Hints
Coded Message 1
- Notice any repetition in the first part of the message. The phrase "exchange key information" is also important.
- The repetition of 3 and 36 is a hint in combination with "exchange of key information". The message also mentions the clock is "Modded for 36 seconds". These hints tell members to use a key information exchange to find the shift in the puzzle.
- Key information exchange: 3mod36 = 3. Shift the alphabet clockwise (forward) by 3.
- "Wind the clock 3 times" is also an interpretation that can lead you to a shift of 3.
Coded Message 2
- Pay attention to keywords that Jeremy and Alosha use in their correspondence. Alosha also likes to turn numbers into letters.
- "The latin one" refers, in this coded message, to pig latin.
- Jeremy and Alosha communicate in pig latin.
- Look at the note Alosha leaves for Laila just before he begins encoding words. It contains a clue to the type of cipher he is using.
- Within the code, think about what typically comes after a #.
- Alosha says "each word is two-square". This is a clue to use a two-square cipher.
- The # is a hint that the capitalized letters are numbers. The capitalized letters in his message correspond to a number according to where the letter is in the alphabet, for example: A = 1, B = 2, and so on where J = 10 and becomes simply 0 when encoded.
Coded Message 3
- The person writing in cursive mentions going "backwards". This is a clue to the type of cipher being used.
- The writer of this coded message uses an Atbash cipher. In an Atbash cipher, the positions of letters in the alphabet are reversed so that A = Z, B = Y, C = X, and so on.
Contact Letter
- This letter from the Contact discloses recent events. In the letter, the Contact makes it clear that they trust in your ability to dig up information.
- Look for instructions from the Contact and follow any next steps.
- The answer to the riddle "Without touching, we poison. Truth and lies, we bear. Not to be judged by our size are we. What are we?" will reveal a clue to solving the encoded name signed at the bottom of the letter. Shift the encoded name by the number of letters in the riddle's answer.
- Once you are in Alosha's data cache, look for the files that provide information on Shepard Oswald.
Live Feed: Facility Map Surveillance
- Use a password in another document in this episode to unlock a specific room.
- Look for something that matches information you've uncovered in a previous episode.
Noodle Packet
- Pay attention to Jeremy's notes on the packet.
Password Card
- Pay attention to the handbook rule number on the card. Also look for a word that describes the type of cipher it is.
- This is a "shift" cipher. The rule mentioned is number 10. Shift the letters of the password by 10 in the alphabet.
Patient Notes
- Pay attention to the patients who express attributes that Dr. Cyril calls out in his Guide to Coping with the Apocalypse.
Rotating Puzzle
- The rotating puzzle works with information in the contact letter. PATRICIA said, "Only when everything can be seen can you see everything."
- Alosha has also left a message to his data cache above the password input: Аравійські лицарі захищають двері.
- PATRICIA's hint encourages you to make sure all the letters are visible.
-
Аравійські лицарі захищають двері means "Arabian knights protect the door".
Saved File: SURVEILLANCE.ENTRYWAY Footage
- The timestamp is especially important in this file, found after unlocking the backdoor to Alosha's data cache.
-
Pay close attention to the survivors in this video. Consider where else you can find photos of survivors in NACS.
Terminal
- This file is about the hacker Alosha has been trying to track down. It contains redacted information.
Reveals
Coded Message 1
-
Once decoded, the message reads:
- It feels good to be seen. It feels good for you to see my good works. Now, see what I will do. It was fun to see you speaking with PATRICIA... finding a way into Alosha's data cache. It was fun while it lasted. But your time is ticking away.
- Please believe me when I say that this isn't personal. No matter what you do, no matter what you choose.
- I will win.
- (First to die is a Cluster Buster!)
Coded Message 2
-
Jeremy writes:
- I saw someone. It was when Persephone left.
- Someone rounded the corner just out of my sight while I was delivering early morning mail.
- I couldn't see who it was. But it was a man. No one is usually up that early before the day lights come on.
- Alosha writes:
- What did you see Jeremy?
-
The decoded message reads:
- Turns out, my password for room 1105 surveillance has changed. I did not do that. I had to override more security protocols. New password now 1439. Something is going on. I want to find what he is hiding.
Coded Message 3
- Cyril is communicating with Sister Ada in this message.
Solution
- Cyril: How have you been, Sister? I've missed our luncheons.
- Ada: And I've missed being able to place my trust in you, but such is life. You used me as a pawn. Do not expect me to forget that. Proverbs 29:2, my friend.
- Cyril: You have it backwards. We needed to avoid inciting a panic leading up to the vote.
- Ada: Any panic the people feel is justified, and the very premise of the vote is foolish. We cannot seal ourselves away, Cyril. It is a death sentence and a mortal sin.
- Cyril: Please encode all sensitive information. The issue is far more nuanced than that. We're almost out of proper decontamination materials. Expeditions can't continue.
- Ada: I will not hide my sentiments. Persephone did not perish from the Plague, despite the shameful mistruths you fooled me into spreading. Returning to the surface, or even visiting it, allows for the possibility of life. Remaining underground is certain death.
- Cyril: Not certain. Dr. Whelan could still manage to make the base fully self-sustaining.
- Ada: That's quite a gamble to make.
- Cyril: Both options are a gamble. The surface is dangerous for more reasons than the virus. I need to weigh the facts before I vote. I may be the tiebreaker in this, and I don't take that light.
- Ada: I know you don't. We'll speak again once you've made the right decision. You know in your heart what that is.
Contact Letter
- The Contact instructs you to go onto the NACS website and find Alosha's data cache. In the Personnel Files tab, find the hidden link to uncover secret information. Click on "Oleksander". Explore hidden information to find out more about Persephone's death and who helped her leave the facility.
- The answer to the riddle is "Words". Shift the signed name by five letters.
- The name signed at the bottom of the letter is Laila Woods.
- After typing "D4gob4h" into PATRICIA, type in the important file names in any order, separated by a comma. For example, "Redacted.File.pdf, Surveillance.Entryway.mp4, Surveillance.Dormitory105A.live".
- You have not completed your mission.
Live Feed: Facility Map Surveillance
- Using the password 1439 from coded message 3, Room 105A can be unlocked.
- From the map, we know that this is Agent Oswald's room.
- The surveillance feed of this room shows a remote with a serial number, K14R15A162112195.
- This is the same serial number found on the broken emitter recovered from Persephone's body.
- This discovery, in conjunction with the video of the bunker's entryway, links Oswald to Persephone's death.
Noodle Packet
- Jeremy's notes show that Mathias and Oswald have been corresponding with each other. This reveals information about a coded message from a previous episode.
Password Card
- "tyxkcckvu" becomes "jonassalk", which is the updated password to the website, www.nacsfacility.net.
Patient Notes
- Patient #19851611841519231124, appointment #9, has shown the qualities of someone with narcissistic tendencies. This person is in a "position of power".
Rotating Puzzle
- After rotating the layers so that each tab is uncovered, it reveals the password to Alosha's data cache: "fortythieves".
Saved File: SURVEILLANCE.ENTRYWAY Footage
- This file is a surveillance feed from the entrance of the bunker. It shows the entrance to the NACS facility on Day 1816, around 6 a.m.
- Persephone is seen leaving NACS with the help of another NACS resident.
- From the Council Files found on the NACS website, we know that the person who helped Persephone is Councilor Oswald.