Thank you so much.
So new clue is in the Wiki page, it will take a lot of interpretations.
The italicized letters spell out āseek code out he is watchingā
Some notable changes in the first post:
Latin: āTime reveals all things.ā
https://thepizzaisalie.wikia.com/wiki/Tempus_omnia_revelant
Latin: āTime reveals all things.ā (alexwmd) Also a song by James Murphy.
The original message of terminal.blackmesasource.com. Notice the inline italized message are different from the original. For more information on the original message> https://thepizzaisalie.wikia.com/wiki/Terminal
This is new
This is the decrypted IRC Clue 1. For more information see https://thepizzaisalie.wikia.com/wiki/IRC_clue_1
Also new.
Table of Isotopes of Niobium, copied from this paper https://brianchapman.net/data/Niobium.pdf
New.
HAFB probably means Hollomans Air Force Base, previously mentioned in IRC Club 2 and 3.
https://thepizzaisalie.wikia.com/wiki/IRC_clue_2
https://thepizzaisalie.wikia.com/wiki/IRC_clue_3
Quote from Star Trek: The Next Generation episode 1x08 āJusticeā
https://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Justice_(episode)
A verse from Danteās Inferno. āThe verse is shouted out by Nimrod, one of the giants who guard the Ninth Circle of Hell. The line, whose literal meaning is uncertain (it is usually left untranslated as well), is usually interpreted as a sign of the confusion of the languages caused by the fall of the Tower of Babel.ā
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raph%C3%A8l_ma%C3%AD_am%C3%A8che_zab%C3%AD_almi
New.
https://thepizzaisalie.wikia.com/wiki/Tempus_omnia_revelant
Latin: āTime reveals all things.ā (alexwmd) Also a song by James Murphy.
The original message of terminal.blackmesasource.com. Notice the inline italized message are different from the original. For more information on the original message> https://thepizzaisalie.wikia.com/wiki/Terminal
This is new
This is the decrypted IRC Clue 1. For more information see https://thepizzaisalie.wikia.com/wiki/IRC_clue_1
Also new.
Table of Isotopes of Niobium, copied from this paper https://brianchapman.net/data/Niobium.pdf
New.
HAFB probably means Hollomans Air Force Base, previously mentioned in IRC Club 2 and 3.
https://thepizzaisalie.wikia.com/wiki/IRC_clue_2
https://thepizzaisalie.wikia.com/wiki/IRC_clue_3
Quote from Star Trek: The Next Generation episode 1x08 āJusticeā
https://en.memory-alpha.org/wiki/Justice_(episode)
A verse from Danteās Inferno. āThe verse is shouted out by Nimrod, one of the giants who guard the Ninth Circle of Hell. The line, whose literal meaning is uncertain (it is usually left untranslated as well), is usually interpreted as a sign of the confusion of the languages caused by the fall of the Tower of Babel.ā
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Raph%C3%A8l_ma%C3%AD_am%C3%A8che_zab%C3%AD_almi
New.
Also note that this new page is not the only change made by the user Dr Horn.
He also created a āStorylineā page and linked it from the main page. https://thepizzaisalie.wikia.com/wiki/Storyline
I guess they really want us to fill the story. I donāt see how is that relevant to the current cipher though.
Also he made a small change to his wiki page https://thepizzaisalie.wikia.com/wiki/Dr_Horn?diff=prev&oldid=4319
Thereās some hints that solving the current cipher might lead us to currently unavailable bmrf.us:
So who or what is watching, exactly?
If I may join inā¦
For some reason, āheā is not in bold, while the other letters are in both italics and bold. And, if you look closely, there are some letters in the text that are in bold but not italics, they seem to spell out āIs AIā.
On one of the whiteboards, thereās a note from Dr. Montero about Dr. J.D. Marcel needing Niobium 5 for āthat AI project āthingāā.
This quote seems to combine two layers of meaning in a brilliant way. First, it might say something about whatever it is thatās āwatching this all from the shadowsā. Secondly, as Primadog noted, this quote is from a Star Trek TNG episode titled āJusticeā. From the story clues so far, we know that someone (or something?) wants Dr. Welsh and Dr. Stone to pay for something they did. In other words, you might say he (or it?) is seeking justice.
Satan, the devilās attributes (horns) drawn on the person in the picture, a quote from Danteās Inferno. Are these references only story related? Or could they be a clue to the HALOS code puzzle?
Now, thereās a cipher called Lucifer. It was one of the first modern block ciphers created, and the direct precursor to the DES encryption standard. Unfortunately, Lucifer is a 128-bit block size cipher, I believe, which isnāt consistent with the length of the HALOS code. Perhaps itās meant to point us to DES or TripleDES. Also, when I look at the picture, thereās something odd about the way the word LIES is written. It does look a bit similar to DES or UES (which is yet another cipher related to TripleDES). Note the three underscores under one of the LIES, a hint to TripleDES? Perhaps Iām over-interpreting things.
But even if we assume that the HALOS code is a message encrypted with DES or TripleDES, thereās still the question of how to derive the key.
EDIT 16.12.12:
If the pizza is a lie, is the lie a pizza? It may be one of the most important philosophical questions of our time. No seriously, Iāve been wondering if pizzas could somehow be a key to solving the latest code puzzle. Why was āCongratulationsyouwonthePIZZAā (the solution to the binary triangle puzzle) one of the items added under āHandy infoā in the first post? The last words in the solution to the inner code in IRC Clue 5 were āyou should bring pizzasā. The repeated underlined scribblings of the word LIES, which ostensibly refer to pizzas, in the picture in the latest clue. What does it mean?
EDIT 17.12.12: Further interpretations
Latin: āThe voice of the people (is) the voice of Godā.
Itās often used as an aphorism of political wisdom. The voice of the many (or popular will) is not necessarily a good thing or a force for good, but itās impossible to resist or withstand, much like the will of God or a force of nature.
Theories about the circle with a cross (X, or roman numeral for 10) over it, drawn over the pizza slice
The wiki clue contains a verse from the epic poem Danteās Inferno. In Danteās Inferno, we follow the journey of Dante through the nine circles of hell. Could the crossed-over circle symbolize the tenth circle of hell? If this is true, does this imply that the pizza, or the lie, is so horrendous, that it represents something worse than any of the nine circles of hell described in Danteās Inferno?
Probably just a coincidence, but āThe Tenth Circleā is also the name of a novel by Jodi Picoult. The story centers around a 14-year old girl named Trixie Stone (any relation to Dr. Stone?), whose world is turned upside down with a single act of violence, and suddenly everything she has believed about her family - and herself - seems to be a lie.
Or, could it be a hint to the XOR (eXclusive-OR) operation, for which the mathematical symbol is a circle with a plus sign in it? Thereās a XOR encrypter/decrypter on this page, https://www.abcel-online.com/tools.php?id=decrypt, which seems to produce a coded output with a high entropy very close to that of the HALOS code. However, it doesnāt appear to use any known cipher algorithm. Therefore, I donāt have a lot of confidence in that this particular encrypter was used to code the HALOS code. But then again, I guess no stone should be left unturned.
EDIT:
Well, at the center of the nine circles of hell, is of course Satan (or Lucifer) himself. So, the tenth circle may be regarded as a symbol for Satan. Also, the verse that was included in the clue, takes place in the ninth circle, which is about treachery. Treachery and lies often go hand-in-hand. So, to understand the symbolism used in the latest clue, you may want to read up on Danteās Inferno and the Divine Comedy, in which the story of Dante continues. Or, perhaps the wiki for the video game Danteās Inferno.
EDIT 18.12.12: Just a crazy thoughtā¦
What if the tenth circle symbol isnāt just another reference to Satan/Lucifer, but referring to some kind of expansion of hell, a new circle - or level - being added to the lower levels of hell?
Excerpt from the Diary Log of Dr. J. Welsh:
On the ābudgetā whiteboard thereās this note:
Under it, a note of warning:
If these two clues are related, they seem to suggest thereās some sort of construction work (expansion?) going on in the lower levels of the Biodome Complex. If we consider the ethically questionable research being done in the Biodome Complex, we could very well call it some kind of hell. What is this work currently under way in the sub levels of the facility? Could this be what the tenth circle symbol is hinting at - a new level of hell in the lower sections of the Biodome Complex?
That is some impressive work flavrans9. It would be interesting to find out how the Niobium isotopes relate to AI.
Apparently, niobium is the last element with no stable isotope.
Maybe we should pore over this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Isotopes_of_niobium
EDIT: Thereās also niobium(V) chloride, or niobium pentachloride: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niobium%28V%29_chloride
DOUBLE EDIT: Actually, there are many niobium compounds that basically work like niobium (V) _______ where _________ is some other chemical that bonds with niobium.
Sorry for the long leave of absenceāall I can say is school, school, SCHOOL!
Check out the blogfor an update Iāve made, and I canāt wait to get back in the fray.
Seems you guys have been busy these past few weeks!
EDIT: āMINDATā from the wiki page might be related to this
According to the site, Niobium is primarily found in Russia; it is also produced in Brazil according to the .pdf associated with the wiki info.
Thank you! I got a little carried away there, I think, and my post almost turned into a blog.
I think thereās an intriguing story unfolding here, there seems to be more to this story than meets the eye.
About Niobium, Iām not 100% sure, but there may be a clue as to what it could be used for (in the story). Hint: Check out the danger signs on the sealed doors to the classified X01/X02 labs. It may be unrelated, but it is consistent with a certain property and a very common use of Niobium. There are practical applications of this that could relate to the AI (if the AI is what we think), but Iām not sure how the list of isotopes fit into this. It might be worth investigating further. However, the answer may turn out to be something even more exotic than this.
Okay guys and gals, Iāve updated the blog with The Story Thus Far, as well as the Wiki Storyline page.
As Iāve noted in both of these areas, I think itās vital we look for a way to access the HALOS page, as we have both a username and a password. There, we are sure to find another clue as to how to solve this hexadecimal code.
EDIT:
āhttps://www.blackmesaresearch.com/ā has a message: āNothing to see here . . .ā
Was registered in 2008 and thought to be viral marketing for BM.
Interesting forum discussing the site: https://www.valvetime.net/threads/http-www-blackmesaresearch-com.144662/
Particularly what the OP posted: ārequires a username/password to enter.ā
Could be completely unrelated, but interesting. Also, this:
[b]FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
May 23, 2008
BLACK MESA RESEARCH RECIEVES REGULATORY APPROVAL FOR REVOLUTIONARY NEW RESEARCH
Washington, DC ā Black Mesa Research Corporation (NY:M), the world leader in advanced technology research and development, received regulatory approval from the Department of Energy today to proceed with the planning stages of exciting new high energy particle physics research presently slated to begin in the second half of FY 2008.
The results from this groundbreaking new research will lead to vast improvements in Black Mesa scientistsā ability to harness the fundamental forces of the universe to greatly benefit American consumersā quality of life.
In recognition of the revolutionary nature of this research the Nuclear Regulatory Commission has already granted Black Mesa Research Corporation a waiver for standard requirements for high energy particle research in January. The Department of Energyās approval of the project earlier today marked the end of the major regulatory hurdles faced by Black Mesa Research for this research.
For more information about Black Mesa Research and the HEPP/AM research, visit blackmesaresearch.com.
###[/b]
This could all be completely irrelevant (and probably is), but hopefully itāll get some juices flowing.
EDIIT 2:
There is also a āterminal.bmrf.usā page because it is reporting a 403 error rather than a 404
Has anyone considered that āseek codeā could refer to the possibility that the HEX string is an executable program or app of some sort? I tried creating a .exe file and pasting the contents in but it wasnāt recognised as a valid Window app. Maybe it would be on some other operating system or after itās undergone a transformation of some sortā¦
Dunno if this has been mentioned before but HALOS could mean HAL Operating System. HAL 9000 is an AI from the Space Odyssey series.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HAL_9000
Probably not significant, but just my 2 cents.
How accurate is this to the original game?
If your question relates to the ARG, i.e. the Pizza Code Mystery then the answer is not at all as none of this was in the original. Itās a head-scratchingly frustrating but rewarding sub-game created by the Black Mesa developers.
Thatās what I love about ARGs - at times, they can be downright infuriating when the clues seem to stop, but once you find out something, then that something reveals something bigger, the feeling is awesome.