Dawn Bloom
| Dawn Bloom | |
|---|---|
| The Dawn Bloom ARG was part of the Black Watchmen series of ARGs. | |
| Type | [[List_of_Investigations#Official|Official]] |
| Creator | Alice & Smith & the Lovent Group |
| Discovered | 2016-12-24 |
Main Page > List of Investigations > Dawn Bloom Operation DAWNBLOOM is an operation in the Black Watchmen (a permanent ARG). It differs from past operations within the Black Watchmen in that it is expected to run for several months, and relies very little on previous lore within the game's universe. You can access the Discord server for this operation here, and the Black Watchmen forum thread here.
Contents
NPCs
This operation involves interaction with Special Task force Q98A66, which we have been told stands for Query 98, Admin 66. Q98A66 has five members, only three of which we have met. Those three members (Diagnostic, Control, and Liaison) are apparently able to do their jobs interchangeably, while Brain and Tactical are too highly specialized to 'swap out' with other members of the team.
Liaison
Liaison handles communication between Q98A66, Division 66, and Division 79(the players). His personality is fairly stable, and he dismisses 'unlikely' causes to the anomalies being recorded(such as time travel, aliens, demons, etc.) He is usually the one to come to us with new information, requests for more intel, or general commentary on the mission.
Control
Control is in charge of Q98A66, as indicated by her handle. Her personality is hard to gauge, as she isn't often in the Discord chat.
Diagnostic
Diagnostic's job is handling technical and performance related testing. He seems more relaxed than Liaison, and openly states that he believes the signals we are receiving are a result of time travel.
Brain
Formerly called 'Specialist', we haven't met Brain but have heard him described. He appears to be unstable psychologically and poses a threat to himself and those who surround him. What he contributes to the team isn't entirely clear, but he is ostensibly Q98A66's specialist in esoteric or unique information. Because he isn't allowed online, Agents requested a mailing address to communicate with him. He can be contacted by mail at:
212 Showroom
68-10 58th Avenue
Apt Nine
Flushing New York 11378
Tactical
We only knew of Tactical's existence because Liaison had said there were 5 members of the task force, but only 4 had been mentioned in conversation. Direct questioning about the fifth member yielded some additional insight into the fifth member, Tactical. Their job is focused on 'in person' threats. If agents are contacted by Tactical, it means Q98A66 is under attack or otherwise compromised. Liaison has said that the rest of the team doesn't see Tactical that often.
The Black Watchmen's History with Montauk
Dispatch told Q98A66 that there was a previous incident at Montauk before the current incarnation of The Black Watchmen (so 1960s or so), but they won't give us any more details than that. They weren't given a casefile.
Liaison: We were told there are significant reasons why we were formed to investigate
That there was an incident at Montauk, and if this is related there cannot be a repeat of events
So far we are outside any kind of relation with those incidents
Enemies and Threats
Q98A66 has stated they are fairly certain SIGIL is involved at this point. An ocean glider was captured, and subsequently released by, the Chinese navy(Source). They think this has to do with SIGIL operatives sensing the anomalous signals in the ocean. Liaison also mentioned his computer had been attacked recently on January 6th, and they were unsure if it was technical error or sabotage. Q98A66 has alluded to enemies when abruptly leaving the Discord as well. It's uncertain if they are being actively tracked or monitored by hostile agents.
Control: Speaking of enemies, Q98A66 is moving.
Operation Commences
In the Christmas Eve newsletter, Alice & Smith announced Operation DAWNBLOOM.
Agents, Special Task force Q98A66 needs your help - a abnormal radio signal was picked up across the Atlantic in the last two weeks, it’s meaning and origin remain unknown. We understand little about this bizarre phenomenon, besides the fact that it must have come from a satellite, it originates from a single location, and it is growing stronger...
Welcome to Operation DAWNBLOOM, an experimental project created by the Lovent Group [head writers of Ahnayro: The Dream World] in collaboration with Alice & Smith. This project is all about dynamic, reactive storytelling putting control of the narrative fully in the hands of our community.
For your first mission briefing, head to the Situation Room (In-Game) and look for static.
[...]
By accessing the Situation Room (a page within the Black Watchmen's game client where Operations are often announced), players were directed to Archive Case File S2J3L9. In short, a mysterious signal was picked up around the 14th of December and a taskforce set up to analyse it. The intensity of local interference is strongest at Camp Hero in Montauk, New York. We were given a copy of the recording and a contact link to the taskforce: [email protected]
Contents of the Audio Files
There were three audio files in total. Two of them were of a man reading seemingly random words while occasionally a high pitched noise was played, and the last was a 'clean' version of the man reading words. Agents determined that the spoken words and the high pitched audio were two separate encrypted messages.
The Cycle Cipher
Agents dylanamite and BPotatoes were the ones to crack the cycle cipher, by first noticing that certain words were always read in order. A 'chain' of words was determined, with groups of three words being used to indicate a letter. The cycle cipher was constructed of cardinal and ordinal directions, moon phases, and the primary/secondary/tertiary colors of the RGB color wheel. Agent codex created an image to help visualize the cycle cipher.
The spoken words decrypted to:
HELLO YOU ARE THE MOST PERFECT WORLD
SSTV Audio
The other audio was analyzed by Agent KiRa, who used SSTV analysis software called RX-SSTV on mode Robot-36 to extract images from the audio. Agent UNLorD combined the images into what appeared to be the silhouette of Long Island created out of text. Preliminary analysis of the SSTV images showed that the text was related to viruses, possibly RNA retroviruses or viral classification methods.
Q98A66 Requests Additional Intel
The taskforce announced they would be attempting to send a return broadcast on December 28th, 2016 at approximately 7:20 AM EST. They shared the results of this attempt, and requested additional intel regarding the observed frequency shift.
Q98A66 - Research Data
Hypothesis: The signal is bouncing off the moon
Test: Use Communication Array and Satellite to ‘ping’ lunar body, and observe if signal distorts.
12/27/2016 20:00 EST: Broadcast SSTV signal with no actual photo, just errant signal, after two seconds we observed no change in signal. Called Signal One.
Broadcast AM Radio Signal, tone B sharp, and after two seconds observed no change in signal. Called Signal Two.
When Signal One reached Montauk, there was no observable difference.
When Signal Two reached Montauk, there was no observable difference.
There was also no visible effect in the areas where the signals overlapped.
12/27/2016 20:30 EST: Q988A66 member suggests we are not observing enough data, that an emergent quality would appear if we tested in larger numbers. Suggests we attempt to imitate the broadcast of the original signal by altering the waveform in the same format. So scaling across the AM spectrum in loops.
Q98A66 begins hammering target with large numbers of signal ‘noise’.
After reviewing data, it was determined that occasionally HF AM Band Radio waves would lose very small pockets of itself similar to the phenomenon observed in the original signal.
The effect was not consistent, but we believe there is a frequency or format relative to Lunar Position that will generate an effect similar to the type observed in the original signal.
We need to determine that sequence.
Resolution: We need to determine the starting AM Band, and what the Band scales by incrementally in order to maintain the effect of signal ‘vanishing’. A consistent ‘vanishing’ will allow us to map the Apolune and Perilune of whatever is causing the signal effect. That in turn tells us roughly what kind of object or anomaly is causing this.
THANKS TO: All Agents submitting Research and aiding us in this endeavor, we won’t name you here for fear of compromise, but you know who you are and those observing will remember your contributions.
Cycle Cipher Pt. 2
Agents returned to analyzing the cycle cipher for additional clues. Liaison noted in the Discord server that the meanings of the categories used for the cipher hadn't been addressed, and agents followed that lead. The cardinal/ordinal directions were determined to be a reference for orienting the cycle, and the moon phases were determined to have relevance to the date (or current moon phase). Since the date at this point was December 29th, it meant we were almost at the start/end of the cycle ('New', for new moon). After some more fiddling with the cycle cipher, agents determined that the signal frequency required for the broadcast must be correlated with the current moon phase. To determine the integer value that the frequency would need to be scaling by, agents mapped the frequency range given to us by Q988A66 (535kHz to 1605kHz) to the outside of the circle, with 0 degrees = 535kHz and 360 degrees = 1605kHz. We then determined the kHz value of 1 degree (2.97kHz). Using this as the scaling integer, and 1600kHz as the starting frequency (just a little bit before 'New' for the new moon), a transmission was successfully 'vanished' at approximately 6:30UTC on December 29th.
Contact with Peter Moon
Agent madvillain reached out via email to Peter Moon, the author of the book The Montauk Project.
Hi, I am writing to you because of your relationship with the Montauk Project. Recently, my organization observed very strange radio signals being broadcasted by unknown entities. The signal is not on a single frequency, but appears as increasingly larger bursts across a scaling frequency on AM spectrum. As this is not possible without a satellite in orbit, we determined that these signals were being bounced off the moon itself (a possibly irrelvant, although interesting, coincidence with your name). The age of the waves is always the same despite location, which indicates a spontaneous manifestation. Interestingly, as you approach areas in Long Island such as False Point and Hampton Bay, the signal carries more and more interference - the interference is strongest at Camp Hero, which is where your book comes in.
Your book describes the process of 'frequency hopping', where researchers at Camp Hero broadcasted signals that shifted between different frequencies incredibly fast. This is incredibly similar to the behavior of the observed frequencies. However, the observed frequencies are not in the range you gave as being experimented with - they are in the AM radio spectrum, not within 425-450 mHz. There are two messages contained in this broadcast: an elaborately encoded message which we decoded as being "HELLO YOU ARE THE MOST PERFECT WORLD", and an SSTV image describing the behavior of RNA retroviruses, with the text in the shape of Long Island.
1. What, in your opinion, is the source of these broadcasts? Some in my organization believe aliens are the source, while others believe time travel is involved.
My questions to you:
2. Would any alien lifeforms you may have encountered have sent messages of these types?
3. Is time travel likely, given the behavior of the broadcast?
4. Would researchers at Camp Hero, in any time period, have sent these messages?
5. Was any research being done at Camp Hero related to retroviruses?
Somewhat surprisingly, he received a reply.
Thank you for your email, Victor. I've attached a recent newsletter about my trip to Romania last summer but only for the purpose of you getting the drift on "white noise". I'm working on a video which also addresses the subject but very briefly and not so much in the context of what you asked. The article should suffice. Aliens is a word I don't like but such a communication, according to my new vocabulary, would come from the 8th dis. mension where all potentials manifest. There is a constant effort in that dimension for different entities to communicate and/or empower themselves or even resolve situation. To reduce this to the lowest common denominator, yes, aliens and time travel would be involved....my guess. Plum Island has done most of the biological research and its connected to Camp Hero. It still exists. Can't say if Camp Hero sent them in the first place but I would guess not. There have also been signals from Europa and they are mentioned in the book "Secret Parchment". What you say is interesting and I wish I could be of more help. Above is the best I can do for now. Can you tell me more about your group?
The following response was sent:
Thank you very much for your time. Your help is sincerely appreciated. We may have more questions for you in the near future - I will keep you updated.
We are an independent organization dedicated to monitoring potential threats to global security and taking the appropriate responses when necessary.
And response received:
OK, Victor, and thank you. I'll be happy to hear from you.
Agent madvillain reached out to Peter Moon again late in the evening on January 6th.
Hello,
We have received another communication of the same type as before. You can listen to the message here, and a transcript is provided here. This message raises some very interesting questions.
Thank you for your time.
1. The message starts off with "Hello Moon". Could this be in reference to you? Do you recognize this voice?
2. He speaks of "another place" that is very similar to ours, and later says "both worlds". In your book, Project Moonbeam was an experiment involving two separate timelines. Are these things likely to be related?
3. Do you have any theories on who "the others" he mentions are?
4. He mentions a cycle, and says that we must stop it. What could this be referring to?
5. "The moon you see is not the moon but a perilous device closer than we imagine." Any thoughts on what this could mean?
And the reply
I can't hear the audio that well. COmputer is in the shop. THis is clearly a lost soul who is "strung out" in space time. ALl sorts of theories including what you suggest apply. THis is another example of spirits being lost. FAiled time experiment? YES! We live in that realm. SOlution = grounding and breathing
Q98A66 Detects a Second Signal
On Jan 2nd at 00:59 UTC, Liaison informed the discord channel a new signal was found off of False Point. They estimated about two nights to track it down manually (aka bruteforcing the correct scaling). It appears to have been broadcasting since the 28th. Liaison returned to the discord at approximately 17:00UTC on January 3rd to confirm that they had the data, and were currently preparing it for analysis. They also mentioned there was a large amount of it.
Later that evening, the signal was made available for analysis. The audio recording appears to be a male voice, echoing, but speaking in English. It also has what sounds like another SSTV signal overlaid on top of it.
Spoken Words
A partial transcript of the text was compiled by the community.
Hello moon
You probably want to know who I am, or how I am doing this
That is not the moon
That isn’t important, and I couldn’t even tell you if I wanted to
I just don’t understand it all, but please, listen
I am coming from another place. We are very similar
We can’t do something by ourselves, so we sent people to try and find answers
This is my second trip
First trip went horribly wrong
I survived but things get worse on the other side
The wrong people got the wrong information and the cycle repeated
There are people like you, watchers, looking for answers in the dark “who helped me???”…(something)
I am not alone
The others are being lied to
And have been lied to
For them, we are already doomed
Fear the men who [?]
There is a coming trap meant to ensure our failure
Do not reveal …. “when /where you go?” (yourself?)
Or the others will panic
[sigh]
Send me a way to know where you are
But it has to be the place where my shadow landed
There’s only one place like it in the whole world
If I knew where that was, I could concentrate to within a mile of you
But now I am (just) shooting into the void
The moon you see is not the moon but a perilous device closer than we imagine.
Only you see the true night sky, we are trapped in it’s shadow
Save both worlds or repeat the cycle
I have to be vague, or the others will find us first.
There is no code in this message, just a sad lonely man
[laughing? Or crying?]
I guess you can call me the man in the moon
SSTV Images
Eight images were extracted from the overlaid SSTV signals.
Analysis
Agents believe that one organism described in the images is Parasitaxus urda, a parasitic gymnosperm that is endemic to remote forests in New Caledonia, based on the text transcribed from the third and eighth SSTV images.
“leaves”In absence of usual leaves
Hopefully able to go to a (?) lab
this fauna sample has brown
fan like structures covered in (?)
of some sort
Reminds me of Paragorgiidae
Not a similar makeup to most
photosynthesizing plants. Leading
me to believe it’s not truly a plant at all.
Bulbous, does not feel like wood at all
Present on all branches
“Polyps”
Very similar to coral
Unlike anything found on land
Taking samples
Liaison, as well as several agents, is unsure if the author of the field notes retrieved via SSTV and the speaker on the audio are the same person. However, we are assuming that our 'moon man' was a part of the expedition mentioned.
Diagnostic believes given the distance that his signal appears at False Point that our target is spamming either different physical locations or different temporal/dimensional locations, and that some earthbound location synchronizes this event. Exactly like our moon point vanishing, the moon man would observe all of his signal going to one point in time and space.
Given there is only one radio tower in the world like the one at Montauk, and that it shares a relationship to his signal, it’s likely that radar is the location we’re looking for. Agent codex compiled a report on the radar for the taskforce and emailed it to them previously.
Liaison: The big thing about Montauk is that while the AM signal erratically appears everywhere, the SSTV signal only joins there
Diagnostic and Liaison share the hypothesis that our window to send a message begins tonight, and lasts until the next full moon
Response
Before leaving abruptly on January 6th around noon EST, Q98A66 shared three possibilities for broadcasts to be sent.
Control's Suggestion
Control wants to send a series of messages with different locations in an attempt to gain intel on our enemy
Control: See I'm still partial to the idea that we send out multiple messages with only one of them having the correct shadow location but that encryption would have to be complicated enough to make the third party believe it's real but it would have to have something to make it obvious to moon man which is correct
Diagnostic's Suggestion
Diagnostic wants to use the kHz wheel/cycle cipher as a sphere to describe a location in time and place, relative to information the moon man will understand.
Liaison's Suggestion
Liaison believes that we should send a question to him as we lack data.
Broadcast #2
When the time window opened for our second return broadcast, we first began by sending a test tone in order to ensure we had the right values to achieve 'vanishing' of the signal. We also created a simple math equation to make it easier to calculate the kHz value our broadcast needed to start on.
Someone Else is Broadcasting
To our surprise, another signal was detected being broadcasted- and it was identical to our first broadcast of Agent zaelong reading out the cipher-cycle encrypted message 'WE HEAR YOU'. Q98A66 believes that this isn't the result of our signal being intercepted, but of the network they are using being compromised. Because Liaison's computer was recently attacked, this is definitely not outside the realm of possibility.
Our Broadcasts
We sent an initial broadcast to our 'moon man' asking him in plain words (without encryption) if there was an easier way for us to contact him, just past midnight on January 7th (having worked for most of the evening of January 6th trying to come up with a better encryption method or other ideas on what to broadcast).
On the evening of January 10th, we sent several messages. We sent coordinates for a jazz bar in Boston called 'The Bee Hive', as well as coordinates for Camp Hero in Montauk, both as encrypted Cartesian coordinates. The Boston coordinates were sent in duplicate, in the hopes that our 'moon man' would remember his own words: "The wrong people got the wrong information, and the cycle repeated." With that clue, ideally he would realize the coordinates that were broadcast once were the correct coordinates.
We also sent an additional unencrypted message, asking him "Did you send the flowers?" This is a reference to the SSTV signals. As far as we are aware, we are the only people who have identified and decrypted the SSTV signals, so it was important we keep information about them under wraps. However, we still wanted to know if they had been intentionally sent by our 'moon man'.
Field Trip!
We are currently in the beginning stages of planning a field operation at Camp Hero in Montauk. Agents local to Southern NY are asked to report in at the forum thread so we can coordinate dates and times. Field operatives will be tasked with using devices created by agent acentes to locate the source of the signal, as we believe it is emanating from the radar at Montauk.
