[mortality]

Ethan wrote:

Dear Mort, Wow! Not sure I have much more than that to say as regards St. Pete, other than thanks for apparently keeping the Foundation out of it (I think that's what you were saying). I'm glad that Jade still has something to do with that stuff. At least he may be able to pick up on anything "in the environment". Man, I never would have thought of some small town in Florida as such a hotbed of all this weirdness. But who know, maybe this stuff goes on all over the place and we just don't usually see it. Not sure I follow you about MSG4. For some reason I got the idea of throwing some search terms at Google. At some point it occurred to me that maybe the words outside the square were a different "type" of...I don't even know how to put it - you probably would, being into puzzles and stuff - just that maybe the stuff inside the square was saying something in one way, and that the stuff outside the square was saying something in an entirely different way. Anyway, whatever I think I thought, it doesn't look like that led anywhere. The only commonality I got when I did that was a couple references to the rock band Genesis. It's not like that could mean anything, right? So I don't know. As for MSG5, I completely agree on the anagram in the middle (and, let me tell you, we were really hoping for something like that, because "behead thine son" immediately send Kennedy off into "Oh $&*#" mode again). But with the connection to "banish" I think we are back into the territory of the three people referenced in MSG3. Not sure that the three people named in MSG3 are the actual figures in question, though. Almost seems like they were just examples of what happened to someone (or someTHING, as MSG4 seems to say). I still have this feeling deep in the back of my mind (or maybe it's in my gut) that the OC:0701 messages are trying to tell us something, a piece at a time. But who knows, that's just a feeling, could just be a bit of undigested meat. Hopefully MSG5 will be a little easier than 4. Regards, Ethan

[wkelly42]

Odd. Googled Fairy rings and Arkansas, and learned something.

Quote:

Fairy Ring is a very common problem that many homeowners have to deal with each year. It's more of a problem to the homeowner and it can be a very severe problem to the golf course manager as well. Fairy Ring basically is not a true disease, in other words, it changes the properties of the soil and this in one of the ways we have a problem with Fairy Ring. In other words, it changes the physical properties as well as the chemical properties of the soil. Fairy Ring itself can be caused by up to fifty different fungal organisms. These organisms actually reside in either the thatch layer or the immediate area to this particular layer. Basically Fairy Ring manifests itself as three different types, or three different symptom types. Type I is the most destructive symptom of Fairy Ring. In fact this particular symptom actually causes the grass to die in a ring. It can be a very severe problem, especially to the golf course person. In this particular case, the fungal organisms actually cause the soil to become hydrophobic. In other words, it becomes water repellant. So as a consequence of this particular disorder or problem, the grass actually dies as a result of lack of moisture.

(http://www.aragriculture.org/diseases/audio/fairy_ring_audio.htm)

Wonder if someone is sending Ethan on a wild goose chase, or if he's trying to hide something from us....

[Sylvia]

email from Ethan about the fairy rings and the Clearwater thing. See my post above for my emails to him.

Ethan to Sylvia wrote:

Hi Sylvia, Thanks for the well wishes, that's very nice. Oh, this is just a normal Foundation case. Can't get into too many of the personal details (I'm sure you understand), but the long and short of it is that several different people in Arkansas have reported seeing what we are classifying as Fairy Rings. Not the circle of mushrooms, as we sometimes think of them - although in one of the cases the ring did end up having a ring of mushrooms grown in exactly the same location a couple days later. The rings I'm checking on are rings of footprints in the morning dew and, separately, a circle of beaten down grass, "as if a bunch of people were dancing around in a circle". No photos or video (surprise). I'm trying to stay objective (I always try), but it sounds to me like maybe a bunch of people were simply dancing around in a circle. The strange thing is that the reporters all say that there are no tracks or footprints or trodden grass leading to or from the circles. We'll see, Ethan

Dancing in circles, sounds ritualy.

Ethan to Sylvia wrote:

Hi Sylvia, No bother. Sorry, didn't mean to be overly mysterious on that point. Scientology has a very large presence in Clearwater, FL. Interesting stuff, no doubt, but we stay clear of that one. Regards, Ethan

Oddly, do a little research on Scientology and you will end up right back to Alister Crowley.

[mortality]

Quote:

OK, comrade, we'll see how it goes. Actually looking forward to going over there, glad to be able to contribute something since I don't generally have the "right stuff" (or maybe more like the "right interest") to attack the puzzles and the social engineering. Got all that out of my system when I was a private dick (and let's all refrain from the obvious, OK ). Gotcha on the games ref. I asked 'cause I recalled a bleary-eyed conversation I had one time (pretty sure it was in a bowling alley over exceptional burgers and vanilla Coke) with a dude who was unhealthily interested in chaos. Remembered him saying, "Yeah, I'm down with Spare, man. I just don't dig on Crowley's game." I have remembered that all these years for the sheer, uncompromising, goofiness of it. Can't remember the guy's name, but I'll take that stupid quote to my grave. More soon, Jade

[Sylvia]

Wow, guys what a time for everyone to not be on skype tonight. Smoke showed up and I was totally unprepared. Here's the what I got.

Quote:

[8:58:52 PM] capnomantrix says: ? [8:59:57 PM] Sylvia says: forest green [9:00:04 PM] capnomantrix says: yes or no [9:00:45 PM] Sylvia says: is Philly at 1705 St. James Gunn? [9:01:02 PM] capnomantrix says: no [9:02:24 PM] Sylvia says: is Philly at 1705 St. James Crossing?

needless to say she disconnected

Guys I am so stumped on this new puzzle it isn't funny. I can't find anything that looks like it anywhere to give me anything to go on. And I don't know about the St. James Gunn thing. Can't tell if we should go with the address or not. If it's an address, who would we contact. I'll ask Petra about it. But if QS and Petra both don't care where he is then I don't know of anyone else we can contact. I mean why would Jade go looking for someone he doesn't even know. Well, strike that part, I just saw mort's email.
There is a James Gunn who was a Knight's Templar, but not in 1705, from Clan Gunn

I don't think the odd comments have anything to do with hex for colors cause that would leave a lone letter or number from each group and those colors are not on our Crayola list.

Also, I was curious about Ethan's new assignment and sent him the following email.

Sylvia to Ethan wrote:

Hi Ethan, It's been awhile. Glad your feeling better. I've heard it's been a very bad flu. All the schools around here had to close down because it got so bad. Sorry I don't have any new info for you on the open cases. But you've peeked my interest about the fairy rings. What kind of assignment did you get? How did Whitechapel come up with a case on fairy rings. Actually, that's a very interesting subject. I would love to hear more from you about it. I've heard that "fairy rings are doors into the fairies' world, transporting people to other places or making people appear in the same place in a different time." I'm sure the rest of the gang would love to know more about this too. Can you share with us? TTYL Sylvia

After I sent it, I forgot that I wanted to ask him something else about Clearwater so I sent another email.

Sylvia to Ethan wrote:

Ethan Sorry to bother you again but I forgot to ask you about something else in my last email about the fairy rings. Just what is in Clearwater that is "WAY outside the Foundation's charter?" Thanks Sylvia

[mortality]

I don't have anything to add to your spec, luke.

I do have emails from Jade.

The two I sent that initiated the dialog.

Mort wrote:

So Paul filled you in on most of the exchange with our dear friend, Quinton. We decided that we have a couple things we can barter. First, and what we're least likely to give up: that Scarpelli document stuff, the original source for our knowledge about the St. Pete rituals. Just too messy to let someone know all about our connection to WF when we don't really know who we're dealing with or what his interests are. Given the nature of what the St. Pete rituals might be about--benign things don't usually tell you to "prepare to fear" because you're activating a "beacon"--someone was probably up to no good. If QS was involved in anyway, better safe than sorry. Second, our scanty knowledge of what happened to the person we assume was Philly. Basically, a description of everything related to the contents of Brighton Early's website, without divulging the source. Again, that's still trusted information and we have no reason to trust QS. We tried just feeding him the description (said we were in a position to hear rumors of rituals, found evidence at two sites and put the pieces together to arrive at the third in time to see Philly collapse and get dragged off, plus the curiously burned matchbook, then Petra, then Ctrix, etc.), but QS still questioned our motives. He did reply that Philly is a loner when it comes to his magic interests. So we tried a two-pronged attack. One, we're curious about the nature of the ritual. That's what got us started on this track. So our first motive is magic information. Our second motive has to do with having seen someone who might have been abducted (!) and who definitely looked incapacitated. The latter is to appeal to QS's better nature (if he has one). A friend, or at least an acquaintance of his, appears to be or have been in danger of physical harm. And it seems awfully weird for a loner to get carted off by people conveniently stationed in an SUV. And given what we know from Petra, if something to do with magic is the cause, then he should at least be a little bit curious about whatever Philly was trying to do in the first place. If that doesn't work, we'll have to re-evaluate our decision to keep the Scarpelli document a secret. Thoughts? -Mort Anyway, progress! Quote: The last email from QS Attached is a copy of the image. It looks like Braille. Flipping it horizontally and vertically puts it in what looks like a proper orientation, 11 characters on top, 4 on the bottom. My translation reads: STJAMESGUNN A G J E or 1705 (the first 10 characters of the Braille alphabet double as letters and numbers) A little research showed a shithole apartment complex in Tampa called St. James Crossing on Gunn Hwy. 1705 could be the apartment number where he went after leaving Petra. Alternatively, AG and JE are initials of whoever he was crashing with. If you get a chance, maybe you could scope it out. -Mort

Jade wrote:

Hey Mort, Thoughts? The first one that springs to mind is that is it just so much easier beating the hell out of people. In a good-natured way, of course. Magical people are such a strange lot. I've known a couple in my day. Not to say that there was any real magic involved, but the people I've known who are serious - and not just flaky - truly do believe in the self-transformative power of what they do and, I suppose to some degree, the power to transform "the external". All of which tends to result in some pretty secretive, pretty pompous people who can be really, really hard to get a fix on. As the dean of cyberpunk once said, "motivation, that's your bugaboo." Or something in that general vein. Probably applies to the Fop in spades. So good luck. I am probably not the person to advise on finesse and gamesmanship, as I tend toward the more direct approach. If you find out where this Salamander is, maybe I should pay him a visit... More soon, Jade Oh look, another note from Mort! Wish I'd seen this one a minute ago. No wait, it's a note from the Dandy, maybe a little less dandified than he wishes to appear. (No real surprise there, huh?) Cute. I'm telling ya, these kids with their puzzles and secrets. So Philly gave QS a file with a bunch of little white dots on it? What's the point in that? Flipped and flipped? What obfuscation these cats will get up to. I guess old Philly kinda misunderstood the nature of his friendship with dear Foppy McPomp, the baronet of BS. Doesn't seem like he had any intention of looking for any answers at the cryptic locale. What's he mean with all these references to "games"? Well, I'm familiar with Gunn Highway and a quick little search shows me where St. James Crossing is; so sure, I'll take a run by there. Your 1705 seems to make the most sense, but I'll keep an eye peeled for building letters too. Anything else I should know? Any other info from QS about what one might expect to find there? Should I be packin' heat? Do you know any spells I should have at the ready? Hit me with any other briefing info as soon as you see this, 'cause I'll try to head over there this weekend if I can. More soon, Jade

Response

Mort wrote:

Yeah, bring whatever heat you can comfortably conceal and use. Don't know about spells, tho. From what I've found, that place is a serious shithole. Drugs, thugs and white trash. Like a Spears family reunion... cough. But that's just the general area, nothing to do with Philly's shenanigans. QS was mum about any other details. What you know, we know. Oh, the whole games angle...our approach was to call him on "playing his hand close to his vest." So he picked up on our poker reference and ran with it. He needs a gardener to prune his overgrown metaphors... We probably won't have much else to do with him. Thanks for being our eyes and ears on the ground. Much appreciated. -Mort.

[Typoxic]

I suppose it's too much to hope for that the MSG5 pencil squares relate to the square of MSG4 somehow. As in, where the I has a line under it and on the right side, it would correspond to FATE, CONFUSION, OWN, and AGAIN to some cryptic end or other. That's the only meaning I can think of for the lines at the moment, but I can't say I've wracked my brain too hard. I'll revisit it tomorrow and see if anything jumps out.

Edit: It may be a coincidence, but the letter with lines around it appears at least once in at least one of the words that it might correspond to. The one that appears the most is "o", which is in "no" and "confusion".

[mortality]

"The Banished One" fits Luke's theory of how the names on MSG3 relate.

The executed one (MSG4): W. Wallace.
The banished one (MSG5): Enlil?

That mean MSG6's hexagon will probably have "the cursed one," Ahasuerus?

Southworth Linen is one of the oldest companies in America, been around since the 1830s.

My email to Ethan wrote:

Hey, Curious that you'd mention Clearwater. You wouldn't have an interest besides seeing someplace that isn't a frozen, landlocked tundra, would you? Nothing to do with a bay city to the south? St. Petersburg is awfully close... Your subtle way of asking for an update outside of official channels? -Mort

Ethan's email wrote:

Hi Mort, Haha, actually, no. I wish I could say I was that clever these days (if ever). But with the Swine Flu and the new freakin' Little People case and now the new 0701 message, I really hadn't thought much about St. Pete. Since you mention it, though, on a purely personal, nothing to do with WF, general news, just shooting the breeze kind of level, anything interesting going on? Ethan

This is via his GMail account, so I'll bring him up to date.

[surfzoned]

Top of page embossing reads:
Southworth Linen 25% cotton fiber

As for anagrams
The One Banished
stands out.

The letters with associated lines would form a box style cipher if T and F weren't facing the same corner piece.

As for the hex-like code used on the Blog:

Quote:

e57c09 is a shade of orange 8e2c6a is a shade of mauve (dark purplish wine) 61f925 is a lime green

Mort and myself discussed this line of thought though and feel its a false lead.

I'm still researching.. will update soon

[Sylvia]

[update] new letter at WF Open Cases

[mortality]

Well done! Sounds like Philly was into the darker stuff and QS was not. The other possibility is that Philly's stuff was a joke (Candyland) and QS is into the serious stuff (poker). I can't tell exactly what QS was implying about his interests. Either he's a good guy, or he's into stuff that's even more dangerous than what Philly was probably up to.

That picture looks like Braille. Braille is written right to left, then turned over and read left to right. So we may have to mirror this to get the right answer. If it's Braille. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Braille#Letters_and_numbers

Here's my solve, I'd appreciate double-checking and additional approaches.

Spoiler (Rollover to View):

I ended up flipping it vertically as well. 11 letters in the top row. 4 in the bottom. S T J A M E S G U N N A G J E or 1705 The last row assumes that the dots are placed at the top of the cell. The other possibility is , ( ' CH In Tampa there's a St. James Crossing Apartment on Gunn Hwy. From online reviews, it sounds like a real shithole: drugs, thugs, and white trash...kind of like a Spears family reunion. AG and JE could be the initials of who he was working with. However, I think it's more likely to mean Apt. 1705. I dug a little and found that there are apartments in the 1400s and 1600s, so I'm thinking it's definitely 5520 Gunn HYW Apt. 1705.

I sent an email to Jade with QS's reply, the properly exposed image and my speculation. We'll see what he thinks.

[badaim68]

Thought we'd blown it....

[petunia]

what the...

[yellowcard]

I've followed this story from the very beginning, and I thought it was really going well...

And I keep following it, at least once a day...

And I keep wondering what in the world happened...

No more puzzles...

Gobs of speculation...

Just email after email of conversation with IG characters...

What's next...

Is there a "next"...

[mortality]

Ethan's blog wrote:

That voice again… Posted on February 6, 2008 by ethangrant …and it's still not telling me anything useful. Thanks for the comment, Mort. Wish I was feeling warmer myself. Low of around 30 today, and I am just about over it. Why the heck can't I get assigned to check into giant catfish in the Gulf of Mexico? You'd think with all the toxic runoff down there the giant catfish would be crawling right up onto the beach and taking parasail rides (reference: mildly wild spring break quite a few years back). I need to call Jade back anyway, maybe he's got a lead on something odd I can check into down there for the next couple months. There's always Clearwater, but I suppose that is WAY outside the Foundation's charter. (Thank goodness, actually.) Anyway, after seeing Mort's comment I went back to that last post (actually remembered most of it, that's a plus) and the only bright idea that I got upon looking at it afresh was a clear thought of how much I like Peter Gabriel and, conversely, just how much I do not like Mr. Colins. I fully expect to see Phil and the boys touring through town any day now. (They are considered a washed-up 80's band due for a revival, aren't they? Maybe 70's.) Genesis, sheesh! I say blow your trumpet, Gabriel, and usher in some old-school Revelation on Phil and Co. (My recuperation seems to have made me a little crabby. I'll have to keep an eye on that…)