Day 9 - Tuesday, August 2 |
New annoying kidnapper cipher video time! Don't you just love these? They are totally the best!
This was a Vigenère with the title of the video (InLikeWithYou) as the keyword. We get two puzzles for the price of one since this has a riddle we must solve. In the rag of Angels refers to the Los Angeles Times. Then we are given crossword clues for that day. 16A = UNITE / 35D = PLEA / 36A = TUNE IN. The next step is to combine all those words into one new YouTube username (UnitePleaTuneIn) and go see what new video has been left for us.
Great. Apparently the kidnapper has been watching Twin Peaks in his downtime and decided that backwards audio is super awesome! The worst part isn't so much the fact that you have to take the time to open up Audacity, record the audio and then flip it around. No, the worst part is even just listening to the backwards voice. It's just a couple steps removed from fingernails down a chalkboard. So the reversed audio says
Do you move forward or backward? You have done well my little ones. Very well. More than anyone could expect from distracted strangers. But is it enough? Enough to sustain your precious Christina?
Something that may or may not be of note: the voice on the reversed audio is slowed way down. Increasing the tempo (but keeping the pitch) 75% makes it flow more naturally while still keeping that creepy voice. However, if you change the speed 75% (so tempo and pitch change), the voice sounds masculine. But would the kidnapper have been stupid enough to use his own voice in a way that could easily be identified?
There's one other thing about the video. At about 23 seconds in, you get a brief flash of letters popping up on the screen. So this is a double annoying puzzle! Not only do you get to reverse audio, you get to play "How fast can I push the pause button" game!
Ify z wfy wfy
Lmv zmtvo rm z gfy
Gl gifob tvg xovzm
Z tllw wlhv lu sfnrorzgrlm
Tlvh z olmt dzb
Rub a dub dub
One angel in a tub
To truly get clean
A good dose of humiliation
Goes a long way
Happily, we didn't need to figure out a keyword for that. It's a simple Atbash. It was noted that the first letters of each line spell GATOR backwards. One of the poems by h1ghway_man is titled "Alligator Radio". A coincidence?
Like the other YouTube accounts, you could email the username ( unitepleatunein@gmail.com ) and expect to receive an auto-reply back. And amazingly, this one is still up and running even a week later!
From: Unite PleaTuneln [unitepleatunein@gmail.com]
Sent: Wed 08/03/2011 2:40 PM
Subject: StepOutStranger
Soon you'll need your own out-of-office reply
For soon your hour will come
To emerge from behind screens and walls
To catch your angel as she falls
Of course, the problem with this entire little puzzle trail the kidnapper sent us down - it doesn't give us any new information! In fact, it's basically just a long, convoluted message to say "Hey, there's a new episode coming out in a little bit. Make sure you watch to see if Christina gets to eat or not!" SPOILER ALERT: She does. Stupid people LIKEing her video.
Thank all the deities in the universe - she got a burger. Now we won't have to hear one more 'Please LIKE the video' plea.
Just wait a second. A date on the ketchup bottle in the image Christina posted? This image? This is supposed to be a fucking readable date???? Are you fucking kidding me? Has no one on the PM team actually looked at the shit that is being put out for us to "solve"? And of course we never get any sort of confirmation from Christina since she is busy doing god knows what in that room. I'd yell at Rachel for not giving the date out in her video, but as she was probably reading from a script (she was the cameo winner) and had no idea what the bottle said either, I can't blame her for this fuck up.
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