C-TBP01 (Oct 9, 1988)
Puzzle
"(lc, x) (lycpplyc,pplycpp)
lc = 8 – 8
x = 8 + -5
lycpplyc = 8 * 1/4
pplycpp = 8 / 8/9."
Cipher | 1 Word
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 8 1988
MANAGER TITLE: EIGHT
RECEIPT NOTES:
Let’s finally talk "Big Picture." :)
So, here’s how I see it: our little Cafe and Diner is smack dab near one of the three major "hot spots" for paranormal activity. The nice thing about LA is that it sits right next to the San Andreas Fault. I probably don’t need to explain why that’s such a potent source of paranormal energy, right? Like other natural phenomena, tectonic plates are tied to the Otherside in ways even I can’t fully grasp. And if you look at where the big fault lines are in the U.S., nothing tops the San Andreas. It’s at the root of most of the West’s paranormal activity.
But of course, there are two other spots our Cafe doesn’t quite reach. Fault lines are one thing, but you know what really gets the Otherside leaking into the Flipside? Sacred geometry. Laid out by Druids, Egyptians, Nazcas—you name it. Since people first started messing with the Otherside, they’ve been messing with sacred geometry. Nowadays, as our Trusted Associate can probably tell you, most folks keep their sigils small and circular. But back in the day, before the art became a science, people made their glyphs as big as possible. The biggest and baddest of them all? The Bermuda Triangle, which has been stirring up paranormal trouble in the Southeast for centuries.
So that leaves the Northeast/Midwest, right? And surprisingly, out of the three, that’s the worst offender. Ladies and Gentlemen, may I present to you: West Virginia. If the West is rocking a natural link to the Otherside, and the Southeast is dealing with some ancient mega-sigil, what on earth (or not) could be making West Virginia act like a portal to hell and back? Beats me—and I grew up there. If I had to guess, I’d say it’s some kind of “psychic” link. Not too different from the Bermuda Triangle, but while the Triangle is residual energy from an ancient glyph, West Virginia’s link feels fresh. There’s a chance that whatever—or whoever—is behind it is still active.
That’s the deal with the East/Midwest. Of course, there are odd spots scattered all over—little rips between this world and the next where all sorts of nasty creatures can crawl through. But they’re more temperamental, usually opening and closing in sync with celestial events.
Anyway, for now, we should focus on the Western region. There’s not much we can do to close the link between the Flipside and the Otherside—unless our lovely Lucy can somehow fuse tectonic plates? Actually, scratch that. Bad idea. The good news is that the Southeast has been dealing with the Triangle’s weirdness for years, so they can handle themselves. And while I’d love to dig deeper into West Virginia’s situation, it’s not critical. Not yet, anyway. I’ll do some more digging into the local scene around here—I’m sure they’re a bit different from the ones back home.
‘Til then :)
-8