1.11.01 Intense Secrets

(also known as "Pulp Science Fiction Story")

Status

::FINAL-READY::

Location

• Act I: Schroeder's Restaurant. (See Consolidator 1)
• Act II: Gym (See Consolidator 2)

Type

Optional Puzzle (JOURNALISM)

Plot Setup

(See Consolidator 1 or 2)

Props

• Act I: 9 copies of Trenchwood version of Pulp Science Fiction
• Act II: 16 copies of Peach Frontier version of Pulp Science Fiction

Plot Point to Convey

None

Short Description

A pulp science fiction story written by Doctor When is discovered in the past.

Open Time Period

(See Consolidator 1 or 2)

Staff Instructions

(See Consolidator 1 or 2)

Where To Get Materials: GC HQ

Handout Instructions:

If a team is directed to this puzzle over the phone, then they will ask the onsite lab assistant for the puzzle by name. Give it to them (and don't forget to enter it in the "Teams Vs. Role Puzzles Grid" online document)

If you're assigning this puzzle to them in person, then say words to the effect of,

Act I

FOR JOURNALIST TEAMS:

We're run into a problem that could really benefit from the special expertise of you and your colleagues:

CONTINUE FOR ALL TEAMS:

During our research we noticed a strange anachronism: a story in a 1930s pulp science fiction magazine...written by a "Wesley When." Is it just a coincidence...some other Wesley When from the past? Or was it our very own Doctor When leaving us a helpful message (but doing so in a way that is so subtle it won't corrupt the timeline)?

Would you please analyze the story and then either see any onsite lab assistant or call the lab and speak to any lab assistant? [To start, just ask the lab assistant onsite for the Pulp Science Fiction Research Project.]

Act II

FOR JOURNALIST TEAMS:

We're run into a problem that could really benefit from the special expertise of you and your colleagues:

CONTINUE FOR ALL TEAMS:

During our research we noticed a strange anachronism: a story in a 1930s pulp science fiction magazine...written by a "C.L. Chronos." Is it just a coincidence...some other C.L. Chronos from the past? Or was it our very own Prof. Chronos leaving us a helpful message (but doing so in a way that is so subtle it won't corrupt the timeline)?

Would you please analyze the story and then either see any onsite lab assistant or call the lab and speak to any lab assistant? [To start, just ask the lab assistant onsite for the Pulp Science Fiction Research Project.]

SUPPLEMENTAL EMAIL--BOTH ACTS

Research Project Title: Pulp Science Fiction

Objective: Analyze 1950s pulp science fiction story to determine if it's a secret message

Upon Completion: See the lab assistant onsite or call the lab and speak with any lab assistant

Hints: Teams may call in for hints. But if you familiarize yourself with the attached hint document, feel free to give hints.

Answers: Teams may give answers to either onsite staff or GC HQ. Say words to the effect of

Check the Fermi decouplers? Let's see... wow, good thing we checked them! They were about to blow, and no good can come of blown Fermi decouplers. Okay, it looks like the machine is running more smoothly now.

Whenever a team correctly answers a puzzle be sure to replace the slash with an "X" in the online "Teams vs. Role Puzzles Grid".

Site Close Down: See Consolidator 1 or 2

Detailed Description

After the accident, a scan of the historical record discovers a 1930s pulp science fiction story written by Doctor When or Professor Chronos (depending on whether the puzzle is delivered in Act I or II). Perhaps the Doctor/Professor hid a message in it!

This puzzle is intended to engage the skills that a team of journalists are likely to have.

How To Give To Teams

See "Staff Instructions"

Puzzle Answer

CHECK FERMI DECOUPLERS

Puzzle Solution

- All verbs in the story have past, present, or future tense (time).

- For each sentence, count the number of verbs in past, present, and future tense (time), and form a three-digit ternary number, with the past verbs forming the 9's digit, the present verbs the 3's digit, and the future verbs the 1's digit.

- (Sentences end if and only if a period (not an ellipsis), question mark, or exclamation point appears.)

- Verb counts are as follows (format is past/present/future):

- Paragraph 1: (202,022,100,200,011)

- Paragraph 2: (110,012,202,202,012,200)

- Paragraph 3: (001,020,202,012,200)

- Paragraph 4: (010,120,111,111,001,201)

- This translates to THIRDLETTERAFTERCOMMAS.

- Reading the third letter after each comma (not counting spaces or punctuation) gives CHECKFERMIDECOUPLERS.

Budget

None

Credits

Initial concept by Allen Cohn, revision and execution by Erik Stuart

Manager

Erik Stuart

Hints

Ask teams what they have done, probing details if necessary (often this will get a team unstuck by themselves).

- If the players are completely stuck, remind them that the last part of the About the Author section says that the author worked really hard on the title - maybe that contains a clue.

- If they're still stuck, note that the lab computer has done a grammar analysis and, strangely, there are no participles, gerunds, infinitives, or other verbal forms - just regular verbs.

- If they're looking at verb tenses but are trying to put them in groups of three (or something similar), remind them that the About the Author section says something about working carefully on each individual sentence. Maybe the verbs are grouped by sentence...

- It's possible that some teams may not know enough, or know too much, about verb tenses. All verbs in this story appear (are meant to be) either in past, present, or future TIME, and forms such as "will succeed" and contractions such as "I'll kill" are considered part of the same verb. Aspects are irrelevant - "he ran" and "he was running" both count as past verbs.

- It's also possible that there may some confusion about what constitutes a sentence, especially within quotes (or in the sentences describing the sign). The demarcations here are simple - a sentence ends whenever a period, exclamation point, or question mark appear.

- Since there are three tenses (times) - past, present, future - could that suggest a ternary code?

- As an extra hint, the first letter after each appearance of the word "secret" spells TERNARY.

- VERY COMMONLY, teams may be looking at verb tenses and sentences correctly and be thinking about ternary, but be stuck on the idea of "past = 0, present = 1, ...". Remind them that a good ternary code not only uses three values (0, 1, 2), but also has three digits/places. Maybe the three tenses correspond to places/digits (9's place, 3's place, 1's place) instead of the numerals (0, 1, 2) in those places.

Response to Correct Answer

See "Staff Instructions"

To Do

Final internal playtest, or simply verify final mockup; find location and place in game.