[Puzzle] Facility J - "This Side of Paradise"

[janesalteredstates]

Lum, do we have something like a "what we know so far" type thread? I need something organized because my brain is being used on all the continents right now. Only 1/7 is here and it ain't the good part.

[Luminous]

Lum, do we have something like a "what we know so far" type thread? I need something organized because my brain is being used on all the continents right now. Only 1/7 is here and it ain't the good part.

If you are refering this current puzzle, TOSG had it solved by page 2! Deagol was close behind, with a breakdown of how he did it. What was revealed was a tinyURL which lead to another telegram. TOSG also snooped around in Walter's photobucket and found an image labeled "drop" that has been identified as Cleveland Tower, on the Princeton University Campus. In the "This Side of Paradise", Walter gives us a very specific address - 12 University Place, and possibly a pointer towards some rooms (0312-0316). It is the general consensus that this indicates an upcoming drop at Princeton. I sent a message to Walter, asking for confirmation, and we are waiting to hear back.

In the mean time, I think the only thing left to do, if anyone is interested, is to research XSCID, which is what TOSG found when he decoded the seqence the second time, with the letters from the stamp on the telegram. Also, related and a subject of possible research, would be interlukin, which was the file name of the last telegram.

So, the upshot is that, we are waiting for Walter to confirm a drop or notify us in some form what the next step is. I think maybe we surprised him by solving this so fast when it took so long for us to solve the last puzzle.

Long answer to a short question. Hope this helps

[Luminous]

Whoa! I just had an idea! I think the numbers 0312-0316 refer to dates! March 13-16. Maybe this is Walter's message to us about when we need to be prepared to retrieve the drop. TravelerJ19 posted a similar hint when we were waiting for McPackage to receive the first mailing.

Another interesting note, is that right smack in the middle of this is 0314 - Albert Einsteins birthday, also known, tounge in cheek, in the science community as Pi Day!

When I saw Walter's return address was in Princeton, I was immediately taken to thoughts of Einstein at 112 Mercer Street. Einstein worked with Oppenheimer on the Bomb - which Traveler J alludes to in "Great Minds Gather" I think Walter is trying to tell us that Facility J was the Biotech arm of post war defense research. Maybe he knew Einstein. Maybe Pi Day has some sort of sentimental significance to him.

Of course, I may be totally off base. (wouldn't be the first time )

[Luminous]

Whoa! I just had an idea! I think the numbers 0312-0316 refer to dates! March 13-16. Maybe this is Walter's message to us about when we need to be prepared to retrieve the drop. TravelerJ19 posted a similar hint when we were waiting for McPackage to receive the first mailing.

Another interesting note, is that right smack in the middle of this is 0314 - Albert Einsteins birthday, also known, tounge in cheek, in the science community as Pi Day!

When I saw Walter's return address was in Princeton, I was immediately taken to thoughts of Einstein at 112 Mercer Street. Einstein worked with Oppenheimer on the Bomb - which Traveler J alludes to in "Great Minds Gather" I think Walter is trying to tell us that Facility J was the Biotech arm of post war defense research. Maybe he knew Einstein. Maybe Pi Day has some sort of sentimental significance to him.

Of course, I may be totally off base. (wouldn't be the first time )

[TOSG]

Whoa! I just had an idea! I think the numbers 0312-0316 refer to dates! March 13-16. Maybe this is Walter's message to us about when we need to be prepared to retrieve the drop. TravelerJ19 posted a similar hint when we were waiting for McPackage to receive the first mailing.

You might be on to something right there!

If so, I hope that we hear from Walter soon; if time is of the essence, we'll need a way to quickly find and mobilize someone in the NJ area.

I'll make a post in ladron's D.R.O.P. thread in the OpAphid section (he invited me to do so), but it wouldn't hurt for any of you guys to see if you have any contacts in the area who might be willing to check it out.

[Luminous]

Whoa! I just had an idea! I think the numbers 0312-0316 refer to dates! March 13-16. Maybe this is Walter's message to us about when we need to be prepared to retrieve the drop. TravelerJ19 posted a similar hint when we were waiting for McPackage to receive the first mailing.

You might be on to something right there!

If so, I hope that we hear from Walter soon; if time is of the essence, we'll need a way to quickly find and mobilize someone in the NJ area.

I'll make a post in ladron's D.R.O.P. thread in the OpAphid section (he invited me to do so), but it wouldn't hurt for any of you guys to see if you have any contacts in the area who might be willing to check it out.

I put out the word to my contacts, no takers yet.

I'm also checking the forum for people with "NJ" listed as their location

[janesalteredstates]

So is Walter being stubborn? Will he settle for a mailed drop again?

[janesalteredstates]

Lum, do we have something like a "what we know so far" type thread? I need something organized because my brain is being used on all the continents right now. Only 1/7 is here and it ain't the good part.

If you are refering this current puzzle, TOSG had it solved by page 2! Deagol was close behind, with a breakdown of how he did it. What was revealed was a tinyURL which lead to another telegram. TOSG also snooped around in Walter's photobucket and found an image labeled "drop" that has been identified as Cleveland Tower, on the Princeton University Campus. In the "This Side of Paradise", Walter gives us a very specific address - 12 University Place, and possibly a pointer towards some rooms (0312-0316). It is the general consensus that this indicates an upcoming drop at Princeton. I sent a message to Walter, asking for confirmation, and we are waiting to hear back.

In the mean time, I think the only thing left to do, if anyone is interested, is to research XSCID, which is what TOSG found when he decoded the seqence the second time, with the letters from the stamp on the telegram. Also, related and a subject of possible research, would be interlukin, which was the file name of the last telegram.

So, the upshot is that, we are waiting for Walter to confirm a drop or notify us in some form what the next step is. I think maybe we surprised him by solving this so fast when it took so long for us to solve the last puzzle.

Long answer to a short question. Hope this helps

Thanks babe. I'll try to make heads or tails of the process; I ain't so bright. And I will look into this XSCID thing. I thought that had been solved already for some reason.
Or is it just that we don't know the importance of it? Well, off to read.

[TOSG]

Or is it just that we don't know the importance of it?

Yeah, I think that's pretty much it. It seems like it's a subject that Walter has been developing for a while (his first telegram photo was labelled "interlukin"(sic) well before this puzzle was sent). So, I would think that it's something that he will continue to flesh out in subsequent drops/videos/puzzles. But, in the mean time, any information you can gather will be very helpful.

[janesalteredstates]

Or is it just that we don't know the importance of it?

Yeah, I think that's pretty much it. It seems like it's a subject that Walter has been developing for a while (his first telegram photo was labelled "interlukin"(sic) well before this puzzle was sent). So, I would think that it's something that he will continue to flesh out in subsequent drops/videos/puzzles. But, in the mean time, any information you can gather will be very helpful.

Ah yes, theorizing. That's where I'm a Viking!

Ok well I read through and barely understood a single thing hahaha

When will I find a good old Literature or History-based ARG.

I shall soldier on!

[janesalteredstates]

And so it begins...

Looking for a cure?
http://www.stjude.org/disease-summaries ... 24,00.html

Because females have two X chromosomes, if they have a mutation on one X chromosome, they have a spare X that can help compensate for the mutation.

All of this depends upon how related Walter is to Bree. But say someone was attempting to cure a disease (or even treat it) and they found that a certain something in certain girls may be the answer? This is a leap. In fact pretend I didn't say anything. I suck. I don't know how genetics, chromosomes and so on work.



PS Girls rule boys drool!

[Luminous]

When will I find a good old Literature or History-based ARG.

I shall soldier on!

You could always go read "This side of Paradise" I glanced through it, and it may have some nice hints for us in terms of character building (kind of like Nancy Drew is to Tachyon) It's the "Enriched Classic" edition that includes an introduction and critical commentary from pocket books.

[trainer101]

Janesalteredstates,

I clipped what I feel is the pertinent information from the work Luminous did in LGpedia and added my own spices at the end to give you a feel for what I think the Traveler/Walter/FacilityJ story is about.

History Lessons (XX/XY)
"The Y chromosone progressively mutated, so much so that much of it no longer exists. But does this mean that as evolution takes it course, the ever-shrinking Y will spell the death of the male?"

History Lessons (Coded Rings)
"when people in the general public hear the term recombinant DNA they sort of conjure up these ideas of mad scientists going around you know cloning bizarre organisms or creating dangerous forms of life. I told you about plasmids last time - small circular DNA molecules that are, that are used in the purpose of cloning."

The Project (Welcome to Facility J)
"Gene knockdown uses RNA interference to silence the expression of the gene. Researchers at Stonybrook University have successfully knocked down genes in mice. and these traits are heritable in future generations. The creation of germ line transgenic mice with heritable rnai opens the door to the manipulation of gene activity in humans."

Catalyst (A Call to Action)
Description: What hath God wrought.
Attribution: The Happy Planets - Countdown to Armageddon
Tags: Codon, Call, Action, FacilityJ, OpAphid

The Project (Walter)
"For as long as I can remember, he's told me about his project, and how important it is. I never believed him, but I was willing to indulge the grandiose claims of an old man. That all changed when he showed me footage from the Facility. Now I know that his claims were, perhaps, not bold enough."

X-linked severe combined immunodeficiency (XSCID), is a genetic disease caused by defects in a protein called the common gamma chain, which is normally on the surface of immune cells called lymphocytes. XSCID patients cannot make T lymphocytes, and their B lymphocytes fail to make essential antibodies for fighting infections. Without T and B lymphocytes patients develop fatal infections in infancy unless they are rescued by a bone marrow transplant from a healthy donor. However, even transplanted patients may achieve only partial immune recovery and still suffer from many infections, auto-immunity and/or and poor growth.

While the disease may genetically transmitted by female carriers, XSCID is a distinctly MALE disease. Imagine what would happen to the global male population if, in fact, this gene could be further developed and enhanced in the female population.

To tie all of this back to LG15 and OpAphid, you have to do a little research here on the forum. I'll give you a head start, do a search for "Y-The Last Man" - it's a comic series that's has a distinct influence on the Tachyon story. It also happens that in that series the entire male population of the world is wiped out, with the exception of 1 man. Hence, the reference to the "Y" chromosome.

In addition, it's been speculated that the Order or OpAphid, if you prefer, is a distinctly female oriented organization.

There are more ties and if you put all of this together and you might draw the conclusion that the Order is intent on the elimination of all males of the human species.

[Luminous]

Looking for a cure?
http://www.stjude.org/disease-summaries ... 24,00.html

From the article above

Approximately half of all cases of severe combined immunodeficiency are seen in males.

Wouldn't that mean that approximately half of all cases of sever combined immunodeficiency are seen in females?

[trainer101]

"Commonly known as "Bubble Boy Disease," XSCID is a rare, life-threatening immune system disorder that affects only males, but females who carry the gene mutation can pass the disease to their male children."

http://www.clinicaltrials.gov/show/NCT00006335