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submitted on26 Oct 2009
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A Clue (geekherocomic.com)

submitted 4 months ago by siovene

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drexx 0 points1 point 4 months ago[-]

The first set of numbers is an IP address owned by the DoD :)

fsabau 3 points4 points 4 months ago* [-]

It seems the hex number is a special number that can be used to derive a private key in a PK encryption algorithm: 0x161cef2c96fcb543 == 1 593411 342973 056323 == 1262 303981 x 1262 303983. It has only 2 prime divisors apart from 1 and itself.

nitro2k01 1 point2 points 4 months ago* [-]

It has only 2 prime divisors apart from 1 and itself.

I'm just nitpicking, but if the number is a composite, which it obviously is, "itself" is not a prime divisor.

fsabau 1 point2 points 4 months ago[-]

True! :)) The "math talk" has left me a long time ago...

siovene [S] 0 points1 point 4 months ago[-]

Alright, you obviously got it! It's hardly a coincidence that 0x161cef2c96fcb543 factors to two consecutive primes!

Now look for ways to interpret this numbers that are in context with what Boris says in the last panel of the comic!

razeetg 0 points1 point 4 months ago[-]

Hmmm... Is this Sergey's public key or something??? Boris says "Unless it was Aashna who found him first"... So... maybe Aashna used it to send a message that only he could read? Am I being too far fetched?

siovene [S] 0 points1 point 4 months ago[-]

Yeah a little far fetched, but keep the guessing coming, I love it!

godsiem 2 points3 points 4 months ago[-]

So, the 1262 303981 x 1262 303983 represented as unix timestamps will represent the following dates: (Thu, 31 Dec 2009 23:59:41 GMT), (Thu, 31 Dec 2009 23:59:43 GMT)... so, maybe something will happen at the last day of this year, at exactly 23:59:42 ??? But Boris says "we don't have much time"... so maybe this is not the line of reasoning... is it?

siovene [S] 0 points1 point 4 months ago* [-]

Bingo! You got the first interpretation of the numbers! Indeed they are the last 2 prime timestamps of the year, and represent two interesting moments, that will be revealed later in the story.

Now, these two numbers can also be interpreted in another meaning, that is not temporal.

godsiem 1 point2 points 4 months ago[-]

Are these telephone numbers with 10 digits, which apparently are normal in US and Canada (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ten-digit_dialing)? Maybe... but why two of them?... This is a very elaborated puzzle, very good Salvatore! Keep going!

siovene [S] 0 points1 point 4 months ago* [-]

No, they are not telephone numbers. It would've been too easy: of course a number is going to be a telephone number in some country :)

It's something unambiguous.

This is a very elaborated puzzle, very good Salvatore! Keep going!

Thanks a lot!

godsiem 1 point2 points 4 months ago[-]

I thought they were two numbers... then applying hex->dec which represent unix timestamps, that gives us the following dates:

(161CEF2C -> 370994988 -> Sat, 03 Oct 1981 22:09:48 GMT) (96FCB543 -> 2533143875 -> Sat, 09 Apr 2050 19:04:35 GMT).

But aparently this is no sense... they could represent the born/death dates of someone :p

siovene [S] 0 points1 point 4 months ago[-]

Please merge your line of thought with this :)

kumanna 0 points1 point 4 months ago[-]

Are they IPv4 addresses?

siovene [S] 0 points1 point 4 months ago[-]

No. Also it's just one number, not two.

fedry 0 points1 point 4 months ago[-]

it's not a password, is it? another clue? @_@

MrValdez 1 point2 points 4 months ago[-]

I like how Boris is still sharp during an emergency/moment of panic.

siovene [S] 0 points1 point 4 months ago* [-]

Let's see if you can solve the riddle. You don't have to be as fast as Boris though, that's impossible :)

hercynium 0 points1 point 4 months ago[-]

Best I've got is this: http://geohash.org/161cef2c96fcb543

siovene [S] 0 points1 point 4 months ago[-]

You're really far, it's not coordinates.

FlexxxV 0 points1 point 4 months ago[-]

It is not hex :( ..ï,–üµC Ansi ▬∟∩,ûⁿ╡C Dos/IBM AscII ..Ô,ñ¸µC Mac ..Ռo]@{ EBDIC

siovene [S] 0 points1 point 4 months ago[-]

It is a hexadecimal number, but it doesn't translate to a string. Concentrate on the number, it's pretty special.

aeson25 0 points1 point 4 months ago[-]

Naxos, Aigaio Pelagos, Greece?

siovene [S] 0 points1 point 4 months ago[-]

No, it's not coordinates.

fedry 0 points1 point 4 months ago[-]

hmm... somewhere Africa? :p

siovene [S] 0 points1 point 4 months ago[-]

What's your line of thought?

fedry 0 points1 point 4 months ago[-]

haha... based on sergey's hair. :p

bbx -2 points-1 points 4 months ago* [-]

=== ? SPOILER ? ====== ? SPOILER ? ====== ? SPOILER ? ===

Could F2C mean Fortan to C, or is that just an amazing coincidence?

siovene [S] 0 points1 point 4 months ago[-]

Just a coincidence.


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