Ike Hamill - The Vivisectionist

“Cool,” said Ben. “I’ll go wake up sleeping beauty.”

“Oh, I bet he’s already awake,” said Jack.

“Huh?”

“He wakes up early to watch you as you’re still sleeping,” said Jack. “I saw him do it in the tent about a million times.”

“What?” said Ben.

Jack chuckled — “You’re dumb.”

“Very funny.”

Ben crept back to the guest room where Stephen was looking for clothes to put on.

“What did he say?” whispered Stephen.

“We’re on,” answered Ben. “He has seen the light.”

“You the man!” said Stephen. “Let’s keep moving so he doesn’t change this mind.”

After they boys cleaned up and had breakfast, they went back up to Jack’s room to plan. Huddled around the letter, they tried to predict what they’d find and how to counter it. Jack was keeping a list of the supplies they thought they would need.

“So, here’s what I think,” started Jack. “You see this code at the bottom that says ‘6C 1B 7F 80 0D 5F F6 CB?’”

“What the hell does that mean?” asked Stephen.

“It’s hexadecimal,” said Jack. Ben and Stephen looked for further explanation. “It’s a computer numbering system — base sixteen.” he continued, but they still looked at him blankly. “Don’t they teach you about computers at your fancy schools?” he taunted.

“Anyway,” started Jack, “Each of these digits is like four pieces of information. A zero or one — it’s called ‘binary.’”

“What does that have to do with the letter?” asked Ben.

“Well, see how each paragraph begins with a zero or a one? That was my first clue that it was binary. There’s eight paragraphs and, after the first digit, seven sentences. I think he’s telling us which sentences are true and false,” said Jack.

“Get out,” said Stephen.

“Check it out.” Jack pulled out a highlighter. “If you take the ‘6C’ and apply it to the first paragraph, it says that we should find a zero, two true sentences, and one false one.” He highlighted the first and second sentences. “Then you get true, true, false, false — see”

The paragraph now showed the pattern he had described:

0. I’m sure you’re curious as to why this letter encloses money. And I’m also sure you’re wondering why a beam of laser light signals this location.My motivations will become clear if you read this letter carefully. But I caution you — don’t take my benevolence for granted. Any breach of my rules will lead to dire consequences.All loyalty will be rewarded. Let me now answer your questions.

“So, he knows we’re curious, and we’re wondering about the light. Umm, he’s not going to make his motivations clear. Don’t take him for granted, and don’t break his rules. But, he doesn’t reward loyalty and this letter won’t answer our questions,” said Jack. “See?”

“Are you sure?” asked Ben. “Couldn’t it mean something else?”

“Well, it could,” responded Jack, “But the ones and zeros that start the paragraphs line up exactly with the first bit of all these numbers at the end. That doesn’t seem like a coincidence. Odds are one in two hundred and fifty-six.”

“Now you’re just making shit up,” challenged Stephen.

“No, seriously!” said Jack. “Haven’t you ever heard that there are eight bits in a byte?”

“Not really, no,” said Stephen.

Ben added, “True story — never heard it. But Stephen, you know that Jack is a serious hacker guy. He’s always breaking into stuff.”

Jack blushed — “That’s only with simple stuff. And this is not that difficult. Maybe back in ninety-one this would have been stuff that nobody knew, but today a lot of people would figure this out.”

“You weren’t even born in ninety-one. What do you know about it?” asked Ben.

“I read stuff,” said Jack. “And I have classes. You guys don’t even go to school, do you?” he joked. “Oh, but that reminds me — there’s another thing. If you look at the ones and zeros at the beginning of each paragraph, you see 00010011, right?”

“Yeah,” said Ben.

“Well that’s hex for nineteen. See, it’s got a sixteen, a two, and a one. That makes nineteen.”

“So?” asked Ben.

“Well it’s just that there’s a bunch of nineteens in the date here. July nineteen, nineteen-ninety-one.”

“I guess,” said Ben.

Stephen was more convinced — “Okay, okay, so what else does it say?” he said.

“Well, for one, it makes sense of why he contradicts himself about the money. It’s because this sentence where he says ‘I can’t keep pouring money into this place,’ is false. But before he says ‘Money hasn’t been a problem,’ and after he says ‘a private trust provides these funds and pays the taxes.’” Jack pointed rapidly from sentence to sentence, a complete graph of the true and false sentences in his head. “Those are both true, so it’s not a contradiction.”

“I didn’t follow any of that,” said Stephen.

“Yeah, really,” said Ben. “Jack — why don’t you just highlight all the true sentences so we can follow what you’re saying.”

“You guys can’t see the pattern?” asked Jack.

“No!” said Stephen.

“Okay, whatever,” said Jack. He skimmed through the letter and had the “true” sentences highlighted in less than a minute. Huddled around the paper, Ben and Stephen read the letter from the top.

July 19th, 1991

Dear Traveler,

0. I’m sure you’re curious as to why this letter encloses money. And I’m also sure you’re wondering why a beam of laser light signals this location.My motivations will become clear if you read this letter carefully. But I caution you — don’t take my benevolence for granted. Any breach of my rules will lead to dire consequences.All loyalty will be rewarded. Let me now answer your questions.

0. In my youth, I assembled a wealth of specialized knowledge. Around the same time, I achieved financial wealth. Money hasn’t been a problem for quite a while. Because I had time and means, I was able to build this hotel.After it was completed, I realized that I wouldn’t always be around to protect my treasure; and I can’t keep pouring money into this place without getting anything in return. Also, I realized that there was no one person I could trust and I’d love to see this place stand for half of fifty years. Little by little, I developed this plan.

0. I’m offering this money as a bribe to you. All you need to do is press the button before July 19th and come collect each year — a private trust provides these funds and pays all the taxes. Money, and a copy of this letter, will appear in this location: your reward for this small puzzle. But you need to take care that nobody sees you coming here. Across the field behind you, the woods provide good cover. Approach the hotel from those woods, if you would. Like me, you would be best served if nobody saw you at the hotel.

1. If I tell you a bit about my life, you may have a better understanding of my motivations. About ten years ago, I lost my wife. May she rest in peace. Bereft, I set my mind to assembling a definitive library of my experience. Avocation became determination, and I focused my energy. Almost to the exclusion of everything else, I concentrated on documenting and preserving my knowledge. Limited health forced me to rush at the end, and there are several areas I need to expand to make my opus complete.

0. In case you’re wondering — there’s nothing in this hotel that anyone besides me would find valuable. Although the documents I’ve assembled are incomplete, I did take the precaution of encrypting the information so only I could understand it. Maybe that will discourage you from doing something inadvisable. Betray my trust at your own risk. After a while, you’ll see the value in taking my bribe.Ask no questions and you’ll be enriched for doing almost nothing. Life hardly ever presents you with such an easy decision.