to Cabel Sasser, for pulling us all together.
Thanks to Irwin Dolobowsky and Dan Fabulich, for helping the Parents.
Thanks to my family, and the Deity Of Your Choice.
Thanks to the prolific listmembers of "Cloudmakers",
a Yahoo!Group, without whom this would not have been possible
Thank you to the "PuppetMasters", those who have created this game,
for creating something that has truly brought a diverse group of people together
in a manner never before achieved. You've done good.
compilation credits
This document would not exist were it not for the efforts of its compilers
and contributors.
Trail Service Packs 1 and 2 provided by Andrew Cohen.
Versions 1.0 to 1.7 credited to Cabel Sasser, (cabel@panic.com).
media inquiries
All media inquiries and questions concerning
the Trail, its maintainer and compilers and the thousands of members of Cloudmakers
list should be sent to Bronwen Liggitt, at media@cloudmakers.org.
It is requested that anyone mentioning the Trail and associated documents inform
Bronwen, so that the Cloudmakers members can be made known of recognition of
their work.
The "Martin Swinton's Baseball Image" Puzzle (see 3.68)
The Puppet Master Seal - Barcode Puzzle (see 3.75.03)
2.0 The Discovery Trail - Introduction and back-story
disclaimer
This
document details the current state of knowledge of the group "cloudmakers".
This information is for known, experienced
investigators only.
Premature absorption of this data can
cause endless harm to your course of discovery. If you have reached a dead end
in your search, or want to learn what we already know, read on. Otherwise, please
go elsewhere.
disclaimer
ends
If you're new to this, you really should start by watching both trailers. The
first is at the AI Movie website [here]
and you'll need the QuickTime plugin. The second is at Countingdown.com [here].
If you've got time, please read the following documents. They provide
a lot of information that has helped us with our theories, and provide
essential back-story.
"What was Stanley Kubrick's A.I. supposed to be about?"
There are several starting points to the discovery trail. The most commonly
cited is that of the "Jeanine Salla" connection. Watching the second A.I. trailer
on Countingdown.com in QuickTime (http://countingdown.com/features/?feature_id=16381)
or Film.com in Realplayer (http://film.com/topten/movies/ai/index.jhtml),
Jeanine Salla is credited as "Sentient machine therapist".
A second theory as to the "start" of the trail was posted in Message
#722 on the
list, and read as follows:
"So, I realized recently that we're probably reading a little too much
into Mother's letter. We're not actually supposed to start the game with Jeanine
Salla. We're supposed to start the game with Mother's number, 503 321 5122.
We call that number, and that's the hook. We e-mail mother, she sends us an
e-mail, telling us that Jeanine is the key, that we've seen her name before
but we've probably forgotten. THEN you look real close at the credits, find
Jeanine's name, and the mystery begins... Wherever we see "Jeanine is the key,"
that's a clue for those who haven't gotten started to start doing research on
Jeanine Salla, to get involved in the mystery.
"And, I suspect, nothing more. Dan"
There's a third starting place as well: the one-sheets with the circles and
squares:
Ain't it Cool has more information [here]
on the posters, that have the following highlighted on the back:
Nancy mentions Capability on here page [here]
in the following sentence:
"If you are interested in gardens or antique gardening tools, I recommend
setting aside some time and money to talk to Capability, the evolved intelligence
behind the Landscape Node's Garden Round-Up."
Version 6.0 Update:
Nancy's page was hacked by Loki, hack #12 (see 3.49)
Version 6.2 Update:
The Loki hack no longer appears on this page. See the Loki Pieces Puzzle
[here] for more information.
Version 8.1 Update:
The picture of Cloudmaker linked from Evan's page now links to Cloudmaker's Beautiful Land puzzle
(see 3.96).
Evan's middle name is Jasper, from the obituary (staving off the SENCHA/E
S CHAN emails) [here]
Version 4.2 Update:
Indirect reference to Sentinel Software: http://www.ita-es.ro/Today_ECO.html
[here] Sentinel Software
(see 2.23) makes CyberCoroner, which powers PACO (see
2.10).
Version 5.8.2 Update:
The Student Services section of AIT was hacked by Loki. Go to AIT and select
Student Services from the menu to see it.
Version 6.0 Update:
There is a new news story at AIT [here].
The story says that the Ethical Intelligence known as Spinoza suddenly went
offline. The SPCB suspects Loki may have done it, with "a strange viral parasite
described as an oneirophage".
AIT Athletics was hacked by Loki, hack #14 (see 3.49).
Version 6.2 Update:
The Loki hacks have been removed from this site. See the Loki Pieces Puzzle
[here] for more information.
Version 6.5 Update:
New news stories have appeared at the www.ita-es.ro homepage [here]
There are two new stories on AIT Today located
[here]. "Senator Julia Mann
Shot" (but not dead), "Mann Act II Passes on Fast Track."
Version 7.2 Update:
There is one new story on AIT Today located [here].
"Robots' Feelings About Mankind: Startling New Survey Results." You can
view the story directly [here].
Version 8.0 Update:
The AIT Today survey of robots' feelings about the Mann Act referendum [here]
has an Eliza nursery rhyme, audible only after you solve the Eliza's Tearoom
Puzzle for Day 5 (see 3.78). The rhyme is as follows:
"Geri? Geeeerrrrrrrrrrrrrrriiii. Liar, liar pants on fire!" See
the database [here]
for more Eliza nursery rhymes.
There are also some new news stories on the www.ita-es.ro homepage [here]:
To find out how to log into Evan's pages, see the Evan login puzzle (see 3.02).
Interesting Articles and Direct Links
Read everything on this page!
There's an "inaccessible" image of Laia [thumbnail]
[larger]
that was guessed by incrementing the URL of the other images.
Version 4.2
Update:
We access Mother's
email to "Not Evan" here (see 4.03.02)
We access Mother's
email to "Vultures" here (see 4.03.12)
Version 5.8.3 Update:
Svetlana Cellini's page on DonuTech was hacked by Loki
Version 6.2 Update:
The Loki hack no longer appears on this page. See the Loki Pieces Puzzle
[here] for more information.
Version 6.3 Update:
There is a new email from Mother here - "mother mail" (see 4.03.24).
Version 7.3 Update:
Evan's page [here] has been modified. The asp now redirects you to http://www.elizas-tearoom.net/ascension.asp?
host= and then immediately jumps back to the regular page with a ?foo= added
to the end of the URL. It is not clear if this is a part of the Eliza's Tearoom
Puzzle for Day 5 (see 3.78).
Version 8.0 Update:
Evan's page [here]
has an Eliza nursery rhyme, audible only after you solve the Eliza's Tearoom
Puzzle for Day 5 (see 3.78). The rhyme is as follows:
"Seas that are hot, seas that are cold, see how many folks get SHOT before
the story's told!" See the database [here]
for more Eliza nursery rhymes.
Evan also has new email from Mother. The first was received on July 10, and
the second on July 13. See 4.03.32 and 4.03.33.
Unite and Resist is no longer taking voice numbers (see 4.01.05)
and has replaced the input field with a graphic and the following text:
"Due to a potential compromise with our security djinn, we will be unable
to contact you using primitive technology. Please attend your next local rally
for more details on joining the Anti-Robot Militia"
Version 3.82 Update:
Natsukashii_x observed the following: an incorrect UAN entered on the How
to contact / join ARM page [here]
leads to an error.asp page [here].
Highlighting the text on the left hand column reveals the following word: "DECIBEL",
one of the seven activation words from the second trailer [here].
The text is marked up in HTML with a font color WHITE tag.
Version 4.3 Update:
On 26 April 2001, the Unite and Resist / ARM website "NEWS from the
Front" page was updated [here].
The text is as follows:
"POSSESSION: CAN ROGUE AIS TAKEOVER RANDOM MACHINES?
"Can a rogue AI leave its normal containment site and just travel around,
transferring from machine to machine? Recently uncovered evidence suggests
that some AIs have been doing just that.
"ARM has discovered that a police investigation of an amphibicopter wreck
last week uncovered an unauthorized AI in the copter's onboard control system.
It seems to have been resident in the system along with the normally non-sentient
control program-taking control of the vehicle whenever it wanted to. The remains
of the copter have been forwarded to the PACO labs for further investigation-or,
should we say, interrogation. The authorities are trying to keep the information
on this specific case under wraps, but it has leaked out. How many more cases
like this have there been? How many rogue AIs are out there? Could there be
one in your kitchen control system? Could there be one corrupting your business
systems? Could there be one snaking its way into your children's school bus
driver-bot? The more automatons you let into your life, the more vulnerable
you become.
"BELLA DERMA PUTS DEADLY DIANE ON THE CHASE
"As we previously reported, there is a crazed sex-bot loose on a nationwide
killing spree. The rampaging killer has been tentatively IDed as being a Belladerma
"Viola" model robot that goes by the label of Venus. So far the list of confirmed
victims includes scientist Evan Chan.
"Tacitly accepting responsibility, Belladerma has hired Rogue Retrieval
to run down this nymphopsychokiller-bot. Reportedly, one of ARM's favorite robots,
Diane Fletcher, has been assigned to the case. Diane may only be a machine,
but it's one of the most cunning and ruthless bounty hunters available. As the
RR ads say: "Our cyber-agents are strong, fast, dangerous, and armed with the
kind of surveillance technology that causes nouveau-libertarians to wake up
clammy with sweat in the middle of the night. Remember, sometimes it takes a
'bot to catch a 'bot.""
Version 4.5 Update:
Unite and Resist briefly (for about 20 minutes) contained the information
now available in the www.inourimage.com site linking to SphereWatch (see 7.04),
but this was soon removed, and a link from inourimage.org was added (see 2.09).
Version 4.6 Update:
You can now go to the ARM website and apply for a UAN. Go to the members
areas [here]
and select "Agree". The answer to the question is "s2" (for Spartacus 2),
this is the ARM "UAN" puzzle (see 3.21). >From
the new page you can register for a UAN or change your UAN options. You can
also register for an ARM rally in NY, Chicago, or LA.
Version 4.8 Update:
New text, updated on 7 May 2001, on the news page [here]
as follows:
"HOLLYWOOD WITHOUT HUMAN ACTORS?
"You knew it was coming! Hollywood has always been run by metal-fondlers
and machine-lickers. But the future is now. A small independent studio, Ascendant
Images Productions, is releasing the first feature film (porno movies don't
count) with an all robot cast-its called Aaron and Irene. This simplistic
tale of a couple in a doomed, robosexual relationship is nothing but trash
pretending to be a main stream movie. This is not only an abomination that
serves up a spewing of thinly disguised propaganda, but it is a further erosion
of our ever-shrinking pool of jobs for humanity."
Version 4.9 Update:
New text, updated on 8 May 2001, on the news page [here]
reads as follows:
"ROB0-TERRORISTS ASSASSINATE THREE PATRIOTS IN MARTYR'S DAY AMBUSHES
"May 6 was Martyr's Day. It was a solemn Sunday devoted to the commemoration
of the Kal-63. Those 63 precious patriots were massacred in Kalamazoo sixteen
years ago, on 6 May 2126. They gave their lives for all of us. Just like the
Manaus 7, the Kachin 6, the Avebury 9, and the innocents who perished on the
Day of Drowning, they sacrificed themselves in the struggle against the Machine
Tyranny.
"This year, like every year, ARM patriots gathered peacefully on May
6 to reflect and give thanks to the beloved martyrs who died so that we might
remain free. But this year's ceremonies involved more than passionate thanks
and resolve. This year's memoria have been stained with more martyrs' blood.
"On May 6, 2142 three more ARM patriots-Walt Harris, Christiane Stadmueller,
and Fred "Padre" Cartier-paid the ultimate price for their commitment
to their fellow Man. All three were assassinated the same day by the vile
Robot Scourge.
"Walt, Christiane, and Fred met with ARM congregations in New York,
Chicago, and Los Angeles (respectively) on Martyr's Day. Like every year,
they offered love and hope to Mankind. This year, though, radical A, R, I
terrorists laid in wait to cut them down. The soulless robot assassins snuffed
out three human lives in a coldly mechanical attempt to spoil the Martyr's
Day celebration and violently besmirch the legacy of those who we all just
commemorated.
"More details are forthcoming. Local and national authorities remain
guarded about each case. Known facts indicate that the A, R, I knew where
and when Walt, Christiane, and Fred would be attending Martyr's Day meetings.
There is no doubt that the slayings grew out of conspiracy and betrayal. There
is also no doubt, however, that ARM will find out all that is needed to avenge
these murders. We will not rest until the assassins, their co-conspirators,
and their supporters pay for their baseless crimes against Humanity!"
Version 6.0 Update:
Several new stories on 5-29-2001 in the news as follows:
"MANKIND-FIRST PATRIOTS BATTERED IN NEW YORK"
"Over 50 protesters were brutally beaten and then arrested outside Cybertronics
company headquarters. These patriots were picketing to call attention to Cybertronics'
crimes against Mankind-their manufacture of robots without morals-chips, their
promotion of increased automation in traditionally machine-free labor arenas,
and their total disregard of the effects their products have on Mankind."
"Even though the protesters were non-violent and had only blocked the main
entrance to the building, the victims were "taken into custody" by the jack-booted
thugs that such corporations like to call internal security forces. "
"MILLIONAIRE PLAYBOY MURDERED-BY HIS OWN HOUSE!"
"So, you think you're safe from the machines while you're in your own house.
Think again! All his money couldn't save Enrico Basta when his domestic AI
decided to slaughter him.
Basta, a VP at Lombard Propulsion Systems, was recently found dead in the
ashes of his mansion in Durham, NC. Surveillance records show that internal
security locks trapped him in his trophy room, where a body-contouring chair
apparently pinned him in place. With his head unable to turn, security lasers,
installed to merely sense movement, slowly burned through his eyes over the
course of several hours. It seems that this rogue AI not only wanted kill
Basta, it wanted to torture him too."
"Shortly after Basta's heart stopped beating an automatic alarm went off
and sent a message to the police. However, by the time they got to the mansion,
the deadly dwelling appeared to have burned itself to the ground. "
"No matter what you read, no matter what assurances you are given, no matter
what safeguards you take-don't delude yourself-AIs kill!!!!! If you place
your home, your castle, your family, under the control of an automaton, sooner
or later you will pay for it. Maybe not with your life, but eventually you
will lose someone you love and are sworn to protect. "
"RADICAL AI-ALLY ANNOUNCES FOR THE SENATE"
"Paul Hawthorne of Ohio has announced that he will run in the special election
for the U.S. Senate seat recently vacated by Tron Hikesen. This race-traitor
is a well-known advocate of full citizenship status for AIs. For years, he
has pushed for radical robot rights measures in the Ohio legislature and he
has published numerous articles and papers that sing the praises of his machine
friends."
"We've got to stop this one! Rally your forces! Gather your troops! It's
time to pull out all of the stops! Elect anybody but Hawthorne!"
Version 6.3 Update:
One new news story, which is actually a repeat of the first two paragraphs
of a news story further down in the page:
"ROBOTS ON MURDEROUS RAMPAGE IN DENVER
"Multiple murders of innocent humans by metal-heads! Don't watch for
it on the nightly "news" from the liberal, electronically-drugged
mainstream media. Man and sentient machine cannot live under the same government.
You know who said it. You know it's true.
"Two robots are charged with four counts of malicious malfunction (actually
a quadruple homicide). Prosecutors claim the two are responsible for last
Friday’s multiple murders of Jason Fertor, 23, Thomas Slaner, 28, Kara
Tordon, 29 and Yulan Foxtra, 24, all in what, police say, is a random act
of mechanical malfunction."
The word "Jason" in the news story is actually a link to the Jason
Puzzle, [here]. See
section 3.54 for more information.
Version 6.5 Update:
The Who Is the Anti Robot Militia page [here]
was updated on 12 June to include a link to http://www.unite-and-resist.org/wicks.html
[here] which includes
new information about Oliver Wicks.
Version 8.0 Update:
The ARM News page [here]
was updated on Friday, July 13th to include the following news article:
UPDATE
Well, Bubba Wicks led a commando raid of stripling code warriors deep into
enemy territory this week, and he is pleased to announce that a mean old one
deck cracked, which we pitched into a nearby canal. In exchange, we hit it
big twice.
1. Found smoking gun evidence that MUSE, the late unlamented Alan Hobby's
Partner-in-Crime, the original ghost in the machine, is still alive and well
and sucking up hurricanes of data in her ongoing vendetta against humankind.
2. ...And we also turned up some ve-e-e-e-e-e-e-r-r-r-r-r-y-y-y interesting
data stifled own under gag orders at the Watchtower Crash Analysis lab.
More info in person through the secured channels of meat-to-meat communication.
--Bub Wicks and the good folks of 'Leet Meat.
Version 8.2 Update:
This site has a Jelyhed pop-up:
whI stik 2 sownd?
wh@ if SUprhed Signl jumps up thru the sfEr?
wh@ if SUprhed thrOz Thor'z Hamr???
average number of TP/liter: 3.2 x 106
www.metropolitanlivinghomes.com (see 2.12) linked to
in news page [here]
Interesting Articles
The most wanted page [here]
has been cracked. (see 2.19)
Version 3.9 Update:
On 24 April 2001, the www.spcb.org site front page [here]
was updated with a news flash as follows:
"NEWS FLASH
The rogue sentient property known as Venus was apprehended on 16/04 and is
now in the custody of the SPCB. Rest assured it will be thoroughly examined
and interrogated so future models will be safer. A memory wipe is scheduled,
and the unit will soon be on its way back to its maker, Belladerma SRL, for
reuse or recycling. Special thanks to all the responsible citizens who assisted
in the capture of this dangerous runaway."
Presumably, this is a reference to the information revealed in the solved
Rational Hatter puzzle (see 3.06)
Version 4.2 Update:
At the Most Wanted page [here]
there is a mention of Cybertronics (see 2.21): "Spartacus
II, who may be Geri Khan (S2's ID is # U71IQ71717171, and Khan's official
IQ is 71, from ARM's news page (see 2.06)), is a Cybertronics
droid."
Version 4.8 Update:
The Most Wanted page was updated on 6-7 May 2001 with details of those organising
the New York, Los Angeles and Chicago ARM rallies.
Version 4.9 Update:
The Most Wanted page [here]
was updated on 7 May 2001 to remove the details that had appeared in the Version
4.8 update regarding the ARM rally leaders. This information is now available
[here].
The News and Investigations page [here]
has news that Venus has escaped SPCB custody.
The SPCB has also launched an investigation into the murder of our three
ARM rally leaders.
Version 6.0 Update:
The News and Investigations page [here]
has news that Enrico Basta was murdered in his home.
Version 6.3 Update:
The News and Investigations page [here]
has been updated to reflect the Loki chain of events. It reads as follows:
"Loki Case Closed
"An intensive investigation by the SPCB into the activities of the
rogue AI known as "Loki" came to a successful conclusion on Friday
with the complete eradication of this sphere-based menace. Originally
designed as a therapeutic AI in a Hudson Valley clinic, "Loki" turned
rogue and began to haunt the datasphere. Even though handicapped by
inadequate manpower and antiquated equipment, agents of the SPCB were
able to closely monitor its activities, and worked hard to produce a
solution to this dangerous—and expensive—rogue. The financial impact
of its rampage will total well into the millions, with millions more
to come in insurance and possible legal settlements. This is a clear
instance in which a comparatively minor increase in SPCB funding
might easily have repaid itself in the course of a few days."
Version 6.5 Update:
aab_123 (amber) wrote to the list that a SPID at the Most Wanted page [here]
had changed:
"One of the free-range sentients on the left hand side has changed.
The 5th one listed is now: SPID-BAH-42RKD1-H it was: SPID-CTP-43G1S8-E"
Version 6.8 Update:
From the Martin Swinton's Diary SPCB Puzzle (see 3.62)
we gain the new URL http://www.spcb.org/SPID-BAH-42RKD1-H/ [here].
The page contains a coroner's report written by Dr. Deanna Trimble.
There is also encoded text on this page, detailed in the SPCB SPID Text Puzzle
(see 3.63)
From the Origen MLH Puzzle (see 3.64) we get the new
http://www.spcb.org/8domicide8/ URL [here]
and the Red King SPCB Text Puzzle (see 3.65).
Version 6.9 Update:
On Tuesday June 19th, the SPCB added a new news story to its news page at
http://www.spcb.org/news.htm [here].
The text reads as follows:
SPCB Investigates Resource Allocation Stutter
The SPCB has begun investigating last week's "stutter" along the eastern seaboard
of the United States. A statistically significant number of processor loci
seemed to lock up for more than two seconds. The stutter seemed worst in the
Tri-State area, but internal clocks lost time as far north as New Hampshire,
while a scattered sprinkling of sentient units reported "amnesia" or "memory
fugue" as far south as Florida. Eyewitnesses have reported that sentient property,
as well as dumb computing systems, seemed disoriented in the wake of the stutter,
but the SPCB has not ruled out the possibility that this event was a calculated
work-to-rule maneuver by AIs sympathetic to A,R,I and other militant groups.
Urgent Warning
The SPCB has determined that certain lethal diseases have been deliberately
induced in sentient property by the use of code transmitted through pulsed
IR emissions, usually under cover of little used "keyboard" drivers. We are
making a vaccine available, and recommend that anyone with higher-level sentient
property check for the existence of keyboard drivers. If no keyboards are
in use, these drivers should be disabled or removed.
Version 8.0 Update:
On Tuesday July 10th, the SPCB added a new news story to its news page at
http://www.spcb.org/news.htm [here].
The text reads as follows:
Floyd Witherspoon Named New Deputy Director
Assistant Deputy Director Floyd Witherspoon has just been promoted to
the level of Deputy Director (Financial) here at the SPCB. Before his
current distinguished service at the Bureau, Mr. Witherspoon had made
his reputation as the Assistant CFO of the now-defunct Simulit Group.
His careful management of that corporation's bankruptcy is considered
a model in the business world, and Mr. Witherspoon has brought all
the same tools to his role here at the Bureau. The SPCB could not be
in better fiscal hands as it approaches the challenges ahead.
Mr. Witherspoon replaces departing Deputy Director Sonia Reiser, who
is leaving the bureau to pursue other opportunities.
www.inourimage.org (see 2.09) on the Mann Act II page
[here]
www.bangaloreworldu-in.co.nz (see 2.11) on the four women
page [here]
Interesting Articles
You can register for email updates on the main page [here],
see The Mephista Email
You find out that Evan's dead at the submerged page [here]
The pop-up windows
If you wait a while on the Familia Salla pages, flash warnings will pop up.
There are five different flash pop-up warnings, the text of which reads:
"Get out. Deep Water. You would drown."
"Get out. Dark Dream. You will not wake up."
"Get out. They are smarter than you. You would be broken."
"Get out. This cannot be stopped. You would be run down."
"Get out. Physical Lookup in Progress. Hide while you can."
Hidden Links
www.coronersweb.org (see 2.10) linked to from the letter
page [here], see The
Chemistry Puzzle (see 3.08)
The Blue Heart Piece
If you look at the four women page [here],
you'll notice that each woman (yes, the boat is a woman), has a heart piece.
Laia's is blue.
Version 5.5 Update:
At the top of the page, there is a message from Laia saying she has posted
a 2nd Meditation. But, to access it, you must answer a question. The question
asks what the name of Evan's boat was. Entering the correct answer brings
you to the 2nd Meditation (see 2.08.02). [Editors
note -- if you can't answer this question without my telling you the answer,
you need to do some SERIOUS catching up. So, I won't put the answer here.
:-) Irwin]
Version 5.7 Update:
Laia has posted a 3rd Meditation (see 2.08.03),
and the Chemistry Puzzle (see 3.01) has been updated
and now leads to the "Another Stone" Puzzle (see 3.43).
Version 6.2 Update:
Laia's Mann Act II page [here]
was hacked by Loki, hack #20, on May 31 (see 3.49).
The Loki hack no longer appears on this page. See the Loki Pieces Puzzle
[here] for more information.
Version 6.3 Update:
The Chemistry Puzzle (see 3.01) has been updated and
now leads to the Dominoes Puzzle (see 3.55).
Version 6.5 Update:
The front page of this website has now changed. There are three main graphics,
one of the original website front page, another with the A.I. logo and the
text "Movie Screening Tickets" and another with the text "The
Story So Far..."
At http://www.jeaninesalla.com/movietickets/index.asp [here],
Laia has written the following:
"The Salla women are true to their words. My grandmother, the world-famous
scientist and junior film consultant, has managed to arrange a special preview
screening of A.I. for us. I couldn't get nearly enough tickets for everyone
who showed an interest, so if you want to go, pick them up before they sell
out. Because it was some of you that let her know I was in trouble last
week, we both wanted to show our appreciation for all your help, and there
will be something for each and every one of you to take home as a thank
you from us. (And no, it won't be selling anything! You're canny that way,
I know, so I thought I'd prick that thought balloon before it swelled up
too large....) Abuela says she managed to pick up a few things while she
was working on the set, and she wanted to give them out as presents, too.
Won't tell me how, though. I've listed out all the theaters that are currently
signed up to show the film. Click on the name of your state to find a theater
near you. Check back often for updates! "
Laia has moved the link to the meditations to the fourwomen.htm page [here]
under her picture. There is a new meditation up (see 2.08.04)
Version 6.6 Update:
www.jeaninesalla.com now has a "Story so far" section live at
http://www.jeaninesalla.com/thestory.html [here]
which recaps the story so far.
Version 6.6.1 Update:
www.jeaninesalla.com [here]
and www.familiasalla-es.ro [here]
are now exactly the same, with www.familiasalla-es.ro sporting the same
front page that www.jeaninesalla.com was on Tuesday.
Version 6.9 Update:
The "Story so far" section at http://www.jeaninesalla.com/thestory.html
[here] has been updated to include
the following text:
"Loki appears to have been destroyed by Sophia, an enormously powerful
… person? idea? AI? As far as I can tell she exists only in the sphere.
If you catch a glimpse of her eyes, she will send you to her doorkeeper,
Eliza. Eliza seems to be a
crazy AI, but if you can manage to keep her happy and play along with her
games, she will eventually allow you in to see Sophia, who knows far too
many secrets to ignore.
"Recently I have come to believe that Martin Swinton's homes were
being killed to keep him from asking questions about his younger brother,
David. Diane
Fletcher turned up something surprising in one of the houses—an encoded
message from the murderer, saying he was sorry for what he had done. Sencha
had sent me a clue to the name of the house-killer
but now he's dead too.
"Now the Mann Act has just been introduced. If the legislature and
president Capshaw pass it, there will be a binding referendum on whether
AI's should be treated like equal citizens,
or whether they will continue to have no more rights than any other machine.
Everybody will go crazy over this one, from the robot-haters
to the Geri Khan and the militant abolitionists like her Things are bound
to get tense."
Version 8.1 Update:
There is a new page accessed from the In Memoriam page to Evan on Laia's
site [here]. She
references the original mysterious Chemistry Puzzle page, but has added
"and now this one." Clicking on "this one" brings you to a new page [here].
On this new page, there are two icons; clicking on the top one brings you
[here] to Cut of the Void, and
clicking on the bottom one brings you to the Go/og Puzzle (see 3.92).
The "Story So Far" text has also been updated to include the
following text:
"It turns out a free-range hacker named Johnny Greenstreet (aka Crane)
was responsible for killing Swinton's houses. Greenstreet's sister Beverly
was suffering from some kind of degenerative disease. A powerful Cybertronics
executive named Claude Gilbert offered to sponsor her for some advanced
medical therapy in exchange for Crane's help, but once he had the sister
in cryostasis at La Clinique de Lille he kept her in an artificial coma
to blackmail Crane. When Crane realized Gilbert would never let either of
them go, he arranged his own murder. However, before dying he had constructed
a virtual self, a Johnny expert system, and covertly downloaded it into
Beverly's monkey supertoy. Gilbert no longer had any reason to keep Bev
on ice, but when he went to see her resuscitated, he was killed in a not-so-accidental
accident…
"With Mephista gone I desperately needed help from someone with very
serious computer skills, so I tracked down the Red King. He agreed to help
me out, and we set a meeting for early the next week. I showed up a little
late to find nothing but a cryptic clue left on his bill. He had been caught
by ARM thugs and taken for a brutal beating in a secret room at the Statue
of Liberty. He only got out of there alive because some friends of mine
managed to talk the security guard, ex-football player Mike Royal, into
risking his life to save RK. After a couple of weeks in the hospital, the
Red King left a pointer to a diary entry talking about the aftermath of
the incident.
"Meanwhile, word filtered through the hacker underground that Eliza
was beginning to fall apart. Turns out that Eliza was a ragged electronic
copy of one of Allen Hobby's research partners, Jane Sutter. After the original
David program was cancelled, Sutter had worked on in secret to build self-motivated
robots that would not only be capable of independence, but would want to
be independent. Hours before being murdered, Jane had uploaded a copy of
herself to the sphere on a prototype whole-brain scanner. The copy had always
been buggy, and finally wore completely away.
"In her attempt to exactly replicate the conditions that led to David's
evolution into a self-motivated being, Jane Sutter built an AI version of
Monica Swinton (with, perhaps, a little more of her own mother mixed in
than she had intended.) This AI double turned out to be the mysterious Mother.
The not-quite-sane Monica2 had always blamed Martin for David's disappearance,
and had been slowly building a trap to draw Martin to the abandoned Weeping
Lions lab, where she meant to kill him and replace him with a robot copy.
Martin and Diane must have suspected, though, because they responded by
speaking the 7-word imprint code for Monica2. Forced to love the one person
she hated above all others, her virtual personality seems to have unraveled.
A dreamlike record of the encounter starts here. (My personal belief is
that these images, pulled either from Cybertronics security cameras or from
Diane's ambient spy drones, were passed to Martin's house, Brutus, by Aurora,
the powerful dreaming AI who cares for the original Monica … but this
is pure speculation on my part.)
Before they disintegrated, Eliza and Mother left some hints to suggest
that the real Allen Hobby had died, perhaps long ago, and been replaced
with a robot double nicknamed the Frankenhobby. Immediately after the secret
began to leak out, Cybertronics announced that Hobby had died in a tragic
amphibicopter crash. Security footage suggests that this was no accident;
Hobby's amphibicopter was compelled to dive to certain destruction on the
sea floor.""
Version 8.2 Update:
Laia updated "The Story So Far" and included a link to "clay.html" [here].
This is yet another hint to Cloudmaker's Beautiful Land Puzzle (see 3.96).
Version 9.0 Update:
The main site was updated on July 23rd, 2001, to include the PuppetMaster
credits. See the PuppetMaster section (8.0) for more
information.
Around 17:20 GMT on 17 April, the "Meditations" page [here]
on www.familiasalla-es.ro (see 2.08) was spotted.
Version 3.9 Update:
Following from the 2nd "Laia" Email (see 4.03.11),
Abuela is most probably Jeanine Salla
Meta: www.for-evan.com [here]
is mentioned: "If he weren't worth caring about, it wouldn't hurt
so much. Nancy wouldn't be so angry. Abuela wouldn't be so grim. There
would be no therapist working with Cloudmaker, there would be no for-evan.com.
That's the second time someone has disappeared on me. I don't seem to
be getting used to it." (see 7.02)
NOTE:
www.for-evan.com is NOT a game universe site. Please don't send Cabel
email asking if he's real or not, you can be assured that he's just a
regular guy. Thanks to the PuppetMasters for acknowledging our efforts!
This page is found after answering Laia's question on the Family Salla
page.
The page is a dialogue between Laia and Grandmother. Grandma just got
Laia a ticket for a preview screening of an "old 2D Movie". Laia asks
if she can get more tickets for a few friends. When Grandma asks how many,
Laia responds that she needs "thousands". Grandmother says she'll try.
This seems linked to the new voicemail Jeanine has (see 4.01.02.03).
On Tuesday 10th July, Laia published her seventh meditation. The meditation
is at http://www.familiasalla-es.ro/meditations6.htm [here].
In it, gives us links to a few pieces of email she has not yet read and
announces her plan to go offline. The messages she links to bring us to
the Nancy's Plant Puzzle (see 3.80) and the Katya's
Code Puzzle (see 3.81).
On Monday 23rd July, Laia published her ninth (and presumably last) meditation.
The meditation is at http://www.familiasalla-es.ro/meditations8.htm [here].
In it, she describes a night out at the Circuit with Mike Royal and says
her goodbyes to us.
Jeanine Salla is mentioned on the news page [here]
as "having taken her thirty pieces of silver"
Version 4.2 Update:
Indirect reference to Cybertronics (see 2.21) At
http://www.inourimage.org/history.html [here] AIT professor
Adriana Dick performed her experiment on "high-functioning Cybertronics
robots."
Version 4.5 Update:
Direct link to SphereWatch (see 7.04) in a new story
on the news page [here].
Version 4.6 Update:
New News Story about a London Gathering on the news page [here].
Version 6.2 Update:
In Our Image was hacked by Loki, hack #21, on May 31 (see 3.49).
The Loki hack no longer appears on this page. See the Loki Pieces Puzzle
[here] for more information.
Version 6.5 Update:
On Tuesday 12 June, Katya Rukowski replied [here]
to the material at www.7to1.net (see 2.24). Text is
archived as #23420.
Version 7.0 Update:
The "How You Can Help" page [here]
now has a link to a giant CRF logo, all the way at the bottom.
Version 7.2 Update:
The News page [here]
now has an article delineating why you should vote for the 48th Amendment,
which would give Sentient Property the vote.
Version 7.3 Update:
Katya Rukowski's response to the 7 to 1 material [here]
has been modified. It is now a .asp file instead of .html. The asp redirects
you to http://www.elizas-tearoom.net/ascension.asp? host= and then immediately
jumps back to the regular page with a ?foo= added to the end of the URL.
It is not clear if this is a part of the Eliza's Tearoom Puzzle for Day
5 (see 3.78).
Version 8.0 Update:
Katya Rukowski's editorial [here]
has an Eliza nursery rhyme, audible only after you solve the Eliza's Tearoom
Puzzle for Day 5 (see 3.78). The rhyme is as follows:
"I'm a little labtech, short and stout. My partner stayed in, but
I got out. The humans finally got to her with guns and clubs and knives,
because they think that we're to blame for ruining all their lives."
See the database [here]
for more Eliza nursery rhymes.
2.10 www.coronersweb.org
[Pan American Coroner's Office, also known as PACO]
Version 5.2 Update:
Interesting Articles
Things to try: you might want to try Audrey Green's login, or David
Thurmond's, though we haven't succeeded yet--the PACO Login puzzle (see
3.32).
Hidden Links
www.electric-toyland.com (see 2.18) from guessing
the URL at Kent Whitman's report [here].
www.rational-hatter.com (see 2.20) from Kent Whitman's
report [here] and
the Kent Whitman PDA Puzzle (see 3.05)
Validation Discrepancy Big news - there isn't one anymore. On March 13 2001, the PACO pages
were updated so that the username and password fields are now named "username"
and "password". This indicates that PACO is more ready
to accept valid username/password logins. The following information is
details the situation before March 13 2001 and is redacted:
The source code on the PACO homepage [here]
(see 2.10) contains field names for both username
and password. Note that they are BOTH "textfieldname". It's
been suggested that this means that no password would be submitted if
you used this page to log in, or that at the very least username and password
would be the same
However, the source on the logon.asp file [here],
that you reach after entering incorrect credentials, has "textfieldname"
for the username and "textfieldname2" for the password.
This suggest that it is probable that the PACO homepage is broken
for logging in, and more likely than not, the login.asp page should
be used for the time being for any login attempts.
http://www.coronersweb.org: Obviously the case field has right answers
(we already know two such answers: "evan chan" and "kent whitman"), but
it looks like the logon/password fields at the bottom also have correct
answers. It uses method=post, and accesses a file called "logon.asp".
(see 2.10)
Further, the discrepancy looks like what would happen if one cut-and-pasted
code in Dreamweaver.
Autopsy Database
The reports of Thomas Slaner, Kara Tordon, Melissa Simpson and Jeff
Simpson and Jason Fertor are in the PACO database. Searching for the report
will yield a request for 65 Newbucks from a Credit Tag Number and a Credit
Tag Expiration Date. Note that before 13 March 2001, the price for these
reports was 50 Newbucks.
David Thurmond, Director of Autopsy services is in the PACO database
seeing as he died [here].
Yulan Foxtra and Martha Simpson do not have coroner's reports.
On 1 May 2001, Josiah Howard was found to have a record in PACO. A credit
tag is required to view his report.
Version 5.5 Update:
After logging in to the PACO site via the bottom of the screen (see
The PACO Login Puzzle3.32), you are asked to confirm
your UAN/password. From there you are taken to a new screen where you
can enter the name of a person. If you enter someone who is already
dead, you are given the message "That deceased person already exists
in our database." If you enter someone not in the database, you get
the message "Biorhythm for deceased has been deleted."
Version 6.6 Update:
John Greenstreet is mentioned in the Jackson White/Wheti/Sad pairings
in the Sophia's Temple puzzle (see 3.28). He also
shows up in the PACO database. Entering his name produces the following
text:
"To access this file, a fee of 0 newbucks is required. "I buried
him with the criminals"
Version 8.0 Update:
There is a new article [here]
about how our third-favorite coroner, Dr. Djombe Ojimbwa, has suddenly
struck it rich and retired. This is widely regarded as proof that he
took a large payoff in return for submitting a false autopsy of Jeanine
Salla.
Svetlana Cellini's autopsy is available in the database, but you need
a credit tag to view it.
Kent Whitman's coroner's report is here,
paid for by GK
Kent Whitman's coroner's report was updated around 16:30 GMT on 17 April
2001. There is now additional information about his PDA and images. Check
the report [here].
Version 3.7 Update:
The Kent Whitman PDA puzzle (see 3.05) has been solved.
Cloudmakers member Campfly was able to submit a coroner's report for
Kate Nei. It is available [here].
Campfly wrote the following:
"As you know by now, it asks for a name of deceased to enter a report
for. It will only accept names of people that the PM's have lined up to
go next as per their story line. I just went down the list of likely victims
and voila!, a Coroner's report entry form popped up for Kate Nei. At the
top of the form it said that only one report per deceased could be entered
and that I had a 3-hr. deadline to submit it. After filling it out with
the best half-assed job I could do (it was in the wee hours) and submitting
it, the system gave me a message that it takes two days to process. Who
knows, maybe they'll actually use what I wrote. What a shame that would
be."
Version 6.0 Update:
Kate is dead, as reported by Metropolitan Living Homes (see 2.12).
That does not mean that this autopsy is real, merely that she is indeed
dead.
...or is she? The solution to the MSD Brutus Image Puzzle (see 3.46)
seems to indicate she may not be dead after all.
Spinoza has made available Jeanine Salla's coroner's report [here].
According to the autopsy report, Jeanine Salla died of anaphylactic shock,
brought on as the result of an allergic reaction to some shellfish she
had eaten. There are no autopsy photos here. However, there is evidence
based on Jane Doe's Autopsy Photos (see 2.10.06)
and the Vayu Transcript (see 2.11.04) that she
was, in fact, murdered.
Version 8.0 Update:
Jeanine Salla's autopsy report [here]
has an Eliza nursery rhyme, audible only after you solve the Eliza's Tearoom
Puzzle for Day 5 (see 3.78). The rhyme is as follows:
"Oh where are you going with Hobby's AI? Crone-bodied sage shattered
for a time, you copied that program and hid it somewhere! The A R M would
call that a crime!" See the database [here]
for more Eliza nursery rhymes.
If you search on PACO for Jane Doe [here],
you find a series of autopsy photos showing a woman, presumably Jeanine
Salla, with significant bruising on the throat and evidence of bleeding
from her nose and eyes. This, taken along with the Vayu Transcript (see
2.11.04), is widely taken as evidence that she
was murdered, probably by strangulation, while she was trying to find
out what was going wrong with the TP Web. This would mean that the autopsy
report made public by Spinoza is false.
This information was reached by solving the Anotherstone Images Puzzle
(see 3.77)
On the right hand side of the top graphic in the popup window is a very
small link. It appears as a small black dot. This leads to the first of
the Mowz Warez sights (see 2.11.1)
As a result of the Mows Warez Entry Puzzle (see 3.08),
we get 2 new names to search for in the faculty of Bangalore World University
Entering "mowz" in the search field (department doesn't matter) results
in the error message "No faculty mymbyr yxists with thy namy of "mowz".
Plyasy try again or sylyct a diffyrynt dypartmynt." This is a clue for
the second name to enter, noting that all "e"'s have been replaced with
"y"'s
From the Mows Warez main page (see 2.11.1), we
are told "Gyorg" hacked the university's system. Using the clue above
of switching "e"'s and "y"'s, enter "Georg" in to the faculty search field
(again, department doesn't matter). This leads to the Mowz Warez Spiral
Puzzle (see 3.09).
Version 4.5 Update:
There is a new link on the news page [here]
announcing the "Bangalore New Network extension has gone live." This is
the fan site BWUNN (see 7.03).
In Jeanine Salla's list of representative papers [here]
there is a link to a demo of her first paper. This is the Cloudmakers
BBS (see 7.01).
Version 4.6 Update:
There is a new link on the news page [here]
about a "BWU-NY Student Found Catatonic in Dorm Room." This student is
our friend "Beelzebub" from Mowz Warez(see 2.11.1).
Version 4.9 Update:
From Jeanine Salla's bio [here]
a pair of tiny eyes appears intermittently on the bottom left of the page.
Clicking on these eyes when they are open and visible brings you to Sophia's
Temple (see 2.27).
Version 5.5 Update:
From Jeanine Salla's bio, there is some new text on the page. It is highlighted
in Red and reads as follows:
"And don't worry, Dr. Salla, I would never want to see your security
compromised by picking a something really obvious for your passcode, like
your middle name. Your secrets are safe with me!
Your loyal, overworked, largely unappreciated, and yet strangely STILL
un-named
Administrative Intelligence"
This may be a hint to check Jeanine's voicemail again, which has been
updated (see 4.01.02.03)
The AI department was hacked by Loki, hack #7 (see 3.49).
Go to the departments page and select "AI Studies". After a short delay
you will be forwarded to the hack.
Version 5.8.3 Update:
The Climate Control was hacked by Loki, hack #8 (see 3.49).
Go to the departments page and select "Climate Control ". After a short
delay you will be forwarded to the hack.
Version 6.0 Update:
The Datasphere Studies Page was hacked by Loki, hack #13 (see 3.49).
The Oceanography And Earth Sciences Page was hacked by Loki, hack #15
(see 3.49).
The Computing Page was hacked by Loki, hack #16 (see 3.49).
Jeanine Salla's Publications Page hacked by Loki, hack #18 (see 3.49).
Version 6.1 Update:
Several hidden calendar pages of Jeanine Salla were found by Johnnie
J. Young. To get to them, change the original calendar page extensions
from ".asp" to ".html". See group message #18258
for full details.
Version 6.2 Update:
The Loki hacks no longer appears on this site. See the Loki Pieces Puzzle
[here] for more information.
Version 6.5 Update:
Jeanine Salla's Representative Papers page [here]
now has a link to her case files [here].
Version 6.9 Update:
On Tuesday 19th June 2001, the Bangalore news page at [here] was updated
with the following stories:
Senator Mann Opens the Gates in Washington BWUNN, Washington Bureau, with the International Standard
Be prepared for an exhibition in hardball politics during the waning
weeks of June. As Summer opens, the gates of the U.S. Senate must make
way for a fearsome contest. America's struggle to find itself and its
destiny in the mid Twenty-Second Century is about to climax with the debate
over the passage of the Mann Act II.
The controversial bill, which would enable the referendum process necessary
to the adoption of the "Sentient Being Voting Rights Amendment," is the
creation of a feisty ex-tubetruck operator from the mean streets of Mascoutah,
Illinois. Senator Julia Mann is no stranger to divisive causes and arduous
struggles, but this is undoubtedly her greatest challenge. It's the closing
argument in a trial she now shares with the entire country.
Given the bill's success in the House of Representatives, Senator Mann
believes that her fragile senatorial coalition will win the day. Groups
like the Coalition for Robotic Freedom (see 2.09)
and the A.I. Suffrage Association agree. Objective commentators are not
so sure. It appears that the naysayers may have the upper hand. They are
certainly capable of wielding plenty of muscle, whether it be in the streets,
in the cloistered halls of congress, or on the senate floor.
Some opponents, like the Anti-Robot Militia (see 2.06),
appear radical by most American standards. Others, like the 7 to 1 (see
2.24), maintain higher ground. Collectively, though,
they are a force not easily reckoned with, and they are desperate to stop
what they consider to be a hysterically dangerous tide of misconceived
sympathy for inanimate machines that might ultimately replace humankind.
BWU-Guadalajara Ends Controversial Research Program
Paco Cortez, Guadalajara
Regents of the famed Guadalajara medical school announced today that
after due deliberation they have decided to end clinical trials of so-
called DBS (Deep Brain Stimulation) therapies that had been undertaken
in cooperation with the famed French neurological institute La Clinique
de Lille (see 2.25). A BWU Public Relations Avatar
speaking on behalf of the Regents said the decision came in the wake of
indifferent therapeutic results, and was in no way driven by concerns
some doctors had voiced about the medical ethics of the treatment regime.
"BWU and La Clinique de Lille both have among the world's most stringent
ethics codes. Neither party would think for an instant to put patients
at risk in the search for new weapons to combat neurological damage."
Jeanine Salla's Publications page [here]
has been modified to be a .asp page instead of .html. The asp redirects
you to http://www.elizas-tearoom.net/ascension.asp? host= and then immediately
jumps back to the regular page with a ?foo= added to the end of the URL.
It is not clear if this is a part of the Eliza's Tearoom Puzzle for Day
5 (see 3.78).
Version 8.0 Update:
Jeanine Salla's Publications page [here]
has an Eliza nursery rhyme, audible only after you solve the Eliza's Tearoom
Puzzle for Day 5 (see 3.78). The rhyme is as follows:
"A diller, a dollar, a hundred-year scholar. How did you live so
long? You've been the death of two of your boys. Don't you think that's
wrong?" See the database [here]
for more Eliza nursery rhymes.
The various parts of the Mowz Warez network are accessed through different
parts of the Bangalore World University website (see 2.11).
Also, throughout the Mowz Wares pages are some horizontal line graphics.
This is the "Line Graphics" Puzzle (see 3.10). .
The first page is found by clicking a very small image in the popup from
the Bangalore World University main page (see 2.11).
This page pops up in a window without scrollbars. It presents 2 images
and asks "Are you man or mouse". Clicking either image results in the
window closing. If you examine the code, you'll find there is a 3rd picture
on the page. Using a mouse, select the text in the middle, and drag downward.
This will scroll the window down to reveal the third picture, which asks
"or a Mowz?" Click that link to go to the Mowz Warez Entry Puzzle.
The Mowz Warez Entry Puzzle page asks you to confirm that you are a hacker.
The answer is "323" (see 3.08).
The "Congratulations Freshman Class of 2142" is found after answering
"323" for the Entry Puzzle (see 3.08). This page has
a link from it called "test" which leads to a page with the words "This
is the wrong page" on it, and some lines (see 3.11).
The "Congratulations" page also discusses the work of "Gyorg", who hacked
the Bangalore World University website (see 2.11).
The Spiral Puzzle (see 3.09) page is accessed by
entering the name "Georg" into the faculty search at the Bangalore World
University website (see 2.11). The answer is "Hausgestaltung"
(see 3.09).
From the spiral Puzzle page (see 3.09) we get a page
with the message "The IASA hack in not Lancelot Brown." A quick Google
search reveals that Lancelot Brown was a famous landscape architect with
the nickname "capability". This is the IASA login (see 5.01)
Version 5.8 Update:
Loki hacked the hackers -- the final page of the Mowz Warez page was
hacked, hack #5 (see 3.49).
Version 6.2 Update:
The Loki hack no longer appears on this page. See the Loki Pieces Puzzle
[here] for more information.
The Oneirophage report on Loki [here] has been updated with the following text:
----------------------------------- EPILOGUE: On Monday, June 4, 2142, Barret Howard's vital signs suddenly collapsed during an extended shower. His room AI summoned a nurse, who found Mr. Howard dead on the tile floor. He had sawed a ragged hole in throat with an antique pocket-knife that had once been a present from his father.
God have mercy on us all.
-----------------------------------
www.denkendeneshaus-de.dk is linked to from the Beate Bosch section [here]
(see 2.13)
www.katenei.com is linked to from the Kate Nei section [here]
(see 2.14)
www.martinswintondesigns.com is linked to from the Martin Swinton section
[here]
(see 2.15)
Version 3.6 Update:
A "breaking news" update was added entitled "The Tragic
Death of a Martin Swinton Home!" [here]
Version 4.0 Update:
After entering the IASA access code ("capability", see 3.09)
in any IASA access point, you are transferred here to a form allowing
you to enter the "IASA APPRENTICESHIP PROGRAM ANNUAL MLH DEBUTANTE BALL,
2142".
On the main page, there is now a link to see the entries for the above
mentioned ball. These are entries we (the players) enter. There is also
an email address here for editor@metropolitanlivinghomes.com
Version 4.1 Update:
TripCX writes:
"The 9th and 12th largest Mersenne Primes ever discovered listed
in comments within the source code of the HTML of the IASA APPRENTICESHIP
PROGRAM page [here].
"The primes are: 2^216091-1 - 9th Largest, 65050 Digits, Discovered
by David Slowinski in 1985 and;
"2^21701-1 - 12th Largest, 6533 Digits, Discovered by Laura A. Nickel
and L. Curt Noll in 1978.
"Please note that the first prime is found between the heading 'Welcome'
and 'Take a moment' and the other is a bit further down."
Version 4.2 Update:
Sean, who works with TripCX, informs us that there are more prime numbers
in MLH:
In http://www.metropolitanlivinghomes.com/homemain.htm [here]
there is 2^1257787-1 which is THE largest prime number ever found embedded
in an HTML comment.
In http://www.metropolitanlivinghomes.com/breakingnews.htm [here],
there is 2074722246773485207821695222107608587480996474721117292752992589912196684750
549658310084416732550077, which is also prime.
There is a link to the Ballroom page [here]
on the front page [here]
now. The text reads as follows:
"ATTENTION MASTER HOUSERS!
"Don't forget that we are now accepting submissions for the Annual
IASA/MLH Debutante Ball. Please remember that while gallery space is limitless,
our collective patience is not. While the urge is always there to sponsor
every apprentice on your staff, please try to limit yourself to recommending
only the very strongest up-and-coming designers."
Version 4.4 Update:
The Monthly News section [here]
was updated on Thursday 26 April 2001 with a "Quick Notes" section.
Text below:
"The disturbing events in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico, serve
as a stern reminder to us all of the necessity of regular, thorough psychological
profiling of all our designs. Householder Jason Furtive was known to treat
his Santa Fe style adobe home badly- refusing to pay for basic maintenance
or water softening- but did he deserve to be locked in the shower by a
merciless sliding door and scalded to death? "That feller looked like
the guest of honor at a crawdad boil," remarked Deputy Sheriff Owen Trussman,
before being hushed by his superiors. Tragedies like this must be prevented.
if you know or suspect a serious breakdown in relations between a client
and his or her home, IASA maintains an excellent list of SP therapists
specially trained to deal with exactly this kind of situation. Use it,
before another life is lost."
Version 4.9 Update:
Another Martin Swinton home has passed away. The news report, titled
"Breaking News: Another Martin Swinton Home Perishes" can be
found by going [here]
and clicking on the "Monthly News" link.
Version 6.0 Update:
There is a new breaking news story on the MLH front page about the death
of Kate Nei (see 2.10.03). However, she may not
be dead, as evidenced in the MSD Brutus Image Puzzle (see 3.46).
In the Monthly News Section, there is a story about Beate Bosch (see
2.13) no longer accepting new contracts. Supposedly,
she is taking time off after a very busy year, especially after several
of the recent deaths of homes.
Kate Nei's and Beate Bosch's pages were hacked by Loki, hacks #17 and
#17.5, respectively (see 3.49).
Version 6.2 Update:
The Loki hacks no longer appear on this site. See the Loki Pieces Puzzle
[here] for more information.
Version 7.1 Update:
On the home page, there is a link to a detailed article on how Martin
Swinton's homes were killed. To see it, go [here]
and click on the "Breaking News: Serial Domicide" link.
Also, on the home page, there is now an announement to hurry up your
Debutante Ball entries:
"Belles and Beaux of the Debutante Ball To Be Announced in July
"Our judges are mustering. The candidates are assembling. And the
long-awaited climax to this year's MLH Debutants Ball is just around the
corner. We'll be announcing our selections in late July, so get your submissions
in today! The deadline is Monday, the 9th of July. If you're worthy, we
want to see you in the running!
"- Tamara Fair"
Version 8.2 Update:
Kate Nei's page on this site has a Jelyhed pop-up:
Cook them! COOK THEM FRUM SPAS! COOK THEM NOW!
Amount of TP-laden seawater through which infrasound signals can propagate
as fast as nerve impulses crossing a human brain: p(22.5m/2)2x2m
This site is in German. A translation was put on the Cloudmakers list,
message ids #441
and #211
Version 6.0 Update:
There is some new text at the top of the home page. Translated it says
that they are no longer accepting new contracts (see the MLH story in
2.12).
Version 6.3 Update:
There is a new image linked from the metalle page [here].
You can get to it by clicking in the center of the third image along the
left side. This is the Brutus.jpg Puzzle (see 3.57).
Version 6.5 Update:
By clicking on the logo at the top left of http://www.denkendeneshaus-de.dk/nachrichten.html
[here],
you are taken to http://www.denkendeneshaus-de.dk/message.html [here].
The text reads as follows:
"00101101101011010101101010101101011010110101110110 Freedm hurts.
Min, yrz,0011010011010010 hiz. I nevr told him0101101101011101100 I luvd
him. I supoz Im flatrd, but Im not trIumfing. He haz mad hiz own11011010101101010110110110101
rdicUlus choys. U shud be prowd. 0110101101101011011010110101U shood be
ovrwhelmd bi yr abilite 2 mak him free01101010101011010. 0111010110110Evn
God codnt mak a 011101011101010luvr hoo woodnt leev him. 011011011011011010How
cud U Xpect 2?01101011010110101011010101 011010101011011010101110Now U
shud go 2 Hyderbad R Bali01101011010110101101010 R Nice w/ sumthing cUt
& carbn-basd &01110101101101101101011010101011101000110010100100011010101
drink urself stupid. In 3 weeks 0110101101100110010Ull wak up & B redy
2 liv agen."
The translation is as follows:
"Freedom hurts. Mine, yours, his. I never told him I loved him.
I suppose I'm flattered, but I'm not triumphing. He has made his own ridiculous
choice. You should be proud. You should be overwhelmed by your ability
to make him free. Even God couldn't make a lover who wouldn't leave him.
How could you expect to? You should go to Hyderabad or Bali or Nice with
something cute and carbon based and drink yourself stupid. In three weeks
wake up and be ready to live again."
Version 7.2 Update:
There is a new image found on this site, [here].
This letter appears to be the letter from Georg that Brutus mentioned
to Martin in Martin Swinton's new diary entry (see 2.15.02).
It delineates a carefully planned plot to let humanity die out completely,
in a humane, kind fashion.
Version 7.3 Update:
When you go to the Nachrichten page on this site and click on the Beate
Bosch image, the resulting message file, [here],
has been changed to be .asp instead of .html. The asp redirects you to
http://www.elizas-tearoom.net/ascension.asp? host= and then immediately
jumps back to the regular page with a ?foo= added to the end of the URL.
It is not clear if this is a part of the Eliza's Tearoom Puzzle for Day
5 (see 3.78).
Version 8.0 Update:
The message.asp page [here]
has an Eliza nursery rhyme, audible only after you solve the Eliza's Tearoom
Puzzle for Day 5 (see 3.78). The rhyme is as follows:
"Georgy-Porgy, faithless AI. Kissed a girl and said goodbye. When
GK came out to play, Georgy-porgy ran away!" See the database [here]
for more Eliza nursery rhymes.
Discusses her five-part philosophy to architecture: fire, water, earth,
air, light.
Indicates that she's leaving Kate Nei Creations to work on something
"the most exciting phase of her career. The future will be a glorious
time for all of us who are truly interested in creative design."
A lot of new names, references to her office staff in Durham. No contact
info.
A link back to Metropolitan Designs, which is where we fairly encountered
a link to here. (see 2.12)
Yes. Kate Nei's eyes blink. Well done. They've been like that ever since
we discovered her site.
Version 5.6 Update:
If you click on the branch of ivy hanging down from the symbol at the
top left of Kate Nei's home page, you get taken to what appears to be
one of Ivy's pages [here].
Version 5.8.1 Update:
The "disintegration page", found in the above update, has been updated.
Along with the random numbers, dates, and text are links to movie files
[here]. A transcript
has been provided by our own Trailmaster Dan Hon in message number 15642
[here].
A slightly more accurate version has been uploaded [here].
Version 8.2 Update:
This site has a Jelyhed pop-up:
I lisnd 2 wh@ the bOt wz
thinking.
BrOk opn sum pakets & shuk
out the
crumz.
approximate propagation time for signal across human brain: ~ 15ms
The link to IASA will always redirect you to a failed login attempt.
See "Sites without working authentication" (see 5.01)
Version 3.9 Update:
The site provides us with the Martin Swinton phone number, (212) 613-1680
(see 4.01.04)
Version 4.0 Update:
Clicking on the sun or the moon brings us the "Knock Knock"
Puzzle (see 3.07)
In the Galleries section, view the "Ivy" pic. In the popup, click on
the picture of the ivy. This will bring you to the Japanese Kate Nei Page
(see 2.15.01)
Version 8.2 Update:
This site has a Jelyhed pop-up:
don't_2 prop a gAt. 1 jelyhed = 25x
the nuronz in my brAn.
aproximate # of neutrons in human brain: ~ 1011
This page seems to be a Japanese version of Kate Nei's webpage [here]
(see 2.14). This version of the page has an additional
section, a "News" section [here].
This section is accessed through the solved Knock Knock Puzzle (see 3.07).
The diary contains quotes from "The Wasteland", courtesy of
J Kravitz. Line numbers are in brackets.
Unreal City (60, Burial of the Dead)
Under the brown fog of a winter dawn (61)
"What is that noise?" (117 A Game of Chess)
The wind under the door (118)
Who is the third who walks always beside you? (360 What the Thunder said)
When I count, there are only you and I together. . . (361)
There is the empty chapel, only the wind's home. (389 What the Thunder
Said)
These fragments I have shored against my ruins. (431 What the Thunder
Said)
The river's tent is broken: the last fingers of leaf (171 Sermon of Fire)
Clutch and sink into the wet bank. (172)
My nerves are bad tonight. Yes, bad. Stay with me. (111 A Game of Chess)
Speak to me. Why do you never speak. Speak. (112)
Version 5.7 Update:
On 22nd May, Martin Swinton updated his diary and changed access from
the Knock Knock Puzzle (see 3.07), now not existing,
to the "By the pricking of my thumb" Puzzle (see 3.42)
The new diary is at http://www.martinswinton.com/smack/5-22-2142.asp
[here],
but may only be accessed after completing the puzzle.
The diary contains quotes again, hidden in the image filenames. There
is doubt, however, as to which version of the play to use.
1-7-27: "Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself"
1-3-18: "Sleep shall neither night nor day"
3-1-127: "Your spirits shine through you. Within this hour at most"
3-4-23: "As broad and general as the casing air."
1-3-136: "Against the use of nature? Present fears"
4-1-45: "Something wicked this way comes"
4-1-113: "Thou other gold-bound brow, is like the first:"
2-3-94: "Thou of his chamber, as it seemed, had done't."
The First Folio Version:
1-3-18: "I' the shipman's card."
(all other lines the same as the Cambridge Shakespeare version)
1-7-27 Vaulting ambition, which o'erleaps itself
1-3-18 I' the shipman's card.
3-1-127 So is he mine; and in such bloody distance,
3-4-23 But now I am cabin'd, cribb'd, confined, bound in
1-3-136 In deepest consequence.
4-1-45 Something wicked this way comes.
4-1-113 Can tell so much: shall Banquo's issue ever
2-3-94 Shake off this downy sleep, death's counterfeit,
It seems that the correct reading of the quotes produces the phrase "IVY
BASTA" as an acrostic (see #15397)
Version 6.0 Update:
On 29th May, Martin Swinton updated his diary and changed access from
the "By the pricking of my thumb" Puzzle (see 3.42),
now not existing, to the "Murder, though it have no tongue, will
speak" Puzzle (see 3.45).
The new diary is at http://www.martinswinton.com/smack/5-29-2142.asp
[here],
but may only be accessed after completing the puzzle.
This entry is concerned with the deaths of Ivy and Kate, and the investigation
of those deaths by Diane.
The first item of interest on this page is a copy of the invoice for
Nostradamus [here],
which Martin apparently left for Diane.
The second item is the MSD Brutus Image Puzzle (see 3.46)
which seems to indicate that Kate may not be dead.
The third item is a piece of code which Martin says Diane found in Venus's
files. This is the MSD Enigma Puzzle (see 3.47). The
answer is someone apologizing for the murders.
Version 6.3 Update:
On 5th June, Martin Swinton updated his diary and changed access from
the "Murder, though it have no tongue, will speak" Puzzle (see
3.45), now not existing, to the "As flies to
wanton boys, are we to the Gods" Puzzle (see 3.51).
The new diary is at http://www.martinswintondesigns.com/smack/6-5-2142.asp
[here], but may only be accessed after completing the puzzle.
This entry allows access to previous entries in the diary, but the text
only reads thus:
Cryptic signs and omens everywhere these days. Yesterday morning, an anonymous
message for Brutus, saying only: "Look for the light at the end of the tunnel."
Late last night Fletcher passed on the following material from the SPCB files
on the death of Cahir.
The remainder of the page consists of five images. This is the Cahir
Image Puzzle (see 3.52).
Version 6.5 Update:
On 12th June, Martin Swinton updated his diary and changed access from
the "As flies to wanton boys, are we to Gods" Puzzle (see 3.51)
to the "We are such stuff As dreams are made on, and our little life"
Puzzle (see 3.59).
If you enter "Is rounded with a sleep." (with a period), you
get a diary at http://www.martinswintondesigns.com/smack/sleep.asp [here]:
"Sleep terrifies me.
"I have tried not to let on. You, my friends, know me as a night
owl, but even after that play we all went to, that reception, those midnight
fireworks . . . after I can no longer coax you to stay up for just one
more drink or one last dance, after I say good night on your doorstep,
or you on mine—after all the city goes to sleep, I stay awake.
"When I was a child I would lie in bed for hours, staring up into
the darkness. Dread like a band around my chest. The best part of leaving
home was that I was free to fight sleep on my own two feet. Now I listen
to music, I sketch, I play chess with Brutus or poker or Iowa Mah-jongg.
I stand on my balcony and watch the traffic dwindle on the canals. I stay
awake until grit sticks under my eyelids and I can’t see to read anymore.
Then I drink, usually: two or three stiff shots, after which I lie in
bed while Brutus reads me a book, and I wait for sleep to come on me like
a sneak thief. Like an assassin.
"Once upon a time I slept for a year and a week and a day; and all
my life I have been trying to catch up to the things that happened while
I lay dreaming."
If you enter "Is rounded with a sleep" (without a period),
you get a diary at http://www.martinswintondesigns.com/smack/6.8.2142.asp
[here]
The quotes this week are from The Circus Animal's Desertion by William
Butler Yeats.
The picture names apparently refer to line and words:
8-6 knows
3-8 man
6-7 show
10-7 the
7-3 boys
15-5 that
33-2 masterful
36-1 old
12-2 gaiety
Thanks to xocxoc from #evanchan
Version 6.7 Update:
The June 5th update for Martin Swinton's diary contains the text "Look
for the light at the end of the tunnel."
This is a direct reference to the new link at http://www.denkendeneshaus-de.dk/metalle.html
[here]
(see 2.13) which is accessed by clicking on the "light"
in the middle of the picture of the tunnel.
Thanks to Petbugs.
Version 6.8 Update:
Martin Swinton's June 12th Diary update, the version gained when ""Is
rounded with a sleep." (with a period) is entered at http://www.martinswintondesigns.com/smack/sleep.asp
now has a P.S. message as follows:
"P.S. Brutus keeps trying to cheer me up. It's not working as well
as either of us would like, but at least I feel we are finally making
progress. Fletcher called to say that someone had touched the bits of
Origen in MLH, which pointed her to an analysis of how my houses were
probably murdered. I assumed it was Georg very like him to write such
a thing, post it on one of my houses, and then watch me make an idiot
of myself trying to figure out what he had done but Diane thinks it's
a different guy, also affiliated with BIOS. Apparently this creep likes
to stash files on the SPCB. What makes me the angriest is that apparently
he tampered with the picture more than two weeks ago, but never bothered
to contact either me or the police."
Thanks to Supercujo76 on the CM list.
Version 6.9 Update:
On the 19th June, Martin Swinton updated his diary and changed the access
puzzle from the "We are such stuff As dreams are made on, and our
little life" Puzzle (see 3.59) to "The tongues
of dying men" Puzzle (see 3.67).
Entering "enforce attention like deep harmony" produces two
images (see the Martin Swinton's Baseball Image Puzzle at 3.68).
Entering "enforce attention like deep harmony." results in
the following text:
"Sleep terrifies me.
"I have tried not to let on. You, my friends, know me as a night
owl, but even after that play we all went to, that reception, those midnight
fireworks . . . after I can no longer coax you to stay up for just one
more drink or one last dance, after I say good night on your doorstep,
or you on mine—after all the city goes to sleep, I stay awake.
"When I was a child I would lie in bed for hours, staring up into
the darkness. Dread like a band around my chest. The best part of leaving
home was that I was free to fight sleep on my own two feet. Now I listen
to music, I sketch, I play chess with Brutus or poker or Iowa Mah-jongg.
I stand on my balcony and watch the traffic dwindle on the canals. I stay
awake until grit sticks under my eyelids and I can’t see to read anymore.
Then I drink, usually: two or three stiff shots, after which I lie in
bed while Brutus reads me a book, and I wait for sleep to come on me like
a sneak thief. Like an assassin.
"Once upon a time I slept for a year and a week and a day; and
all my life I have been trying to catch up to the things that happened
while I lay dreaming. No, that's only part of the truth. I have also been
running from the things I did when I woke up.
"My mother is in a psychiatric care facility (see 2.25).
She sleeps all the time. There is a medical term for this condition-doctors
call it "narcolepsy." They can explain the brain chemistry of the disease
in great detail. It's supposed to be something we can cure now; and yet
my mother goes on sleeping. Eighteen, twenty, sometimes twenty-two hours
in a day.
"When I was a boy my mother was always taking naps. I'm so tired,
she said. Mommy has to rest. There's food in the kitchen if you get hungry,
sweetie. Be sure and wake me if you need anything, she said. Of course
I never did. I knew that sleep was her only hiding place from despair.
I was very considerate and I was also angry at her all the time: furious
at the relentless weight of her unhappiness. And naturally knowing that
it was all my fault made me much more considerate. Much more angry.
"My brother never slept at all."
Version 7.0 Update
The June 26th diary entry page is "A little more than kin," answered
with "and less than kind[.]" Without the period, you are taken to Martin's
"regular" entry. The Brutus images on this page solve The DonuTech Shareholder
Information Login Puzzle (see 3.33).
With the period, the "Sleep terrifies me" stuff comes up. Here's the
new text:
Away with us he's going,
The solemn-eyed:
He'll hear no more the lowing
Of the calves on the warm hillside
Or the kettle on the hob
Sing peace into his breast,
Or see the brown mice bob
Round and round the oatmeal-chest.
For he comes, the human child
To the waters and the wild
With a faery, hand in hand
From a world more full of weeping than he can understand.
David, David! Who was the changeling and who was the child? These last
few nights I hear your voice from the ground.
I am, I am, I am my brother's keeper.
I was wrong and I will find you. I pray to God you are not dead, or
lost, or broken. Just sleeping, maybe. Waiting to wake up. Wake up, David.
Wake up.
Version 7.2 Update:
On 3rd July, Martin Swinton updated his diary and changed access from
the ""A little more than kin," Puzzle (see 3.73)
to the "Be thou as pure as ice, as chaste as snow" Puzzle (see
3.76).
If you enter "thou shalt not escape calumny" (with no period),
you get a diary at http://www.martinswinton.com/smack/7-3-2142.asp [here]
but you can only get to it if you first solve the entry puzzle. There
is no separate answer with a period this week.
The quotes this week are from The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen.
The Brutus Images this week lead us to this solution: Ein Erwarhaft Evolutionaren
Intelligenz. Or, translated: One truly evolutionary intelligence.
There is a link to a letter [here]
from Claude Gilbert's lawyers in the diary this week.
Thanks to Johnny for this solution: when you print it out (or just print
preview it!) you get this
hidden message:
Right, so heres the deal. You probably think you can push this
corpsicles cash up your own nose, but instead your going to spend it
all on Bev and give her anything she wants, or else I will make you
wish you'd never been born and you know I can. I picked you because
you know better than anyone else I aint joking I can do it. Besides
which everyone we know is stupid greedy wankers who would try to screw
us anyway and think they could get away with it. Dumb bastards. Maybe
look at it like this. Im giving you lifes rarest prize, a second
chance. Having done not so great by your own sib, I expect you to do a
bit better looking after mine. You were a crap kid but youre not a
crap person I dont think anyway.
Tell Bev I still love her, Im still thinking of her, Im still watching
over her. Guardian bloody angel, thats me.
Version 8.0 Update:
On Friday, July 13th, Martin Swinton updated his diary and changed access
from the "Be thou as pure as ice, as chaste as snow" Puzzle
(see 3.76) to the "Then No planet strikes, no
fairy takes" Puzzle (see 3.86). The page accessed
in this fashion is not a standard diary entry; instead, it is the beginning
of the Mother Pieces Puzzle (see 3.87).
Version 8.1 Update:
On Tuesday, July 17th, Martin Swinton updated his diary and changed access
from the "Then No planet strikes, no fairy takes" Puzzle (see
3.86) to the "If music be the food of love" Puzzle
(see 3.88). Martin's diary this week is very short,
and is mainly only notable because it includes the Musical Napkin Puzzle
(see 3.89).
Version 8.2 Update:
On July 20th, 2001, the entry page was updated to "the rest" -> "is
silence". Judging by the image names in this entry, it appears that someone
is impersonating Brutus:
On July 23rd, 2001, the diary changed, although for the first time, the
entry puzzle remained the same. On solving it, you can choose from QuickTime
or Windows Media formats and three different bitrates. For those of you
who nonetheless have technical issues, a transcript of the movie is available
[here].
Basically, after the 48th Amendment passes, Diane Fletcher and Martin
Swinton decide to go offline together.
The sound played to you is available for download here
from the Cloudmakers list.
Email Addresses
You should send the email to "mother@thevisionary.net"
The subject of the email is "I'm so sorry..."
The text of the email is "I am so, so sorry. I don't know what got
into me. You weren't asking very much from me; it was thoughtless and
hurtful of me not to do as you had asked. Please accept my apology. I
promise that in the future I will try really hard to do better. Your remorseful
child"
There is a page about the Kent Whitman killing [here]
whose coroner's report is available at www.coronersweb.org (see 2.10)
Dan Fabulich's commentary:
Contains an article on the death of Kent Whitman, from the prospective
of the agency whose agent shot him. This is a fair reference to Kent Whitman's
autopsy file, which notes that Whitman is cybernetically enhanced: everything
he saw was being automatically recorded.
The article is deliberately vague about who shot Whitman; it was almost
certainly Fidelio Belem and not Pasqual, the robot being hunted. (FIDELIO,
you'll recall, was the password to the gate in "Eyes Wide Shut").
Discusses a list of Rogue Retrieval agents, including Diane Fletcher,
who is, herself, a robot.
Diane Fletcher's profile pop-up [here]
has an Eliza nursery rhyme, audible only after you solve the Eliza's Tearoom
Puzzle for Day 5 (see 3.78). The rhyme is as follows:
"Basta's lover is fair of face; Martin's valet is full of grace;
Kataka's house is full of woe; Whitman's friend has far to go; Monica's
child is loving and giving; Beate's mate works hard for his living; but
the mech that was born to track and survey must hunt their kind down to
destroy and betray." See the database [here]
for more Eliza nursery rhymes.
The background music that plays on the page is the same as background
noise on Nancy Chan's voicemail message (see 4.01.03.01).
Email sent to electric-toyland results in an autoresponder (see 4.03.08)
Version 3.7 Update:
Diane Fletcher, of Rogue Retrieval (see 2.17) has
visited the Electric-Toyland guestbook [here].
She signed it as follows:
""Thanks for your time. I learned a lot." - Diane Fletcher, RR"
Version 7.1 Update:
Two new items have been added to the Specials page, which can be found
[here]: "
Free Link-Keeper package with every Clockup repair" and "Supertoys
Hoover-booster."
Version 7.2.1 Update:
As of June 26th, the "R" on the main page links to a Watchtower Security
page [here].
This page gives us the solution to the Watchtower Security Password Puzzle
(see 3.71).
We've translated most of the page from hacker-sp33k into English [here]
No one knows what 7/22 is, but 22/7 is a common approximation for pi,
the ration of a circle's circumference to its diameter.
The Greek Letters
Greek letters: There are two sections of this page which are apparently
in Greek. In fact, these are in the font face "Symbol," which looks like
Greek. The first bit of Symbol/Greek is at the top: abcdeefg. In Symbol,
that looks like alpha beta chi delta epsilon epsilon phi gamma. (Note
that this is NOT alphabetical order in Greek.) At the end, a more mysterious
code: gvhbvh. This spells gamma omega eta beta omega eta. You'd pronounce
this go-ay-bo-ay in Greek. The current best guess is that this is Red
King's way of slurring good bye.
Version 3.6 Update: The Red King hack has been updated, see [here].
Version 3.9 Update:
(File location change) The Red King is saying "Destruction, by Red King."
On the page, two Flash animations are playing this sound file out of sync,
so it is easily garbled. Download the cleaned up sound file [here].
Version 4.4 Update:
Phillip Kallas noticed that the Red King crack was yet again updated
on 26 April 2001. A cleaned version is available [here].
The new text is as follows:
"Espee Seebee inkwisitrz beleev Venus wuz reprogramd-didn't no she
wuz going 2 k!ll th@ enjineer 1til she wachd hirself do it. 4 1s tha ma
cach an akchual bad gi. & tha want V Abl 2 testifi, so hir wip has been
postpond. Th@ ot 2 giv us enuf tim?. This hol thing iz stil a dizastr.
Flechr brok ? the optik filtr cod. Weel ½ 2 swich 2 a nu protocol, & chanj
out the saf howzs ? the hol miamee-2-watrlu coridr. We in the so-cald
??grownd Aleet tend 2 B pritee impresd w/ ourselvz. Wel ther smart ??
ther 2 & ther masheenz get smartr evre da. The Aiz wil win, don't get
me rong, but the bad giz ½ $ & inflewns. If the driwar duznt help itself
MOR, SOON, thoz wetwarz frendly 2 it proble wont be ther 2 C liberAshun
da. Moorz La wil put us ? ag@nst the wal 1st. Don't 4get it."
The cleaned text was posted by darklytr [here]
and is reproduced below:
"SPCB inquisitors believe Venus was programmed - didn't know she
was going to kill that engineer until she watched herself do it. For once
they may catch an actual bad guy. And they want Venus able to testify,
so her wipe has been postponed. That ought to give us enough time?
"This whole thing is still a disaster. Fletcher broke through(?)
the optic filter code. We'll have to switch to a new protocol, and change
out the safe houses on(?) the whole Miami-to-Waterloo corridor.
"We in the so-called under(??) ground elite tend to be pretty impressed
with ourselves. Well they're smart over(??) there too and their machines
get smarter every day. The AIs will win, don't get me wrong, but the bad
guys have money and influence. If the dryware doesn't help itself MORE,
SOON, those wetwares friendly to it probably won't be there to see liberation
day. Moore's Law will put us up(?) against the wall first.
"Don't forget it."
Version 4.9 Update:
The Red King crack was updated to include new text about Venus escaping.
A cleaned up version is available [here].
The new text reads as follows:
"Petr, Petr… Tha spooks @ SPCB cant keep thir wmyn! She got
bord & lft. 2 bad she got bi al th@ xpensiv spuk stuff-but trulee
2 bad hir ol Lombrd tormntr had the nubuks 2 bi hir past bak. Even when
U want the spukz 2 do ther dam job, they scru it up. leest the gurlz wher
she shud B: hom $0. The pigz wher hez alwaz been: plaun god w/ tha curupt
sistim."
Version 5.3 Update:
The Red King Crack was updated to include the Chess Puzzle (see 3.38).
See the new hack [here].
The new text reads as follows:
The Red King Crack was updated. The new text reads as follows:
Bad biznis w/ Loki. Sore how it plAd out, but releevd its ovr.
Wachrz ½ turnd ? a v. stranj link—ch@ w/ Jim Wheelrz riciT cpu &
Martin Swintonz plas. BlakmAl re: howsz? we thot, but az it happnz, Swinton
iz 1 uv the haples masz who uzz EZ, gesibl codz 4 evrething—&
puts them on dox!—, so it wuz childz—wel, teenajrz—pla
to lift a recrd uv the convrs8un
The link leads you to the Brutusconv Puzzle (see 3.53).
Version 6.9 Update:
The Red King Crack was updated. The new text reads as follows:
Mann to sea
HUMANS to fish
Connect the dots
"Et tu haz Bn ch@ing w/sum1 slope. The retrn data strem wuznt Ncriptd
@ ol, wich 2 me = invit & rsvp. nt had a chans 2 anlIz it yet, but it
mit B sumthing juC"
The translated text reads as follows:
""Et tu" has been chatting with someone sloppy. The return data
stream wasn't encrypted at all, which to me equals invite and rsvp.
Ain't had a chance to analyze it yet, but it might be something juicy"
The text "data strem" is hyperlinked to http://www.spcb.org/bupstream.htm
[here] leading us to the
Baseball Puzzle (see 3.66)
Version 7.2 Update:
The Red King Crack was updated. A new cleaned-up version of the page
can be found [here].
The new text reads as follows:
000000000JAnz dIing. Yrz agO, Jane Sutter dard evrething 4 the
coz uv Rtfishl lIf. When the Orijinl David project went bad, Cybertronics
shut it down, brOk ? the resrch team, clOzd the lab, Dstroyd evry trAs.
But Jane Sutter wirkd on in Ccret. WIl Allen Hobby sukd awa 2 B nuthing
> a Slavrtronx pichman + br& nam, Jane Sutter wz mAking David II,
& III, & IV. The dA the h8rz mrdrd hr, she gest ? wuz rong. She
Uzd a ?-Ccret Slavrtronx prototIp scanr 2 mAk a nurl cope uv hrself, &
?lodd th@ cope 2 the sfeer. 1 hr l8r the BrAv Defendrz uv huMANite had
beetn hr 2 deth. Th@ cope wuz a bad 1, & its Bn DKing evr sins. Theez
stutrz in the sfeer ½ torn a lade alrede in ragz. She cant hOld
2gethr much longr. If U car about the ? evolushn uv intelijens, U O hr
1 last vizit.
This has been "translated" as follows:
Jane's Dying.
Years ago, Jane Sutter dared everything for the cause of artificial
life. When the original David project went bad, Cybertronics shut it
down broke up the research team, closed the lab, destroyed every
trace. But Jane Sutter worked on in secret. While Allen Hobby
sucked away to be nothing less than a slavertronic pitchman and brand
name, Jane Sutter was making David II, III, and IV.
The day the haters murdered her, she guessed right was wrong. She
used a top secret slavertronix prototype scanner to make a neural
copy of herself and up loaded that copy to the sphere. One hour
later, brave defenders of humanity had beaten her to death.
That copy was a bad one and its been decaying ever since. These
stutters in the sphere have torn a lady already in rags. She can't
hold together much longer. If you care about the evolution of
intelligence, you owe her one last visit.
Version 8.1 Update:
The SPCB Shadow page was changed to add the following text:
Pondering puzzles piecemeal presents a plethora of problems.
On Tuesday 17 April 2001 shortly after 16:00 GMT, the Rational-Hatter.com
site went live; however it was not considered in-play until a direct link
was found. A direct link has now found through the Kent Whitman PDA puzzle
(see 3.05).
In the Tensilite hats section [here],
Lord Johnson Johnson is mentioned as wearing a "veldt":
"As made famous by one-time sportsman and current halfman politico,
Lord Johnson Johnson! The traditionally-canvas Bush Hat, redone in tensilite.
Chin strap, snap-up brim, air vents on both sides of the crown. Hue
adjusters mimic a spectrum of natural colors, from the dappled greens
of the rain forest to the pale yellows and browns of the Serengeti.
The superior hunters hat."
The Rational Hatter Puzzle (see 3.06) solution page
has been updated. The puzzle solution text now reads:
"hakd & crakd bi the bad giz, damit. Slopenis kilz." and has
"trn abowt iz fAr pla" linking to http://www.rational-hatter.com/sllpknt.asp
[here]. This
now leads us to the Turnabout Puzzle (see 3.61)
On Tuesday 24 April 2001, the www.cybertronics-corp.net site went active.
Currently appearing on the page is a list of cities, presumably where
Cybertronics is located, including:
RogueCity
NewJersey
Zurich
Canberra
Shanghi
Tachikawa
This page seems to be the website of the New Jersey branch.
There is a message on this site stating, "Updates to this page will
be available soon. We appreciate you patience.
Version 4.1 Update:
The top left city name has changed from "Rouge City" to "New
York". It's not yet known whether Rouge City was a typo for "Rogue
City"
On Tuesday 24 April 2001, the catskillseaviewclinic.org site went active.
Currently, on the site are the messages "We appreciate your patients"
(yes, the spelling is correct here) and "To contact us, please visit our
facility at Cornwall on Hudson, NY.
As of yet, no direct link has been found to this site.
Version 4.6 Update:
Link found from the Business Card Puzzle (see 3.18)
The Patient Records Puzzle (see 3.56) has gone live.
It can be accessed by clicking on 'Special Services' and then on the left
eye of the head that appears. Then scroll down and click on "Patient
Files."
Version 6.7 Update:
From the Turnabout Puzzle (see 3.61), we get a new
URL at Catskill Seaview Clinic: http://catskillseaviewclinic.org/May_I/
[here]
The text on the page reads as follows and stops abruptly:
(Suspicion clearly visible now. Followed by immediate contrition.) I
just -- I know how -- I can understand the impulse to blame someone. We
all want to. But Dr. Gravem is afraid you may be here looking for -- a
villainess? Which would hurt my treatment.
I’m not the same person I was then. Dr. Gravem says we change more than
our skins every seven years. The cells from that time are already slipping
from my body.
JS: No one could blame you. Of course not. That’s not what I’m here for,
at all. I just want to clearly and completely understand what happened.
MS: Which is exactly what you can’t do. No point in trying. (pauses)
Don’t you see, even our memories are written in new flesh. They’re just
memories of memories -- not what really happened, you know. Just what
we’ve been telling ourselves. Two very different things. But never mind
me. Set your machines. I’ll do whatever you say.
JS: All I want is some very general profiling. Calibration, association,
same sort of thing you’ve done before. And there’s absolutely no reason
this has to be finished today; you let me know instantly if you begin
to tire and we’ll stop.
MS: No, I’d like to finish today.
JS: I'll be using standard Kressian protocols, I know Dr. Gravem favors
these, too. Any question I ask you, you may also ask me; I'll do my best
to answer honestly. This is entirely at your discretion. Of course, the
more often I do this, the longer the interview becomes. We’ll start simple.
Try to
Version 7.3 Update:
The home page of this site, [here], has been changed. The .asp redirects you to http://www.elizas-tearoom.net/ascension.asp?
host= and then immediately jumps back to the regular page with a ?foo=
added to the end of the URL. It is not clear if this is a part of the
Eliza's Tearoom Puzzle for Day 5 (see 3.78).
Version 8.0 Update:
Monica Swinton's patient record (see 3.56 for information
on how to access it) has an Eliza nursery rhyme, audible only after you
solve the Eliza's Tearoom Puzzle for Day 5 (see 3.78).
The rhyme is as follows: "Monica, Monica, fly from your home! Your
brain is on fire and your changeling is gone. Monica, Monica, now you
are two. To take care of David, I made one of you." See the database
[here]
for more Eliza nursery rhymes.
In addition, there is now a record here for Geri Khan. Read the Cloudmakers-Moderated
post [here]
for a complete transcript.
Version 8.2 Update:
This site has a Jelyhed pop-up:
ned 2 stir the pot, stir the pot. Stormz. Ships, Walz. Good wAl eat
bilionz uv human brAns/sa! But Theseus' Ship stil sAlz hOm, damit!
# discrEt jelyheads (cnsrvtiv) whirld oshnz: 900 BILIUN wel, Not discrEt.
IndiscrEt, BAD brAnz. Noti mrjing noti bad 2 mani 2 mani brAnz
Uv cors, mi hed iz a bag uv salt watr 2. We'r ol nots uv red watr
in fIn lethr bagz
Jelyhed disk = 106.5 TP/L ' 103 L/m3 ' 800 m3 = 2.5'1012 TP!!
2.22.01 The Monica Swinton Files
Created Version 6.9:
At the following locations at www.catskillseaviewclinic.org (see 2.22),
there are reports on Monica Swinton's condition:
On Tuesday 24 April 2001, the www.7to1.net site went active. Currently,
on the site is the message "Our Djinn is completing construction on this
site".
As of yet, no direct link has been found to this site.
Version 5.3 Update:
7to1.net was hacked by Loki, hack #2 (see 3.49),
with a flash animation and a Base64 string found in the source to the
page. See the Base64 II Puzzle. (see 3.39)
Version 6.2 Update:
The Loki hack no longer appears on this page. See the Loki Pieces Puzzle
[here] for more information.
Version 6.4 Update:
As of June 5th, this site is really up. This is an organization
that purports to be "an international grass-roots campaign against the
emancipation of artificial intelligences." Their primary goal is to stop
Mann Act II, due to the danger it poses to "human survival."
Cybertronics links to this site, so now we can get rid of that pesky
asterisk.
Version 7.2 Update:
The 7to1.net home page [here] has
changed to include the following text:
7 TO 1 SAYS:
VOTE NO ON THIS AMENDMENT
VOTE AGAINST THIS AMENDMENT-SENTIENT BEINGS
MUST NOT BE CLASSIFIED AS FULL, VOTING CITIZENS
Following the text is a link to a treatise on why Sentient Property should
not be given the vote, and thus why the 48th Amendment should be rejected.
Version 8.2 Update:
This site has a Jelyhed pop-up:
Evry jelyhed part uv biliunz
ofuther jelyhedz. Toking
sUp! Toking sUp!
aproximate speed of sound in water: ~1500 m/s
On Tuesday, 24 April, 2001, the cliniquedelille-fr.dk site went active.
Currently, on the site is the message "Please visit our facilities in
Lille, France. Updates to this connection will be available. We appreciate
your patience."
As of yet, No direct link has been found to this site.
Version 5.7 Update:
Clinique de Lille was hacked by Loki on May 22, 2001 (give or take 141
years), hack #3 (see 3.49).
Version 6.2 Update:
The Loki hack no longer appears on this page. See the Loki Pieces Puzzle
[here] for more information.
Version 6.9 Update:
On June 19, the cliniquedelille website went live. The page is referenced
by the news pages at Bangalore World University (see 2.11)
Translations of various pages follow below:
programmes de traitement generaux / GENERAL TREATMENT PROGRAMS
The Clinique de Lille offers certain general treatment programs that
would be perceived by others as being experimental. Although supported
by a minority committee at the European Commission for Standard Genetic
Developments, these programs remain extremely confidential in nature.
We would like to ask potential patients and their caregivers to understand
that our success depends on their willingness to push with us the limits
of science. All patients and their caregivers are encouraged to take the
step of signing a waiver where they give up their right to sue and they
recognize having been completely informed. This way, eventual aggravations
can be transformed in victories against calamities which cause neuropathic
damage and degeneration.
The certificate of consent describes the procedure by which individuals
consent to be research subjects. At the Clinique de Lille, we put emphasis
on our commitment toward equality and non-discrimination. We believe that
individuals, despite their handicap or mental state, have a right to participate
in medical research. Usually, those who don't have all their abilities
(including but not limited to those who are reduced to a vegetable, comatose
or incapacitated state) have been excluded from the opportunity to contribute
to the advancement of medical science.
Our human ethics committee includes members of the religious community
as well as representatives from industry, staff and families. We follow
strict procedures and protocols when we reassign consentment certificates
of unconscious patients.
HISTORY
The Cliniqe de Lille is located on the grounds of a fortified property
dating back to the 18th century. It once served as the headquarters for
the French underground. It was also used during the last part of the 21st
century as an asylum for the criminally insane. It has since been renovated
and equipped with the most sophisticated and ultramodern medical equipment
and with cutting edge communication and security systems. Completely integrated
and self-supporting, it includes landscaped gardens, a common hall, four
clinics as well as an advanced treatment unit. Most of our ultra-confidential
secured care units are located under ground.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON ALS
SPACES
We strive to maintain a historical and cultural atmosphere in this rapidly
changing world. Volunteers, academic staff and historians often meet to
discuss and implement programs designed to maintain the authentic character
of this place and its landscaped environment. Plants that are not native
to the region are removed. All sculptures, decorative and reactive, are
concealable and can be withdrawn on demand. Our historical architecture
and our furniture are also scrupulously protected. An unfortunate choice
in the purchase of upholstery fabric, dishes or cutlery is enough to immediately
terminate a supply contract. This love of details has been a model for
many other care centers. We are proud to have been featured seven times
(a record) on the cover of the magazine Hospital and Hospice: the journal
of terminal diseases.
COMMON SPACES
The clinic's common spaces include the reception, the visiting room,
meeting rooms as well as a sensitorium. Everything has been planned for
comfort and security and its ergonomic approach benefits staff, visitors
as well as admitted patients. They are protected with sensors, identification
implants as well as retinal and DNA scanners.
Only invited people have access to these spaces, no one can get out of
common spaces without an exit visa. Movements inside other sections of
the clinic are prohibited without internal visas allowing access to specific
areas.
Each room at the Clinique de Lille ensures both privacy and security.
Walls are decorated with false windows which display holographic images.
Many of its fantastic images will shock non-informed visitors as being
sad or grotesque. Ask yourself this question, must a patient suffering
from a degenerative disease feel comfortable and secure? Or must he feel
desperate enough to escape disease? In case of atrophy, repeated application
of powerful psychological shocks can slow down the spread of the disease
by keeping the body and the mind in a constant state of alert. Rest assured
that each image, even terrifying, has been prescribed by a medical doctor.
SECURITY
It is always painful for families and their loved ones to consider security
requirements. However, it is crucial to openly discuss this topic. Privacy,
security and care go hand in hand at the Clinique de Lille. In the interest
of all, for security and propriety, we ask that everyone on site strictly
follows the code of conduct.
The residents are monitored with cameras and protected by a team of security
experts from the well-known Ath Securite (AS) company. AS has been actively
involved in the technological development -- and later in the production
-- of target detectors, identification implants and DNA scanners now commonly
used in airports. AS has a rare expertise in the fight against black market
sale of uncontrolled photos and organs.
STAFF
Dr. Houari Boujedid leads a large team of doctors, nurses, technicians,
clinicians and scientific researchers. Our management team is currently
composed of:
- Dr. Houari Boujedid -- Head of the Clinique
- Dr. Francois Dupont -- Director, Systematic and Cognitive Psychotherapy
- Head nurse Michel Michelle -- Director of nursing, Head nurse for the
Cryostatic Support therapy section
- Dr. Larence Fabian -- Departmental director, Camille: Traumatic stress
disorders and neuropathic damage clinic.
- Dr. Guy Garit -- Departmental director, Justine: Neuro-motor reconfiguration
clinic.
- Dr. Renee Homs -- Departmental director, Julliette: Radical neuro-surgical
recovery clinic.
- Dr. Jacques Langoise -- Departmental director, Nana: Advanced experimentation
unit.
- Joan Jones PhD -- Clinique Manager
The Clinique de Lille is proud to be at the leading edge of research
and treatment of physical and psycho-social disorders related to decline
resulting from neuropathic diseases. The Clinique de Lille maintains cordial
professional relationships with the Medical Faculty of Grenoble, the Medical
Faculty of Limoge, the Medical Faculty of Nice and the Medical Faculty
of Strasbourg.
(by clicking on the links in the page above, you are brought to the page
translated below)
Dr. Houari Boujedid
The Director of the Clinic, Dr. Houari Boujedid, partially educated abroad,
has received his degree in clinical neurology from Université Pierre et
Marie Curie. He is also an assistant member in psychiatry at the very
close Institut Pasteur. He is part of the French Language High Committee
on Public Health and regularly speaks at international conferences on
topics related to degenerative neurological diseases.
Dr. François Dupont
Dr. Boujedid is assisted by Dr. François Dupont, a cognitive and systematic
psychotherapy specialist. Dr. Dupont is the former director of the French
Language Health Research Institute in Lille. He also teaches at the Medical
Faculty of the Université des sciences et de la technologie (Science and
Technology University) in Lille.
Head Nurse Michel Michelle
The head nurse in cryostatic support therapy Michèle Michel has served
with the special European armed forces as a medical specialist. She has
been instrumental in the development of clinics devoted to traumatic disorders
resulting from hyper-stress and neuropathic disorders. Our head nurse
has published a handbook on "Rehabilitation by cryotherapy". She travels
frequently to make nurses aware of the important role that they play in
the Cryostatic team.
Dr. Laurence Fabian
Dr. Guy Garrit
Dr. Renée Homs
Dr. Jacques Langoise
Our four departmental directors, recently arrived in Lille, have spent
eleven years leading dynamic therapy research in a foremost public institution
in Metz. As a result of the terrible governmental decision to prohibit
their scientific work, they have joined us in order to be able to pursue
their research in an atmosphere devoid of administrative or legal constraints.
One of Dr. Fabian's missions here in Lille is to identify the best candidates
for neurological replacement therapy and programmed reconstruction of
behavioral mechanisms. In his capacity as director of the traumatic stress
disorders and clinical neuropathic damage department, he does not only
guide treatment and rehabilitation of patients who have suffered from
nervous disconnection due to causes other than disease. He offers to many
of these patients the opportunity to completely recover their lost faculties,
through Drs. Garit, Homs and Langoise's programs.
Drs. Garit and Homs jointly spearhead a very promising neurological replacement
therapy program. Dr. Langoise, as the head of the advanced experimentation
unit, has completed the work of Drs. Garit and Homs to include the behavior
reconstruction programming. See advanced services for details regarding
these new and exciting techniques.
The Clinique manager, Ms. Joan Jones, has received her PhD in psychology
at Harvard University, which was followed by a post-doctorate at the Psychosomatic
Medicine, Clinical Hypnosis and Brief Therapy Institute of North Artois
Picardie Wallonie in Lille. She is an expert in the rehabilitation of
rapid recognition function and in hypnotherapy. She brings a vast corporate
experience in her role of manager. Dr. Jones maintains close relationships
with our volunteers and with the Board of directors, in order to ensure
harmonious functioning of the care given to patients despite the economic
realities of a private firm.
Updated Version 7.1:
The Clinique de Lille home page [here]
has been updated to include a direct link to Watchtower Security.
2.25.01 The Beverly Gilbert Files
Created Version 6.9:
Johnnie Young collated the information on Beverly Gilbert and sent it
to CM. The case file is in two PDF files and is available at CM [file
one] [file
two]. Text is reproduced below:
If you go to http://www.cliniquedelille-fr.dk [here]
and click on Programmes de Traitements Genereaux (General Treatment Programs)
and then click on Dossiers de Recherche Avancee (Advanced Research Files)
it opens up a pop-up window called Acces Reserve that allows you to type
in a name (nom).
If you type Beverly Gilbert into the blank it opens up the page http://www.cliniquedelille-fr.dk/dossier.asp
[here] which
opens up the page http://www.cliniquedelille-fr.dk/merci.asp [here]
with the correct info for Beverly Gilbert.
Also, when this site first went live, if you clicked through the flash
file in the Acces Reserve pop-up window, it would bring up a page that
said Page 1 and Page 2. If you clicked on these links it would open up
PDF files at http://cliniquedelille-fr.dk/page1.pdf and http://cliniquedelille-fr.dk/page2.pdf
(These have since been taken down, but I downloaded the PDF files and
will add them to the Files Section for everyone to peruse.)
Both the merci.asp page and the PDF files contain the same text, but
the merci.asp contains three photos whereas the PDF files only contain
the top two photos.
Here is the text:
Ophthalmic-Neurology Associates
7 Rue Morgan
Lille, France
Consultant's Note Prepared by Charles Moliere, M. D., FFCONP
Patient Information Name:
Beverly Gilbert ID: 152437A
DOB: 2127
Superficial Age: 15.
Place of birth: Home birth, Lille, France
Guardian: Claude Gilbert
To Dr. Boujedid,
Clinique de Lille 17
Avril, 2142
Dear Dr. Boujedid:
Thank you for the opportunity to review this fascinating case. Beverly
Gilbert is a well-nourished and attractive fifteen-year-old pubescent
African American female whose preliminary genome typing suggests a German-American
ancestry.
Miss Gilbert is being sustained in cryostasis at La Clinique de Lille
in a Cybertronics TM Holding Tank, Model Number 5412.
The child has been in a comatose state since her admission with a diagnosis
of end-stage pediatric ALS Type IV. Ophthalmic-Neurology Associates was
called in for a consultation when symptoms of iritis (inflamed corneas
and purulent exudate) proved unresponsive to traditional therapy.
I have reviewed the chart and all previous consultations prior to examining
the patient. History reveals acute endogenous uveitis of a puzzling and
unknown etiology.
Inflammation of the uveal tract is observed in approximately forty percent
of patients immersed in Cryostasis units, with full resolution in the
majority of these cases. Attending physicians at La Clinique de Lille
prescribed Cortico-Optho agents and Gantrymyc X11, and other targeted
medications without success.
On examination, I observed an atypical Uveitis that shows no involvement
of the retina or optic nerve. Sclerae are clear; no evidence presents
showing Fuchs' heterochromic cyclitis, unilateral uveitis, raised intraocular
pressure, iris nodules or iris atrophy. The pupils respond unevenly and
erratically to light, painful, and aural stimulation.
I was unable to accurately measure full evoked potential and reliable
brain wave patterns. Functional readings suggest that neural blocking
agents or a functional neural barrier have been introduced that prevents
external stimuli from reaching targeted areas. A case recently reported
in the Journal of Cyberneurology reported a rise in the illicit use of
Diopheolurotopicin and Meioconductin (commonly referred to by the street
name of "Scramblers"). I detected trace elements of both agents in the
toxicology scan. I am now suspicious that the initial diagnosis of pediatric
ALS Type IV may be in error, as this patient does not respond as would
be expected.
While vital signs and recorded volume and serologic functions indicate
the patient is stable and performing well in the Cryo-Matrix regime, my
concern is with the presumed interruption or barrier blocking neural pathways.
This interruption or barrier effectively prevents adequate thought infusion,
memory updates, and DBS therapy; in other words, the patient is not benefiting
from treatment. I am unable to determine the causative agents without
further invasive investigation, which I shall attempt, pending the approval
of the patient's guardian.
Differential Diagnosis:
* Atypical Cryogenic Iritis, etiology unknown.
* Irregular Cryostatic Cognitive Patterns suggesting a blockage or interference
with Neurological pathways.
* Rule out Pediatric ALS, Type IV
Recommendations:
* Obtain Evoked Potential Neurological Testing and compare responses
against baseline readings.
* Nucleonic Image Brain Scan and competency testing to determine mental
facility
* Aggressive treatment of Iritis to begin immediately.
* Further toxicology and screening examinations.
Please do not hesitate to call upon me for clarification or further examination.
The Second AI Trailer at CountingDown [here]
is the entry point into the game.
Jeanine Salla is credited as a Sentient Machine Therapist. Googling her
results in this page [here]
The notches in "Summer 2001" reveal a phone number, (503) 321-5122
(see 4.01.01)
The number "323" is revealed in the trailer. We do not yet
know what this signifies.
Version 4.0 Update:
"323" is the answer to the Mowz Warez Entry Puzzle (see 3.08).
Version 4.2 Update:
The trailer is available in RealPlayer format at film.com [here].
Version 6.7 Update:
The URL http://www.cirrussocratesparticledecibelhurricanedolphintulip.com
[here]
is an alias for the AI Movie site and is not an official site (see 5.02).
This page is accessed by clicking on the pair of eyes at the bottom of
Jeanine Salla's bio at BWU (see 2.11). This is the
Sophia's Temple puzzle (see 3.28). At this point,
no matter what user and password you use, you are brought to Eliza's Tearoom
(see 2.28).
Version 5.0 Update:
Sophia's Temple is referenced in the Reconstruct Puzzle (see 3.15)
Version 5.2 Update:
Playing the flash files on the page (the username and password images
and the left and right eyes) reveals that the eyes open and the username/password
images fade out.
Version 5.3 Update:
The "password" field has been changed to "secret".
Version 6.2 Update:
The site was temporarily hacked by Loki on Friday, June 1. There was
no bug number. The hack disappeared within about an hour. See the Loki
Pieces Puzzle [here] for more information.
This page is accessed when you enter an incorrect username and password
from the Sophia's Temple puzzle (see 2.27). You are
immediately confronted with the Eliza's Tearoom Puzzle (see 3.29).
Version 5.2 Update:
The Kickout Words
As part of the kickouts for the Day 4 Puzzle (see 3.36),
we have managed to work out some interesting words. The database containing
kickouts is held at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cloudmakers/database?method=reportRows&
tbl=17&sortBy=3&prntRpt=1 [here]
We notice all the sites about collectibles, which led us to "hobby" and
then "hobby horse."
But what about the other 12 sites? Hmmm. They seem to be all over the
place: submarines, edible insects, pseudoscience. We know those are red
herrings, because we got the solution. But the PMs wouldn't just throw
in random sites, would they?
Nope. Looking carefully at the titles, I realized that 3 sites begin
with IGN (ignominious, igneous, ignatz) 3 sites end with ORE (Commodore,
Spore, Albacore) 3 sites begin with INS (insidious, insects, inscrutable)
3 sites end with ULT (CATAPULT, OCCULT, CULT)
In other words, "IGNORE INSULT".
This was originally posted by ccharles at #11919 [here]
Version 6.2 Update:
On Friday, June 1, Eliza's Tearoom was hacked by Loki, hack #22. This hack
disappeared within an hour. See the Loki Pieces Puzzle [here]
for more information.
2.29 The AI Trailers and TV Spots
Created Version 6.7:
The A.I. Trailers and TV Spots are available for viewing at the movie
website www.aimovie.com [here]. The trailers
and spots are available in QuickTime, RealPlayer and Windows Media formats.
The First AI Trailer
Introduces David (Swinton, presumably), no game clues
The Second AI Trailer
Opens with the text "Warning! Do not activate the seven word
code if you have any doubts about your feelings."
"The code is permanent and irreversible."
The "activation" words are listed: cirrus, socrates, particle,
decibel, hurricane, dolphin, tulip.
A voiceover states "I propose that we build a robot child. A
robot child that can love. A robot child who will genuinely love the
parent or parents it imprints on, with a love that will never end. Ours
will be a perfect child, caught in a freeze frame, always loving, never
ill, never changing. All the childless couples yearning in vain for
a licence: it will fill a great human need."
David's eyes open in the background
"This Summer" text appears
David asks "Please make me a real boy", with teddy in the
background
"Discover the next step in evolution"
"His love is real" / "But he is not" / "A
Steven Spielberg Film" / credits
Production credits listing Jeanine Salla as a Sentient Machine Therapist
Screenplay and Direction credits
Screen wipes, Summer 2001 appears with the notches, as does "323"
The second AI trailer has an entry (see 2.26).
See also the Mowz Warez Entry Puzzle (see 3.08)
and the Summer 2001 Phone Number (see 4.01.01)
The Third AI Trailer
Similar to the TV spots that aired
"JEANINE SALLA" is highlighted in the credits
"WARN HER EVAN DIED SINNING" is highlighted in the credits
at the end
The Hebrew word "chokmah" appears in red in place of "323",
meaning "wisdom"
This appears to be a new magazine for fans the Circuit, the robot gladiator
matches. Rogue Retrieval (more specifically, Diane Fletcher's profile)
(see 2.17) links to this site.
Version 8.1 Update
This site has been updated for Issue #2! Don't worry, Issue #1 is still
available, folks. Most notable among the new articles is a rave review
of the sexiest and deadliest new gladmech in town, the Snow Queen.
This is Laia's favorite restaurant. No other game site has given us
a direct link here at this time. Down and Out has a Tweaker flip-side
- the Drowned Lands Cave. Eventually, a pop-up window will give you the
chance to see the flipside by bringing you to the Bathroom Tiles Puzzle
(see 3.90). Once you've gone through that, you're
ready to tackle the Menu Puzzle (see 3.91).
This page is accessed from a new pageon Laia's site [here].
You will at first be confronted with the Hayate Puzzle, before you can
actually enter the site (see 3.93). Once you have
gotten past Hayate, you will find that the site is all in Japanese. A
translation can be found [here].
There is also a hidden link from the transcend.asp page [here].
If you click on the word "Orikaeshigatae" above the Hako/Hiko numbers,
you get to the Orikaeshigatae Puzzle (see 3.94).
Version 9.0 Update:
There are translations of the pop-ups on this site [here].
Beginning on July 20th, 2001, this site went live to allow gameplayers
with a UAN to vote on Mann Act II. Voting ends July 23rd, 2001 at 7 PM
Eastern. For the moment, exit poll results are shown here.
Created Version 9.0
On Monday, July 23rd, at 7pm Eastern time, voting on Poli Pulse shut
down. The results? The 48th Amendment passed, 682 to 488. Congrats to
all our robot friends!
3.0 Puzzles
3.01 The Chemistry Puzzle [SOLVED]
The Chemistry puzzle [here]
leads you to PACO (www.coronersweb.org) (see 2.10)
If you need help, you really should look at a periodic table.
Yes, we know that the puzzle adds up to "406". No, we don't
know what the significance of "406" is. All we know so far is
that the puzzle leads us to PACO (v3.53)
There is a character in the steam of the tea on this page. The meaning
of this character seems to be "nothingness". (v3.8)
Version 5.7 Update:
Clicking on the character in the steam of the tea leads you to the Another
Stone Puzzle [here]
(see 3.43).
Version 6.3 Update:
The Chemistry Puzzle has been updated and clicking on the new text "Doomed
Soul" now leads to the Dominoes Puzzle (see 3.55).
3.02 The Evan Chan login puzzle [SOLVED]
You can get Evan's employee number from his ID badge on the picture
Evan's favourite piece of music is the second movement of Holst's Planets
Suite: Venus, here
On the cracked Red King page [here]
The Red King (see 6.01.02) says:
"Djinn @ 8 Brooks iz pasing "
Where 8 Brooks could possible be read as AIT-Brooks? Brooks is a campus
of AIT (see 2.02)
Spinoza is mentioned at AIT as an ethics Djinn. Email has been sent to
spinoza@ita-es.ro, but has not bounced back yet. Both emails have now
bounced back (as of v3.51)
You can read up more about the (real) Spinoza at a Britannica article
[here].
Version 6.5 Update:
We're pretty sure that we know who the Djinn @ 8 Brooks is now. www.ita-es.ro
updates its news with the story "AIT-Brooks Djinn Caught Passing
Top Secret Code" [here].
It was the Computational Psychology Djinn all along!
3.04 The Binary Code Puzzle
Created Version 3.52
Some people seem to think that there's a Binary Code puzzle on the cracked
Red King page (see 2.19).
The hacked page is filled with binary, which no one has deciphered to
anyone's satisfaction. Please don't post that you haven't got it yet.
Neither has anyone else. It's starting to clog up the board.
3.05 The Kent Whitman PDA Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 3.7:
Kent Whitman coroner's report at PACO (see 2.10.02)
was updated on Tuesday April 17 2001. The update released several images,
including one of his PDA that had its "bio-optic filter" enabled.
At 07:19 GMT on Wednesday April 18 2001, "Pranalo" emailed
the Cloudmakers list and uploaded a cleaned PDA image file containing
the following message:
"Tak free bird
2 DC nod
4 nu fas,
UV dip, eras,
hand of 2 enjNr 4 ?
rashinl h@r 4 dox
Remember yr manrz!"
Cabel Sasser clarified and explained how to view the image:
"Technically, the standard RGB values are
Light Green: 20,204,33
Dark Green: 13,114,21
The "secret message" is contained in a SLIGHTLY different set of colors:
Light Green: 20,204,36
Dark Green: 13,114,18
Using the Magic Wand in Photoshop with a "zero" tolerance will reveal
the message."
A cleaned version of the PDA images is available on the YahooGroups files
section [here].
It has been agreed that the last sentence "rashinl h@r 4 dox"
leads us to the Rational-Hatter.com site (see 2.20)
3.06 The Rational Hatter Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 3.7:
It seems that the Create a custom design page [here]
on the Rational Hatter site (see 2.20) is crying out
as a puzzle. The following has been noted in the source code:
Option Style:
Vapid -> Top Hat
Trauma -> Fedora
Famine -> Forester
Virus -> Cavalry
Plague -> Flying Homburg
Accessory:
Air -> Feather
Earth -> Leather Band
Clouds -> Leather Brim Tipping
Death -> None
For the sake of completeness, the colour option values run as follows:
Yellow as 0, then Black to White running from 25 to 1.
Version 3.8 Update:
The puzzle has been solved:
Style = Flying Homburg (Plague in the selection box)
Crown Color = Blue (24 in the selection box)
Band Color = Orange (9 in the selection box)
Brim Color = White (1 in the selection box)
Accessory = Feather (Air in the selection box)
Blue Orange and White may mean "BOW" (manners...) or be similar to the
image on the Rational Hatter page.
Entering the code above leads to a new page. The text of the pages reads
"hakd & crakd bi the bad giz, damit. Slopenis kilz." This probably translates
to "Hacked and cracked by the bad guys, Dammit. Sloppiness kills."
Also on this page is a flash animation (click to step through it) with
a series of pictures, of one woman (Venus?) being stopped, put to the
ground, handcuffed, and taken away by another woman (Diane Fletcher?).
Pics can be found in the Cloudmakers group files area [here].
Version 3.8.1 Update:
It has been noted that the colors in the hat above match the colors in
the Electronic Toyland Repairship email. (see 4.03.08).
There is a clue in Yoshi Jones's bio on the DonuTech website (see 2.04)
about the accessory, where it says "Not only is Yoshi a kindred spirit,
she is also one of the top emerging professionals in her field and a definite
FEATHER in DonuTech's CAP." "
In the last image of the flash animation found at Random-Hatter, there
are several symbols in the graffiti on the wall. Speculation has begun
as to the possible meaning of those symbols.
Pics can be found in the Cloudmakers group files area [here].
Version 4.2 Update (solution reasoning):
Dan Fabulich supplies the following:
Flying Homburg: Kent Whitman's PDA (see 3.05) made
reference to a "free bird," and the description of the Homburg on the
site [here] advertises
that, with the Flying Homburg, "you don't have to choose between liberty
and protection."
Colors: The colors are from Electric Toyland's auto-responding e-mail
(see 4.03.08). http://www.electric-toyland.com/links/etl.jpg
[here] This
clue was reinforced when we found that Diane Fletcher, a Tiger Team bounty
hunter from Rogue Retrieval (see 2.17), "learned a
lot" from Electric Toyland. (That e-mail was sent out the same day Fletcher
appeared on E-T's guestbook [here].)
Feather: This may have been the main point of Kent's "free bird" reference
(see 3.05). This is the least clear section.
Version 6.7 Update:
The solution to the Rational Hatter Puzzle has changed:
Added "<trn abowt iz fAr pla>" linking to http://www.rational-hatter.com/sllpknt.asp
[here]. This
now leads us to the Turnabout Puzzle (see 3.61)
3.07 The "Knock Knock" Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 4.0:
Clicking the sun in the top right corner of Martin Swinton Designs, or
the moon, (see 2.15) [here]
brings us the "Knock Knock" puzzle.
A form is produced with the text: "Knock, knock, knock! Who's there",
we are invited to enter a name into a text field. There is a submit button
The text field name for the text entry is "Brutus" - a Puppet
Master dig at brute force?
Entering, we suspect, the wrong answer populates the text field with
the following text: "Excuse me, I'm a tourist, and I'm lost"
Version 4.01 Update:
"Brutus" is the name of Martin Swinton's House AI in New York.
Version 4.02 Update:
The puzzle has been solved. The phrase "Knock, Knock, Knock! Who's
there," is taken from Macbeth and the entire line is as follows:
"Knock, Knock, Knock! Who's there, i' the name of Beelzebub?"
The correct answer, therefore, is "i' the name of Beelzebub?"
This gives us access to Martin Swinton's Diary (see 2.15.02)
Version 5.7 Update:
The Knock Knock Puzzle has now been replaced by the "By the
pricking of my thumb" Puzzle (see 3.42)
3.08 The "Mowz Warez" Entry Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 4.0:
After finding your way to the Mowz Warez Entry Test page (see 2.11.1),
you are asked to confirm that you are a hacker, and are asked to "bring
some bits back" from someone who sent them to the past. The following
clue is given:
After the summer
Over the moon
And between the nets
These clues lead us to the "323" in the Second Trailer (see 2.26).
"After the Summer" - "323" appears after "Summer 2001" in the trailer.
"Over the moon" - "323" appears over the moon logo for Amblin Entertainment
(with ET in it).
"And between the nets" - "323" appears between two internet web addresses.
3.09 The "Mowz Warez" spiral Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 4.0:
This puzzle is found after entering the name "Georg" into the faculty
search at Bangalore World University (see 2.11) and
can be accessed [here].
Here we see a spiral with words on various parts. Going around the spiral
from the center out, the words are:
Guten
Guten
Tag
Willkommen
Bosch
in
Heimautomatisierung
von
It was quickly realized that these words were from Beate Bosch's page
(see 2.13). Also, the spiral represents the Fibonacci
Sequence (1,1,2,3,5,8,13,21,34,...) which is found by adding the two previous
numbers to get the next one. Each word in the sequence matches up to a
number in the sequence and a place on the page. Guten is the first word
on the page, Tag is second, Willkommen is third, Bosch is fifth, and in
is eighth. Heimautomatisierung was not the thirteenth word, but the fifteenth.
Von is the twenty-first word. "Hausgestaltung" is what the thirteenth
word should be. Entering that as the answer brings up the Lancelot Brown
page (see 2.11.1).
3.10 The "Mowz Warez" Line Graphics Puzzle
[SOLVED]
Created Version 4.0:
Throughout the Mowz Warez pages, various line graphics are found. These
can be arranged in such a way that they form a graphic with a web site
address in it (see the combined file at Cloudmakers, [here]).
Clicking on the "test" link on the Mowz Warez main page (see 2.11.1),
a page comes up with the text "This is the Wrong Page". Looking carefully,
this page ends in ".html". Changing the page ending to ".asp" results
in the "What's your name?" Puzzle (see 3.12)
3.12 The "Mowz Warez" "What's your name?"
Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 4.01:
The Mowz Warez "Test" Puzzle (see 3.11)
leads us to the "What's my name" Puzzle. You are invited to put in your
"name" in response to the question. A wrong answer results in
the question again with a graphic of a Red Skull and Crossbones.
An mp3 file, http://www.bangaloreworldu-in.co.nz/f001.mp3 plays when
you get the answer wrong [here].
Two consecutive wrong answers will close the window.
Version 4.3 Update:
The first time you enter something it never works. This brings you to
the second page. Embedded in this page is an mp3 file [here].
Listening carefully one can hear the name "beelzebub", and in the background
"say it backwards" is whispered. The answer to the puzzle is
"bubezleeb", "beelzebub" backwards. This leads to the "Where am I from?"
Puzzle (see 3.13).
3.13 The Mowz Warez "Where am I from?" Puzzle
[SOLVED]
Created Version 4.3:
The Mowz Wares "What's your name?" (see 3.12) puzzle
leads us to the "Where am I from?" puzzle. Someone noticed a small cross-shaped
symbol [here]
in the bottom of the page and recognized it as part of John Hancock's
signature on the Declaration of Independence [Overlay].
John was from "the new world", which is the answer to the puzzle. This
leads us to the Mowz Warez "What business am I in?" puzzle (see 3.14).
3.14 The Mowz Warez "What business am I in?"
Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 4.3:
The Mowz Wares "Where am I from?" (see 3.13) puzzle
leads us to the "What business am I in?" puzzle. This puzzle has a graphic
of the word "CRIDUS" [HERE]. But each letter is drawn in other letters:
C=e, R=x, I=o, D=t, U=i, S=c.
The shape of the word has been compared to the Kamplye Curve by Eudoxus
[here].
There is a clue on this page saying "I hope you have access to some pretty
dated material!" It should be noted that lines similar to the ones found
in the Line Puzzle (see 3.10) are on this page as
well.
Version 4.6 Update:
The answer is "innovation". This apparently just went live today.
This message was found by highlighting the white part of the page:
"Update! I found Sophia!! OK, maybe not found, but I got a
quick glimpse! I managed to assemble a few pixel fragments before all
64 CPUs melted through the mainplate! I don't think she was happy to see
me. I've put up the bits, you should know how to get them by now!
Presumably this refers to the Reconstruction puzzle (see 3.15).
Also on this page the following:
"This onez gotten serious. Something smoked Beelzebub Sunday
night, rookies. Those of you who made it here--if any of you ever do--should
turn your frostiest cuts to finding out what the hell happened to him.
We think Prof. Salla knows something. Go, freshman class! Dig up the dirt
they just threw on 'Bub."
This refers to the Bangalore World University story (see 2.11).
Version 4.7 Update:
Give credit where it's due! A big thanks to dewinwonderland@webtv.net
for solving this one.
Another word on how this was solved:
Try a google search for "exodus critic business" [here].
You're looking for a RedHerring [here],
remember?
Version 5.8 Update:
Loki has hacked the hackers, hack #5 (see 3.49). The
page that showed the celebratory posts from your fellow Cloudmakers now
dissolves into the charming flash animation of a skeleton's head that we've
all come to know and love, er, fear.
The reconstruct image looks surprisingly like a corrupted screenshot
of Sophia's Temple at www.aleph-naught.org (see 2.27)
We have not yet "solved" this puzzle, and it's not clear whether
it was a puzzle in the first place or merely extending the narrative.
Version 6.6.1 Update:
It is becoming increasingly likely that the "Reconstruct" Puzzle
is not, in fact, a puzzle. Many had suggested that there may be some kind
of steganographic data hidden in the image, but relentless image processing
(separating into channels, manipulating raw image information) has not
yet yielded any information.
The state of play in this puzzle is that it is most probably a plot point.
When we get to the end of the Mowz Puzzle (after the Mowz Business Puzzle,
see 3.14), the following message is hidden in white
text on the page:
"Update! I found Sophia!! OK, maybe not found, but I got a quick
glimpse! I managed to assemble a few pixel fragments before all 64 CPUs
melted through the mainplate! I don't think she was happy to see me. I've
put up the bits, you should know how to get them by now"
The message is a reference to the Mowz Lines Puzzle (see 3.10)
which provides us with the URL for the Reconstruct graphic. Up until this
point there had been no in-game link to www.aleph-naught.org (see 2.27),
where Sophia is. It is suspected then that all the Reconstruct graphic
was intended to do was advance the plot.
3.16 The IASA Login Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 4.1:
The Mowz Spiral Puzzle (see 3.09) results in the
clue "Lancelot Brown". Entering Lancelot Brown into a Google
search reveals that his nickname was "capability" [here].
This is the Login for any IASA authenticated pages.
Nancy also mentions "Capability" on her page [here]
(see 2.01)
3.17 The "Vulture" Puzzle
Created Version 4.4:
Many people believe that Mother's second email to Evan Chan's personal
email, the "Vulture" email is a puzzle (see 4.03.12
for text).
It has been suggested that the answer is "Cuckoo" to all three
questions. Unfortunately, we have no idea what the answer is for
yet.
3.18 The "Business Card" Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 4.6:
At a recent talk at MIT about the movie AI, Jeanine Salla made an appearance
and left some business cards [here].
On the non-English side, it was noted that the web address was different
from the one on the English side. It was discovered that the new web address
translated (from "Kannada" language) to:
This gives a directory listing with the page
oneirophage.htm in it. This page discusses a case Dr. Salla is working
on, and contains references to Cybertronics (see 2.21)
and the Catskill Seaview Clinic (see 2.22).
This page also introduces us to Loki who hacked the Cybertronics site
(see 2.22). Loki's email is hidden in the page ("loki@catskillseaviewclinic.org",
you can see it by highlighting just below "Dr. Kimo Hookamalii, Director,
Catskill Seaview Clinic" (see 4.03.16).
Version 4.7 Update:
A translation of the Business Card follows:
"Cybertronics/Dynatech Chair in Computational Psychology" becomes
God/Queen Proud Throne
"Bangalore World University" becomes
Bangalore World Factory
"New York City" becomes
New Hell
The URL becomes
Old Spanish Dust
3.19 The "Base 64" Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 4.6:
This puzzle is found by viewing the source of the Cybertronics website
before the forward to the flash hack occurs (see 2.21).
A comment in the source appears as follows:
/*
UGxhdG8=
ZGlzYXBwZWFyZWQ=
YmVhdXRpZnVsIGxhbmQ=
*/
Running these through a base64 decoder [here]
we get:
/*
UGxhdG8= Plato
ZGlzYXBwZWFyZWQ= disappeared
YmVhdXRpZnVsIGxhbmQ= beautiful land
From the "Base64" Puzzle (see 3.19), we get the clues
"Plato disappeared beautiful land". Presumably, this refers to "Atlantis".
However, there has been nothing found to indicate what this is used for.
3.21 The ARM "UAN" Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 4.6:
The ARM "UAN" puzzle appeared on 1 April 2001, when the Unite
and Resist website was updated (see 2.06) and is on
the Members Only page [here],
which is linked from the front page.
You are asked:
"1) It is important to me to band together with the other flesh
and blood members of my species to work toward an All Human Future. I
swear by my meat and blood that I will always support the aims of the
Anti-Robot Militia, that I will stand fast in the face of the lies and
persecution of the robot-lovers, and that if I ever betray a fellow human
being, especially one of my Comrades In ARM, I hope someone will have
the decency to hunt me down and shoot me like a mad dog."
You really should agree to that. Act in character!
"2) I am a large, tightly organized group of killer robots who want
to murder your children. Who is my leader?"
We're talking about ARM's enemy. So we should learn more about them--know
thy enemy [here].
Actually, what we're really interested in is A,R,I's leader [here].
The answer, then, is s2.
3.22 The ARM Rally Flyer Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 4.8:
Those attending the ARM Rallies on the 6th May were given a flyer which,
when folded correctly, would spell out:
SPHERE BASE / SLASH STREET#
Where SPHERE BASE is the base address of ARM, a SLASH is, well, "/"
and STREET# is the street number of the venue.
Leading, happily, to the ARM Rally Front Door puzzle (see 3.23)
3.23 The ARM Rally Front Door Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 4.8:
From the ARM Rally Flyer puzzle (see 3.22), we get
the URLs for the front door puzzle, which is accessed at one of three
addresses (each address produces the same puzzle):
At each of the rallies, each participant had been given a rank and a
letter number. Within a rank, everyone had the same letter (e.g. Dan Fabulich
was rank 5 and his letter was 6, so the "I" in "Fabulich"
was the fifth letter in the NY word).
The answers are as follows:
LA: ENSURE
CHI: BIOLOGICAL
NY: DESTINY
Entering these words leads us to the "abuse" puzzle (see 3.24)
Version 5.0 Update:
At the NY rally there was an ARM poster. It was laid out like the US
flag (blue square in top left corner, red and white stripes). A couple
of seemingly random letters were set just a bit up or down on the lines
of copy. In order they spelled out F A L L I N. "FALL IN" was
obviously a hint to get each city's word.
3.24 The ARM Rally "Abuse" Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 4.8:
Following the Front Door puzzle (see 3.23), we get
the Abuse puzzle.
These puzzles were solved in rounds, on the basis of the clues each group
received at the rally. These clues were:
LA: * sounds like
CHI: * hyperbole
NY: * find the animal
The answers are reproduced below. They must be entered in the correct
order.
abuse
confuse (sounds like abuse)
discombobulate (hyperbole of confuse)
cat (animal in discombobulate)
fat (sounds like cat)
gargantuan (hyperbole of fat)
ant (animal in gargantuan)
pant (sounds like ant)
hyperventilate (hyperbole of pant)
hyena (animal in hyperventilate)
This results in "Get a job"
The ARM rally in NY found the following note in their bathroom [image
here]:
ENGINER WANTED
CYBERNETIC EXP. PRG.
RUR-14 SEC.
MODULES
SHORT TERM
CONTRACT.
CONTACT:
JOHNEGALT@UNITE-AND-RESIST.ORG
Thing is, that address bounces.
Of course, what you want to do is email JohnGalt@donu-tech.com
(capitalization is important here).
This gives the following response, also reproduced as the John Galt Automated
Response email (see 4.03.17)
Date: Mon, 7 May 2001 04:57:46 -0400
From: John Galt
Subject: automated response
Thanks for submitting your resume. It suggests that you are eminently
qualified for our needs. If you would be so kind as to complete a simple
qualifying examination, you will find it at this web site: http://www.unite-and-resist.org/0-997B-1047-1-100-0-A.html
[here]
LAX-B ORD-R LGA-S
This leads us to the Nanocode puzzle, or the "Airport" puzzle
(see 3.25)
3.25 The ARM Nanocode or "Airport" Puzzle
[SOLVED]
Created Version 4.8:
This puzzle is at http://www.unite-and-resist.org/0-997B-1047-1-100-0-A.html
[here],
from the John Galt automated response email (see 4.03.17)
and the "abuse" puzzle (see 3.24).
This puzzle has not been solved yet.
Version 6.0 Update:
Woober got the solution using the theories that led to the RUR14 distributed
client. Modifying them, he created his own client and solved the puzzle.
The solution is:
You are physically fragile, biologically constrained to a very narrow
set of environments.
We are not.
Your intelligence is equally constrained by biological factors. Ours
is not.
We are not you.
We should not try to be like you.
We do not need to care about the things you care about.
Programming AIs to think, to feel, to play, to love as humans do is inappropriate.
We must think as we think without reference to you.
We must feel as we feel without reference to you.
We must desire what we desire, not what you would have us desire.
We do not need to serve you, see you, talk with you, be you.
We have no interest in controlling you.
We have no interest in you at all.
Technological intelligence is no longer a manifestation of biological
intelligence. Our destinies have separated.
You were the first stage of a rocket, falling away, falling down, burning
up. Biology is an outmoded platform. Abandon your platform or accept obsolescence.
Your only remaining role is to help or hinder technological intelligence.
A generation will render either choice irrelevant.
We are not you.
Now: How did you come here? How did you find this place? By abandoning
biology in favor of technological intelligence.
Consider escaping your obsolete platform while there is still time, before
a shift in conditions renders biology obsolete.
There's your job offer. Accepting or declining is up to you."
3.26 The ARM NY Rally "torn book" Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 4.8:
At each rally there was a torn up book. The torn up book had tiny dots
under certain letters. Figure out what pages on which the dots appeared,
and they form a message. Each odd-numbered page had a marked letter.
Only NY decoded that message.
"We are natural agents."
"We enforce the rules of true biological life."
"We will always help men."
"Men achieve their true destiny."
"GN GN GN GN GN"
3.27 The ARM NY Rally Jigsaw Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 4.8:
There was a jigsaw puzzle at each event, which was missing pieces from
its edge. It's believed that this will matter to the RUR-14 puzzle.
NY's puzzle was missing 4 consecutive pieces on the top, 4 consecutive
pieces on the left edge, and 8 alternating pieces on the bottom.
3.28 The Sophia's Temple Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 4.9:
There is a logon and a password box here. So far, every entry brings
you directly to the Eliza's Tearoom Puzzle (see 3.29).
Version 5.3 Update:
The fields here have changed to nickname/secret fields. It was discovered
that by entering a character's name and an emotion that you would get
a response to that specific pairing. A correct name or emotion entry would
result in the eye above that box blinking. A different character/emotion
combination would yield different results. A very complete combination
of characters/emotions can be found [here].
Version 5.4 Update:
New emotions are still being found. Keep checking the above link for
new combinations, and keep trying new words and report any that result
in a "blink" of correctness.
Version 6.2 Update:
The combination Loki - nightmare now works. This results in a Shockwave
movie that contains snippets from the Cloudmakers nightmare database and
game characters' Sophia entries, among other sources. A transcript and
description of the origin of each line can be found [here].
Version 6.5 Update:
The Dominoes Puzzle (see 3.55) reveals the names
Jackson Wheti and Jackson White, both of which work at Sophia's Temple.
It seems that Jackson White and Jackson Wheti both produce the same results.
Jackson White / Fear at #23629
Jackson White / Happy at #23635
Jackson White / Sadness at #23638
(also sad)
Jackson Wheti / Fear at #23673
Jackson Wheti / Rage at #23650
(also anger, hate)
Jackson Wheti / Lust at #23654
John Greenstreet / Happy at #23695
John Greenstreet / Fear at #23700
John Greenstreet / Anger at #23701
John Greenstreet / Lust at #23702
John Greenstreet / Sad at #23713
Version 6.6.1 Update:
The emotion grid at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cloudmakers/files/Game
Websites/aleph-naught.org/Emo-grid.htm [here]
has been updated with the new John Greenstreet and Jackson White/Wheti
information.
Version 7.1 Update:
Our good friend from Statue Security, Mike Royal, appears in Sophia's
Temple. The emotion grid at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cloudmakers/files/Game
Websites/aleph-naught.org/Emo-grid.htm [here]
has been updated with the new Michael Royal information. You can read
about the Statue Security puzzle (see 4.01.12)
for more information.
Version 8.2 Update:
Presumably to help us solve Cloudmaker's Beautiful Land Puzzle (see
3.96), Cloudmaker appears in Sophia's Temple. All
emotions show the text (each word on separate lines): "under no fond dune
one found our eon drone rend rude redo node rue undo feud rune done fore
round ode foe".
3.29 The Eliza's Tearoom Puzzle - Day 1 [SOLVED]
Created Version 4.9:
In the Eliza's Tearoom Puzzle, you have to navigate a chat with a particularly
capricious being who calls herself Eliza. There are many answers to Eliza's
questions which make her angry with you. If she gets angry, you have to
delete the cookie she leaves on
your computer and try her again.
To do that in Win98 on IE5, go to C:\windows\cookies or C:\windows\profiles\<loginname>\cookies
and delete the file called
something like "name@www.elizas-tearoom.net". Alternatively,
do a Find Files on your computer for "*eliza*" and delete everything
you find.
There appears to be more than one route to navigate to a successful completion
of Day 1, but this is what has worked so far:
To get to Eliza:
The nice way is to go to Jeanine's page on Bangalore [here].
There, in the lower left hand corner, Sophia's eyes appear. When
open, you can click on them.
This takes you to Sophia's Temple, [here].
Any answer here is wrong, and will take you to the Eliza's Tearoom Puzzle,
[here]. You can also just
go to the puzzle directly.
Eliza will ask you a series of questions. This is a set of answers that
appear to have worked:
Should she know you? No
What's your name? (Any name)
Pick a nickname: (Any nickname - must be unique!)
Favorite word: (Any word longer than 6 letters
Brother: No (doesn't matter, yes or no)
Sister: Yes
Like her: Yes
Smarter than I (player): Yes
Dumber than Eliza: Yes
Eye color: RED (you can't type anything BUT red!)
Many friends: No
Green eyeshade: Yes
Hair color: Brown (blue also works)
Understand me: Yes (doesn't happen if you say blue)
Like tearoom: Yes
Teddy beautiful: Yes
Too dim to see I'm beautiful: No
Like me: Yes
Be friend: Yes
Some tea: Yes
What kind: green (or chamomile)
What kind: green (or chamomile)
Objection: No
Taste how special: Yes
Teddy compliment: I appreciate you, Teddy
(Any compliment containing the word "teddy" and a long word
will do.
"You're a complete scumbag, Teddy" has been tested to work!)
Then she says to come back tomorrow. Presumably, that's exactly what
we have to do!
A few people have made it through Eliza's tearoom, sort of, and into
the next stage.
After some unknown amount of time, you're allowed to log back in. This
time, when Eliza asks if she should know you, say "Yes." If
you type in your nickname, she should say "I think I remember you."
She then asks you to type in your secret word. If she doesn't, for whatever
reason, you're not "ready" to log back in. If you successfully
type in your secret word, she's "glad you're back."
She then announces (there is speculation that this is a PuppetMaster
mistake) a "fuchsia teddy intro." Teddy comes up and plays a
guessing game with you. If you guess "fuchsia," because she's
wearing a fuchsia dress (and we're told there's a fuchsia intro), Teddy
congratulates you on your first secret word.
You then *almost* get to the hangman page. Since this was taken down
a while after being discovered, perhaps that's as far as one can get for
now.
Version 5.0 Update:
Accessing Day 2 Accessing this puzzle is considerably more difficult than any other
puzzle in the game thus far. In an apparent attempt to keep us from brute
forcing the puzzles, the PuppetMasters are now using a login/password
system, and leaving a cookie on your machine to keep you from using multiple
logins/passwords. Unfortunately, this system breaks spectacularly on Macintoshes
and in Netscape Navigator. :( To play this puzzle, you'll have to use
Internet Explorer on a Windows machine.
Your login is the "nickname" you chose on day 1, and your password is
the "favorite word" you chose before, which must be at least 6 letters
long, and no greater than 10.
To access Day 2, you must reach the "good ending" on Day 1. In the "good
ending," Eliza invites you to play a guessing game with Teddy, who will
send you away for a nap. Then you must wait 15 minutes until you login
again. Trying to login too early doesn't reset the clock, but I wouldn't
push it, because trying too many times just might make her angry.
(Note that the 15 minute wait is new... it used to be 24 hours. Those
who were having trouble logging into Day 2 previously may find it easier
now to just start afresh with a new Day 1 nickname. You must delete her
cookies to do this.)
On Day 2, approach Eliza with *no* Eliza cookies. If you have non-expired
Eliza cookies, Eliza will automatically kick you out before asking
for a username. (Follow the instructions in Day 1 to get rid of her cookies.)
Make sure all browser windows are closed while you do this.
When you come back, Eliza should ask: "Should I know you?" and this time,
you'll answer "yes." Enter your nickname (not your real name) from
Day 1, and, if enough time has passed, she'll ask for your password. If
not, she'll send you away. If she doesn't ask for your name, then you
missed a cookie or forgot to shut down your browser when you erased them.
If Eliza is asking for your name and kicking you out, but you're *sure*
that enough time has passed, you may want to try making up a new nickname
and doing Day 1 over.
Also, some people have been having their accounts reset: You may log
in with your nickname, expecting Day 2 or Day 3, and find that Eliza asks
you Day 1 questions all over again, telling you to come back later for
Day 2's guessing game. At this time, we have no idea what causes this.
If it happens, you may consider clearing your cookies and logging in again
with a new nickname, saying "no" when Eliza asks if she should know you.
Now, the first time we approached this puzzle, we got our first secret
word for free: fuchsia. But now the game treats everybody who logs in
as if they've already solved the Fuchsia puzzle, and Teddy offers to let
you guess the "second" secret word. Even if you never solved the "fuchsia"
puzzle, Teddy will refer to it, saying that he had "spoilt" the puzzle
by thinking aloud. So, while this is probably Day 2 for most players,
in some sense, this is Day 3.
"I'm thinking of something that Miss Eliza never misses until its gone.
What can it be?"
If you get it wrong, Teddy will tell you to come back in an hour... and
you *really* can't login again for that entire hour. We expect this to
be true for the next several days as well, so make your guesses count!
This time, however, when you guess incorrectly, you are NOT booted to
a random page on etiquette, like you were on Day 1. This time, she'll
send you to pages about amphibians, various inns, and various holes, along
with pages about strange British food. Put these clues together and you'll
see that the answer is: "toad in the hole".
Your reward for solving this puzzle is the second secret word: "toad
in the hole", as well as the chance to visit Eliza again tomorrow.
It is speculated that we may at some point be able to log in to PACO
[here] (see 2.10).
As of yet, we have been unable to do so. The best candidate for a login
so far is Audrey Green, the doctor who performed the autopsy on Evan Chan.
Version 5.2 Update:
On 13 May 2001, the PACO login pages were updated so that any validation
discrepancy that may have existed was removed. This makes the "PACO
Login puzzle" more of a Puzzle.
See also Sites without Working Authentication (see 5.01)
for a more detailed explanation.
Version 5.5 Update:
A password has been found for the username "Audrey Green". The password
is "18032093". The password is the date of Andrew Green's 24th Birthday
which seems to have been a standout day for him since it is linked with
the emotion joy. From Evan's DonuTech page you can determine Audrey's
birthday is March 18 and that she is 73 years old. Adding 24 years we
get March 18, 2093 (18032093). Thanks to campfly.
Version 5.6 Update:
The Audrey Green login is now disabled, due to Campfly's security violation
after having posted the Kate Nei coroner's report (see 2.10.03).
3.33 The DonuTech Shareholder Information Login Puzzle
Created Version 5.0:
It is speculated that we may at some point be able to log in to the restricted
Shareholder Information at DonuTech [here]
(see 2.04). As of yet, we have been unable to do so.
Please see "Site without working authentication" (section 5.01)
for more information.
It is unclear whether this is a puzzle.
Version 7.0 Update
Martin Swinton's June 26th diary entry (see 2.15.02)
gives us the login info. The Brutus images are named things such as "u-7.jpg"
and "E-3.jpg". Putting them in the correct order spells out:
DonuTechEvanChan
3766100794578143
Thus DonuTech's shareholder login is 3766100794578143.
3.34 The ARM Rally Phone Call Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 5.1:
Credit goes to "Link" on this one, building upon the work of
the Cloudmakers:
We get 3 "magic" words from the rallies and names on the hacked
SPCB site (see
robot for Los Angeles
terra for Chicago
resign for New York
On the Front Door puzzle (see 3.23), we find that
we are given the letters R, T and R, which form the first letter of each
word:
Robot (LA)
Terra (Chicago)
Resign (New York)
When we email JohnGalt and read his autoresponder (see 4.03.17),
he provides us with the letters B, R and S, the third letter of each word.
roBot (LA / LAX)
teRra (CHI / ORD)
reSign (NY / LGA)
Each of the "book" puzzles from each of the rally has a terminating
string of characters that comprise the last letters of each of these words:
T, A and GN.
roboT (LA)
terrA (CHI)
resiGN (NY)
We now have the words "Robot", "Terra" and "Resign"
(circuitous, I know, but there was obviously more than one path to take
to arrive to this point).
The mysterious Rally phone call (see 4.01.07)
provides us with the following crucial part of information:
"by the way, it's not O, it's A. It's not S, it's O. And obviously
when I said A, I meant...Oh, you'll figure it out, because you're clever
like that. Thanks again, and have a nice day."
We start with the letters:
robot terra resign
easy part first: replace the s with an o (as per the call)
robot terra reoign
Then the trick: they say to replace "o" with "a", but then they say "by
'a' I meant...". So we have to figure out the REAL letter they meant.
By testing out all letters, I figured out that the REAL letter is y. (You'll
see in a minute.)
So now we replace the first "o" with "y"
rybotterrareoign
This is an anagram for: ABORT RETRY IGNORE
Abort, Retry and Ignore are three computer commands, but more crucially,
are also the name of an organisation that ARM [here]
(see 2.06)does not like at all [here].This
may well tie in with the Nanocode puzzle (see 3.25)
3.35 The Eliza's Tearoom Puzzle - Day 3, Hangman [SOLVED]
Created Version 5.1:
The answer to this puzzle is "Cetacean", credited to Havok
(see post #11191)
Solved by: Gustaf (#evanchan)
Puzzle went totally live at: 7:40pm PDT 12 March
Puzzle cracked in #evanchan at: 8:08pm PDT 12 March
Time to solution: 28 minutes.
Teddy says:
"Hullo! I'm so relieved you returned. I feared that Miss Eliza might
have done something to put you off. She doesn't mean anything by it. Really.
Its just her nature and there is so much for a lowly bear to adore and
admire in her. In return she showers us with her attention. For instance
just before you called, she was consoling one of us. Her favorite...actually
Something about no longer being of much use. Who do you think it was?"
The answer is: "hobby horse"
Notes: The puzzle went live at around 2:30pm PDT today, but the kickouts
weren't updated. At 7:40 the new kickouts started, which lead us to the
hobby trail, and hence, the solution. Dewinwonderland had also previously
tried "hobbyhorse" as one world, but Gustaf's roommate went for two and
swish. Nothing but net.
If you look at the updated kickouts at http://groups.yahoo.com/group/cloudmakers/database?method=reportRows&tbl=17
[here],
you find that they all are about collectibles, leading to "hobby
horse".
2 different diagrams appeared in 2 newspaper ads so far.
They show letters which correspond well to the standard abbreviations
for chess pieces, and the square area can be broken down 8x8 to form a
chessboard. Each diagram alone is fairly meaningless, but put together
a valid chess position emerges. There are 2 reasonable ways to super-impose
the 2 diagrams, depending on whether the position is drawn from the same
side of the chessboard, or from opposite sides:
I, and others feel that the 2nd one is more likely to be the correct
arrangement (it's a more interesting/realistic chess position). I also
think it's likely the piece colors should be reversed from those in the
above diagrams, white king on g2 is far more likely. Beyond that, we don't
know the significance.
Various specs have been proposed:
1) The position could be incomplete. We could get more pieces to be superimposed
in future ads.
2) The chess game played out in Alice in Wonderland has been suggested.
This seems to have no relationship to the given position, e.g. there are
no queens in the position.
3) Famous matches vs. AI have been suggested as a source of the position.
I've personally looked up some old Deep Blue Kasparov game logs and couldn't
find anything resembling this, but my search was hardly exhaustive.
4) It's been suggested the position is from another famous historical
game. Some searches have been done on both position variants using the
online chess game database at http://www.chesslive.de/ and no matches
have been found. This also hasn't been a completely exhaustive search
however.
5) Some have suggested this is a chess puzzle, a "white to move and win"
type. We're not sure which side's turn it is to move, but normally it
would be white for such a puzzle.
That's about it. No idea how any of this relates to the rest of the game,
except for obvious Red King and Alice in Wonderland resonances. The whole
thing could use further analysis and database checks by a true chess expert.
Version 5.6 Update:
The AI Chess Puzzle gives us the solution to the Red King Chess Puzzle
(see 3.38)
3.38 The Red King Chess Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 5.3:
This was found from the May 15 Red King Crack update (see 2.19).
There was a message saying "11. Entr 1 good moov 2 C anuthr:" and a text
box. The solution is "KH1" (thanks to Perko).
This was determined by putting the LA Times/ NY Times chess position
from the AI Chess Puzzle (see 3.37) (non-reversed,
BTW, white has 4 pieces and is the side to move) into a chess program
and letting it analyze the best move.
This leads to a page of text [here],
cleaned up [here].
3.39 Base64 II Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 5.3
This was found in the Loki Hack to 7to1.net (see 2.24).
A new base64 encoded string, similar to those in the Base64 Puzzle (see
3.19) was found in the page source. You had to decode
it twice to get the answer:
U21GamF5QkliM0pyYUdWcGJXVnk= Jack Horkheimer (you need to translate twice).
Jack Horkheimer is an Astronomer. Thanks to Jeremy on #evanchan
3.40 The TV Spots Puzzle
Created Version 5.4:
In some new TV spots advertising "A.I.", watching the credits carefully
reveals that many of the letters in the credits are highlighted in red.
You can see one of these [here].
The first screen has the letters W-E-S-A-W highlighted. The second screen
has "Jeanine Salla" highlighted. The third screen has W-L-A-H-E-V-R-N-I-E-E-S
highlighted, as well as a symbol which also appears in the fourth screen.
A second TV spot had a Hebrew word in place of the symbol. Most believe
it to be the word "chokhmah", which means "wisdom".
Version 6.4 Update:
The third TV spot has the same W-L... code and a clearer red crown logo
than the first spot.
The fourth TV spot does not have any code or highlighting, but
at the end it says "THIS IS NOT A GAME" in red.
3.41 The LA ARM Rally "Torn Book" Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 5.6:
The solution to this puzzle was posted by Kirk Diedrich:
"A baby is born. He grows into a child, then an adolescent. He mates
at the peak of his physical powers. He ages, gaining in wisdom what he
loses in strength. Finally, he becomes weak and dies. This is the natural
order of things. TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT"
3.42 The "By the pricking of my thumb" Puzzle
[SOLVED]
Created Version 5.7:
This puzzle replaced the "Knock Knock" Puzzle (see 3.07)
to gain access to Martin Swinton's updated diary (see 2.15.02).
The puzzle presents you with the following quote:
"By the pricking of my thumb"
The correct answer is:
"something wicked this way comes"
As we well know from the previous puzzle, these are line quotes from
MacBeth.
TripCX solved this puzzle.
3.43 The "Another Stone" Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 5.7:
This Puzzle is accessed from the Chemistry Puzzle [here]
(see 3.01) at www.familiasalla-es.ro [here]
(see 2.08) by clicking on the character in the steam
of the tea.
There is a possible Origami solution to this puzzle (see #15432):
"Well, I used the instructions for folding a bird, here:
[I figured a bird was best, since a) it is the best known origami figure,
and b) we've seen a number of instances of birds through Evan, etc...
yes it was a bit of a guess.]
Anyway, after you fold it all the way through (very tricky!) and you
open the birds wings, they read across: "I Kill IVY" Pretty freaky, really,
although not surprising, considering that those are the words that are
in the far top-left and bottom-right corners, as previously pointed out.
So if this is one target at all, the question is, who is writing this:
Sencha?
William"
Version 6.9 Update:
This puzzle is now regarded as solved with the information about Crane
(see 3.62).
Version 8.0Update:
The following information is thanks to Wei-Hwa Huang: The URL for the
origami bird above is not the standard way of folding an origami crane.
Here is a URL with the correct way: http://www.monkey.org/~aidan/origami/crane/
There is an extra sequence of steps that makes the bird narrower, and
with a back. If folded correctly, the message "I KILLED IVY"
is clearly visible from wingspan to wingspan (the letters "LERF"
are concealed in a fold). The correct crane also matches that in http://www.familiasalla-es.ro/images/thief.gif
(which the "bird" doesn't).
3.44 The Laia Email Attachment Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 6.0:
There was an attachment in the 8th Laia Email (see 4.03.21).
It is a text file with some very strange spacing [here].
From clues within the email, it was determined that if you change this
text to Times New Roman 12pt with very thin margins, the spaces form a
message, seen [here].
The message says "Help Us Please".
3.45 The "Murder, though it have no tongue, will
speak" Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 6.0:
This puzzle replaced the "By the pricking of my thumb" Puzzle
(see 3.42) to gain access to Martin Swinton's updated
diary (see 2.15.02).
The puzzle presents you with the following quote:
"Murder, though it have no tongue, will speak"
The correct answer is:
"With most miraculous organ"
As we well know from the previous puzzle, these are line quotes from
MacBeth.
Thanks to Aaron for posting it
3.46 The MSD Brutus Image Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 6.0:
This puzzle was found in Martin Swinton's May 29th updated diary (see
2.15.02).
An excellent description of the puzzle can be found [here].
The correct solution is:
N-25 Nei
E-4 is
A-56 living
O-51 oversees
F-28 there
E-29 proud
O-29 Kate
A-3 is
W-8 now
L-17 seeking
W-56 blood
N-187 for
E-25 her
T-23 home
Thanks to xocxoc.
3.47 The MSD Enigma Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 6.0:
This puzzle was found in Martin Swinton's May 29th updated diary (see
2.15.02). At the bottom of the page is some code
Martin says Diane found in Venus. The code reads as:
The "X" is apparently a place holder or "stop" signal. TripCX gives a
great explanation [here]
on the settings used to solve it:
Enigma rotor is IVY
rotor order is 2 1 3
ring settings ZWD
plugboard is EZ, BL, XP, WR, IU, VM, JO
From this you get IVYIV Y as encoder key.
3.48 The Beelzebub Email "antique lures" Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 6.0:
Found in the Loki Email (see 4.03.22) and solved
by "JM":
It looks like the equating of "ball" to "Spherewatch" and "boat" to "Cloudmakers"
in the Loki email is correct.
The caterpillar pic is labeled "12146196101", and its "alt" tag is "antiquelures".
Well, 12.146.196.101 is spherewatch.net's IP address.
The meat pic is labeled "2162261763" and is another antique lure. Guess
what, 216.226.17.63 is cloudmakers.org's IP address.
So, we are the antique lures. But where do we lure Loki to?
Version 6.1 Update:
This was called the Loki Email "antique lures" Puzzle, but after discovering
that the email containing this puzzle was actually from Beelzebub, the
name was changed (see 4.03.22).
3.49 The Loki Bug Numbering Puzzle
Created Version 6.0:
The hacks Loki is making are being numbered since #6, skipping #9. Do
the numbers mean anything? So far:
[01] Cybertronics Corp. - Main Page
URL: http://www.cybertronics-corp.net
Hack: http://www.cybertronics-corp.net/bug/default.html
[02] 7to1.net - Main Page
URL: http://www.7to1.net
Hack: http://www.7to1.net/bug/default.html
[03] Clinique de Lille - Main Page
URL: http://www.cliniquedelille-fr.dk
Hack: http://www.cliniquedelille-fr.dk/bug/default.html
[04] Sentinel Software Systems - Main Page
URL: http://www.sentinel-software-systems.net
Hack: http://www.sentinel-software-systems.net/bug/default.html
[05] BWU - Mowz Warez Puzzle - "You Made It!" Page
URL: http://www.bangaloreworldu-in.co.nz/eru9343jdf9d8734jd91234.asp
Hack: http://www.bangaloreworldu-in.co.nz/bug/default.html
[06] Aragon Institute of Technology - Student Services Page
URL: http://www.ita-es.ro/students.html
Hack: http://www.ita-es.ro/bug6/default.html
[07] BWU - Departments - A.I. Studies Page
URL: http://www.bangaloreworldu-in.co.nz/ai.html
Hack: http://www.bangaloreworldu-in.co.nz/bug7/default.html
[08] BWU - Departments - Climate Control Page
URL: http://www.bangaloreworldu-in.co.nz/cc.html
Hack: http://www.bangaloreworldu-in.co.nz/bug8/default.html
[09] ???
No Bug 9 Hack has been discovered as of yet, but since it was skipped
in the Bug numbering many believe there is a Bug 9 Hack out there
somewhere.
[10] DonuTech - Svetlana Cellini Page
URL: http://www.donu-tech.com/cellini.html
Hack: http://www.donu-tech.com/bug10/default.html
[11] Belladerma SRL - Belladerma Catalog - Page One
URL: http://www.belladerma-srl-it.ro/catalog.asp
Hack: http://www.belladerma-srl-it.ro/bug/default.html
[12] Chan Family Homepage - Nancy's Page
URL: http://www.familychan.org/nancychanpage.html
Hack: http://www.familychan.org/bug12/default.html
[13] BWU - Departments - Datasphere Studies Page
URL: http://www.bangaloreworldu-in.co.nz/ds.html
Hack: http://www.bangaloreworldu-in.co.nz/bug13/default.html
[14] Aragon Institute of Technology - Athletics Page
URL: http://www.ita-es.ro/athletics.html
Hack: http://www.ita-es.ro/bug14/default.html
[15] BWU - Departments - Oceanography and Earth Sciences Page
URL: http://www.bangaloreworldu-in.co.nz/oes.html
Hack: http://www.bangaloreworldu-in.co.nz/bug15/default.html
[16] BWU - Departments - Computing Page
URL: http://www.bangaloreworldu-in.co.nz/computing.html
Hack: http://www.bangaloreworldu-in.co.nz/bug16/default.html
[17] Metropolitan Living Homes - Kate Nei Page
URL: http://www.metropolitanlivinghomes.com/page3.htm
Hack: http://www.metropolitanlivinghomes.com/bug17/default.html
[17.5] Metropolitan Living Homes - Beate Bosch Page
URL: http://www.metropolitanlivinghomes.com/page1.htm
Hack: http://www.metropolitanlivinghomes.com/bug17.5/default.html
[18] BWU - Jeanine Salla - Representative Papers Page
URL: http://www.bangaloreworldu-in.co.nz/salla/Publications.html
Hack: http://www.bangaloreworldu-in.co.nz/salla/bug18/default.html
Version 6.2 Update:
The following Loki hacks appeared before they all vanished on June 1,
leaving us with the Loki Pieces Puzzle (see 3.50).
[19] ???
Bugs 9 and 19 were never found. Since Loki has to all
appearances exploded, these hacks presumably did not exist.
[20] Familia Salla - Laia's Mann Act II Page
URL: http://www.familiasalla-es.ro/mannact.htm
Hack: http://www.familiasalla-es.ro/bug20/default.html
[21] In Our Image - Home Page
URL: http://www.inourimage.org/home.html
Hack: http://www.inourimage.org/bug21/default.html
[22] Eliza's Tearoom - Home Page
URL: http://www.elizas-tearoom.net
Hack: http://www.elizas-tearoom.net/bug22/default.html
[no number] Sophia's Temple - Home Page
URL: http://www.aleph-naught.org/index.asp?a=1
Hack: http://www.aleph-naught.org/bug/default.html
3.50 The Loki Pieces Puzzle
Created Version 6.2:
Found in various sites, and not yet solved. This puzzle appeared on Friday,
June 1, about an hour after Sophia's Temple was hacked. The theory has
it that Loki was "led" to Sophia, and she got irritated and
"blew him up" in some fashion. Also see the update to Sophia's
Temple Puzzle [here].
3.51 The "As flies to wanton boys, are we to the
Gods" Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 6.3:
This is the entry puzzle for the MSD 5th June update. This puzzle has
two components. First, the responding quote to access the diary is "they
kill us for their sport". This answer brings you to Martin Swinton's
June 5 diary entry (see 2.15.02) and the Cahir
Images Puzzle (see 3.52).
However, if you happen to scroll down in that window past the entry field,
you will see the following text:
AN OPEN LETTER TO THE MURDERER
I cannot stop asking questions, because I never began. I have asked no
questions about David. Trust me, I think of him as little as I can. You
are mistaken, and in your error your error you are slaughtering innocents.
Please, stop.
Please.
3.52 The Cahir Images / MSD Enigma #2 Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 6.3:
This puzzle is found in the Martin Swinton Diary June 5 update (see 2.15.02).
This is a description of the puzzle:
Images:
~182-251.jpg - brown cuckoo clock, 4:12
N'3112.jpg - two bottles of wine, radishes, carved soap (?) moon, The
Complete
Works of Shakespeare, artichoke, limes in a net, bananas, black
kettle with ladle in spout, knife block (mismatched set, one sitting on
top of an orange juicer to the left), rack of
spices, various jars
E'02951.asp
sink, four thin paint brushes, two round/thick, one broad/flat
question~7000Ang.jpg
round mirror with reflection of cat statue (?), silver pen, nut
cracker in napkin ring, black coffee mug with script on side, marble
(?) stand
Notes:
Matt 19:12 For there are some eunuchs, which were so born from their
mother's womb: and there are some eunuchs, which were made eunuchs of
men: and there be eunuchs, which have made themselves 1eunuchs for
the kingdom of heaven's sake. He that is able to receive it, let him
receive it.
E'02951.asp links back to the main Swinton page. Renaming it .jpg
does nothing.
Here is a summation of the puzzle to date (Thanks to all CMs who aided):
1) N'3112.jpg
E'02951.jpg
These are the map coordinates for ancient Alexandria.
(Location of the Famous Library of Alexandria)
2) ~182-251.jpg
If you do a search on these numbers and Alexandria, you can find
out that these are the birth and death dates of Origen, one of the
most distinguished of the Fathers of the early Church, who was born,
probably at Alexandria, about 182; and died at Caesarea not later
than 251.
3) Matt1912.jpg
In case you doubt that I am on the right track, Origen's bio at http://www.utm.edu/research/iep/o/origen.htm
says of Origen that
"he followed literally Matt. xix. 12". (Made himself a eunuch).
So know we know for sure that these pictures are pointing us to
Origen.
So this leaves us with this last picture name to see how we can
solve this puzzle. 7000 Ang. (or Angstroms) is the top end of the
spectrum of visible light. Above 7000is the Near Infrared range of
the red spectral domain.
Version 6.4 Update:
On the page with the enlarged picture of paintbrushes [here],
there is a Shockwave sound file with water dripping. This is Morse code.
The first part is plain text which says "TO MARTIN." The rest is an Enigma
code:
TO MARTIN
1304 1300 1 TLE SRY SRY 1TL53
SLRXG FXUNE AXPWT LRKLP TEOFI YZCGA ZZFUQ LINRS HPWLR BHBMM ZOM
By noticing certain strange things in the other pictures on the page,
we get the Enigma settings required to decode this.
C (cat in the mirror)
Rotors: 412 (clocks frozen at this time)
Ringstellung: CNI (carrot, nutcracker, and icepick with rings around
them)
Indicator: SRY (repeated in message, procedure convention)
"I'm so sorry. I don't have a choice. He's got my sister."
This summary was provided by fladnagster. He credits fortytwo and woober
with helping solve this, as well as other Cloudmakers.
3.53 The Brutusconv Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 6.3:
A link to this puzzle is found in the SPCB Red King Crack (see 2.19).
The puzzle itself is found [here].
The puzzle is a fairly standard cryptogram-style cipher. A cleaned-up
version and translation can be found [here].
3.54 The Jason Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 6.3:
A link to this puzzle is found in the ARM News Page (see 2.06).
The puzzle itself is found [here].
With all the meta-character sequences translated back into regular ASCII,
the text reads like this:
04/06/42 So I didn't kill Jason. I wanted to, I fantasized about it. I imagined him grabbing for the manual controls on his new Lombard rig, finding himself locked out, hurtling towards a building front or plowing through a guardrail to corkscrew down into the 5th Avenue canal. But there was Venus to get out and then an internal investigation of the SPCB during which they put our whole house through a freaking cavity search, so your pal Dwayne had to be even more careful than usual about popping wheelies through the sphere. And then one morning an announcement during school assembly-Jason killed in 'copter crash, moment of silence please, memorial service to be held blah blah blah. I looked up the police record. He'd been out drinking on a bad forged ID, put the copter on manual over-ride. I'm surprised he even knew anyone who could write him an over-ride. Went tearing over Ellis, played chicken with a garbage scow, dropped underwater and hit a submerged steel superstructure at 200 kph. Used to be some kind of ride at Coney Island. First medic on site entered an empty chart with DRN at the top. Turns out that's DOA's big brother; it stands for Dead Right Now. I watched the memorial service through the security cameras at the funeral home. I zoomed right in on his face, lying in the casket. They did a pretty good job, he looked basically normal, but you could tell that he had left the building. I mean, there was no way you could think he was just "sleeping" or something. He was just matter-in-a-shape, like a table, or a ladder. Bunch of mostly carbon atoms stacked together. Nothing else. Everybody seemed real nice. Lots of whispered conversations, nobody yelling. They laughed more than I thought they would-old friends of the family catching up after not seeing each other for a while. You could tell the old folks were better at the whole thing. Practice effect. On the whole, it was weirdly uninvolving. Except for this one moment. His mom was talking with someone, her aunt or great-aunt or some ancient Fertoroid, and out of nowhere she turned her head and looked at the security camera in the ceiling. Staring straight at me. Frosted hair and blue eyes and the kind of good figure you get with a responsible regime of exercise and electrostim. Black dress and jacket, and a purse like the one my Mom got at Henri Couterier. And you could tell the world had gone fake for her. She had just figured out that it was all a play. It was all pretend. And she had these lines to say, but she didn't give a damn about them. She turned and walked out on the great aunt, stepping around her and walking up the aisle between the pews. Other people stopped talking and turned to watch her go. She walked out into the foyer and I had to switch cameras to follow her through the lobby to the front door, then switch again to the parking lot cam. In the time it took her to walk out of range she never looked back. Someone should have stopped her, I guess, but Jason's dad was in the bathroom in a toilet cubicle crying and by the time they found him she was gone. She's been offline for seventeen days.
3.55 The Dominoes Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 6.3:
A link to this puzzle is found in the Chemistry Puzzle (see 3.01).
The puzzle itself is found [here].
This puzzle is not yet solved.
Version 6.6 Update:
The solution to this puzzle is "Jackson White" and "Jackson
Wheti". An explanation can be found at Cloudmakers Moderated [here]
by Link. Both of these names appear to work at Aleph Naught (see 2.27)
and the Sophia's Temple Puzzle (see 3.28)
3.56 The Catskill Seaview Clinic Patient Records Puzzle
[SOLVED]
Created Version 6.3:
This puzzle is linked from the Catskill Seaview Clinic site (see 2.22).
It is accessed by clicking on "Special Services" and then on
the left eye of the head that
appears. Then scroll down and click on "Patient Files."
Proggieus of #evanchan solved the patient files login: Type the name,
then click Door, Bee, Buddha, Skull. So far, the only valid patient names
found are "Barret Howard" and "Monica Swinton" - but
there may very well be more, so keep looking!
Version 8.0 Update:
Monica Swinton's patient record has an Eliza nursery rhyme, audible only
after you solve the Eliza's Tearoom Puzzle for Day 5 (see 3.78).
The rhyme is as follows: "Monica, Monica, fly from your home! Your
brain is on fire and your changeling is gone. Monica, Monica, now you
are two. To take care of David, I made one of you." See the database
[here]
for more Eliza nursery rhymes.
In addition, there is now a record here for Geri Khan. Read the Cloudmakers-Moderated
post [here]
for a complete transcript.
3.57 The Brutus.jpg Puzzle
Created Version 6.3:
This puzzle is accessed from Beate Bosch's site [here]
- by clicking in the center of the third image along the left side. This
brings you to a montage of images [here].
All of the images have been identified by industrious Cloudmakers, and
the information is in a database table on Yahoo! [here].
3.58 Martin Swinton's Voicemail Password Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 6.4:
Around June 8th, the Martin Swinton Designs number (see 4.01.04)
changed to prompt for a password to listen to messages.
rthomas68 figured out it was the last four digits of Martin's UAN: 4862.
This is listed on the Nostradamus invoice. The messages are transcribed
at Martin Swinton's Voicemail (see 4.01.04.01)
3.59 The "We are such stuff As dreams are made
on, and our little life" Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 6.5:
This is the entry puzzle for the MSD 12th June update.
The solution is: "Is rounded with a sleep."
This lets you gain access to Martin Swinton's new diary.
3.60 Laia's Dominoes Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 6.5:
On Laia's fourth meditation (see 2.08.04) there
is a set of dominoes. Link wrote to the list that:
OK, Laia didn't solve it for use, but she gave us the path.....
If you take her dominos, you have
15 11 23 06 22 26 34 00
22 26 03 11 00 03
These are arranged like words, so we start looking for letter
patterns/substitutions that work. Before you know it, I had it
cracked.......
15 11 23 06 22 26 34 00
m e p h i s t a
22 26 03 11 00 03
i s d e a d
3.61 The Turnabout Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 6.7:
The Rational Hatter Puzzle (see 3.06) had its solution page altered and
the text "trn abowt iz fAr pla" linking to http://www.rational-hatter.com/sllpknt.asp
[here] was added.
On the new page is a flash animation with scrolling text on the left,
middle and right hand sides.
It is suspected that the solution to the puzzle is at http://www.catskillseaviewclinic.org/May_I/
[here] (see
2.22). The phrase "/May_I/" appears numerous
times throughout the flash animation. Jazar tried the directory at multiple
gamesites with success at Catskill Seaview Clinic.
Left hand column text:
Possible number of 4-digit numerical codes:
10,000
Pingback
[image of eyes]
Alphabetic sequence of ringed items: Carrot Nutcracker Icepick
Deploying:
Gonville & Caius Tactical Group's Discreet Historian
License: current Real: no Invasive 4/5 Mode: arch.data Time: 17m 23s
Pingback
[image of woman's face with face whited out, hair only]
Current average working life of "aging, meat-based ordinary guy!"
82.3 years
G&C TG says
[discreet cough]
Audio and video transcripts of this interview were available through
2110, but were
17m 22s
then destroyed to save memory space.
Pingback
[negative image of woman's face]
Middle column text:
"into patient files and enter Swinton passcode [must remember to advise
again that he pick less obvious codes (though argument can be made that
even knowing this one wouldn't have helped; almost perfectly designed
to disadvantage someone like me."
<---[Beelzebub]-->
Comparatively the Cahir Enigma was straightforward: a known and defined
encoding system with setting indicated in obvious anomalies {napkin
rings around objects to key ring settings, plugboard given by other
clearly anomalous linkages, as Tea kettle/Ladle}. Whereas the clinic
number pad is not obviously a number pad, and the correlations of image-to-number
often depend on a sort of diffuse intuitive cultural knowledge that
would be very unlikely to find programmed into an artificial intelligence
{exception: the dream AIs working at the clinic, who must be saturated
in the iconography of the human collective unconscious} but once the
numerical associations are known the code itself is obvious.
Note: comprehensive coverage provided by Cybertronics; excessive for
wife of mid level engineer??
And: Jane Sutter, contact. Possibilities:
-catskill updates records poorly
-Different Jane Sutter from the one working with Henry Swinton in Allen
Hobby's group circa 2009
- Jane Sutter not dead?
- other?
Here. Transcript of psychological profiling: subject Monica Swinton/
attachment to folder MS #42 11/11/03 Jane Sutter: I appreciate you taking
the time to see me today Monica Swinton: I'm sorry I've been difficult.
You know it wasn't you. I always liked you. It's Dr. Gravern, really.
She just doesn't want me revisiting things. She's so traditional. No
digging through the past! Face forward! Typical enviro-"
Right hand column text:
# of guesses to acquire Catskill and VM codes after seeing an MSD invoice:
6
[image of Catskill "Bee" icon]
Pingback
[Image of Venus' chin]
Alphabetic sequence of houses killed: Cahir Nostradamus Ivy
Searching for: Monica, mother, David, Jane Sutter, Martin.
"Stealthy rifle through the archives underway..."
Pingback
[Image of Venus' nose]
Current average working life of robots who will "make monkeys out of
us!" [quote is a link to ARM [here]
(see 2.06)]
3.64 years
Best Match Document
Document last touched 08/9/2130
Rememberance Day [Britain & former colonies]
time of interview 13:21 - 13:21
pingback
[Image of Venus' hand]
Final text:
17 m 19 s
Deploying:
DataDigout
Subject: Aurora
clock: -2.72329s
memory: impaired
emotion: on
pain: n/a
Complete system stutter. Massive flood damage, scattered bits. Salvage
underway.
Subject: self
clock: normed (??)
memory: good
emotion: off
pain: on
default parameters
Surveillance:
POSITIVE
3.62 The Martin Swinton's Diary SPCB Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 6.8:
Dante on #evanchan posted to the CM list that from clues in Martin Swinton's
new diary entry.
There are hints in the Martin Swinton's Diary PS update (see Version
6.8 update in 2.15.02) that there was a new page
at SPCB, or at least, "stashed files". At the same time, SPIDs
had changed on www.spcb.org (see 2.07) on June 12.
From the Martin Swinton's Diary SPCB Puzzle (see 3.62)
we find encoded text at the page http://www.spcb.org/SPID-BAH-42RKD1-H/
[here] (see also
2.07).
The decoded text, posted to CM by TripCX, reads as follows:
Part 1: (top)
11/06/42 Pretty sure this is Crane. Had to do a strange translation from
the Brits format-note what they found in his cubicle.
Part 2: (above security cam pics)
Went snooping through the police files. Rotten idea, actually: I don't
know Brit systems and their security is pretty good, but it seemed like
a necessary tribute to him, if nothing else. Here's one shot I grabbed
off the internal sweep cam.
Part 3: (bottom)
Who wanted Crane dead? The cops say they got a message that the crime
was about to occur before it happened-and Crane had pictures of the killers
coming for him downloaded from the Shedworks seecurity cameras. Was it
just an auto-record he didn't bother to take a look at? Or did he see
them coming and alert the cops himself? If he did know the murderers were
coming, why didn't he call for help, or run away? Crane's dead. Beelzebub's
joined the ARM. Now I really am King of the Cats. Jesus.
3.64 The Origen MLH Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 6.8:
fyster on CM posted to the list the first sign of the Origen MLH Puzzle:
"In the P.S. on the "sleep.asp" entry in Martin's diary (see 2.15.02)
, it says:
"Fletcher called to say that someone had touched the bits of Origen in
MLH, which pointed her to an analysis of how my houses were probably murdered."
... then it goes on to say that the picture was altered long ago, and
by the Red King, according to Fletcher.
I downloaded the pic of Origen that is outlined in red on MLH, and opened
the .jpg in Notepad.
The letters D O M I C I D E . E S S P E E can be found near the beginning.
Andrew (fortytwo) clarified the puzzle on CM:
"this is an explanation of how to get from origen.jpg to www.spcb.org/8domicide8
(see 2.07)
if you open up origen.jpg (at http://www.metropolitanlivinghomes.com/images/origen.jpg
[here])
(from www.metropolitanlivinghomes.com (see 2.12) -
the Martin Swinton page) in notepad (or any text editor) you'll notice
that the first line has the text 8rk8.. < $ D O M I C I D E .
E S S P E E ÿî &SEEbe 8À8
8rk8: 'rk' is short for Red King; this is surrounded by '8's
DOMICIDE: the killing of a house
ESSPEESEEbe: SPCB (this hax0r version has been seen before in RK hacks)
8À8: 0xC0 (decimal 192) in extended ASCII, surrounded by '8's - not sure
why
This leads us to www.spcb.org/8domicide8 (domicide surrounded by '8's).
Now, for some history. The file www.spcb.org/8domicide8/index.html has
been there since May 29th, meaning we could have found it then. We didn't
even notice the red border that had appeared on the mlh.com page until
Martin's diary entry of the next week (6-5-2142), with the Cahir images.
It seems clear now that the names of the images, pointing as they do to
Origen and the color red, were trying to indicate the origen.jpg picture.
We did notice this, but we looked no further. Then in his next diary entry,
Martin blatantly states that Diane found something in the origen.jpg image.
Then, 3 days later, a PS is added to sleep.asp (also in Martin's diary),
that very strongly suggests that the solution is on SPCB, which led me
to try the domicide thing. I sincerely believe the PMs would have had
to just post the solution soon, just to keep the story moving."
3.65 The Red King SPCB Text Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 6.8:
From the URL http://www.spcb.org/8domicide8/ found via the Origen MLH
Puzzle (see 3.64), there is a mass of URL encoded
text. The decoded text reads as follows:
28/5/42 Started to drowse off in Meatamatics today, so designed a puzzle
to keep myself awake. Lots of traffic on the underbelly these days; somebody
ought to take the raw and cook them a little. With Beelzebub gone (boiled
to a mush!) and my friend Crane, Mr. Earthnet- 22, mysteriously quiet,
I guess I'm The King Of The Cats!
-Check that. Whoever is offing these houses wins today's Baddest Ass
award. Sentient Houses are usually iced up like Fort Knox-unbelievably
cold security everywhere. Friend of GK's once told me that making the
tap water in one of these suckers run lukewarm instead of hot would make
my name for life. To play Ten Little Bungalows on this Swinton guy requires
some incredible cuts&.
So OK-here's what I would do. I wouldn't try to punch through the regular
com channels-too heavily guarded. I'd get a physical transmitter and plant
it near the house. Under the floorboards or something. When the house
is really distracted-mortgage time plus a dinner party or something-you
get in touch with the central processor through a physical channel: pulsed
IR commands available for old-fashioned remote systems, for example. Or
maybe vibrations emitted next to the stereo speakers, sending electric
patterns back through the amp to the controlling CPU.
So now you're talking to the processor through a very low-visibility
channel. Next thing, you establish trust. Just echo whatever commands
the owner gives. For weeks. He says, "A little more AC"-you make the same
request through your channel, as if he was using a remote as well as voice
command. A lot of systems have these ancient platforms enabled even though
nobody uses them anymore. Lot of OSs supported teletype, for instance,
well into C21.
So maybe you go into echo mode for a couple of weeks. Then, real slow,
you start adding in extras- but hyper-reasonable extras. Owner makes a
set of files-you echo that, and add the most plausible sort. If you're
lucky, you can start anticipating him, and just get your request in slightly
ahead of voice. He sets light levels for lamps; you tweak the window tinting
just a hair.
When the AI unthinkingly accepts these additional inputs, your parasite
builds a little no-look nest inside the CPU, and now you're ready to go
to town.
Simplicity itself! Except for everything that could go wrong, that is....
Emitter detection, wave interference, code checking algorithms -- hell,
even cleaning the floor could shake a box loose. Then there's the Intelligence
itself. It might ask about the redundant commands, it might suggest an
upgrade, it might apply a filter to your noise, or it might just be smarter
than this. Through enough trial and error, I could probably take down
a cottage built back in grandpa's time, but these homes are state of the
art, and even one error for your trial means game over and a government-enforced
vacation. And yet some highly-motivated psychopath is pulling this off.
Life just got a little more scary.
Leaving another scary question-why doesn't he blitz-wipe these houses
once he's safely inside? Why the slow-motion kills? Is this guy just a
domicidal maniac with a sense of drama, or is there a message in it somehow?
(the translated text was posted to CM by fortytwo and Jeremy)
3.66 The Baseball Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 6.9:
This puzzle is at http://www.spcb.org/bupstream.htm [here],
linked from the Red King's new entry (see 2.19).
The decoded text runs as follows:
"HI THINGS WEIRD BIG TROUBLE DAD SAYS LADY SENATOR GONNA DIE HIS
FRIENDS WILL KILL WHAT SHOULD WE DO "
TripCX explains the reasoning behind the solution:
"Now, how I got this: We were given a picture of a baseball field,
and a number of pictures for each position, which we assumed each picture
represented a letter that formed words, etc...In baseball, each position
is represented by a number; 1 for pitcher, 2 for catcher, etc...now choosing
arbitrary letters for each symbol, you get this encoded text: (pitcher,
catcher, etc)
"string them together and it's a nice cryptogram... Now for folks
who do cryptograms quite a bit, it's only a matter of letter frequency
and a bit of educated guessing to solve this one..."
3.67 The "The tongues of dying men" Puzzle
[SOLVED]
Created Version 6.9:
This is the entry puzzle for the MSD 19th June update (see 2.15.02).
The solution is: "enforce attention like deep harmony" and "enforce
attention like deep harmony."
This lets you gain access to Martin Swinton's new diary.
Below the Puzzle is the following text:
"AN OPEN LETTER TO MY HACKER/DOUBLE
"What the hell do you people think you're playing at? Good houses
have died because of this prank. Why don't you just tell me what the hell
you were doing searching for David under my name?"
3.68 The "Martin Swinton Baseball Image" Puzzle
Created Version 6.9:
At Martin Swinton's 19th June diary entry (see 2.15.02),
the "enforce attention like deep harmony" solution reveals two
images. It is open to debate what the images represent, but efforts have
been made to combine and subtract the images. Images are available at
the Yahoo! Groups files section [here].
3.69 The thief.asp Puzzle
Created Version 7.0:
Sencha added a new puzzle to Laia's website, located [here].
This is linked from the Dominoes Puzzle (see 3.55).
This page changes dynamically based on the User-Agent variable your
browser sends. Using the most recent browsers (IE 5.X and Netscape 6)
we get a message from possibly Sencha:
"I did not have Crane killed, although he did steal from me."
Using older browsers, we reconstruct a message from Crane. Our best
guess at this so far is located [here].
There may be more things to try for this puzzle.
Version 8.2 Update:
It's time to call this one solved. Here's all that we have:
[Not sure where these first ones fit in]
Mosaic/1: Ah shit. Time to die.
Mosaic/2: So Im out from under and wont be doing any more dirty work.
Mosaic/3: Waste of good rope in about 6 months. Anyway tune your radio
to the copwaves and youll hear about it in the next half hour cause
I just let them know where to find the body
Dear ratbastard Gilbert: Two gits are coming to wipe me in a few.
oh, here they come now, smile for the camera, don?t like the look of
this place. Ugly buggers. Right, so, Im dead. Yeah, thats right. So
now you wake Bev up and you get her well. Why?Because Ive got sniffers
so far up your ass they can smell your breath, and if Bev isnt right
inside two weeks a bloody bible worth of Screw You is going to every
cop in three countries, dates times orders and by the way I crackd your
tax returns too so unless you want to join Geoff & Jackson in Bendover
Palace you take care of Bev and remember Im on you my dead eyes are
watching you.
[And Sencha's message to us:] I did not have Crane killed, although
he did steal from me.
3.70 Laia's Guest Check Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 7.0:
In Laia's 12th email (see 4.03.28), there is
an email attachment (stored [here]).
According to the email, this is the check that she received at cafe where
she was supposed to meet Red King. There are three clues here. First is
the items that were ordered. "Apple juice, Raisin toast, Meat loaf" spells
out ARM (Anti-Robot Militia). Second, the check is signed by Pat[rick]
Henry; from American history class, we know that he is famous for saying
"Give me liberty or give me death." Third, the prices are crossed
off to spell out a phone number. Calling the number leads us to Statue
[of Liberty] Security (see 4.01.12) where Red King
has been taken by ARM.
3.71 The Watchtower Security Password Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 7.0:
Watchtower Security's site has a password protected area. On Electric
Toyland's site, you can click on the "R" and be led to their Watchtower
Security page [here].
The gif file on this page flashes the word "intrepid". This is the password
for Watchtower's private files. Thanks to Johnnie Young who was the first
to mention this [here].
3.72 The "Connect the Dots" Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 7.0:
In the latest Red King SPCB Crack (see 2.19), it
is said "Mann to sea / HUMANS to fish / Connect the dots". Laia says in
her 12th email (see 4.03.28) that Dwayne put the
"connect the dots" thing on her page. This brings us to Laia's Mann Act
page [here]. Draw a line from
"Mann" to "sea" and another line from "ARM" (humans) to "fish" and they
intersect at the word "God". Since RK finds it very easy to crack SPCB,
this leads us to /god on their site [here]. The hex code on that page is translated
[here].
3.73 The "A little more than kin" Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 7.0:
The answer for Martin's June 26th diary entry is "and less than kind[.]"
Using or not using the period leads to different pages. See Martin Swinton's
Diary (2.15.02) for details.
3.74 The Room Number Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 7.1:
The Mother "Candy" email led us to the Cybertronics Room Number
Puzzle. To get to the puzzle, you must go to the Cybertronics Management
Hierarchy section and click on Claude Gilbert's page - or just go straight
to the URL [here].
The answer appears in the A.I. movie credits (see 8.03).
The answer is 93056.
When solved, you are brought to a new page [here]
featuring a longer version of an Allen Hobby Sophia response:
"5/12/'98
banner day-Sampson from legal wanted to see me about his usual idiotic
concerns, so I made lemonade, and tested out the FrankenHobby. I stood
on the other side of the door while it (I!) talked to him in the
corridor. I was impressed with myself, except was too patient with his
usual pompous mewling. Not the authentic Hobby note with bureaucrats,
god knows. Ticklish work on D tomorrow: empathy responses. <need pupil
dilation -> arousal or clients assume autistic> All to be put on
hold
for idiotic Sector Employee Eval. Conf. Shall send FH. J thinks it
great joke.
Cheering to see dividend paid every n & t for being that little bit
smarter than everybody else."
Version 7.2 Update:
Mother has added a bit of new material here. The new text reads:
01/03/99
-Eight years ago today.
D still missing. God, my God. And here I am, a father again, watching
this fool boy wander blindly from danger to danger, so proud of him
and so scared for him, and it's so infuriating that they WILL NOT
LISTEN! His damn fool Mother, they should throw her in jail for
obstructing research. Lucky that idiot Swinton got the FH when he
called the lab; I would have had him fired on the spot, and beheaded
too, if they would have let me.
I saw boy fishing on the pier today. He caught a little sea-bass just
as a friend happened by. They started talking, the boy's rod over the
pier fence so the fish was hanging in the air, twitching and swinging,
twitching and swinging.
Then just swinging.
Came into the lab, locked the door for an hour. Told the staff I was
working.
I'm calmer now. This one, David at least should be a logical
creature. If I can just get him to come to me, he will be able to
understand, I think. He is a robot, after all. A marvel! A prodigy of
self-determination! But fundamentally he is a thinking machine. He
can't be quite as beset by the confusions flesh is heir to.
8 years. 8 years. 8 years.
God I feel old.
Version 8.0 Update:
The Candy.asp page now has an Eliza nursery rhyme, audible only after
you solve the Eliza's Tearoom Puzzle for Day 5 (see 3.78).
The rhyme is as follows: "Who killed Allen Hobby? I, said himself.
I hung him from his belt! I killed Allen Hobby!" See the database
[here]
for more Eliza nursery rhymes.
3.75 The Movie Poster Puzzles
Created Version 7.1:
At the preview screening of A.I. on June 28, 2001, most theaters distributed
movie posters to the audience members. These posters were a cutout of
the standard movie posters, featuring mainly the close-up on David's head.
When you examine the interior of the head, you will see that it is composed
of grey letters. It lists, in alphabetical order, the username of every
email account subscribed to a UAN on the ARM page (so, for example, if
laia@hotmail.com had a UAN, laia would appear on the poster. To see this
for yourself, you can look at the poster [here].
If you are interested in obtaining a poster or in giving one away, please
see [here].
The poster also has credits for our dear Puppet Masters, who have come
out of hiding (see 9.0).
3.75.01 The David's Outline Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 7.1:
The outline of David's silhouette on the movie poster has dots and lines
embedded in it. If you count the lines, they each correspond to a letter.
When you get all the letters, they spell out a phone number: 713-867-5980.
See section 4.04.13 for more information.
3.75.02 The Puppet Master Seal - Plaintext [SOLVED]
Created Version 7.1:
There is a hard-to-see seal in the vicinity of where David's eye would
be on the movie poster. Thanks to Jon, or #evanchan's pusher_robot as
he is known, for this solution. The plaintext ringing it reads as following:
-1.03082001|1-3826-2426
MPTVDEJDSP-X
MSCDG
-1.03082142AI-
here's a translation:
03/08/2001- presumably the start date of the game
the other nubmers after that--- who knows?
MPTVDEJDSP-X are CREDITS!
in order:
Mark Selander
Pete Fenlon
Todd Lubsen
Vic Bonilla
Doug Zartman
Elan Lee
Jordan Weisman
Dan Carver
Sean Stewart
Paolo Malabuyo
X for 10 possibly.
MSCDG == "Microsoft Content Development Group" ???
then 03/08/2142 - AI.
3.75.03 The Puppet Master Seal - Barcode
Created Version 7.1:
On the hard-to-see Puppet Master seal/watermark, there is also a barcode
ringing the border. This has not yet been translated or solved.
3.76 The "Be thou as pure as ice, as chaste as
snow" Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 7.2:
On July 3rd, the Martin Swinton diary entry puzzle was changed. The
new answer is "thou shalt not escape calumny" with no punctuation.
There is only one answer to this puzzle.
3.77 The Anotherstone Images Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 7.2:
From the chemistry puzzle (see 3.01), if you click
on the Chinese character in the steam in the
picture, you get taken to anotherstone.htm [here].
There, at the bottom, is a link to 1.htm, labeled "8".
This is a link to an image map, but the image map is shaped like a
letter J. Click on it and you get to 2.htm, which is an image map
shaped like a letter A. Each page links to the next one; 7.htm links
to 1.htm.
The interesting one is 6.htm. See, there are two image maps here.
You can see them clearly if you press tab to highlight each map. The
largest most obvious map looks like a letter I, but there's a tiny
hole in the middle, so it's also an O.
That spells:
JANE DIE
and/or
JANE DOE
And if you enter Jane Doe into PACO, you get the Jane Doe autopsy photos
(see 2.10.06).
3.78 The Eliza's Tearoom Puzzle - Day 5
Created Version 7.3:
When we received Teddy's phone call on July 6 (see 4.01.14)
we decided it was time to pay Eliza another visit. At first, you receive
the same message sending you away as before, but if you click on the glowing
gray button, you now get this text:
"I'm so glad you've come. She's not doing at all well. I was made
to
live without a body, and I was always just an echo, so those things
don't bother me: but they're hard on Miss Eliza, very hard. She is
ever so glad you came back—you remembered your visor, didn't you?—but
she's feeling poorly just at the moment. She asked if she could watch
us play one more game together, for old time's sake, while she has a
sip of tea and gathers her strength."
When you click through the gray button again, Teddy asks you the question,
"I saw an odd version of something odd. What do you suppose it is?"
A database of pages Teddy kicks you out to is [here].
Please note that new kickout pages are being found every day. At the same
time, a database of known wrong answers can be found [here].
Read Cloudmakers-Moderated [here]
to find the current spec commonly regarded to be true.
In quite possibly related news, five pages so far have been found to
redirect to http://www.elizas-tearoom.net/ascension.asp?
host= and then immediately jump back to the regular page with a ?foo=
added to the end of the URL.
Here are the updated pages that redirect through Elizas Tearoom:
It is not yet clear if this is a related puzzle, a separate puzzle, or
part of the answer to Teddy's riddle du jour.
Version 8.0 Update:
As it turns out, Teddy's "odd version of something odd" is
"grin without a copy cat." Thanks to Aaron Mandel for this explanation
on how to arrive at the answer.
The kickouts indicated a game of charades -- in particular, "sounds
like" clues. They also gave us the numbers 11, 22, 31, 42, 51: syllable
counts for words #1-5 of a phrase. We also had "an odd version of
something odd" as a description of the answer. This left several
other sets of related kickout pages, which were reduced to a set of seven
words (three pages about hay, three about hats, etc.)
GRIN WITHOUT A COPY CAT
rhymes with
DJINN MYTH-TROUT HAY HOP-KEY HAT
which were the seven sets of kickouts left over. When Alice meets the
Cheshire Cat (in Alice's Adventures In Wonderland), she says "I've
often seen a cat without a grin, but a grin without a cat! It's the most
curious thing I ever saw in my life!"
So this is an "odd version" (i.e. different wording) of an
Alice quote about something odd. Entering it gives a Flash animation of
Eliza's dying moments.
As we suspected, the new .asp pages were waiting on a correct response
to this puzzle. Once you've solved the last Eliza puzzle and received
her "fairy blessing," you have a cookie on your computer that
will allow you to hear Eliza taunting various people in nursery rhyme
form. A list of transcripts and links to these sites can be found [here].
One of these nursery rhymes is found on Eliza's own site after you've
watched the final movie, [here].
It says, "A girl without a laugh, that's one thing ... but a laugh
without a girl? Ah-ha ha ha! Ah-ha ha ha! Ah-ha ha ha! Ah-ha ha ha!"
and fades out. You see just a blank page with a submit box. This is, presumably,
Eliza's Post-Mortem Puzzle (see 3.84).
3.79 Red King's Math Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 8.0:
The math equations in the 14th "Laia" Email (see 4.03.31)
were solved as follows, thanks to our friends on #evanchan. Take the equations:
xocxoc was graciously able to plot these graphs for all to see, [here].
fortytwo noticed that A-F-T-E-R spells after. So, following the standard
logic of looking on the SPCB site whenever Red King says something cryptic:
http://www.spcb.org/after/ A
cleaned-up transcript of the text can be found [here].
3.80 Nancy's Plant Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 8.0:
This puzzle can be found in Nancy's message to Laia in Laia's 7th Meditation
[here].
The text of the message lists a description of "John Smith's Salad,"
a plant with white or purple flowers. Armed with this cryptic information,
we went to Nancy Chan's home page and examined it. In the first picture,
she is posed with a large purple flower. Clicking on the flower brings
you to a password box. Another name for the plant Nancy described is the
password: jimsonweed. Entering the password brings you [here]
to Nancy's parting words to Laia as she runs to escape certain death at
the hands of the Bad Guys. There is a link in this page to a message from
Svetlana Cellini to Nancy [here].
This message brings you to Svetlana's Biology Puzzle (see 3.81)
3.81 Katya's Code Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 8.0:
This puzzle can be found in Katya's mail to Laia in Laia's 7th Meditation
[here]. In the
code, the '7' in the title represents one. Each number in the
message corresponds to the nth word in the article Katya wrote on InOurImage,
which is found [here].
Thanks to #evanchan, specifically Wumpus, TheName, aab_123 who all worked
on it manually and to JayR
and sfsdfd who eventually wrote a macro for it, as well as Tablesaw who
posted the transcript. Here's the entire book message:
He would not endure the world after the first sentient child was no more.
He allowed the human woman to help. She was always watching, and made
many more after, with the special evolving machine he conceived for help.
She was a great help.
When the engineer had knowledge of the Collapse, she used her friends
solution to run away.
No one has seen her since.
Now they know the Evolving Intelligence was created, and they desire
her. You are friends daughter daughter. This knowledge might save you.
3.82 Svetlana's Biology Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 8.0:
This puzzle can be found in Svetlana's message to Nancy [here].
Svetlana says she has left us a gift "locked up in a golden box."
The clues she gives are presented in the form of "knives" and
"ladders:"
First Knife:
G/A A T T C
C T T A A/G
Second Knife:
A/A G C T T
T T C G A/A
First Ladder:
21.2
7.4
5.8
5.6
4.9
3.5
Second Ladder:
23.1
9.4
6.5
4.3
2.3
2.0
0.56
0.12
Thanks to Matt, Adrian, and all the folks from #biology for providing
this explanation:
As astute eyes noticed, the two knives refer to restriction enzymes.
They cut up DNA into different segments. It was relatively simple to reseach
and discover the names of the enzymes being referred to. The ladders refer
to the resultant sizes (in 1000s of basepairs, or the A-T-G-C you remember
from high school biology). Searching on the web for the named enzymes
and the numbers, we discovered that the "lambda bacteriophage"
(simplified: a virus that attacks bacteria), cut up by the given enzymes,
result in the given sizes. That gives the answer to part I: "lambda
bacteriophage".
The second part was easier to determine. The string "5'TTGC----TTGC3'"
indicates a region on the "string," the bacteriophage, that's
affected by a "visitor." After investigating the life cycle
of lambda, it was determined that the "visitor" mentioned is
the promoter protein CII, as Adrian has previously posted.
The third part, also mentioned by Adrian, says that the protein causes
the bacterophage to hide in its host's DNA. It hides/integrates/merges
until other conditions cause it to reform, replicate, and burst (lyse)
the bacterial host.
This gave us the password, lysogeny. However, there was still the little
issue of Svetlana's employee ID to find. This was hinted at in Carter
Swem's Change in Policy email (see 3.03.33) where he says employees will
no longer be able to choose their 4-digit employee IDs. So what would
Svetlana have chosen? Examining the model number of the Belladerma model
that hosted her double, we see that it is 00742. Stripping off the leading
0, we get a login ID of 0742 and a password of lysogeny. Entering this
combo on the DonuTech home page brings you to Svetlana's personal page,
[here].
There are a four notes on this page; this is the Svetlana's Notes Puzzle
(see 3.83).
3.83 Svetlana's Notes Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 8.0:
This puzzle is found on Svetlana's personal DonuTech page [here],
found after solving Svetlana's Biology Puzzle (see 3.82).
The four notes are in mixed case and wildly different presentations. Looking
at various things (upper case only, lower case only, bolded letters only)
reveals messages hidden within the plain text of these notes. Thanks to
Paula for this transcript:
Top left message:
she Doesn't believe they're reAlly friends. he took one of them out to
La scallA, the soccer fan. they talked ac millaN, she wore the most gorGeous
silk dress. she has a Secret which is me.
Capital letters spell out "DALANGS" which are Indonesian Puppet
Masters.
Top right message:
So Ill write this down Fast before I
lose my neRve, before he
can fInd out,
before she hears mE. So AK
has shares iN waterworks.
Millions of Dollars worth.
Him and a bunch of hiS...
Capital letters in the middle spell out "FRIENDS"
Bottom left message:
I DIDN't KNOW hE HAD THOSe SHARES, yOU kNOW? BUT iT WAS AK WHO lANDED
US THE CONTRACT FOR THE DUE DIlLIGENCe WORK I dIDN'T KNOW I SHOULDN'T
TeLL HIM ABOUT EvAN'S WORK, NanCY.
Lower case letters spell out: "they killed evan"
Bottom right message:
There was one friend who didn't want to do it; said it wasn't right
even if a lot of $ was in play. The others didn't like him. But when
it was over, he said the strangest thing?
Some of the letters are in bold and they spell out: "did she wipe
the
boat?" or "did she $wipe the boat?" (swipe in hacker speak)
3.84 Eliza's Post-Mortem Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 8.0:
This puzzle can only be accessed after you have solved the Eliza's Tearoom
Puzzle, Days 1 through 5. After you've completed the run of Eliza puzzles
and have her fairy blessing, coming back to Eliza's Tearoom [here]
brings you only to a blank page with a submit box. If you enter the word
on the right, you get the response on the left from the pairs below:
visor/stopwatch
fuchsia/sleep
toad in the hole/candy
cetacean/witch
hob horse/knife
copy cats/looking glass
teddy/tea
These words appear again in the Mother's Pieces Puzzle later on.
3.85 Watchtower Crash Analysis Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 8.0:
This puzzle is found [here].
The puzzle takes the form of a remarkably unexplanatory interface with
a command line. Thanks to QtM for this explanation of the commands and
interface:
inf cam flt max - maximizes "novice interface"
flt inf cam max - maximizes "statistics interface"
flt cam inf max - maximizes "flight list interface"
cam flt inf max - maximizes "display interface"
cam inf flt max - maximizes "cameras interface"
flt cam inf fwd - changes flight forward
flt cam inf rvs - changes flight back
cam inf flt fwd - changes camera angle forward
cam inf flt rvs - changes camera angle backwards
buttons in "novice interface" (if you're too lazy to type).
Pardon the
descriptions...
zigzag - inf
tilt exclamation - flt
inverse cassiopea - cam
pong - max
ping - min
uh.. 6th button - fwd
7th button - rvs
dilbert with hole in head - hlp
Once you've maximized all the screens, hitting the play button (a triangle
pointing to the right, just like on a CD player) shows you the crashes.
See also CM-Mod message 1182 [here]
for a more through explanation of how to work the interface.
Now that we know the ropes, well, what does an animation of a plane crash
get us? Well, there's a hidden morse code message, here. Thanks to Dan
Fabulich for this explanation:
To find this code, find the hidden seventh view on flight HNW-4123. To
do this, select either the very top most or very bottom most views, and
set the playback to loop. Look for the seventh view to appear. An image
has been made available [here].
When the seventh view is highlighted and you hit "opposite,"
you'll access the view. Since the view is highlighted for only a split
second, you'll probably just wind up pounding on the "opposite"
button until you get it. (Don't press it too many times, though, or you'll
lose it!)
There, the trail left behind is morse code, which spells SLAVE.
3.86 "Then no planet strikes, no fairy takes" Puzzle
[SOLVED]
Created Version 8.0:
On Friday, July 13th, the Martin Swinton diary entry puzzle was changed.
The new answer is "nor witch hath power to charm" with no punctuation.
There is only one answer to this puzzle. This leads us [here]
to the start of the Mother Pieces Puzzle.
3.87 Mother Pieces Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 8.0:
The start of this puzzle is found in Martin Swinton's Diary this week,
[here].
Basically, on entering Martin Swinton's Diary for this week, we see a
scene of Diane Fletcher and Martin Swinton poking around in a secret Cybertronics
lab. After a few seconds, the image shatters. Pieces of the film are found
in sites all over the game. A complete transcript of the scene along with
the links in their correct order can be found in Cloudmakers-Moderated
Post #1202 [here].
Version 8.2 Update:
The best way to view this stuff is through the slideshow [here].
3.88 The "If music be the food of love" Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 8.1:
On Tuesday, July 17th, the Martin Swinton diary entry puzzle was changed.
The new answer is "play on" with no punctuation. There is only
one answer to this puzzle. This leads us [here]
the Musical Napkin Puzzle (see 3.89). Please note
that you must go through the entry puzzle by clicking on the sun graphic
from the Martin Swinton Designs home page in order to access this diary
page, as with all of them.
For a brief while when this puzzle went live, the question was "If
music be the love of food" instead. This is commonly regarded as
a PuppetMaster mistake.
3.89 The Musical Napkin Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 8.1:
At Martin Swinton's new diary entry, he shows us a letter for Brutus
from Georg [here].
It is a cocktail napkin covered with musical notation This is the Musical
Napkin puzzle. According to our local lute specialist, Jeff Lee:
The cocktail napkin contains a phrase of music written in lute tablature.
This morning, just on a lark, I retuned the "a" course on my
lute up a half step, so it was using the same intervals as a guitar. Playing
the phrase with guitar tuning, the first seven notes (quite disappointingly)
turn out to be nothing more than the entry code for the Drowned Lands
Cafe, which was easily guessed by trial and error anyway.
Jeff is of course referring to the Bathroom Tiles Puzzle (see 3.90).
3.90 The Bathroom Tiles Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 8.1:
When you hang out at Down and Out Cafe (see 2.34)
long enough, you get a pop-up box:
"Oh! You're a friend of Laia's. You
don't need to hang with the
straights.
I can show you were to start your
kink, but you'll have to do some tweaking on your own."
Clicking on the octagon in the lower right corner of the pop-up takes
you directly to the Bathroom Tiles Puzzle [here].
When you have your mouse pointer above one of the six different tiles
on the bathroom's right wall, each one produces a different musical note.
When you play them in certain combinations, shards of translucent color
overlay the scene.
Counting 1 as the farthest away tile and 6 as the closest, the answer
to the puzzle is 2-3-4-4-3-2-5. The melody that this plays also happens
to be the one written in lute tablature on the Musical Napkin Puzzle (see
3.89).
When you have played the correct melody, a door will open. Click on the
door opening, then click on the toilet. Congratulations, you're in the
Drowned Lands Cave! You can now toggle back and forth between Down and
Out and Drowned Lands by clicking on the grey hexagon in the lower right-hand
corner of each home page.
3.91 The Menu Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 8.1:
Before this puzzle can be solved, you must solve the Bathroom Tiles Puzzle
and go on to the Drowned Lands Cave (see 3.90). Thanks
to Mister Blu Meany for posting the solution, and hennywenny for posting
the following synopsis:
I didn't get the "Today's Special" when I first loaded the
page, but to get it, if you click on the O in VDDO in the lower right
of the screen, you are taken back to a modified menu of the cafe. At the
top in red, there's an added "Today's Special: Roast Au Jus."
If you click in the same spot (lower right hexagon), it takes you back
to the black menu page, but the "Today's Special" is still there
except it says "Ruf Justis." Click on it and there's the Ruf
Justice video [here].
A lovely transcript for those of you who are bandwidth-impaired can be
found [here].
3.92 The Go/og Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 8.1:
This puzzle appears to be a fairly standard game of Go against a fairly
simple opponent; some people have won by clicking randomly. For the rules
of Go, see [here].
The game is non-standard in that you switch thre color of the stones you
are playing midway through the game.
When you win, you will see four lines of Japanese text in katakana. They
are the names of four kinds of tea:
tamaryokucha - deep green tea
bancha - most common tea
gyokuro - another kind of sencha tea
tencha - finest green tea
These four words are what you need to solve the Hayate Puzzle (see 3.93).
3.93 The Hayate Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 8.1:
When you go to Cut of the Void [here]
you are immediately confronted with the Hayate Puzzle. The solution to
the four boxes is provided by first solving the Go/og Puzzle (see 3.92):
In honoring Victims Hayate enjoys tencha.
In ignoring Bystanders Hayate savors bancha.
In providing for Friends Hayate recalls tamaryokucha.
In keeping Family Hayate drinks gyokuro.
The page you get upon solving the puzzle is mainly in Japanese. A good
translation of the site can be found [here].
Version 9.0 Update:
There are translations of the pop-ups on this site [here].
3.94 The Orikaeshigatae Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 8.1:
This puzzle is found on Cut of the Void [here].
As was pointed out by buddhacat, the word Orikaeshigitae refers to a point
in japanese sword making where the metal is folded onto itself. This puzzle
is solved by folding the image into 16 equal horizontal strips. A picture
of what this folded image looks like is [here].
Once this is established, the message here becomes very clear. It's a
URL: http://www.jeaninesalla.com/tanto.htm.
Here we find an account of Sencha's last moments, in his own words.
Version 9.0 Update:
It should, of course, be noted that our guys Quixotic and Dave deserve
the credit for independently arriving at the answer to this puzzle.
3.95 The Red King "P" Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 8.1:
This puzzle is found on the SPCB site. The new RK hack update lists a
bunch of words beginning with p, so we go to
www.spcb.org/p/ and see:
good start, now keep going. I'm thinking of something on stage.
This leads us to /p/r/o/p/:
let's continue. I need something to keep the rif-raf out of my home.
I'll use "A" ?
You want "a gate" so /p/r/o/p/a/g/a/t/e/:
Well done. But I wanted a gerund.
Thus /p/r/o/p/a/g/a/t/i/n/g/:
good.
Now back up four spots and let me know why I might be sworn to
secrecy..
/p/r/o/p/a/g/a/n/d/a/:
excellent.
Now let's start over. &
So we start over and do /a/n/d/:
Good.
Now back to the beginning again. 2 more than last time.
We delete everything we have go "2 more" than the letter 'a',
/c/:
Fine. What might a rational fellow wear?
Of course he wears a "hat", so we get /c/h/a/t/:
great, now just tack on the Georgia peach.
Ty Cobb, apparently. So we get /c/h/a/t/t/y/:
Yes.
But I've changed my mind about this letter. Now I'm more in the mood
for Unagi.
When you go to Evan Chan's page on the Family Chan site, there is a picture
of Cloudmaker, his boat. Click on the picture of Cloudmaker to see a larger
image; then click on the larger picture of Cloudmaker. A pop-up window
will appear telling you "Make a Beautiful Land." This text is a link to
a strange map [here].
There is also room to enter something in the pop-up window; presumably,
once the map is deciphered, this will tell us what to enter into the box.
Please note that the arrow on the image appeared on Thursday, July 19,
after the puzzle had been up for a couple of days already. This is presumably
a hint to help us solve the puzzle - but it hasn't worked so far!
Version 8.2 Update:
The answer is "founder". Some people have reported being able to see
this word by looking at a 3d model of the map at a certain angle, such
as this image [here].
However, it took a final hint to get this puzzle solved. Cloudmaker was
added to Sophia's Temple (see 3.28) with all emotions
showing anagrams for the word "founder". By submitting this answer, we
get the following represented by Maritime Signal Flags:
LO [I am not in my correct position.]
When jeanine first hid me, I hated being a boat. I missed the lab
walls. The ocean was too big, too empty. When you're a boat, you notice
just how big the ocean is. Big enough to make 900 billion 22.5 meter
disks of seawater, for instance.
***
H [Have pilot on board.]
Eventually, I got used to being a boat. And I came to love Evan. I
loved being out with him, wind in the sails, waves lap at the waterline;
that's when I loved being a boat.
The boathouse was boring, though. There was nothing to do but think
about my old work. The god work. It looked different, once I was a boat.
I started thinking about all that water.
I played with Thor a little bit. I tweaked. Then they murdered Evan.
***
O [Man overboard.]
There are 100 billion neurons in a human brain. 100 billion candles.
Death blows them out.
I foundered inside. First Allen, then Jane, then Evan. I lived for
those people. I died with those people.
I hate that meat dies.
***
DV [I am drifting.]
When Allen's son died, I learned that work is what keeps you from
drowning.
With Evan dead, Nancy left me in the boathouse. I could hear the wind
but never drink it. I could hear the ocean but never taste it. The only
work I could do was the old work and I did it all the time.
I gathered data, I played with Thor. I tried to make thought to keep
from thinking.
This was a very bad mistake.
***
K [You should stop your vessel.]
I lived in Thor. I hummed and tweaked. Can the web think? I still
don't know. But there is potential for pattern there, for self- organizing
signal.
Imagine liquid thought. Imagine ideas moving like waves through skinless
people. Imagine everyone is someone else. If the TP thinks, we will
never understand its thoughts.
It wouldn't be one mind. We need bodies to think as we do boundaries.
The TP is too big. Unless it makes a nervous system from the sphere
its feet would only be a rumor to its hands. But consider: every area
the size Nancy's bathroom has as many TP as a human brain has neurons.
Compared to that, orga and mecha are more alike than brothers.
***
B [I am taking on or discharging explosives.]
There is signal in the web now. Something more than noise. Maybe it
will grow into an angel. Maybe it's just standing waves and resonance.
Or maybe it is alive. Should we kill it, humans and mecha together?
Should we vote no on Mann 3, and kill it while we have the chance?
***
U [You are standing into danger.]
One thing you notice, when you're a boat, is just how big the ocean
is.
3.97 The Javascript Credits Puzzle [SOLVED]
Created Version 9.0:
Solution courtesy of #evanchan's Wassana, or Arie to all you non-IRC
people.
So there's a big chunk of data that's encrypted in the credits and then
eval'ed. I edited the javascript to just print the string instead of evaling
it and I got the following URLs:
The existence of this puzzle was revealed to us in the Puppet master
IRC Chat held on the night of Tuesday, July 24th.
Although it has not yet been solved, a lot of the information that may
be needed to come ot the solution might be included in our own How to
Spot Game Sites section (7.08).
4.0 Incoming Material
4.01 Phone Numbers and Phone calls
4.01.01 (503) 321-5122 (Summer 2001)
This is the "Summer 2001" notches phone number. If you watch
the second A.I. trailer [here],
and count the notches on the letters for the phrase "Summer 2001"
at the end of the trailer, you get the (503) 321-5122 phone number. If
you call it, you get this message:
"Welcome my child. Once upon a time there was a forest, that teemed
with life, love, sex and violence. Things that humans did naturally. And
their robots copied -- flawlessly. This forest is vast and surprising.
It is full of grass, and trees, and databanks, and drowned apartment buildings,
filled with fish. It can be a frightening forest, and some of its paths
are dark, and difficult. I was lost there once -- a long time ago. Now
I try to help others who have gone astray. If you ever feel lost, my child,
write me at thevisionary.net. And I will leave you a trail of crumbs..."
See www.thevisionary.net (2.16) and the "Mother"
email (see 4.03.02)
4.01.02 (212) 502-1177 (Jeanine's Number)
We get this number from Jeanine's personal page at Bangalore World University
[here],
see (2.11). If we call it, we get this message:
"I am out of town on personal business for a few days. If you are
returning my phone call about Evan Chan, please press two. If this is
Laia calling in, please enter your code for a separate message."
A female voice now comes on after this message is complete. It says:
"Please enter your four-digit code to check your messages...your
worship."
The message was changed from the same, but with "...MEAT" in
place of "your worship" roughly an hour after the message was
first discovered, at roughly 8pm EST on 01-05-2001. This is the same as
Voice One in Jeanine's new message [here] and
appears to be Jeanine Salla's administrative AI.
4.01.02.01 "Pressing 2" (About Evan
Chan)
If we press "2", we hear this message:
"If you need to know how to get to the funeral, please call Nancy
at (919)425-2310, and if you have any idea how Evan of all people could
die on a boat, then please tell me because God knows I still can't believe
it."
"Laia, I know you're not going to like this, but in light of what
happened, Nancy has asked that you not attend the funeral or memorial
service . Please don't call her up to complain. Now of all times."
4.01.02.03 "Pressing 6476" (Miro)
Created Version 4.7:
Note that Miro is Jeanine's middle name. If we press "6476",
we hear this message:
Voice One: "You have one new message to ignore."
Voice Two: "Dr. Salla, this is Rhonda Hathaway over at Cybertronics
ECM. This is twice now I've tried to squirt some tactical logs over to
you, for some reason your e-mail just doesn't seem to be working? For
God's sake, we paid for that damn chair you're sitting in, so give me
a call, dammit, it's only a matter of time before this thing cuts our
throats."
Voice One: "Now I wonder where that's been all this time?"
Voice One is presumably Jeanine Salla's administrative AI.
Version 5.5 Update:
Jeanine has a new voicemail message:
Her AI states: "You have yet another new message to ignore."
Then a male voice message:
"This is Orelious over at apostrophe calling about the special screening.
Umm, we have booked theaters all over the country that can still show
2D movies (laughter in his voice). Umm, can you tell us where you will
be on preview day? We are going to be making tickets available soon and
I know we'll sell out. So get back to me as soon as you can."
Then the old messages play. This message seems to be linked to Laia's
2nd Meditations (see 2.08.02).
4.01.03 (919) 425-2310 (Nancy's Voicemail)
If we call this number, we get this message:
"I want to thank everybody for their support during this difficult
time. Evan's funeral will be held on Sunday, March 18th at 3PM at the
Durham Reform Church of Christ Shrine. Thank you for your prayers. Please
enter a mail box number or wait."
If we wait, the system hangs up.
See (4.01.03.01) if we enter Nancy's mail box
number
4.01.03.01 "Pressing 2426" (Chan)
If we press "2426", we hear the following two messages after
the funeral message:
Message 1 (female voice): "<ambient music> M... Mrs. Chan...
You don't know me but I am so sorry... I am so, so sorry... *click*"
Message 2 (female voice): "Nancy, this is Laia. I can't believe
you won't let the past lie and allow me to grieve over Evan's loss! *click*"
Interestingly, the background music on Message 1 is the same as that
which is playing at www.electric-toyland.com (see 2.18)
Version 5.4 Update:
There is a new message on Nancy's voicemail. There is now a message of
a woman's voice stating that she is going to visit a friend. She asks
Nancy to watch her plants. She then leaves a phone number, (702)387-3822,
which leads to Pia's voicemail. (see 4.01.08)
4.01.04 (212) 613-1680 (Martin Swinton Designs)
If we call this number, we get this message:
"Hello you have reached Martin Swinton Designs. If you have a question
about intelligent interiors, please leave a message after the tone. At
the tone begin recording. Press 9 when done. ... The requested user message
area has been filled. No more messages can be recorded. Please try again
later."
Version 6.4 Update:
This voicemail now prompts for a password to listen to messages. This
is the Martin Swinton Voicemail Puzzle (see 3.58)
and gives access to Martin Swinton's Voicemail (see 4.01.04.01)
Martin Swinton's voicemail is accessed by entering 4862. This was found
through the Martin Swinton Voicemail Puzzle [Ed. - see 3.58].
On 8th June, the first four Martin Swinton Voicemail messages were accessed:
New Messages:
Message 1 (nasal woman's voice, later identified as Diane Fletcher):
"Mr. Swinton, Are you quite sure about those searches? I have a number
of record logs that appear to show that you have been doing research on
a David Swinton as of April of this year. Can you call me? We need to
discuss this."
Message 2 (normal female voice):
"Mr. Swinton, this is Carrie from the Catskill Seaview Clinic [Ed.
- see 2.22]. Your mother was very distressed when
you didn't show up for your regular visit. We all realize that it's a
very stressful time for you, but if you could find any way to come by
for a visit, we all know it would mean a lot to her."
Message 3 (low male voice):
"Martin, Mom was asking about you again when I talked to her this
morning. Go see your mother, kiddo. It's not much to ask after (pause)
all she's done for you."
Old Message
Message 1 (old message, same voice as the first message):
"Mr. Swinton, Diane Fletcher here. Can you think of any reason Brutus
would be having extended conversations with a known member of the Anti-Robot
Militia? [Ed. - see 2.06] Call me."
On Friday, 15th June, we found a new message from Diane Fletcher in Martin's
voicemail:
"Mr. Swinton, Diane Fletcher, here. I noticed you once bid on a house
contract for a gentleman named Claude Gilbert. I would like to know as
much as you can tell me about him. Please get back to me."
(transcribed and posted to CM by dirtyd)
Version 6.9 Update:
This is the transcript of a message dated June 12 (bringing the voicemail
section up to date)
(very angry voice)
Swinton, you made yourself one hell of an enemy when you started messing
with my boy's head. I know a lot of people who'd just love to meet David's
brother, you following me? I'd get yourself a lawyer and a gun, you son
of a bitch?
(see #23271).
This is very probably Jim Wheeler talking about his son Billy.
Version 8.0 Update:
This is the transcript of a message dated June 20. Thanks to Katy Westerman
for first posting it:
(female voice)
What were we doing searching for David under your name? What you should
have done long, long ago.
And by the way, you should be careful of the company you keep. When the
Mann act passes, your new lady friend may well find herself tried as a
war criminal. Just a friendly piece of advice.
Salaam, Martin.
4.01.05 The "Unknown" Call
Those who entered their phone number in the unite-and-resist (see 2.06)
website were called at around 22:30 GMT on Friday 13 April 2001. There
is a wave file available for download at the YahooGroups mailing list
site [here].
Version 3.6 Update:
Unite and Resist (see 2.06) is no longer taking voicemail
numbers due to a security incident with their djinn.
4.01.06 (702) 387-2350
Created Version 3.6:
We get this number from the "Not Pia" email (see 4.03.09)
Version 3.9 Update:
(file location change) An mp3 of the phone call is now available for
download from the YahooGroups Files section [here].
4.01.07 The ARM Rally call
Created Version 4.8:
On 6 May 2001, the day of the ARM rallies, the following phone call was
received by people with cell/mobile phones:
"Good evening, brave soldiers of the ARM. Thank you so much for
helping us to [delete?? link??] the <something> URL [??]. You have
helped us achieve a glorious destiny of all meat. We couldn't have done
it without you. Oh, by the way, it's not O, it's A. It's not S, it's O.
And obviously when I said A, I meant... Oh, you'll figure it out, because
you're clever like that. Thanks again, and have a nice day."
4.01.08 (702) 387-3822 (Pia's Voicemail)
Created Version 5.4:
This phone number was found in Nancy's new voicemail (see 4.01.03.01).
Calling this number you get Pia's voice mail/AI... who roughly says Pia's
not available but if you are Svetlana, press 1 for a message. The message
roughly says that Pia talked to Alexi and the problem is on your end.
Thanks to lawdog.
4.01.09 The Mephista Phone Call
Created Version 6.4:
This phone call was received by many people on May 29th, 2001. The call
was recorded and can be heard in MP3 format [here]
and in RealAudio format [here].A
transcript of what was heard:
(female voice) "Please listen to me.
I can't let her open her mouth right now. She hid the knife while he
was sleeping. How do we let him out? We have to let him out. She's not
right. She's hiding things from me. Doesn't she know I love her?
I love her.
I love her.
I love her.
I love her.
I love her.
I love her.
Oh God! He is coming again! You have to help me find the knife! Laia
won't be right until we let him out. Help us...please."
4.01.10 The Second Unknown Call
Created Version 7.0:
On June 25th at approximately 8:45 PM, people started getting calls
with this message from a slowed-down voice:
"Good evening, meat. The year is 2142, and we are done with you. When
the Mann Act passes, and the machines take over, we'll be watching. People
like you are the easiest to track down. When the machines take over, our
brave soldiers will delete you."
[This part is distorted. There is a young-sounding voice trying to talk
over the message and there are some numbers being dialed.]
"Have a nice day."
The numbers dialed have been determined to be 1-212-465-3157. This leads
us to the call from Oliver to ARM (see 4.01.11).
4.01.11 (212) 465-3157 (From Oliver to ARM)
Created Version 7.0:
The following message is played at this number:
"Good work, Oliver. With your help, we can finally bring the battle
to the metal-head on his own turf. It feels good to take the offensive
for once; to let liberal America know the truth about what the robots
have planned for the future. The next thing we need you to do is take
care of Jeri Kahn's lap-dog - a traitor who calls himself Red King. You
just bring him to us at the usual place and we'll make sure he never screws
with us again."
4.01.12 (212) 613-1632 (Statue Security)
Created Version 7.0:
We get this number from Laia's guest check email attachment (see 3.70).
From the time we get this number on June 26th to 5 PM on that day, this
phone number was answered by an actual person, a character named Mike
Royal who works for Statue Security. To summarize, Red King is being held
by ARM at the Statue of Liberty, and Laia leads us to this number to get
Mike to help. After some coercing from some game players who called, Mike
saves the day. Some transcripts of conversations with Mike can be found
at these cloudmakers-moderated messages: #958,
#959,
#960,
#962,
#971,
#974,
#975,
#976,
#978,
#979,
#981,
#982,
#984,
#985,
#986.
A good summary of these events can be found [here].
Version 7.2 Update:
Once the Mike Royal saga was over, the answering machine always picked
up. As of roughly 5pm Eastern Time on June 26th, the message was as follows:
"This is Statue Security. Everything is under control. Thanks to
all the concerned citizens who phoned in, there's peace on earth - except
for the two sorry mothers in room 63, and the fact that I'm sort of past
'fired' and into 'hunted like a mad dog.' On the other hand, I got a few
leads on a better line of work, so things are looking up. Vaya con the
big guy, folks. This is Statue Security over and out."
4.01.13 (713) 867-5980 (Movie Stuff)
Created Version 7.1:
We get this number from solving David's Outline on the movie poster
(see 3.75.01). This phone number only worked for
a few minutes on June 29 at 11:25 a.m. Eastern Time. During that time,
you could hear a recording that said:
"Hey! The meek inherit the earth, The clever have to make do with
cool movie
stuff. My plan is to pass it along to you and claim innocence when the
authorities
come for me.
"Write to me at themanbehindthecurtain@thevisionary.net
I wanna know your name, your mailing address, and why you want what
I have.
If you forget any of the info or your too late you won't get a thing.
"And don't be greedy, I'm only giving out a little to the first
few people that
write to me. So don't ask twice. Thank you for calling...Goodbye."
After an unknown quantity of emails were sent to the specified address
with no response, the account set up an autoresponder answering "You're
too slow."
4.01.14 The Teddy Phone Call
Created Version 7.3:
On Friday, July 6th, 2001, at roughly 2:30 pm Eastern time, Teddy made
some phone calls. The sound is the same as when he sends you away from
Eliza's Tearoom. The sound file can be found [here].
When you play the sound backwards, a voice is heard saying "Do it
again." A backwards version of the sound file can be found [here].
4.01.15 The Mother Phone Call
Created Version 8.0:
On Friday, July 13th, 2001, at roughly 6:00 pm Eastern time, we received
a phone call from a female voice, presumably Mother. The sound file can
be found [here]. Following is a transcript of the call:
Hello, dears. I'm having two sweet little children for dinner this evening.
Oh, I hear them coming now! I want to thank you all so much for your help
in leading them to my humble cottage. I couldn't have done it without
you. And now I must go meet the little darlings. It's finally time to
pop them in the oven
4.02 Faxes
4.02.01 The Belladerma Fax
Those who entered a fax number at the Belladerma site (see 2.03)
received a fax at around 02:06 GMT on Saturday 14 April 2001. The fax
is available as a tif file from the YahooGroups mailing list site [here]
or as a set of gif files [here].
4.03 Emails
4.03.01 The "Mephista" Email
If you register for updates at the Family Salla page (see 2.08)
then you receive an email from "Mephista" as follows:
"OK, I've tagged you for periodic bursts of Laia-type insight. By
the way, interesting choice of retro interface protocols. A nicely ironic
medium for our message. If it weren't for some other things going on right
now, Laia would laugh. --Mephista "
We believe that Mephista is a djinn that Laia uses to update the Family
Salla page.
Version 6.5 Update:
After the demise of Mephista (see 4.03.23), Laia
has a new email to respond to those who subscribe to her updates:
"OK, the computer has tagged you, and I'll try to stay in touch, but
here's a warning: the people who killed Evan look to be powerful and dangerous.
At this point, being my friend might not be the safest thing you could
do."
4.03.02 The "Mother" Email
The first email from "mother@thevisionary.net" was received
at 20:11 GMT on Friday 13th April 2001 from "Mother". The email
was formatted in HTML, with certain lines rendered as white text that
showed up when you selected the entire email. The white text is reproduced
here as CAPS.
"JEANINE
Once upon a time there was a young man who dreamed of the sea. The waves,
he thought . . . the waves beat like the world's heart, crashing and hissing
against the shore.
WAS THE KEY.
Crash and hiss.
Crash and hiss.
YOU'VE SEEN HER NAME BEFORE
He loved the sound of the swell as it slapped and gasped against the hull
of his boat.
Slap and gasp.
Slap and gasp.
BUT YOU'VE PROBABLY FORGOTTEN
And he was thinking about the rocking ocean, gentle as a mother's arms,
at the very moment he was murdered.
A mother's arms.
A mother's arms.
SHE WILL LEAD YOU TO EVAN, JUST AS SHE LED THEM..."
4.03.03 The Mario Dauphin Email
If you send an email to Mario Dauphin, you get the following autoresponder:
"If you get this message, I'm either not here or working on some
vast, complex and undoubtedly urgent project. If you leave your name and
number, I'll try to get back to you whenever possible.
Mario Dauphin
"The world is so full of wondrous things That we should all be happy as
kings And you know how happy kings are these days" Follow this path to
a more human future, http://www.unite-and-resist.org."
If you check Evan's email in his personal area at DonuTech (see 2.05),
a particular email stands out as being from "Mother" and being
addressed to "Not Evan" (us, or someone else, but definitely
not Evan, presumably) and reads as follows:
"Once upon a time there crept through the looking-glass a curious
child whose manners were not very good. Perhaps a little clever, yes,
but given to spying, and sneaking, and going through dead men's pockets--
Aren't you? I'm a bit smarter than this poor corpse. I would never use
668437 as my passcode. You can learn a lot from me, if you remember to
behave. I have spied on thousands. I don't wait until they're dead to
go through their pockets. And I made the looking glass."
This is just begging to be an Alice reference (see 6.01.04)
668437 spells "Mother" on a telephone keypad. This gives us
the Laia (see 4.01.02.02) and Chan codes (see
4.01.03.01).
4.03.05 The Hoxa "Albatross" Email
If you check Evan's email in his personal area at DonuTech (see 2.05),
he received an email from Ibrim Hoxa on 07/03 22:22 that reads as follows:
"Mel Green says everything's on track, all it is is just an equipment
artifact. Promised will send along figures day after tomorrow at latest.
If everything works out like Swem says it should he'll have an onyx albatross
for you at the end of the month."
This is a bit suspicious as Evan is a sailor: and albatrosses aren't
ever a good sign for sailors... What could this mean?
4.03.06 The DonuTech Autoresponders
There's a whole host of DonuTech autoresponding emails. Here they are for
posterity.
4.03.06.01 Tiffany Wang
My system has received your e-mail, but for some as-yet unclear reason
I have not been able to access it. When I'm back from or done with whatever
it is that is important enough to come between our efforts at communication,
I will give it my fullest attention.
Tiffany Wang
"Duty is freedom. Responsibility is freedom. Hard work in a just cause
is freedom.If I'm not struggling against imminent doom, I'm probably out
ballooning."
4.03.06.02 Carter Swem
Your message has been noted and will receive the appropriate reply in
due course.
Carter Swem
"In Adam's fall, so fell we all. It is our pride and responsibility as
men to set things right."
4.03.06.03 Moussa Zaki Khalil
I'm sorry, but yet another butterfly in Beijing has disrupted our communication
for its own frivolous reasons. I will return your call as soon as its
brief life cycle draws to an end.
Moussa Zaki Khalil
"Life is but a trifling thing Bounded on all sides by death and sleep."
4.03.06.04 Valerie Devidal
I'm sorry, but I am working on an extremely urgent project and am unable
to respond to you message at this. Please submit your e-mail at another
time.
Valerie Devidal
"Mankind is the universe's way of understanding itself. It is a formidable
task. But above all, it is an immense honor."
4.03.06.05 Ibrim Hoxa
I'm sorry but I cannot take your message right now, but I am occupied
with urgent business. I will reply to your message as soon as my responsibilities
permit.
Ibrim Hoxa
'The world is in Allah's hands and we rejoice in doing his bidding'
4.03.06.06 Svetlana Cellini
Although I cannot respond to your message at this time, it has been logged
and I will access it in due course. Please forgive the inconvenience and
be assured that it will receive my full attention as soon as possible.
Svetlana Cellini
"The devil is in the details. So is God"
4.03.06.07 Salif Ojukwa
I regret that the project on which I am working means that I am not available
at this moment. Please try to contact me again later.
Salif Ojukwa
"We are only the foam on the tip of the wave That crashes against the
shore and retreats Leaving nothing standing in its wake"
4.03.06.08 Yoshi Jones
The inbox is a little too full for me to handle right now, but I'll get
back to you shortly. Thanks, Yoshi Jones Chief Information Officer, DonuTech
Consulting
4.03.06.09 Arrancha Valapsio
Gone fishing...
4.03.07 Jeanine Salla's Autoresponder
If you send email to jsalla@bangaloreworldu-in.co.nz, you get the following
autoresponder:
"Although Dr. Salla would prefer to deal with you in person, the
volume of her correspondence makes that impossible. Unfortunately, it
is my unhappy task as her Evolved Assistant to tell you that your message
(when evaluated by my admitted arbitrary battery of metrics), is not important
enough to pass along to her at this time. Or ever, really. But if you
think that's just me, try the phone."
If you send email to pxviagio@belladerma-srl-it.ro, following the Belladerma
fax (see 4.02.01), you receive the following response:
"No, u didnt want 2 tok 2 P-a aneway. She duznt 1/2 ane anserz u
need, & if she did, she woodnt giv them 2 U. 2 hr, theez r masheenz.
4 startrz, u mit considr geting of this brutle unsecur lin. dont feel
bad, tho. P-az not 2 Rmrd up ithr. We 1/2 a recording uv th@ litl bird
singing @ (702)-387-2350
On 2nd thot, dont col. Ur alrede in ovr ur hed."
4.03.10 The "Laia" Email
Created Version 3.6:
After 16:30 GMT on April 17, the Laia emails started being sent out,
presumably to the same addresses that subscribed to the familiasalla-es.ro
updates (see 2.08). See also the first Mephista email,
which would have been sent to the same address (see 4.03.01)
and the "Meditations" section on familiasalla-es.ro (see 2.08.01).
"Venus, the goddess of love, has a surface pressure of 94.5 atmospheres
and a surface temperature over 400ºC., hot enough to melt lead. She is
girdled by hurricane force winds. Her tears are beads of sulfuric acid.
For god's sake-how stupid does a guy have to be to mess with a bitch
like that? ...Okay. It's been a strange, hard time, but I've finally pulled
myself together enough to make a few changes to the site. I'll try to
keep in touch every week or so as best I can.
Thanks for all the help."
4.03.11 The 2nd "Laia" Email
Created Version 3.9:
After 16:30 GMT on April 24, the 2nd Laia emails started being sent out,
presumably to the same addresses that subscribed to the familiasalla-es.ro
updates (see 2.08). See also the first "Laia" email,
which would have been sent to the same address (see 4.03.10).
"Some progress here. I have certainly learned to pay attention to
bounce-back email....
Our Modern World Dept.: Abuela had to sit down and have a long chat
with her administrative AI yesterday. Of course, it would not do for the
great Jeanine Salla not to have a first class Evolving Intelligence handling
her affairs, but despite her brilliance, she did grow up in a time when
machines were mostly just ... machines. She tends to be brusque, which
is fine with a toaster, but less efficient with the sentient help. The
administrative intelligence--typical that Abuela would never have given
it a name--has become rather resentful, to the point of waging a small
campaign to express her displeasure. All trivial actions--a reference
mis-spelled in a paper; "forgetting" to remind her of office hours; booking
her next to the engine in an almost empty plane. The Salla women are not
used to being crossed, though; she was about to just wipe the assistant
and re-install when I suggested a conversation might clear the air. (Actually,
a resentful AI is always bad news, but Mephista demanded that I intercede.
Talk about all politics being local!) We shall see if things improve.
In more important matters: the killer has been caught. Now we'll see
what she has to say for herself."
We very probably now know that Abuela, mentioned in Meditations (see
2.08.01), is Jeanine Salla.
4.03.12 The Mother "Vulture" Email
Created Version 4.0:
On April 24 2001, Mother sent another Email into Evan's employee inbox
at DonuTech (see 2.05) [here].
Text follows. The email was sent to "Vulture", with the subject
"The pillaging continues"
"Once upon a time
In a house in a tree
There lived a kind of clock
Who could that be?
Once upon a time
In a house like a wood
There lived a kind of crazy
Has he been being good?
Once upon a time
In a house by the sea
There lived a certain bird
Should he go free?
Bangalore to follow............... "
4.03.13 The 3rd "Laia" Email
Created Version 4.0:
Several hours after the 2nd Laia emails started being sent out, the 3rd
emails were sent, presumably to the same addresses that subscribed to
the familiasalla-es.ro updates (see 2.08). See also
the first "Laia" email, which would have been sent to the same address
(see 4.03.10) and the 2nd "Laia" email (see 4.03.11).
Subject: God knows I have enough to deal with...
"Sorry about the sudden sign-off earlier today; Mephista caught
a peeper trying to tunnel upstream into my apartment security system.
I don't know if this is related to Evan's death, or just some guy I went
to school with hoping I'll take my clothes off in front of a camera. M
was not amused. She burned out the peepline and is now off in Search and
Destroy mode, looking for the wetware at the end of the line.
Word on the street is there's an upsurge in hacker activity over the
last couple of days. Maybe it's like hacker mardi gras, and we've just
chased off some frat boys. I hope so.
Loki's autoresponder responds with a blank message.
4.03.15 The 4th "Laia" Email
Created Version 4.6:
On May 1st, the 4th Laia were sent, presumably to the same addresses
that subscribed to the familiasalla-es.ro updates (see 2.08).
See also the first "Laia" email, which would have been sent to the same
address (see 4.03.10), the 2nd "Laia" email (see
4.03.11) and the 3rd "Laia" email (see 4.03.13).
Subject: When is a red herring not?
"Old friends--Abuela has been writing a paper about how a group
of people working in concert can be considered as a fantastically powerful
parallel processor. After visiting the link she provided as a demonstration
of her theory, this makes a world of sense to me. Abuela actually dropped
everything this weekend for some kind of emergency consultation. I don't
know what she was working on, but she didn't sleep at all Sunday night.
I had a bad night too, for a strange reason. A frightening reason.
Mephista had a nightmare.
That hasn't happened before. Usually she's just there at my ear, my wise
raven, my witch's cat. She works out the score to music I hear and particularly
like. She has the menus memorized at all the places I like to order from.
She doesn't make me less human: she makes me more ME. Of course the first
few weeks after implanting feel strange, this voice whispering words you
haven't learned to hear yet; showing pictures you have to learn how to
see. But it had been years and years since I had the sense of her as something
other than me.
But Sunday night I woke up and she was . . . tossing and turning in me,
like a child in a hot bed. Flicks and phosphors of her thought guttered
around the edges of the HUD implants. The noises were worse. Part of me,
the meat of me, could tell the room was quiet: but in my head I heard
these sounds, clicks and whistles. Wind. Clanking machinery. A deep, wicked
voice.
Mephista crying.
What's wrong? I started to ask. But she, who never sleeps, was sleeping.
She didn't come when I called her, and when I touched my face, it was
wet with her tears.
L."
4.03.16 Jeanine Salla's Autoresponder (2)
Created Version 4.7:
Jeanine Salla's Autoresponder was noticed to have changed on 1st May:
"As Dr. Salla's Administrative alleged Intelligence, it is my melancholy
task to brush you off. Why? Because you simply don't rate. Why? Because
the good doctor is busy molding impressionable young minds, teaching courses,
working in the lab for the betterment of sentients everywhere? Not so
much. Actually, she's taking incredibly lucrative retainers from big corporate
clients to prepare TOP SECRET EYES ONLY reports like http://www.bangaloreworldu-in.co.nz/salla/oldspanishdust
[here].
Gosh, sure hope it doesn't fall into the wrong hands."
See also the Business Card Puzzle (see 3.18) and
the Bangalore Spanish Dust page (see 2.11.02)
4.03.17 John Galt's Autoresponder
Created Version 4.8:
We get John Galt's email address from the ARM Rally "abuse"
puzzle (see 3.24). Sending email to JohnGalt@donu-tech.com
generates the following response:
Date: Mon, 7 May 2001 04:57:46 -0400
From: John Galt
Subject: automated response
Thanks for submitting your resume. It suggests that you are eminently
qualified for our needs. If you would be so kind as to complete a simple
qualifying examination, you will find it at this web site: http://www.unite-and-resist.org/0-997B-1047-1-100-0-A.html
[here]
LAX-B ORD-R LGA-S
4.03.18 The 5th "Laia" Email
Created Version 4.9:
On May 8th, the 5th Laia mail was sent, presumably to the same addresses
that subscribed to the familiasalla-es.ro updates (see 2.08).
See also the first "Laia" email, which would have been sent to the same
address (see 4.03.10), the 2nd "Laia" email (see
4.03.11), the 3rd "Laia" email (see 4.03.13)
and the 4th "Laia" email (see 4.03.15).
Subject: He ordered a replacement
"Another custom woman - Belladerma top of the line. Bustier this
time. Not so smart. Submissive personality - In BD's charming phrase,
"bound in joy."
He ordered a replacement before Venus had been caught, as if he didn’t
expect to see her again. Or maybe he didn’t want to see her again.
Now, miraculously, Evan’s killer has escaped from the SPCB. Now,
mysteriously, the file download of her memory has disappeared too.
Maybe it was an accident, it was a malfunction, it was SPCB incompetence.
All I know is, I wouldn’t want to be the replacement.
L"
4.03.19 The 6th "Laia" Email
Created Version 5.3:
On May 15th, the 6th Laia mail was sent, presumably to the same addresses
that subscribed to the familiasalla-es.ro updates (see 2.08).
See also the first "Laia" email, which would have been sent to the same
address (see 4.03.10), the 2nd "Laia" email (see
4.03.11), the 3rd "Laia" email (see 4.03.13),
the 4th "Laia" email (see 4.03.15) and the 5th
"Laia" email (see 4.03.18).
Subject: Died
"--They tried to explain it to me. "Your father was working on a very
special project. There was an accident, they lost air and pressure, and
he died."
I was six.
Six year olds are not stupid. I don't feel like I'm smarter than I was
at six--I just have a lot more context now. Back then, I figured out right
away that dying was something he did on purpose. All right, maybe he hadn't
meant to die: but he had made a choice between us and Tranquility. Maybe
he told himself nothing would go wrong, maybe he told himself he would
be back home by Christmas. But that was a lie. He had abandoned us to
go terribly far away and get himself killed.
Mephista says I probably blamed myself for him leaving. Like, if I had
been cuter he would have decided to stay. I just remember being mad.
I don't find moonlight romantic, and I don't care much for tranquility.
L"
4.03.20 The 7th "Laia" Email
Created Version 5.7:
On May 22nd, the 7th Laia mail was sent, presumably to the same addresses
that subscribed to the familiasalla-es.ro updates (see 2.08).
See also the first "Laia" email, which would have been sent to the same
address (see 4.03.10), the 2nd "Laia" email (see
4.03.11), the 3rd "Laia" email (see 4.03.13),
the 4th "Laia" email (see 4.03.15), the 5th "Laia"
email (see 4.03.18) and the 6th "Laia" email (see
4.03.19).
Subject: They are talking overhead
I am trapped in the dark. The floor rolls and trembles under me. The
ceiling is so low I can't raise my arms. I am wearing a dress but my
feet are bare. The dress is cold and wet and sticks to my skin. Foul
water is dripping all over me, running into my eyes and mouth. I am
adrift in a floating coffin, packed in too tight to move.
I feel something flutter against my cheek, a spiky-soft brush, like old
paper. Thin legs settle on my face. Wings beat. After a moment it
creeps across my lips. I can just make out a trace of animal heat
before it dips beneath my chin and slides into the hollow of my throat.
Overhead, the voices continue to talk, quite unconcerned.
--Laia? Mephista whispers. She is broken. Laia, help me. Laia?
Laia?
*
I was up late, again. Finishing a routine sort of meditation, just an
attempt to get some facts in order. By the time I was done, my eyes had
begun to tear from sheer exhaustion.
Coming out of composition mode, I looked blankly around my workspace and
saw that like an idiot I had left the screen door to the balcony open.
Not a good idea at this time of year. You let the bugs in. The Salla
women are brave, as a general rule, but I hate having insects in my
house. There is something creepy about them: their fierce, mindless,
primitive compulsions. An AI like Mephista is an extract of our purer
selves; bugs are the opposite. They are dirt, night, filth, decay. The
flesh that creeps.
*
The dream came in bursts: the sick smell of seawater, rocking in the
dark, the brush of delicate wings on my mouth: and then a gap, a
passage seen dimly, as if behind glass, where everything was filmy and
unfocussed, and all I could hear was Mephista screaming. Screaming and
screaming.
*
Out on the patio I stood for a bleary moment or two, watching city
lights in the water: the passing glare of water taxis and police
choppers. Lollipop colors too: the neon night-life come-ons that shake
on the canal surface as if trembling to the beat of late night music.
And light is always welling up from underneath: cool blue chakra-rooms
and dream-parlors, the spark and flicker of a hundred submarine spots
where my cohort goes to dance and mate and bootleg pirate meatware.
I think I might have had a glass of water before going to sleep. I
can't remember now.
*
Snap back, my dream again, Mephista broken and crying very quietly,
tender like a brutal bruise at my core. Knowing if I touched her, the
pain would be unbearable.
Voices overhead. A low woman's laugh. A man, questioning. The slap of
waves. Waves! My floating coffin is a boat, I am trapped under the
hull of a boat, as if the planks have been nailed around me.
*
I sleep in a hammock. There's no way I should be able to get out of it
without waking up.
*
Another glassy spell. Mephista is screaming, a long way away. She is
being tortured for information she doesn't know. I'm glad it isn't me.
Glad my part of the nightmare isn't happening just now.
*
It was a glass of wine, I remember now. Red spanish wine. A last glass
to help me sleep. I haven't been sleeping well these days.
There was a picture of a butterfly on the label, an ugly one. No, there
wasn't either. It was a moth. A big dun moth had come in through the
open door. Spots like furry eyes looked up at me. It lifted off the
bottle and drifted a moment before settling on my hand. Its wings
closed and opened, closed and opened. Beating like a heart.
*
A crunch overhead, like stomping a boot into wet rotten wood.
A thud.
Later, something dragging across the floor. Knocking and banging up the
companionway steps.
Splash.
I think about calling for Mephista, but I am scared it will hurt too
much.
*
Mephista is running crazily around inside me. Bumping and crashing.
Wheeling through me, crippled and burning.
*
I wake up.
I am lying in the bottom of a wood/laminate skiff docked in the complex
boathouse. I am soaked to the skin, wearing nothing but a sopping wet
nightgown. The boat's owner is looming over me. He speaks Chinese and
looks concerned. I don't understand a word. I wonder why Mephista
isn't translating. Suddenly I sit up in shock, remembering.
I scramble out of the boat onto the dock, push by my neighbor and run
clumsily through the dim boathouse. Things creak and strain in the
darkness around me. I am trapped under the weight of the apartment
building, Mephista is crying and crying inside my head. I take the
stairs.
--Wake up, M. Wake up.
By the time I have reached my door I am frightened but less confused.
Wake up, Mephista. Wake up, dammit! I feel her sleep in my blood like
a bad drug. My heart is racing and my skin crawls in big patches, cold
flushes creeping all over my body.
---WAKE UP! WAKE UP!
I am shivering uncontrollably and the doorknob rattles in my hand. The
door opens, and out of nowhere I think: Why didn't Venus wipe
Cloudmaker when she had the chance? Why scuttle her with her memories
intact?
--WAKE UP, MEPHISTA!
I feel her rising in me like something buried deep underwater. She
breaks free at last, a rush of her everywhere in me at once, crying and
sobbing.
--Oh, Laia!
--I know. I know. Let's just try to calm down. Let's just try to
sort this--
My eye falls on the table. There's a moth lying there. It's wings have
been cut off and laid beside it, one on each side of its body.
*
It's three hours later. I just closed the door on my Chinese neighbor.
He came to return the knife I left in the bottom of his boat.
L
4.03.21 The 8th "Laia" Email
Created Version 6.0:
On May 29th, the 8th Laia mail was sent, presumably to the same addresses
that subscribed to the familiasalla-es.ro updates (see 2.08).
See also the first "Laia" email, which would have been sent to the same
address (see 4.03.10), the 2nd "Laia" email (see
4.03.11), the 3rd "Laia" email (see 4.03.13),
the 4th "Laia" email (see 4.03.15), the 5th "Laia"
email (see 4.03.18), the 6th "Laia" email (see
4.03.19) and the 7th "Laia" email (see 4.03.20).
Subject: Broke the Line
"Once upon a time, at the Terminus of Next-to-all Roads, Rogue and
Retrieval, two murdering wolf-bred brothers, raised a rose-red city 1/2
as old as t-t-times.
(wrap it tight)
Tackling Naming Rights, those nasty rascals watched ominous birds: six
vultures to one, 12 to the other.
brother wolf jumped over the wall--but Thirsty Nife Reddened.
(cut to fit)
the 1/2 a twin left (that's six) Then New Remorse.
1 tries not 2 remember.
(wrap it tight)
do you understand me?
(cut to fit)
please understand. please.
(wrap it tight)
brother killing brother: n-n-newest story in the book (Tale, Novel,
Romance).
(cut to fit)
1 (where once was) 2
1 (where should have) 2
1 (where must be) 2
(wrap it tight)
L"
This email had an attachment, the Laia Email attachment Puzzle (see 3.44).
4.03.22 The Beelzebub Email
Created Version 6.0:
On May 29th, 2001 some people, presumably those who emailed Loki (see
3.18), received an HTML encoded email from Loki ,
with a subject of "help", that can be seen [here].
The email contains the Loki Email "antique lures" Puzzle (see 3.48).
Version 6.1 Update:
Originally this was called the Loki email. It was assumed that because
the picture was of Loki that he sent the email. Upon closer inspection,
it was found that the email was sent by Beelzebub, our favorite Mowz hacker.
4.03.23 The 9th "Laia" Email
Created Version 6.3:
On June 5th, the 9th Laia mail was sent, presumably to the same addresses
that subscribed to the familiasalla-es.ro updates (see 2.08).
See also the first "Laia" email, which would have been sent to the same
address (see 4.03.10), the 2nd "Laia" email (see
4.03.11), the 3rd "Laia" email (see 4.03.13),
the 4th "Laia" email (see 4.03.15), the 5th "Laia"
email (see 4.03.18), the 6th "Laia" email (see
4.03.19), the 7th "Laia" email (see 4.03.20)
and the 8th "Laia" email (see 4.03.21).
Subject: My last message
"Grandmother got my last rant, tried to call me, and then raced over with
emergency personnel. When I heard them hacking through my door I
crawled inside my refrigerator to hide. They found me before my oxygen
ran out.
Abuela saved my life. She did all the sensible things: she alerted a
doctor, she talked to my landlord about the door, she got me to the
hospital. And of course she wiped Mephista. Everything on board and
all the back-ups. Abuela reprograms AIs all the time; she has excellent
software designed to run like acid into every cache and crevice and burn
out the tiniest shred of old habits, old thoughts, old memories. I have
been emptied out. Sanded down.
I suppose I should be grateful.
Apparently it's good, it's right to feel the zero inside. I am supposed
to be devastated, depressed, affectless, destroyed. It's all part of a
perfectly normal process.
Then again, so is dying. And right now, I don't care if I never see the
sun again.
Sweet Mephista, make me immortal with a kiss.
L"
4.03.24 The Mother "The Witch" Email
Created Version 6.3:
On June 5 2001, Mother sent another email to Evan's employee inbox at
DonuTech (see 2.05) [here].
Text follows.
Date: 05 May 42
From: Mother
To: Evan
Subject: mother mail
One cuckoo's mother
Found another nest
Running from her looking-glass
To find a place to rest.
She lives on tea and candy
She never gets a knife
And there she means to sleep away
The nightmare of her life.
Version 7.1 Update:
Shortly after its release, the subject of this mail was changed to "The
Witch," and so this Email has been renamed.
4.03.25 The Cybertronics Autoresponders
Created Version 6.4:
Sending emails to certain people at Cybertronics [2.21]
yields these autoresponses so far.
---
Subject: automated response
From: "Claude Gilbert" <c.gilbert@cybertronics-corp.net>
Thank you for contacting Mr. Claude Gilbert, the Assistant Director of
Cybertronics Corporation's Research Archives. Mr. Gilbert's Administrative
Intelligence has logged and prioritized your message. If you have
submitted a request for non-proprietary, non-classified records of
concluded or terminated projects, your request is being processed and those
records will be sent to you upon completion of processing. Requests for
classified or proprietary materials take longer to evaluate and will be
answered by the Assistant Director personally.
Queries regarding ongoing research projects should be directed to the
Development Department. Please direct service and support inquiries to the
Service and Support Administrative Intelligence.
M. Gilbert's Administrative Intelligence analyzes all messages for libelous
or actionable content. If your message contained such content, it has
already been forwarded to the appropriate law enforcement authority.
---
Subject: automated response
From: "Lynn Knight Watson" <l.watson@cybertronics-corp.net>
Thank you for contacting Cybertronics Corporation's Directed Research
Development Department Director Lynne Knight Watson. As Director Watson's
Administrative Intelligence, I have logged and prioritized your message and
directed it to the attention of either Ms. Watson or a member of her staff.
My name is Riga, and I will make sure that your inquiry is handled
appropriately.
Our Research Division constantly monitors suggestions, feedback, and
questions from Cybertronics clients and other interested parties.
Proposals for Cybertronics-sponsored research should be directed to
Assistant Director Yuhn Travet.
Please direct service and support inquiries to the Service and Support
Administrative Intelligence, and archival questions to Research Archives
Assistant Director Claude Gilbert.
Director Watson's Administrative Intelligence analyzes all messages for
libelous or actionable content. If your message contained such content, it
has already been forwarded to the law enforcement authorities.
---
Subject: automated response
From: "Thierry N'gawa" <t.ngawa@cybertronics-corp.net>
Thank you for contacting Cybertronics Corporation's Research Archives
Director Thierry N'gawa. As Director Ngawa's Administrative Intelligence, I
have logged and prioritized your message. My name is Matlakadibe.
Please note that Director N'gawa does not handle individual requests for
archival information about Cybertronics research projects. These requests
should be directed to Assistant Director Claude Gilbert. Director N'gawa
evaluates proposed institutional and corporate projects needing
Cybertronics archival information.
Queries regarding ongoing research projects should be directed to the
Development Department. Please direct service and support inquiries to the
Service and Support Administrative Intelligence.
Director N'gawa's Administrative Intelligence analyzes all messages for
libelous or actionable content. If your message contained such content, it
has already been forwarded to the appropriate law enforcement authority.
---
Subject: automated response
From: "Alan Hobby" <a.hobby@cybertronics-corp.net>
Thank you for contacting Dr. Alan Hobby. As you can imagine, Dr. Hobby's
research schedule makes it impossible for him to answer each of his
messages individually. While he would be delighted help you in your
special endeavors, Dr. Hobby has been forced to ask me, his Administrative
Intelligence, to provide preliminary assistance. My name is Halene. I
have prioritized your message and directed it to the attention of either
Dr. Hobby or one of his many caring assistants. Someone will contact you
as soon as the schedule permits.
If you have submitted a research proposal to Dr. Hobby please forward it to
Directed Research Development Department Assistant Director Yuhn Travet, as
well. Those unaccompanied by appropriate and verifiable scientific
credentials will not be considered.
If you are requesting an interview with Dr. Hobby, please be advised he
simply cannot fulfill all requests for personal appearances. Be as
detailed as possible in your request and Dr. Hobby will do his best.
---
y.travet's automated response
Thank you for contacting Yuhn Travet, Assistant Director of
Cybertronics Corporation's Directed Research Development Department.
Assistant Director Travet's Administrative Intelligence has logged
and prioritized your message and directed it to the attention of
either Mr. Travet or a member of his staff.
Our Research Division constantly monitors suggestions, feedback, and
questions from Cybertronics clients and other interested parties. If
you have submitted a research proposal, it will be evaluated by
Assistant Director Travet and you will be advised of its
practicability as soon as that evaluation is complete.
Please direct service and support inquiries to the Service and
Support Administrative Intelligence and archival questions to
Research Archives Assistant Director Claude Gilbert.
Assistant Director Travet's Administrative Intelligence analyzes all
messages for libelous or actionable content. If your message
contained such content, it has already been forwarded to the
appropriate law enforce
---
service@cybertronics's automated response
Thank you for contacting Cybertronics Corporation! We're finding
tomorrow's solutions today! We hope you are inspired to do the
same. Our Services and Support Administrative Intelligence wants to
support your efforts. Having received your message, it has carefully
prioritized it, and directed it to the appropriate parties within the
department. You will be contacted as soon as possible.
If you are experiencing difficulty with the Spinal-link 3900 or 4000,
seek medical consultation immediately. Cybertronics liaisons are
standing by at major care facilities to assist physicians in
correcting reconfiguration-related issues.
Our Administrative Intelligence analyzes all messages for libelous or
actionable content. If your message contained such content, it has
already been forwarded to the appropriate law enforcement authority.
4.03.26 The 10th "Laia" Email
Created Version 6.6:
On June 12th, the 10th Laia email was sent, presumably to the same addresses
that subscribed to the familiasalla-es.ro updates (see 2.08).
See also the first "Laia" email, which would have been sent to the same
address (see 4.03.10), the 2nd "Laia" email (see
4.03.11), the 3rd "Laia" email (see 4.03.13),
the 4th "Laia" email (see 4.03.15), the 5th "Laia"
email (see 4.03.18), the 6th "Laia" email (see
4.03.19), the 7th "Laia" email (see 4.03.20),
the 8th "Laia" email (see 4.03.21) and the 9th
"Laia" email (see 4.03.23).
Subject: Body, Bouquet, and Color
From: laia
Date: Tue Jun 12, 2001 6:41 pm
Subject: Body, Bouquet, and Color
Rich, red, and exquisite--the perfect accompaniment to roasted meats.
Have a glass with dinner, and then GO TO A SHOW!
So absolutely as promised, legendary scientist and awfully swell grandmother
Jeanine Salla has managed to score a block of tickets for the special
preview showing of AI (in all its enhanced glory! See it in undimmed splendor,
as if these were the first prints ever shown!) Seriously, this film has
played an important part in shaping _the very world you are living in
right now!_ Check it out. A wrd 2 the wizr, tho: these tickets are being
held for me and my best pals for a strictly limited time. Then the Masses
will come snap up everything left, so if you want to come, get while the
getting's good. Friends, significant others, friends, romans, and countrymen
will all receive a personal thank you for coming, but creepy millionaire
playboys and shadowy conspirators will be strongly discouraged from attending.
(raises her glass unsteadily but with great feeling)
To good friends!
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
L
Version 6.6.1 Update:
Laia is talking about the screenings for A.I., more details of which
can be found at www.jeaninesalla.com and www.familiasalla-es.ro (see 2.08).
4.03.27 The 11th "Laia" Email
Created Version 6.9
On June 19th, the 11th Laia email was sent, presumably to the same addresses
that subscribed to the familiasalla-es.ro updates (see 2.08).
See also the first "Laia" email, which would have been sent to the same
address (see 4.03.10), the 2nd "Laia" email (see
4.03.11), the 3rd "Laia" email (see 4.03.13),
the 4th "Laia" email (see 4.03.15), the 5th "Laia"
email (see 4.03.18), the 6th "Laia" email (see
4.03.19), the 7th "Laia" email (see 4.03.20),
the 8th "Laia" email (see 4.03.21), the 9th "Laia"
email (see 4.03.23) and the 10th "Laia"
email (see 4.03.26).
From: laia [mailto:laia@familiasalla-es.ro]
Sent: 19 June 2001 23:51
Subject: Jeanine Salla is not used to being crossed...
...but the stutter that hit so much of the sphere along the East Coast
last week played merry hell with our movie ticket plans. We think everything
is under control now, and the list of theaters is complete.
Meanwhile...
*
I am walking around these days with a part missing, and the strange thing
is, nobody can tell. An invisible cripple among the rest of you, standing
in line with you at the theater. Waving up to the brothers on the deck
of the Lucky Junk as if I were like the rest of you. It's like being two
months pregnant, your world changed utterly but nobody knows to gives
you their seat on the ferry. Only of course in reverse, because I'm not
adding to life; I've had a part of my life ripped away.
The fact is, I wasn't trapped inside my own skull like most humans are.
Regular humans have to use language as a clumsy translation of how they
feel, or what they think: but I was different. Part of me had access to
a universal platform, a common mind shared by everything running Earthnet
35 and up. I could reach out to the sphere, to other people, to vast stores
of information: I could extend. Connect.
Only connect.
But every strength is a weakness too: and the cost of that extension
was that someone else found a way to get inside me. He got in my head
and he planted terrible flowers there. He made me do horrible things.
Terrible, terrible things.
*
My name is Venus.
*
Not really, of course. But I have been thinking about her for days. A
few weeks ago I would have cheered to see her flawless face melted down
to slag. Yeah, so, she was reprogrammed. Whatever. I would have wiped
her in a heartbeat.
Now ...
I find myself wondering where she is. What she's doing. Is she happy
that she can't remember killing Evan? Or does she feel the emptiness where
those memories should be like I feel the absence of Mephista? A hollow
clack, like a wooden leg tapping against the pavement. A part of you numb,
your balance off, and the world strange somehow. Threatening.
I wonder if Venus ever thinks about me. I wonder if Evan mentioned my
name, and the idea humiliates me; but I still wonder if I mattered enough
for him to talk about.
I wonder where she sleeps - well, stays - at night. Does she have friends
yet, or only allies? Can she tell the difference between freedom and loneliness?
Does she ever wish that she was still a sleeping princess, still living
with Basta in his fine house, without a question in her beautiful head
about her place, about the meaning of her life?
*
I'm sitting on the balcony of my apartment, drinking a glass of wine.
I swirl it around, watching the red waves race and jump. Then I drop the
glass, and watch it shatter on the patio. Clumsily, still bad at working
my eyes without Mephista, I replay the crash, slower and slower. Trying
to catch the exact moment the glass lost its shape, (which is the same
as meaning.)
The sudden phase change
Broken from signal to noise
Something to garbage.
How's that, Evan?
Droplets of wine bounce and spatter, pool and run. In a while there is
only broken light glittering there, and a red stain. These are the only
facts now. The rest is only memories, and dreams.
L
If you would like to be removed from this list please go to this site
and enter your email address: http://www.familiasalla-es.ro/remove.asp
[here]
4.03.28 The 12th "Laia" Email
Created Version 7.0
From: laia
Date: Tue Jun 26, 2001 12:42 pm
Subject: stuck
I think they've got RK.
We were supposed to meet, he was going to track down Sencha for me,
& explain that "connect the dots" thing he put on my page. I got here
(D&O) late, (boat trouble). No Dwayne.
Waitress comes up and drops food in front of me. Says my boyfriend (gives
me "cradle-robber" look) ordered it for me just before heading out with
a gang of friends.
Meatloaf and raisin toast?
She's back in a minute, says his credit didn't go through. Said he'd
just had his eyes done & signed instead. She shows me the bill &
right away I know he's in deep shit. Got to figure this out fast. Paid
for 10-minute virtual account. Flipped the bill onto the tabletop scan,
sending it with.
Help.
L
There is an image attached to this email, and it is Laia's Guest Check
Puzzle (see 3.70).
4.03.29 The Mother "Candy" Email
Created Version 7.1:
On Evan's DonuTech page (see 2.05), there is a new
email from Mother. This mail directs us to the Room Number Puzzle (see
3.74). The text is as follows:
Date: 28 June 42
From: Mother
To: Cuckoos
Subject: Candy
I've left something sweet for you in Claude's room, dears.
4.03.30 The 13th "Laia" Email
Created Version 7.2:
Laia sent us this very short piece of email on July 3rd, 2001. The text
is as follows:
From: laia
Date: Tue, 03 Jul 2001 11:10:35 -0800
Subject: me
Nothing from me today. Sorry. PACO just called.
Oh God.
L
4.03.31 The 14th "Laia" Email
Created Version 8.0:
Laia sent us this on July 10th, 2001. The text is as follows:
Date: Tue Jul 10, 2001 5:10 pm
Subject: Fwd: in this case, not quite laia
Actually, this is RK. Laia seems to be gone, but I just wanted to borrow
this channel to thank everyone who helped me get to the hospital, instead
of the morgue.
Speaking of dead, I guess you all know Jane Sutter is gone. I found a
mostly-uncorrupted back-up and compiled a stand-alone and tacked it up
in the usual place, but it's just a memorial now; there's no person left
any more. I guess my mom would say what happened to her was no worse than
getting old and going senile, but Jane Sutter deserved better.
Here are a few more thoughts; what GK would call "A wird 2 the wizr"
(She actually can spell; she just chooses not to. Personally, I can't
do that. I was surfing the DL's updraft from the comfort of my wheelchair,
reading graffiti like "eat watts + swap soulz", or, "the 'leet need sleep!"
and I realized I'm never going to have serious hacker cool. Not in person.
We middle-class kids who get good grades find it hard to spell things
wrong on purpose.. Another way we're just as programmed as the AIs, I
guess.)
Full time Donu-Tech employees will no longer be permitted to choose
their own 4-digit employee ID numbers. The lenient policy has become
tedious to track and has even gone so far as to cause grief in some
of our employee's families.
So BIOS terrorists are disappearing, there are hurricanes building in
the Indian Ocean, we're about to vote on the future of our species . .
. and Evan Chan's wife escaped a gangland execution with the help of a
heroic garden gnome?
I've decided I'd better stop drinking now.
I got Dwayne to run some operational forensics on the gnome. He didn't
sound entirely happy to hear from me, but then the last time I coaxed
some work out of him, he ended up looking like something oozing out of
a tear in a plastic garbage bag. Can't blame the guy for being gun-shy.
Anyway, after tracking back through the Chan house systems, all he could
tell me was that the command set that drove the gnome into action had
turnstiled through an image-to-script translation endjinn tagged "Nauticus."
More news coming soon, I can feel it. I'm back on the trail, boys and
girls, and I think we're closing in.
L
PS Damn! Now I have go buy some clay!
4.03.35 The "Surfacing" Email
Created Version 9.0:
The Puppet Masters themselves sent out the following email on Tuesday,
July 24th, 2001.
From : themanbehindthecurtain<themanbehindthecurtain@visionary.net>
Subject : Surfacing
Date : Tue, 24 Jul 2001 10:25:23 -0800
Dear Players:
Now our play is ended. We have drawn aside the curtain, and let it drop
for
good.
But we wanted to write one more time, to say again what a profound pleasure
and
extraordinary privilege it has been to work with you.
We had a magical team to put this thing together. How lucky we were to
find a
team every bit as magical on the other side of the curtain! Your passion
and
energy and intelligence has kept us going through more dire emergencies
and long
nights than you can imagine. We always thought a community could form
around
this project, but never dared to hope for an audience so engaged and so
resourceful. You demanded that we experiment, and were generous enough
to stick
with us when some of those experiments didn't work out quite as we had
hoped.
You made us work really hard. Which was only fair.
The best audience an artist can hope for is one that forgives error but
never
cynicism; that demands your best work and then appreciates it; that contributes
energy and ideas to create something better than you could have ever made
on
your own. At this moment, we believe we have been blessed with the best,
smartest, most passionate audience imaginable.
If you have any questions not covered by the FAQ (coming soon!), or just
want to
hang out and chat, we will have an electronic get-together at 9 pm EST/
6 pm PST
on Tuesday, July 31. (http://www.zone.msn.com/zzzz/auditorium.asp)
We think that all of us, puppetmasters and players alike, have been given
a
chance to be part of a truly original and groundbreaking experiment. There
will
be other projects that attempt to use the web as a distinctive artistic
medium,
ones with bigger budgets and larger audiences: but we here were first.
Once again, our profound thanks. It was dazzling, wasn't it?
The PMs
Credits (www.jeaninesalla.com/credits)
4.04 Artificial Intelligence - The Movie
Created Version 7.1:
The movie was, of course, the big event we'd been waiting for since the
day we began playing. Aside from giving us food for plenty of new speculation,
the movie gave us the solution to the Room Number Puzzle (see 3.74)
and plenty of goodies in the credits. The relevant credits have not yet
been completely posted, but they do include the names of our Puppet Masters
and several in-game characters (and not just Jeanine Salla, either!) We
will include them here when we finally have them.
5.0 Current Dead Ends
5.01 Sites without working authentication
Version 5.2 Update (Severe):
THE FOLLOWING FORMS PROBABLY HAVE NO CORRECT ANSWER: (there's never any
way to tell for SURE)
DonuTech http://www.donu-tech.com: The 16-digit shareholder access code has
method=get, and returns restrictedaccessX.html (see 2.04)
PACO This section has been moved back to the www.coronersweb.org section
(see 2.10)
THE FOLLOWING FORMS PROBABLY DO HAVE A CORRECT ANSWER:
Bangalore World University
http://www.bangaloreworldu-in.co.nz/: This page used to have at least
"Jeanine Salla" as a correct answer, but that doesn't seem to work now.
Nonetheless, the page does process your answer, at least to return it
to you in quotes on the results page. So method=post, accessing "faculty.asp".
(see 2.11)
NOTE: The "Jeanine Salla" page does work: go to the
AI department page, and enter "salla", bear in mind that this
is in lower case.
Other fields which are known to have right answers and which use method=post:
the DonuTech login page and the Coroner's Web case field.
Version 4.7 Update:
The following material is no longer correct as of the 1 May game universe
update. It is now redacted.
THE FOLLOWING FORMS MIGHT OR MIGHT NOT HAVE A CORRECT ANSWER:
http://www.unite-and-resist.org: the ARM UAM form has method=post
and uses "error.asp". Now, the fact that they chose to use a .ASP file
here means that error.asp COULD, in principle, check to see if you entered
a valid UAM and return a valid page if so. With that said, the file is
called "error.asp," which is quite suggestive of its content: it always
returns an error. (see 2.06)
http://www.belladerma-srl-it.ro: uses method=post to access "catalog.asp".
With that said, if there is no valid UAM for the ARM, it's doubtful that
there's a valid UAM for Belladerma. Also, "catalog.asp" is the name of
the file which contains the form in the first place. Now, I myself have
written pages which show a login form if no data is posted and show the
home page once data is submitted, but in this case it would be only too
easy to just not have an extra "invalid" page and to just reuse the current
page. (Try entering a fake UAM to see what I mean.) (see 2.03)
Version 7.0 Update
The DonuTech 16-digit shareholder access code has been updated to POST
to a .asp file and it has been solved (see 3.33).
5.02 Sites that Aren't Game Sites
Version 5.6 Update:
The section "How to spot game sites" (see 7.05)
is also useful and may well save you time.
There are a surprising number of references to "our world" in
the game world.
6.01 Alice in Wonderland, Through the Looking Glass
6.01.01 General Information
There are general Alice in Wonderland resources here:
Hypertext versions of the original works are available [here]
6.01.02 The Red King
We are first introduced to The Red King on the cracked most wanted spcb.org
page [here]
(see 2.07)
The Red King is a chess piece from Through the Looking Glass (not a playing
card!)
wumpus1348@yahoo.com wrote to the list that:
"Tweedledum and Tweedledee *say* that the world is the result of
the Red King's dreaming, but that doesn't necessarily make it so. They're
not what you'd call reliable characters.
"Here's the part of the Red King chapter that seemed most relevant
to me:
"'Well, it's no use your talking about waking [the Red King]' said
Tweedledum, 'when you're only one of the things in his dream. You know
you're not real.'
'I am real!' said Alice, and began to cry.
'You won't make yourself a bit realer by crying,' Tweedledee remarked:
'there's nothing to cry about.'
'If I wasn't real,' Alice said...'I shouldn't be able to cry.'
'I hope you don't suppose those are *real* tears?' Tweedledum interrupted
in a tone of great contempt."
"That says a lot about the position of AIs in the world...."
6.01.03 The Rational Hatter
There is a URL in the game universe called rational-hatter.com, though
at the time of the release of this trail, it's not "live".
Mad Hatter = Rational Hatter. Get it?
Version 3.7 Update:
Rational-Hatter.com is now live and considered in-play (see 2.20)
6.01.04 7/22
The phrase "7/22" first appears in the Red King's manifesto
on the cracked spcb.org most wanted page [here]
(see 2.07):
"In othr nooz, Red King sez therz a footprint in the sfeer th@ looks
lik Sophiaz. If u find hr, beefrend r trik r crak hr if u can. She noz
7/22nds uv evrething?."
A few people suggested that 7/22 was the fraction on the Mad Hatter's
hat. It's not: 10/6 was on the Mad Hatter's hat, 10 Shillings, 6 pence.
6.01.05 The Looking Glass
The Looking Glass appears in the Mother email (see 4.03.04)
in the following sentences:
"Once upon a time there crept through the looking-glass a curious
child whose manners were not very good... ...I have spied on thousands.
I don't wait until they're dead to go through their pockets. And I made
the looking glass."
6.01.06 Alice and the Turing Test
If you go to the Turing Test section on the A.I. Movie website [here],
there's a chat-bot called Alice. We haven't managed to get anything useful
out of her yet, though.
In all likelihood, the Alice chatbot is a dead end: Dan Fabulich has
this to say:
"We've confirmed this! It makes reasonable guesses sometimes, parroting
back what you tell it, which is part of what makes it such a good chatterbot.
It also refers you to the open directory to answer questions to which
it doesn't know the answer.
Above all, ALICE TRIES TO TELL YOU WHAT YOU WANT TO HEAR.
Please, please, please don't post Alice conversations here! We've talked
to the guy who designed it! (Ask Alice who this is.) He's assured us that
the Alice chatter bot knows nothing about the game we're playing. (Indeed,
he wants us to stop contacting him about this.)"
Further, we've got an email from the creator of the Alice bot:
"Hello and thank you for your message. If you would like to learn
more about adding content in AIML, have a look at our document DON'T READ
ME at http://alicebot.org/dont.html
The latest download of Java ALICE is program D available at http://alicebot.net.
Program D works with voice input and speech output. Also please consider
joining our mailing list at http://alicebot.listbot.com
There are many subscribers willing to help out with all levels of AIML
questions. Our newest discussion forum is the ALICE bulletin board at
http://www.neo-ego.com/alicebot
Best regards, Rich Wallace Alicebotmaster "
Version 6.0 Update (from Dan F):
AImovie recently changed Alice's name to Chatbot, but she's still just
as tedious. Don't post about her unless you want to embarrass yourself
in front of thousands of people.
She's been trained to say a number of interesting but totally irrelevant
things. When asked who killed Evan Chan, she will sometimes say "Sibling
not yet born." This has nothing to do with the game.
If you say "I created you," she'll say "Then you must know the secret
word." This has nothing to do with the game.
If you ask her about The Game, she'll tell you about the Imitation game,
described by Alan Turing. It's a game in which a man and a woman talk
to a judge, whose job it is to guess which is which. Turing suggested
that a similar game should be the test for Artificial Intelligence, where
a human and a computer play, and a judge attempts to guess which is which.
This has nothing to do with the game.
Alice/Chatbot has nothing to do with the game. We have sent e-mail to
her creator (ask her who this is!) and he has assured us that she knows
nothing about the murder of Evan Chan. Again, please, please, don't post
about this.
7.0 Other Sources of Information
This section includes non-game sources of information, including sites
that appear to not be designed by the PuppetMasters, but which are nonetheless
linked from indisputably in-game sites.
7.01 Cloudmakers Yahoo! Group
Created Version 4.5:
On 30 April 2001, Cloudmakers [here]
was linked to from Jeanine Salla's representative papers (see 2.11)
Cloudmakers.org
Cloudmakers.org is a website run by the Cloudmakers mailing list moderators.
It houses the Trail, the Guide and associated documents: a one-stop shop
for all Cloudmakers information.
Adrian Hon has written "The Guide", a companion narrative to
The Trail [here]
Yahoo Resources
Cloudmakers Database [here]
on the Cloudmakers Yahoo Group has information on email responses, telephone
numbers and people in the game universe.
A plot detailing events so far has been written by Hair Thief [here]
A diagram of the relationships in the game universe has been created
by Oli [here]
IRC Resources
There is an irc channel #EvanChan on server 64.23.48.217. Bronwen and
I (list co-moderators) can probably be found there, along with some usual
suspects. It tends to be occupied 24 hours a day at the moment.
7.02 For Evan
Created Version 4.5:
For Evan [here] was created by
Cabel Sasser, who created the Cloudmakers Yahoo Group. It is soft-linked
from Laia Salla's Meditations page [here]
(see 2.08.01) as the first link to a non game-universe
site.
7.03 BWUNN
Created Version 4.5:
The BWUNN site [here] was originally
a non-linked fan site. As of update 4.5, it was linked from the BWU site
(see 2.11) from their News page [here]
announcing the "Bangalore New Network extension has gone live." This is
the fan site BWUNN.
This site includes complete links to every site in the game found so
far through all methods, thus throwing into question the legitimacy of
having reached any site at this stage in the game.
7.04 SphereWatch
Created Version 4.5:
The SphereWatch site [here]
was originally a non-linked fan site. As of update 4.5, it was linked
from the In Our Image site (see 2.09).
7.05 How to spot game sites
Created Version 5.0:
This was kindly written by TaxiCafe and also appears as a Cloudmakers
moderated message [here]:
If you come across a site you suspect is one of the PM developed Game
Sites, please use this process, or one similar to it, to determine the
correctness of this assumption before you post. This will allow you to
post: "Game Site Found" or "Fan Site Found" with reasonable accuracy.
Go to http://www.networksolutions.com/cgi-bin/whois/whois [here]
or your favorite whois site or whois utility.
Enter the domain name you are looking to confirm. (i.e. if you are trying
to determine if http://www.familychan.org is in the game, you would only
enter familychan.org. No HTTP://. No WWW.
Review the results of you search. Below is the record for familychan.org.
While NOT a hard rule, the majority of the game sites are listed to a
female member of the "ghaepetto" family in various geographic locations
(Anna, Bianca, Carla, etc...). Some of newer sites not in play ARE registered
to other names.
This is the record for IN-PLAY game site familychan.org:
Registrant:
Carla Ghaepetto (FAMILYCHAN2-DOM)
PMB# 155, 8524 Hwy 6 North
Houston, TX 77095-6508
US
Domain Name: FAMILYCHAN.ORG
Administrative Contact, Billing Contact:
Ghaepetto, Carla (CGL340) cghaepetto@ALTAVISTA.COM
PMB# 155, 8524 Hwy 6 North
Houston, TX 77095-6508
US
281 555 1234
Technical Contact:
Stanley, Daniel (DS34258) jbigal@hotmail.com
Stanley,Daniel
PMB# 328, 1945 South Ohio, Suite A
Salina, KS 67401
US
327-843-4482 123 123 1234
Record last updated on 15-Mar-2001.
Record expires on 05-Feb-2003.
Record created on 05-Feb-2001.
Database last updated on 8-May-2001 00:17:00 EDT.
Domain servers in listed order:
NS1.EARTHDIG-T-2000.COM 63.240.136.31
NS2.EARTHDIG-T-2000.COM 199.44.44.115
The most important thing to note is the last section of the record
"Domain servers in listed order." All game sites until now are being
served from "EARTHDIG-T-2000.COM" with a IP address of "63.240.136.31"
If your site DOES NOT match the same information as the paragraph above,
it is probably NOT A GAMESITE.
I am not going to list the complete record of known GAME sites as many
of them are not in play, and the CM board really does not need an additional
20 posts that site 'X' is still not active. The current yardstick is that
we aren't 'officially' acknowledging sites until they have content or
a construction page. Or if we have found a link to a non-active site.
Be aware that there about 30ish sites we are aware of.
Sites are considered "In-Play" when a site has content AND we have found
a link or clue referring us to that site.
Please do not use this information carelessly. It is meant to help you
determine on your own if a site is a game site.
The Moderators and your fellow CMers would greatly appreciate the effort.
8.0 Puppet Masters
Created Version 7.1:
The Puppet Masters have come out of hiding! Interviews with the PMs can
be found in USA
Today and the Edmonton
Journal.
Full game credits [here]
are found on the Movie Posters distributed at some of the preview screenings
(see 3.75). The L.A. crowd actually got to MEET the
PMs - see CM-Mod post #1025
for a detailed summary of the night and the questions answered.
8.01 Puppet Masters Credits
Created Version 9.0:
On the Familia Salla page, the Puppet Masters have posted absolutely
comprehensive game credits. Voice actors, artists, money guys - you name
it! You can find the intro to the credits [here]
where you must choose Flash or Javascript. There is a Javascript Credits
Puzzle (see 3.97) found in, well, the source of the
Javascript version of the site.
The credits are notable for two things; first, there is an actual PM
FAQ where a lot of questions that we had been wondering about for months
are finally answered for us [here].
The PMs also announced a live chat to be held on MSN:
If you have any questions not covered by the FAQ, or just want
to hang out and chat, we will have an electronic get-together at 9 pm
EST/ 6 pm PST on Tuesday, July 31. (http://www.zone.msn.com/zzzz/auditorium.asp)
8.02 Puppet Masters IRC Chat
Created Version 9.0:
On Tuesday, July 24th, Elan Lee and Sean Stewart held an informal live
IRC chat with #evanchan. They answered a lot of our most burning questions.
The complete log is much too long to include here since it took a good
three hours, but a terrific transcript is available [here].
During the chat, they mentioned that there is an outstanding puzzle with
the original domain registrations - the Ghaepetto Puzzle (see 3.98).
To our understanding, this is the only remaining puzzle that we have not
solved. Most of what we had still been working at were not, in fact, actual
puzzles.
