Nancy and I follow the tunnel East, heading for the first red star on the map. I hope the red stars correspond to an exit or at least a way station with food, bathrooms etc. Every 15 feet there is an old light fixture, but the bulbs have been recently changed as they are all LED providing pools of light separated by concave regions of shadow between.
“Nancy, how long did you think it would take us to get to the first red star on the map.”
“Well being that we walk between 15 and 20 minute miles without much difficulty and estimating the distance at 8 miles, we should be there in 2 to 3 hours.”
“Excellent, see I told you math and story problems would be important some day. I just did not realize it would be while navigating a World War 2 era tunnel on the 3rd of July while being chased by agents of DUCK.”
“Did we really settle on DUCK for this clandestine secret organization.”
“Yes, and I do not care what Kevin has to say about it.”
“Who is Kevin again?”
“No particular Kevin, it could even be a Kris, as long as it spells DUCK.”
“Dad.”
“Yes Nancy.”
“Did I ever tell you that you are a bit weird.”
“Yes, that is what makes me interesting.”
“You have a point.”
So, after agreeing on DUCK once again, we have traveled five minutes down the Tunnel.
“Dad, I wish this was like Indiana Jones and we could just travel by map.”
“That would be awesome, just cut to a picture of the map and watched the dashed line continue from point A to point B and suddenly we would be at point B.”
“Unfortunately that only happens in the movies, so maybe when the movie of my life comes out, the director can do that part as a travel by map sequence.”
“Yes, and I want to be played by Benedict Cumberbatch.”
“Dad, but you are not British and the only British accent you can do sounds like an old lady.”
“Except, when I talk about kangaroos, then I sound Australian.”
“Uhm, no, then you sound like an old British lady doing a bad Australian accent while talking about kangaroos.”
“Well fine, who would play you in the movie?”
“Emma Watson.”
“Hey, you’re not british either and I don’t think she can play teen parts anymore, she has aged out.”
“A girl can dream can’t she.”
“All right Emma Watson can play you and Benedict Cumberbatch can play your dad.”
Our conversation about completely irrelevant things goes on for the next two hours with nothing of interest happening until … we see another watertight door up ahead. This door does not have a lock on it or at least no a lock from this side.
“Nancy, I’m going to listen at the door and see if I can hear anything.”
I listen at the door and either there is no sound coming from the other side or the door is also sound proof in addition to being watertight.
“I don’t hear anything, back up to the shadows a few steps so you will be invisible to anyone who may be behind the door when I open it.”
“Ok dad.”
I open the door and light streams into the tunnel. I don’t hear anything as my eyes begin to adjust to the brighter lighting.
“Nancy, come on up, I think it is safe. It looks like the door opens into a room.”
“Let me see.”
We open the door all the way and see a room twenty feet long and ten feet across. To the North are three passages, one marked as bathroom, the next sleeping quarters and lastly the kitchen.
“Dad, I’m hungry, I wonder if there is anything in the kitchen?”
“Let’s check it out.”
In the kitchen we find that it is stocked with canned good, enough to last a us weeks if not months.
“Look Nancy, canned chicken tenders.”
“Really, that would hit the spot.”
“Just kidding, I do not think you can make canned chicken tenders, the breading would get all mushy and disgusting.”
“Well, what do they have.”
“Hmm, boiled potatoes, boiled carrots, boiled fish, boiled eye of newt.”
“I am pretty sure there is no eye of newt, boiled or otherwise.”
“You got me there, but they do have boiled just about everything else, how about some chicken noodle soup and in that other cupboard I saw those oyster crackers you love.”
“Dad, that would be perfect, I found a saucepan to heat it up.”
Nancy starts cooking the soup on the stove and I go to get the oyster crackers and some bowls and spoons. Under the crackers, I find a note.
“Nancy, turn down the soup and come check this out.”
I show Nancy the note with the following:
UVYY GB PYVZO
GUR FCNAVFU QRIVY
FBYIR GUR EULZR
BHE QRFVTARE ARIVYYR
UBYR GUR AVAR
FRRX GUR XRGGYR
“Dad, I think it is some sort of clue.”
“Thank you captain obvious, though, yes I agree a clue.”
“It looks like it could be a simple substitution cipher, look at how 4 of the 6 lines have GUR in them. I wonder if that could be THE?”
We write out THE and GUR in my notebook and then add the text below it substituting accordingly with the substituted letters in red.
THE
GUR
HVYY TB PYVZO
THE FCNAVFH QEIVY
FBYI THE EHLZE
BHE QEFVTAEE AEIVYYE
HBYETHE AVAE
FEEX THE XETTYE
“Dad, I think the second word in the first line is TO.”
“I agree, let’s substitute O for the Bs as well.”
HVYY TO PYVZO
THE FCNAVFH QEIVY
FOYI THE EHLZE
OHE QEFVTAEE AEIVYYE
HBYETHE AVAE
FEEX THE XETTYE
“I do not see anything else that is really obvious, let’s write out the letters and see what makes sense.”
|
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
G |
H |
I |
J |
K |
L |
M |
|
|
O |
|
|
R |
|
|
U |
|
|
|
|
|
|
N |
O |
P |
Q |
R |
S |
T |
U |
V |
W |
X |
Y |
Z |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
G |
|
|
|
|
|
|
“Dad, I got it. It is just a shift 13 substitution cypher.”
“Lucky thing my notebook paper was narrow and we could only go 13 letters wide and it made the letter line up right above each other.”
|
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
G |
H |
I |
J |
K |
L |
M |
|
N |
O |
P |
Q |
Q |
S |
T |
U |
V |
W |
X |
Y |
Z |
|
N |
O |
P |
Q |
R |
S |
T |
U |
V |
W |
X |
Y |
Z |
|
A |
B |
C |
D |
E |
F |
G |
H |
I |
J |
K |
L |
M |
“Exactly, let’s write out the whole message.”
HILL TO CLIMB
THE SPANISH DEVIL
SOLVE THE RHYME
OUR DESIGNER NEVILLE
HOLE THE NINE
SEEK THE KETTLE
“Ok, so I am pretty sure the first part refers to Mount Diablo and conveniently it at the far end of this tunnel, but what does that have to do with a kettle and who in the world is Neville?”
“Dad, I think he stole someone’s tuba.”
“What?”
“Just kidding, I just wanted to say tuba.”
“Right, maybe this will make sense when we get to Mount Diablo, but for now we need to eat our soup and get some sleep, it’s been a really long day.”
“I agree, soup and sleep and a bedtime story.”
“Aren’t you a little old for bedtime stories.”
“Dad, you are never too old for bedtime stories.”
We eat our soup and it is delicious with just the right amount of oyster crackers.