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[viciousmaukery]

Anyone else find it a little unsettling that someone sent every single one of us a bizarrely cryptic puzzle?

[Molly is definitely unsettled. His hand's shaking as he pushes it through his hair.]

I mean, the bizarre messages are one thing, but whoever they are, they somehow got their hands on everyone's numbers. And by everyone, I mean specifically imPorts, I showed this to a local and she thought I was fucking with her somehow. So it's just us.

It's creepy, right? I'm well aware everyone's excited over the chance to solve a puzzle, but this wasn't just a network post, this was a personal message. That's the strangest part about all this: why not just use the network? Why go through every single one of us, one by one, and send a private message?

[He scrubs his tattooed hand over his face, and lets out a mirthless chuckle.]

I hope I'm overthinking this. I really do hope I'm overthinking this. But I just—I feel like this is cursed, somehow.

Comments

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[anathemic]

[ Anathema's already buried herself in this particular puzzle -- no better thing for a weekend project -- and she occasionally emerges to check the latest messages on the network, in case someone has more information. ]

Do you feel like it's literally cursed?

[ Considering her experience with magic, it's a question worth asking. ]

[viciousmaukery]

Not literally, but—[he waves a hand.] I just have a bad feeling about it.

[He pauses, before adding, somewhat wryly:] But I wouldn't be surprised if there really was a curse at work, after all that's happened.

[anathemic]

Yeah, plus that seems like it's not exactly out of the realm of possibility.

You could throw some salt over your left shoulder, or sage your room. It might help, with those bad vibes. I know how it feels.

[Video]

[spaceforged]

I don’t like this either. If someone was trying to point out how the network lacks security measures...they achieved it.

[He shakes his head and takes a sip from his coffee mug.]

I agree with you this is a personal message. About what or why, that’s ahead. Either way it doesn’t seem right with how it was delivered.

[Video]

[viciousmaukery]

I wish. That’d mean they’re just fucking with us. [A mirthless chuckle.] What if we solve this puzzle and it’s just them telling us to protect our things better? All this effort and panic, and it turns out they’re fucking with us. Or testing us if you want to give them the benefit of the doubt.

[He doesn’t sound convinced, and he knows it. He’s grasping at straws here, trying to offer a lighter alternative that ignores the dread creeping up his spine. Cursed, he’d thought this thing was. Some kind of portent of doom and horror and unexpected change, like the Tower, upright.]

And why make it a puzzle in the first place? That makes it even creepier, really.

[Video]

[spaceforged]

Only reason I've ever seen anyone scramble a message into a puzzle is to keep it from people they don't want the message to get to. It could be we're being messed with. [He doesn't sound convinced it either, his tone flat when bringing up that option. His frown grows more pronounced as he says, with more feeling.] It could be a warning or a call for help.

Until we know for sure exactly what it is, we're stuck in this...limbo. It is creepy. Has anything like this ever happened before? Maybe there's a pattern or some clue there.

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[cantgetanyworse]

I hadn't, until I started thinking about it...

[Technology like this isn't available for Jane's time, and it had taken her a little time to begin feeling like something about what had happened was quite terribly wrong.]

There's definitely something quite strange going on. I would have thought that only the government would have that kind of ability.

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[viciousmaukery]

The government has—you know what, never mind. [Every day he gets more and more certain he should stay unsettled, jeez.] Maybe this is the government. Or someone working in it who wants to give us all a good scare.

[cantgetanyworse]

[Jane only registered for the notable perks, but she's starting to wonder if maybe she shouldn't have.]

But why would they do that? What would be the point of it?

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[lonered]

Unsettling might be the point. They're screwing with us. You don't send a message in various parts to a whole group of people if you want clear, open communication.

[Now how it happens.]

The nanites they inject us with connect us to the network, right? [How that works is fuzzy, but Keith isn't concerned about the technology of it. He just knows he doesn't trust the nanite thing at all. He's paranoid, yes, but he usually has decent reason for it.]

So at least one group here has all our info. And probably more than one.

[It's a cheery thought, right?]

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[viciousmaukery]

Just what I wanted to start my week, then! Someone screwing with me and every other imPort for no discernible reason!

[Gah.]

That’s—as far as I know, yes? [He did not listen to the spiel.] Apparently the government has our info, so either they’re the ones fucking with us or someone working with them is.

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[lonered]

It isn't starting out great. But I guess we'll see what the message says, if anything.

[Maybe.]

Or has infiltrated them, yeah. Either way, someone can track down all of us at least on the network. And now they've let us know that.

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[bookshopped]

[Hello former neighbor. Aziraphale considers. He's mostly been interested in finding out what the messages say.]

It does seem a bit sinister. But I think the only way to know for sure is to decode what the message intends to tell us.

I can't say I blame you for finding it creepy.

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[viciousmaukery]

That, I’ll leave up to people who can decode. I’m sure we’ll hear about it in a couple of days anyway.

[He is not going to play this game, gods, he just wanted to make a grocery run.]

Oh, good, you think it’s creepy too. How did they get everyone’s numbers?

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[bookshopped]

You may be right. There does seem to be a considerable amount of brain power set on this one. But regardless, I intend to try my hand at it at least a little.

[Like sitting down with the Sunday crossword, really.]

An excellent question. I expect the government has all our numbers, given they assign them to us. So perhaps our cryptographer friend has government connections, whether covert or otherwise.

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[perfectlyhuman]

Maybe it's the government.

[ Sure, that's a thing you can expect a child to say. ]

They all got us here. They all make us register and give us this tattoo and stuff. They probably go all our information.

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[viciousmaukery]

[The Mighty Nein are currently towing a kenku child around with them, Molly has heard some shit coming out of kids’ mouths lately.]

Y’know, I could absolutely buy that. [Pause.] It could also be someone in the government, acting independently, for some godsdamned reason. It’s too early to tell.

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[choosetruth]

[Georgia adjusts her sunglasses and nods.]

You're not overthinking it. It's fucked up. Decoding the message might be entertaining, but it's only the tip of the puzzle iceburg.

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[viciousmaukery]

The message is one thing, but: who sent it? Why send it? Why like this, in jumbled pieces to separate people one at a time? Why would someone go to all that trouble?

[hordinglife]

[At least Lonnie wasn't the only one who thought about this.]

The government here is really boring, but they probably have people who hacked their network. We can't trust them to have all that information and not have someone else end up with it.

[viciousmaukery]

How’s it boring? I just thought they weren’t the most trustworthy people.

Probably. It’s a little early to tell for sure, though I’d buy that theory.

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[pidgewidgeon]

This probably is a bad reaction to have to this place: but I just always assume everything here is out to get us.

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[viciousmaukery]

[It takes Molly a little more time to respond to this than he’d like. Reading is tough when you’re an informally-educated carnie with functional illiteracy.]

Oh, no, that’s a perfectly good reaction to have. I like to think not everything wants us dead, but yours is more realistic.

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[bifroster]

Well. That confirms that theory.

[Jane isn't happy about this, but she should have known.]

But ... you have a point. Why message us individually? Did they want it solved?

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[viciousmaukery]

I wouldn't be asking if I had some idea. [A tired breath.] They could've posted it to the network, is the thing. But this way—it feels like they're trying to say something else, doing it this way.

I'm just not sure what. Maybe they want to give us a kick in the arse in the scariest way possible?