DC: tCotSA-New

[LETTER] From tCotSA today (3/22/07)

Percoboist@forums.unfiction.com — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 03:16:29 +0000

I was very surprised to receive a letter inthe mail today from tCotSA. Heavy bond page, hand made envelope, postage from Michigan, hand printed in pencil:

Hello once again! I am pleased to be writing you with good news:
It is time to gather together the long scattered folio pages.
I cannot explain how important these item cuold prove to our cause
Many generations ago, great minds looked into the future and we must
Now fold their insights into our own understanding of this grand
Situation we find ourselves in.

These pages have been spread to a variety of locations, but always
Guarded carefully. While many of the original guardians were members
Of our organization at one time, we have lost contact with many
Of these people over the ages. This accurately describes the situation
Surrounding the first collection of pages we will go after.

In 2001 we were able to trace some of the pages to a
Guardian we refer to as Trusted Hands A. We believe
That she took possession of the [ages from her grandmother,
Who probably brought them out of Europe in WWI.

We do not know her real identity or location, but we have had some brief Communications with her. She appears to
Be dedicated to our cause, but is extremely cautious
About handing over the items her family has guarded for
So long. She refuses a face-to-face meeting for fear of
Exposing her family to the dangers that stalk these
Pages, and frankly I don't blame her.

I believe that she will agree to a dead drop
Soon, but for now we need to try and learn
More about where she is located. The only
Real clue we have is a brief comment we
Heard in the background of out last
Phone conversation. While on the phone
With our agent, a young voice was heard
In the background on her end of the line
Our agent believes that he heard:

"...GOING TO...-ANDELEER AND HYD-...-FTER DIN-..."

An airplane obscured much of the phrase. It isn't
Much to work with, but we didn't bring your
Team into this mess because we had an easy
Job on our hands. See if you can make
Anything out of this, and I'll be trying to
Talk her into making a drop. Given the
Secrecy that Trusted Hands A has shown so
Far, I think we are going to have to connect a lot of the dots ourselves
On this one. We will be
In touch soon.

I kept the original line sequencing in this transposition. The line near the end beginning "Far" curves up the side of the page (I will scan & post on my flickr)

On the back of the page:

We have been able to speak briefly with our agent
Within the interface, and he speaks highly of your
Group. We hope you are adjusting well to that
Strange world, and wish you the best of luck.

All of the message was printed in capital block letters, which is why I capitalized each line (in case there was a clue there, but I can't see it)

So all I can figure is we are looking for a city which has an airport and streets with "-andeleer and hyd-" with in it.

[PUZZLE]Wood and Cloth

JohnnyCon7@forums.unfiction.com — Tue, 15 May 2007 23:25:26 +0000

The package was sent on 1/17, and contained a piece of wood (10in x 3in),with dots poked into it, and wrapped in cloth ( cotton duck ) with letters on the inside. The envelope had a hangman drawn on the back.

I've already tried reading the dots as morse code, braille, binary, and using the number of dots to represent a letter.

Cloth
Front of Wood
Back of Wood
Hangman

The scans of the wood are much clearer, the ink smudges are from the ink on the inside of the cloth, and I made it worse when I was wetting the board with a cloth to see if there was anything hidden on it.

Wood Front Scan
Wood Back Scan

But, today I received this letter (sent 1/25)
http://i85.photobucket.com/albums/k69/johnnycon7/tcotsaLetter1.jpg

Translates to

WE HOPE YOU ARE HAVINGS[sic] SUCCESS WITH OUR LATEST BATCH OF COMMUNICATIONS IT IS EXCITING TO BE SO CLOSE TO THE END OF THIS PROCESS AND WE LOOK FORWARD TO EXPLAINING OUR SITUATION A LITTLE BETTER

IF THE WOOD AND THE CLOTH ARE GIVING YOU ANY TROUBLE ASK THE DCDD FOR ADVICE

My questions are

who is "the dcdd" and what is a "duice"

I'm going to write an e-mail to tCotSA to clarify this and whether we should wait for instructions to send our red numbers, or just go ahead and send them now.

EDIT:
I sent this e-mail to tCotSA@Gmail.com

I have a small quantity of queries; firstly, who is the dcdd and how can I communicate with them. Secondly, all of my delving has yet to divulge the definition of "duice". Finally, should I submit my cerise ciphers every correspondence, or only once; and if once, when?

In case this message needs to be authenticated my numbers are FIVE NINE.

EDIT:
Added Cloth pic, wood scans, and made the letter a URL.

[LETTER] White District

JohnnyCon7@forums.unfiction.com — Mon, 12 Mar 2007 22:07:23 +0000

I was on the fence about continuing this ARG, as I had looked at DC at one point and decided NOT to play that one. Getting a letter that I haven't seen mentioned on the boards yet may just have swayed me.

Postmarked February 28th (as close to my birthday as you can get this year, and probably the most exciting thing to happen on my birthday), with a river stamp ("Longest river system ... Mississippi-Missouri"). My name and address were written strangely, though I highly doubt that means anything.

Inside were two folded pieces of paper, with a thin strip of paper wrapped around the other two and taped to hold them together. It was cut from one of the two pieces of paper to make a curvy edge.

One piece of paper says:

"Congratulations [underlined twice] on passing the testing phase. We are really excited to have you on our side. I know that some of my associates can be a little cold and mysterious, but you should know that we really do appreciate what you are doing. Keep up the hard work.

I have read some of the reports coming from our agent on the inside, and I wanted to make a suggestion to you and your team: remember that our enemies won't know you are with us, so it might be a good idea for some of you to infiltrate their organization."

The other:

"Having a few of you over in the white district should certainly come in handy from time to time.

Good luck [underlined twice] getting settled into the interface, and I hope you are ready to get cracking on the last pages."

Pictures will be made if deemed necessary, but it seems REALLY straight forward.

[EMAIL] From Al Brackin

WolfHawk@forums.unfiction.com — Fri, 09 Mar 2007 07:32:02 +0000

I sent a simple note:

My name is Red,

I have been in correspondence in my current time (2007) with a groups
of people calling themselves the Committee of the Sedulous
Amalgamation. They have apparently lead me to you and the
Brotherhood.

How can I help?

The Reply:

Hello Red. You have done well to find me by that means.
I have been out of contact with the CotSA since they took that
pseudonym to hide from those who would recognize the name Sodality,
but I have never lost sight of the true goal of the Brotherhood of
Nostredame.

I do not know how much about the time communication interface you
know, but much of the answers you seek can be found at
deus-city.blogspot.com.

I met up with a man named Phillip Moore a few weeks ago. He is alive
and seeking his own destiny - but I fear he knows too much and will
soon become a great threat. Understand that I harbor no ill-will
against him! His last act on the Defense-corp Mexico compound in Dec.
was to free me from my cell via a remote control panel before we each
ran in separate directions. As I understand it he even confessed to
being the real first contact with the future... but none of that
matted a few weeks ago... he still had something I needed. You see,
the men at the secret Defense-corp compound were having him analyze my
hard drive for all of the information about my old PhD time-com
project, but he discovered something he did not expect - a transcript
of a very old page which I originally transcribed when first meting
with Alex Wright's father - the night before we flew to GA, the night
before his plane went down.

I guess Phillip realized that that page was important, that it was
something I had long studied and written about (as I did at
deus-city.blogspot.com), and most importantly - something I did not
realize until later - that it was about him. I met up with him in a
little cantina on the border and we traded: my hard drive for a book
that was given to me by the Sodality - a little distraction that was
published a long time ago by them to seed confusion... but I'm getting
ahead of myself.

You should know that in my time hiding I was with a group of men and
women that have watched and waited for the temporal interface for a
very long time from their hiding places in many major cities in the
Western world. While with them, they explained a number of things to
me which I will now relate to you. Understand this: I'm not crazy, but
I don't mind my enemies thinking that I am. It is time for trust and
cooperation now. It's time for the REAL quest to begin, and the veil
of secrecy to be torn in two.

This is what I learned in my studies with the Sodality:

1566 The first "temporal scientist" Nostradamus dies

1568 His son Caesar Publishes his memoirs as a "prophecy" in hopes of
concealing it in plain sight, His apprentice James Chavingy sets up a
workshop in his name thus forming the first brotherhood of Nostradame
known by them as the "Sodalitas Nostradamus" translated "Nostradame
Sodality", which uses his secret techniques of "prophecy" (or should I
say time communication?) To make predictions for nearly a century
after his death.

1654 The "Folio of the Prophet" is completed just in time for the
remnants of the Roman Inquisition to round them up and execute them as
heretics. (the same thing that happened to Galileo and countless other
scientists in that century) Only a handful of the brotherhood escaped
and went into hiding, changing their name but vowing to protect the
remnants of the folio until the time of the prophecy when the group
could be reformed. Half of the "Folio" was destroyed, about a quarter
put under lock and key at the Vatican, and another quarter
mysteriously dissappeared. This quarter was mostly of the latter
prophecies and were secreted away by the hidden brothers. Throughout
history some later copies and references to the folio surfaced, but
they were little more than footnotes in history, and the Sodality was
all but forgotten in the shadow of the "Prophet" Nostradamus.

1937 Nearly 3 centuries later, Maxine DeSauch publishes a low profile
campy book about prophecy with a number of surprising truths about the
Sodality. This book catches the eye of a man who happens to have a
very old parchment in his posession - a family heirloom and the man
makes contact with the book's publisher. Others soon follow and it
becomes clear that a great destiny awaits the descendants of the
brotherhood of Nostredame. The time of the recollection had arrived.

1957 The sodality begins a somewhat higher profile disinformation
campaign to hide themselves "in plain sight", most notably with an
entry into a book series on "The world's Secret Societies" which began
as a series of articles in a prominent magazine. The Sodality article
entitled "The Sodality of Nostredamus: A Dozen Dead Prophets" appeared
between "Freemasons and Devil Worship" and "The Templars: Brotherhood
of Blood." (It was this book that I gave to Phil to throw him off...
but I now fear it did not work.)

2006 Time communication is a reality once again thanks to the hidden
efforts and support of the Sodality - now working under a new name for
the purpose of finding worthy members in preparation for the day when
the Folio will be reunited... The group takes over the project but
something goes terribly wrong as Foo, my project coordinator hijacks
the feed and deposes the old team. I realized that I needed help if I
was going to defeat Foo at his own game. I sought out my loyal friends
- David, Rose, and Alex... In so doing, fate took me to the doorstep
of this group - to a man who was a member. Alex Wright Sr.. He dropped
everything and risked all to hide me - to give me an untraceable route
to safety and to find my own destiny - my own copy of a page of the
folio, given to me by a man of the Sodality who lives near St
Augustine, FL. (Many of you followed me in this journey at
nostredame.blogspot.com, and for that I am eternally grateful).
Ironically though this same action caused The Sodality to lose its
grip on the project for good when Mr. Wright's plane went down and in
the confusion a hostile trans-temporal takeover allowed Foo (with the
help of those who believed in his lies at foo-defiant.blogspot.com) to
leverage control over not only the feed from the future and establish
the interface at deuscity.com - but also the very company that had
secretly financed the project from the beginning. Alex Wright Sr.'s
company. The Sodality's company. Defensecorp.

...You likely know the rest, and present history is known only to the
citizens of Deus City 2036 who lived it.

I now need to know how many we have in this time who are willing to
take their own journey. For a while I doubted that I was still myself
in the future and that the Sodality will change names once again - but
now my future self has given me the confirmation I needed through one
of you. The folio WILL be recollected. We must find who has the pages
and where they have been hidden. The clues lay in the interface
created by the enemy - in the near future that is Deus City. The task
will not be easy, and If our secret is discovered then we may have to
beat our enemies there... perhaps to every major city in the world...
But we are destined to succeed brothers, we are merely fulfilling our
unchangeable destiny.

I have said so myself.

-Brother Theo, 2007
DEUS EX MACHINA!

[PUZZLE] Arithmetic Drawings

JohnnyCon7@forums.unfiction.com — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 21:30:20 +0000

In several of our mailings, there have been similar drawings. Each is a set of four objects, with an arithmetic sign in each object:

[REFERENCE] The Events so Far

coffeegirl18@forums.unfiction.com — Thu, 08 Mar 2007 20:21:48 +0000

Well, things are starting to get busy on the plot front, as well as tCotSA moving up to a full-blown arg with its own forum, so I figure one of these is in order to get any newcomers up to scratch (as well as the fact that my computer let its magic smoke out and I need to get caught up as well.

Warning: This post has spoilers. These make the post more aerodynamic, and thus more maneuverable at high speeds.

It starts with SpaceBass recieving a letter , mostly saying that "tCotSA" is going to send us a bunch of puzzles that we are supposed to solve to prove that we are not stupid. It also says to send the answers to: tCotSA / PO Box 885 / Bloomfield Hills, MI / 48303

The first puzzle is also sent to SpaceBass, a letter containing a bunch of words with the spaces removed. The words ask us for the last entry in the Devil's Dictionary, which is zoology. Lovek sends in a postcard with the answer.

The next puzzle arrives to Lovek. It consisted of a package of letters, each one with a slip of paper with letters cut into it. These letters were irrelevant but, with the aid of a hint a series of phrases, that when put together, indicated "Arron Burr" as the answer. Postcards were sent in. After which, an additional hint was recieved, basically spelling out the answer.

The next puzzle consisted of a set of three packages; each one contained a pencil image, a dot message, and a set of scrambled letters. Lovek recieved a boot , Mapmaker recieved a feather (plume) , and EndOfFemme got a hammer (beetle) .
The dot notes decode to the question: What names do the three objects represent?
Meanwhile, several other letters are recieved: a message that says that "tCotSASPLATgmail.com" is now working, a hint, one-third of an explanation , and a second hint .

At this point, we recieve notice that the head puzzler's torch has been passed. This person sends out a
letter in a contradictory style and tone to what we have been used to. It says that we have been taking to long on the boot/plume/beetle and that they are going to start the next puzzle.

At this point, multiple puzzles start taking place.

This next puzzle consists of a number of map books and color schemes, but is cut short with
this letter : the person sending out the map puzzle has been removed for starting the puzzle early and we are to ignore their puzzle and resume the work on the "triumvate" puzzle. However, the puzzle is still solved and a solution is confirmed in a note (more on this note later)

JohnnyCon is sent a wooden shingle and some cloth The wooden shingle has dots pressed into it on both sides, and the cloth has seemingly random letters. A hint is sent - ask the DCDD (possibly the dutch coalition on disability and development). A second note is sent, (it translates to "dcdd have a governing board with ten members") and leads us to beleve that the cloth reads "the time has closed at the time now is" in dutch. The shingle is, as of now, unsolved.

TylerK gets a letter that adds spaces to the "offset letters" which then can be rearranged to clues. This leads to a solve . a final hint is recieved after the hint.

After the three solves, this letter is sent to a number of people. It decodes to this , the first instance of plot. TCotSA is a group of people protecting the secrets of "time communication" and that, since a lot of people are out to get them, we need to do their dirty work.
Hey hasn't this been done before?

On several of their letters tCotSA included " arithmatic drawings ". These drawings are sets of four objects, each with a arithmatic symbol (+, -, /, *) that spell things when put in the right order. These decoded to "GOLD CITY WASH TALE" which led us to Eldoradowatcher, a character in Deus City .

Before these were figured out, it was speculated that this game was part of deus city. A Email from Al Brakin confirmed this, and filled in the background of DC.

As of right now, we are waiting for info about gathering the "folio" and catching up with the plotlines of DC.

Let reason guide your minds, and intellect steer your action

notgordian@forums.unfiction.com — Mon, 05 Mar 2007 23:43:45 +0000

Let the game begin. Got a letter in the mail. Aquaman stamp postmarked from Chicago.

Sorry my scanner sucks. Ignore black line as usual. Click to see larger:

Also included: a translucent piece of waxy type paper with the phrase, "Let reason guide your minds, and intellect steer your action". Can't see anything else interesting about it. And since it's hard to scan, I'll study it more before attempting.

[PUZZLE] Hangman Puzzle

TylerK@forums.unfiction.com — Sat, 24 Feb 2007 18:24:25 +0000

Some of our mailings have add a similar pairings of dashes. Sometimes they contain a alphabetic letter instead of a dash in certain spots. There is usually a symbol over each group in the pair that are related to one another.

These came on seperate envelopes in the same package and have been strong together via photoshop (click it, it's much bigger):

These came later:

Also, this came on the first mailing to Space Bass. It may or my not be related:

[TRAILHEAD] tCotSA

aninterloper@forums.unfiction.com — Wed, 21 Feb 2007 23:51:51 +0000

Postmark canceled in Royal Oak, Michigan, the attached letter arrived in my postbox today. No return address except "tCotSA," and lettered in red on the reverse, " one one ." Interestingly, the envelope is really not; it's actually a folded and much-taped piece of letter-sized paper.

...Okay, maybe that wasn't that interesting. :oops: But my composure has been challenged!

tCotSA

we challenge your composure
we challenge your assiduity

we begin the Sedulous Amalgamation

instructions are as follows:

the Initial Challenge will be issued shortly. make ready to commence. astute participants who can answer the Challenge must dispatch their solutions with care, and exactly as instructed, via mail carrier to the following address:

tCotSA
PO Box 885
Bloomfield Hills, MI
48303

an operational return address should be included, for the sake of the next step:

after a healthy number of correct solutions have been received, components of the next Challenge will be mailed out. recipients of these components will be randomly drawn from the pool of correct solutions to the previous Challenge.

to solve all Challenges beyond the Initial Challenge, some manor [sic] of alliance within your ranks will be indispensable, but we will leave you to your own devices to sort out those details.

this system of distributing components of current Challenges randomly to contributors of correct solutions from the previous Challenge will continue until the final Challenge is solved.

be it noted: this is not an enterprise for those short of equanimity.

if you can complete all thirteen Challenges that compose the Sedulous Amalgamation, you will prove your collective sagacity. if you are unable to muster the acumen or constitution necessary for this escapade, you will reinforce our theories concerning ongoing cerebral degradation within the general populous [sic]. this would be disappointing to say the least.

make humanity proud.

sincerely,

the Committee of the Sedulous Amalgamation [<- handwritten -SB]

*Notes in [] added by me.

ETA: The symbols at the bottom right, near as I can tell, are in order clockwise from the top: Tick/Crab thing (could be a facehugger :shock: ) with plus sign
Spoon with division sign
Hand with subtraction sign
Bottle with multiplication sign

[PUZZLE] Boot, plume, beetle

RedHatty@forums.unfiction.com — Mon, 19 Feb 2007 15:54:33 +0000

I thought I'd start a new thread for this puzzle, I hope you all don't mind me jumping into the game in progress.

3 players received similar packages. Each contained a framed drawing with a code on the back, as well as a coded letter.

The Boot

Got a new package. Pictures and comments follow (as usual, click images to see larger):

Package

Package contents (two items wrapped in paper as per usual, one of them is thick)

White envelope and paper it contained.

Inside white envelope (white envelope was blank). The black line from top to bottom on the right is a scanner problem. Just ignore it.

Inside thick, gray envelope. A nicely framed drawing of a boot.

And, of course, I opened the frame:

In the frame are two seperate sheets of paper, the boot drawing, and a piece of paper with this (again, ignore black line on the right):

A very nice, detailed drawing of a boot. This is NOT a copy. It was hand-drawn with pencil. Someone is talented.

Unfortunately, I thought I saw impressions at the bottom of the drawing, and so I pencil shaded them (I HATED to do anything to this drawing). I didn't get much out of it. It looks a lot like the writing on the other sheet of paper above, but it's VERY hard to make out. See below. I can't make anything more clearly than what you can see here:

Anyway, I think I can get all of the shading erased. I actually have somewhere in my house I want to hang this!

Dot puzzle decodes to:

WHICH PERSONAGE IS THE MOST RIVETING
YOUR ANSWER TO THIS QUERY IN YOUR JUDGEMENT

Code on drawing decodes to:

TOESOYNOC
LERIKUELS

The Plume

Waiting for me tonight as I returned to Boston was a package from the illustrious CotSA! It is similar in form to Lovek's package #2, but different in content.

First off, my drawing was of a feather (quite nice):

Second, my note had different dots:

(Note the pillowcase, from the Target collection.)

Third, my offset-writing page was different as well:

Dot puzzle decodes to:

Of the complete triumvirate and expounds
proclamation which employs the monikers

Code on drawing decodes to:

BETOYERALLOATREKY
SOWEHISHOTERKY

The Beetle

Package number 3!

I got a very nice picture of a wooden hammer.

A much larger version is here . I think that I see a word written on the head of the hammer (bottom-left edge along the curve), but it may be detail in the drawing. I can scan the drawing if it's needed.

I also received the letter with dots and the offset writing hidden in the picture frame.

Dot puzzle decodes to:

submit to the committee a compendious
the plume has eight and the beetle has ten

Code on drawing decodes to:

ETLEERPOTTORECKRROWS
SEMMELEDBEYSRETB

tCotSA stand-alone forum and posting guidelines

Giskard@forums.unfiction.com — Sun, 18 Feb 2007 19:44:52 +0000

I've created a subsection for tCotSA, as the number of threads in the Potentials forum was gradually becoming high enough to warrant its own space (besides which, the Potenttals forum was becoming rather full :) )

A short summary of guidelines for these forums:

Please refer to the general unFiction posting guidelines here .
Please try and keep the forum as tidy as possible, which is mostly done by using the [search] function to see if what you want to post is not already being discussed! You'll find the [search] function at the top right-hand side at all times.
Please PM me or any of the admins / moderators if you have any questions regarding these guidelines or the forum in general Have fun!

[PUZZLE][SOLVED] Map Booklets

EndOfFemme@forums.unfiction.com — Mon, 12 Feb 2007 21:40:09 +0000

I'm not really sure how to go about this but, but I got a letter confirming the map solve today. Since theres no topic for this puzzle I'll just start, and finish it now I guess.

On Dec. 29, I got a package,

I got a package in the mail today.

theres a 'J' on the back of the envelope.

Envelope Back
Envelop Front

Inside was a page of letters and numbers, (haven't looked at the numbers if someone thinks I'm missing something)
Code Page
Isolating the letters I got,

for each survey inquire:"to what city does this belong?" a collection of five volumes have been distributed. a list of five names is the solution. once every page within a tome has been placed alphabetize the new found ogdoad . repeat this for each volume, giving you five alphabetized directories. pull out the final pentad as follows: (yellow) closest to a (yellow plus red) forth [sic] closest to a (yellow plus blue) fifth closest to a (the most enchanting) third closest to a (and the remaining) second closest to a for a correct solution, submit to the Committee the name of one person who has functioned as mayor of those final five cities.

For those of us who are color chart challenged, yellow + red = orange, yellow + blue = green

There was also a small booklet with 8 maps drawn inside,
Book Cover
Map 1
Map 2
Map 3
Map 4
Map 5
Map 6
Map 7
Map 8

There cities in alphabetical order are

Map 2. Calgary, AB, CA
Map 5. Glace Bay, NS, CA
Map 8. Kitchener, ON, CA
Map 6. Quebec, QC, CA
Map 4. Summerside, PE, CA
Map 7. Toronto, ON, CA
Map 3. Vancouver, BC, CA
Map 1. Winnipeg, MB, CA

On Dec. 30, RedHatty got a package,

Mine came today. Same code page (exactly) as JonnyCon received

an "O" on the back of the envelope

cover
page1
page2
page3
page4
page5
page6
page7
page8

the cities in alphabetical order

4. Carpinteria, CA
7. Long Beach, CA
2. Mission Viejo, CA
3. Palmdale, CA
1. Riverside, CA
5. Sacramento, CA
8. San Jose, CA
6. West Covina, CA

On Jan. 10 Inju posted a package,

I received one some days ago--sorry for the wait. I'll scan in a bit.

For now, the cities in order by page:

1. Albuquerque, NM
2. Omaha, NE
3. Portland, OR
4. Burbank, CA
5. Tucson, AZ
6. Salt Lake City, UT
7. Colorado Springs, CO
8. Duluth, MN

Jan. 12 Lovek posted a package,

Ok, my envelope has an "e" on the back and the booklet says "BLUE" on the cover. The cities (in ABC order) are:

8. Deming, NM
2. Farmington, NM
1. Las Cruces, NM
3. Los Alamos, NM
6. Roswell, NM
4. Santa Fe, NM
5. Truth Or Consequences, NM
7. Tucumcari, NM

Also:

... (yellow) closest to a (yellow plus red) forth [sic] closest to a (yellow plus blue) fifth closest to a ( the most enchanting ) third closest to a (and the remaining) second closest to a for a correct solution...

The state nickname of New Mexico is "The Land of Enchantment"

We're still missing a package, but lovek got this letter

Got a letter today.

Back of Envelope

Drawing (ignore the black line along the bottom... it's from my scanner)

GregT SPEC'D that the letter spelled,

Solve for the message in those two drawings is GOLD CITY.

Grapes
Oregon
Lemon
Die

Cookie
Icicle
Triangle
Yak

(So the order to read these things is X + / - , for some reason.)

Now, the next question is what to do with that.

I found this City Oroville, CA; The Gold City

Near the bottom of that page it says,

Freda Ehmann - the "Mother of the Ripe Olive Industry." She developed a curing process for olives and moved to Oroville to begin using it. Her son, Edwin was the mayor of Oroville from 1919 to 1923. Their home, at Lincoln and Robinson Streets, was built in 1911 and is currently used as the headquarters for the Butte County Historical Society.

So, on Jan. 20 I submitted to the Committee this e-mail

I am aware of this e-mail's potentially prodigal futility, but with a slight chance of success, and on a lead from an associate, I am submitting an answer to our current challenge.

Martin Chavez
Dave Wilson
William Michael Mattise
Edwin Ehmann
Ron Loveridge

"Let reason guide our minds, and intellect steer our actions."
- JohnnyCon

And also one that had

Edwin Ehmann
Dave Wilson
William Michael Mattise
Herb Bergson
Ron Loveridge

I assumed they were wrong because I hadn't heard back but today I got a new letter, and apparently tCotSA is trying to challenge my scanning skillz. It's written on black paper (one side pencil, the other side pen). So I tried to make it more readable in photoshop, the original is on top, the edit on bottom.

Front Side
it says,

we applaud the submission to the cartogram challenge to be perfectly candid, the solution to that puzzle was but a triviality what is of great noteworthiness is the fact that you and your company have proven time and time again that you are able to employ intellect, teamwork, and creativity to unravel the challenges that stand in your way you are clearly in possession of the adroitness and virtuocity [sic] that our Committee has been searching for.

Back Side
is. . .

(blue pen)from a substantial and impressive list of possible groups, your team has been selected by the Committee to advance beyond brainteasers and games and on to the central undertaking.

(black pen)you may just provide the leverage that turns the tide in our favor.

Inside the envelope was a piece of red tape it says

finish off some of the lingering puzzles and report your solutions to us. then we can truly begin.

I don't thinks it's anything but I also received a Gee's Bend Quilt stamp for the third time in a row.

I hope thats OK, tell me if I missed anything or need to add something.

Edited to fix my links

[UPDATE] Letter regarding boot/plume/beetle

RedHatty@forums.unfiction.com — Sat, 03 Feb 2007 12:47:57 +0000

Not sure if I should start a new thread or post in one of the existing ones? Anyway, my first letter from tCotSA. I'll try to get pictures this weekend, but here's the summary.

* Nothing interesting on the envelope. Standard return address, no red numbers or other writing inside or out.

* Letter on white paper:

tyler

an impressive submission indeed, but not the intended solution. your group has thus far shown an unusual degree of aptitude [ed: I read this as "ineptitude" at first :P], and your failure to crack this puzzle leads us to believe that one or more pieces that we sent out failed to arrive at your door. this is certainly a risk that is run when utilizing a wide network of recipients, addresses, and postal carriers. we apologize for the inconvenience if this is the case, and applaud your efforts to overcome this obstacle. your determination and persistence are precisely the reasons that we have chosen you to move onward to the next phase.

* Letter on black paper/card stock. The letter is written in pencil, as far as I can tell.

time has run thin and we have been forced to cut short the testing phase of which this puzzle was a part. however, we greatly respect your team's efforts, and will try to fill in some of the gaps for this challenge.

if you can solve it still, we will find a way to reward your labors.

on the back is a diagram that has lines that tell us how to organize the letters in the boot/plume/beetle puzzle.

TOESOYNOC -> TEOYOC OSN (COYOTE SON?)
LERIKUELS -> EUS LRIKEL (USE KILLER?)

BETOYERALLOATREKY -> ELEK BEORAT TYALORY (KEEL BOATER ROYALTY?)
SOWEHISHOTERKY -> SWHIEKY OESHOTR (WHISKEY SHOOTER?)

ETLEERPOTTORECKRROWS -> LETES ERRKOW ETPOTOCRR (STEEL WORKER PROTECTOR?)
SEMMELEDBEYSRETB -> MELDET YB SEMEBSRE (MELTED BY BESSEMER? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bessemer_process)

None of these collections of words mean anything to me.