unforum

[GunsmithCat]

[SPEC] Coordinates and Radio Broadcast

[Dorkmaster]

Very well structured argument, GunsmithCat... EXCELLENT work! The only problem I have with this is similar to all other that say "well, it doesn't have to be a physical event..."

Why use GPS coordinates? Wouldn't it be cheaper/easier/more world-involving to use web radio? Or to use some other mass-media form like newspaper ads or whatever? To me, and I understand it's just my opinion, GPS mandates physical presence.

[jegger]

I went through all of the AM and FM stations in Atlanta, and found four that are < 2 blocks from the coord. There's only one that I would really consider, since it is FM, has a large listener base and is 90's rock. (I would imagine pretty popular among ARGers). I'll take a look at some other cities tomorrow, but the work whistle has blown, and I'm outta here

[GunsmithCat]

[Dorkmaster]

Again, I cannot defeat your logic, and it is good spec anyway, whether I buy into it or not! I just think there still could totally be a way to do a newspaper ad puzzle that's just as widespread as these GPS points, or to do something other than radio... to use GPS for something other than going to those points seems like leading someone astray rather than giving them a puzzle. But again, I am not bashing this spec AT ALL as I actually really like it. (It's my #1 theory I don't believe. )

[BoonIsha]

definitely not the right place for it, but im also not sure there IS a correct place for this....and it very well may be trout...actually, it prolly is


one of the points is to the Smithsonian in DC right?

anyone want to guess what the nickname of the Smithsonian is in DC?


The Castle. I did an extremely quick search, and didnt find it right off hand, and im at work and dont have alot of time to go through old posts....so if this is old, blow me.

boon

[Danzilla76]

I'm not bashing the thought of this, but definitely have a problem with it. It goes back to where the coordinates are NOT located.
As I've stated, I live in the Mpls./St. Paul, MN metro area. There are not any coordinates within 70 miles of the metro area. So there would be no radio broadcast to the whole area of around 3 million people? Probably not a great idea. Especially since the coordinates keep getting updated, and I did send an email to ladybee777 over 2 weeks ago now. That should have pointed out where I was located, if that is what they are looking for.

[aliendial]

The Castle is just one building of the Smithsonian Institution. The Smithsonian comprises a number of museums on the mall and elsewhere in the DC area, including: Arts & Industries; the Freer Gallery; Museum of Natural History; American History Museum; Air and Space Museum; African Art Museum; the Hirschorn; the National Zoo; and a few others. Two of these have coordinates in front of them. But NOT the Castle.

Now why something named the "Castle" would be important I must have missed.

[BoonIsha]

lol, the sleeping princess or whoever is writing the emails just keeps talking about the Castle emptying out soon, and while I agree, it is most probably the server, it doesnt keep me from looking for other instances of castles..

ive tried just about every angle i could think of, and had given up on it, but then today, when i read the server was in dc, i typed in Castle and Washington DC in google, and came up with the Smithsonian information center or whatever...anyways, might be useless...but she does ALWAYS capitalize Castle i think, and i just find it slightly odd that she does. But i guess i could fit in with the queen and princess set....

enough, this probably means nothing


boon

[Shad0]

Re: the Castle

[GunsmithCat]

[jegger]

Here's a little more of my interpretation of the text.

And yet, I am shipwrecked here. If I want to signal for help, to give my location, or, most of all to report on anything that might lead to the truth, I must be a starfish, growing strange new limbs to replace the ones fate has hacked away. That task is underway.
A more contextually complete version of the quote from earlier. If Melissa describes herself as shipwrecked, then it seems that she realizes that she's on a foreign planet and would be looking for help off-world. The only method for transmitting off-world that we currently have is radio. The axons seem to be directly related to transmitting the signal for help. Also, digging the roads is the only task that seems to be underway currently. This strengthens the statement that the starfish limbs are the axons, and the sole reason for their existence is to signal, give her location, or report.

give the ghost of myself a voice and use it. Mayday, Mayday, Mayday.
Using her voice in this case equates to a Mayday. As far as I know, the only commonly used medium for a Mayday is radio.

Anyway,
Hope this seems like reasonable spec.

[GunsmithCat]

Sorry to double post, but got a Haloverse question.

Anyone know how far the Inner Colonies are to Earth?

How long it might take for, say, a radio wave to reach there?

Couple hundred years maybe?

[John Incognito]

This is Spec,

Perhaps the original GPS locations weren't wrong, just not very useful.

The broadcast theory suggests that the ocean locations might have been Buoys with transmitters on them.. The forest locations might have been Forest Lookouts "towers people use to keep a lookout for fires that start in the surrounding area" which are all equipped with radios "it's how the forest rangers report the fires".

Melissa could have just seen them and told Spider/Flea? that the location wasn't useable as a Axon, and had it moved to another location.

Alternate Spec: Instead of Buoys and Forest Lookouts the Axons could have been fishing boats/hikers with WiFi or a radio. After a short while they moved to another area making the GPS coords useless without something to receive it.

It seems likely though that Melissa wants to use the Axons to be heard rather then to convey herself around the globe because radio and soundwaves transmit easier over water.

[sfsdfd]

This is a pretty interesting spec, but it has one very serious problem. Radio transmissions, both FM and AM, are heavily regulated by the FCC. Operator licenses are both very expensive and limited to a specific geographic region (i.e., one city.) And, of course, each city has its own set of operating frequencies, so they'd likely need to broker a number of different frequencies. This seems increasingly unlikely.

Without a license, you can't legally broadcast past a certain, very small rating (about ten feet.) For instance, if you use a commercial FM broadcaster in your car, it's unlikely that someone even in the car behind you can hear you clearly. In other words, the PMs would basically have to mount a transmitter right next to you. Not very realistic, I think.

So you have your choice of four options:

1) Microsoft has somehow gotten a mass-geography permit to broadcast on very small windows next Tuesday;

2) Microsoft is going to mount legal, unlicensed transmitters in these locations to broadcast at a certain time;

3) Microsoft is going to make illegal, pirate broadcasts; or

4) Microsoft is going to do something that has nothing to do with radio transmissions.

My money's on #4.

Look at it this way. If a radio transmission is involved, what are the chances that any of us would have caught these subtle hints, brought a radio, found the correct frequency, and actually tuned in during a three-minute window? Isn't there a very large chance that everyone would completely miss this, thereby rendering pointless what is likely a nontrivial expenditure of resources to plan and execute this event?

It's a very interesting spec, but I think it's also extraordinarily unlikely.

- David Stein