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 Forum index » Archive » Archive: General » Old News & Rumors
[LOCKED] mayday mystery
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catherwood-offline
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i propose using #mayday in IRC.

Wishi-san mentioned ideas for building a web resource to organize all the data, but I haven't seen a url yet.

I started to slice up the latest May 1 image for my own use, when I realized that one square mentions Ampitheater Parkway (zip code) 94943 -- *gasp* -- that's only 10 miles away from me! I don't know where the "cache" would be, unless it's the Computer History museum on the corner.

OK, now i'm sucked in.

PostPosted: Mon May 31, 2004 7:32 pm
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joebrent
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Joined: 01 Oct 2003
Posts: 640
Location: New York, sometimes

Yeah, I'm sucked in too. But I'm not re-reading Augustine. Really, I'm not. OK, maybe I would if it looked relevent.

Dammit.

Tomorrow, if I'm sober, anyone wanna help me go through all the old mayday messages and decode whatever symbols haven't been cracked yet?
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PostPosted: Mon May 31, 2004 9:05 pm
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rose
...and then Magic happens


Joined: 26 Nov 2003
Posts: 4117

Quote:
Tomorrow, if I'm sober, anyone wanna help me go through all the old mayday messages and decode whatever symbols haven't been cracked yet?

Sure let us know when you're sober.

PostPosted: Mon May 31, 2004 9:19 pm
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yanka
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Joined: 06 Oct 2003
Posts: 1214
Location: undesirable

joebrent wrote:

Tomorrow, if I'm sober, anyone wanna help me go through all the old mayday messages and decode whatever symbols haven't been cracked yet?

By my modest estimations that might take... weeks? months? This thing is MASSIVE. First, as dmax mentioned, there are recurring references to characters/symbols, places, and people. Not to mention that, as far as I can tell, almost every ad refers to one or more previous ads in some way. For example, the most recent one in row 5, col. 7 implies that something changed from the situation described here. Or, at least, that's what I think it means Confused Row 3, col. 5 refers to this ad - but I have no idea what could be considered as the "2nd L" and what in the 05/01/90 ad can describe something that can have permutations.
It seems that any possible solutions are entirely... I don't know... non-linear? I really can't find a better term. I mean that none of the ads would have a clear-cut solution: words, or numbers, etc. It seems like so far they are thematic messages, drawing largely upon a set of common (as in, used in most of them) concepts/symbols/etc. As far as I can tell, the theme of the messages may have been vaguely determined, but no single message's contents have been "solved", so to speak.
At this point, the only coherent thought I have been able to form about this thing is that it is as frustrating as it is interesting and addictive Very Happy
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PostPosted: Mon May 31, 2004 10:13 pm
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dmax
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Joined: 09 Jan 2003
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And, not to throw cold water on anyone, this reminds me a lot of schizophrenia, the real kind - not the overused improper definition that folks toss at multiple personalities or whatever.

Real schizophrenics are quite verbose and insistent when you talk with them, but make no sense whatsoever.

When I stick my neck out this far to assert something that I believe is obvious, I'm typically in error, luckily enough.

Carry on.

PostPosted: Mon May 31, 2004 10:38 pm
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Tien_Le
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Joined: 22 Sep 2002
Posts: 878
Location: corner of no and where

mayday stuff

dmax wrote:
And, not to throw cold water on anyone, this reminds me a lot of schizophrenia, the real kind - not the overused improper definition that folks toss at multiple personalities or whatever.

Real schizophrenics are quite verbose and insistent when you talk with them, but make no sense whatsoever.


I had similar thoughts along these lines if, after reading about the attorney who pays for the ads, I immediately thought of the movie A Beautiful Mind (about an extremely intelligent man who fell to schizophrenia). However, I began to discount this idea after more thought. From the above referenced article: "Schizophrenics often have trouble concentrating on complex or lengthy processes" My 'knowledge' of this disorder is limited to what I've seen on television, so take this with a grain of salt, but I don't think someone who is genuinely suffering from this malady has what it takes to stick with a process for 20+ years, consistently creating and delivering ads at the same time every year.

Granted, these puzzles do seem to have a quality of disordered nonsense to them, but I have to wonder if a schizophrenic often feels the need to spend money to advertise his or her nonsense on an annual basis.

It's just a thought, but this almost seems more bipolar to me. At the very least our reclusive attorney is eccentric. He hardly strikes me as violent.
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PostPosted: Tue Jun 01, 2004 11:25 am
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yanka|tage
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I think that if it is schizophrenia, there is more than one person with it: check out the tape mp3 here. Unless, of course, that woman was hired... which, I guess, is entirely possible.
If I may - I strongly recommend that anyone planning to spend any amount of time on this begin here. This site will give you a good idea on who might be behind it, how the clues are interconnected, what progress has been made, and what the "point" of all of this might be. Prepare to spend lots and lots of hours on this if you want to get involved... *sigh*

PostPosted: Tue Jun 01, 2004 12:11 pm
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dmax
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Joined: 09 Jan 2003
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And there's the ongoing spotty analysis in the Fortean Times.

PostPosted: Tue Jun 01, 2004 12:37 pm
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Tien_Le
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Joined: 22 Sep 2002
Posts: 878
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mayday stuff

So if this whole MayDay thing is all about altering reality (and dmax convinced me that this is indeed very likely the work of a schizophrenic) then wouldn't this make Mayday the ultimate alternate reality game?
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PostPosted: Wed Jun 02, 2004 12:12 pm
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dmax
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Here's something that I thought was interesting, particularly in light of the contention that a schizophrenic can't sustain this level of involvement for two decades.

It certainly appears that they can.

PostPosted: Wed Jun 02, 2004 5:51 pm
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addlepated
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Joined: 17 Aug 2003
Posts: 1885
Location: Austin, Texas

Just FYI, when I was a kid I met a man who sat me down at a table and pulled out star maps and spreadsheets which detailed where and when the aliens had been abducting him. He'd been keeping records on this for at least 10 years. Otherwise he seemed like a very normal guy.

PostPosted: Wed Jun 02, 2004 10:43 pm
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Cyfre
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Joined: 25 Oct 2003
Posts: 63
Location: Tampa FL

Okay, the mind control person definitely has some issues, i freely admit that!

Getting back to the topic, however, i can't personally recall any instances of schizophrenics who manipulate the situation so others believe it is also happening. If all of this is the lawyer's delusion, then who is sending money to Bryan Hance? Who is sending him e-mails, letters, and packages?

To my knowledge, schizophrenics believe their own delusions. So why would the lawyer (if schizophrenic) do the work for his fictional characters and claim it's not his own work? That, to me, would indicate he is infact aware this organization is not real. So wouldn't that make it more of a hoax?

Possible options would be as follows:

-Lawyer is schizophrenic and has multiple personalities which would allow him to carry out all the actions needed.

-Lawyer is simply schizophrenic, but has been sworn to secrecy by his fictional friends and made to carry out these things on their behalf, which he denies.

-Lawyer is schizophrenic and Hance is perpetrating the scene, which would make it a hoax.

-It's real. =)
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PostPosted: Thu Jun 03, 2004 3:12 pm
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Tien_Le
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Joined: 22 Sep 2002
Posts: 878
Location: corner of no and where

mayday

Cyfre wrote:
-Lawyer is schizophrenic and Hance is perpetrating the scene, which would make it a hoax.


Perhaps Hance is unwittingly advancing this cause. I'd hate to be him if it were determined ultimately that this lawyer really is mentally ill and behind the whole thing.
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PostPosted: Fri Jun 04, 2004 12:01 pm
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hazard@core-rules.com
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Well, I'm no good at math...

BUT, I can definitely add 2+2 and consistently get 4. While I haven't figured out much, if anything, about the specifics of the 'Prize' or the 'Grand Game' , and I'm pretty sure I've at least connected some things together. I'm going to try to lay it out simple, I've been up and at this a couple days now, so I'm feeling a little stupid. Anyway:

THE OBVIOUS:

Hungerford is a Founder of the Brotherhood, or an early indoctriate. I propose the former. The article Nate Spears did an article here : http://www.explorernews.com/articles/2003/05/14/news/export899.txt that explains some of it right off. Hungerford has books on all kinds of subjects, incuding *tada* different language dictionaries. He has *stamp* collections. He's a member of MENSA who attended UA, and lives in Tucson.

Things like this are just too obvious: "Hungerford is a member of Mensa and a former member of a variety of mathematics, statistics and historical societies." --and another-- "His downtown office is littered with books on cryptography, history, languages, physics, medicine and a variety of other topics. While he possesses a vast collection of language-to-language dictionaries, almanacs, encyclopedias and other references, Hungerford denies he has ever read the volumes in his office.

"I pick out books because of their color, nothing more," he quips.

Between an assortment of weapons such as knives, machetes and guns on his walls are handwritten messages in Hebrew and hieroglyphics, posters of human anatomy and framed collections of stamps and other oddities.


Okay, I wonder, I WONDER who's handling all the local issues there, eh? Rolling Eyes Anyway, consider that Hance also got a package from New Jersey. And sure enough, didn't Hungerford get his Theology Graduate in New Jersey, at Drew?

Damn, now THAT is some coinky-dink, as I believe they say.

Odd too, how there are so many references to specifics w/in academic circles too; referemces to Cambridge, Harvard, MIT, etc etc etc. -

Maybe it's just me, but I suspect that several of the members of the 'Brotherhood' are Professors and the like at Universities all over. Academics often have long-reaching ties to each other through similar mental and philosophical similarities. It's also easy to see how several college educated theologists/philosophers/Jews/Jesuits/MENSA members, what have you would have the ability to create and expand upon a complex code to communicate with each other.

Sounds feasible to me. So does recruiting from the ol' Alma Mater for new material.

On a side note, has anyone asked for a Subsriber List from the ADW? It might prove interesting, just to see if anyone gets home delivery.

On (another) side note, am I the ONLY one to immediately see that 'The Pimp' is using a common web page to spit out his Jive? it's quite easy for even a child to mask an email with it, you can have 4 different people write you an email, it would probably all come out the same. You can check it yourself here: http://rinkworks.com/dialect/. Here's a sample I wrote myself:

"Bry, dig dis: As ya' may know, ah' have had t'stay undercova' fo' de last few weeks as mah' latest mission instructed. However, ah' have been handed some transmission fum some sucka higha' up t'cut to ya'. "This is very easy to duplicate - no more than a simple matter." he said. Funky lookin' dude, he wuz dressed in some yellow sweata' wid trianles on it. Man! He vaguely looked familiar, some sucka comical ah' had seen befo'e. Damn! It wuz Charlie Brown. Chow, bro."

and the original text:

Bry:

As you may know, I have had to stay undercover for the last few weeks as my latest mission instructed. However, I have been handed a transmission from someone higher up to give to you. " " he said. Strange looking fellow, he was dressed in a yellow sweater with trianles on it. He vaguely looked familiar, someone comical I had seen before.

Damn! It was Charlie Brown.


Very easy to do, very simple technique, but EASY to mask multiple people emailing the same person, and even themselves.

Interesting, non?

PostPosted: Fri Jun 11, 2004 12:54 am
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hazard@core-rules.com
Guest


THE ORPHANAGE

Ok, here's another blatant one. I don't know if it's been brought up elsewhere, but I'm throwing it out there.

Why does it seem like most people assume that 'The Orphanage' refers to orphans? Does anyone else think that maybe these people are the ones who look after the orphans? The ones who bring them in and all that?

It's a common view that a disparity in IQ makes conversation, or even prolonged living with or around people of a much lower IQ nearly intolerable. I caught bits and pieces of a special once about this guy who had an IQ off the charts. I mean, just the most gifted SOB they could test. But, this dude lived out in the middle of nowhere, NO ONE around, because he was SO DAMN SMART he couldn't RELATE to anyone. he didn't view the world the same as every other sheep walking the streets.

Again, this leads back to Hungerford, and the article by Nate Sears, in which Hungerford describes himself as 'hermitic' (not hermetic) and reclusive. I would not be surprised if this were a common theme among the Founders of the Brotherhood. 'The Orphanage' is likely an organization or unit of the Brotherhood that actually handles affairs and works within the world. The Founders likely handle all the high-end stuff, like money transfers and planning the yearly social at Phil's house in Boston, because he has a pool.

Hazard J Simpson

hazardSPLATcore-rules.com

PostPosted: Fri Jun 11, 2004 1:04 am
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