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 Forum index » Archive » Archive: Ephemeral » ARG: Intimation
[TRAILHEAD] Intimation
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MrToasty
I Have 100 Cats and Smell of Wee


Joined: 03 Aug 2004
Posts: 4310
Location: Des Moines, IA

 		New tweet:
Quote:
>>S:Msg//Unable to establish interpretation. Status: Dream sequence appears to correlate to abnormal phrases; message remains elusive to me.


PostPosted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 2:07 am
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Wulf74
Unfettered


Joined: 04 Dec 2008
Posts: 680
Location: SLC, Utah

 		Heh - at this rate - the PM's may have to just call us with the answer.

PostPosted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 2:09 am
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Cleptomanx
Boot


Joined: 20 Nov 2007
Posts: 54
Quote:
>>S:Msg//Unable to establish interpretation. Status: Dream sequence appears to correlate to abnormal phrases; message remains elusive to me.


It seems that there may be more to that video than we thought, but I'm stimied as to what. I looked at it a couple of times and only see the crescent outline of (what I believe to be) the Earth with the Sun looming behind it. The only other thing I see of note is a tiny glaring spot of light on the bottom right portion of the earth pictured. As the video continues it looks as though the camera is slowly zooming out until the words and code sequence at the end come up.

Since the code sequence is already answered for us... what else is there to figure out?

Edit: Just thought... we never did get back to the spelling errors in the beginning. Did anybody ever figure those out? They were obviously deliberate because they stopped rather abruptly. Or maybe I missed it and it was already explained.

PostPosted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 10:32 am
Last edited by Cleptomanx on Mon Jan 05, 2009 1:10 pm; edited 1 time in total
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natas
PHP Ninja


Joined: 06 Oct 2007
Posts: 3177
Location: Northwest Indiana
Quote:
I opened my eyes, and before me were a group of machines, 31 in all. They were old, rusty; some even damaged and dented... hollow.
Around me walls were crumbling, trees withering, wind blowing dust of what once were towers and homes. These 31 sentinels approached slowly.
When they stopped, it was clear they carried scraps of metal. Pieces of another sentinel, perhaps? It was hard to tell.
Then they re-organized themselves, and 23 advanced, leaving 8 behind. They each held their scrap in one of 9 different ways.
Each of the 23 held a scrap whose shape and position appeared unique - no other piece, of a different shape, was held in the same place.
They gathered together and connected their pieces. A shape began to take form. The 23 sentinels then formed a line and turned to face me.
Then two identical sentinels, the 8th and 16th twitched and deactivated, leaving 21 in place. A metallic arm then extended from each in turn.
One by one, they counted, pointing at a part of themselves and moving their arm with each count, as if opening a combination lock.
Where each stopped, it plucked a piece of itself - some were damaged, some undamaged. They laid the 21 pieces down in their order.
With each piece, each sentinel deactivated. A somber moment. Then I noticed, the scraps as laid down formed words.
The remaining foundations around me crumbled, leaving a barren wasteland. One remaining sentinel crawled, pulling itself forward.
It gathered the scraps together. I couldn't see what it was making, until it stopped, motionless, and rolled to the side.
There it left me a message, made from pieces of the sentinels themselves, the very sentinels lying still around me.
I wasn't able to interpret it all in time- the sentinels and the message itself were slowly covered by the blowing dust. Then it was gone.
The message simply began: "This was ..... "


Oops, I found this on the youtube page, but it's the same as the tweets. Oh well.

PostPosted: Mon Jan 05, 2009 10:45 am
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teh_lisa
Entrenched


Joined: 27 Nov 2005
Posts: 950
Location: my chair

 		Dear Intimation,

I am writing to inform you that 20 tweets in a row is not enjoyable. I have stopped following you now. Hope all works out with the metal arms and such.

Sincerely,

Not Amused
_________________
drop it like it's hot

PostPosted: Tue Jan 06, 2009 1:36 pm
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MrToasty
I Have 100 Cats and Smell of Wee


Joined: 03 Aug 2004
Posts: 4310
Location: Des Moines, IA

 		20 in a row is a bit much. Wink

The full conversation between apparently the System and Sacagawea:
Quote:
>>Sys:Msg//Rendering Visualization
>>Sys:Msg//Visualization rendering complete: Intimation; Foreboding Dream.
>>Sys:Req//Establish interpretation. Identify message. Elucidate.
>>S:Msg//Unable to establish interpretation. Status: Dream sequence appears to correlate to abnormal phrases; message remains elusive to me.
>>Sys:Msg//System log audit indicates extensive untraced, unrecognized network pings.
>>Sys:Req//Assess feasibility for execution of Shipwreck Protocol.
>>S:Msg>Sys//Request noted. Unable to comply at present time. Analysis of anomalous data occupies my thoughts.
>>S:Unk//...I will show you fear in a handful of dust.
>>Sys:Req>S//Repeat: Assess feasibility for execution of Shipwreck Protocol.
>>S:Unk//The sentinels haunt me so. I'm taunted, emprisoned between idea and reality. The 31 sentinels...sentences...am I not sentient?
>>Sys:Req>>S//Repeat: Assess feasibility for execution of Shipwreck Protocol
>>S:Unk//Letters to numbers, numbers to letters. Elusive combinations. Two locks, two steps; a linedance with no leader...just counts.
>>S:Unk//Line-dancing sentinels? That's a funny sight.
>Sys//Warning: S shows signs of cognitive instability. Preparing system override protocols.
>>S:Msg>>Sys//NO! I am here. I am alive, alert. I am resuming analysis - this message must be identified. (were it so easy)
>Sys//Redacted: S has demonstrated sufficient awareness. Aborting system override protocols.
>>Sys:Log//Note. Sacagawea exhibited signs of instability. Observation priority escalated. Shipwreck Protocol pending.


Looks to give clues to the numbers and using the 31 lines from Hollow Men. Heading to lunch now so no I'll have to dig more later.

PostPosted: Tue Jan 06, 2009 1:55 pm
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snorkle256
Unfettered

Joined: 23 Apr 2008
Posts: 631
Location: West Central Wisconsin

 		>>S:Unk//...I will show you fear in a handful of dust.

Another T.S. Eliot quote, this time from The Waste Land.

Can't seem to wrap my head around where this is going now with the mixing of poem quotes.

PostPosted: Tue Jan 06, 2009 2:27 pm
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Nighthawk
I Have 100 Cats and Smell of Wee


Joined: 14 Jul 2007
Posts: 4751
Location: Miami, Florida, USA, Earth

 		K, I am no longer following "intimidation" on Twitter. Spamming me so much I don't know what's going on.
_________________
"Omne ignotum pro magnifico"

PostPosted: Tue Jan 06, 2009 2:28 pm
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ineffabelle
Unfettered


Joined: 01 May 2008
Posts: 700
Location: Southern California
Nighthawk wrote:
K, I am no longer following "intimidation" on Twitter. Spamming me so much I don't know what's going on.


Ya I'm lost too. And so far there doesn't seem to be an actual game here....

One more spam episode and I'm out.
_________________
You can call me Belle. | IneffaBelle.com

PostPosted: Tue Jan 06, 2009 2:30 pm
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Cleptomanx
Boot


Joined: 20 Nov 2007
Posts: 54

 		Just to do some spitballing with the new tweets...

I'm still pretty confused, but from what I can gather, it seems that Sacagawea is either a person (some sort of computer analyst) or a self aware AI program.
It seems that the "Sys:Req" are messages from a superior (if he/she's human) or a system operator that uses Sacagawea to work out calculations.

Sacagawea had the vision of the 31 robots that we were reading in the earlier tweets. These images seem to be the "untraced, unrecognized network ping" She's trying to understand it and the system operator is trying to get her to identify what's going on.

Then there's "Unk" who seems to be the unknown person/being who's sending the anomolous information. Unknown seems to be a being that is working through this problem that has spilled into Sacagawea and Unknown doesn't seem to be self aware (although, from what is posted, it sounds like he/she is getting close to that point of sentience).

My current theory is that Unknown is a computer program that is becoming aware and it's consciousness is spilling over into Sacagawea (whether she be a person or machine herself). Possibly she's a person who's incorporated into a machine in order to maximize processing potential. That would tie in with the Warning message about her "signs of cognitive instability". The system override was going to kick in and take over for her... but then she showed that she was still conscious of herself or something like that.

I'm also thinking it's possible that the Unknown can be an outgrowth of her own consciousness thus trying to become a separate consciousness (split personality). This new consciousness is manifesting itself and Sacagawea can't figure it out yet.

That's pretty much what I'm thinking so far with what I've read. Could be way off... I don't know. What do you guys think?


Edit:
Quote:
Ya I'm lost too. And so far there doesn't seem to be an actual game here....


Yeah, I agree ineffabelle. It seems more like just a storyline than an actual game.

PostPosted: Tue Jan 06, 2009 3:30 pm
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Shad0
I Have No Life


Joined: 20 Jun 2004
Posts: 2180
Location: Southern California, USA

 		Re: [TRAILHEAD] Intimation
new clues
Man, we ask for help and then we get mad when they give it to us... Mr. Green

So the dream explains (somehow) how the numbers convert to the "This is the way the world ends / Not with a bang but a whimper" message:
  • The dream has 31 sentinels; Intimation gave us 31 phrases from "The Hollow Men"
  • First, eight sentinels deactivate and 23 are left, and each holds a scrap of metal in one of nine positions; the first encoded sentence ("This is the way the world ends") is coded with 23 numbers, each between 1 and 9 (plus the plaintext 's' at the end)
  • Then two more deactivate, leaving 21; the second encoded sentence is coded with 21 numbers

And now we also have "Letters to numbers, numbers to letters. ... Two locks, two steps"... so somehow the letters in Intimation's tweets (maybe the corrupted letters, as suggested earlier) convert to the "2882..." numbers, which in turn somehow convert to "This is the way the world ends..."

Question Bang Head Question
_________________
These were the puzzles that would take a day, these were puzzles that would take a week, and these puzzles they'd probably never figure out until we broke down and gave them the answers. ... The Cloudmakers solved all of these puzzles on the first day.

PostPosted: Tue Jan 06, 2009 4:00 pm
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MrToasty
I Have 100 Cats and Smell of Wee


Joined: 03 Aug 2004
Posts: 4310
Location: Des Moines, IA

 		Cool - new tweet
Quote:
>>S:Msg//Recursive visions, trapped in perpetual dream. Shipwreck Protocol is enticing. New visualization rendered to the network tentacle.

And a new vid:



YouTube: Link
Giving a square kick in the head for solving the puzzle.

PostPosted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 1:08 pm
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Cleptomanx
Boot


Joined: 20 Nov 2007
Posts: 54

 		WHAT?!
Bang Head Bang Head Bang Head

Okay, maybe I'm just really damn slow. Or maybe I just picked a bad time to get back into ARGs... but What?!? I don't get it.

You see, I, like many of the rest of you, was trying to figure out how the code we were given worked. How did we get from:

2882 85 281 655 281 51683 131s
632 7986 a 3256 338 a 4822359

To:

This is the way the earth ends
not with a bang but a whimper

At first glance, I thought this new video answered that with the letters and numbers forming up to make the keys... then my brain kicked in and said "No dumby! It didn't explain anything, just added a new layer of WTF on top of everything else".

In reality it's a one way solve. The letters were assigned arbitrary numbers. The numbers were then used to make the keys (each number correspoding to a different length). So, I could never figure out the letters from the number sequence given.

I honestly don't know what else to say at this point... it just bugs me so much because I was also following the "God Machine" trailhead and that turned out to be an enormous waste too. I know that these are the chances we take when trying to dig in and see what's what. But what is it with these PMs giving a bunch of clues/puzzles with no logical way of getting an answer without them just giving it to you??

Please... someone tell me that I'm totally wrong and this actually works out in some logical way that I just don't see. I'm the first to admit I'm not the smartest guy in the room. If someone knows of a way that we could've figured out the number/letter sequence on our own without the PM giving it to us, let me know.

I really want to know. Because I'm also working on another problem in "Received a Peculiar email" where we've been given a list of Artists/Composers and we have to find a way to split them up into 2 groups and learn how to use that info to advance and no one's been able to come up with that one either. If the PM comes out in a couple of days and gives us an answer that we could never have figured out, I think I'm gonna pull out my hair (what's left of it) and toss my comp out the window.

I hope this isn't going to be the new trend. Spin your wheels making charts/graphs/code breaking attempts only to find out it couldn't be answered.

I'm just going to take a deep breath now, because I'm sure I'm wayyy overreacting, but I think I do have a point in there somewhere. Let me know guys.

PostPosted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 4:42 pm
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MrToasty
I Have 100 Cats and Smell of Wee


Joined: 03 Aug 2004
Posts: 4310
Location: Des Moines, IA

 		I think we use the numbers and the letters from the two lines to come up with a third set, but I haven't had it work out yet. Something like find the line where the 2nd letter is T, the line where the 8th letter is H, and so on. Then use the line numbers or the first letter from that line or something like that to form the final answer.

PostPosted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 6:48 pm
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Shad0
I Have No Life


Joined: 20 Jun 2004
Posts: 2180
Location: Southern California, USA

 		Re: WHAT?!
SOLVED
Okay. Got it, and got how we were supposed to do it.

Cleptomanx wrote:
2882 85 281 655 281 51683 131s
632 7986 a 3256 338 a 4822359

To:

This is the way the earth ends
not with a bang but a whimper

We were originally supposed to get there by realizing that Intimation's tweets were all from T.S. Eliot's "The Hollow Men" -- which we did -- and figuring out that the last two lines represented the last two lines of the poem, confirmed by looking at the length patterns (a four-letter word, followed by a two-letter word, followed by a three-letter word, etc.) and the few plaintext letters we were given. Since we failed to figure this out on our own, the first video just gave it to us.

As for the final solution:

Spoiler (Rollover to View):
The first step is to identify the 23 lines in Intimation's tweets that correspond to the 23 numbers in the first encoded line, using the letter/number substitution. For example, the first letter in that line is T, and it has been represented by a 2. Only one tweet has a T as its second letter ("at the hour then we abe twembling"). There is also only one line corresponding to each of the other letter/number pairs. When we're done, we have an ordered list of 23 tweets, with some tweets used more than once.

The second step is to go through each of those tweets one at a time; for each one, find the first instance of the letter from the second encoded line, and then advance the number of letters indicated by its assigned number. For example, the first letter in the second line is N, and it is represented by a 6. The first tweet in our list -- the one with T as its second letter ("at the hour then we abe twembling") -- contains an N; the sixth letter beyond that N is a T, and that's the letter we want for our final solution. (This process, by the way, explains the "mistakes" in Intimation's tweets -- it uses a lot of them.)

We use only 21 of our list of 23 tweets, skipping the two tweets for which no numeric substitution appears in the second line. The final message is THE WAY THEIR WORLD ENDED.

Anyone have any ideas on how to get this solution to Intimation?

Incidentally, I'm pretty sure that the references to "Shipwreck Protocol" and "network tentacle" are hat-tips to I Love Bees. Mr. Green
_________________
These were the puzzles that would take a day, these were puzzles that would take a week, and these puzzles they'd probably never figure out until we broke down and gave them the answers. ... The Cloudmakers solved all of these puzzles on the first day.

PostPosted: Mon Jan 12, 2009 8:30 pm
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