C-CND11 (Apr 17, 1996)
Puzzle
“Zotz!”
Research | 1 Word
Clue
Hover over the clues if you require!
Clue 1: Dig a little deeper than the movie - or the book.
Clue 2: You might want to check out the disambiguation page for the word.
Clue 3: Any ancient gods there?
Answer and Explanation
Answer: Camazotz
Explanation: “Zotz!" is about a coin that gives three powers, one of which causes death. Looking into Mayan mythology, there is a bat god called Camazotz.
Summary of Receipt
Summary
Transcript
RECEIPT #011
FILED UNDER: CAFE-CND
DATE: 4/17/96
EMPLOYEE #44
I’ve been messing around with the ZOTZ System, and I cracked the encryption on one of the six sections: Employee Information. Of course, nothing is ever that easy, and if it were, it wouldn’t be worth doing. But what I managed to find seems to be an employee directory. Within it, there are files on all five members of the Cafe No Diner, S.G., S.V., M.R., A.C., and P.B. Each of the core files is hidden behind what I’m guessing is a pretty secure password. However, there are some ancillary files in the Employee Directory as well, some of which aren’t even password-protected.
The one that caught my eye was a newspaper article regarding the apparent suicide of Xavier Vargas. Now, something regarding Xavier on its own isn’t too out of place. We know that he was actually killed by Mrs. Aka, and the Cafe No Diner, being in the coffee trade, could have made that connection, too. But it got me thinking—Xavier Vargas. Vargas. I checked with my dad, and he told me that “V” is the 6th least common last initial. From there, all it took was asking my sister about Xavier’s family, which, as it turns out, he had a sister. Sofia.
S.V. Sofia Vargas. That was the password to her employee file. Well, vargassofia, but you get the idea. It didn’t reveal too much, but it’s still something. Not to mention, it sort of reveals what the other four passwords will be. Of course, there’s no point in brute-force guessing random first and last names. I suppose we could take census data and limit it down to our general area and the initials we know. Then again, they might not be using their “real” names. In any case, here’s what was in Sofia’s Employee File:
Position: Intelligence Analyst
Employee ID: SV-552635
Date of Birth: 3-30-77
Recruitment Date: 10-31-95
Status: Active
Anathema: Rubeus Redman”