Thanks to the COVID-19 pandemic, more opportunities abound for online puzzles. This one comes from Enigma Emporium, a downloadable version of their mailing puzzle, Wish You Were Here. The puzzle arrives in this case as a zip file of five pdfs. As COVID-19 means that I'll be hermitting for a while, my bestest pal and I decided to do one card a night, at most, to stretch out our fun. Being your boring sticks in the mud, we started with Card 1.
Caveat Lector - what lies beyond this spoiler space, provided by NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day and Keith Burke, will solve the puzzle for you and spoil the surprise. I wouldn't want that! (But I also like chronicling my journeys into pandemonium, so....)
The card arrives as a single page pdf. On the top is the 'front', which is a picture of the White House lit up at night, with four presidents - Reagan (40), Obama (44), James Monroe (5), and Eisenhower (34). I'm ashamed to say that I had to look up James Monroe. Above the White House are written the words 'wish you were here!' and '-Collegamento-". A quick google finds that "Collegamento" means link, in Italian...
(edit: Even more embarrassing, perhaps is that, after solving the rest of the message below, how long it took us to figure out that the message of the Presidents on the front of the card had nothing to do with their terms, but instead their names: (R)eagan, (O)bama, (M)onroe, (E)isenhower. ROME)
On the bottom is the 'back' of the card, a note from your new penpal, with certain letters highlighted/blurred, and a series of numbers where the address would have been. There is also a stamp with Leonardo DaVinci. The card is postmarked January 13, 2018, a Saturday, from DC.
The note from the penpal is a challenge - four cards, four confessions, and the nature of the crime. The blurred letters, in order read: ILMUSEONAZIONALEDOTCOM, or ilmuseonazionale.com.
Traveling to that page lands you on what looks like the website of an Italian museum, but is, instead, another clue. The page reads:
Translated by Google:
In both cases, collegamento or connection is a link which take you to a message from our penpal:
That yielded me nothing. And then I felt like an idiot. The card above is presidents, who serve 4 year terms. Doh.
So, we have a series of terms, none above the 26th, which means it's an alphabet cipher. Removing the names, we get: 09-23-01-19-08-09-18-05-04-02-25-01-03-21-12-20
Running that through a simple A=1 cipher, we get the message: I WAS HIRED BY A CULT.
So, the first confession from our penpal, whoever they are is this:
They were hired by a cult to steal "Lady with an Ermine" by Leonardo Da Vinci, presumably from somewhere in Rome
And that, my friends, is the first postcard from "Wish You Were Here" by Enigma Emporium - Go check them out! Once this whole COVID nonsense is over, I'll be ordering the rest of theirs!
Caveat Lector - what lies beyond this spoiler space, provided by NASA's Astronomy Picture of the Day and Keith Burke, will solve the puzzle for you and spoil the surprise. I wouldn't want that! (But I also like chronicling my journeys into pandemonium, so....)
The card arrives as a single page pdf. On the top is the 'front', which is a picture of the White House lit up at night, with four presidents - Reagan (40), Obama (44), James Monroe (5), and Eisenhower (34). I'm ashamed to say that I had to look up James Monroe. Above the White House are written the words 'wish you were here!' and '-Collegamento-". A quick google finds that "Collegamento" means link, in Italian...
(edit: Even more embarrassing, perhaps is that, after solving the rest of the message below, how long it took us to figure out that the message of the Presidents on the front of the card had nothing to do with their terms, but instead their names: (R)eagan, (O)bama, (M)onroe, (E)isenhower. ROME)
On the bottom is the 'back' of the card, a note from your new penpal, with certain letters highlighted/blurred, and a series of numbers where the address would have been. There is also a stamp with Leonardo DaVinci. The card is postmarked January 13, 2018, a Saturday, from DC.
The note from the penpal is a challenge - four cards, four confessions, and the nature of the crime. The blurred letters, in order read: ILMUSEONAZIONALEDOTCOM, or ilmuseonazionale.com.
Traveling to that page lands you on what looks like the website of an Italian museum, but is, instead, another clue. The page reads:
Questa mostra segna un enorme successo nel mondo dell'arte. Per la prima volta, tutti i più grandi maestri sono riuniti sotto lo stesso tetto. Questi dipinti formano il collegamento da un'età all'altra, e per i prossimi due mesi celebreremo quel collegamento. Prenota i tuoi biglietti oggi.
Translated by Google:
This exhibition marks a huge success in the art world. For the first time, all the greatest masters are gathered under one roof. These paintings form the connection from one age to another, and for the next two months we will celebrate that connection. Book your tickets today.
In both cases, collegamento or connection is a link which take you to a message from our penpal:
I have been tasked with the acquisition of a painting by one of the most esteemed masters of all time. Whether it is to keep or sell, I know not, but it will be in my possession presently. The museum is quite proud of their security but they are an open book to me, though I take no joy from my theft. The painting will, of course, be replaced by a precision forgery which they've provided me with, but I tell you this: To my target I give my "stamp" of approval. Good luck.
From this, we can assume our penpal will be attempting to walk off with a Da Vinci. From the first page with the images, the only Da Vinci on there is Lady with an Ermine. Guess that's the target.
Now, to the right hand side, and series of numbers. There are four lines, each with four pairs of numbers. They appear to be eras, or math.
Doing the math gets us:
Looking up the terms and linking them to the appropriate president, and their order in history:
So, we have a series of terms, none above the 26th, which means it's an alphabet cipher. Removing the names, we get: 09-23-01-19-08-09-18-05-04-02-25-01-03-21-12-20
Running that through a simple A=1 cipher, we get the message: I WAS HIRED BY A CULT.
So, the first confession from our penpal, whoever they are is this:
They were hired by a cult to steal "Lady with an Ermine" by Leonardo Da Vinci, presumably from somewhere in Rome
And that, my friends, is the first postcard from "Wish You Were Here" by Enigma Emporium - Go check them out! Once this whole COVID nonsense is over, I'll be ordering the rest of theirs!
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