Introduction
The number 10 is special. When I think of 10 I think of Bo Derek  but also the 10 commandments. Ten is also present in many parts of our lives. We have 10 fingers and toes (most of us). It the basis of our counting system and whenever there is something important about to happen, we count down from 10, like many top 10 lists do ... you get it, 10 is special.
October 10, 2010 or 10/10/10 is one of the 'special' dates this century and no doubt there will be many people tying the knot on this date. In another interpretation of the date, 101010 (base two (binary)) equals 42 (base ten), (hitchhikers guide anyone?). Oddly enough, this is evenly divisible by the number of days in a week (7 (lucky)); and equally oddly, is also evenly divisible by the number 6 (which is generally designated as being unlucky). Both a Ying and Yang situation seem to be incorporated into this date.
For me the date was a nice incentive to place a puzzle based on a special book I was fascinated by when I was somewhat younger. The book, the Powers of Ten showed the relative scale of things in orders of magnitude. In a series of pictures it zoomed in from the edge of the known universe to the core of an atom. In each subsequent picture the viewing distance was reduced by a factor of 10. The book was based on a short movie by the same name which was published a few years earlier. The movie is available on youtube.
Cosmic View
While doing research for this puzzle I discovered that The Powers of Ten wasn't the first book on the subject, nor was it the last. All of those works were inspired by a book by a Dutch schoolmaster by the name of Kees Boeke. He had published a book called Cosmic View: The Universe in 40 Jumps almost a decade earlier. The book consists of 40 hand drawn images, meticulous to scale, starting with a girl sitting in a chair and ending several hundred thousand light years from earth. The second part of the book took the journey in the other direction, zooming in to the smaller scale with every step. Because not a lot was know about the structure of the atom in 1957 when Kees Boeke published his book, he only needs 13 steps to arrive at the smallest level. Later books and websites go even further and zoom in onto the quarks that build up a proton. To the left are some of the 40 pictures that are used in the book.
The entire book of Kees Boeke is available online (in English) for you to read and click through. Every time you click the 'next' button, you will be amazed about the vastness of space. It is impossible to comprehend the uncountable number of galaxies, stars, solar systems and planets in the known universe. The recent discovery of a planet in the "goldilocks zone" makes it all the more plausible that we're not alone! I highly recommend that you read through the online version of the book through this link.
The puzzle
So what does the book have to do with the puzzle and what you you do with the large amount of characters that follow? Like the book the puzzle will will take you through several steps (though less than 40). Like the book, at each step you will see things that you have not seen before. The big dump of characters will begin to show structure and meaning. Each new bit of information will help you to understand the next step.
The idea of this type of encryption is based on a Binthair cache in Ottawa, but since there is no such cache in Calgary (as far as I know) and it fits well with the theme I decided to re-use and adapt Binthair's idea. I know of only one Calgary Cacher that has solved that Binthair cache so it should be a fairly level playing field.
But I hate ciphers!
Don't worry, I usually have the same feeling and often get frustrated when trying to solve a cipher. I found that ciphers that leave me guessing and do not provide a clue on how to start (or to continue) will end up on my 'ignore' list. That is why I set this cipher up in a way that I would like them. It should provide you with somewhat of a challenge to decode the cipher but provide good pointers to do it. If at any moment you feel like you are stuck, contact me through my geocaching profile. The first step is easy, but feel free to use the hint to get you going.
The puzzle can be done with paper and pencil, but due to the volume of text a computer might be a good tool.
All this for a micro in a tree?
Because this is a special cache, I have built a special container to hold the log book. That container is placed inside a special ammo box (not an ammo can). The inner container will present you with an additional challenge. As far as I know the container is unique within Calgary. There is no room for trades in this cache. Please hide the cache as you found it (standing up) and make sure all latches are closed. Let's try to keep this one active for a long time.
Details on the cache container and how to open the it are given in the encrypted story. As you work your way through the puzzle you will get more information and see how things will fit together. Naturally I have created some finders cards for you to keep. And there are two FTF prizes, one 10! years coin for the first premium member to find the cache and one puzzle geocoin for the first non-premium member to find the cache.
Premium Member FTF: kristaandgeoff
Regular Member FTF: theallans
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