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Post by tootingjo on Nov 12, 2021 11:00:43 GMT -5
On Oct 31 Michel Becker, the book's illustrator, released a video press release saying he is taking control of the hunt. He holds the gold owl, which he will give to whoever digs up the bronze owl casting (known to be marked 1/8.) He mentioned a new contract that gives him official ownership of the hunt. He suggested he now held an envelope of solutions. This envelope was always believed to have been held by Max Valentin's family, and unopened and unchecked since he died.
So, this is where it gets strange. Becker said he followed the solution in the envelope, and dug where it said, taking along a bailiff to give the dig legitimacy. In the hole he only found a rusty owl made of iron. The bronze owl wasn't there, and nor were the instructions/phone number/password that Max said he put in with the cache. So Becker said he buried a new bronze owl, marked 2/8, and the hunt will continue under his new rules...
This all looks so suspicious. Yet in many ways it has to be true. The family would surely speak out if it was not true. So why was the original owl gone? Is there some way this could all be a scam and a 'friend' of Becker's claims the owl in 6 months or so?
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Post by davebakedpotato on Nov 12, 2021 14:44:22 GMT -5
Yes, this is really troubling. There's a few scenarios that are possible here and they're all problematic. Seems unlikely that Max swapped out the owl so...who did (if anyone)? I don't like that the first thing Becker does with the solution is to (apparently) go and dig up the owl. He's going to be hassled for the rest of his life! Messy.
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Post by goldhunter on Nov 12, 2021 15:27:12 GMT -5
Please correct me if I'm wrong...
Under the new rules, if a person finds the owl but can't provide the answers to the puzzles, I'm under the impression that the finder can't claim the golden owl.
Question: If this is correct, wouldn't the hunt be stuck for everyone at this point? There would be no buried owl for anyone else to find.
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Post by tootingjo on Nov 13, 2021 8:40:00 GMT -5
It is a very strange situation. There is now a signed statement from a bailiff legitimising Becker's actions. There are pictures of the sealed envelope, floppy disk of solutions, the iron owl in its hole, and the new owl 2/8 in the ground. We can assume that anyone who digs up this new owl, and gives Becker a solution, will win the hunt. But there are lots of things to be concerned about. It seems the solutions envelope contained an old floppy disk which the bailiff couldn't decipher (It was in .sam some old computer language) so Becker sorted the disk out, and gave him the solutions. And from what the Bailiff said 6 months passed between getting the envelope of solutions in a readable form and going to the location. The bailiff gives the floppy disk to Becker on April 13 and he gives him his "decoding" on October 22 2021, and they go to dig. In that time the new game rules were devised, so possibly that's a reason for the delay. The bailiff confirmed that the solution he read matched the place they dug. And at 80cm under the ground a plastic bag containing a rusted iron bird was found. The bag had a label showing S09 2005. i.ibb.co/D9XJds3/piece-n35-3.jpg A date perhaps? So Becker had brought with him a bronze owl marked 2/8 and placed it in the hole. The bailiff was satisfied that this helps the treasure hunt continue with the new rules in place. But this leads to so many questions...! Why did it take Becker so long to decode the disk? What happened to owl 1/8? Why did Becker know to bring a second owl with him? I suppose it's possible that Max dug up the original owl and placed an iron bird there. Could this be some sort of way to tell the true finder..? So they have to get in touch and say it's not an owl at all, but an eagle.... Or something? But why is it just wrapped in an old bag when Max always said the owl was buried with a password and phone number. Other conspiracy theories going around suggest that Max left a false trail in the sealed envelope, so Becker didn't have the real solution at all. So the real solution still leads to the real owl marked with a number 1. And of course, it's possible that Becker faked things to fool the bailiff and made up the solution and location entirely himself. However there seems no real benefit for him if that's the case. The family have signed his new contract as game organiser and it's clear the envelope Becker was given is the original one from Max. I think I'm coming round to the idea that Max placed the iron bird in the hole and the location is right, but it's a worrying development that at least two people know the solutions now. It's also worrying that there is no clear explanation for what happened here, or what happens if owl 1 is found?! At the end of the day Becker wants to profit from organising this hunt, but I can't see any obvious motive for lying about any of the events he's described, as strange as they are.
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Post by goldhunter on Nov 13, 2021 9:33:11 GMT -5
Jo, thanks for the info.
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Post by tootingjo on Nov 14, 2021 8:30:06 GMT -5
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Post by Jenny on Nov 14, 2021 9:57:09 GMT -5
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Post by aloftcroft on Nov 14, 2021 13:39:23 GMT -5
Great write-up Jo. What a ride. I'm in the camp that believes Max replaced 1/8 with the iron bird because of the Manya situation and he didn't "get a chance" to put it back.
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Post by aloftcroft on Nov 15, 2021 0:29:08 GMT -5
Now I wonder if Max prepared a false solution. I guess the only way to know is to solve it and see if it leads to 1/8 or 2/8.
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Post by davebakedpotato on Nov 15, 2021 5:31:45 GMT -5
Wow - I hadn't seen this before. Thanks Jenny and Jo!
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Post by goldhunter on Nov 15, 2021 7:58:53 GMT -5
I'm guessing, trying to look at it from other perspectives...
The previous solution holders- It had to be a burden to them. No books to sell, no money to be made. Probably got offers from people who wanted to buy the solution and dig up the owl but it wouldn't be honorable to the memory of Max or any other reason. However, Mr. Becker had a reasonable part-ownership and there was the solution-holder's honorable way out.
Mr. Becker- Who (other than the solution-holders) had more of a right to ownership of the puzzle? Also, Mr. Becker is conducting another high-profile hunt. It would be good business for him to be running the owl show, too.
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Post by goldhunter on Nov 17, 2021 7:59:39 GMT -5
I don't understand the reasoning for having a submission form for people who dug for the owl. It's not like you would find an owl and it not be the owl you were expecting so you thought you were in the wrong place and left it...or...took the original and replaced the one you took with another and then never cashed in. Thinking back on the $50,000 hunt. There was supposed to be other hunts intertwined in the story besides the main hunt. After the hunt was over, a contest was held for the next best solution. I sent my thoughts in. I never heard back and was paranoid that I was onto the extra hints in the game and ruined it.
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Post by tootingjo on Nov 17, 2021 17:41:50 GMT -5
I don't understand the reasoning for having a submission form for people who dug for the owl. It's not like you would find an owl and it not be the owl you were expecting so you thought you were in the wrong place and left it...or...took the original and replaced the one you took with another and then never cashed in. Thinking back on the $50,000 hunt. There was supposed to be other hunts intertwined in the story besides the main hunt. After the hunt was over, a contest was held for the next best solution. I sent my thoughts in. I never heard back and was paranoid that I was onto the extra hints in the game and ruined it. I think the reason for the form is to appease people who said they dug but weren't looking for an iron thing 80cm down. A lot of people dug to 40/50cm as that's how deep Max said the bronze owl was buried. It's a bit silly really, but it ticks the box of trying to help people who travelled with a solution! Becker has confirmed that it's ok for anyone who hasn't dug to send in solutions before the deadline too. I'm not going to do it with mine though. There's so much uncertainty and mistrust, I'd rather just stick to taking a spade to France!
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Post by tootingjo on Nov 17, 2021 17:50:36 GMT -5
There's a new post by Monglane, who speculates that Becker couldn't read the floppy disk of solutions (old software, password protected) so he faked solutions and a location, planted the iron bird, and took the bailiff there. It's so far fetched! But Becker is involved in a court case and producing 'solutions' with legal confirmation gets him out of that. I really don't know what to believe. Either Max Valentin destroyed any chance of his own hunt being won by anyone (why?) by digging up the bronze owl, planting an iron thing with no instructions, and hiding the real owl 1/8 really well for 15+ years.... Or Michel Becker has the wrong solutions or fake solutions, and is playing some game with this iron bird story. monglane.wordpress.com/2021/11/17/becker-mon-interpretation-des-faits/
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Post by aloftcroft on Nov 17, 2021 21:56:29 GMT -5
Or someone "at arms length" found the 1/8 and replaced it with an iron bird thing. Or it's Max's way of forcing the exchange: a) Max knowing if the cache has been found - magnets disturbed. b) Max being informed of the exchange - bailiff tells him. c) Max forces the discoverer to exchange - I speculate that Max deliberately documented a false solution and, sometime in the last 28 years, buried an iron bird thing where it pointed. If you wanted to be known as the winner, it "forces" the exchange because you couldn't do it with your solution because it wouldn't match the documented solution. The bailiff's only job was to verify the countermark, not to verify a solution. "WHEN THE OWL HAS BEEN FOUND - AND THEREFORE NO LONGER NECESSARY TO KEEP A SECRET ABOUT THE RIGHT SOLUTIONS" www.zarquos.net/moteur.php?rech=%3CQUESTION+No+47+DU+1996-02-20%3E"HOW CAN YOU "FORCE" ME TO TRADE FOR THE REAL?" www.zarquos.net/moteur.php?rech=%3CQUESTION+No+19+DU+1996-05-30%3E"A TREASURE HUNT WITHOUT A FAIL TRACK" www.zarquos.net/moteur.php?rech=%3CQUESTION+No+45+DU+1997-05-14%3E
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