Cyrano Story

Cyrano Story
Completed
An ARG created around the game Moons of Madness.
Type	Official
Creators	Alice & Smith & Funcom
Discovered	2019-10-05

Main Page > List of Investigations > Cyrano Story

On the 5th of October, a researcher discovered a Twitter post with the caption;

Start your journey in the abyss of horror....

A link was provided to the Cyrano Story site.

Transmission 1

SPOILER

6 nodes. Only 1 active.

The website displayed a dark smoke-like plasma animation with 6 blurred circular nodes. Only the top left node was active. Clicking the only active node transitioned to a similar screen with a somewhat obscured input area in the center of the screen, and three, three-point symbols that faded in and out.

First node

Clicking the top-left symbol displayed an image of a female statue.

Researchers discovered that it was the statue of Lely Venus which is a depiction of the Greek goddess Aphrodite.

When the name Aphrodite was entered a female voice was heard:

You are getting closer, and we are getting stronger

It was later discovered that entering other Greek gods played the same audio:

Ares, Hephaestus, Zeus, Aphrodite, Hera, Eros, Harmonia, Eris, Pothos, Anteros, Adrestia, Enyo, Deimos, and Phobos.

Clicking the bottom-right symbol, an image of text appeared:

Then looking at him darkly
Zeus, Who gathers the clouds spoke to him:
"Do not sit beside me and whine, you double-faced liar.
To me you are the most hateful of all gods who hold Olympus.
Forever quarreling is dear to your heart,
wars and battles."

Researchers discovered that the text was an excerpt from Homer's Iliad, specifically the section where Zeus speaks to Ares after the Battle of Troy.

When clicking the top-right symbol, an image of an astral body was shown.

Researchers discovered that the body was an image of the Mars 1 Moon, which has the name of Ares and Aphrodite's Son: Phobos.

Inputting the name Phobos caused a new, six-point symbol to appear, and a deep male voice to say:

What is your fear?

Clicking the new six-point symbol displayed an image of a diary:

I was there again. There is a pressure, a vilification.
More like a growling hunger. An Echo in a vacuum
that resonates only in my mind.

As I was watching it, I could feel a stare. It was
spying on me, surveying me, scrutinizing me.
Taking not of my every move & every thought.
In my sleeping & waking states... Always...

A voice imprinted in my memory, but the words
are faded, the meaning blanked. Was it my voice?
All that I recall is the fear, the instinctive alarm
constantly repeated: "Get out! Get out!"

I was there again, as though the sleeping pills
were just candy, absent of any medicinal purpose.
They told me that I would be fine, that I would
not dream any more ... And yet, I was there again,
surrounded by the abyssal mist that gazed into
my soul like I was its next prey ...

EXHAUSTION IS CREEPING IN BUT
I AM TOO ANXIOUS & SCARED TO
ACCEPT THAT I HAVE TO GO TO SLEEP...

Entering the word sleep caused the male voice to speak again:

Are you alone?

Replying yes (or anything confirmatory) caused the voice to reply again:

No. You are not.

Entering No prompted him to reply again:

I know.

After this, researchers gained the first transmission, which was Dr. Olivia Myson's Personal Log No.47 | Transcript and an image of the first page of a redacted Non-Disclosure Agreement.

At the top of the Non-Disclosure Agreement, a logo for the Orochi Group, alongside some Japanese kanji can be seen.

Orochi (大蛇) can translate into "big snake" or "serpent", but it may also translate to "falling to the ground" (落地),

whereas the kanji(蛇) is "hebi", which translates into "snake".

Transmission 2

SPOILER

On 12th of October, at approximately 15:30 UTC, the second transmission node was released. Upon entering, a screen was displayed very similar to the first transmission with the male voice stating:

Your fear has not prepared you for this.

The first symbol, (Going from left-right) displayed an image of A German epitaph Researchers discovered it was engraved on the tombstone of the German mathematician Georg Friedrich Bernhard Riemann.

The second symbol displayed an image containing the words Quintus Teal Researchers discovered that Quintus Teal was the name of the protagonist and architect of a building in Robert A. Heinlein's short sci-f story —And He Built a Crooked House—

The third symbol displayed a drawing of Albert Gleizes called Dessin pour L'Homme au balcon

Researchers found that many words and phrases prompted the voice to provide different false positives, yet helpful clues. Some examples include gravity, cube, sphere, and event horizon amongst many others.

Combining information from each of the three images, researchers discovered a commonality with the fourth dimension. After entering fourth dimension, the female voice spoke:

The initial seal was broken

With the first seal unlocked, two new "A"-shaped symbols were revealed. The first symbol (From top down) displayed an image of A Lovecraftian monster. The second was an image of a constellation with the text HDE226868. Researchers discovered that the constellation was Cygnus X-1, an X-ray source considered to be the first widely accepted black hole.

Inputting such then played another audio:

The second seal was broken

With the breaking of the second seal, another symbol was revealed. Clicking the symbol revealed an image of the super-massive black hole at the center of the Messier 87 galaxy. Researchers discovered that the answer lay in the phenomenon allowing the black hole to be seen, most specifically the Photon Sphere effect.

After entering it, the female voice confirmed the seal had been broken.

Researchers then gained access to the second transmission: Dr. Olivia Myson's Personal Log No.54.

Two images were also revealed: pages from "The Angelus" handbook. Image 1|Image 2

Transmission 3

SPOILER

On 18 October, the third transmission node was released.

The clues for the first seal were:

Coordinates for The Galapagos Islands, Lucretius, and X Club.

Researchers discovered that these clues related in some way or other to people associated with developing different theories of evolution. Entering Evolution gave a voice response:

Yes, another seal has broken

Another two clues were revealed for the second seal: A portrait picture of Hugo de Vries A drawing of a flower with the text "Oenothera lamarckiana"

Researchers discovered that these clues pointed towards the non-Darwinian Theory of Evolution first proposed by Jean-Baptiste Lamarck. Entering Mutation gave the voice response:

Yes, a chrysalis is forming

The final clues were: ISBN code for The Immortal life of Henrietta Lacks and The full form of 3T3 cells

Researchers discovered that these related to the first immortalized cells produced from the cancerous cells from the patient, Henrietta Lacks, which led to breakthroughs in genetic research and Stem Cell. Entering either of these into the prompt gave the voiced question:

Are you ready to evolve?

Typing in Yes gives:

Let us grow into you

Typing in No gives:

You cannot stop the evolution.

This resulted in a voice log from Olivia and a link to a Typeform with the questions:

1. Have you ever experienced loss of time?
2. Are you afflicted by any of the following phobias:Confined Spaces, Deep Water, Sleeping and Blood
3. What does the Abyss represent to you?
4. Do you live in Berlin, Germany?
5. Do you have any contacts in Berlin, Germany?
6. Be on the lookout for the hashtag #cyranostory in the next 24h. Our team is presently on an important mission in Germany's capital. Stay tuned for more updates!

Answering Yes to the question about living in Berlin gave a new series of questions:

5. Do you work well under pressure?
6. Do you have good observation skills?

Excellent! This makes you an eligible candidate for an important Orochi mission taking place in Germany's capital. To partake in this journey, start by taking a picture of an important clock in the city of Berlin. You must include Orochi's logo in the picture any way you physically can: draw it on yourself, on an object, or even use your hands to make the symbol. You must do it in the next 24h. Use the hashtag #cyranostory so we can keep track of your progression.

Alternatively, answering Yes to the question about contacts in Berlin gave:

Good! This makes you an important ally in our mission on German grounds. To help advance the task, we need you to recruit the people you trust in Berlin to take pictures of known clocks in the city. Making sure that they capture Orochi's logo in the image any way they physically can: drawn on something, someone, or even made with their hands. You must do it in the next 24h. Use the hashtag #cyranostory so we can keep track of your progression. 

Live Event - Operation Cyrano

On October 19th at 12:16 PM EST, more then 12 hours after the instructions to take pictures of the Berlin clock a new Tweet was released from The Black Watchmen: [1]

Agents, Secret World players has warned us of unusual activity by Orochi Group which demands immediate action. Calling all operatives for duty. Briefing instructions can be found here: [https://mailchi.mp/division-66/operation-cyrano Operation Cyrano] #cyranostory

It gave us the following instructions:

We need you to recruit people you trust in Berlin to take pictures of the city’s public clocks. Making sure that they capture Orochi's logo within the image by any legal means necessary; Whether drawn, carved, sculpted, or achieved through physical contortion. Orochi’s logo must be clearly visible.

Our cutoff point is Oct. 20th @ 9:00 AM Berlin local time (3 AM EST). It is of the utmost importance that all photos be posted prior to that deadline. Post the photographs to twitter using hashtag #cyranostory so we can keep track of your progress.

On October 20th, there was no involvement from any of the Berlin agents and at the deadline (3 AM EST), a new tweet was released by Cyrano: [2]

Processing... please stand by. #cyranostory

At 4:25 AM EST, stage 2 of the operation was released via The Black Watchmen: [3]

Agents, Stage Two of our Berlin operations is now active. Briefing instructions can be found here: https://mailchi.mp/division-66/operation-cyrano-stage2 #cyranostory

It gave us the following instructions:

We were unsuccessful to intercept any Orochi activity in Berlin. Our agency will have to address our lack of resources on German ground. Agent Grisha has requested to take care of this personally, but this is something we will have to tackle at another time.

Right now, to counter Orochi’s activity, we need all agents around the world to match the following clocks with one in their vicinity. You must locate in your city a public clock that displays the same time as the following ones:
https://gallery.mailchimp.com/6f354a6026b9467265a0e8a7b/images/72724d5c-5ef6-4e5d-ad59-d2e3ae679f9a.jpg
https://gallery.mailchimp.com/6f354a6026b9467265a0e8a7b/images/e61fe748-4e78-4544-8c3d-89afedf7f7ae.jpg
https://gallery.mailchimp.com/6f354a6026b9467265a0e8a7b/images/f57aa430-9478-4938-a844-a3bf3e68fef2.jpg

Our NITE Team 4 assets have intercepted chatter on the dark web that leads us to expect physical operations in Berlin at 6:00 PM Berlin Local Time on Oct. 20th. If you have any trusted agents to propose, please reach out to [email protected]. The NITE Team 4 team has also reached out to various underground contacts to help out the agency in this operation.

At 10:13 AM EST, less than 2 hours before the start of the physical operations, a tweet was released to confirm that 2 agents had been found from The Black Watchmen: [4]

Ground deployment of units in Berlin: Confirm. Great job agents! #cyranostory

Our two agents: Gilgamesh0306 and Dillan

The two agents were instructed to meet at the following place by the Oracle, The Black Watchmen Dispatch: [5] [6]

They both met up at the World Clock via The Black Watchmen

Shortly after Noon EST, both agents informed us they had received a package from a courier. The courier handed them this Package which contained the following. The piece of paper was the next clue to reach the proper location. It was quickly determined by the two agents that they had to go to Illuminati Escape, an escape room in Berlin. They asked on discord for confirmation and it was agreed they had the proper place.

They reached the location by subway and walked there. Upon arrival, they were greated by the All-seeing eye of the Illuminati and thus confirmed they had the good location. They were briefed and were tasked to complete the Cyber Attack mission. [7]

After about an hour in the escape room [8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] they were victorious and escaped with a USB Key containing 3 files.

• The first file contained 4 steam keys (The Park, Moon of Madness, The Black Watchmen and Nite Team 4) which were shown on the discord chat and redeemed by some of the agents there.
• The second file is a poem
• The third file is an audio file

The poem did not yet provide any results however the audio file gave us the next answer for Transmission 4.

Transmission 4

SPOILER

On October 20th at 10:18 AM EST, a new tweet revealed that the 4th seal was slowly becoming available.

You are getting closer, we are getting stronger... Seal 4 is slowly emerging... #cyranostory

The clue for the first part of the seal each gave the researchers an audio cue.

If you entered Zodiac, you could hear the voice say:

Yeesssssss, the wheel is turning

The second clue, Ananke gave this:

Yes, the mentioned made the great consort

The third clue, Orphic Egg gave this:

Yes... the World-Egg that spawned Phanes...

Other clues like the zodiac signs Aries, Leo, Cancer, Pisces, Scorpio, Taurus, Sagittarius, Gemini, Virgo, Libra, Capricorn, Aquarius as well as Orphic and the deities Chaos and Aether gave this:

Near, so near

This last answer indicated to all that we had the wrong answer to this first puzzle.

Researchers discovered that the clues led to the consort and mate called Chronos however, this answer did not progress the seal as expect and instead researchers were told:

I cannot progress further.

Confusion arise and researchers believed that the wrong answer was found. It was not the case, a check of the audio file name lead to this information: Demon_cannot_progress_need_help_in_berlin.mp3 and as such the seal was tied in the event currently ongoing.

Upon resolution of the Live Event - Operation Cyrano, a new clue was revealed. The audio file contained an alphabet and as such upon entering Enochian, researchers received new information:

I now see the path, that leads to the abyss

However, this again did not progress the seal further. Confirmation via the agents at the live event and from the file name Demon-seal-soon-unlock-good-job-we-love-you.mp3 gave confirmation that the rest of the seal was not yet accessible.

At about 5:35 PM EST, the rest of the seal was made available. Upon entering Chronos which was found with the set of clues unlocked the next set.

The 3 new clues gave researchers more information on the seal.

The first clue, Titans, set the researchers up on a darker path:

Yes, tearing them apart will reach us

The second clue, Brazen Jar made a new reference:

Yes, all it took was 2 giants

The third clue, Ophiotaurus and Entrails spoke once more of a darker theme:

Yes, burning the entrails would kill them all

Researchers found out that the theme of these clues was to Kill or Slaughter the gods and in return a question was asked:¨

How shall I proceed?

The answer was part of the clues and typing burn, disembowelment, drown, or bury was answered:

Time is the fire in which we burn

This was the last step to unlock the fourth transmission and complete this seal. Olivia Myson Personal Log and this memo became available.

Transmission 5

SPOILER

On October 23rd at about 8 PM EST seal 5 was released.

Upon accessing the seal, you are greeted with this:

Knowledge is a dangerous thing but ignorance is no protection

The 2 first clues came out to be from a language learned from the live event: Enochian.

Translating each clues gave the researchers the following information:

Clue 1

Memorial ID
73392843

This led to Levi H Dowling and the voices told us:

Yes, the preacher of gospels

Clue 2:

N
36° 52.
407
W
87° 28.
893

The burial place of the sleeping prophet

This in turn led to Edgar Cayce which unsurpringly gave everyone:

Yes, the mystic clairvoyant

From Levi H Dowling, using Jesus, Christ, Gospel or Aquarian resulted in an extra clue:

Yes, a shared transcription

This new audio clue help the researchers to discover the answer to be Akashic and then a bit of a prompt:

All the knowledge all the power *growl*

The 2 new clues gave more problems to the researchers:

Clue 3 translation:

Book of Enoch
108: 3

The answer Book of Life came from the quote found at Chapter 108 line 3 of the Book of Enoch and the voice remained cryptic on this clue:

Yes, all those names included and excluded

Clue 4 translated to the symbol of opposition or duality in astrology and the voice didn't say much about this:

Yes, everything is duality

Both clues together got the researchers to Book of the Dead which is the opposite of the book of life but it was not the answer to the seal:

O you door-keepers, who guard your portals, who swallow souls and who gulp down the corpses of the dead who pass you by when they are allotted to the House of Destruction. May you guide Olivia, may you open the portal for her, may the earth open its caverns to her.

Note: Book of Enoch also give this audio cue

This text is one of the spells from the book of the dead to lead them through "Duat" and reach the barque of Ra, or Amen Ra, and this our answer:

Much of your pain is self chosen

Another transmission from Olivia and a new memo became available.

Transmission 6

SPOILER

Upon entering the puzzle, a male voice asks Do you think that this is a dream? Answering yes causes him to say Pathetic and you will be forced back to the puzzle selection screen. Answering no causes the puzzle to proceed with the next prompt: Although she roams space, she has a home. Where is it?

Inputting 'Moons of madness' has the female voice say "There are nights where the wolves are silent, and only the moon howls."

Then the male voice says: "How long can you survive without air?". Answering with (presumably) any length of time causes him to reply Just because you are breathing does not mean you are alive

A voice asks: Although she roams space, she has a home. Where is it? The 'she' to which the voice refers is Olivia, who it can be guessed by her accent is from New Zealand. Entering this causes a voice to reply: only the foolish visit the land of the cannibals

After that the male voice asks

When the moons will stop rising, what will you do?

Which is a reference to the Moons of Madness game. The answer is Release the Dreamers which causes the male voice to say The Old Ones were, The Old Ones are, The Old Ones shall be. revealing the new transmission and memo.

Another answer is run.

This directs you to the Male voice "How long can you survive without air?" Where you can answer any time. He then asks "What sense are you willing to lose first?" If you reply with: (possibly all direct to the same - not tested at stage of edit) Sight - You are prompted with 3 hints, A statue, a drawing of a man and a ships wheel with 3 creatures tied to it. All 3 of these appear to relate to an Allegory titled "the ship of fools" By replying with fool you are questioned: "What does the face of God look like? (possibly a characters name, it is very distorted - unclear at time of edit) To which you can enter the phrase "Filth" (Which could make sense to either one of the characters or to the fools depiction of God)

This puzzle can also be solved by inputting 'filth' which causes the male voice say "the oldest and strongest kind of fear is fear of the unknown." and reveal another transmission from Olivia and a new memo.