Theft
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The Receda Cube, a priceless artifact of scientific and spiritual significance to the Perplex City citizens, was stolen from the Academy. Discovering more about the theft, identifying the culprits and locating the Cube on Earth was our primary objective, until it was discovered on 04-FEB-07.
The Night Of The Theft
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PERPLEX CITY, SEASON ONE |
The ball is a grandiose celebration of the Academy, and everything it stands for. The Founder's Ball honours the grand champion of the Perplex City Academy Games as well, and on the night in question that was Ryan Cahill. Guests arrived via Gatehouse 1 around 7:38 PM. Season 1 Card #229 - Ball Night informs us of the course of the evening's events. "During the ball, each of the five events occurred in a different place, featured its own speaker, took a different amount of time, and was sponsored by a different Senior Fellow." Here is an event summary.
- First, Sente Kiteway spoke at Carrick Hall during the 40 minute cocktail event, sponsored by Estelle Sedgewick.
- Second, Robert Zhi-hui spoke at Kermeen Hall during the 30 minute awards event, sponsored by Hunan Mansoor.
- Third, Aiko Entrescore spoke at the museum during the 60 minute art exhibit event, sponsored by Inari Ekeba.
- Fourth, Anna Heath spoke outdoors during the 20 minute fireworks event, sponsored by Sanjean Adamek.
- Fifth, Camryn Scott spoke in the Noi Ballroom during the 80 minute dance event, sponsored by Margaret Wildwood.
If all events begin in rapid succession (which is highly unlikely), the schedule would look a bit like:
- Sente Kiteway - 7:38-8:18
- Robert Zhi-hui - 8:18-8:48
- Aiko Entrescore - 8:48-9:48
- Anna Heath - 9:48-10:08
- Camryn Scott - 10:08-11:28
On Ball Night, (Jan 15th, 2004) when Academy security is frequently stretched to its limit, the team struck. A note which appears on Season 1 Card #146 - You Are Cordially Invited, ostensibly exchanged between the conspirators, reads:
Electric splash BB, 21 to 24 4: C, V, K, Q 20, V to 24
This message was intercepted by Helena Frye, and interpreted to mean The "electric splash" was a sort of distraction, possibly meaning the sculptures by Aiko (described below).
The Cube was stolen sometime before 2.00 AM. Police Chief Eoin Morgan recognized that the group would have to have been "highly organized and technologically sophisticated" in order to pull off the theft. It was recognized immediately by the Academy that portions of the security system had been reprogrammed in order to allow the theft to take place, and that three different systems had, in fact, been disabled without causing alarms to trip. Kurt's friend Leo suggested it would take at least two Academy insiders to circumvent such a system.
Security guard Fran Mendling was murdered the same night, apparently because she chanced across the theft (although it remains an outside possibility that she may have been allied to the team, and aided their entry). Fran was murdered with a neuro–suppressant, which appears to have killed her instantly. This could have been a knee–jerk response to the team’s discovery, but use of a neuro–suppressant may have actually been quite deliberate, inasmuch as it effectively masked Fran’s time of death, and thus gave the thieves more cover for their activities. K may have been the killer, given her aptitude with weapons. Fellow members of the security team later discovered Fran’s body at 2 a.m. when she failed to check in for a shift change. By that time, the Cube and the thieves would appear to have been long gone.
Early on in the theft investigation, it was suggested that escape was made by way of the Catacombs, which are known to run much of the length of the City, all the way from the Old Town (near the Five of Cups and the Brotherhood Temple) to the Academy, and further out, towards the harbour/dock regions of the City. It was eventually discovered, however, this was not the case.
There are a couple of other observations to be made about the night. Aiko Entrescore, artist and puzzle-scribe for the CRT, had an exhibit at the Ball that communicated and interfered with the keys of attendees. This was met with some suspicion, but a thorough examination of the exhibit appeared to confirm that it was in no way linked to the theft's security exploits. Violet Kiteway, meanwhile, told her father she was sick with a flu-like illness and did not attend the ball. She declined a visit from a doctor.
Our Prime Suspects
Much of our early knowledge about the theft plan came from investigation of Pietro Salk, a.k.a. the Salk Logs, which are definitely worth reading. Information eventually became available after Pietro's death indicating an ancient society known as The Third Power was operating behind the scenes to coordinate the theft. But we're getting ahead of ourselves. There are four known perpetrators:
- V (Vadik) - The operational mastermind and leader of the on-the-ground thieves.
- Recruited the other three members.
- Described as a "true believer" in the cause of the theft.
- Reports to a higher boss within The Academy.
- Recognized as Cyrus Quinton, a recording engineer for Hesh Records; This is one of his many aliases.
- Went on to murder two of the team members, Q
