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Forum index » Archive » Archive: Deus City » DC: Deus City

[DC][REF]All the Puzzles and their Solutions

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notgordian
Unfictologist

Joined: 23 Nov 2006
Posts: 1383
Location: Philly

[DC][REF]All the Puzzles and their Solutions
Almost All Deus City Puzzles To Date (updated 06/17/2007)

Content here was edited to remove spoiler tags and promote a more narrative retelling. If you don't want puzzle solutions, you shouldn't have clicked this in the first place. Also, I started tracking who solved what--if you think this is a bad idea or I made a mistake, let me know.

Scroll down for the District Puzzles. For anything not here, check the wiki page which has more comprehensive entries for everything.

The Spectrometer
On November 11, the videos went up and the puzzles started. The first major puzzle involved finding the hacked portal to the feed through a spectrometer file given to the five "Gatekeepers" (the first five to email Foo). The spectroanalysis file contained information on how to find the hack into the data.

Spectrometer data can be found here.

One audio channel is noise: isolate the left channel, reverse it, and raise the volume to hear the message leading you to www.hackthefeed.com --just like a Missy Elliot song. The same solution works for the data found here.

This Solve Brought to You by Arkaham

A New Website
Around the same time, Brackin's followers received emails directing them to his new blog account. The content of the email is currently duplicated at the deuscity blog.

Quote:

BloggeR has been my fOrum. THough it is not safE foR "me" anymore. THE best thing fOr us to do is fiNd a new way tO Share This info - it's REally just to Do whAtever MakEs the most sense. Site connectiOn was trackeD And i can no Longer post there with safety. this is why I have hidden my contact info and am now postIng elsewhere. mosT of You have the PeRfect clues needed tO find out where it is uP, and wHosE help i am now enlisTing to protect the feed.

The capital letters spell out BROTHER THEO / NOSTREDAME / SODALITY PROPHET, leading avid gamers to the new blog here

The spoils of victory here are hard to ascertain, but within the hour CrypticVision, Ariana, and naknak arrived at the decode while fonograph linked to the blog.

Latin Lesson
An entry in Latin greeted people to Brackin's new blog. You can still see this at The Brotherhood of the Prophet Blog. 11:1-19 clued us in that we were dealing with a biblical passage. Namely, Revelations 11, 1-19. The header is verses 3-4 of the same chapter.

djsampson took this puzzle to the cleaners, decoding the text before matching it up with Revelations

Hack the Feed!
Meanwhile, both sides tried to gain access to the Hack the Feed site. The page was a login screen with the equation 2147483647 - 37447376 in the source code. The answer to the eqaution is 2110036271, a UNIX time stamp for 11/11/2036 at 11:11 CST. Put in 11/11/2036 as the password, and you're in...although Foo recently hacked the hackthefeed site to skip this registration step.

The glory of first solve goes to imbri, doubtless scoring an extremely low agent number for herself.

Next we had a series of five puzzles leading to Brackin's location.

First Location

Quote:

Neo & Trinity,
Kagome & Inuyasha,
Lloyd & Harry,
Frodo & Sam,
Alice & The Rabbit,
Atreyu & Artax,
Robert & Sophie.

Take the first letter of each of the movies or shows (Matrix, Inu Yasha, Dumb and Dumber, Lord of the Rings, Alice in Wonderland, Neverending Story, and DaVinci Code) and you get MIDLAND. So Midland, TX

This was solved through the power of teamwork by Arkaham and notgordian along with a few snide remarks about the Inu Yasha reference

Second Location

Quote:

Thank you Mr. "Carmichael"

I'm pirating a feed from a nice suburban family. I reccomend a WEP KEY everyone: A simple keyword can protect your private information. You never know who is out there hacking the feed. Well done those who are tracking me. I must go back to go forward.

KIBTLIQ JY HBQST DNUQKIY KNQ GUAANRF TN TIJOGI

Using a vignere cipher with "Carmichael" as the key gives "Neither my first journey, nor Lubbock to Temple". Mapping these two trips out leaves a big X in Abilene, TX. So, Abilene. There's a great map of this here.

troon cracked the cipher with ease and Agent Lex mapped out the intersection for the finishing blow.

Third Location

Quote:

Oh and for those tracking me: 20,6,377

These are highway instructions. Abiliene is on I-20 (Eastland)...take that to Texas State Highway 6 (near Cisco), and it intersects US 377 in the city of Dublin in Erath County.So, Dublin, TX.

notgordian seemed a bit too obsessed with the Dublin Dr Pepper bottling company after solving this one

Fourth Location

Quote:

I traveled three towns to find them:
Maxwell, Mandrell, and Wright.
Only one had what I sought,
although I knew it not,
all three had something I needed.
The first gave me courage,
the second one strength,
and the third the knowledge required.
Now I move up to follow the trace,
beginning with these:
Westwood Hall and Reaves,
forever leaving my friends behind.

This one we needed a lot of hints, but here's the retrospect answer.

The first three proper nouns are the last names of people on the team. Since Brackin moves "up" (North) to follow the trace, he's going to Oklahoma. One state North. Some intensive Googling reveals that Westwood, Hall, and Reaves are all parks in the fair city of Norman, OK. So, Norman, OK. Another great map here.

Wang Guantao put this puzzle to rest with some inspired Googling, and possibly a little net voodoo.

Fifth Location

Quote:

Thank you to the old friend who helped me get where I needed to go today. You can keep my car. Now the journey can begin. From "West" to "East". It seems somehow poetic. I feel like Jeremiah 2:10. I'll have remember that to me the feed will happen an hour later now. Finding a wi-fi in this town wasn't easy!

The part that matters:
OUN - EZM

If he's not going by car, he must be going by plane. The "part that matters" gives is flight plan using airline codes--from OUN (Max Westheimer Airport) in Norman, OK to EZM (Heart of Georgia Airport) in Eastman, GA. From "West" to "East". Eastman, GA.

notgordian almost booked the flight while solving this one.

Location Six

Quote:

I left my identity and my credit limit behind when I started, so this next link proves to be more difficult. I need to save my remaining pocket cash for the charter when I get there, but I still feel like a hobo. A hobo with a laptop and a wad of cash in his pocket... I'll have to be careful. According to the map it looks like I can hop the low density line all the way to the end and then walk across the causeway to the Island. Who knows what I'll find when I get there. I just hope I'm not leaving too easy of a trail behind.

This one SEEMED fairly straightforward. "low density line" refers to low-density train lines. It was merely a matter of looking at this map and finding the endpoint that leads to a causeway. The only viable endpoint from Eastman, GA was Brunswick: take the "FJ Torras Causewaay" leading to St. Simons Island".

Wang Guantao solved this one, although he seems to be the last one convinced that he was right.

Location Seven

Quote:

If I ever sleep in another boxcar it will be too soon. This next leg promises to be the most miserable part of my journey though. I don't get seasick easily, but every ship's captain I spoke to told me this is the WORST time to sail.

It took every dollar I had to find a salty enough man to take me away before "April 3" which is rediculous. I asked them to leave sooner, but they laughed at me. Apparently it's some sort of tradition having to do with lunar cycles. One guy told me they "always round up" before they "take away" regardless of money. Must be a southern thing - that or they were messing with me because it just didn't add up - well except for the last part.

Hopefully it will warm up as we go. I will be out of contact for a few days until we make safe harbor again. Have faith true believers - I will update again as soon as I can - hopefully by early next week. For those following me:

The "Great Folio of the Prophet" states:
The ocean voyage marks the change,
Wet, cold, and alone the explorer must sail.
The year 15 and 24 by sacred "glomes",
The year 1261, of liturgy.

DEUS EX MACHINA

To convert the liturgic year, add 252, yielding 1513. Sacred glomes confirms this date by dividing 252 by 24, "rounding up" to 11, and then "taking away" from 1524, giving us 1513. Googling April 3, 1513 reveals this is the date Ponce de Leon landed at St. Augustine, FL in search of the fountain of youth.

Ariana pulled this solution out of thin air to the amazement of this awestruck observer.

Mini-Puzzle

Thanks to a hint from Foo, we find out the first letter of Brackin's destinations so far spells out MADNESS. Much more subtle than Location One.

Wang Guantao picked up on this little clue, thanks to VioletNightshade's interaction.

Location Eight

The first leg of the journey is over and Brackin feeds us some more information with the following message, via blogspot as usual.

Quote:

I bid my farewell to salty Captain Stueve on Friday afternoon, and walked all night and morning along the highway to the place felt was right. As darkness rolled in and I watched the night launch of man's greatest exploration, I shed a silent tear knowing that I had accomplished the first part of my mission as instructed. In the darkness of the swampy marshland I was approached and given an ancient parchment written ages ago in anticipation of this night. The last brother of an ancient brotherhood which has waited for my arrival in this place for nearly half a millennium, since the time of the Spanish explorers. His dying breath was to translate the ancient Latin text for me, though I have since confirmed it online. Here is the first quatrain for your mustard seed faith, or confirmation in the case of the true believers.

A star rises towards the sky,
The nations united above the heavens.
The prophecy is passed to the new witness,
The incomplete circle leads the way.

It is humbling. I have passed my test of faith. I now know that our fate is set. Like the ancient oracles of Greece, prophecy is nothing more than knowledge applied correctly. Nostradamus was a man of faith, yes; but more importantly he was a man of science. Fujimoto will lose, has lost. Not today but in the end game. The Brotherhood is finally reborn as it was foretold. This place will no longer be revered for the events of April 3, 1513 - but for December 9, 2006. All that remains is to complete the circle - whatever that means.

I think it means I should go to the southernmost point to go west since the shortest distance between two points is not always a straight line.

DEUS EX MACHINA

The southernmost point of Florida is Key West. Thus, you must go to the southernmost point to go west. This could be considered half of the solution for Location #9, but then I wouldn't have an excuse to mention how Captain Stueve is described as "salty" yet again. The answer is confirmed by references in the next post to the "true end of the highway" (Key West has the southern terminus of Highway #1) and Brackin looking over both the Gulf and the Atlantic Ocean (the two intersect at the Keys).

notgordian claims the solve even though the puzzle isn't really finished yet.

Location Nine

Quote:

Destiny is not without a sense of irony it seems.
As I sit looking out over "the gulf" at the literal end of the highway, looking out over the ocean, pennyless and at the end of the road - so to speak, I hold in my hand the instructions to "complete the circle" with no idea how to do that. Another boat? A hydroplane? Swim? I am at an Impass.

I suppose it falls to you then true believers. Help me know what to do. A nice woman with a camera phone finally helped me upload the picture and bought me a coffee. I must smell worse than I thought. I believe this to be the right thing to do because of the use of the "pure tongue" in the script. It seems that Maxine deSauch's translation was a bit off - but considering everything that's happened I'm willing to overlook it. Here is a transcription (and translation of the first quatrain again) of the document to the best of my ability I hope it is close enough for you all:

A star rises towards the sky,
The nations united above the heavens.
The prophecy is passed to the new witness,
The incomplete circle leads the way.

The pure tongue unlocks the prophecy
Until the time it can be read by all.
Machines of light and fire abound.
Infinite copies of infinite tru[ths.]

The sliver moon sees the trave[ler] stop.
His way blocked by the [impassible] gulf.
Waiting for the blackbird [to come,]
The root of evil [makes empty] pockets full.

The brother's end is [his beginning.]
When [broken] links are re[formed,]
Three ag[ainst] one he will [stand,]
Prisoner [only] to [fate and faith.]

In [De]us City there is [deafening] thunder,
two witnesses [are torn apart] by chaos,
while [found]ations [stand fi]rm, a leader falls.
The [th]ird horrible [war begins] as the city is consumed.

[From] the center of [Earth spe]w earthquakes and fire,
Ashes, lime, an[d dust are] thrown from the walls.
Close to the [great thousand yea]rs,
The heavens [draw] n[ear to recon]ciliation.

The time of [great gr]oaning is at hand.
Mirrors and s[hadow]s shatter and fade.
Blood, bone, and [ma]rrow consume the fat.
Like the Phoenix, [de]ath's shackle is broken.

This long convoluted prophecy / puzzle / poem tells Brackin to contact Phil and arrange for a "blackbird" (black helicopter) to come and pick him up because he's broke. Unfortunately, we still don't know where that location is other than a vague hint about California or something.

Wang Guantao and FMA2000 wrote Brackin with the explanation and suggestion, leading to his door getting busted down and copious amounts of torture.

Where is DefenseCorp?

Brackin went to DefenseCorp and was subjected to torture. Meanwhile, Foo was trying to figure out the location of DefenseCorp to arrange a corporate takeover.

One clue came from a file found in Brackin's laptop by Phil named Maxine deSauch.dat

Quote:

Pmxdekp
Adptrnh
Hotpfz
Nqyunn
Hemlqxz
Sv Zqzoqw Ckpxzd
Ua Ihgxwnarb
Wea Dmft
Drawplbonpa

Forgery figured out it was a Vignere Cipher with the key "Deux Ex Machina" (an anagram of Maxine deSauch), and it was a list of the previous locations...now including Angelopolis.

Another clue came from an email from Phil, now located at Foo's blog.

Wang Guantao figured out the spelling mistakes created an anagram that said "Angelopolis Texas The Church...this was unfortunately wrong, but incredibly cool. He finally arrived at the location of DefenseCorp in Heroica Puebla de Zaragoza, Mexico--a town also known as Angelopolis.
-------------------

And there you have it. The puzzles so far. Or at least up to the date on the Subject description line.

Posted: Wed Nov 29, 2006 4:55 am
Last edited by notgordian on Sun Jun 17, 2007 12:20 pm; edited 9 times in total

Wang Guantao
Decorated

Joined: 20 Nov 2006
Posts: 246

It appears that Adam is going by boat not by plane away from Saint Simons Island. At this point in time, his destination is unknown to us.

Posted: Fri Dec 01, 2006 5:33 am

notgordian
Unfictologist

Joined: 23 Nov 2006
Posts: 1383
Location: Philly

All Grey District Puzzles
Currently All Grey District Puzzles Are Solved

Grey District Puzzles

20/20 Apartments:
Four Dials (Link)

Spoiler (Rollover to View):

14, 32, 90, 6

Cornerstone Speakeasy:
Light and Dark (Link)

Spoiler (Rollover to View):

interpreter

Runners (Link)

Spoiler (Rollover to View):

Aaron Sarie Peter Paul Ben

Engineering & Computer Aided Fabrication:
Coded Note (Link)

Spoiler (Rollover to View):

FATHER BECK DESERVED TO DIE

Felix Alley:
Wall (Link)

Spoiler (Rollover to View):

key

Holy Faith United Diocese:
Dogma (Link)

Spoiler (Rollover to View):

Juche Idea, Digambar, Mennonite, Chen Tao, Unification Church, Pentecostal, Catholicism

ICorp Complex:
Turnkey (Link)

Spoiler (Rollover to View):

sportsplex construction site

Northside Row
Handyman (Link)

Spoiler (Rollover to View):

Goliath

Old Downtown
Audiophile (Link)
See thread for solution

Roaches (Link)

Spoiler (Rollover to View):

Route 2

Printer (Link)

Spoiler (Rollover to View):

"Manny Candalaria" and "turpentine and alcohol"

Safe House Epsilon
Jammed (Link)

Spoiler (Rollover to View):

Libra

Shooting Transcript (Link)

Spoiler (Rollover to View):

Female, Slim, Long black, red jacket

The Brotherhood
Sodality (Link)

Spoiler (Rollover to View):

Hitler / Henry II / Napoleon

Library (Link)
See thread for solution

Four Keys (Link)

Spoiler (Rollover to View):

Peace, Arrow, 473K0223, 4921AF

Whisper Club
Contact (Link)

Spoiler (Rollover to View):

Green

Captain's Account (Link)

Spoiler (Rollover to View):

White Line
Drug Choice (Link)

Spoiler (Rollover to View):

diphenhydramine hydrochloride

Posted: Wed Jan 17, 2007 9:41 am

notgordian
Unfictologist

Joined: 23 Nov 2006
Posts: 1383
Location: Philly

All White District Puzzles
Currently Unsolved: Blockrun

White District Puzzles

Data Retrieval Building:
Router-13 (purl=http://forums.unfiction.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=17892]Link[/url])

Spoiler (Rollover to View):

Starfish Circle

Defense Corp Central Processing
Unnamed (Link)

Spoiler (Rollover to View):

Forge

Sentry Duty (Link)

Spoiler (Rollover to View):

840

Digital Imaging Building
Passkey (Link)

Spoiler (Rollover to View):

arrow

External Intelligence Building
Deep Cover (Link)

Spoiler (Rollover to View):

Istanbul, Berlin, Jerusalem, Giza, Lundy, T'bilisi, Kerch, Chahar Dehi

Fujimoto Park
Noted (Link)

Spoiler (Rollover to View):

'the west docks are secure make drop tonight'

Public Services Building
Subcue (Link)

Spoiler (Rollover to View):

91106744153, 92155508771, and 90337926317

Blockrun (Link)
THIS PUZZLE IS CURRENTLY UNSOLVED

Blockage (Link)

Spoiler (Rollover to View):

Sector C, 3, 6, 9

Sportsplex Construction Site
Routine Surveilance (Link)

Spoiler (Rollover to View):

Temporal Intelligence Building
Composure (Link)

Spoiler (Rollover to View):

Felix Mendelssohn

Typo (Link)
See thread for the solution

I have some information for you (Link

Spoiler (Rollover to View):

Go to the judge news article and click the link

Conservation (Link)

Spoiler (Rollover to View):

Neither

Posted: Sun Jun 17, 2007 12:16 pm

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