The puzzle is in several steps. First, you need to identity the author I've described. Once you've done that, then you will need to solve the cipher to work your way towards the coordinates.
So it was probably about 1982 and I'm visiting my sister in the Boston area. My parents had decided to go visit a living museum that recreates old New England life. Being a teenager, that wasn't terribly interesting to me, and my option was to go hang out at the mall where my sister was working at the time.
I liked to read, so one of the first destinations in the mall was the bookstore. While there, I picked up a book from an unknown author, and the description on the back of the book sounded enticing. Up until this point, I had probably read mainly mystery type books, but this was probably somewhat of an inflection point, as I started reading what would more commonly called thriller or suspense novels.
After wandering about the mall for a while, I returned to my sister's store and hung out in the back with my nose in the book. After finishing this one some days later, and returning home, I scrounged the school and town library to find other books by the author, as this was not his first book. I then eagerly awaited each new publication.
The author's first published book was in the early 70's and continued writing until his death in the 00's. Several partially completed books were published posthumously. Several of his books were made into television mini-series, and films. The book that I happened to pick up introduced perhaps his most famous character and was made into first a mini-series and then later a film. This character appeared in two subsequent novels by this author, and after the author's death, another author continued using this character. The book I happened to pick up spent over half of 1980 on the NY Times Bestseller's List.
You can verify the author's name here, but there is still more work to do! (Enter the author's first and last names, all capitals, no spaces)
Inspired by this, I decided to do a little fiction of my own:
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I was planning a weekend away, intending to meet up with the circle of friends I've had since college days. The day before I was to depart, I received a certified letter in the mail. The envelope contained a single sheet of paper, that said that I had received an inheritance, and that I will be picked up by a limousine the next morning to go to Los Angeles. The identity of the benefactor was a complete mystery.
I called my friends and explained the situation, and they all convinced me to go.
I packed lightly and was waiting by the door when the limo arrived, and was transported via private jet to LA. There I was picked up by another limo, the driver complete with dark sunglasses and coiled earpiece. I was also fairly confident that he was armed, as there was an unnatural bulge near his shoulder. At this point, I wasn't sure what I was getting myself into. The progression of events was a little unnerving.
Arriving at a large office building, I was ushered into the regal conference room of a lawyer, but I was not alone in that room. There were several others already present, and my arrival was met by suspicious glares. I had no idea what was going on, but I guess they considered me as one of the contenders for what they thought was exclusively theirs.
The lawyer started the meeting and outlined the agenda. He read through the list of bequests, and I was to receive a strange combination of an old manuscript and an old pocket watch. I still had no idea of the benefactor, and no one else mentioned the name. I asked who it might be, and was met by a stony glare, and a response of "anonymous". Once the list of bequests was finished, I was ushered out of the office, into the limousine, and back to the airport.
The flight back was quiet, but I was deep in thought. The items given to me were strange, and I didn't understand why I was chosen to receive them. As I inspected the items, a tiny slip of parchment fell out onto the floor. I picked it up, and noticed a series of numbers printed on it.
| 16 88 43 54 13 82 12 34 65 59 22 18 19 20 75 89 87 33 47 17 85 12 64 79 10 59 54 31 53 83 17 74 53 65 34 64 50 65 15 37 59 22 57 42 20 65 12 20 64 54 28 18 18 35 53 83 17 65 16 53 79 10 59 53 16 58 05 10 27 13 19 17 12 31 10 17 61 10 59 79 65 16 12 70 16 53 31 |
What they meant, I had no idea!
The plane landed, and I was to be taken to meet my friends. As I approached the limo, I heard something like gunshots ring out. The driver shoved me into the open door of the limo, jumped in the front, and took off. Bullets caromed off the armored vehicle. What was going on?
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Some information to assist you:
- This is a syllabary cipher with unknown coordinates, unknown keysquare.
- Information to determine the coordinates is provided on the cache page.
- The first element in a list should be numbered as zero.
- The key is in the simplest form (no grouped letters).
- The row and column keys are not the same.
Good luck and happy solving!
You can validate your puzzle solution with certitude.