1.11.01 Intense Secrets
Contents
- 1 Order
- 2 Status
- 3 Location Status
- 4 GC Point of Contact
- 5 Location Notes
- 6 Type
- 7 Plot Setup
- 8 Props
- 9 Plot Point to Convey
- 10 Short Description
- 11 Detailed Description
- 12 How To Give To Teams
- 13 Puzzle Answer
- 14 Puzzle Solution
- 15 Budget
- 16 Credits
- 17 Manager
- 18 Hints
- 19 Response to Correct Answer
- 20 To Do
- 21 Other Notes
Order
1.06.02
Status
::POLISH::
Location Status
?
GC Point of Contact
?
Location Notes
Anywhere
Type
Optional Puzzle (JOURNALISM)
Plot Setup
Wherever the players are in the plot, the time machine is having more problems.
Props
Two sheets of paper.
Plot Point to Convey
None
Short Description
A pulp science fiction story written by Doctor When/Professor Chronos is discovered in the past.
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
Lab assistant says over the phone says words to the effect of
- Go to XXXX and do YYY.
Lab assistant at site hands out puzzle
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
- 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
Lab assistant over the phone says 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.
To Do
Final internal playtest, or simply verify final mockup; find location and place in game.
