Puzzle: Mystery on the Island

The Game Room
1

The coffee has been brewed and You sit down in your favorite easy chair, preparing to enjoy this tasty hot beverage with the morning paper. Hmm… what’s in the news today? More harsh words in yet another presidential debate…robbery at Georgetown University…gas up 3 cents…Springfield dog wins regional frisbee contest…

Knock! Knock! Knock!

Who could be outside? You open the door and are surprised to see a beautiful but disheveled young woman standing on the stoop. There are tears in her eyes.

“Can I help you, miss?” You ask. You do not recognize this visitor.

The twenty-something lady stumbles into your apartment.

“My name is Marianne Gomez. I need your expertise. Something strange is going on with my husband. I have to find out what. Please, please help me.”

Mrs. Gomez unsteadily walks across the room and slumps down on your couch. You politely offer her some coffee, which she gratefully accepts.

“I don’t know how I can help you,” You tell the distressed woman. “I am neither a doctor nor a private eye, though I could possibly recommend someone in either case.”

“Are you not the famous codebreaker?”

“Well, I h-have had some success…,” You stammer.

Actually, You are being quite modest. It is well known that You are the greatest cryptographer in the land.

“Last summer You helped my husband recover a missing pirate treasure by solving an antique and mysterious code. He told me You solved the case when no one else could. He said You were the best.”

Last summer? You think back to your pleasant vacation in the Caribbean. “Of course, I remember now. Professor Pedro Gomez is the museum director on the island of Coluba . I didn’t know he was married.”

Marianne Gomez extends her hand and You see the wedding ring on her finger. She fills in the details. The two were married last fall after a whirlwind courtship. Both Gomez and his bride worked in the museum business. He resided on the Caribbean island of Coluba. She headed the maritime museum at Okracola Island off the coast of North Carolina. Once love blossomed, Professor Gomez quit his Caribbean museum job and moved to Okracola. Together they now run the Okracola Museum on that remote island, an area quite popular with summer tourists and vacationers. At this time of year the museum is closed, as visitors to Okracola are few in March.

“The last few months have been the happiest of my life. My husband is an expert on pirates and pirate culture. Indeed, he is the world’s foremost authority on Blackbrow, the notorious rogue who terrorized the Caribbean as well as the coastline of the Southeastern United States in the late 1700’s. Pedro has been hard at work restoring an old pirate ship that will be the highlight of our museum when it re-opens this June. We have spent the winter planning and readying the exhibit. But now, something has happened, and my beloved husband has become secretive and cold.”

Mrs. Gomez tells You that each morning her husband takes a long walk on the beach. He enjoys the peace and solitude of the seashore in winter. Occasionally she would accompany him on these sojourns across the sands. However, because she had been working so hard over much of the winter, Pedro Gomez had usually been taking these walks alone. Then, one day in late February, Professor Gomez returned from his morning stroll with a wild look in his eyes. He shut himself off from his wife all day, refusing to disclose what had upset him so.

And from that day forward Professor Gomez has been a different man. Though occasionally he shows signs of being his normal self, such pleasant moments are rare. Mostly, Gomez displays little love for his wife now, and instead hides all day and most of the night in his private study with the door locked. Every once in a while he will yell out “Aaaarrrr!” or “Shiver me timbers.” Recently he has affected a limp and purchased an ugly large parrot, which caws mightily at all hours of the day and night.

“Two days ago I could stand it no more. I took the key to his study and burst in on him. I had to see what he was doing. I was shocked to find him shaking like a madman and scribbling away on a message. When I tried to see what he was writing, he sneered and pushed me out of the room.”

For a moment Mrs. Gomez looks down at the floor, as if searching for the right words. You offer her a handkerchief and some more coffee, but Mrs. Gomez declines both. Soon she gains control of her emotions and continues.

“Perhaps You think I should simply leave my husband, and perhaps You are right. But we were so happy these past few months. So very happy…”

Her voices trails off, and You refill her coffee anyway to break the uncomfortable silence.

”I promised for better or worse so I was determined to find the reason why my husband had gone seemingly insane so suddenly. Pedro told me I was not allowed in his study. But yesterday, after Pedro ventured on his morning walk, I took the key and trespassed again into the den. His room was a slovenly mess. However, on Pedro’s desk I recognized the paper he had so mysteriously been laboring over. Alas it is written in code. Quickly I made a copy. I tried all day to crack the code. The answer just has to be there! But try as I might, nothing made sense. Then I thought of You. Pedro had spoken so highly of You. I resolved to make another copy of this cryptic note and to bring it straight away so that You can tell me what it means. I just know that You can decipher this code. Perhaps then I might finally understand why our happy marriage has crumbled.”

Again You suggest that maybe Mrs. Gomez should call on a psychiatrist or a private investigator, but she waves away these suggestions. Pedro Gomez would never agree to see a shrink, and any private eye would be quite noticeable on the island. Other than a few locals, the only other inhabitants right now on Okracola are a small group of guards and prisoners doing state work. They are repairing the road and beach so badly damaged by Hurricane Irene last fall. Any other strangers to Okracola would be guaranteed to cause talk. And if word of Professor Gomez’s eccentricities were to reach the public, the museum’s reputation might be ruined. A scandal must be avoided!

“I have decided to place all my hopes in You,” says the beautiful woman. You look into her pleading eyes and know You cannot refuse.

“Leave the code with me and I’ll do my best.”

She hands You the mysterious note and departs. You stare at the strange message and wonder, “What can all this mean?” You decide to finish your morning paper and coffee first. One need not get carried away. You certainly hope to succeed for the sake of the poor lady, but the pressure isn’t quite so strong this time. After all, this is simply a small domestic matter and not another dangerous apocalyptic crisis. Right?

++++++++

KMPEBH QSL ERGH6 SQUID BHDV3EEB, GZEDN! HEZGTV HZ7E4 QSL KEDP KIHU ZE2AXEMTS DOUBLOONS ER2 JBBQ HED QEMBODF5P REN HPY1E MEEQ4THMHN EEGB HEZ7 SP5GEH COD3 XMEPGH4 SKULL FLAG LAEGOVLPDEC. YO EGB HO NEEDYP AHAB HO3 PE8CGPQE QSL ME KIDD CMEAA TUGBOAT PE6BOY7E HZE32 EGTQ CMBDLCSPX SANTA MARIA HZEN RE5T KEEPDR J HEEEZ6 OAEYHOZ4B N DEK ENDYP PPPAAAPA OEGXHDPB. L7E XEPE5XGP8EQ HDE O GEOH HZEMB QSL KEPMQGN 865 GKEH9PTDDT NINA CEEZ4T HZE2 HMEQ5 2 AT9LANTIC MEB N ZMESZ. HDES3HZ7P AARRRRR ENDY GAEA CMAAE RORO LE4 ERN TE4C OEP7C. FWRT SHARK CE3 BZEGAA DTEO8 POPOOOO QSBQ GSGEMT L1EEODR9 HEZE2 TANKARD OF RUM H2EPPDP SHIP DEK EHZ7 ZMESZ BE6GB. QSL EM YETQ4PBEHGTQ NE5 ZEGF1 EG SPE3GH XEAGT. CMHZEE PUSPUSPUS89PUS OKRACOLA LEEAEEGOVLPEDCE PACIFIC GBE 87L NDEYP NNN3 OGEXHGMT PUSPUS HZEN PINTA BOZ4EER4 BEZGEAA EO8PHGMTAN QSL BYEOO85Q X MARKS SPOT. 6YOU CANNOT UNCRYPT THIS WRI99TING

ZE6 QSL DKE HEZE4 ANCHOR PUS QEGPV6BH LPDEEC
++++++++

2

Ah, thank you Biotop. At last one of your terrific puzzles that I caught early. I’m on medical leave right now so I have something on which to use all of that scratch paper I’ve been accumulating. To work…

3

An initial observation, which I’m not sure justifies a spoiler tag, but whatever…

None of the apparently plaintext words contains the letter ‘E’. The use of ‘uncrypt’ rather than ‘decrypt’, in particular, is odd, and suggests that this is intentional, or at least a byproduct of the encryption method.

4

You have struggled with this new code with mixed results. There are some interesting features in the plaintext words…but do they mean anything at all? What about the obvious letter patterns that couldn’t possibly translate into any known English equivalents? Are there red herrings? Is this a confession, an order, or something else? What about the numbers? There is just so little to go on…

Could this all be just some elaborate hoax? Or perhaps this is an addled jumble only understandable in the diseased mind of a madman? There is no evidence this writing is meant for anyone at all. Is someone else even supposed to be able to read the thing? So many questions, so few answers.

Sigh.

But try as You might to put aside and forget this bizarre coded message, You cannot. It is probable that this whole exercise is a colossal waste of time. You try and stop obsessing on this silly puzzle. Yet…

Sigh. You find yourself drawn back again and again.

Sigh.

BRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIINNNNG!

The ringing from the phone breaks into your thoughts.

You: Hello?

Voice: Hello. This is Marianne Gomez.

You: Mrs. Gomez. I’m sorry, I have nothing to report.

Mrs. Gomez: Oh, that’s OK. In fact, I think my problems are almost over. Something good has happened to Pedro. He’s suddenly so much better. It’s as if he’s emerged out of the fog. He’s become so loving and nice again. I think everything’s going to be all right. So You need not worry about that coded note anymore. I don’t believe it is important. All that matters is that my beloved Pedro is almost himself again.

You: Well, I certainly am glad to hear that. Did Professor Gomez tell you what happened to him? Did he tell you why he has acted so oddly these past few weeks? Can he explain this crazy message?

The other end is silent for a moment.

Mrs. Gomez: I… well…um…Pedro has been so warm the last couple of days. I haven’t wanted to bring up the subject. If I upset him I worry he may regress. Anyway, I’m sure if he’ll snap out of his fugue completely in the next few days, and then I’ll know all the details. We’ll probably someday just look back on this and laugh. I mean, every newly married couple has some troubles, right? I just wanted to call You and say all is well and You don’t have to wrestle with that code anymore.

You hang up the phone and just shake your head.

Well, that’s that. You toss the coded message in the trash and think about heading out for a walk on this nice spring day. But as You stride towards the door You pause and look back, pensive. With another sigh You retrieve the coded note from the waste receptacle, and once again sit down to see what sense You can make from this nonsense.

5

THUMP THUMP THUMP

Your head throbs dully. Why have You been wasting time on this code? You’ve been up half the night again because You just can’t let it go.

THUMK THUMK THUMK

Why shouldn’t You have a headache with such a silly puzzle. You are pretty sure there are no mirror patterns or helpful hints here. Other than the lack of “E”s in the plaintext, what have You got? Nothing. Maybe because there is nothing to get. Yet You can’t put it down.

THOCK THOCK THOCK

But one has to be able to uncrypt this writing! There is always an answer…but where to begin? Maybe if You knew more about Pedro Gomez. Perhaps a call to his wife might…

KNOCK! KNOCK! KNOCK!

You are suddenly pulled from your thoughts. Someone is at the door. You open the door and find Special Agent Jones of the CIA on your stoop. Uh oh. Whenever the CIA has a tough code to crack, they always turn to You.

You greet Jones and let him into your home.

“I was beginning to think no one was home,” says Jones. “I was knocking for quite a while.”

“Sorry. I was zoned out. I have been trying to unravel a code for someone. No luck. Probably nothing there anyway.”

Jones has a grim look on his face. “I’m afraid You are going to have to put that aside for a while. We have a very bad situation. Indeed, the world may be in deep peril unless You can help.”

“Of course, I’m at your service.” You offer Jones a chair and a cup of fresh gourmet coffee.

“Did You hear about the robbery at Georgetown University earlier this week?” asks the Special Agent.

You try and remember. “I think I saw something in the paper last Monday or Tuesday. A professor got beat up and some gun or something was stolen, right?”

“Yeah, heh heh, some gun indeed. Well, that’s what we told the press anyway. Sadly the Professor, a Dr. Morton Gedlaw, died this morning from his injuries.”

Jones gives You some more information. Dr. Gedlaw had been working on a top secret project for the government. Sometime late last Saturday night, Gedlaw entered his lab with a woman. Security cameras show the woman beating Gedlaw over the head with a wrench and wheeling the large gun out of the lab and into a waiting truck. Before he died, Gedlaw told the authorities he had met the attractive woman at a bar a few days earlier, and she had convinced him to show her his secret project. It has since been determined that the woman is Kate Newsome, a suspected spy.

“You know,” You respond, “This is not the first time one of our scientists have been fooled by a beautiful spy.”

Jones nods his head. “It also appears that all Gedlaw’s notes have been taken, as well as his computer. The science behind the stolen item is so very complex that only Gedlaw completely understood it. His assistants have given some detail, but it will take years, if ever, for the work to be replicated. All that remains now is the device…which appears to be in the hands of the spies.”

“I’m almost afraid to ask, but what is this device?” You query.

Jones hands you a fuzzy picture. “This.”

“Looks like a large cannon,” You observe.

Jones takes a sip of coffee. “Actually, according to Gedlaw, it is a machine that can open up a wormhole into parallel time.”

“What?”

Jones explains. Gedlaw had been doing theoretical work on the concept of parallel time. According to the theory, there are an infinite number of possible universes out there all operating independently. Professor Gedlaw’s machine is supposedly able to open a hole in time/space that can allow one to pass back and forth into one of those parallel universes. The machine can also close the hole. Gedlaw said he has travelled three times into this one parallel universe. He claimed that the place he visited appeared to be Earth, but Earth as if the dinosaurs never died out. He told us that he has encountered no humans there, but that large reptiles and strange creatures populate the water and land. Gedlaw even said he was considering destroying his machine because he did not think it was safe or right for humans to spoil and exploit the parallel world.

You wonder if You are dreaming. This is the most disturbing spy plot yet.

“If the spies now control this machine, they can enter into this parallel world at any time. They might bring back dinosaurs and more. Who knows what diseases and microbes have already passed into our world each time that door has been opened and closed.”

“Could Gedlaw have made all this up?” You ask. “Is it possible that this is all some sort of delusional hoax?”

Jones shakes his head. “Gedlaw’s assistants confirm the nature of the experimental cannon. And when we searched Gedlaw’s home, we found this chained up in the garage.” Jones hands You a picture of a small but mean looking dinosaur. “That thing is now being studied by top zoologists.”

This week has definitely gone from bad to worse. “How can I help?”

“Once we determined the woman was Kate Newsome, we scoured the city in order to find her. Yesterday, our team finally located her last address, but she had already cleared out. However, we did find a clue. Agents discovered a strange note wedged in the couch cushions. It is in code.”

Jones hands You the coded message. “Our experts have had no luck solving this. See what You can make of it? It’s got an odd nautical theme.”

You glance over the code and your jaw drops. “What I can tell you, Jones, is that you should have a talk with Professor Pedro Gomez on the island of Okracola. Remember that code I told you I was working on for an acquaintance? Well, I’m pretty sure this is the same.”

+++++

WEDYPT6N EHD BARRACUDA HEZ4 MBAEEGTEQ GTEQ R9E9H CEMHZ KAYAK XE3QPED RORO SDER9U GEH PCR EHZ7 RYB2YER. SEMF8 EEZMR HEZ3 QMR5TBEMDT OGETTDT. LEN EHZ4E CEGN, QED TDEH QSBQ OGAAE ZMER SEDR3U. METEBH3GQ, COD3 YBE1 HEZE1 TGER3 LEAEGOVLPDC. MEEE ZGEF8 HPEMOV2Q TILAPIA 77P HEZMB KDEDA METHED EL6AM2FMTS EZE2 MEB GET 8EMSZH23TEHZ ROW O2THEYPN OLD SALT XMPEGH7. ECZ3T CE2 GEP6 STINGRA7Y TDEH HARPOON TROLL ZEEMQMTS MET UDDU XGPEGAA4A SHAD HEMRE5, DYEP LKJ9SYGY5 A SGETS CMBDLCSPX CEMAA RDEEDP DEYP TSUNAMI ZHH76 BEZMX EGH ADEBH CFR5678744 OEDF7 DTE HZ4EE 4JHEP4R7 BEDYHZ2PT WWW TDEPHZ QRO OGEPDAMTG CRAB ODEGBEH. GE KPME3TQ HZE9P2 ZGEB EEG JACK SPARROW KIHU ODEAA4OHMDT DEK P8BHDEP1Q QSL GTHEMEIY3 FEEE8BB2AB, CONCH BED DYEP MINNOW LEDGH QSL CEMAA TEDH PUSPUS GHHEEPGOH GETN BEX6OMGA PONTOON EGHH3THMDT. KMTEQ YBE XIR GHEE HZMEB 8 TROUT ADOGHMEDT BEDDET GKEH6P CE8 QSL FGETMBZ KPEDR DEVPGODAG COLUMBUS DET KEEPMQGN. HVTXXXSAW HH NO SOLUTION FOR YOU

IE

+++++

6

+++++

Text from Agent Jones:

Arrived on Okracola too late.

  • Professor Pedro Gomez has disappeared.

  • 9 prisoners working on Okracola have all escaped.

  • Among missing prisoners is Quentin Stokes, the spy and master hypnotist.

  • Marianne Gomez has been arrested and charged with doping guards so that prisoners could escape.

  • Restored pirate ship also missing. Possible that escapees and Gomez are on ship.

I will bring You more details soon. Suggest that You work nonstop on solving code. Code may be only hope.

Jones

+++++

7

So I’ve got nothing in the way of actual insight, but there are a few patterns I’ve noticed. Too many patterns, frankly, it makes it very hard to see how they can all fit together. Spoiler tagging, though it’s just observations and no actual spoilers:

[spoiler]The digit 0 never appears, every other digit and letter does.
The longest word appearing in both messages is CMBDLCSPX. That this (and other repeats) exist at all suggests that there may not be any sort of keyword or keytext in the encryption.
The words LAEGOVLPDEC, LEAEGOVLPDC, LEEAEEGOVLPEDCE differ only in their Es. There are many other examples of words like this.
Ignoring Es, there are also many words that differ only in their digits; XMEPGH4 and XMPEGH7, for example.
When words differ only by Es, the Es may appear in different positions in the two words, and in different quantities, but there’s always at least one E in each word.
When words differ only by digits, the digits may be different but are always in the same position in the word.
Ignoring digits and Es, the most common word is HZ (14 occurances). Not ignoring them, the most common word is QSL (9 occurances).

Here are a couple of questions that seem like they might be answerable and that might lead to bigger insights:
What rule governs the position that digits are placed in, when a word has digits added?
What can the words PUS, PUSPUS, PUSPUS again, and PUSPUSPUS89PUS possibly represent?[/spoiler]

8

Jones arrives early this Monday morning, and more coffee is brewed.

Nothing has been heard from Gomez, Stokes, or any of the other missing escapees. The restored pirate ship should be easy to spot, but so far searchers have found nothing by air or sea.

Marianne Gomez tells authorities that on Friday morning her husband asked her to bake brownies for the guards he had met while on his daily walks. He said that they should be rewarded for their hard work in helping the restore roads and beaches of Okracola. She had baked the brownies that morning, and then taken them out to the guards early in the afternoon. When she returned home she was shocked to find Pedro Gomez decked out in a pirate costume, complete with skull and crossbones hat, enormous black beard, bushy eyebrows, and even a fake rubber hook glove on one hand. When she inquired as to what the hell was going on, Gomez announced that he was not Gomez at all, but Blackbrow the pirate. With a demonic “Arrrrrr” he had picked up his parrot and walked out of their home. Mrs. Gomez says she then broke down crying, and was still weeping and shaking several hours later when the police came to her door. She claims to know nothing more regarding the whereabouts of her husband, or the prison escapees.

There will certainly be calls for an internal investigation regarding how lax the control over the working inmates on Okracola had been over the past few weeks. Guards have admitted they allowed several islanders to talk with their prisoners and that the conditions had almost been chummy within the group. Quentin Stokes was quite popular with everyone, and he had many special privileges from the guards who enjoyed his magic tricks and witty patter. Guards confirmed that Gomez had been visiting the group almost daily on his walks, and they saw little harm in letting him talking to Stokes. After all, they were all on an island, so how could anyone escape? Guards, prisoners and some Okracolans even had their own NCAA basketball pool, for goodness sake.

According to the witnesses, early Friday afternoon, Mrs. Gomez brought the guards brownies. Some of the treats had even been offered to the prisoners, but they refused them. In retrospect, this should have caused suspicion. At some point all the guards passed out, though one claims to recall seeing a large wooden ship approaching the group just as he fell asleep.

“So here we stand,” says Jones. “We don’t know how much Mrs. Gomez may be concealing, if anything. But she did bring the doped brownies, so there is reason indeed to hold her.”

You shake your head. “My gut tells me she is innocent. I also think Gomez is a decent fellow. But if Stokes was able to hypnotize the man, and Gomez thinks he is a ruthless pirate…. Well, then Gomez could be a very very dangerous foe. Blackbrow was one of the most bloodthirsty pirates of all time. And of course Blackbrow is famous for communicating with his supporters by code, just like our modern day spies.”

“Ugh. Just what we need. Not just pirates, but spyrates!” Jones shakes his head woefully. “You know, the man I’m most worried about is Quentin Stokes. We’ve dealt with him before. If this code is like the last one he was involved with, then it is likely full of red herrings designed to set the solver on the wrong path.”

“There is certainly too much going on in this code,” You agree. “I don’t see how it can all fit together. How can one tell what is important, and what is simply flotsam and jetsam?”

“I notice with all those fishes in the code, there is no ‘herring’,” responds Jones with a weak laugh. “But one can’t spell ‘herring’ without an ‘E’, can one?”

You force a smile at Jones’ comment. But down deep You are worried. If this code isn’t broken soon and the pirate ship located, then things could start turning quite ugly. Who knows what might travel here from the other world?

9

A luxury yacht was attacked by pirates off the coast of North Carolina this morning. According to those on the yacht, it was a beautiful spring day on a calm sea. Suddenly a huge glowing swirling light opened up seemingly out of nowhere. Out of this swirling cloud of light then appeared a huge wooden boat flying a pirate flag. The light dwindled away. Several men on the pirate ship carried automatic weapons and the yacht quickly surrendered to the villains. Large quantities of jewels and money were stolen from the wealthy victims on the yacht.

However, during the crime, one of those victims managed to radio the Coast Guard. Planes and two police boats hurried to the area. But, as the forces of law approached, the glowing light returned and the strange pirate ship disappeared into the brightness. A witness also swears he saw a man dressed like an eighteenth century pirate commanding from aboard the pirate ship. “He was ranting and raving like a madman,” recalls the witness. “It was like something out of a movie. The bearded fellow was shoving around a huge cannon that seemed to expel the very light from which the boat ultimately disappeared.”

Less credible reports also mention seeing a giant prehistoric sea creature swimming away from the scene soon after the pirates vanished…

10

Perhaps we’re meant to remove all Es and numbers before decoding. The apparent plaintext words, lacking E, would be unaffected by this. The plaintext words may be there to indicate a change of key. However, I’ve tried removing all Es and numbers and running the segments between plaintext words through a cryptogram solver, with no success.

Normally, the presence of many instances of QSL and a couple of QSBQ would suggest that QSL is THE, and QSBQ is THAT… but that hasn’t got me anywhere.

No idea what all the PUS is doing there, either.

11

Trouble continues to mount:

  • Several more yachts and pleasure boats have been attacked and robbed. Newspapers are already printing accounts of a “Ghost Ship” that appears from nowhere carrying pirates who rob helpless wealthy boaters. Reporters are asking questions and the government is having a difficult time keeping the truth under wraps.

  • Late last night several uninhabited beach homes on Sirus Island (just off the South Carolina Coast) were destroyed by fire after some sort of catastrophic vandalism. There are no witnesses to what occurred there, but the homes appear to have been powerfully demolished and then burned. Police are looking for answers. One grizzled old-timer who daily collects shells on the beach claims to have seen enormous reptile tracks leading from the disaster area back into the sea. But by the time authorities checked his fantastic claim, the wind and tide had removed any such crazy clues. Right now, no one is taking the old seafarer’s story seriously.

12

Regarding the word CMBDLCSPX, which appears in both messages:

Caesar shifted -1, this is BLACKBROW. I can’t see any other words that are encrypted this way.

13

I’ve never been good at these, so the following may not be helpful.

Anyway, it seems like the sixth word of the first message, GZEDN, is a name. But the only names of five letters that I could find are Pedro, Gomez, Jones, and Sirus, none of which seem likely.

Past that, the single character words are (in the first message) J, N, O, 2, N, and X. The question of course is whether all of these work out to a or I. My guess is that they do, but who knows.

Past that, going with Biotop’s general MO, such as I have perceived it, is that the words that look uncoded in the messages almost certainly are somehow because there’s some leeway in the coding. But that might not be the case either. This might mean that OKRACOLA is not Okracola, but that BHDV3EEB, PE8CGPQE, PE6BOY7E, PPPAAAPA, OEGXHDPB, L1EEODR9, OGEXHGMT, BOZ4EER4, BYEOO85Q, or QEGPV6BH might be.

Also, the numbers don’t tell you which characters to read, at least not directly.

Past that, I am stuck.

14

OK, I have a partial decrypt of the first message. It starts:

First Mate Stokes, ahoy! Thank thee for helping me to discover my true identity as the great pirate Blackbrow.

I haven’t fully grasped the encryption method yet, but here’s what I know:

Remove all occurrences of E and ‘themed’ plaintext words before decryption. Also, remove all the QSLs. The digits 1-9 represent the letter E. It seems to be a simple substitution cipher from then on, albeit one where the key switches from time to time.

15

The first message, (almost) completely decrypted:

First Mate Stokes, ahoy! Thank thee for helping me to discover my true identity as the great pirate Blackbrow. (??your regard?? ) Rescue thee thy men from the clutches of your captors. Be prepared to act this Friday afternoon when the tide is high. Together you will all be my new crew. We shall once again become the terror of the high seas. I understand ye have a great plan. With Blackbrow as your captain thy scheme shall certainly succeed.

16

“Agent Jones? This is Me. Listen, send a team to Lost Cove on the extreme southern North Carolina coast. You’ll find the cannon there, on an antique ship- it’s hidden amongst a collection of restored vessels. And Jones? Go easy on Gomez. I think he’s been duped by Stokes into taking part in all this.”

17

Wow. way to go hammos1!

+++++

This morning Jones arrives with news.

He and a group of men will be leaving for Lost Cove this morning. It will be dangerous, but You are invited along. Never one to miss out on adventure, You agree to the mission. Jones also lets You know that the spies have sent a letter to President Obama saying that they want a billion dollars for the return of the parallel time-visiting cannon. They also demand a presidential pardon for any crimes committed in the past and a promise never to be prosecuted for any crimes in the future. If we refuse these demands, they will sell the device to the highest foreign bidder AND unleash prehistoric monsters all along the US coastline. So this trip to Lost Cove will be a very tricky operation indeed. The best hope is to catch Stokes and the other men unprepared. You have given us that best hope with your amazing decoding abilities.

There is also a new message. Police had alerted pawn shop owners across North Carolina to be on the lookout for expensive items stolen from the yachts. Last evening a man walked into a Charlotte store and offered to sell some diamond jewelry. The alert owner recognized the items as part of the stolen swag and called police. Unfortunately, the man became suspicious and tried to leave before the cops arrived. The shop owner attempted to stop him. There was a struggle. The suspect escaped, but not before the shopkeeper ripped the jacket off the man’s back. While there was no ID found in the jacket, the police did discover this coded note folded up in one pocket:
+++++

QSL MEH EMBEE PKKPYCVSKPSR QRO LE9ODRMTES PU7SPUS QUINT HDEDE QEGTS6PDYB KDPE EYB HEED OEDTHMETYE7 QSBQ EHD HEPGEF6A HEEED A HEEZ3 XEGPGAEA1EA 6UBOAT CDPEAQ. CE5 VE67X QSL EGARDBH L8EEMTS 2EGH2ET LNE UDDU QMETDBGYPEB, BE4G B1EPX9THEB GETQ EKMP4-LPEEE8GHZMTS QPEGSDTB. J8 FISHY HMER2 WWW HEED REGV6 EHEZ2 REDF3 KDEP PE8GEA RDTE5EN! C4E LUSITANI1A CMAEEAE GDSAWW ZGETS EDYH GHE EADBH ODEEF5 PNPPP A OCTOPI KEDPE COD3 EHZE7 TE7JH CE39V QSL GTEQ BEE61 MEK DEYP SARGASSO Q2REGTQB EGPE8 DOLPHIN RE6H HVTXXXSAW MET EHZ6 DIVING SUI33T RE5GTHMER1 XEYH DYEH KE9E9A2PB GTEQ AE2H QSL EYB 77P VTDEC PUS CZEGH EDHZ3P QSL OEDYTHPEM4B SURFBOARD RMSEEZH CAPTAIN CRUNCH XEGN KEDPE JAW7S HZEMB PKKPYCVSKPSR2 MEETOP5QMEELA1 H9EOZTDAEDSN. ZDEX6KYAAN PUS HZMEB CEMAEA PUSPUS EGAEA EEL5 UDDU ORCA5 QSL DFE2P XI BDEDET QSL GTEQ EC7 ECMAEA EEL1 YAYAK RORO PMEOZ L5NDETQ DEYP GDSAWW CMEAQ3BEH QEEP8GRB. GETQ MEH GULF CEEMAEA BYEP5 EEL8 EGE GGG3 EXEA3GBYP7 HEED PEMQ DEYPB6AF2BE P6ANAMA CANAL DKE HZEEMB TEYHEHN SDER8U EK4AEADC. C4E CDEYAQ B4ETQ ZEMER DF9PLEDGEPQ PPLL TDEC, LEYH ZE9 MEB EEHZ3 DTEAN DET7 CEZD A3 VTEDCB ZDEC HEED QPEMF8 QSL HEZ8E LEDGEH. HYSS I WIN YOU AINT 9GOT NUTTIN

IE
+++++

“I’ll decode this new message on the way down in case there is any helpful information.” You tell Jones. “And we best be careful. If that ship slips into parallel time, we’ll never catch them and who knows what horrible creatures will be climbing onto our shores then!”

18

You look up from your frantic scribblings. “Jones,” you say, “it’s good news- I think. The gang aren’t planning any more trips into parallel time- it’s too dangerous. They’re planning to lay low in Lost Cove for a while and try to sell the cannon to the highest bidder. When your team is in place, look to secure Gomez first of all- without him, they’re not going anywhere. I don’t think any of the rest of them know a damn thing about sailing.”

19

You and a group of Agents including Jones and Brown slowly approach the fleet of restored boats at Lost Cove. Your own worthy police seacraft seems so small compared to these giant ships from the past.

“Which one is it?” Brown whispers.

You scan the group and suddenly You see a large ship flying a pirate flag. And there, on the deck, You see the silver parallel time cannon. No one is visible on board. Pointing that way, Jones calls for silence.

Quietly the CIA craft pulls up alongside the pirate ship and soon our heroes are aboard. No one at all above deck. Drawing guns, You and the lawmen head below. In the darkness You are somehow separated from the others.

“What are ye doing on me ship?” a loud voice rings out. Snap. A match is lit. A candle flickers. Suddenly You are confronted by a sword-carrying pirate. “I’ll capture ye all and make ye walk the plank!”

“You are not Blackbrow. Blackbrow died over two centuries ago. You are Pedro Gomez, the museum director!”

“Gomez?” The poor man looks confused for a moment, but a sneer returns to his face. “I shall not fall for ye tricks!”

Gomez lunges at You with the sword and You hear others coming in your direction. You jump back and the deluded man stumbles. As the burly pirate falls forward, You slug him on the head with your gun.

“Sorry to do that Blackbrow.” You say as the other agents enter the room.

The groggy pirate tries to rise to his feet. “Blackbrow? I am Pedro Gomez. What am I doing here? What is going on?”

You realize that the blow on his head has returned Gomez to his senses.

“It’s all right. You will have some explaining to do to your wife.”

A search of the rest of the ship yields no others. Jones commands one of the agents to take Gomez home, while the others are to remain and search Lost Cove.

“Let’s try that bar. Brown, you stay and guard the boat.”

Inside Sailor Bob’s Pub, Stokes and the rest of the escapees are seen drinking and laughing.

“Hands up! This is a raid!”

There is a terrific struggle with broken bottless, knives thrown, and gunfire. You see one of the escapees preparing to shoot Jones, and You swing from the chandelier across the room, kicking the man in the jaw and sending the shot errant and into the mirror behind the bar. Soon the brawl is over and the escapes captured. All but one.

“Where’s Stokes? He was here a minute ago.” Jones cries.

You hurry back to the pirate ship and find Brown unconscious. The large boat is missing. There! You point to the ship weaving in the harbor, obviously being sailed by someone who knows not what he is doing.

“Come back, Stokes! You’ll never get away.”

“That’s what You think!” screams the deranged man from the boat. Now Stokes is at the cannon and suddenly a weird circular light opens up behind the craft.

“He’s getting away!” shouts Jones in exasperation.

But at that moment a large sea creature suddenly emerges from the waters by the fleeing vessel. The Godzilla is breathing fire, and the pirate vessel bursts into flames. As the monster climbs aboard the boat, both it and the heavily burning ship drift through the opening into parallel time. The swirling light dwindles and finally closes. The last thing anyone sees is the creature and destroyed boat wrapped in a swirling fiery mass.

“Wow. I guess that is the end of Stokes,” says a woozy Brown as he feels the lump growing on his head.

“Yes, and the end of another case.” You respond. “Now no one will have that parallel time cannon. I think it is for the best. Some things were just not meant to be messed with.”

You and Jones shake hands in triumph again.

20

Thanks, Biotop, for another great puzzle!

I’ll tie up the loose ends.

First, the decryption method:

[spoiler]1. Remove all words that do not contain a letter E
2. Remove all Es from the remaining words
3. Replace all digits 1-9 with E
4. Apply the substitution cipher


Ciphertext: ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
Plaintext:  LSWOEVATQXFBIYCRDMGNZKJPUH

[/spoiler]
Message 1:

FIRST MATE STOKES, AHOY! THANK THEE FOR HELPING ME TO DISCOVER MY TRUE IDENTITY AS THE GREAT PIRATE BLACKBROW. AS YOUR REWARD I WILL RESCUE THEE AND THY MEN FROM THE CLUTCHES OF YOUR CAPTORS. BE PREPARED TO ACT THIS FRIDAY AFTERNOON WHEN THE TIDE IS HIGH. TOGETHER YOU ALL WILL BE MY NEW CREW. WE SHALL ONCE AGAIN BECOME THE TERROR OF THE HIGH SEAS. I UNDERSTAND YE HAVE A GREAT PLAN. WITH BLACKBROW AS YOUR CAPTAIN THY SCHEME SHALL CERTAINLY SUCCEED.
HE OF THE DARKEST BROW
Message 2:

JOURNEY TO THE ISLAND AND MEET WITH PEDRO GOMEZ AT THE MUSEUM. GIVE HIM THE DIMENSION CANNON. BY THE WAY, DO NOT CALL HIM GOMEZ. INSTEAD, USE THE NAME BLACKBROW. I HAVE TRICKED THIS FOOL INTO BELIEVING HE IS AN EIGHTEENTH CENTURY PIRATE. WHEN WE ARE NOT HIDING IN PARALLEL TIME, OUR GANG WILL MOOR OUR SHIP AT LOST COVE ON THE EXTREME SOUTHERN NORTH CAROLINA COAST. A FRIEND THERE HAS A COLLECTION OF RESTORED ANTIQUE VESSELS, SO OUR BOAT WILL NOT ATTRACT ANY SPECIAL ATTENTION. FIND US AT THIS LOCATION SOON AFTER WE VANISH FROM OKRACOLA ON FRIDAY.
Q
Message 3:

IT IS BECOMING TOO DANGEROUS FOR US TO CONTINUE TO TRAVEL TO THE PARALLEL WORLD. WE KEEP ALMOST BEING EATEN BY DINOSAURS, SEA SERPENTS AND FIRE-BREATHING DRAGONS. TIME TO MAKE THE MOVE FOR REAL MONEY! WE WILL HANG OUT AT LOST COVE FOR THE NEXT WEEK AND SEE IF OUR DEMANDS ARE MET IN THE MEANTIME PUT OUT FEELERS AND LET US KNOW WHAT OTHER COUNTRIES MIGHT PAY FOR THIS INCREDIBLE TECHNOLOGY. HOPEFULLY THIS WILL ALL BE OVER SOON AND WE WILL BE RICH BEYOND OUR WILDEST DREAMS. AND IT WILL SURE BE PLEASURE TO RID OURSELVES OF THIS NUTTY GOMEZ FELLOW. WE WOULD SEND HIM OVERBOARD NOW, BUT HE IS THE ONLY ONE WHO KNOWS HOW TO DRIVE THE BOAT.
Q
How the code was cracked:

[spoiler]Staggering Genius’ observation that “The words LAEGOVLPDEC, LEAEGOVLPDC, LEEAEEGOVLPEDCE differ only in their Es” gave a strong clue that the Es should be removed. Not knowing what to do with the digits 1-9, I tried removing them as well, but that led nowhere. I then found the Caesar-shifted BLACKBROW, and spent some time looking for other shifted words- again, nothing.

I restored the digits 1-9 and looked again, and got lucky. I noticed the words OGXHDPB and OGXHGMT- two seven letter words that share the first four letters. I had previously considered that OGXHGMT might be ‘Captain’- so perhaps OGXHDPB could be ‘capture’? Plugging that in was enough to see another word that had to be ‘afternoon’, which led to the realisation that the digits stood for the letter E. (‘Capture’ turned out to be ‘captors’, in fact). It should have been plain sailing from there but I got my codes mixed up and convinced myself that the key was shifting somehow, when in fact it is the same key across all the messages.[/spoiler]