three messages. intercepted from a private listserv. date unknown. sender unknown.
each is encoded. decode them. what you find will tell you what to look for and where.
what you find in those places goes in the box at the bottom of this page.
no other instructions will be provided.
-- message 001 --GUR ANZR BS GUR EBFR[cipher type: not given]
THE NAME OF THE ROSE
umberto eco. translated by william weaver.
page 133. second complete paragraph.
count every word that begins with a vowel.
write that number down. it is part of the final entry.
-- message 002 --SEVAEL FO ESUOH[cipher type: not given]
HOUSE OF LEAVES
mark z. danielewski.
page 119. count the footnote markers on that page (the superscript reference numbers in the body text, not the footnotes themselves).
write that number down. it is part of the final entry.
-- message 003 --WKH UDZ VKDUN WHAWV[cipher type: not given]
THE RAW SHARK TEXTS
steven hall.
page 88. read the last complete sentence on the page. count its words.
write that number down. it is part of the final entry.
you have the three books. you have found the three pages.
you have found the three words. enter them here, in order, no spaces.
-- final entry --
confirmation logged.
what follows is from the founding document. the full text is not on this server.
this is a fragment only.
---
"there is a reason the pizza is circular and not square. the square can be contained.
the square has corners in which things accumulate and sit and wait.
the circle has no corners. nothing accumulates. everything moves.
the crust is the boundary between the pizza and everything that is not the pizza.
the crust is where the decision is made. the crust holds the circle together.
without the crust the cheese and sauce would have no shape. they would spread.
they would become something else. the crust is what keeps us what we are.
this is why crust is law.
not a suggestion. not a tradition. law.
treat the crust accordingly."
---
end of fragment. the rest is not here. you know where to look.