Yesterday, I concluded my Silver Case video series. Today, I received an email from the mystery man “R.” The plot thickens…
Silver Casers will recall that “R” is the man who sent me the silver briefcase, and appeared in two videos — one on a DVD I received in the mail; the other, on the case’s USB drive. “R” has provided information about Armacham’s alleged genetic testing, and its supposed nefarious plot to recruit people (including me) to participate in its research.
Now, “R” has contacted me via email:
JC,
Please help me.
As you know Armacham has corrupted the FEAR 2 game module but it seems they are still determined to unveil LEVEL 3 of their testing whatever the consequences. Despite disastrous results in the initial testing they are currently looking for 13 candidates to test the module in a device called the FEAR LAB in New York City.
I fear for the safety of anyone who becomes involved in this test and I’m determined to stop it all costs.
I’ve hidden additional evidence at http://www.armacham.com/rf3437 which I’ve had to encode for my safety. Once you unlock the files you will see what I’m talking about.
I’ll be in touch
R
I visited the URL “R” provided, and sure enough, there was content to behold. You’ll note that the directory in which this content is stored is labeled “RF” (which I bolded above), further implying that this data is hailing from Richard Findes, the disillusioned Armacham employee whose email we hacked in a past Silver Case episode. (Is there significance to the numeral 3437, as well?)
Two PDF documents were available via the link: “Dossier.pdf” and “Armacham Form 25C_supplemental.pdf”. I’ve extracted the pages from the PDFs and posted them below. You can also download a PDF with both assets combined by clicking here.
Silver Casers will note that most of these pages appeared in the dossier I personally received from Armacham, with one exception: the final image. This must be the encoded data to which “R” refers in his email.
What does it mean? Can the cipher — and R’s message — be found using these materials? I bet it can … and I bet you can help decrypt it. So let’s get crackin’! Sound off in the comments if you make any progress.
Finally, I should note that the envelope I received from Armacham in late November was marked with a “LEVEL 2 CLASSIFICATION” stamp. But in this recent email, “R” refers to an apparent upgrade of the testing: Level 3.
Astute visitors to Armacham.com will note that Richard Findes’ email draft features three Armacham Technology Corporation employee profiles. Of the three, only Dutch employee Joris N. Ulbricht appears to have a Level III security clearance. Is he part of Armacham’s inner circle?
So. Help me crack the code to determine if Armacham is indeed conspiring to perform unsafe genetic tests on people (including me) … or if the mysterious Case Man — aka “R” — is simply on a mission to spread misinformation.
–J.C.
PS: I’ve replied to R’s email, saying his “message was received,” and providing him the URL to this page. If he responds, I’ll let you know…
Any theories on the crypto? Looks like a substitution cypher to me. I’m working on a quick perl script to try different keys. Looks for obvious key possibilities. I’m guessing they didn’t make this too difficult, so it’s probably an obvious one. The first one I’m going to try is “PANIC”. Look for others.
It might also be a one-time-pad, but I don’t know what text to use for the key. Anyone see any hints?
If you use form 25c as an overlay for form 25c supplemental, you get “The Chamber” The bold red letters in the papers are PANIC and FEAR. Could it be something like Panic, Fear the chamber?
Excellent work, @Twowire! I spotted the decrypted message over at Unfiction, and you seem to be right, re: THE CHAMBER.
But where do we go from here? I’ve searched the Armacham intranet site using “The Chamber” to no avail … and even used phrases such as playground, brain, snake, and helper in that search field, as well. (I’ve found some interesting things over at the Armacham site.) No dice.
The Chamber. What does it mean…?
Here’s the 25c + Supplemental hybrid image for those keeping score:
Oh, interesting. I see what you found. In that case, I suspect the rest of the letters in the supplemental form are random garbage, or used elsewhere in a similar way with other lines. It would not be easy to craft a cypher text of the type I was originally thinking such that its output could be used for that type of message hiding.
Hutch: Wasn’t there a part of the webpage you were trying to hit in an earlier Silver Case that required a password you didn’t know? Maybe try “The Chamber”
Smitty, I need all the help I can get. Dive on in at Armacham.com and see if you can find a home for this puzzle piece. Report back if you find anything!
Search the internet for “Readjustment”
Already done, Twowire. I’m caught up with the adventure (via Unfiction), and I’m glad to see you are, too. Looks like the trail is currently growing cold with The Chamber.
Sorry, Search the intrAnet for “Readjustment” on the Armacham screen
Yes, the chamber remains elusive so far…..
Some helpful resources to bring you up to speed:
The good folks over at Phil’s forums are stuck, too … but watch that board for developments: http://tinyurl.com/5vf3sd
For newcomers to the F.E.A.R. universe (like me), here’s some spiffy backstory on the first game in the series: http://tinyurl.com/6lmyev
As always, the brilliant folk at Unfiction are leading the charge: http://tinyurl.com/63davw
Finally, there is a blog dedicated to this adventure: http://armachamtracker.blogspot.com/