How we got here...
The end of 2022 ushered in a new unknown threat to the world. A threat that attacked humans, plants and animals alike. No living entity was safe. The announcement of this was called, "The Blackest Friday", as it fell on the typical United States shopping holiday black Friday just after thanksgiving. A series of events occured after that that brings us to the where the story is today.
Humanity is dying and society has collapsed. Separate factions have risen to govern groups of survivors and an interconnected web of trusts now battle for resources while a small but powerful group of scientists look for a solution to save everyone. There are many secrets that few hold. Find then and you can fight the future by solving the past.
There is more...
You have decided to take part is something that is new. Something that has and will have lots put in to it. There will be secrets to find and puzzles to solve and you being here shows that you are ready to take this journey.
What is this?
This is a story, a puzzle, a mystery to be solved and a game to be played. What is the story, well I don't want to tell you too much but I'll give you this much. Something went terribly wrong.....
For years I (Xavior) have been into watching and trying to solve online ARG's (alternate reality games). I wanted to do something beyond just make a magic trick or sell a deck of cards. I wanted to create a universe, something that everyone can go as far as they want to go with in the story. If they want to at all. So there is a story. But there is more to the story then what is told in the comic alone. The cards will help find more of the story as well as the clues hidden around videos, social media, pictures and within the comic itself. There will be opportunity for all of you to decide where the story goes as well. This is not just a deck of cards, this is an experience, this is a journey. And because there is so much to this.......
You need more...
This story and journey will take more then just being smart. There are some tools you'll need and you'll need to be aware and vigilant. There are a few tools you'll need. Some will be things that you can find on websites and use easily. But some puzzles will take more like the tool audacity to analyze audio for things hidden behind the sound. At the end will be a list of a few tools that you can use for free in order to help you along in this journey.
This isn't the end...
You are seeing this you are part of a small group of people who have access to the early prototypes of this particular puzzle. This will not be on the full finished key. Below we will be giving examples of the types of puzzles that will be included in the beginning of this journey.
Types of puzzles...
Ciphers, hex code, binary and morse code
The simplest and sometimes super complex puzzles you'll encounter will be scattered all through our world. Sometimes it will be binary, hex code or morse code that you can see and then use to find the information. Other times it will be a combination of this and another type of puzzle talked about in this section. Below are examples
Hex code: 54 68 69 73 20 69 73 20 68 65 78 20 63 6f 64 65 2e 0d 0a
Binary: 01001111 01000111 00100000 01000010 01101001 01101110 01100001 01110010 01111001 (puzzles like this can be shown differently perhaps with different size lines or things that can represent 1's and 0's respectively. Keep your wits upon you.)
Morse Code: ... --- -- . / ... . -.-. .-. . - ... / .-. . --.- ..- .. .-. . / .--. .- - .. . -. -.-. . (as with binary puzzles like this can be shows with different size objects or things that will represent dashes and dots.)
Ciphers and cipher fonts: There are fonts like the font below PigPen Cipher which is a type of cipher but is also a font. So there is no key word in order to figure out the cipher you just have to figure out the shapes and that will give you the letters. For different ciphers you will need different solutions and different keys to help you find the solution.
Images:
Some of the puzzles will include image puzzles these will range from text or ciphers hidden with in the image or video or will require you to check contrast for clues into hidden things with in the image. You can use photopea if you don't have image software as its free and web based links will be provided below. Also there may be puzzles where images will be coded into other images and you cannot see what is contained with out software. The software is free and called file juicer. This can add and extract files from images as well as other images. So keep your eyes open and mind open to the different types of puzzles you may run into.
This is an image that will require you to alter the image using an image editing program like photoshop or photopea. For this particular image the contrast needs to be changed. You can use this image by saving it or screen shotting as this is a full size image.
This image required a contrast change to see the hidden font. Sometimes this can be an image or incorporate the other puzzles like binary to be shown.
This image will require a file juicing program like FileJuicer. Then you will find the hidden image inside the code of the main image. I'll leave it to you to try it yourself.
There has been a realization as some of you cannot use this file but there are online tools that can help on this type of puzzle. They are all web based so you will not need to download anything if you don't wish to.
https://incoherency.co.uk/image-steganography/
https://stylesuxx.github.io/steganography/
There are others. A quick google search will help you find them...
Sound
There will be things that will be release that may have sound that are part of the puzzles. These clues or puzzles can go beyond just the dialog but could include backwards audio, morse code sounds or even sounds that can contain images that can be seen through a spectrum analyzer. We suggest audacity as it is free and widely known to be used for just this type of thing.
This is an example of Morse code as an audio file.
You will need to know and understand morse code to decipher the sounds. There are many websites to help with this. You can do an internet search for Morse Code Translator and find resources.
Another type of audio type puzzle will be images hidden in sound. This sounds weird and its quite amazing but here is an example:
This will need another type of software that will allow you to see more than the wave form. I suggest Audacity. It's free and for this its quite easy to use.
First download the audio file above. Then open it in audacity. and you should see the wave form.
Near the name of the file click and a menu will open. Click Spectrogram.
Once you click it you should see the image hidden in the sound.
You should try it your self it's quite amazing.
Keep in mind that audio can also be played backwards as well, so pay attention to what you're hearing.
This is just the beginning...
The puzzles you have found so far as just and entry into the types of things you'll be seeing in this journey. As time goes on they will get harder and more complex. Combining puzzle types and leading to different paths, places, websites, documents, videos and more. This is a dream to be able to do this and I truly hope you enjoy what this is going to become. There is so much planned that has yet to be talked about. But if you're willing you'll find out along the way. If you have ideas share them with us. We want you to be a part of this. We want you to take the plunge. Good luck. And remember n0one is with you.
One last thing...
This game uses various mediums to give you information, including emails. Because of that if you use an email for something during this story that isn't real you will not be able to progress as the clues will be sent to that fake email.