- Location
- St. Petersburg
[X] Dig out the FLOWER in the center of 'X' with the SHOVEL!
-[X] TREASURE! GOLD! ARRR, MATEY!
Conan Doyle is perhaps not the only author Lucy has read...
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Questionably Soteriological: A Puzzle/Mystery Quest with Kids, Science, and Fun!
- Thread starter causticAccolade
- Start date
- Original
-[X] TREASURE! GOLD! ARRR, MATEY!
Conan Doyle is perhaps not the only author Lucy has read...
EvilPorygon
Cookie Monster
- Location
- a phone
[X] Put silver statue in coin press
causticAccolade
dead yet dreaming
- Location
- Silent Sound, Cipher Cove, Levoile.
You take the SHOVEL and dig out the FLOWER that forms the center of the X. As they always say about X, the derivative of x2 is 2x! Wait, no, you're thinking of a different kind of X. Either way, you know very well that there is often BURIED TREASURE in the middle of an X - you just have to think back to the Case of the Pirate Club for that one.
After a few seconds of effort, you're able to DIG OUT the BIOLUMINESCENT FLOWER, only to hear your SHOVEL strike something METALLIC. You call out to Mari to turn the lights back on, and once the ARTIFICIAL SUN is once again SHINING DOWN on the GARDEN, you can see that the METALLIC OBJECT is a statue of a WITHERED FLOWER, made of what seems to be SOLID GOLD. Score!
You take the SILVER FLOWER to the COIN PRESS, and slot it in to receive a SILVER COIN, identical to the BRONZE COIN you left here earlier in everything but WEIGHT and APPEARANCE.
- Location
- St. Petersburg
Wait, what kind of school Lucy is a student of that she knows what a derivative is at an age of eleven!? It's, like, the 5th grade!
Lucy, you have a flashlight on you...
[X] DFD the WITHERED FLOWER of SOLID GOLD before you put it in the PRESS.
Methodology above everything! Even if you lose the flower the next minute, you should spare a moment to learn its nature!
[X] Pay for the CARD in the VENDING MACHINE with the COINS you got
[X] DFD the CARD and use it on the CARD READER
- Location
- Rochester, NY
Hmm... Damn, it really seems like Lucy can't retain much of the memories that the keys bring up. Whatever mental conditioning the GSC used to mess with her memories doesn't seem to be letting up. I do wonder whether or not they intentionally made the keys a trigger for her to remember things or if that's a fluke in the system because Lucy is subconsciously fighting to remember.
[X] Before leaving, perhaps take some of Mari's advice and try to clean yourself up a little. It would certainly be refreshing.
Edit: Add a vote I suppose
[X] Before leaving, perhaps take some of Mari's advice and try to clean yourself up a little. It would certainly be refreshing.
Edit: Add a vote I suppose
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EvilPorygon
Cookie Monster
- Location
- a phone
Hm, a bath would be nice before getting outta here.
- Location
- St. Petersburg
Less of a bath and more of a swim. Not even a sleuth can resist the lure of a pool on an (artificially) sunny day!
Also, I think we are not leaving yet. It'll probably lead us to another puzzle, since we still need the maze key.
I wonder how many keys are there. We seem to have remembered a good chunk of the story already. It should not be long until we find out the names of our companions if we bothered to talk with them on the way here.
Dr. Paris mentioned that none of us have entered the first stage. I am not sure whether she was talking some chambers that are physically in the complex, or the metamorphosis that slowly but surely is starting to affect us.
Hm. I wonder if we can make a distinction between the GSC guys we can sort-of-trust and the ones we should avoid at all costs. Ankara and Charles Brighton look somewhat alright, even if the latter is delusional and has some questionable ethics. Helsinki's disposition towards the whole thing is ambiguous - he likes Ankara and Charles and dislikes the rest, but he also approves of the experiment and follows Dr. Paris' orders. He was said to lead the team that is responsible for 'keeping Venus under'. The rest of the staff sound like people we should run away from really fast.
It is very interesting that neither Klaus not the interlude mentioned Mr. Stockholm. A new arrival? A project lead, even higher in the hierarchy than Dr. Paris? It makes me extremely suspicious about him.
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- Location
- Spain
Wait, what kind of school Lucy is a student of that she knows what a derivative is at an age of eleven!? It's, like, the 5th grade!
Well, she is a genius, right?
EvilPorygon
Cookie Monster
- Location
- a phone
Even Mr. Stockholm's name is suspicious. It has connotations that I'm not at all comfortable with.
- Location
- St. Petersburg
I have to facepalm. Mr. Stockholm is probably Roger's family name. He's the person talking to Dr. Paris in the interlude and a 'snatching boogeman' whom Klaus avoids at all costs. He certainly sounds like her second-in-command and bad news for everybody who meets him.
On the subject of names. I don't know if it's a wacky nature of the setting with superpowers and vaguely evil secret research facilities, but none of the researchers' names are real, taken instead from what I assume are the biggest cities in their home countries. We know at least that Dr. Geneva is Swiss, and Klaus could be Finnish (or German, or from any of the norse countries), while Kyoto displays seriousness towards her work that is not uncommon for Japanese.
Of them all, Dr. Brighton stands out a bit in how normal his name is. He even has it as his civilian name and passes it to his wife and daughter.
My guess would be that Charles Brighton is the brains and soul behind this project, the original researcher on whose ideas this facility was founded (and thus operates under his real name since everyone knows who he is anyway), and the others have taken false names to follow a pattern since Brighton is also a town. It fits with what the Red Marker has told of him, at least. Someone who has big plans and dreams and delusions of grandeur. It might be the reason why his portraits are everywhere.
Now, what does he study? Soteriology sure has some interesting connotations attached to the word...
On the subject of names. I don't know if it's a wacky nature of the setting with superpowers and vaguely evil secret research facilities, but none of the researchers' names are real, taken instead from what I assume are the biggest cities in their home countries. We know at least that Dr. Geneva is Swiss, and Klaus could be Finnish (or German, or from any of the norse countries), while Kyoto displays seriousness towards her work that is not uncommon for Japanese.
Of them all, Dr. Brighton stands out a bit in how normal his name is. He even has it as his civilian name and passes it to his wife and daughter.
My guess would be that Charles Brighton is the brains and soul behind this project, the original researcher on whose ideas this facility was founded (and thus operates under his real name since everyone knows who he is anyway), and the others have taken false names to follow a pattern since Brighton is also a town. It fits with what the Red Marker has told of him, at least. Someone who has big plans and dreams and delusions of grandeur. It might be the reason why his portraits are everywhere.
Now, what does he study? Soteriology sure has some interesting connotations attached to the word...
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pantherasapiens
you were always my best friend
- Location
- somewhere over your shoulder
Huh. The study of religious doctrines of salvation. And we have some kind of special test to find special children, and the best children are taken off somewhere and something is done to their minds, and then they're put into weird puzzle chambers. That's going to be an interesting thing to connect together.
Unless of course everybody is Evas.
- Location
- St. Petersburg
That'd explain Red Marker's distrust of angels.
Speaking of her, I'm revisiting her messages, and her writings make some surprising amount of sense. Perfect beings, eh?
We should find her a hat. And a cat. And maybe a chocolate cookie.
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causticAccolade
dead yet dreaming
- Location
- Silent Sound, Cipher Cove, Levoile.
An ACORN, a FLOWER IN BLOOM, and a WITHERED FLOWER. There's probably some symbolism there, but looking very hard at the WITHERED FLOWER doesn't seem to be helping you figure it out. Either way, the GOLD COIN that it makes is very satisfying to HOLD IN YOUR HAND. You feel a little like a PIRATE. When you're SURE Mari isn't looking, you wave around your CROWBAR as if it was a CUTLASS and whisper 'arr, me hearties...' Okay. Enough silliness for now. Even if it did make you feel a little better. [+5 ÉLAN]
You slot the BRONZE, SILVER, and GOLD COINS into the VENDING MACHINE and PUNCH IN the number. The VENDING MACHINE whirs and hums indecisively before eventually, EXCRUATINGLY SLOWLY, the little twirly metally thingy whatsit SPINS until the CARD drops.
The CARD doesn't seem to have ANYTHING OF INTEREST to it, really, other than a MAGNETIC STRIP and the letters 'GSC' proudly emblazoned upon it. You swipe it through the CARD READER, and a little GREEN LIGHT flashes. You hear the DISTINCT SOUND of a DOOR UNLOCKING.
You're not quite sure you want to have SOAKING WET CLOTHES, so you decide that going swimming in the POOL is pretty much out of the question. But hey, while you have running water, might as well clean yourself up a bit! The SPLASH OF COLD WATER on your face is actually QUITE REFRESHING, and makes you feel a LITTLE BETTER. [+5 ÉLAN]
Sorry that this comparatively boring and small update took so long, today's been a pretty awful day.
Just turn out the lights and do it without them?
- Location
- St. Petersburg
An acorn is a nordic symbol of life, youthfulness and immortality. "To die, to live, to be reborn, to be new", as Red Marker has put it. Probably.
Lucy is conflicted. I understand her well. On one hand, the defender of JUSTICE and the seeker of LOST CATS. On the other hand, PIRATES! Tough choice.
Then again, she is not alone in this one.
We don't have a towel. Oh well, wouldn't want Mari to think she is getting to us anyway.
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EvilPorygon
Cookie Monster
- Location
- a phone
[X] Open the doorway, carefully.
Horrifying
- Location
- St. Petersburg
Sometimes even the greatest of detectives have to face insurmountable odds!
We don't know how deep this rabbit hole goes, might as well do it now.
[X] Before you proceed, leave a message for Red Marker. Let's become pen pals... uh, marker pals?
Not sure about the contents, but it'd be nice to touch on several topics.
- Tell them you are glad they are alive and... well? You hope they are well.
- Let's be friends!
- What is their name?
- How long have they been in here?
- Do they know Dr. Charles Brighton, the particles man? Do they know his whereabouts?
- Do they know what the goals of the GSC are?
- Are there others like us? Right now, you mean.
- Is there anything you can help them with? Something they want but can't get, perhaps?
[X] Open the can of TINNED PEACHES and leave it as a treat to 'seal the deal'.
This throws me back to the times when offerings of bread and milk were made to the road fairies before setting on a journey, or to brownies for good luck. For all intents and purposed Red Marker may as well be one for us.
If we come back and find a peach missing, the fairy has accepted our friendship proposal!
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> Lucy: Establish a cordial correspondence
causticAccolade
dead yet dreaming
- Location
- Silent Sound, Cipher Cove, Levoile.
You decide that you might as well TRY AND COMMUNICATE with the MYSTERIOUS PERSON WITH THE RED MARKER using the method of communication they seem most comfortably with. Choosing a RELATIVELY SMOOTH patch of wall, you write out a MESSAGE.
Message written, you open the TINNED PEACHES and set it down careful on the GRASS. What better way to earn someone's goodwill?Lucy's message said:
You push open the DOOR to reveal a rather nice-looking OFFICE, with PLUSH CARPETING, a LARGE MAHOGANY DESK with TWO DRAWERS, assorted STATIONERY EQUIPMENT on a number of SMALL TABLES, and a LARGE STONE TABLET leaned against the opposite wall. There is a SPINNY CHAIR at the DESK, and on the DESK is a JOURNAL. On one of the SMALL TABLES lie TWO FOLDERS. How professional!
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- Location
- St. Petersburg
Smooth, Lucy, really smooth. She is probably reading from behind your back, too.
Polite payback is best payback!
[X] Examine TWO FOLDERS.
EvilPorygon
Cookie Monster
- Location
- a phone
[X] Examine the large stone tablet
[X] See if the drawers are unlocked. If they are, open them
[X] Observe the carpet for traces of anything unusual
[X] See if the drawers are unlocked. If they are, open them
[X] Observe the carpet for traces of anything unusual
pantherasapiens
you were always my best friend
- Location
- somewhere over your shoulder
[X] Examine the walls for HIDDEN SAFES.
[X] Read the JOURNAL.
[X] Read the JOURNAL.
- Location
- US
- Pronouns
- He/Him
[X] Examine all the stationery.
- Location
- Rochester, NY
[X] Check the underside of each of the TABLES for anything.
I wonder if those files are going to be dossiers. They could be for Lucy and Mari or maybe Mars and Mercury since we're likely to run in to them in the maze.
I wonder if those files are going to be dossiers. They could be for Lucy and Mari or maybe Mars and Mercury since we're likely to run in to them in the maze.