The Art of the Heist: Interactions-New

When you've been dead for 24 hours...

SirQuady@forums.unfiction.com — Mon, 13 Feb 2006 01:50:20 +0000

You've only just begun to be dead...

Unless you're me. In which case you get to hang out in a room with a bunch of other dead, kidnapped, and arrested people where you raid the mini-bar and order room service. Then you go out to a party and drink some free Midori Sours, and take lots of pictures ...

I'm really sorry, but I'm very tired. I need to get two more files off my Treo for you guys and then I'm going to sleep.

I will post everything that happened to me incrementally on the marrow.

The short story is this...

I was aware of the rules. I was also aware that the rules came about as a result of something that happened which left a bad taste in people's mouths. I remembered Rose mentioning it during the first Project Gateway.

The PMs were aware of the rules to and kept me more or less in the dark up to the last moment before we filmed.

After we filmed, I stopped interacting with y'all here on unfiction and in the chatroom. In accordance with the Unfiction rules. But I did contact Kane on StolenA3 (being an in game site) and took phone calls up to the point I was scheduled to be at the hotel.

On the one hand, I was very excited and I hoped you all would get a kick out of it. On the other, I kind of felt bad, and I was a little worried because I remember back when Wee didn't spill the beans about his notorious phone call with Melissa.

I stood by Wee then for keeping it to himself then, and I still feel the same now. On the other hand, I no longer don't understand that chick on season two of the Joe Shmoe Show feeling so bad. Particularly after all the times I admonished Nisha and Ian for not letting each other know important information...

As this makes me a big fat hypocrite...

But at least I'm a hypocrite with a good sense of dramatic timing. :)

Every1 who went to the party, post your pics and links here.

SMG3er@forums.unfiction.com — Sat, 02 Jul 2005 18:22:14 +0000

I'll put mines up soon, and I know Kane, SMGer, Laura and others have some too. And we would all like to see them.

#heist chat logs

rowan@forums.unfiction.com — Fri, 01 Jul 2005 01:05:21 +0000

I know I had at least one request for logs during the live event last night. I'm putting up the logs from the 28th, 29th, and 30th so that everyone who was away from the channel during various ops can see what happened if they so wish.

My thoughts on the party

SMG3er@forums.unfiction.com — Fri, 01 Jul 2005 00:22:54 +0000

It's 7am as I write this and things are still a bit fuzzy so I am going to run through things a bit. A lot of this is OOG and some of it may not make sense hhaha=)

Last night was a surprise and a hell of a lot of fun. To find out all the different people who made up The Heist was really interesting. People from all over the ARG community were involved.

The party itself was great. We all tried to remain "In character" througout the event. I ended up hanging out with Laura most of the time as we ripped on Virgil and Virgil's entourage. Virgil was not happy that I was there once he saw me. As I was walking to the couches with Laura I guess I accidently bumped Virgil and almost knocked his wine glass out. I did not realize it until I got a phone call from DS a few minutes later saying "I saw that and he took major notice of it". I came to find out later in the evening from David and some of the PM's that they were laughing quite a bit because they thought I was getting "Revenge" on him from E3. Infact they had talked about weather or not to come and talk to me but decided against it. The bump was a total accident but turned out very funny.

The time came for the big reveal so Laura and I went over infront of Virgil. During the whole shebang Laura shouted "Ian I love you" and I shouted "Kick his ass Nisha". A little while after the reveal the crew came out and hung out with everyone for the rest of the night.

How cool is that? These people are the greatest and they *DO* read these boards. . I got a tap on my shoulder and heard "Kane". I turned around and David introduced himself to me and we had a good laugh about everything. Two of the PM's came up to me and introduced themselves and we talked about a bunch of stuff. I got introduced to Nichol and "Ian" and from there the party went on. I got to meet and hang out with The Goons for a little bit and just went around the party talking with different people.

Ok so I admit as the night went on I enjoyed the free bar a little too much but hey I have been working like crazy and deserved a night of fun haha. My friend and I prob made asses out of ourselves but hell we don't care =) One of the last things I remember is dancing with the president of Audi Beverly Hills's wife lol. I walked SMG'er and LAura to the Valet and then the night was over.

My thanks for the evening and game

The whole Retriever crew.
Celina, HHM, SMG'er, DS, Nightmare Tony, Laura, Bunksteve. You guys were a lot of fun. Thanks for a really good night

Dave "Puzzlemaster" Szulborksi:
Pleasure meeting and talking with you. You did an awesome job.

The Cast:
Nichol , DAvid, "Ian", Will Star, The Goons ect. I have been on quite a few sets and met a lot of people but in my experience you guys are simply awesome. You came out and actually hung out with the crowd. You seemed to honestly be interested and excited about whatw as going on outside of your roles. I wish you guys nothing but the best.

and lastly the PM's:
Thank you for making a wonderful game. You brought my interest back into ARG's and I look fwd to the future.

There's my academy award speech hahha. I am going to try and keep my head up at work now. I prob missed a lot of stuff and if I did sorry. See you at the next Game =) The heist community rules ;)

#cgh4x log

rowan@forums.unfiction.com — Thu, 30 Jun 2005 06:21:49 +0000

Attached is the log of #cgh4x last night. Enjoy!

Virgil's invitation

johnny5@forums.unfiction.com — Wed, 29 Jun 2005 18:29:50 +0000

I'm sorry you'll have to miss my party as well, but I went ahead and included you on the email invitation list anyway, since you're one of my biggest fans. Enjoy the webcast, though!

Greetings, lucky fan!

You and a guest are hereby invited to celebrate the birth of a New Golden
Age of Gaming with the Grand Relaunch of pioneering brand TatumThink.

WHEN: Wednesday, June 29, 8:03 PM - Midnight

WHERE: The Viceroy in Santa Monica, CA

http://www.viceroysantamonica.com/maps/index.html

[Event] Virgil's Party

cskane4life@forums.unfiction.com — Wed, 29 Jun 2005 17:21:18 +0000

Tomorrow is the big night. I will be there enjoying the free booze at the very nice Viceroy. For those that have my contact information you can get updates from me.

I know HHM and DS will also be there....

PM from Emile

rose- not logged in@forums.unfiction.com — Sat, 25 Jun 2005 20:11:46 +0000

Was away and just got back, this is from the 22nd

If the "hidden" stuff you're talking about is the stuff accessible from Virgil's puzzle, no, that doesn't upset me, since he obviously wanted it found by the right people. This "worry" person really upsets and disturbs me, though. I've torn my office apart looking for some kind of bug or surveillance device, but couldn't find anything. It's really getting to me, not knowing who this person is, or what I can do to stop him. I was wondering if it was this "scapegoat" person who's been posting on the stolena3 board, since he's obviously got some kind of psychotic vendetta against me and TatumThink, but I have no way of proving anything. And I'm still really worried about Virgil; I still don't know what he's doing in his office all day, but I'm pretty sure now he's not working on The Nisha Chronicles. Something's just not right. It's like I can see Virgil headed straight for a cliff, and I'm powerless to stop him. I know he can come across as a real jerk sometimes, but he's still a good friend I've known for a long, long time, and it's hard to see him this way.

Oh well, better get back to work...thanks a lot for your understanding and concern, it's much appreciated.

BTW, I've corresponded a bit more with this bunksteve person, and he seems like a good guy. I guess I was just starting to get a little paranoid, what with all that's been going on lately

"Pixels and Programs" - Virgil x Me

SMG3er@forums.unfiction.com — Mon, 20 Jun 2005 22:37:53 +0000

Tatum:

By now you should realize an influx of retrievers have found
the writings secretively placed on your website (as if the sharp
uptake in bandwidth didn't signal enough, I'm sure the e-mails
did.) But I disgress.

My point here is Virgil that you're the only person I trust as a
"retriever" anymore. The reason for this is simple -- you're the only
card here who I don't suspect of a crime on one degree or another.

Regardless of how you try to explain for it, Ian's a thief -- he's
stolen the car, for good intentions or bad. Nisha may have killed
Gunther. I don't like to think about it, and you certainly wouldn't,
but it's a fairly reasonable explanation.

Which brings us to you, Mr. Tatum. So, I question you: what would
be your advice? I'd rather not pick 'sides', but it seems I have to. If
only we could all solve this cooperatively, working together. .but there
are even arguements among retrievers on how to proceed. I just don't
know who to trust, so I trust you.

I've read your most secretive of writings, like the rest, and I see
what few others do: honesty.

~xuratu

MyAliasHasNoLastName:

Is it the custom in your homeland to address new acquaintances by their last
names? Where I come from, it usually signifies that you are either a drill
sergeant or rude.

Congratulations on being the first person clever enough to make contact with
the King of Code. You should be very proud of yourself. But don't go
dislocating your shoulder to pat yourself on the back just yet, Sergeant.

I'm glad to see you share my viewpoint about Mr. Yarbrough; I was beginning
to feel as if I were talking to a wall. I don't know why certain others have
been blind to the simple fact that he is a thief, and is responsible for the
Uffizi heist. Actually, I do know why this blindness exists, but I'd rather
not think about it right now.

As far as Nisha killing Gunter, it pains me to see that a simpleton like Ian
has hoodwinked someone as sharp as you (as I said, don't be too proud of
yourself.) Nisha is a complicated woman, an enigma, and obviously trained to
kill if she has to--but she's not a murderer. Although I don't have any
proof, I'm certain it was Ian who killed Gunter. He will not stop until he
has completely destroyed her, and I'm glad to see others are unwilling to
sit back and let this happen to my Nisha. My advice would be to watch him
very carefully. I understand some of you retrievers have gained his trust;
perhaps you could use this trust to catch him in one of his many lies. He's
not the sharpest tool in the shed, and I'm sure he could be made to slip up
and admit to his transgressions.

Just be careful where you tread with Ian, as he is a very dangerous young
man--I'm sure you heard about what he did to me at E3.

Good luck.
---
Virgil Tatum
http://www.virgilkingofcode.com

Mr. Virgil Tatum, King of Code:

Apologies. It's not homeland custom, just a personal touch I've
picked up. We all have our personal touches like that, don't we?
I think it's important to keep spats of originality like that, the sort
of thing that causes people, like you, Mr. Tatum, to take notice.
It certainly got a raise of the brow from you, I expect.

Thank you on your congratulations, but I should respectfully
admit that it couldn't have done without the other retrievers. We
all worked very hard on that cube of yours, you know. It's quite
the puzzle. You won't disappoint us now, will you? I expect
something even more meticulously puzzling in nature next
from you, Mr. Tatum.

I'm slowly coming to accept that Ian is behind the Uffizi heist,
with the biggest evidence coming from the lease notice. I think
you've seen this by now, but if you haven't, tell me and I'll send
it to you. A place in Florence in more than suspicious. I'm
certainly staying on my toes. .but listen, Virgil, I wouldn't say
this, but I'm the prying type -- prying enough to get this e-mail.
What I'm trying to say is. .I know Nisha deserves better than
Ian. I know you want to fill that part of her life, and frankly, I'm
rooting for you. But be careful, Virgil. The more you allow others
to see that side of you, the more they'll fear your motives.
Emotions are always complicated, and despite my own opinion,
many fear you can't help Nisha objectively if you can't control
your feelings to her. If you want to help and be heard, you need
to stay calm and in control. Don't you think so?

I can't say for sure I believe Ian is behind Gunther's murder, but
I'll remind you I didn't expect Nisha has killed him, but I was always
prepared for the possibility. That's all I meant was that it's an option,
and it's important for all of us to keep our eyes open to every possibility.
In his book "Kafka By The Shore", Haruki Murakami's character Kafka
suggests that every hypothesis is a theory until there's evidence to
counteract that. So no matter how unrealistic or unfortunate or unhappy
a possibility is, unless there's a hypothesis against it, you can't rule
it, right?

Don't worry, I certainly have my eye on Ian. I'll tell you anything I hear,
and I wouldn't complain if you'd do the same. Just don't lose sight of that
ultimate goal, Tatum. That ultimate void for you to fill, and for her
to fill in
you. When the game comes out, I think she'll see as clearly as the rest
of us.

~xuratu

Xuratu,

I hope you don't mind me calling you by your first name, as having to type
your last name repeatedly may threaten to give me carpal tunnel syndrome.

I'm well aware of the storefront in Florence that Ian has rented, and I'm
glad to see more people are finally beginning to share my view of him.
Despite the literary or scientific definitions one may choose to ascribe to
the notion of a "theory," as far as the possibility of Nisha killing Gunter,
I refuse to even place this in the realm of the conceivable. She is too
pure, and such a graceless act would be beneath her.

I appreciate you keeping an eye on Ian and letting me know if you find out
anything. With enough people on my side, we can finally give him what he
deserves.

---
Virgil Tatum
http://www.virgilkingofcode.com

Virgil:

It's worth mentioning that Ian has uploaded SD Card 5 to his side
of that mess known as lastresortretrieval.com. As Todd from the
stolena3.com site pointed out, he's uploaded it in a very strange
way. All the files are uploaded individually, without the ZIP or the
password. Kind of makes one wonder if Ian hasn't had these files
unzipped for awhile? Maybe even had them in a pre-zipped form?

Mr. Tatum, he didn't mention how or why he got the card at all.
You can read the full deal at stolena3.com, but to me, Yarbrough
has had these files for much longer than the fair month of June.

I think the sheer mannerism puts us one step closer to the truth.
Incidentally, I think we might want to take this card with a grain of
salt. . do you think Ian might be putting down a red herring?

Thoughts?

yours,
~xuratu

I would not put anything past Ian at this point. I would regard anything and
everything emanating from that black void of a being with several bushels of
salt.

Thank you for your continued vigilance, Xuratu.

[/quote]

PM exchange with Emile about the solve to the Evil Cube.

rose-not logged in@forums.unfiction.com — Sun, 19 Jun 2005 16:28:11 +0000

From stolen a3 - me to emile from the day we finally cracked this, thanks drbilson. and then emile's answer

Hey emile,

Just FYI: we cracked the futures puzzle... thanks so much for your help with that. if you are curious: user = expediency / password: newconceptualization.

:D

~r

Congratulations to you and all your friends, rose! Figures "expediency" would come into play heavily like that; that word is almost like a mantra at TatumThink. Glad I could help you guys out in some small way. :)

Email exchange with Virgil

jasonnyc@forums.unfiction.com — Sat, 18 Jun 2005 15:54:51 +0000

So, I emailed Virgil the day after we found the email address. Here's what I emailed:

==============================
Virgil,

I'm assuming that you put your email address into your site in the
manner you did to attract only a "certain" type of individual to find
it, and that if said individual *did* find it, that you wished to be
contacted by those same people. I am one of those people, and as such
am contacting you.

Mainly I wanted to express my admiration for your dedication to the
art of gaming, and to also comment on the originality of your site.
The flash background and puzzles are very interesting and
entertaining.

I have a question for you, however. After going through your site and
seeing the information you have on Nisha, I'm curious as to why you
have Emile querying the Retrievers for information on her mannerisms,
etc - it appears to me that you have VERY detailed notes on this very
subject, in much more detail than any of the Retrievers have yet been
able to provide.

Also, I want you to know that I'm concerned for you. Believe me, I
understand your loss and devistation, but you must understand that in
order to be available for someone new, you have to get over your past.
Although your very detailed notes on Nisha would be very helpful to
the development of The Nisha Chronicles, it also speaks of a rather
unhealthy obsession with her. Unless you resolve your grief issues, a
meaningful relationship with Nisha will be difficult to obtain.

Yes, I know - I am a complete stranger to you. However, as I stated
before, I believe you desired to be contacted - but by a certain type
of person, hopefully one you can trust. Believe me when I tell you
that I only have your best interests at heart.

Hope to see you at ComicCon San Diego in July!
Your friend,
Celina
=============================

Finally got a response from him today, and it wasn't near as nice as rose's :-( :

=============================
What I seek will not be difficult to obtain after Nisha finally sees the
truth.

Thank you for your concern, Doctor.
=============================

Sheesh. Some people just can't take advice.

C

Hitting on Viggi

rowan@forums.unfiction.com — Wed, 15 Jun 2005 19:19:44 +0000

Another hint from Scapegoat 6/11/04

Cookster@forums.unfiction.com — Tue, 14 Jun 2005 00:02:20 +0000

late night out need to hit the hay. drank with asome of my fellow exs and we are cookin upw our revenge. Aked 1 of them abl;ut the cube thing and she said somthing about oh yeah th point of that pizzle is that the future belngs to t;hose that can quiklly conceive of it or somthing. okay cant type well this messed up ttyl

Guys, I didn't know before if this was relevant after we "solved the cube" ... obviously it is

and so is the rant from virgil with all the typos in it... the "this isn't working" one.

Ian email

xero@forums.unfiction.com — Sat, 11 Jun 2005 11:59:59 +0000

From: Ian Yarbrough
To: Johnny5
Date: Jun 6, 2005 3:07 PM
Subject: Re: Gunter

I wouldn't put anything past her at this point. She could have been
playing me for years.

ian

ian@lastresortretrieval.com

Johnny5 wrote:
> Ian,
> you know, listening to that Chicago wiretap, I get the overwhelming
> vibe that Gunter and Nisha have "been together" at some point in the
> past. Considering how much she knew about his childhood in that convo
> with Mama Banderwine, it may not be that big a stretch.
>
> Just a thought.
> --j5--
>

Emile's view of Virgil's mental health

xero@forums.unfiction.com — Sat, 11 Jun 2005 09:03:33 +0000

Rose,

Like you and Todd, I have also been deeply concerned about Virgil's mental health as of late. When I came in to the office Monday morning, he was babbling incoherently, saying something about "traitors" who would have to "face the music," or some crazy stuff like that. I tried to get him to talk to me and explain what was going on with him, but it was like talking to a wall.

He didn't come in at all on Tuesday, then returned to the office yesterday. He went straight into his office without saying a word, shut the door, and never came out for the rest of the day. I heard him yelling in there a few times throughout the day, but I couldn't hear what he was saying. When he finally came out of his office at the end of the day, I grabbed his arm to try to stop him on the way out, to find out what was going on, but he just yanked his arm away from me and kept walking.

Pretty much the same thing today, barricading himself in his office, intermittent yelling -- I asked around, and nobody around the office had talked to him on the phone today, so I don't know what all the yelling was about. I did try to listen at his door today though, during one of his bouts of yelling, and I know this sounds crazy, but it sounded like he said, "Yes! Yes! Turtle men! Turtle men!" There aren't any turtles, or "turtle men" in this game, so I have no idea what he could've been talking about. I'm really getting worried about him.

This murder stuff is very disturbing as well. Are you implying that Virgil could be mixed up in this somehow?