Spycraft: The Prisoner's Dilemma Mystery Cache
Mom-n-Andy: Sorry to see this one go - but I can't keep replacing it!
Spycraft: The Prisoner's Dilemma
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The cache is NOT at the posted coordinates. You must solve the puzzle to find the coordinates.
This is the first cache in my Spycraft series, which is based on real-life spy stories from times past. These puzzles will vary in difficulty quite a bit, from very easy to very hard. The primary point of each will be the story behind the puzzle, though, and I hope you enjoy reading about these historical spies (some successful, some not!)
If you've ever watched TV shows like Law and Order or The Closer, you've probably seen a very effective interrogation technique. Often employed when the interrogators suspect a crime but don't have physical evidence, the technique involves promising a lesser punishment to the first suspect who implicates the others. (Often the best overall approach from the suspects' point of view would be for both to keep silent.)
In 1674 the Chevalier of Rohan was incarcerated in the Bastille, accused of treason and spying. He knew that his guilt was only known to another prisoner, and if that accomplice kept quiet de Rohan would go free. De Rohan's friends had promised to sneak information into the prison so he would know whether the other prisoner had confessed. The night before he was to be questioned, the Chevalier's friends sent him clothing containing this encrypted message:
"MG DULHXCCGLU GHJ YXUJ LM CT ULGC ALJ"
Although the Chevalier worked feverishly all night, he could not decipher the message, which was encrypted by simple substitution. Had he realized that the message contained many of the most commonly used letters in the French language, he might have been able to decrypt it:
"Le prisonnier est mort; il n'a rien dit." (The prisoner is dead; he said nothing.)
De Rohan's interrogators told him that they knew everything, but the king would give him a full pardon if he confessed. After he spilled the beans, of course, the offer was withdrawn and de Rohan was executed on 27 November 1674.
Now on to our puzzle. The following message is also encrypted using a simple substitution cipher. Decipher it and the cache coordinates are yours.
WNYCYBOP-OCZSD OCPSIP WNYOCP-GSBMO-WNSBIP
DZSQYBOP-LSQ-DPEO OCPBOP-PO-NB WNYOCP KPBO OCPBOP-KSBW
You can validate your puzzle solution with certitude.
Congratulations to cat-jam for both the FTF and the first non-anonymous solve!!!
Additional Hints
(No hints available.)
Treasures
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