Solving a Chapter Puzzle Without Facebook Clues

There have been some good thoughts posted in some other threads, both pro and con, that made me do some pondering last night.

Now that we have the solutions to two chapters, revisiting these solutions may be beneficial.

I came up with something that's so simple it made me do a double-take. I don't think it's quite right yet, but I don't think it's entirely wrong either.

I want you to consider that picture in chapter 9 and the possibility we're dealing with three keys here, an alpha key, an omega key, and one that symbolizes something missing.

Each chapter would have an iteration of all three keys.

1. For chapter 1, the iterations were numerical. The alpha key was '1,' and the omega key was '23'. (Lower case omega = w = 23.) They were paragraph numbers. Contained within those two paragraphs were the first 19 letters of the solution.

The 'Q' is missing.

The 'missing key' appears to be a combination of the alpha and omega keys. For chapter 1, the missing key = 1 + 23 = '24'. It was a paragraph number as well, and that's where the 'Q' showed up.

2. For chapter 2, the iterations were symbolic. The alpha key was 'male' ("alpha male"), and the omega key was 'female'. This appears to be carried out by the last word of the female's chapter being 'first'. Contained within these two locations were the first 18 letters of the solution.

The 'J' and 'Q' are missing.

Once again, the 'missing key' would be a combination of the alpha and omega keys. Male + female = Jack Queen. If this is indeed an iteration of a 'missing key', it wouldn't be necessary for it to be in the text. It would have been coincidence that it was that way for chapter 1.

3. I submitted an answer to chapter 3 based on this concept. As originally stated, it doesn't feel quite right yet, but it doesn't feel quite wrong either.

There are ten pages in chapter 3. That appears as a superb place to begin looking for keys.

Once again, he's given a clue that makes me think first = last again: First word of the chapter is 'Charlie'; last word is 'sea'. Both are equivalent to 'C'. (Might be 'tuna' but I don't think so. :) )

My alpha key was 'firsts' and my omega key was 'lasts'. I took the first unique letter from each page such that it began C from 'Charlie' on p. 1, A from 'A' on p. 2, etc. After collecting the ten letters from the ten pages, I returned to page 1 and went to the end of the text and began collecting the leftover letters from there.

When you arrive at the tenth page, lo and behold the 'Q' is missing again.

I don't think I have chapter 3 correct as yet, but I wanted to pass along some thoughts that the puzzle may be able to be solved without Facebook clues. It's a rethink on the concept of the keys. The alpha and omega keys wouldn't be the ten numbers in the map solution; they would be a singular concept in each chapter.

Chapter 1 = 1, 23, 24
Chapter 2 = male, female, male+female

Doc

First 3 prime numbers are 2+3+5=10=J add the next prime number to the total 2+3+5+7=17=Q
Using prime numbers due to recent facebook clue. So are we to assume again that we will only find the first eighteen keys and have to add J and Q?
Interesting observations, Doc.

I've been spending some CPU cycles thinking about all of this.

There is nothing in the text of chapter 1 that suggested the answer would be split into pieces. The concept of an 'alpha key' and 'omega key' were introduced via 'extra' clues and certainly weren't anywhere in chapter 1.

Fast forward to chapter 2. We had a brief introduction to Greek letters, but no overt mention of an alpha key nor an omega key, even with the 'extra' clues.

The answer was once again split into pieces. One piece has a distinct association with 'first', another piece has a distinct association with 'last', and another piece is distinctly 'missing'.

Guys, that's a fairly straightforward relationship to at least two of the three keys from Chapter 9.

My point is this: I think there's a single underlying mechanism to solve each chapter. This mechanism will be applied differently to each chapter along the way. The clues to this overall mechanism aren't contained in a single chapter. If those three keys are an important part of this mechanism (and you have to find the three ways they're used in each chapter), what other clues can we reverse engineer now that we have two solutions to work with?

'To find your way on the map bear in mind that
the first...
....
....
...is equal to the last'.

Ten does not equal eight in chapter 2.

We're missing something, both literally and figuratively.

The clue in chapter 2 with the Greek letters about an anagram first and something spelled out last--did that play out in the chapter 2 solution? It's odd because the author reiterated the concept in the 'extra' clues.

Could some kind soul send me the chapter 2 version about the brothers? Mine is disappeared, and I need to look at some stuff.

I recall some posts about a message from Joy and a 'Bacon-6' cipher? Can somebody elaborate?

Do you recall the hidden anagram in the first paragraph in chapter 1? Or that the final letter of the solution was by itself and appeared in paragraph 24?

Anagram--spelled out.

I need to do some research.

Thanks.

I'm making some small headway on the solutions of the first two chapters, and it's helping make sense of some of the facebook clues.

The solution for chapter 2 was broken into three pieces. At first blush, you wouldn't realize the solution for chapter 1 was broken into three pieces as well until you realize the solution was spread over THREE paragraphs.

Nowhere in the text of Chapters 1 or 2 is any mention of the use of keys--that really doesn't show up until Chapter 9.

And gentle readers, there's three of them.

I think he's been dropping hints about their nature for a while now.

Do you remember the facebook clue from chapter 2: 'Bravo said Romeo on his way to Quebec'?

The trick to that clue was to convert the three radio letters, B R Q, into their Baconian equivalents:

aaaaA AaaaA Aaaaa

Compare that to the first facebook clue for Chapter 3:

Always a 'Secantroam'.

It's an anagram puzzle with two solutions: scent/aroma and Sacramento.

SCENT SACRAMENTO AROMA

Compare that to the general format of the Chapter 2 clue. First = last with the two combined in the middle.

He's giving us some hints about the nature of the three keys.

I have worked on this hunt from the beginning. I am a member of the "240 Club". I have not posted much here because I haven't felt I had anything to contribute to the discussion. Mainly because I feel that there is no logic or system to this hunt (with all due respect to Doc and others). "Solvable without clues" is amusing - if you're into self-torture. If finding random letters is all there is, I am more than a bit upset. And as for "solutions" found AFTER THE FACT, I'm afraid I do not respect them. I can find reasons why the sun did not rise tomorrow after it does not happen. Correlation is not causation. In any case, after Ron's recent email I have had a sort of meltdown which I shared on FB and will share with you here.:

Ron - I know it should have been solved in March, long before we knew there were two versions of Chapter 2, but some of us are simply not on your level. Not only did we not network (which we stupidly thought might violate copyright laws as expressed in your Terms and Conditions), but we know no one else who has a book. In addition, somehow a lot of us thought there might be a logical solution ... as in the J and Q are not imaginary. And as for your defense, I believe Gisela said that she never found the letters, she "guessed". But YOU stated the it should be solvable without clues. Frankly, I am at a loss to understand how I would know there where were 2 versions, let alone know where to find a J or Q following your system without clues. If you really believed it could be solved without clues and prior to this date, I suggest you recheck your assumptions and possibly your "solutions" as well.

And I agree with RX Jeff. This is not an appropriate Christmas gift. Give to Komen for the Cure and give yourself a break from randomness.

Sorry to hear of your grievances - I suppose the fact that you and others are unhappy, Ron has to some extent failed in his mission. I'm sure no one would set out to create anything but the greatest ever treasure hunt, Ron included.

I think after the initial rush of answering the 240 questions, the chapters bring you back to Earth with a bump. Now I'm not defending Ron here, but I think until the hunt has finished, and everything that can be known is known, we have to hope the quirks of the Quest will ultimately make sense. This is a huge prize we're playing for, so it's going to require effort, skill and maybe a little luck.

I don't think the special treatment of J and Q is much of a surprise, and jedloah seems to have found an answer to that as well. If a similar method is used throughout the chapters, I can understand why Ron wouldn't wish to give too much away.

Try what I do when I get stuck - have a break and come back to it later. Things always seem different then.

I for one am enjoying this hunt. I haven't won an eagle, but I keep working at it. All the clues you need are in there. Just because someone didn't pick up on them, doesn't mean that they hadn't been given to you. In the case of the "missing J & Q" in Chapter 2, the placement of the Q in the sequence was given to you by Ron. That left only one empty space in the sequence to fill with the J. Nothing in the directions say that you must fill the entire sequence from the text in the chapter. It is just there to help you in the creation of the sequence. You just need to submit the correct sequence. If you wanted to feel lucking, you could just arrange 1-20 in some sequence without even opening the chapter or FB. It might be the right sequence and you could be the winner. Stop crying and start looking more closely for clues. They are subtle, and/or inferred. I have found a few in Chapter 3. Another thing I determined, don't over-analyze; from what I see, everything is straight forward.

I know there will be many out there that will be giving me a bunch of flak, but I think it is time to put Chapter 2 "misgivings" behind us and try to apply the energy to solving Chapter 3.

We have been over this ground before,but it clearly says "everything you need to solve..." can be found in the book, on the website, and in clues on sponsor sites.

So let's assume this is correct. Where are they? How is it still not possible for us to have found them?

I'm not bringing this up to complain, but to suggest we have apparently a ton to do if we are to crack further chapters and the golden eagle.

I enjoy this hunt, despite the frustrations.

Morrigan,

I haven't been smart enough to figure out a map, but we're now blessed with having two solutions to try to figure out what was supposed to be going on.

Go back to the very first--the only map clue we ever had:

To find your way on the map keep in mind that the
first..
...
...
...is equal to the last.

You should now realize that this fundamental concept is being carried from chapter-to-chapter. Now that you have chapter 2's solution in hand together with the latest facebook clue for chapter 3: 'The end is also the beginning', you may begin realizing something else:

It doesn't mean '10 = 10'.

It was our introduction to the concept of using three keys--the three keys symbolized in chapter 9. Now that we have two solutions to work with, we can start figuring out what was going on.

'The first is equal to the last': the first key is both 'first and last'. It is symbolized by the Dove key. It's a Biblical reference from Revelations 22:13: 'I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End.'

The gap in the middle of the clue is the second key and is represented by the scratched out key.

'...is equal to the last': The third key is represented by the Omega key.

This doesn't convey the order or purpose, but introduces you to the concept.

The Dove key is both first and last. In Chapter 1, this first key was contained 'At ten o'clock in the morning'. That's the 'first ten' of the day as compared to '10pm'. Roman numeral X. First ten = First X. Both first and last. (X on the treasure map--that particular concept seems to be repeated over-and-over.)

In the second chapter, the dove key consisted of the ten letters on the left. Look at the location of the final letter of the sequence. It's the first letter on p. 33. First and last again.

I'm going to make a prediction here that the Chapter 3 solution will involve Caesar shifting the C in the first word of the chapter to an 'X'.

I'm not suggesting this is all that has to happen. :)

Keep on truckin',

Doc