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 Forum index » Archive » Archive: The Haunted Apiary (Let Op!) » The Haunted Apiary (Let Op!): Interaction
[EMAIL] I got a response
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fireball
Charter Member


Joined: 25 Sep 2002
Posts: 205
Location: living in a box under the stairs in the corner of the basement of the house half a block down the st
sauceykat wrote:
aiesha_anonymous wrote:

Thanks again for continuing to ask good questions. I'm sure we'll hit
on the right ones soon.
-d.


Hmm...could Dana be hinting that we need to ask her the right question (a specific question) in order to proceed?

D-


Somebody going to ask her the airspeed of an unladen swallow? Very Happy
_________________
And all through the night, they poured over the plans. Sometimes they poured on the table, sometimes they poured on the floor, but mostly they poured over the plans.

PostPosted: Mon Jul 19, 2004 1:26 pm
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addlepated
Unfictologist


Joined: 17 Aug 2003
Posts: 1885
Location: Austin, Texas
fireball wrote:
Somebody going to ask her the airspeed of an unladen swallow? Very Happy

An Africanized honeybee or a European honeybee?

PostPosted: Mon Jul 19, 2004 2:34 pm
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RobMagus
Unfettered


Joined: 17 Jul 2004
Posts: 469
Location: Vancouver, BC

 		Best not to ask Dana that. She might not know, and then she'll fall off the Internet. Very Happy

PostPosted: Mon Jul 19, 2004 4:08 pm
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Omnie
Entrenched


Joined: 07 Oct 2003
Posts: 772
sauceykat wrote:
aiesha_anonymous wrote:
Thanks again for continuing to ask good questions. I'm sure we'll hit
on the right ones soon.
-d.
Hmm...could Dana be hinting that we need to ask her the right question (a specific question) in order to proceed?

D-

She also hinted to Lysithea that we need to figure out the purpose of the hacker:
Dana wrote:
maybe if I understood its motives a little better, I would feel safer reaching out.

So we figure out what the hacker wants, we tell Dana, and she takes the next step?

PostPosted: Tue Jul 20, 2004 12:00 am
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brainwashed
Guest


 		margaret's empty response
I receieved an email back from margaret but it had no subject and was completely blank...well it at least someone is receiving the emails there

bw

PostPosted: Tue Jul 20, 2004 10:30 am
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strife777
Guest


 		New Response
Just got this in response to the story I sent.

well there's a story entirely unfit for bedtime.
beautiful but quite ominous at the same time, isn't it?...
thanks much for sending. yours was the first entirely put together
version I've seen. I can't imagine how many hours that must have
taken. I'm humbled by the effort. (yours, and I imagine some
collaborators)
processing of story begins. (as soon as mind gets unpreoccupied by
latest mess: the hotmail hijacking.)
-D.

p.s. hands better, thanks. head, still spinning, stomach, queasy and
uneasy... but hands, better.


PostPosted: Wed Jul 21, 2004 7:50 pm
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rowan
Unfictologist

Joined: 12 Apr 2004
Posts: 1966

 		Email from Dana - No new info
I'm posting this in here since there really isn't all that much to the email.

Quote:
hi Rowan,

moral support appreciated as much as tech support right now.
given the utter futility so far of tech intervention, in fact, perhaps more so.

so you've found the efendi secret family recipe for chicken! I guess
my vegetarian bias is subconsciously at work... how passive-aggressive
of me to leave the chicken recipe off the sidebar, lol. thanks for
pointing that out.

okay, back to obsessing over the latest hack (hotmail hijacking) and
its implications

(head spins)

-d.

On Tue, 20 Jul 2004 19:04:56 -0400, Rowan Lambelle
<rowan.lambelle@gmail.com> wrote:
> Dana,
>
> A few friends of mine told me about the problems you were having on
> your website. I don't know how much technical support I can offer, but
> I do have plenty of moral support to pass around.
>
> Part of the reason I'm writing is that I noticed on the ilovebees.com
> site that the recipe for the Honey-Glazed Lemon Chicken wasn't linked
> from the main page. I happened to find it because I noticed the links
> went from recipe2 to recipe4. Was there a reason for leaving it off?
> I didn't see a link to it in the pictures you posted of the links page
> on your blog either. I'm just glad I found it. All I eat is chicken
> and I'm always looking for more good recipes and this one looks great!
> As soon as the contractors finish my new kitchen, I'm going to try it
> out.
>
> I'm sorry I can't be of more help to you with your technical problems.
> But, if you ever need a sympathetic ear, please don't hesitate to
> write me back.
>
> Rowan

_________________
follow @arg_deaddrop on twitter

PostPosted: Wed Jul 21, 2004 7:52 pm
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xnbomb
Unfettered


Joined: 13 Oct 2003
Posts: 660
Location: J302B S8JDC

 		More correspondance with Dana
I'll post in here because I'm not much for a making new thread Smile

I sent the following (lengthy, quotation filled) email to Dana:

xnbomb wrote:
Greetings Dana,

I'm one of the folks out there who has seen your blog and your aunt's web site, and has taken an interest in your problem.

We've managed to extract a good amount of information from the web site, and it's starting to suggest some interesting things. In my opinion, there are four distinct kinds of information that have been inserted into the website:

1) The first is the most obviously seen, and it looks like the console output from a computer program. It seems to be a system designed to repair another damaged system. It seems to call itself System Peril Distributed Reflex, or SPDR (Spider?) for short. It's goal seems to be to repair the other system that it is designed to protect, and it is not necessarily intending to harm anyone or anything else, BUT it is totally focused on this task and will not let anything get in the way.

2) The next kind of information that is nearly as obvious is what we have dubbed the Mayday text. This is also text that you can see superimposed in the web pages. It seems to be originating from something that communicates more like we do. It seems likely that these are the scrambled thoughts of the entity that the SPDR is repairing (I write this based on the fact that these texts include references along the lines of 'the spider must be working on me').

3) The third source of data is more hidden. As others have no doubt told you, the reason some of the image files seem screwed up is that there has been text inserted into them. Enterprising colleagues of mine (Rose and Strifey) have collected all the snippets and managed to assemble them into a story. Without getting into the details, the synopsis is: A Queen is wounded and trapped. Her faithful servant, known as the Widow, takes up her task to repair her Queen and does so. By easy analogy, the Widow would seem to be the SPDR, repairing the author of the Mayday text, the Queen.

4) The last kind of information is a single message that appears superimposed on the web page, but is formatted differently from the rest. It reads "Seek the truth, Behold the truth, Reveal the truth, That is the law and the whole of the law". It's less obvious where this fits into the picture. I have some ideas about this, but it's not terribly important at this point.

I've glossed over a lot of the detail because I'm not sure how much you want to read. If you're interested in the complete texts, I can send them to you.

For whatever reason, your aunt's web site has become the location where something potentially extraordinary is taking place. While it could just be hackers messing with you, I don't think that is the case. I'd like to suggest a more fantastic and harder to believe explanation. At the minimum, it seems that one digital entity is repairing another, and somehow your aunt's web site has become the medium through which we can witness these events and potentially communicate with their actors. This aspect of communication is a recent development. Clearly, they are able to communicate with us through changing the web site, but it now seems we are able to communicate with them as well and they can respond.

It seems that snippets of various emails that have been sent to you by my colleagues have been reassembled and sent back, apparently originating from your aunt's hotmail address. Here's the content of that email:

-------------

keep me

odd behavior cry for help

I'm using it to make some of the messages have ever put together some of the messages

Just wanted to say that I'm not odd behavior but I danger of voodoo witch that runs smear into the web the forte the web the forte including the any enemies

I am sorry

Just wanted to say

Just wanted to say

Just wanted to say

Just wanted to say

I'm not much of an expert

But I wanted

I wanted to find out more about ordering

some of the messages

the forte

I can see the forte

problem quite interesting

No idea who I'm part of

have any enemies

voodoo witch voodoo parents

voodoo witch that runs into the web

voodoo parents wanted to cover all my

together a home the forte of voodoo parents of mine

voodoo parents keep me

I wanted to find out more

I wanted to find out if there's anything I can do

problem quite interesting

time of need

I wanted to say that I'm using it some of the messages be some kind of cry for help

and if there's warning voodoo parents of cry for help


voodoo parents wanted to cover all my odd behavior into the web

and if you check it might be some kind of seductive danger of get many people angry,

…but I wanted to find all these people willing to help very nice

problem quite interesting

Love,

-------------

This would seem to be a message from one of the entities I've described above, likely the Mayday author. I'm not really sure what it means at this point. But it tells us that we can communicate with these entities using email. In the absence of having a clear idea of just what is going on, the first priority is to communicate, that is how we can learn more. As I wrote above, it's at least possible that we've stumbled across something extraordinary here, and our first priority must be to learn all that we can about it.

It's for that reason that I'm going to suggest that you take no further action that interferes with what's going on at ilovebees.com. There's another reason too, one slightly more disturbing. Consider these two passages, the first from the beginning (?) of the SPDR console output, the second from the end of the tale hidden in the images:

-------------

HALT - MODULE CORE HEMORRHAGE

Control has been yielded to the
SYSTEM PERIL DISTRIBUTED REFLEX.

This medium is classified, and has a
STRONG INTRUSIVE INCLINATION.

In 11 days, network throttling will erode.

In 25 days this medium will metastasize.

COUNTDOWN TO WIDE AWAKE AND PHYSICAL:
38:13:32:25:505

Make your decisions accordingly.

-------------

At the feel of the Queen's pulse beneath her bony fingers, the Widow next took thought to proclaim through all the kingdom and into other lands that time when her sovereign would once more be fit to rule. A firefly flew out from the Queen's clockcase. Catching it in her hands, the Widow asked it the time. "Almost dawn," it said, but the Widow said, "The day will break and the sun will rise when the Queen returns to rule, and further let it be known that retribution on any who hinder the return of the Queen will be swift and terrible."

-------------

Together, they seem to tell us when the Widow/SPDR has announced when it will be finished its work and the Queen/Mayday author will be fully repaired and operational. There is also a significant warning, namely that any interference with that process will be regarded as a hostile act, and will be responded to accordingly. I don't know what the SPDR is capable of, but I'm not sure I want to find out.

It's for this reason that I suggest that you don't do anything else to get in the way of this business. If your aunt's business needs a functioning web site immediately, purchase her a new and similarly named domain and get her web site going there (margaretshoney.com is available, for example). But let this follow its course ... while it could just be some hackers being jerks, there is at least a chance that this is something unique and important and wonderful, a window on a world that we may have never seen before, nor will ever see again.

Cheers,
xnbomb


She replied with the following:

Dana wrote:
highly persuasive email.
you seem to have an unusally good fix on this situation. I'm in processing mode, attempting to form coherent thoughts... want to compose a reply to you in public, on the blog, but right now, head spinning, stomach queasy and uneasy from the hotmail hijack. more soon.
many many many thanks.
-D.

p.s. may I share some of your email with others helping to investigate?


To which I replied:

xnbomb wrote:
Dana,

You certainly may share. Now that I've seen that you've received my message (and it hasn't been intercepted by other entities), I'll share our correspondance with my colleagues as well.

xnbomb

_________________
My location is a little tricky, but sooner or later, you'll get the knack.

{J302B S8JDC, 8996N M8L4W, 92D40 Q1JX5, 4PPRN R2B97, 8DC7C NZJNV, 8CH7V Q891H}

PostPosted: Wed Jul 21, 2004 8:16 pm
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CrYpT0
Guest


 		I got a reply back from her as well

I sent this to her:

Hi Dana,

Allow me to introduce myself... I am also part of the team trying to
figure out what happened to your aunts site..

I have a lot of expertise in computers and things.

I am sorry to what has happened to your site and I reinsure you that
we will out whats going and on and alert you of what we have found...

and got this in return:

thanks, good to have you aboard.
right now, grappling with another weird development (hotmail hack)
head spinning, queasy and uneasy, etc.
will post more coherent thoughts to the blog soon.


PostPosted: Wed Jul 21, 2004 8:29 pm
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RobMagus
Unfettered


Joined: 17 Jul 2004
Posts: 469
Location: Vancouver, BC

 		Niiice email xnbomb.

I wonder what her reply will contain...

PostPosted: Wed Jul 21, 2004 8:39 pm
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alaranth
Decorated


Joined: 12 Apr 2004
Posts: 151
Location: Rochester, NY / Albany, NY

 		Dana must have been busy with her email today. Very Happy

Quote:
Hi Sara,
great suggestions, unfortunately didn't turn anything up -- hope you
saw the comments I added to the blog the other night in response.
right now, head spinning from recent developments (hotmail hack),
attempting to form coherent thoughts...
many thanks for your ideas so far.
-D.

On Mon, 19 Jul 2004 15:18:17 -0400 (EDT), Sara wrote:
> Hi Dana! I heard about your web page issues through a number of friends
> and thought I'd toss myself out there to offer assistance if I can. Smile
>
> I'm working on my MS in Information Technology, including coursework in
> computer security, but this apparent hijacking is something I've never
> come across before. I believe someone asked what other sites are being
> hosted by your web hosting company. Do you know if any of them are having
> issues as well? The whole text about 'metastasizing', in combination with
> the code relating to 'recurse' makes it seem like this isn't just a
> one-time thing and that, like a virus, it's going to reproduce. If other
> sites from that main server are having issues too, then it definitely
> seems more like a funky network intrusion.
>
> Also, do you have access to the server logs for that machine? If you know
> about when it was "taken over", maybe you can track down an IP or hostname
> that seems weird?
>
> Hope this helps some, and good luck with everything! Smile
> -Sara


PostPosted: Wed Jul 21, 2004 8:53 pm
Last edited by alaranth on Sat Jul 24, 2004 11:26 pm; edited 1 time in total
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krystyn
I Never Tire of My Own Voice


Joined: 26 Sep 2002
Posts: 3651
Location: Is not Chicago

 		Seems sort of odd to me that she's using the same phrases over and over again about feeling sick, but more noticeably, "hotmail hijack/hack"

The initials h.h.? Perhaps it's nothing.

PostPosted: Wed Jul 21, 2004 10:41 pm
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KenM
Boot

Joined: 21 Jul 2004
Posts: 14
Location: Tulsa, OK

 		I got an email reply today as well:

Hi Ken,
sorry I missed your voice mail message. my deleting finger is on
trigger-happy mode... so many hang-ups recently. dozens.
v. infestations, apparently, not terribly out of the ordinary... Aunt
M was much less disconcerted by that than the site bugs.
right now, mind preoccupied with latest hack (the hotmail hijacking)
and struggling to form coherent thoughts...
-d.


Hi Dana,

This is KenM. I left a message on your answering machine last
night, don't know if you got it, but I directed you to a site
(bees.netninja.com) where some of us have been assembling the story
fragments from the text embedded in the corrupted images on the
ilovebees.com site. It's a nice little story, creepy, but nice.

With that said, I did come up with one possible idea concerning the
motive of the apparent hacker on your site. The text that appears on
the site pages as well as embedded in the pictures both concern
spiders and/or spider infestation. Your site also mentions a recent
problem with the honey: varrao mite infestation. A mite is an
arachnid.. a kind of spider. Do you think these two events may be
related? Do you even suppose that the hacker infesting your site
could possibly have been responsible for infesting your Aunt's honey?
If so they 1) have an apparent spider fixation and 2) they are not
your friend.

I hope we can help you figure out who, and why, that is. Some more
information might be useful. Perhaps as a start you might tell us
more about how and when the varrao mite problem began?


PostPosted: Wed Jul 21, 2004 11:51 pm
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krystyn
I Never Tire of My Own Voice


Joined: 26 Sep 2002
Posts: 3651
Location: Is not Chicago

 		hi Krystyn,
good to meet you even under these bizarre circumstances...
-D.
p.s. a glitter book sounds like an excellent thing to have.


> Dana,
>
> I don't even know you, but my pal Steve pointed me to your site. I find it
> incredibly odd that despite re-loading the site that it still appears
> corrupted like that. I'd totally fire your ISP, if I were you. Wink
>
> Hope your hands feel better soon! Ow! It makes my head hurt just to think of
> it. Sympathy pain and all.
>
> - Krystyn

She mentions a glitter book, because I sent the mail from my domain e-mail. Aw! Additionally, I find it curious that she did not mention queasiness, her head spinning, or the hotmail hack/hijack. Has she moved on from these topics, or did I say something specific? (I did use the phrase, 'head hurt' on purpose, because, well, what the heck.)

PostPosted: Thu Jul 22, 2004 8:24 pm
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xnbomb
Unfettered


Joined: 13 Oct 2003
Posts: 660
Location: J302B S8JDC

 		Hotmail hack
I asked Dana if she'd like us to try and get into the ladybee777 account. Here's what I wrote her and her reply:

xnbomb wrote:
Dana,

Can your aunt still get into her hotmail account at this point? We're wondering if 'they' have taken control of it entirely ... if they have, we're willing to try and get in there. Naturally, we don't want to try and get into the account if your aunt's password is still working and she can still use the account. We want to help, not to mess things up. Please advise.

Cheers,
xnbomb


Dana wrote:
we can still get in, thanks for asking. no need for you or anyone else to poke around in the hotmail, thanks.... but if any more weirdness transpires in there, I'll let you know. so far, the account's been quiet as far as I can tell for a few days now...
-d.


So, I think that just about settles it. Between her reply and recent blog entry that says that there was nothing in there when she looked, I think we can safely conclude that we are not meant to be trying to get in there.
_________________
My location is a little tricky, but sooner or later, you'll get the knack.

{J302B S8JDC, 8996N M8L4W, 92D40 Q1JX5, 4PPRN R2B97, 8DC7C NZJNV, 8CH7V Q891H}

PostPosted: Fri Jul 23, 2004 12:52 pm
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