Campaign Chunk Volume 10.6 – The Puzzle Statue
In 1990 outside the headquarters of the CIA, a sculpture by the American artist Jim Sanborn was unveiled. This artwork is inscribed with what appears to be four encrypted messages. As of yet, only 3 of these messages have been solved. For the most part, many people ignore it and consider it an oddity, a talking piece and nothing more. Then, one day, 25 years later, another artwork was discovered in the middle of a jungle, discovered by a logging company clearing the trees.
When discovered, it was covered by vines and leaves and had been there for ages. On close examination of the area, it appears to be that the sculpture is, in fact, older than the one outside the CIA building
Close examination revealed that the sculpture only resembled the original one done in front of the CIA building. On it are 5 messages this time, in various languages and codes. One of the languages appears to be cuniform, another uses western letters, a third uses a form of mandarin, the fourth a form of pictograms. The 5th language-message appears to be related to nothing. Unlike the letters in the more famous sculptures, which are hollow, these letters are filled with a metal that resembles a mixture of silver and titanium.
The local government is preparing to move the sculpture to an undisclosed location, for further study
Hooks & Rumours
- Some are saying this was a plant by a local environmental group to stop the felling of the trees in the area.
- The material the sculpture is made from is defying attempts to date and examine it. It appears to be some form of an advanced alloy with massive amounts of graphene within it as well as something they can’t identify.
- A few scholars are saying that the coded messages are all the same message, but they can’t as yet determine what the message means.
one popular theory is that the 5 languages are part of the same code and linked together, not 5 separate messages, adding a new layer to the complexity of the message or messages. - A second sculpture of the same design has been found buried under the sand in the middle of the Sahara desert. The messages appear to be the same, but the design of the sculpture and the material is not the same as the other one.
- Press have been alert around the world that the 5th message and the entire sculpture has been translated and it will be revealed. The author though has “gone missing” jus before they were scheduled to announce what they have discovered.
- Protests are underway at the local parliament building to pressure the government to keep the sculpture in a location like a mueseum so that it can be studied by all. So far the government has refused to comment one way or the other.
Inspired by – Kryptos
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kryptos
Volume 9 of the compiled and updated Campaign Chunks is available at DrivethruRPG.com
http://www.drivethrurpg.com/product/178179/Campaign-Chunk–Volume-9
