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Wabonan · Entrenched Joined: 24 Sep 2006 Posts: 1185

[UPDATE][Phase 2]

**Posted:** Sat May 26, 2007 12:37 pm

NovaChild

Haha, I love how we know now that it's an ARG, but "an ARG.. or something really sick?" seems to has become like its slogan.

**Posted:** Sat May 26, 2007 4:13 pm

Wabonan · Entrenched Joined: 24 Sep 2006 Posts: 1185

Yea I decided to leave it on this thread too as it worked so well on the first one...lol
EDIT
the Codemaster just joined the finderictaylor forums... I dono if its really him or not I guess Ill ask Michael

**Posted:** Sat May 26, 2007 8:41 pm

AtionSong · Unfettered Joined: 29 Aug 2006 Posts: 352

**Posted:** Wed May 30, 2007 10:15 pm

StarkRavingMad · Decorated Joined: 23 Mar 2003 Posts: 250

Hi folks, joining this one a little late, but joining nonetheless. At least I can help out on the drive to get phase two going. I'll send him my email shortly.

Looking back over the last ten pages of "phase one" so, I see the following unsolved mysteries. Please correct me if any of these have been answered. I'll give my thoughts, maybe some fresh eyes can help:

1) The "pedigree puzzle":

The anagram being "figure out the puzzle". As of yet, no one has definitively placed this as either a pedigree chart (or at least who is whom on it) or as a logic puzzle that can be answered.

My hypothesis on this one: this is not a pedigree chart. It is some sort of variant of the mathematical/logical puzzle game called "Squares and Circles". See here for the rules: http://www.cut-the-knot.org/SimpleGames/one_two.shtml

Basically, each player removes two objects per turn. If the objects are the same, they are replaced by a square. If the objects are different, they are replaced by a circle. One player tries to make the last remaining object be a circle, the other a square.

The problem is, I don't know exactly how this is supposed to work out in the notation he gives. Reading it as a progession from left to right doesn't work, since he eliminates square/square in the second box, which SHOULD result in circle/circle/square in step three, but instead he seems to have square/circle/square there.

Unless he's leaving the eliminated ones in the notation...in which case the flow chart looks like:

XOOX (X being square) -> OO? (answer OOX) -> X? (answer XX since he had to eliminate both circles) -> ? -> X necessarily which actually works to make the square on the far right the answer. So, if I'm reading that right, the ?s would all be squares. Or no, wait, the ? on the right side would be one of the circles he eliminated, so the ?s are square/circle(eliminated)/square, I guess.

How the hell that helps us, I have no idea. But if that's how he's doing the notation, it does follow the rules and works as a logic puzzle. Square is usually a "computer wins, you lose" in a one player game against the computer by the way. Maybe he's just telling us we suck.

2) King of Diamonds

http://www.flickr.com/photos/7517134@N06/

The codes on the right seem to decode to: "largest size"

The largest size king picture shows some evidence of possible steg, but no one has cracked it yet.

The comment is "jura lbh svaq gurz nyy, lbh jvyy svaq gur cnffjbeq" which decodes to "when you find them all, you will find the password."

(All of the above were already cracked by previous people, I know, so don't trout me..I'm just recounting it to refresh people's recollection in the new thread).

"Finding them all" may indicate other pictures of cards. Given the CM's predilection toward card games and the number 13, I'd guess he means all 13 cards in the suit. Unfortunately, a quick look at flikr does not show me any more pictures of cards that seem useful (I searched for queen-diamonds and jack-diamonds and found nothing that appears to be in-game). I'm stumped on this for the moment.

3) Possibly unsolved phrases?

A few phrases that came out of various codebreaking that I don't think are fully explained yet:
THE FIRST FOUR MONTHS WILL GUIDE YOU TO ME

Could this be somehow taken more literally? I.e. "januaryfebruarymarchapril" or JFMA somewhere?

ERIC AND I SHARE A SECRET

Could the secret be Sue?

IT HAS KILLED BEFORE

What is "it"? Eric? The CM? Why refer to himself as an It?

ONE SMALL ONE BIG SAME THING

No idea.

SUE HART SEE JOHN

Who is John?

Any other outstanding mysteries?

**Posted:** Tue Jun 05, 2007 12:32 am

youthpastor247 · Decorated Joined: 12 May 2007 Posts: 235

Nice summary, Stark. Also, welcome to the game. I, for one, think you'll be a big help, mostly from coming up with that logic puzzle idea. Although, I think you left out a couple remaining unsolved mysteries that I'll try to help remind all of us of.

One of them is Tom D. Cesear. We don't know if he (or she, even) is the CM, Eric, Sue, or someone else entirely. Tom's the one that sent us to the King of Diamonds, I believe (if I'm wrong, someone correct me on this).

AHA EMTARAM ATN AHNA. I don't believe anyone's discovered what this code means or what it pertains to.

**Posted:** Tue Jun 05, 2007 2:57 am

StarkRavingMad · Decorated Joined: 23 Mar 2003 Posts: 250

**Posted:** Tue Jun 05, 2007 10:16 am

youthpastor247 · Decorated Joined: 12 May 2007 Posts: 235

Ah, that's right. I forgot about that. Good call, Stark.

**Posted:** Tue Jun 05, 2007 3:05 pm

Wabonan · Entrenched Joined: 24 Sep 2006 Posts: 1185

OK would this anathema maranatha include you if you commited suicide??? Because I believe he is making these people commit suicide. When I asked him if he ever killed a human his reply was there are things worse than death...Implying he never killed anyone.... Also I think the "It has killed before" is refering to Eric killing someone.

**Posted:** Tue Jun 05, 2007 6:29 pm

Anna · Greenhorn Joined: 04 Jun 2007 Posts: 5 Location: UK

Hey, I've been following this for too long and i've finally decided to come out of lurkdom. I have to say that you all are doing a great job at figuring this out.

I was thinking that the "It has killed before" is maybe not referring to Eric or to the CM but is instead referring to whichever sin Eric supposedly committed. Like people have died for that sin or it has been the cause of their deaths...

Maybe... maybe not... Confused

**Posted:** Tue Jun 05, 2007 7:26 pm

Wabonan · Entrenched Joined: 24 Sep 2006 Posts: 1185

ok where to start... I just got a e-mail from the CM that was exactly the same as the one nachouru got.

**Posted:** Wed Jun 06, 2007 7:54 am

youporkchop · Boot Joined: 17 Apr 2007 Posts: 30 Location: Ohio

e-mails

**Posted:** Wed Jun 06, 2007 8:42 am

modernsaints · Boot Joined: 04 Jun 2007 Posts: 25

Aaaand the address I got:
artifactSPLATadmin5.fastmail.fm

Also, in the "Your email has been received. You will now play an active part in the opening of phase two. " emails, was a letter highlighted/bolded/italicized? Because the 't' in patience was bolded & italicized in mine.

**Posted:** Wed Jun 06, 2007 10:16 am

Wabonan · Entrenched Joined: 24 Sep 2006 Posts: 1185

I got a bold x in excellent....It must mean something... Also what did I catch that no one else did????
Edit ...lol I sent him a pic of me and my fish...lol

Das Llama · Unfettered Joined: 09 Oct 2006 Posts: 362

1st message

**Posted:** Wed Jun 06, 2007 10:50 am