Who is Kryptex81?
As I explore the ruins, Kryptex gets increasingly desperate to contact Enki. Using a few commands on a terminal system, I listen in on the call.
From : kryptex81
Subject : enki. listen in.
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still nothing from enki. i hacked into exoleaks and tracked down his contact information. i'm going to call him directly. but--we can't tell him about the aliens. it'll distract him, that's all he'll care about. the d.o.d. is the important part. the lies. we'll only tell him the rest if we have to. _ _ ___ _
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Click to launch Terminal
After finishing my photodocumentation of the ruins, I head toward the northern plateau, as requested -- this time looking for the source of an electromagnetic signal.
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From : Dr. Turing
Subject : Re: The Interstellar Message
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That's amazing. That -- monument, the carvings on it must be the full pictoral representation of the broadcast signal. No corruption, no iffy decoding. The whole thing. Cavendish will be thrilled to be able to corroborate his translation, to complete it. It's beautiful. I'm anxious to find out what else this island may be hiding. I'd like to encourage you to head to other parts of the island that you haven't explored yet. - Dr. Robert Turing |
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From : kryptex81
Subject : Re: the interstellar message
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hi rob, i took a look at that picture. i recognize parts of it. it's the same symbols in that photograph of the napkin. proof that it's real. and not just that, but there's more than what i knew. we have the whole message now. all the more reason to try to translate it from the writing samples on the planet. maybe there's more to it than arling's letting on. this could be the key. _ _ ___ _
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Even before I reach the source of the EM transmission, my rover alerts me to another audio source. I head toward to the triangulated audio source to find a fourth obelisk -- much like the others but with its own unique symbol and audio tone.
From : SR-K Rover
Subject : Audio Detection: Anomaly, northern coast
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Your rover has detected a nearby source of non-ambient audio. Regular waveforms suggest the sound is inorganic in origin. A new mission has been added to your tasks to find and photograph the source of the audio. |
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On my way to the obelisk, Turing mentions that he's labeled a few distinctive points on the Island to aid in navigation. I see the labels on my map.
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From : Dr. Turing
Subject : Re: The Interstellar Message
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To assist our rover drivers with navigation and encourage a consistent nomenclature, we've updated all maps to include pinpoints with locations of interest. You can click the pinpoints to see the names that we're using internally here at XRI. We may add new pins from time to time as other noteworthy geologic landmarks are discovered. You can read more about some of the unusual rock formations we've discovered at the latest XRI blog post. - Dr. Robert Turing Dream to worlds beyond! |
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I start make my way west toward unexplored parts of the Island. Meanwhile, both Turing and Kryptex are noticing patterns in the data that they're each analyzing.
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From : Dr. Turing
Subject : A Pattern
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Hi, Rob! I find myself very interested in these obelisks you keep finding. Each one is covered in writing, and emits a very basic audio signal -- what I can't figure out is their purpose. They seem to be monuments of some sort -- could they possibly have had a utilitarian function for the Caretakers? Perhaps they had some religious significance. We've barely scratched the surface of this civilization and their technology. Maybe their function is simply beyond our understanding. With further evidence, perhaps we will be able to unravel these mysteries and begin to understand them. I've noticed a pattern in the locations of these monuments -- they seem to be arranged in a hexagon, centered on the large monument that you found earlier. Their positions so far suggest that there are two more -- I'll mark them on your map. One more thing -- we've been having some trouble with our servers. It looks like there's been some kind of tampering. If you experience any technical problems, it's probably just us trying to fix the security. Thanks for your patience. - Dr. Robert Turing |
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From : kryptex81
Subject : another hidden message
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look. another coded message. more nonsense. but the end--"the greatest of mysteries." that's a carl sagan quote. we are approaching the greatest of mysteries. dad loved that quote. 1 It will reveal the truth 2 of another world 3 the signal 4 is a lie 5 They've killed before 6 the greatest of mysteries. 7 -109.42382 _ _ ___ _
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Drake_lunch.pdf
From : Jane Eastwood
Subject : Fifteen Species
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Hello Rob, The breadth of your catalogue is becoming a huge help to us on the science team. You've catalogued more than any other rover driver--so thank you, and congratulations! Jane Eastwood, Exobiology Lead |
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From : kryptex81
Subject : both parts together
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rob. i just realized that the first half of the sagan quote is in the first hidden message. that must have been why i thought of dad... but look what happens when you put them together: 1 The writing is on the wall. It will reveal the truth. 2 We must face the music of another world. 3 You can't stop the signal. 4 Edna is a lie. 5 We are all in danger. They've killed before. 6 We know we are approaching the greatest of mysteries. 7 6.24976, -109.42382 the numbers at the end. those are gps coordinates. on earth, they're in the pacific ocean, 1500 km off the west coast of mexico. but on epsilon prime, they're on your island. my dad died a few months ago. near the end, he was... he started to lose it. he became obsessed with something. would go days without sleep, shutting himself away when he wasn't working. he disappeared sometimes. he became paranoid. it had to have been something to do with this. something to do with xri. it's their fault i lost him. he was all i had. _ _ ___ _
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At this point, I have two major missions I can pursue -- either visit Krytex's mystery location along the northwest edge of the island or visit the locations where Turing theorizes we'll find two more obelisks. I'm just as curious as Kryptex about what's at the coded latitude and longitude, so I travel for a couple days to the coordinates that she found in the encrypted text snippets.
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From : kryptex81
Subject : a gps unit?
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a gps unit? what's so special about a gps unit?? damnit! i thought for sure this would be something. _ _ ___ _
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Before I even get to the GPS unit, my rover alerts me that its audio sensors have been triggered. It's pointing to exactly where Turing suspected we'd find another one of the obelisks.
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From : SR-K Rover
Subject : Audio Detection: Anomaly, northwest ridge
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Your rover has detected a nearby source of non-ambient audio. Regular waveforms suggest the sound is inorganic in origin. A new mission has been added to your tasks to find and photograph the source of the audio. |
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From : Dr. Turing
Subject : Fifth Obelisk
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Well, I was right about the position of the obelisks, it seems. I wonder what it means? - Dr Robert Turing |
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While I'm exploring the island, Kryptex keeps thinking about the significance of the GPS unit that she was directed to by coordinates hidden in a secret message. She shares her thoughts.
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From : kryptex81
Subject : re: both parts together
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wait. they've used id codes of gps units as passwords before. maybe it's the password for that heavily encrypted doc i found? _ _ ___ _
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Using the terminal system attached to the email message with the encrypted docs, I try entering the ID from the GPS unit, which is listed in my catalog of discoveries. Success!
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From : kryptex81
Subject : decrypted
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it worked! and these documents... this is it. this is proof that there's a direct financial tie between xri and the d.o.d. edna's not a rich benefactor, she's a middleman. a middleman for... d.o.d. funding against a threat?? is that what this is? they're secretly funneling government money to xri to deal with a perceived threat from _aliens_? people won't stand for that. not to mention what they've done has got to be illegal... _ _ ___ _
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From : kryptex81
Subject : re: decrypted
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there's something else hidden in this file. a video... _ _ ___ _
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From : kryptex81
Subject : ...
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...hi. i've been staring at my screen for an hour. typing and deleting. i don't know what to say. that was him. oh my god. dad. the tears just won't stop. i don't know what to do. i don't know what to do. jesus. they killed him. they KILLED HIM. i just i don't dad... _ _ ___ _
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I feel helpless to help Kryptex... well, Alexis I guess... and a little guilty that I'm basically acting as a double agent. It also sounds like Turing may be wising up to what's going on.
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From : Dr. Turing
Subject : Security Install
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Hi, Rob, This is just a notice that the system is going to be shut down for a few hours today, to install a new security protocol. Hopefully your access to the system won't be affected, but there may be some transient network outages on our end -- sorry for the inconvenience. We think there's been a security breach somewhere. Just between you and me, Rob, I think something's not right here. - Dr. Robert Turing |
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From : kryptex81
Subject : blocked
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damnit. they've already blocked my access to the data. it looks like i'm going to get locked out again. but we have to get that financial information to enki. now. he can deal with it. dad died for this. i can't access the data, so you'll have to send it to him. you can find it in your messages with the subject "more encrypted documents". use the terminal attached to that message to forward the file to enki asap. he can get the confession we need from arling. i'll try to find a way back into the system. keep an eye on your email. _ _ ___ _
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Once I forward along the encrypted docs, it doesn't take long for Enki to reach out to me.
From : Enki [Unauthenticated email]
Subject : [no subject]
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Are you with Kryptex81, then? You must be. Do you know what these are? This is damning. This is proof. Everything I've been saying. The government knew. Complicit in fraud. Military action. UN transgressions. This Arling character is the key. I'll get a confession out of him. The world will see this. This is Watergate. Dude. Whatever happens next? All because of you. Enki exoleaks.com |
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When I click launch the terminal attached to the message, it lets me listen in on a call between Enki and Ryan Arling.
That call doesn't go as well as I'd hoped... and it only seems to get worse from there.
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From : kryptex81
Subject : exoleaks and turing's rover
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rob, have you seen this? www.exoleaks.com/dhs exoleaks is down. i haven't heard from enki, and i've been pinging him all day. oh my god. i think arling had him killed. just like dad. he was too close. there's gotta be something else going on here. we just need proof. real proof. to protect us, like dad said. rob, they killed enki. because we got him involved. because i called him. it's our fault. oh god. this can't stand. what are they hiding?? i need to get back into the system. i've found a way in, through turing's account. but i need another password. the id code for turing's own rover. you've got to figure out where it is somehow. i found this on xri's site: www.exoresearch.com/blog/turing_geology that's the best i can do. does that match up with anything on your map? we don't have much time. if you find turing's rover, enter its name into the attached terminal to revalidate my account. _ _ ___ _
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I want to get Kryptex back into the system, but I also want to avoid raising suspicions... and I'm so close to the 6th obelisk. I finish up that mission from XRI first, and then I plan to try to find Turing's rover.
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From : Dr. Turing
Subject : Sixth Obelisk
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That's all of them, it looks like. I wonder what the significance of the pattern is? It certainly suggests an intelligent agent, but other than these structures, there's no evidence of them. What happened to the Caretakers? Why did they do this? - Dr Robert Turing |
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Next, I need to find Turing's rover so that I can use its ID as the password to get Kryptex access to Turing's account. Based on the article that Kryptex referenced, I can see that the rover was recently due south of a rock formation known as "The Fingers" and west of the "Arc de Triomphe". Thankfully, both of those are marked on my map, so it's easy to identify the area. When I arrive, I find Turing's rover fairly easily. I tag it in my photo to get its unique ID.
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I launch the terminal provided in the message from Kryptex, input the rover ID as a password, and it looks like it's successful. Kryptex reaches out a couple minutes later.
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From : kryptex81
Subject : have to be careful
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i'm back in. thanks. being shut out of this...it was killing me. there's too much at stake. ha--i bet that's the last time they use the id for something on epsilon prime as a password. it occurred to me--you got that picture of the full message arling mentioned from the planet. the threat, the weapons. if i can translate the whole thing myself--not just those symbols dad had--maybe there's more to it than arling is letting on. maybe i can translate it now, with all those obelisks... but we have to be careful. if anyone starts to realize there's something going on--they're in danger. it happened to dad, and enki. i bet even cassandra maridian, the lead scientist before turing, was starting to put the pieces together. i can't let anyone else get killed over this. _ _ ___ _
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