C-TBP01 (Oct 9, 1988)
DISCLAIMER: THIS RECEIPT HAS BEEN UNLOCKED BY DIVISION TANGO (UPDATES 1-10).
Puzzle
LOGIC PUZZLE
3 CHARACTERS 1 WORD
“(Ic,x) (IycppIyc,ppIycpp)
Ic = 8 - 8
x = 8 + -5
IycppIyc = 8 * 1/4
ppIycpp = 8 / 8/9”
Clue
Hover over the clues if you require!
Clue 1: Do the math. What can two points represent?
Clue 2: There's a cipher that uses the same idea of a line.
Clue 3: It's a fine cipher, that one.
Answer and Explanation
Answer: 333
Explanation: The math comes out to (0, 3) (2, 9). This is two points on the line y = 3x + 3. Using Affine, with the settings 3 3, on the letters yield Try Three Three Three. So 333 is our answer.
Summary of Receipt
Manager 8 shows up again and talks about the 3 major spots of paranormal activity in the USA. One is the bermuda triangle. Another is the San Andreas Fault. The last is literally all of west virginia - the Hotbed. Also there are other spots, but those are more dependent on more space-y stuff. Lastly 8’s apparently dealt with this sort of stuff before.
Transcript
CAFE RECEIPT
RECEIPT NUMBER: TBP01
RECEIPT DATE: 10 9 1988
MANGER NUMBER: 8
RECEIPT NOTES:
Let's finally talk "Big Picture." :)
So, the way I see it, our little Cafe and Diner is situated right around one of the three major "hot spots" of sorts for paranormal activity. Nice thing about LA is it lies right next to the San Andreas Fault. I'm sure I don't need to explain why that's such a source of paranormal energy to you guys, eh? Like other natural phenomena, Plates are tied to the Otherside in ways I couldn't even begin to fully understand myself. And if you were to look at where in the U.S. there's a big 'ol quaking fault, well nothin' quite beats the San Andreas, ya feel me? It covers the origin of most of the West's paranormal activity.
Of course, there are two other spots that our Cafe doesn't quite reach. Faultlines are one thing, but man, you know what really gets the Otherside leaking into the Flipside? Sacred ass geometry. Laid by Druids, Egyptians, Nazcas, etc. As long as people have been poking at the Otherside, they've been poking at sacred geometry. Of course, as Felix can tell you, nowadays, most people keep their geometry small and circular, but back before the art became a science, people were making their sigil as big as possible. Biggest and baddest of which is probably the Bermuda Triangle, which has been causing all sorts of paranormal problems in the Southeast for centuries.
So that just leaves the Northeast/Midwest, right? And surprisingly, out of the three, that's the worst offender. Lady and Gentlemen, may I present to you, West Virginia. If the West rocks out to a natural link to the Otherside, and the Southeast is suffering from someone's ancient mega-sigil, what oh what could be causing the entire state of West Virginia to act like an unholy portal to hell and back? Beats me, and I grew up there. If I had to take a guess, it's some sort of, ah, "psychic" link. Not too dissimilar to the Bermuda Triangle, but whereas that is just residual energy from a long-lost glyph, this link with West Virginia is FRESH. There's the possibility that who or whatever is creating this link is still kickin'. In any case, that's the deal with the East/Midwest.
Of course, there's some odd spots scattered around, little tears between this world and the next where any number of nasty creatures and creeps can crawl through. But they tend to be a bit more temperamental, usually opening and closing in line with celestial phenomena. Anyway, obviously, we should focus on the Western region for now. Nothing we can do to close the link between the Flipside and the Otherside, unless, of course, Lucy can fuse tectonic plates together? Actually, that's probably a bad idea. We shouldn't try that. Good news is the worst spots of the Southeast have been dealing with the Triangle's odd-ness for years, so they can handle themselves. And while I would like to look into West Virginia's connection, it's nothing critical. Not yet anyway. I'll do more digging into the locals around here, as I'm sure they're a bit different from the ones I've gotten back home.
'Til then :)
-8