Chapter 23 Title …. %@&$$!*#

[astree]

mysteriouswritings.proboards.com/post/10340/thread

Jun 1, 2017 22:09:55 GMT -5 minotaurmoreno said:

Jun 1, 2017 14:41:46 GMT -5 zaphod73491 said:

So the %@&$$!*# title for chapter 23...

I was sure I had this solved. Then we find a potential solve in the book for another clue that's equally convincing, the audio version says the chapter title is, "Holy Shhhh" and now my solid solve goes to the back burner.
Red herring? The next 2 or 3 treasure? Ugh!!!
How is it possible to be that good and not be right?!

One of the problems with this hunt is the sheer volume of information, without a way to crisply filter or invalidate much of it. I have many single-clue solutions (like the Mitchell / Buddha / Orleans quarry in Indiana) and several piles of multi-clues going to the same location (each pile a separate location). Part of the problem may be that the clues for the alternate sites are in the present book (without the ‘mystery’ or ‘alternate’ chapter) and we are picking up on those references. (For example, one small pile of clues goes to Havana, Florida and seems to be supported by the story’s mention of the hijacking to Cuba).
I’ll just use the Chapter 23 title %@&$$!*# as an example that looks like it could mean something, but given alternate decodes (which I won’t show) it’s hard to filter / confirm / differentiate to build a clean solution.

This hunt may be an example of “fuzzy solution” set, it’s not clear yet.

We know the title (in the hardcopy) can be made to correspond to shift number keys on a standard keyboard

%@&$$!*#
52744183

This seems to be intended, since the line “we need a number” which turns out to be “butterscotch 5” is directly opposite the title in the hardcopy, the string deciphers to begin with 5 and end with the number sign #.

( However, first problem – the alignment with the Ch 23 title is probably not true in the Kindle version (?), and minotaur has told us that the audio version has “Holy Shhhh” as the title, which gets rid of the decipher to numbers ).

Proceeding, using the number decipher and the beginning sentence of Chapter 23 (When the others)

52744183
WHENTHEO
12345678

(the THEO looks to correspond to the HOLY Shhhh, but who knows)

a simple re-arrangement give

THEN NW OE

This Ch 23 title occurs between the two versions of the poem, first listing “north” then “west” so looks to correspond to the THEN NW. Additionally, I am finding the OE useful at the location I have, but it’s not a lock yet.

I have other good uses of the Ch 23 title, some do not use the keyboard decipher. It is therefore difficult to zero in on Pete’s intended use (if any). He has simply given way too much information, without a way to confirm his intended use.

[astree]

Stepping back from the puzzle, my impression is that Pete may not want us to be able to solve it without additional hints that he will give at a future time. This would help to keep the hunt going.

Either that, or he wants us to keep it much simpler than using decipher as example in the post above. In that case, there IS a clue set (more like over 20) that points to a location that occurs in the (approximately) first 3/4 of the book.

By the way, zaphod, I am so unsure of how tricky Pete is being in his comments (because I am pretty sure that he is being tricky and giving huge "between the lines" hints in some of them) that I even considered the first 3/4 of "book" as BOO, or the numeric value of book = 43 which looks like 3/4 reversed. When I heard the 3/4 comment, I did the same thing you did, took 3/4 of the number of pages in the book, to see where the "to the location" clues where. I'm not sure I buy that interpretation anymore.

[astree]

Now, the zinger.

The, "we need a number" may not correspond at all to the chapter title numeric string but to the page number (I don't think so, since they are different between the versions) or the Chapter 23 (number 23), and the %@&$$!*# is a red herring.

I tentatively move "23" above the decipher I use above, based on a fuzzy judgement call about Pete's intended use of the puzzle information, but again, no way to verify it well. The "23" corresponds to an old town at the location of the 20 or so clues.

Secondary connection ( a bit of a stretch ) - in the story, the hijacker shot 2 groups of 3 bullets into the floor of the airplane.  23.  See, too much information.

[AJ]

I'd like to throw my 2 cents in on %@&$$!*#, even though I think you're looking for some big picture responses.

Say this chapter title is similar to the other chapter titles, with it specifically being mentioned later on in the chapter. For example, in the last chapter "Sudden Illumination of Joy", it is said by Nels near the end. With this assumption, you can take %@&$$!*# as a coded word and look in Chapter 23 for an 8-letter word with only the 4th and 5th letters being the same. You only get one word that matches - prettify.

I'm throwing this out there because that's as far as I've been able to take it. Is prettify a key word to solve the Nada or Hodaddy clues or something else? idk

[astree]

Thanks AJ. That's a good one. I've looked at dozens of such uses including the one you mentioned and using it as a code taken in different ways. So looking at it both in the detail and a big picture away and trying to make a judgment as to what level did Pete intend.

[minotaurmoreno]

Jun 2, 2017 4:34:36 GMT -5 astree said:

This seems to be intended, since the line “we need a number”

Though I haven't found it yet (and believe me, I've tried), since the first time I read the book a couple months ago, I have been convinced there is a cryptic phone number to get somehow in the book for us to call and it has something to do with QB Earl.

[toppop]

Good thoughts astree !!!