I remember reading about Dropquest last year but unfortunately I didn't know about it at the time to participate. For those who do not know, it's a scavenger hunt that Dropbox does similar to MIT's Mystery Hunt (I've had friend who went to MIT who told me about how fun and challenging it was). I looked through it afterwards and it seemed like a really fun thing to do. I didn't exactly put it on my calendar or anything but I saw an article online announcing it on Saturday evening (May 12, 2012) and decided to give it a shot. I figured out quite a lot of it myself but there were a few where I checked with a Google Doc that contained a walkthrough. Namely, I'm still puzzled about Chapter 20 and the Endgame solutions.
Chapter 1
This one was a set of 5 equations to solve for 5 numbers
The solution is 38645
- The product of the first two digits is 24.
- The fourth digit is half of the second digit.
- The sum of the last two digits is the same as the sum of the first and third digits.
- The sum of all the digits is 26.
- The second digit is greater than the last digit.
The future's an obnoxious place! Had to start some diagnostics on the computer to figure out what parts we were missing.
- Captain's Log, Chapter 1
Chapter 2
The file 38645.txt placed in my Dropbox read:
Damage report:
3 parts critically damaged:
- spectroscopic dielectric amplifier
- plasmonic hypercapacitor
- super-special, quantum, sapphire Dropbox core (55% intact)
Vehicle is still flight-ready.
To replace the core, please consult the engineering team staff directory (http://www.dropbox.com/about) for further instructions.
1. Someone with six letters in their first name (including 2 capital letters).
2. Someone with an initial instead of their last name.
3. Someone who's a recruiter.
4. Someone who wears glasses.
5. Someone who's next-door neighbors with an animal.
1) ChenLi Wang - The clue was about a knight (in chess) so each following person can be found by moving like a knight
2) Ramsey H.
3) Allison Louie
4) Naveen Agraval
5) Emily Zhao
The first letter of each one spells out CRANE, which is used in the url for the next step.
It's time to scavenge for parts... we hailed our engineering team to figure out where to head next. Dominated a game of chess to get there.
- Captain's Log, Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Icons correspond to
1. Sharing
2. Move
3. Upload
4. Download
5. Get Started
6. Events
7. Show deleted files
The first letter of each one spells out SMUDGES
The next gate to our success lay in a bunch of cryptic icons Emily left for us to decipher. Luckily I recognized them from somewhere I visit every once in a while...
- Captain's Log, Chapter 3
Chapter 4
This one had a bunch of locations separated into days and a hint which was Google Maps. When you input each location in order and get the directions it spells out a letter.
Monday - S
Tuesday - O
Thursday - M
Saturday - A
Spells out SOMA
This strange journey is quite complicated! Today I retraced a lot of routes I normally take every day-- it's hard to believe that these places existed just 'yesterday'.
- Captain's Log, Chapter 4
Chapter 5
After tracing through my steps, we've ended up in SOMA (South of Market), which I believe is where Dropbox's headquarters were at back in our time. Many hologram displays (just like the one we saw earlier) speckled the streets, but many of them were out of energy. Maybe we can power them with some of the juice from the time machine and get some more clues, like we did from the last display. Now we just need to assign the right cables with the right outlets. UGH. What is with all these symbols on everything this trip?
Based on REI article, the plug types spell out MADLIB
Chapter 6
Inverting the image, there are three squares whose colors don't match with the text. The M D Y gives a date for the event. Go to that date and you find the next clue.
Chapter 7
The legend gives the time points for the comments which contain letters. It spelled out DEALING
Chapter 8
So after tinkering around with the hologram computer, we listened to some audio that was sent from... someone. After following a few clues, we received a message from this someone.
Hey there,
I can imagine this whole future thing is throwing you for a loop, but everything will start making sense soon. There are people watching, so we have to speak in code. I know what parts you need, and can point you to the first piece. Trust me on this one.
This is a clue that only someone from your time would understand.
Mascots:
MIT - Tim the Beaver
URI - Rhody the Ram
LMU - Iggy the Lion
UGA - Uga the Bulldog
LSU - Mike the Tiger
GSU - Pounce the blue panther
UNLV University of Nevada - Hey Reb
UF - University Florida - Albert the Gator
UNCC - UNC Charlotte - Norm
MIT - Tim the Beaver
MIT - Tim the Beaver
URI - Rhody the Ram
LMU - Iggy the Lion
UGA - Uga the Bulldog
LSU - Mike the Tiger
GSU - Pounce the blue panther
UNLV University of Nevada - Hey Reb
UF - University Florida - Albert the Gator
UNCC - UNC Charlotte - Norm
MIT - Tim the Beaver
The first letter of each one spells out TRIUMPHANT
Chapter 9
Well, it seems like we can trust our mysterious benefactor for now... we've got one plasmonic hypercapacitor down, and a handful more parts to go. But there's no word from our helper on where to head next. Luckily for us; it looks like we got an update back from our onboard computer after putting the part in, so we've got ourselves a bit of a time extension. Let's check out what's landed in our Dropquest folder. We may have to do a little bit of reordering of the data to figure out what to do next though.
Ordering by file extension, and the message "Your next destination is the last page of the tour"
Going to https://www.dropbox.com/tour you'll find the e-mail on the last page. The one I was given was boxer@dropbox.com.
Chapter 10
Even after inviting our benefactor to Dropbox, we've still got no word from him. So after you suggested we do some more exploring, we headed back into the city. It's kind of strange seeing how some everyday places have evolved over time-- homes, businesses, and supermarkets all look the same, just filled with things that neither of us recognized. But one thing that I've noticed now that we're out here is that all the cars are gone. I don't see a single vehicle at all. Does this mean that everyone drove away? Or maybe there's a smarter way to travel (a mega carpool lane?).While doing some more scouting, we came upon a museum that I used to go to all the time as a kid. 40 years later, they have a featured exhibit on the 2010s. How convenient! While I don't see any of the parts we need, the center of the exhibit has a strangely familiar locked box with the following etched onto it.
Something doesn't seem to belong though...
TEO is the stock ticker symbol of a company in Argentina.
Chapter 11
As luck would have it, the box contained a spectroscopic dielectric amplifier (who keeps these things laying around anyway?). Also, our benefactor (let's call him Benny) got back to us!Hey, I've got directions to your next stop (and the last part you need), but you'll need to do a little deciphering.I've encoded this message using one of the early file encryption schemes that Drew Houston and Arash Ferdowsi tried out before Dropbox was released. In this scheme, files are split into equal-sized "blocks", and each block is encrypted with a different Caesar shift. The encryption turned out to not be very secure, so you should be able to crack it!UEHVDQADRZWGJXFVFIWEJTWKSRBESAQADRZNXAOWGQTHPWoah! I think that Benny means to say that our super-special, quantum, sapphire Dropbox core is at our next stop.
UEHVD QADRZ WGJXF VFIWE JTWKS RBESA QADRZ NXAOW GQTHP
Splitting the text into 9 five letter blocks that each spell block, the numbers of the cipher shift is 19, 15, 21, 20, 8, 16, 15, 12, 5. Finding these letters in the alphabet gives the answer.
The answer is SOUTHPOLE
Chapter 12
We descended from the clouds into the harsh environment of the Antarctic. There was ice as far as the eye could see, and we managed to fly by a few penguins on our way in. Benny's directions led us straight to an empty patch of ice that was eerily silent. In the middle of the clearing atop a stone pedestal was the super-special quantum, sapphire Dropbox core! What was odd was that it seemed like it was tampered with a bit, and there were fresh footprints in the snow. I didn't give it much thought because the core was there, so I inserted it into the time machine and it seemed to fire up just fine. Time to head home! Our journey is at long last at its end. Peace out, future!
P.S. I've been keeping a captain's log of our trip in case you ever want to revisit each step we've taken!
Checking the log,
Something has gone wrong... but luckily I was so excited that I forgot to bring you along as my passenger! Can you set the tracer log (this file) back to the last time we met? I'm counting on you... you're my only hope!
Restore to the previous version of the file:- Captain's Log, Chapter 12
Chapter 13
Turns out the core was tainted. Luckily, having a buddy does wonders. I was plunged into a place between the fabric of time and space. The time machine's communication gadget knows no bounds, and without it, I'd be trapped in limbo and we'd never get down to the heart of this mystery. So I sense some foul play. I have a feeling that Benny is trying to foil our plans to return home, but why would he? Why would someone plant a counterfeit super-special, quantum, sapphire Dropbox core in a place we'd find so easily? I think something's definitely fishy here, and I think it's on us to get to the bottom of it all.When you visit http://www.dropbox.com/help the icon for "Security and Privacy" is the shield from Zelda. Clicking leads to the next chapter.
I checked back in with the engineering team by examining our core's reference guide for a shield from an old video game. It's our only link to the past.
Chapter 14
At Emily's recommendation, we've flown to Ayers Rock where we should be able to find our next clue. She's told us that a heat signature really similar to the genuine super-special, quantum, sapphire Dropbox core was last seen there, so maybe we'll find something of value there. We've come upon some ruins, with some fresh etchings in the wall, and what seem to be some movable blocks. Hmm... I wonder what'll happen if I move the blocks to match the etchings...
Chapter 15
Upon solving the mystery of the ruins, giant stone walls moved aside to reveal... my time machine?? No, wait. It's slightly different... more refined. The parts seem a bit more sophisticated. Just then, a message pops up on our computer. It's from Benny.If you're receiving this message, then something has gone wrong. Let me be upfront with you, because this means we are probably running out of time.
I am you.
Well, a future version of the past you, to be exact. The only reason your timeline is a bit different (and the reason why you're in this predicament) is because the super-special, quantum sapphire Dropbox core is actually brought back to your time from the future, my time. The truth is, I made the time machine several years back (2038), but evil men who hoped to use the power of the Dropbox core to alter the events of history were after my research. Rather than forfeit the core to them, I used my own time machine to land in 2006 to leave the core in your care. Without the core, I lived only as an observer and watched as you built your very own time machine. I didn't think you'd be dumb enough to hop into the future though ;).
Without the Dropbox core, the world went all sorts of crazy. There was a huge cataclysmic event in the 2050s which I luckily survived. Meanwhile, I figured that you would probably hop to the future totally unprepared (the altered ionosphere is actually what caused your crash landing). But you'll be able to return home. Using parts from my own time machine, I planted the critical parts you need across the world, and set in motion a program to make sure you were guided there every step of the way. I don't have enough raw materials to complete another Dropbox core; but if you add my pieces to your pieces, you should have enough to get going.
But the reason you were led here is because the core I planted was moved. Evil men exist in all timelines, and they're probably going to use the core again for nefarious means. I have a script that can help us track down the core though, but we need to move quickly. Share a new folder (not your Dropquest folder) with me (boxer@dropbox.com) and we'll get moving.Follow the instructions - create a New Folder, share with boxer@dropbox.com. Files will then be placed in there.
Chapter 16
notes.txtYou should head to the library. I've got a pile of articles waiting for you, but you'll notice something different about them. Let's just say I played a game of Mad Libs with them. Many of the words in these sentences don't belong. Once you figure out which words these are, you must also know that all of these words are headless. After you've figured it out, your next destination is a place on dropbox.com with two of these.1.txt
The mobile professional has myriad devices on which files live, which makes having a dependable syncing program a must. Dropbox (Free, 4 stars) fills that role nicely with an iPad app that evokes its desktop and mobile phone products. Like those other versions of the free file synchronization application, Dropbox for iPad features a simple interface, easy uploading, and swift syncing across all accounts. Overall, it's an excellent, affordably priced too (you can use it for free if you need 2GB of storage or less) for the business-minded person on the go. You still can't move files between folders, but you can upload multiple files at once and save to sub-divisions - improvements that have been added since we last looked at the app. It's more than worthy of an Editors' Choice award.2.txt
"We're always looking for ways to make lives easier and solve the basic problems people face everyday," said Drew Houston, CEO and co-founder of Dropbox. "Sending files has always been a painful process, but now with Dropbox, sharing with friends, family, and colleagues is effortless."3.txt
Just last month, Dropbox was voted "startup of the year" at the annual Crunchies Awards. But it also faces enormous competition in the file sharing space from other startups such as Box.net, CloudMe, SugarSync, Egnyte, and big players such as Apple and Google, which are both actively expanding the ability of ourselves to share files.4.txt
Dropbox allows people to access files, like documents, photos and music, on any device wherever they are, without pesky zip files or astronomical e-mail attachments. As people edit files, Dropbox updates them so a single file is available on all devices. Most people use it free and can pay for additional storage.5.txt
I realize that not everybody works on such elaborate file-shuttling projects. But try Dropbox for its ability to keep your important files everywhere at once. Or try it as an automatic, silent, lasting backup of your essentials. Or try it so that you can get at your computer's files from your phone.6.txt
Adorable analogies aside, Dropbox 2.0 for Android offers a host of new features. These include Favorites, which allows you to star and access files offline; Bulk Uploads, for adding multiple files simultaneously; File Renaming, don't make me explain that; and the ability to import and export from local storage. It will also support the new Ice Cream Sandwich OS. And for students, or at least people that have held onto their old college email accounts, Dropbox is offering 500MB of bonus storage for every new member they refer to the service - double the standard referral deal.7.txt
At Dropbox's San Francisco headquarters, Houston (pronounced like the Manhattan street, not the city in Texas) sits in a sea of engineers under a iridescent sign that reads "ITJUSTWORKS" with "just work" flashing in blue. His desk is blanketed in a flurry of resumes an inch thick and his attention constantly darts between four 24-inch monitors.
Finding each of these quotes from articles, you can find the differences in each
1.txt - evokes/complements
2.txt - lives/life
3.txt - ourselves/users
4.txt - astronomical/hulking
5.txt - lasting/encrypted
6.txt - deal/rate
7.txt - iridescent/neon
I'm not totally sure how the words really pertain but when you click on the rainbow icon on the Sharing page you'll be taken to the next chapter.
Chapter 17
1st line is days of the week, missing SUNDAYAfter discovering the secrets of the double rainbow, we flew to Victoria Falls to witness it in person. Luckily, natural wonders like the Falls weren't ravaged by the cataclysm, and it was as gorgeous as I had seen in pictures. As soon as we got there though, we got a glimpse of the ever elusive time bandits! They knew we were onto them, and immediately ran off in their vehicle. They were in such a huge rush to escape that one of them dropped their phone! Upon examining it, it seemed that there were some encrypted contents on it:
DNMOYASUYDEATNSDEEYDAWUHDRYASTRAFYIDTRUSYADA LUSHBAFDCOODEPYYPGRUMPLEESYNESEZY STAUURIMEINGANCCREELOGRIVOBRAILSCRPOIOTARGISTUSAIPRICRNOCAARQAUISUSPEICS CERMRYUEVSUNTHEARMRASPUJTIERTSAURNRUUNAS NEVYLUGTONYTUSLTPIDERTHOLSARTHW TRAXOGRIETBRATIBDGRAONKNASETAOGKONMEYOROSTREGDOIPG LIHEMUENONPYKORTNONXENRDAON DRERANGEOLOWEYLRGENELBUELIVOTE
Just as we were looking at it, we received a new message from Benny.Woah, seems like the time bandits are also pretty familiar with the history of Dropbox! These look like they were encrypted with another one of the rejected Dropbox encryption schemes from back in the early days. In this one, files are split into uneven blocks and the contents within each block are scrambled. This scheme turned out to be insecure too, so you should be able to decipher it!
2nd line is 7 dwarves, missing HAPPY
3rd line is horoscope signs, missing ARIES
4th line is planets, missing NEPTUNE
5th line is deadly sins, missing GREED
6th line is Chinese zodiac, missing HORSE
7th line is noble gases, missing ARGON
8th line is colors of the rainbow, missing INDIGO
The first letter of each spells out SHANGHAI
Chapter 18
We were able to discover the location of their Shanghai base. It was hidden in the basement of a shopping center, in a small room. Schematics were strewn all around, strongly resembling the plans for my own time machine. Random parts also dotted the walls. Beyond that, there was a huge collection of what seemed like random objects on a table. Why would they bother keeping this crap? I figure that even though they're my enemy, I'll still spend a few minutes doing a bit of spring cleaning for them. I'll start by sorting this pile of stuff for them and dragging the right things into the right place. I'll need to hop onto the Dropbox website to make this easier to visualize though.There are two folders, Category 1 and Category 2. Category 1 contains an image of a water drop and Category 2 contains an image of a box. There are also 10 images.
1.jpg - boat - DROP boat
2.jpg - fuse of a bomb - fuse BOX
3.jpg - shadow of a person - DROP shadow
4.jpg - ballot - ballot BOX
5.jpg - lit match - match BOX
6.jpg - dead bird - DROP dead
7.jpg - glass of orange juice - juice BOX
8.jpg - light switch in the off position - DROP down
9.jpg - syringe - syringe DROP
10.jpg - cheerios - BOX of cheerios
This triggers the next chapter.
Chapter 19
Cleaning yielded fantastic results! As soon as everything was sorted into its correct place, the power in the base was activated. There weren't any computers to be seen, but the lights illuminated the interior of the base. Some spotlights were shining onto one wall in particular... it seemed to be a bulletin board filled with pictures, diagrams, and more time-machinish schematics. In the middle was this poster:
2. Audi TT
3. Subtract the smaller card from the larger card
This gives a shortened url: http://db.tt/Q2J9J4
Chapter 20
Rejected Dropbox Movie IdeasNotes.txt
Back in my original timeline, they made a feature film about Dropbox. As with all movies, there were a bunch of rejected ideas before people finally decided on the best approach. I've dug up a few of those from the archives for you to check out. You should be able to extract a password from these documents. Once you have it, enter it at dropbox.com/dropquest2012/[password] (no spaces).
1.txt
During the summer right after his graduation from MIT, Drew Houston finds out that his rival from high school just inherited three Las Vegas casinos from his wealthy father: the Bellagio, the MGM Grand, and the Mirage. He approaches his old friend Arash Ferdowsi, and together they gather up a crew of elite software engineers to hack into the casinos' electronic systems and steal money under the guise of a file syncing company called Dropbox.
2.txt
We explore the beginnings of Drew and Arash's partnership as they scour the world for other extraordinary software engineers to join them at Dropbox. Together, they help each other harness their superhuman software engineering powers. Drew tries his best to convince Arash and the others that they can coexist with non-engineers, but Arash believes that they are superior to everyone else. The movie ends with Arash and a small faction of Dropbox splitting away because of this irresolvable conflict.
3.txt
Drew and Arash are in the early stages of developing Dropbox, but they realize they're running out of money. They have no potential investors, so they decide to learn how to count cards and make money by playing blackjack in Las Vegas.
4.txt
As young kids, Drew and Arash witness a train derailment in rural Ohio. Upon further investigation, they realize that the train was carrying an alien that had crash-landed on Earth. They use the alien's advanced technological knowledge to invent Dropbox's file syncing system.
5.txt
A virus breaks out in England that causes rage. Drew and Arash create Dropbox so the infected people will still have their files after recovering. The only problem is that in their rage, the infected people destroy their computers before they can install the Dropbox client.
6.txt
At the beginning of the movie, Arash approaches Drew about a psychological problem he's suffering from: he can see dead software companies. Instead of helping to cure Arash, Drew realizes they can use his ability to learn from the mistakes of those past companies and make sure Dropbox succeeds.These are the storylines to popular movies
- Oceans 11
- X-Men: First Class
- 21
- Super 8
- 28 Days Later
- Sixth Sense
Chapter 21
This means that each line was encoded with either one or two functions.After speaking the password out loud, a secret panel slid up to reveal a computer with some weird looking text on the screen-- hmm... maybe this is how we can track these guys down for good.THE QUICK WN F JUMS VE THE LAZY G THA QOECK BRIWN FIX JOMPS IVAR THA LUZY DIG THA QECK IWN FI JMS IVA THA LUZY IG QUICK JUMS LAZY QUICK BROWN JUMPS OVER LAZY THU QIACK BREWN FEX JIMPS EVUR THU LOZY DEG EHT KCIUQ BROWN FOX JUMPS REVO EHT LAZY DOG THA QOECK WN F JOMS VA THA LUZY G AHT KCEOQ BRIWN FIX JOMPS IVAR AHT LUZY DIGAs we examined the computer screen, a message came in from Benny.This looks like it was encrypted using yet another rejected Dropbox encryption scheme. This one is more complicated than the other ones you've seen, so listen closely.Drew and Arash decided that splitting files into blocks wasn't helping, so they dropped that idea and decided to go with a more complicated encoding function. They brainstormed a bunch of ideas, and eventually realized that they could apply multiple functions in succession on the same file to hopefully make it more secure. They decided to keep 4 functions from their brainstorming session:Function 1 - Remove all letters that appear in the word DROPBOX
Function 2 - Replace each vowel with the one before it (a→u, e→a, i→e, o→i, u→o)
Function 5 - Reverse every word that starts with a letter in the second half of the alphabet.
Function 9 - Remove all words that have 3 letters or less.It looks like the time bandits encrypted the exact same sentence multiple times, using either one or two of these functions (or the same function twice) each time. If you can figure out which functions were applied to each encrypted version of the sentence, you should be able to get the password to unlock their computer.
The unencrypted sentence is "THE QUICK BROWN FOX JUMPS OVER THE LAZY DOG"
- Function 1
- Function 2
- Function 2, Function 1
- Function 1, Function 9
- Function 9
- Function 2, Function 2
- Function 5
- Function 1, Function 2
- Function 2, Function 5
This spells out ABUSIVELY
Chapter 22
Now that we got the password into their computer, maybe we can finally locate where their actual base is. The screen suddenly displays a large map, and we're presented with what seem like a bunch of math problems, but instead of numbers there are... flags? Also on the screen are a list of websites, and a periodic table of the elements, and a collection of music...? What in the world is this?Use the ccTLD code for each country to get the associated periodic element and use that for the calculations and the solution is the corresponding midi file
[(Cuba * Namibia) + Madagascar] mod 163
cu-copper-29, na-sodium-11, mg-magnesium-12
((29 * 11) + 12) mod 163 = 5
[(Micronesia * Senegal) * Georgia] mod 23
fm-fermium-100, sn-tin-50, ge-germanium-32
(100 / 50) * 32 mod 23 = 18
[Portugal - Russia - Liechtenstein] mod 18
pt-platinum-78 ru-ruthenium-44 li-lithium-3
[78 - 44 - 3] mod 18 = 13
[(Nicaragua * Seychelles) / Macao] mod 5
ni-nickel-28, sc-scandium-21, mo-molybdenum-42
[28 * 21 / 42] mod 5 = 14
[(Bosnia + India) / Brazil] mod 2
ba-barium-56, in-indium-49, br-bromine-35
[(56 + 49) / 35] mod 2 = 1
NOTES (“,” means snare hit):
01: C E D ,
02: C A G ,
03: C A B , A G E
04: E G ,
05: , E G
06: D E , F
07: C A, E
08: , A B B A G E
09: , E E F
10: F A C ,
11: A C E
12: B E , F
13: , E A F
14: , A B B A G E
15: , E G
16: A G ,
17: C E D ,
18: D E , F
19: D E C , D E
20: D E C H D
Corresponding these to the midi files gives:
,EG / DE,F / ,EAF / ,ABBAGE / CED,
The missing letters spell out BADGE (perhaps they made a mistake with midi 8 and 14 being the same?).
Chapter 23
This rabbit hole is getting pretty intense, but I have a feeling that we're extremely close to our quarry. After submitting the last password, we're greeted with a giant database with a bunch of odd symbols and gibberish. There's only one thing we can make out: http://www.twitter.com/dropquestalpha
Alpha: 18.836043, -72.545993 (Haiti)
Beta: 30.836043, -60.545993 (Somewhere in Atlantic Ocean)
Gamma: 14.836043, -36.545993 (Somewhere in Atlantic Ocean)
Delta 2.836043, -48.545993 (Somewhere in Atlantic Ocean)
Epsilon: -9.163957, -36.545993 (PE-214, PE, Brazil)
Zeta: -25.163957, -60.545993 (Ruta Provincial 9, Formosa, Argentina)
Eta “??????”
Theta: -25.163957, -84.545993 (Somewhere in Pacific Ocean)
Iota: -9.163957, -108.545993 (Somewhere in Pacific Ocean)
Kappa: 2.836043, -96.545993 (Somewhere in Pacific Ocean)
Lambda: 14.836043, -108.545993 (North Pacific Ocean)
Mu: 30.836043, -84.545993 (Unnamed Rd, Brainbridge, GA, 39819)
Nu: -25.163957, -96.545993 (Somewhere in Pacific Ocean)
Xi: -41.163957, -72.545993 (Ruta U99-V Puerto Varas, Los Lagos, Chile)
Omi: -25.163957, -48.545993 (SP-230 São Paulo, Brazil )
Omicron: doesn’t exist
Pi: 49.156113, 9.714661
Rho: 52.359405, 5.221231
Sigma: 51.778936, -1.268085
Tau: 25.163957, -84.545993
Upsilon doesn’t exist
Phi Doesn’t exist
Chi doesn’t exist
Psi doesn’t exist
Omega “Hans Wurst” -- no coordinates
I get the following map. It looks like it follows a Golden spiral whose center is somewhere in Peru. The most well known landmark there is Machu Picchu
Endgame
We descended onto the base, nestled within the center of Machu Picchu. The ruins were the same as I'd remembered them in pictures, but there was a large building in the center of the complex. There weren't that many people-- maybe 10 at most. It was really bizarre that this was the first chance I got to really watch how people carried on with their lives in the future... but nothing seemed really out of the ordinary. I'd guess that the base functions as a large factory of sorts. There was heavy machinery all over the place, and the people occupying the base seemed to all be proficient with mechanical stuff. As luck would have it, they were eating dinner! Smelled of mac and cheese, but I wasn't curious enough to find out... because they left the time machine they were building unwatched! With the grace of a ninja, I slipped from shadow to shadow until I was only meters away from the time machine. I knew these schematics... they either stole them from myself or Benny. I crept up slowly and began to detach the nearly complete super-special, quantum sapphire Dropbox core from their machine. With a click, it came right out, and an alarm began to blare!We sprinted out of their compound as quickly as we could and hopped into my time machine, before they gave chase in their own vehicles. Just then, our communicator began ringing and a voice came through:Due to the time currents, you can only return to the past from one spot in the world-- known as the time gate. You'll need to think through your journey to figure out where it is--!The call was abruptly cut off but an image was transferred to our screen. We were left to race across the world while fumbling to get the core in place. But where do we go? How do we make sense of all this while being chased?
Hint 1 - ORDERLOGSBYSIZE
Hint 2 - NINELETTERWORD
Logs Ordered by Size (smallest first)
Chapter 6.txt - nominally
Chapter 10.txt - timepiece
Chapter 8.txt - histories
Chapter 7.txt - constants - weirdness
Chapter 1.txt - obnoxious
Chapter 13.txt - rebounded
Chapter 2.txt - dominated
Chapter 18.txt - seemingly
Chapter 9.txt - objective
Chapter 5.txt - fastening
Chapter 23.txt - literally
Chapter 21.txt - operation
Chapter 11.txt - generated
Chapter 3.txt - somewhere
Chapter 20.txt - beguiling
Chapter 4.txt - yesterday
Chapter 19.txt - continent
Chapter 14.txt - headaches
Chapter 15.txt - acquiring
Chapter 17.txt - pertained
Chapter 16.txt - certainly
Chapter 22.txt - educative
Chapter 12.txt - examining
Answer is COLOSSEUM
Epilogue
Rome was in shambles. What made it particularly odd was that even though a lot of the skyscrapers had toppled, a lot of the ancient ruins were still completely intact. We landed as quickly as we could in the center of the colosseum without breaking the time machine with our landing. Within the expanses of the arena, I began the sequence to perform the time jump. The time bandits were within sight-- we only had a few seconds to make this all happen. The countdown began. "5..." The time bandits landed several paces away from us, and began to jump out of their vehicle. "4... 3..." They began sprinting at us with full force, brandishing weapons. "2..." They began to take aim. "1..."All of a sudden, a bright explosion took place right in front of them, stunning them momentarily. As our machine lurched backward to return us to our own time, I could only make out a silhouette in front of me, smiling. With a whoosh, reality distorted around us and the machine spirited us back to my workshop, where the room looked just as I had left it. We sat there for a few minutes before we finally composed ourselves to get out.Who was the mystery man? Could it have been Benny? Regardless, I now know how fragile time is, and that the Dropbox core shouldn't be misused. I learned so much from my time travels... but instead of hopping around to witness it, I'm going to make it my job to prevent whatever catastrophe is going to occur years from now. I placed a tarp over the time machine, and slowly walked away. What a ridiculous day!
Congratulations
You've traveled back and forth from the future and have solved the secrets of the super-special, quantum, sapphire Dropbox core! Congratulations, time traveler! You have uncovered many secrets and puzzles that many thought impossible. Throughout your quest, you've amassed a total of 1 GB of space.
You placed #47633 with a time of 08:52:34
Your achievement's been immortalized on the Dropquest Wall of Fame!
Awesome job!
Thanks for participating in Dropquest! We'll see you next time.
So that's a pretty awful completion time but I started it and left it open while doing other things in the middle (i.e. playing League of Legends, eating, etc.).
