Theft

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 is our primary objective.

The Night Of The Theft

On Ball Night, (Jan 16th, 2004) when Academy security is frequently stretched to its limit, the team struck. The Founder's Ball is an annual event to honour the grand champion of the Perplex City Academy Games, and on the night in question that was Ryan Cahill. Guests arrived via Gatehouse 1 around 7.38 PM. A note ostensibly exchanged between the conspirators reads:

  Electric splash
  BB, 21 to 24
  4: C, V, K, Q
  20, V to 24

The Cube was stolen sometime before 2.00 AM. Police Chief Eoin Morgan recognised that the group would have to have been ‘highly organised and technologically sophisticated’ in order to pull off the theft. It was recognised 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 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.

Some have supposed 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 (Holyoke’s base of operations) to the Academy, and further out, towards the harbour/dock regions of the City.

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

Most of our knowledge about the theft plan comes from the Pietro Salk files, which are definitely worth reading. As you'll see shortly, our current understanding of the heist is under some doubt! There are four known perpetrators:

• V - 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. Believed to be Cyrus Quinton, a recording engineer for Hesh Records. Went on to murder two of the team members. No record of his DNA on city files. Also controlling operations on Earth.
• Q - Known to be Bernardo Holyoke, who owned the notoriously dodgy Five of Cups bar. Probably provided underworld contacts and a base of operations. High-tech equipment stolen from the Academy was found at the bar. Started siphoning off equipment (presumably stolen in relation to the theft) and selling it on the black market - he paid with his life.
• K - Known to be Monica Grand, a market analyst for PCBC. Her speciality was with weaponary. Scared by Q's death, she tried to take her story to Pietro Salk in exchange for immunity from prosecution. Both her and Pietro were murdered before this could be completed.
• C - Identity still unknown. We know she's a woman with a surname beginning with C. A computer expert. We have no knowledge of her status. Best guess: Claire Castille.

On top of this, we know there is at least one person superior to V in the chain of command, and at least two insiders at the Academy. There is also a network of operatives in various cities on Earth. We know that this team was ultimately sponsored by The Third Power. But wait...

The Big Disclaimer

"We never held it" were Monica Grand's last words to Sylvia Salk, who had gone to her apartment to try and get to the bottom of her husband's death. What can this mean? Here are some possible theories:

• The Cube is the only tangible object to have ever crossed over from Perplex City to Earth - clearly an unusual physical property. It may be that this was all part of the plan, and that the thieves simply had to "trigger" the Cube into transporting itself to Earth.
• It was a bungled operation. The Cube transported itself to Earth as some kind of ancient defence mechanism, or because it fancied a nice day out, or something.
• They were beaten to it by another group of thieves working against our prime suspects, and it was already gone.
• It was a decoy operation, masterminded by the same people - the real thieves got there first and stole the Cube, leaving VQCK to cause a distraction from the real investigation.

V's post-theft correspondence seems fairly positive in tone, indicating that the heist went off as planned - but exactly what the plan was is still unknown. It seems fairly clear that the Third Power now control the Cube's location on Earth.

The Evidence

• We know the Ball started at 7.38 from Puzzle card 146. It also featured the "conspiracy note" in UV ink:

  Electric splash
  BB, 21 to 24
  4: C, V, K, Q
  20, V to 24

• This Sentinel article tells us the theft was discovered at 2.00 AM, that Fran Mendling was murdered with a neurosuppressant, and that three different security systems were disarmed.

• The Pietro Salk vs. Monica Grand files provided a wealth of information. We learnt of the four key figures in the theft team, and also that the Third Power orchestrated the theft.

• Sylvia Salk's account of finding a dying Monica Grand provided us with the "We never held it" comment. (Note to editing people: is there a link to this?)

• The Third Power emails indicate that while things may not be progressing terribly smoothly, V is still actively involved in the operation as of October 15th 2005. He also confirms Bernardo and Monica were definitely involved, and now definitely dead.

• We know Violet claimed to be sick on the night of the Ball from the leaked Academy emails.

• We read about Aiko's technologically neat-o sculpture from her Sentinel interview.

• An older copy of this page is available here: Theft-Archive