Z-PSW04 (Apr 6, 2023)
Puzzle
“Plague of the Tris”
Kikimora Trivia | 2 Words, 1 is Hyphenated
Clue
Hover over the clues if you require!
Clue 1: Know any sci-fi books with an emphasis on 'Tris'? Or rather, the word 'tris' means in English?
Clue 2: It's more like tres, really. Note that there's a hyphen between the first two words.
Clue 3: It's written by Cixin Liu.
Answer and Explanation
Answer: Three-Body Problem
Explanation: It is a series of books where Earth encounters an alien civilization in a nearby star system that consists of three sun-like stars orbiting each other in an unstable system. The title refers to the three-body problem in orbital mechanics.
Summary of Receipt
Kikimora 'persuades' Division Victor to give them a grant to start re-hosting the website on SquareSpace. With that all sorted out, she decides to stay and help the Shakas out, what with the current events in Russia. So now she's working part-time for Division Zulu. She also notes that the other Zulus don't seem to like Capgras and Twain that well...though that's probably because the old Shaka was just that well-liked. Lastly, she gets in touch with Barista Technologies. No longer solely helping the CaD, they seem to have branched out to all the various smaller groups left behind in the power vacuum following its collapse.
Transcript
Z-PSW04 | 4/6/23 | Kikimora
I have good news on most fronts. First and foremost, you’ve probably noticed that the Archives are back to being hosted through SquareSpace thanks to a grant from Division Victor. It’s not quite as fancy as how the former Long Island Cafe and Diner had things, as I could only convince Marseilles to work the cheaper monthly plan into Astoria’s budget. So, no fancy “copy to clipboard” buttons or nice automatically updating Archive pages. Still, this should be easier for Capgras, Twain, and their underlings to manage for the time being.
In other good news, I’ve decided to stick around for a bit. With the situation surrounding the Freezer and my current status over in Eurasia, it’s not a bad idea for me to lay low in America for a bit. Thankfully it is far from uncommon for the Indigos to swap around agents, especially notable agents such as myself. So, I am now temporarily working for Division Victor part-time and, of course, Division Zulu. Though I can’t help but feel like Capgras & Twain have not done a great job winning over the hearts of their fellow Zs. Then again, I suppose their former boss, who was an eons-old living-God, was rather well-liked, and it is sort of a slap in the face to be replaced by two 30-40 somethings from the coffee trade.
And finally, my last piece of good news, thanks to my new connections in Victor, I have been able to get in touch with Barista Technologies… or what is left of it. The old CEO, Marcelle, retired shortly after creating the CaDCom Series 4, leaving her daughter control of the company and its secrets. However, Barista Technologies almost shut down with the implosion of the Cafe and Diner and Marcelle’s daughter’s relative inexperience. Almost. From what I understand, the lights are still on, and Marcelle’s daughter has been trying to reshape the business model of Barista Technologies from serving the Cafe and Diner to serving the many smaller fractured groups left in its wake. I suppose we almost fall under that category.