MacHeist, Post the Second
Jan. 7th, 2009 01:03 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
azuriteFrom the Directorate Communiques, a new forum post entitled "Over the Waterfall."
"The Source" left us a new message:
Devices β and γ don’t use the small capacitor, but the device that uses ‘Gates’ also uses the medium capacitor, while the device that uses ‘Ballmer’ uses the magenta fluid, and device γ doesn’t use the magenta fluid, nonetheless, devices β and γ use the ones named after Microsoft board members, while the device that uses the medium capacitor also uses the cyan fluid, yet the device that uses ‘Gates’ doesn’t use the yellow fluid, and of course, device α doesn’t use the cyan fluid!
Sherlock Holmes once said ”...when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth…”
Holmes’ domain was logic, but I find him to be curiously LogicallyIllogical.
Okay, so we're looking at another device-- possibly another program to simulate somethng with. The term "capacitor" only has meaning for me when you're talking about "Back to the Future" (Flux Capacitor), and I don't remember there ever being mention of SIZES, so I'm thinking this refers to something else.
Perhaps a website with an image to play with? Let's try LogicallyIllogical.com. A-hah! A motherboard! So, now what do we do with it?
We've got 3 devices named after Microsoft board members, we've got 3 fluid tubes, and 3 capacitors ranging in size from small to large. Also, the three motherboards have Greek letters on the bottom right sides of each.
* β and γ - don't use a small capacitor; use the "ones" (chips) named after Microsoft board members (Ballmer and Allard, from the looks of it)
* γ - doesn't use magenta fluid
* device that uses medium capacitor - cyan fluid
* device that uses 'Gates' - uses the medium capacitor; doesn't use yellow fluid
* α - doesn't use cyan fluid
So from this, we can determine that:
* α does NOT have a medium capacitor. It must use a large or small one. So it's not 'Gates.' It's either 'Ballmer' or 'Allard.' It also doesn't use cyan fluid.
* 'Gates' DOES use a medium capacitor, and uses cyan fluid. So it must be β or γ.
* 'Ballmer' uses the magenta fluid, so it's not γ. That means it must be β, because we already know that γ doesn't use magenta fluid.
β - Ballmer - large capacitor - magenta fluid
γ - Gates - medium capacitor - cyan fluid
α - Allard - small capacitor - yellow fluid
Click here to see the solution.
Once you place the parts in their appropriate parts, you get this URL:
http://logicallyillogical.com/165557be81d5d043d8d7adb4d7334953.tga
The next *.tga file! Save the file, copy the URL, and input it into the Mainframe.
By now, you should have 3 *.tga files input into the Mainframe. However, what I've noticed with my inputs is that the images being processed don't always match what the Mainframe spits out! Curiouser and curiouser...
Okay, time to move onto the next communique: "Polyhedral Pips."
As of this writing, there are 6 more communiques besides those. One of them is interestingly in Japanese, and says "Origami" in hiragana... *smirk* But we'll tackle that one when we get to it. Order might be important, you know!
Okay, this time our message from "The Source" has got this word:
EisoptroTriskaidekaPhobia
Hey, I know what that last part (Triskaidekaphobia) means-- isn't it the fear of 13? Let's check it out. Power of the Internet, Make Up!
Bing-bing!
Okay, so what about that Eisoptro part? Turns out the word is Greek for "mirror." So perhaps it's not fear of the number 13, but fear of the number 31?
We also get these files:
File A
This one has seven dice that have the following numbers on them in varying patterns of dots:
2 2 2 1 2 3 4
They're not like normal dice at all; the first two dice have the two dots at the top and left side, respectively; the third die looks like it could be a normal one, but the fourth one has the single "snake eye" dot up in the upper left of the die. The fifth one looks normal, but it's a flip-flop of the third one. The sixth one has three in the shape of an upside down and backwards "L," while the seventh one is... well, four dots as you'd see on a regular die.
I think these are dies instead of dominoes because there's an odd number of them.
The second file is a *.dmg (in other words, a program), but it requires a password to decrypt it. The password is NOT the numerals above, so what could it be?
Maybe the clue-- mirrors + fear of the number 13/fear of the number 31 has something to do with it.
Let's try going to eisoptrotriskaidekaphobia.com. Hey, there's a mirror and some oddly-shaped dice!
The dice number from 1 to 12, with each number appearing only once. Dragging the dice to the mirror doesn't seem to do anything, but clicking on them does: I clicked on 3, and the die rose to the side of the mirror. Clicking 2 rose it too, but now I have to find out what die will keep the other two up and will also add to the code. (Basically I used trial and error to find out the below code; likely there's a faster way -incorporating Braille numbers-- using the strand of numbers from the first image.)
3 2 5 1 9 6 7
This is the complete code, as the rest of the dice fade out.
Let's try this code to open the *.dmg.
Nope, "no dice." And the "mirror" of that code (7691523) doesn't work either.
None of these dice strands have 13 or 31 in them, so it's not like we can just take that out! Maybe just enter "13" or "31?" Nope, no luck.
According to forum folks (some of whom own dodecahedron dice; I don't), the number on one side of these type of dice plus the opposite side always adds up to 7. So in order to find out the "mirror" side of the dice above, you have to do some math:
4 5 2 6 (-2) 1 0
Hm, we have a 9 in there... and that's more than 7? So does that mean there's a 0 on the opposite side of the die? Would there be a 0 on a dodecahedron die?
Let's try looking at the "real" deal!
Okay, so our "mirror" dice look a lot LIKE a dodecahedron (12-sided die), but maybe it's not after all. I can't find any images indicating there are real 13-sided die, but it would tie in with the "fear of 13."
Assuming it's a 13 sided die instead...
3 = 10
2 = 11
5 = 8
1 = 12
9 = 4
6 = 7
7 = 6
That is: 10 11 8 12 4 7 6
Take out the spaces and try it with the *.dmg! It mounts a volume called "Parallel" with a file, data.txt in it. That file has the URL to the next *.tga image! Go to the Mainframe and input that URL, and save the *.tga while you're at it.
So, as of right now, we've got 4 *.tga images, one from each of the communiques:
(1) Maze/SwordsOfTheTelevisionGeneration - "Urgent"
(2) Enigma/WormZapperTheApp - "Deep Thought"
(3) Motherboard - "Over The Waterfall"
(4) Braille/Dice - "Polyhedral Pips"
Next entry: the next couple of communiques!
Be Our Guest by Jerry Orbach & Angela Lansbury from Beauty and the Beast: Special Edition (Rating: 0)
"The Source" left us a new message:
Devices β and γ don’t use the small capacitor, but the device that uses ‘Gates’ also uses the medium capacitor, while the device that uses ‘Ballmer’ uses the magenta fluid, and device γ doesn’t use the magenta fluid, nonetheless, devices β and γ use the ones named after Microsoft board members, while the device that uses the medium capacitor also uses the cyan fluid, yet the device that uses ‘Gates’ doesn’t use the yellow fluid, and of course, device α doesn’t use the cyan fluid!
Sherlock Holmes once said ”...when you have eliminated the impossible, whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth…”
Holmes’ domain was logic, but I find him to be curiously LogicallyIllogical.
Okay, so we're looking at another device-- possibly another program to simulate somethng with. The term "capacitor" only has meaning for me when you're talking about "Back to the Future" (Flux Capacitor), and I don't remember there ever being mention of SIZES, so I'm thinking this refers to something else.
Perhaps a website with an image to play with? Let's try LogicallyIllogical.com. A-hah! A motherboard! So, now what do we do with it?
We've got 3 devices named after Microsoft board members, we've got 3 fluid tubes, and 3 capacitors ranging in size from small to large. Also, the three motherboards have Greek letters on the bottom right sides of each.
* β and γ - don't use a small capacitor; use the "ones" (chips) named after Microsoft board members (Ballmer and Allard, from the looks of it)
* γ - doesn't use magenta fluid
* device that uses medium capacitor - cyan fluid
* device that uses 'Gates' - uses the medium capacitor; doesn't use yellow fluid
* α - doesn't use cyan fluid
So from this, we can determine that:
* α does NOT have a medium capacitor. It must use a large or small one. So it's not 'Gates.' It's either 'Ballmer' or 'Allard.' It also doesn't use cyan fluid.
* 'Gates' DOES use a medium capacitor, and uses cyan fluid. So it must be β or γ.
* 'Ballmer' uses the magenta fluid, so it's not γ. That means it must be β, because we already know that γ doesn't use magenta fluid.
β - Ballmer - large capacitor - magenta fluid
γ - Gates - medium capacitor - cyan fluid
α - Allard - small capacitor - yellow fluid
Click here to see the solution.
Once you place the parts in their appropriate parts, you get this URL:
http://logicallyillogical.com/165557be81d5d043d8d7adb4d7334953.tga
The next *.tga file! Save the file, copy the URL, and input it into the Mainframe.
By now, you should have 3 *.tga files input into the Mainframe. However, what I've noticed with my inputs is that the images being processed don't always match what the Mainframe spits out! Curiouser and curiouser...
Okay, time to move onto the next communique: "Polyhedral Pips."
As of this writing, there are 6 more communiques besides those. One of them is interestingly in Japanese, and says "Origami" in hiragana... *smirk* But we'll tackle that one when we get to it. Order might be important, you know!
Okay, this time our message from "The Source" has got this word:
EisoptroTriskaidekaPhobia
Hey, I know what that last part (Triskaidekaphobia) means-- isn't it the fear of 13? Let's check it out. Power of the Internet, Make Up!
Bing-bing!
Okay, so what about that Eisoptro part? Turns out the word is Greek for "mirror." So perhaps it's not fear of the number 13, but fear of the number 31?
We also get these files:
File A
This one has seven dice that have the following numbers on them in varying patterns of dots:
2 2 2 1 2 3 4
They're not like normal dice at all; the first two dice have the two dots at the top and left side, respectively; the third die looks like it could be a normal one, but the fourth one has the single "snake eye" dot up in the upper left of the die. The fifth one looks normal, but it's a flip-flop of the third one. The sixth one has three in the shape of an upside down and backwards "L," while the seventh one is... well, four dots as you'd see on a regular die.
I think these are dies instead of dominoes because there's an odd number of them.
The second file is a *.dmg (in other words, a program), but it requires a password to decrypt it. The password is NOT the numerals above, so what could it be?
Maybe the clue-- mirrors + fear of the number 13/fear of the number 31 has something to do with it.
Let's try going to eisoptrotriskaidekaphobia.com. Hey, there's a mirror and some oddly-shaped dice!
The dice number from 1 to 12, with each number appearing only once. Dragging the dice to the mirror doesn't seem to do anything, but clicking on them does: I clicked on 3, and the die rose to the side of the mirror. Clicking 2 rose it too, but now I have to find out what die will keep the other two up and will also add to the code. (Basically I used trial and error to find out the below code; likely there's a faster way -incorporating Braille numbers-- using the strand of numbers from the first image.)
3 2 5 1 9 6 7
This is the complete code, as the rest of the dice fade out.
Let's try this code to open the *.dmg.
Nope, "no dice." And the "mirror" of that code (7691523) doesn't work either.
None of these dice strands have 13 or 31 in them, so it's not like we can just take that out! Maybe just enter "13" or "31?" Nope, no luck.
According to forum folks (some of whom own dodecahedron dice; I don't), the number on one side of these type of dice plus the opposite side always adds up to 7. So in order to find out the "mirror" side of the dice above, you have to do some math:
4 5 2 6 (-2) 1 0
Hm, we have a 9 in there... and that's more than 7? So does that mean there's a 0 on the opposite side of the die? Would there be a 0 on a dodecahedron die?
Let's try looking at the "real" deal!
Okay, so our "mirror" dice look a lot LIKE a dodecahedron (12-sided die), but maybe it's not after all. I can't find any images indicating there are real 13-sided die, but it would tie in with the "fear of 13."
Assuming it's a 13 sided die instead...
3 = 10
2 = 11
5 = 8
1 = 12
9 = 4
6 = 7
7 = 6
That is: 10 11 8 12 4 7 6
Take out the spaces and try it with the *.dmg! It mounts a volume called "Parallel" with a file, data.txt in it. That file has the URL to the next *.tga image! Go to the Mainframe and input that URL, and save the *.tga while you're at it.
So, as of right now, we've got 4 *.tga images, one from each of the communiques:
(1) Maze/SwordsOfTheTelevisionGeneration - "Urgent"
(2) Enigma/WormZapperTheApp - "Deep Thought"
(3) Motherboard - "Over The Waterfall"
(4) Braille/Dice - "Polyhedral Pips"
Next entry: the next couple of communiques!
Be Our Guest by Jerry Orbach & Angela Lansbury from Beauty and the Beast: Special Edition (Rating: 0)
