Z-KOR03 (Apr 11, 2023)
Puzzle
“Hope you had a killer 1-17-23.”
Blackwood Trivia | 1 Word
Clue
Hover over the clues if you require!
Clue 1: What day is that?
Clue 2: Think about why exactly that date - and not any other Tuesday - is used.
Clue 3: Focus on the date, not the month or year.
Answer and Explanation
Answer: Clive
Explanation: The day of 1-17-23 is a Tuesday, and searching “Tuesday” and “17” gives you an episode of Psych called “Tuesday the 17th”. The killer for that episode is Clive.
Summary of Receipt
Blackwood also researches the Kings of Roses - they were labelled benign (at best) in this Cycle, but a larger threat in other ones. Since most of the Zulus are still unfriendly, she writes to Nine, leader of Nom De Plume. He's apparently open to a business deal with BaristaTech, but more importantly mentions that the Kings of Roses are a branch-off from the Kings of Camelot in Dive Fall, with their main contact being Duplicity (see Dive Fall once that gets released). Though since he's dead, they're now effectively their own cult, but with the same bloody, unethical practices.
Transcript
Receipt: Z-KOR03
Author: Blackwood
Status: Secret
Subject: Kings Cult
Trying to make myself useful, I did some digging into the Kings of Roses Cult. Like Capgras & Twain mentioned, the prior Shaka did only leave one note regarding them: “benign at best—more of a threat in another time and place.” This got me thinking; surely Aayush kept notes on other cycles, right? So, I did some asking around with the Zulus who worked under him (which is pretty much every one of them), and I got the cold shoulder. I think that much was to be expected. Even if the Zulus were into the idea of a new Shaka, I doubt they’d ever be too interested in talking to an outsider about secrets Shaka kept.
Seeing as I don’t really want to get my lips sewn shut at the moment, I had to resort to another possible source. The Society of Nom de Plume. I sent them a friendly message letting them know that Barista Technologies was back in business and would be happy to make whatever weird anachronistic gadgets and tools they might need. And I also slipped in that I was looking into the Kings of Roses cult. I wasn’t expecting Nine to actually write back to me in my copy of The Murder of Roger Ackroyd. I guess I never really considered how he wrote to people. But here’s what his message said:
“Sarah, It is a pleasure to meet you now and again. I was wondering when you would take over for Marcelle. And with the dissolvement of the Cafe and Diner, I was worried you wouldn’t get the chance. Hopefully, without the Cafe, your business will thrive as I have always felt that the Cafe was hardly worth the trouble it caused. Currently, the Society’s technological needs are being met though I suppose we could do with an upgrade. Our primary system is based on a version of the CaDCom system, so I’m sure you would have little trouble working with it. As for your subtle dig for information regarding the Kings of Roses, I know that they are an offshoot of a cult in the Dive Prime cycle, the Kings of Camelot. Though the two have had little communication since Duplicity was killed. He was the main branch between the two. After his death, the blooded-demon Mary took things in a different direction. However, their practices were still heavily based on the very unethical theories crafted by the Kings of Camelot in Kennedy. It is terrifying what one learns through a bloody war. If Shaka is planning to hold council with them, make sure he tells Rune hello from me. Also, give Shaka my best, the both of them. -Nine.”