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Coded phone call (Justice Forsaken)
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Esteed
Entrenched


Joined: 25 Jul 2006
Posts: 1147
Location: Delaware

 		I was on AIM pretty much all of yesterday and I didn't get that. If it's not AIM, then I'm out of the running, 'cause that's the only messenger I have, lol. I have added him/her to my buddylist, though, so we'll see what happens.
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"The accumulated filth of all their sex and murder will foam up about their waists and all the whores and politicians will look up and shout "Save us!"... and I'll look down and whisper "No."" -Rorschach

PostPosted: Sun Aug 20, 2006 4:59 pm
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Neanderthal
Veteran


Joined: 17 Aug 2004
Posts: 94
Location: Vancouver, BC
Esteed wrote:
... Upon reading through the blog entry again, I noticed something else. He talks about our attempts at solving the code from the chatroom, how days were wasted on what he calls "standard tools of law enforcement cryptographers." Now, maybe I'm reading too much into that, but it seems like a pretty thinly veiled way of saying, "Don't rely on the typical tools of ARGs."


That's what I've been considering. I've considered coordinates (something like the rearrangement of the shipwrecks) and some other things I can't remember just now. But still nothing.
_________________
"Yes! That's right! The answer is 'Wisconsin'! Another 50 points for God, and ... uh-oh, looks like Norman, our current champion hasn't even scored yet."

PostPosted: Sun Aug 20, 2006 8:24 pm
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Snic
Boot

Joined: 12 Jun 2005
Posts: 45

 		I keep trying to figure this damn thing out and everytime I think I may have something it doesn't lead me anywhere. Whoever the PM is on this one, my hat is off to your puzzle creation abilities. Bang Head
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-Played: I Love Bees, City of Domes, What Is the Silence, Justice Forsaken

-Playing: Who knows anymore

PostPosted: Sun Aug 20, 2006 10:58 pm
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negativeview
Decorated


Joined: 04 Aug 2006
Posts: 211
Location: Huntsville, AL USA

 		Seemingly Random Patterns
I too remain mostly stumped. I've come across a few quasi-patterns that I thought I'd share in case someone can take the next step.

Someone posted the letter frequencies earlier for single-letters. I keep looking at the right-most column and wanting to figure out why it is only two letters wide. My latest guess has been to treat the entire puzzle as two-letter blocks. Groupings of five-letters feels a little too classic to me, especially as quite a few people started jumping on classic tools because of the groupings.

If you treat the entire thing as two letter groupings, there are 90 distinct combinations. There are 100 possible combinations, so it's not too far of a stretch that 90 would be present. That much doesn't indicate strong patterns.

Statistically, '66' should be there 3.62%, based on '6' being 19.03% (I'm trusting the earlier posting of frequencies). It's there 6.34% of the time, instead.

'98' should be 1.89, but is 4.51 instead.

There are other such strong discrepancies that lead me to believe that the first number in a grouping strongly predicts the second. Which leads me to believe that I'm right in them being in groupings of two.

Someone debunk me?

I also strong want to treat the groups that appear on the right hand side as special -- the key to the puzzle. They are among the most common two-letter combinations in the meat of the puzzle as well.

So far nothing solid has surfaced using these assumptions, just more interesting patterns that don't point to anything solid. Near the top, a lot of the left and right hand side two-number combinations also appear on the far right. Near the bottom that's not as much the case, with almost all of the two-number combinations being not present on the right hand side. Not sure what to make of that one just yet.

PostPosted: Sun Aug 20, 2006 11:45 pm
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Snic
Boot

Joined: 12 Jun 2005
Posts: 45

 		Bah, to make things even worse apparently Synthesis tried to get in touch with me during the small period of time I was on a smoke break and away from my screen. >.<
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-Played: I Love Bees, City of Domes, What Is the Silence, Justice Forsaken

-Playing: Who knows anymore

PostPosted: Sun Aug 20, 2006 11:58 pm
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negativeview
Decorated


Joined: 04 Aug 2006
Posts: 211
Location: Huntsville, AL USA

 		I guess s/he didn't say anything interesting to a non-responsive IM, eh?

PostPosted: Mon Aug 21, 2006 12:01 am
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Snic
Boot

Joined: 12 Jun 2005
Posts: 45

 		N'ah, just basically hello and then log off.
_________________
-Played: I Love Bees, City of Domes, What Is the Silence, Justice Forsaken

-Playing: Who knows anymore

PostPosted: Mon Aug 21, 2006 12:14 am
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negativeview
Decorated


Joined: 04 Aug 2006
Posts: 211
Location: Huntsville, AL USA

 		They (as Synthesis is apparently collective) are back and giving much more than in the past. Will edit to fill in conversation when it's done.

Quote:
Me: Hello
Me: Are you the one messing with Travis?
Synthesis: He is interefering with what needs to be done.
Me: He doesn't know what he's interfering in.
Synthesis: He does, to a slight degree where he is endangering himself and others.
Me: He was right about you. You are quite good at cyphering.
Me: Is Synthesis male, female, or collective?
Synthesis: Collective by choice. We are many.
Me: Is 89 important?
Me: I mean 98, excuse me.
Synthesis: as important as any other number can be. 1% out of 100 is the important attributed there.
Me: Are there pieces to your puzzle that are missing?
Synthesis: No. It is all there. All it takes is the understanding to solve it.
Me: How does one become a part of the collective?
Synthesis: By choice and understanding. It is not some wierd science fiction hive mind, it is simply people who know and understand and embrace the beliefs we share.
Me: Are all members of the collective puzzle makers?
Synthesis: Puzzle making is simply another skill. It is a form of communication, of concealment and expression and information.
Me: That doesn't tell me if it's a skill that you all share or not. Is Synthesis a huge multi-national organization or a small elite team, anyway?
Synthesis: Neither. Simply a group of people who share the goals, beliefs and value systems.
Me: You can be quite difficult to get straight answers out of. Though I guess that's to be expected. Is the database what you want Travis to stay away from?


Synthesis started typing after this last question, then stopped. I think s/he thought better of it. I think that PMs shall come to fear me for my off-topic, but on-topic questions. This one did pretty well, though!

Uh oh, the conversation continues, and looks to be going down... hill?

Okay, we're in quantum mechanics now. I'm going to go ahead and post this bit, as I doubt that there will be anymore concrete clues.

Edit again! Filling in the rest of the conversation, as I find it very amusing.

Quote:
Synthesis: there may or may not be a possibility and a direct answeer may change events involved.
Synthesis: answer (spelling error, sorry)
Me: If one of us told Travis to stay away from the database, and he listened, that would presumably make you not bother him anymore.
Synthesis: That is only if the database ***IS** the actual point of intereference by Travis. There are times when merely observing an event will change the nature of the event. that is in the nature of quantum physics.
Me: Replace the database in my previous statement with whatever the point of interference is and it's just as true. Unless he is somehow interfering simply by being alive and not by any real action on his part. In which case I can't tell him to die.
Synthesis: Death may not allievate the interference causuation. that may not be the point required.
Me: Are we all interfering by simply knowing that there's something to know?
Me: Did he make it worse with his blog?
Synthesis: Blog?
Synthesis: Explain, please.
Me: By getting us all involved in talking to you, did he make it worse?
Synthesis: Irrelevent. The chain of events previously planned out shall continue, irrespective of present circumstances.
Me: Were you responsible for Travis losing his job as a policeman?
Synthesis: His own actions were responsible.
Me: By that do you mean that he angered Synthesis and what you did to him was justified, or that you honestly had nothing to do with that particular outcome?
Synthesis: Anger has no meaning in the chain of events. Irrelevent.


Then Synthesis signed off.

Umm, did Synthesis not know about the blog before? I hope that I led away from that question well enough...

PostPosted: Mon Aug 21, 2006 12:31 am
Last edited by negativeview on Mon Aug 21, 2006 1:05 am; edited 2 times in total
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Esteed
Entrenched


Joined: 25 Jul 2006
Posts: 1147
Location: Delaware

 		Well, here's the conversation I had with him/them. I attempted to get some clues, but I don't know if this gives us any.

Quote:
SamRey56: Hello there Synthesis.
S1547NY5: I know.
SamRey56: You know what? You say that a lot. Enlighten me, man.
S1547NY5: It will all come clear in time. The last time was We Know. Different meaning this time. Not to the present communication. Please fiel away for future reference.
SamRey56: Acting on your own this time? How are the others going to feel about that?
S1547NY5: We act by group consensus. Our motivations are based on our logic and value systems. Eventually, you will learn them.
SamRey56: Group consensus, huh? That sounds strangely like a hive mind...
S1547NY5: Not necessarily. A group of workers at a factory work with a common goal. A group of friends with common interests will pursue them. People with similar value systems and beliefs will form groups.
SamRey56: True. So you admit, your value system is different than what society would consider normal?
S1547NY5: What does society consider normal? And which society? Every society has their own value system and beliefs.
SamRey56: Fair point. So you're working towards your own goals, rather than working on commission from someone else?
S1547NY5: Art can be done as a form of artistic expression or as a comissioned work. Goals are thereby defined by many factors which may not pertain to the main ones.
SamRey56: You do enjoy leading people around with these coded messages of yours, don't you?
S1547NY5: Not at all. That is how we communicate. Puzzling can be an expression of art and philosophies. To know us, you must learn us.
SamRey56: I see. So through understanding these puzzles, we'll come to understand why you do things?
S1547NY5: Yes, and possibly join us. Once you understand us, you will then make the choice where your future will become.
SamRey56: Perhaps you are not quite as ominous and sinister as you at first seemed...though you can understand why those who don't understand your ways could think as such. Perhaps you can help us understand? Not hold our hands, certainly, but give us some sort of lead to go on for understanding?
S1547NY5: Understanding will come in time with learning.
SamRey56: Then perhaps you could point us in the direction of what fields of learning we should pursue?
S1547NY5: It is not a matter of a particular field of arts or science. It is a matter of the way of looking at things.
SamRey56: I see. And how would we get a message to you if we did understand?
S1547NY5: You will join us by choice if you wish on discovering sartori. For now, with the incomplete knowledge of the value systems and beliefs held by us, we are anathema. the time will come when you will be able to make an informed choice.
SamRey56: Sartori?
S1547NY5: Sudden enlightmenment.
SamRey56: An epiphany, of sorts?
S1547NY5: Correct.
SamRey56: I understand. Although I must ask, what could Travis have done to warrant such actions from your group? He seems like a nice guy to me.
S1547NY5: To continue what we need to, interference must be stopped. Certain chains of events must be seen through for the larger events to work to completion.
SamRey56: So from the point of view of a law enforcement agent, these chains of events would be seen as unjust?
S1547NY5: unjust has no meaning in the context of events. That is a societal distinction.
SamRey56: That's what I mean, current societal distinctions would view these chains of events as unjust?
S1547NY5: Which society? Do the events in the MidEast are considered just or unjust, and to whom as an example?
SamRey56: I see. You do have a point. Are any of the current societies a match for your value system?
S1547NY5: Not in full. A tiny point here, a tiny point there. that would explain why there is difficulty in the immediate understanding.
SamRey56: True. Through study of your past actions, can we get closer to understanding?
S1547NY5: Insamuch as a study of past actions of a society could predict their future.
SamRey56: Some would say that those that do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.
S1547NY5: That is true. but at the same time, it does not necessarily provide a roadmap for future actions.
SamRey56: No, it doesn't. I don't think there's anything that can truly provide a roadmap for the future. There are simply too many choices and possibilities for a true roadmap. That said, I think I might have come to some kind of understanding. We should disregard the common and examine what is left, right?
S1547NY5: Not necessarily. that can be a trap for tunnel vision. That is one of the underlying beliefs of Synthesis. If you attempt to fixate on the normal or exclude it for the sake of seeing what else is out there, you will miss the entire picture.
SamRey56: It's the big picture we need to see, rather than focusing on the tiny details?
S1547NY5: That is also a tunnel vision. By being able to focus on the micro and macro details, the truer big picture is obtained where needed. Certain circumstances require micro work, while others require macro work.
SamRey56: And your most recent message? What should we be looking for there?
S1547NY5: The message.
S1547NY5 signed off at 11:54:38 PM.

_________________
"The accumulated filth of all their sex and murder will foam up about their waists and all the whores and politicians will look up and shout "Save us!"... and I'll look down and whisper "No."" -Rorschach

PostPosted: Mon Aug 21, 2006 12:57 am
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negativeview
Decorated


Joined: 04 Aug 2006
Posts: 211
Location: Huntsville, AL USA

 		I see a few clues in your conversation. It seems a tad more scripted, which probably means that there are more true clues, instead of just "why is he asking THAT?! Guess I gotta give some sorta answer." BTW, check my previous post, it's been updated with a lengthy conversation I had with him as well.

PostPosted: Mon Aug 21, 2006 1:02 am
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Dr3dg
Boot


Joined: 16 Aug 2006
Posts: 36
Location: Dark side of the Sun

 		Guess this is what insomia does for you...
Probably not related but interesting no less

http://carol.nuvox.net/acfd/team/travis.htm


Edit

Quote:
SamRey56: Sartori?
S1547NY5: Sudden enlightmenment.
SamRey56: An epiphany, of sorts?
S1547NY5: Correct.


Sartori is a Zen Buddhist term for enlightenment. Synthesis also mentioned their beliefs.

Quote:
Not necessarily. that can be a trap for tunnel vision. That is one of the underlying beliefs of Synthesis. If you attempt to fixate on the normal or exclude it for the sake of seeing what else is out there, you will miss the entire picture.


PostPosted: Mon Aug 21, 2006 6:38 am
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rasputin1072
Boot

Joined: 31 Aug 2004
Posts: 62
Location: Louisville, KY

 		sounds kind of like the whole "if the string is too tight, idf the string is too loose" thing from sidhartta. Almost like a societal struggle on par with the differences between confucius and zen budhism.
And yet I ramble...
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-What the hell is that?

PostPosted: Mon Aug 21, 2006 7:56 am
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Esteed
Entrenched


Joined: 25 Jul 2006
Posts: 1147
Location: Delaware

 		Hmm. Reading over Travis' blog once more, it occurs to me that there is a pattern he talks about that we have observed in part before. He mentions that something would happen, and then days later, Synthesis would begin delivering clues to crack their codes. If you look back, the chatroom cypher, that went unsolved for a bit, and then after a period of time, Synthesis posted a clue that eventually directed L.Boomer at IU to the periodic table solve. Perhaps all we can do for the moment is wait until Synthesis provides another such clue? In my conversation with him/them, he/they did say that understanding would come in time...
_________________
"The accumulated filth of all their sex and murder will foam up about their waists and all the whores and politicians will look up and shout "Save us!"... and I'll look down and whisper "No."" -Rorschach

PostPosted: Mon Aug 21, 2006 11:42 am
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negativeview
Decorated


Joined: 04 Aug 2006
Posts: 211
Location: Huntsville, AL USA
Dr3dg wrote:
Probably not related but interesting no less

http://carol.nuvox.net/acfd/team/travis.htm


What is that site? Following the url backwards to /acfd/ looks like a mediocre government website through every step, until / is just blank?!

If anything I think that it'd be more likely to be a clue as to our PM rather than in-game. TP isn't supposed to be his original name, and he's not supposed to be in any form of law enforcement anymore. Maybe the PM named TP after himself, and knows law enforcement? Then again is this rescue team really law enforcement?

Also, the idea that we'll get another clue in a few days is interesting, and I can't dispute it in any way. However:

Quote:
decoded far too late to do anything about them.


If we wait for the next clue, it may be too late to take action on the message.

When looking for that quote I also noticed something else.

Quote:
We have theorized that certain details triggered strange associations with their schooling and training and literally caused their brains to perform an overload.


Quote:
The last progress I heard was in a brave volunteer was being sent to medical school with full knowledge of this affair. We were all hoping that soeone without the proper training may be able to understand without using the full schooling.


I'm not 100% sure I'm parsing this right. Does this mean that there is a school of thought, perhaps medical, that makes you more likely to get their puzzles, as long as you can see a little past your training? The first puzzle was chemistry, which I'm pretty sure doctors have to study in depth.

PostPosted: Mon Aug 21, 2006 11:54 am
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Esteed
Entrenched


Joined: 25 Jul 2006
Posts: 1147
Location: Delaware

 		Synthesis claims it isn't about one specific school of study, but that could be a possibility. The fact that they seem to talk about quantum mechanics and philosophy indicates that those may be two good ideas for reference.
_________________
"The accumulated filth of all their sex and murder will foam up about their waists and all the whores and politicians will look up and shout "Save us!"... and I'll look down and whisper "No."" -Rorschach

PostPosted: Mon Aug 21, 2006 12:30 pm
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