SFCon:pre-event

big glob of redundancy. I'lll clean this up later. Honest I will. Scott 10:50, 12 August 2006 (PDT)

General

• The Page Holds early pre-event information. It should not hold new and forthcoming data. We're sort of storing it here fFor posterity.

What is Known

As described in the Perplex City Newsletter:

SAN FRANCISCO LIVE EVENT: NEW DETAILS! ** As announced last week, there's going to be a massive live event in San Francisco on Saturday, August 12th! With room for around 500 players and 500 spectators, a host of exciting challenges and an official Academy presence, it's the most ambitious Perplex City event yet. It's being held at The Palace Of Fine Arts Theatre, from 10.30am to 5pm, and it's absolutely free to take part in this exciting event - you can even join in the fun online! Read more: http://www.perplexcitysentinel.com/archives/2006/07/iona_interviews_17.html And register: http://www.perplexcity.com/liveevents/index.qbuild

According to Adrian Hon of Mind Candy:

"There are a few reasons," Hon explains. "At the moment, we only have one data link to Perplex City, and that's based in London. It can only handle a limited amount of traffic, and with the number of people using the link in both Perplex City and Earth increasing rapidly, we need another connection for the extra capacity." Beyond that, though, is a firm belief in the prudence of redundancy: "Another principal reason for the new San Francisco connection is simply that it's always smarter to have two links rather than one. It took an awful lot of time and effort to set up that first link, and while I'm no physicist, I do know that the favorable conditions that were required to make the connection do not come around often." In order to celebrate the occasion, Mind Candy is putting on a celebration of some sort. What light can Hon shed on this event and what will happen there? "The event is a big thank-you from the Perplex City Academy and Mind Candy to everyone who's searching for the Cube," Hon says. "It's also a celebration of the activation of the new link, and in typical Perplex City-style, it'll involve an awful lot of puzzles and games." As for specifics, Hon spills the first concrete details regarding the day: "It'll all start on the morning of Saturday August 12th with a presentation at the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre, where everything will be explained. I can tell you now that it's basically a huge high-tech treasure hunt, but with a twist -- unlike the PCAG tournament in London, this treasure hunt will be collaborative, not competitive." Even through the medium of email, one can feel the pride Hon has in this undertaking. "There'll be hundreds of puzzles scattered across San Francisco, involving traveling to landmarks, looking for hidden objects, cracking codes and translating languages. Players will work together to figure out the answers. The answers serve as activation codes for special RFID tags back at the Palace of Fine Arts."

THE SAN FRANCISCO CONNECTION The Perplex City Academy and Mind Candy are proud to announce The San Francisco Connection, a free live event celebrating the opening of a new data link between Perplex City and Earth. On Saturday August 12th (provisional date), The San Francisco Connection will see hundreds of people tackling a series of delightfully devious puzzles and games designed by the best minds in the Academy, with a high-tech slant that has never been seen before. Everyone is welcome to take part in the puzzles and games, which will take place across central San Francisco and culminate in the official activation of the link. There will also be plenty of opportunities for veterans to swap puzzle cards and tips, and new players can learn all about Perplex City. More details about The San Francisco Connection will be posted here in the coming weeks, including the venue, confirmed date and start time. If you are interested in taking part in the event and think you'd be able to attend, please enter your email address below: Email: ____(entry form)____ You do not need to be a registered Perplex City player, and we will only use your email address to notify you about event updates. Discuss The San Francisco Connection and talk tactics in our Live Event forum. ABOUT THE EVENT The San Francisco Connection is the first major live event held by the Perplex City Academy and Mind Candy in the United States. A previous event in London took place in February and was massively oversubscribed, with over 1000 people competing for 300 places. Media: If you would like to cover the event, please email media at mindcandydesign dot com ABOUT THE LINK The first and only data link between Perplex City and Earth was established several years ago, and operates from London. In order to cope with increased demand and serve as a backup, the Perplex City Academy and Mind Candy began work last year on a second data link to operate from San Francisco, which will be activated on the day of the event.

Academy Mum on New Link While the Academy is refusing to answer regarding specifics of the mid-August celebration to initialize a second data link to Earth, some insiders have leaked tanatalizing clues. Sources say that Cube hunters in attendance at the San Francisco event will be treated to a special puzzle designed specifically for the day, in order to activate the link. Official Academy spokesmen have declined to confirm or deny this information. --Sentinel, 2?-JUN-06

SF Connection Info to Be Revealed Academy insiders say that some of the questions surrounding the initialisation of a second communication link to Earth will be answered soon, with registration to participate in the ceremony expected to open sometime this week. It is as of yet unclear what the ceremony and ensuing celebration will entail, but rumours hint at an activation puzzle that will be set for Cube hunters participating in the event. --Sentinel, 03-JUL-06

The doomsday message

observed on http://www.boingboing.net/ was the following advertisement:

Seems pretty nice. However, as animated gifs tho, this one's no laughing matter. For less than one second, this cel is seen:

It is braille, and reads: Say goodbye to Perplex City.

The meaning is, as yet, entirely unclear.

As described in the Perplex City Newsletter:

** SAN FRANCISCO LIVE EVENT: NEW DETAILS! ** As announced, there's going to be a massive live event in San Francisco on Saturday, August 12th! With room for around 500 players and 500 spectators, a host of exciting challenges and an official Academy presence, it's the most ambitious Perplex City event yet. It's being held at The Palace Of Fine Arts Theatre, from 10.30am to 5pm, and it's absolutely free to take part in this exciting event - you can even join in the fun online! Read more: http://www.perplexcitysentinel.com/archives/2006/07/iona_interviews_17.html And register: http://www.perplexcity.com/liveevents/index.qbuild

According to Adrian Hon of Mind Candy:

"There are a few reasons," Hon explains. "At the moment, we only have one data link to Perplex City, and that's based in London. It can only handle a limited amount of traffic, and with the number of people using the link in both Perplex City and Earth increasing rapidly, we need another connection for the extra capacity." Beyond that, though, is a firm belief in the prudence of redundancy: "Another principal reason for the new San Francisco connection is simply that it's always smarter to have two links rather than one. It took an awful lot of time and effort to set up that first link, and while I'm no physicist, I do know that the favorable conditions that were required to make the connection do not come around often." In order to celebrate the occasion, Mind Candy is putting on a celebration of some sort. What light can Hon shed on this event and what will happen there? "The event is a big thank-you from the Perplex City Academy and Mind Candy to everyone who's searching for the Cube," Hon says. "It's also a celebration of the activation of the new link, and in typical Perplex City-style, it'll involve an awful lot of puzzles and games." As for specifics, Hon spills the first concrete details regarding the day: "It'll all start on the morning of Saturday August 12th with a presentation at the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre, where everything will be explained. I can tell you now that it's basically a huge high-tech treasure hunt, but with a twist -- unlike the PCAG tournament in London, this treasure hunt will be collaborative, not competitive." Even through the medium of email, one can feel the pride Hon has in this undertaking. "There'll be hundreds of puzzles scattered across San Francisco, involving traveling to landmarks, looking for hidden objects, cracking codes and translating languages. Players will work together to figure out the answers. The answers serve as activation codes for special RFID tags back at the Palace of Fine Arts."

The doomsday message

observed on http://www.boingboing.net/ was the following advertisement:

Seems pretty nice. However, as animated gifs tho, this one's no laughing matter. For less than one second, this cel is seen:

It is braille, and reads: Say goodbye to Perplex City.

Plot Sickens

The meaning of this message began to unfold on 10-AUG-06, when all sites coming out the city were hacked, and replaced with a static image:

Emergency!

In an email from Mind Candy on Friday morning:

Dear {name},

Yesterday, our only data link to Perplex City was cut by a group known as 'The Third Power'. They did this by launching simultaneous physical and online attacks against our systems in London, which we cannot repair.

The San Francisco Connection is now the only way we can restore communications to Perplex City. As you already know, the Perplex City Academy had intended the live event tomorrow to be a celebration, where we would solve puzzles and games set by them in order to activate the new connection. There was to be no urgency, and if we had any problems, the Academy would have been on hand to help us.

That's no longer possible. Tomorrow, we'll be on our own, and we're going up against the best minds of another world.

We're currently in the frantic process of trying to recover instructions and data about the Connection from our damaged systems. By tomorrow, we expect we'll have enough, but we'll still have to solve the puzzles and games required to activate it - remember, we didn't set them, and we still don't have the solutions ourselves. At 11am PDT (7pm in the UK) we will be giving an emergency briefing both online and at the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre, detailing the situation and what needs to be done. Visit http://emergency.perplexcity.com for the latest information.

There's another problem. We only have a short time before the carrier wave of the now-destroyed London link vanishes. Without that carrier wave, it will be incredibly difficult to establish the new link from San Francisco. For that reason, we ask you to form yourselves into teams, either before the event or on the day. That way, we will have a better chance at tackling the puzzles. We will not be keeping score - the stakes are too high for us to treat this like a game.

For speed, you will also need to make plans for getting around the city - in whatever way you prefer. A car, MUNI pass, bike, or rollerblades could all be useful.

If you ever want to see Perplex City again, we will need your help tomorrow. Formidable forces oppose us, but we can and must prevail. The Third Power committed a hostile act against us, and we can only presume it was to disrupt our efforts at finding the Cube. We will show them that Earth is not so easily beaten.

Mind Candy

Visit http://emergency.perplexcity.com for the latest information.

The indicated website gave brief information:

The situation

On Thursday 10th August, our only data link to Perplex City was cut by the 'Third Power'. The San Francisco Connection is now the only chance we have to restore communications to Perplex City.

The opening of the San Francisco link was intended to be a celebration - a festival of puzzles set by the Perplex City Academy, for us all to enjoy. However, without the Academy to help us, the puzzles are now a major obstacle. We're currently trying to recover any instructions or possible solutions from our damaged systems.

The plan

At 11am PDT on Saturday (7pm in the UK), we'll be giving an emergency briefing both online at this website and at the Palace of Fine Arts Theatre in San Francisco, detailing what needs to be done.

We'll only have a short time - a matter of hours - before the carrier wave of the original link vanishes entirely. For that reason, we ask you to form yourselves into teams, either before the event or on the day. That way, we'll have a better chance of tackling the puzzles quickly and efficiently.

There is also an online component to the activation mechanism, here on this site. We know that it needs a set number of unique users to unlock each puzzle. This means there are two goals: solving the puzzles, and getting as many people as possible to visit this site.

If you ever want to see Perplex City again, you'll need to help on Saturday. Formidable forces oppose us, but we can and must prevail. We will show them that Earth is not so easily beaten.

Mind Candy

This means you should be prepared to act, at the following times, in the following places:

Timezone Locale	Hour
China & Western Australia	2 AM
Japan	3 AM
Central Australia	3:30 AM
Eastern Australia	4 AM
Moscow, Iraq	5 AM
Hawaii	9 AM
Alaska	10 AM
Pacific	11 AM
Mountain	12 Noon
Central	1 PM
Eastern	2 PM
Atlantic	3 PM
Newfoundland	3:30 PM
Argentina	4 PM
Britain & Portugal	7 PM
Western Europe	8 PM
Eastern Europe	9 PM

References

• The Perplex City Sentinel
  • news in brief, 22-JUN-06 "Academy Mum on New Link"
  • article, 13-JUL-06 "Iona Interviews... Adrian Hon" link