Waking Titan/Phase 2
| Waking Titan - Phase 2 | |
|---|---|
| Waking Titan was an ARG which led to the Atlas Rises update for No Man's Sky. | |
| Type | Official |
| Creators | Alice & Smith & Hello Games |
| Discovered | 2017-05-28 |
Main Page > List of Investigations > Waking Titan > Phase 2
Phase 2 of the Waking Titan ARG began on 2017-07-21 and concluded on 2017-08-05. Phase 2 introduced an interactive terminal, hosted at wakingtitan.com, where players were able to input commands to advance the ARG. Phase 2 also introduced several "Calibration Processes" at project-wt.com, which served to calibrate the mysterious AI called "loop16". These calibration processes were completed by uploading various images, taken in different cities scattered across the planet.
Phase 2 concluded with a Twitch livestream of loop16 coming online, as well as a message from Atlas CEO Elizabeth Leighton, encouraging players to press onward.
Note: This page has the most thorough and complete documentation of Phase 2 of the Waking Titan ARG. However, if you just want a fast, easy way to get up to speed, we suggest you take a look at the main Waking Titan page, which is much more concise.
Contents
Project-WT Update
On 2017-07-21 at around 20:39 UTC, http://www.project-wt.com/ updated to indicate that an unknown "calibration process" was occurring.
Bootsector
On 2017-07-22 at about 00:48 UTC, players began to receive Citizen Scientist emails. These emails contained links to another optional survey, and a new website called "Bootsector." In order to access this website, players had to decode their unique citizen scientist identification code using the two parts of the cipher wheel provided in the email. As more citizen scientists entered their codes, fragments of an image were revealed along with an array of every code inputted.
Over time, the image was revealed to be a corrupted picture of a notebook, outlining information about the http://wakingtitan.com console and listing a series of datasets.
The transcription of the notebook page is as follows:
don't forget atlas THEN csd!!! list wake status ship hibernate seed whois -> atlas ? needs loading time... Datasets 316 - A - 114 ATLAS 316 - 1 - 430.ETARC 1176 - 4 - 746.MYRIAD 1176 - 5 - 1922.MVERSE 5020 - 8 - 3098.ATLAS ? - 7 - 5020 - 9 - 13138.MYRIAD 31296 - 2 - 18158.MVERSE loop16 hibernating as of July 5
The section labeled "Datasets" had a missing entry. By using the existing entries (referred to as "seeds") to identify a pattern, players were able to recover the missing dataset, which was: 5020-7-8118.ETARC.
Waking Titan Console Update
On 2017-07-21, at about 21:28 UTC, Waking Titan updated to display an interactive terminal window. Players could input commands and receive a variety of responses. The functions and outputs of all commands are documented on the commands page.
Typing START ATLAS.INIT into the console resulted in the following message:
starting system… integrity check in progress… done validating config file… done searching for updates… no updates found welcome to atlas 0.16alpha
Once ATLAS.INIT is initiated, running START CSD.INIT resulted in the following message:
citizen science division protocols loading… initialization sequence1 complete initialization sequence2 complete initialization sequence3 complete initialization sequence4 complete initialization sequence5 complete initialization sequence6 complete citizen science protocols loaded ready for live test input seed to continue
Typing the command SEED 5020-7-8118.ETARC into the command prompt at http://wakingtitan.com (after having run START ATLAS.INIT and START CSD.INIT) yielded the following response:
checking seed… seed validated warning: process hibernating, unable to continue until wakeup
The command wake loop16 can then be run, which woke loop16 from the its hibernating state, and yielded the following response:
loop16 resuming, please wait reading seed… done memory refresh…. done rising and shining… done loop16 ready hello, user
After waking loop16, players could run the command hello loop16:
> hello loop16 hello to you, too wakeup process complete new commands available. warning: calibration required before proceeding preparing calibration instructions…
First Calibration
On July 23rd, at 6:51 PM UTC, an email was sent out to all players subscribed to the Citizen Science Division mailing list, with subject line Calibrating Waking Titan - Action Required.
Incomplete Dataset
The email contained the following passage:
During the boot sequence, we discovered an incomplete dataset. We’d like you to take on the task of reviewing the relevant information and completing the ongoing process.
This was followed by a link to a typeform, which contained 4 Vigenere ciphers of increasing difficulty. The keys to these Vigenere ciphers were determined using the code wheels in a variety of different ways. The ciphers were as follows:
First Cipher
- Key:
DA - Plaintext:
But even in the depths of their subjugation, there was hope. . Korvax - ID hyperion - Solution Method: Start the inner code wheel pointer at zero. Rotate the inner wheel left and right based on the numbers provided in the hint. -3 indicates a left rotation of 3 spaces (0 > F > E > D), and from there, +13 indicates a right rotation of 13 spaces to arrive at A.
Second Cipher
- Key:
CF - Plaintext:
... if the Atlas is a God, then it is insane. . Vy'Keen - ID orion - Solution Method: The numbers from the hint indicate bearings in degrees. Start the inner wheel pointer at the normal start point at the top (0 degrees). From there, rotate to the right 275 degrees for the 1st letter of the key (C) and then 355 degrees from the 0 position for the 2nd letter of the key (F).
Third Cipher
- Key:
Lead - Plaintext:
... refusing to forgive the past. Do not worry, all is well – all is at peace. The A(&! are different now . Gek - ID hastings - Solution Method: On the C position of the outer wheel, there's a smaller letter in the space (W). By following the hint provided, there are additional small sets of characters (OS > PT > 80) along the wheel. Each of these smaller letters refer to a certain element from the periodic table (W = Tungsten, Os = Osmium, Pt = Platinum, 80 = Mercury (80 is the Atomic number)). Each element in this pattern skips another element, so if we skip the element after Mercury (TI = Thallium) we end up at Lead, which is the key for the Vigenere cipher.
Fourth Cipher
- Key:
WFXUOPKN - Plaintext:
INCOMING TRANSMISSION… SOURCE: UNKNOWN… You are not – kzzktt – alone – Please, identify yourself. I’m – kzzkttk – . Race Fourth - ID mercury. - Solution Method: The key is obtained by superimposing the golden spiral over the provided letters, as shown below:
The first, second, and third ciphers mentioned the Korvax, Vy'Keen, and Gek - the three races that are currently in No Man's Sky. The mention of `Race Fourth` in the fourth cipher could very well be teasing a fourth race for No Man's Sky.
Percussion Instruments
The email also contained the following passage:
In order to proceed, we'd like you to do something somewhat more complex: calibrating the simulation process you've started at wakingtitan.com. This is, again, a collaborative task. Consider it a getting-to-know-you mission; the computer is getting to know you as a community. Participating is simple. To begin with, we need you to take and upload photographs of public resonant percussion instruments in your locality -- church bells or wind chimes, for example. We'll also need you to answer a few simple questions about the experience of taking the photograph.
This passage was followed by a link to http://project-wt.com, which had updated with the first calibration sequence becoming accessible. Players were able to upload pictures of public resonant percussion instruments, such as church bells or wind chimes, to the website. In the upload prompt, players were able to specify the city where the picture was taken. It is currently unclear what activates a city's icon, but after uploading enough pictures for a city a white icon appears on the map. Clicking on that city's icon revealed a progress bar, reflecting the number of pictures that had been taken in that city. After enough pictures had been taken in a particular city, the progress bar associated with the city was filled, and the white icon turned red.
The goal of this calibration process was to complete the progress bars of 40 cities, spanning at least 8 timezones.
Sixth Glyph
On July 25th, at 22:41 UTC, an image was uploaded to the Google Drive. The image was a screenshot of the map on Project Waking Titan, but with the Chinese character for "dream" in the center. The 6th glyph was also unlocked around the same time, alongside a PDF with a message from Major Sophia Dubois to Elizabeth Leighton. This glyph prominently featured a butterfly knot in the background.
By combining the concepts of butterflies and dreams, players made the connection to The Butterfly Dream, which is a famous philosophical passage from the Taoist text Zhuangzi. Accordingly, the password for the sixth glyph was found to be ZHUANGZI.
Around 22:50 UTC, yet another image was uploaded to the Google Drive folder. While distorted, the image appears to be concept art of No Man's Sky's mysterious fourth race, whose name is still unknown.
Azure Voyage
Status Command Update
On 2017-07-29 at around 02:00 UTC, the command STATUS on the Waking Titan console updated with the message Mission Azure Voyage loading..... Entering the command AZURE VOYAGE or AZURE into the command prompt redirected to a website titled Azure Voyage with a prompt requesting a code, reminiscent of the previous Bootsector puzzle.
Seventh Glyph
On 2017-07-29 at around 11:00 UTC, the seventh glyph on Waking Titan activated, alongside another PDF. The background of the glyph screen featured a series of coordinates in New York.
40.737162, -73.992247 40.740173, -73.990726 40.743273, -73.996154 40.748797, -73.992104 40.748183, -73.988904 40.755179, -73.982990 40.756959, -73.978372 40.758984, -73.977116
The coordinates can be seen on a map here.
Interpreting the coordinates as points on a journey, players fleshed out the following sequence:
To travel from the first coordinate to the second, turn right and walk five blocks. To travel from the second coordinate to the third, turn left and walk two blocks. To travel from the third coordinate to the fourth, turn right and walk ten blocks. To travel from the fourth coordinate to the fifth, turn right and walk one block. To travel from the fifth coordinate to the sixth, turn left and walk twelve blocks. To travel from the sixth coordinate to the seventh, turn right and walk one block. To travel from the seventh coordinate to the eighth, turn left and walk seven blocks.
This yielded players a code to use with the cipher wheels from the bootsector puzzle.
5R 2L 10R 1R 12L 1R 7L
Combining the cipher wheel code with the code at the bottom of the most recent PDF allows for the following decryption:
1DCCAB4 -> CAFE888
CAFE888 was the answer for the seventh glyph. The meaning of ‘CAFE888’ was yet unknown. Players theorized, discovering there was an ‘Orion Cafe’ on Roosevelt Island that has a street address of 888, only to find out it is no longer in business.
New York Event
On 2017-07-29 at 13:06 UTC, an email was sent with a new mission, Azure Voyage, which was previously discovered. The email contained results of a previous survey and a new code that needed decoding to be input into the Azure Voyage site.
Entering a valid code revealed an image with missing blocks. Over time as the image was pieced together, the following text was visible:
DATE: July 29th TIME: 16H15 PROTOCOL: Use passcode Atlas. Wear a bright color and hold a black book in your hand.
The image itself is of the Atlas Statue located in New York City, signaling that a live event would occur at the aforementioned time and location.
On 2017-07-29, at roughly 15:30 New York Time, reddit user /u/sz0bmi started a periscope livestream from the Atlas Statue. At 16:15 New York Time, a man with a purple umbrella led the crowd from the statue to an office building in Manhattan, splitting the group into teams of 6. Each team was given 30 minutes to solve a puzzle in a closed room. TehBatman supplied photos from the room while sz0bmi continued his livestream. At the same time, the Waking Titan Twitch channel started broadcasting the live event. It is worth noting that Emily, who had mysteriously disappeared since July 5th, appeared glitched in the Waking Titan Twitch stream.
The puzzle consisted of a locked briefcase with 6 tumblers, a piece of paper with five constellation outlines, and a variety of different star maps adhered to the walls of the room. The constellations on the piece of paper were:
PICTOR RETICULUM INDUS MUSCA EQUULEUS
The first letter of each of these constellations spells out the word 'PRIME'. The smallest 6-digit prime number, 100003, was the combination to unlock the briefcase.
Inside the briefcase was a new memo from Major Dubois on Loop15.
Transcript:
Subject: loop15 From: Major Sophia Dubois To: Titanwatch Taskforce: Pentagon I'm reporting in that the Atlas Foundation has concluded loop15's testing and shut that process down for good. We'll deliver a full post-mortem to you under separate cover, but for now, this executive summary should bring you up to speed. The simulation was capable of perfectly predicting events in small-scale, limited systems for up to three days before devolving into inaccuracy, and capable of predicting larger scale systems for up to 24 hours with an accuracy of 77%. We have identified two primary routes to improving loop15's performance in the next iteration, and are taking steps to enact them. One: data collection. No matter how effective the underlying process is, the simulation is only as good as the accuracy of its initial dataset. Leighton and her team are working with Echo on a method that would allow the process to identify and acqcire the information it needs directly and independently. Two: more power. Even the rudimentary simulations we ran with loop15 maxed out our computing capacity. In some cases, the simulation reached a 100% perfect result -- but processing time was so slow that the predicted events had already passed before we received any output. This is obviously not an ideal state of affairs. We're working with Myriad right now on a flexible solution that will allow us to access as much computing power as possible on a moment's notice. This should speed up the next loop dramatically. I'll continue to keep you informed as we progress.
First Calibration Complete
On 2017-07-30 at around 2:25 UTC, the CALIBRATION command updated with a new message:
calibration report Process State: Healthy Calibration 01 completed Result: http://bit.ly/2unrENL --- Total Submissions: 9 043 pictures Unique Locations: 2 142 cities Calibration > 10%: 106 cities
Soon after, the STATUS command also updated with the following message:
Mission Azure Voyage completed. Processing Level 4 Atlas Pass Designation...
Atlas Pass Designation
At 2:57 UTC an email was sent to all members of the Citizen Science Division, assigning them an Atlas Pass Level 4 Designation based on multiple data points including [the player's] behavior and quantitative activity as a Citizen Scientist. After having provided a physical mailing address, Citizen Scientists were supplied the string d1BDqjxez5m which, once subjected to a ROT16 conversion, rendered t1RTgznup5c which is a link to a YouTube video: Metallica's Call of Ktulu.
The STATUS command was immediately updated with the following:
-//
Console Sequence
On 2017-08-02, a No Man's Sky player discovered a Communications Station from instance16status in the vicinity of the Galactic Hub. The coordinates of this first Communications Station were 0469:0081:0D6D:0146. The message revealed by the Communications Station was:
SEQUENCE 43B-2G2K-2T16
Entering SEQUENCE 43B-2G2K-2T16 into the console at http://wakingtitan.com returned the following message:
Warning: input out of sequence waiting for next in sequence
Shortly after this discovery, the STATUS command was updated to:
-// Subroutine Output Log //- Traveller Proximity Detected. Continue sequence retrieval. Total units: 8
Communication Stations
Players discovered a total of 8 Communications Stations near the Galactic Hub. Each one had a message of the form SEQUENCE XXX-XXXX-XXXX.
The locations and contents of each Communication Station were as follows:
| Order | Coordinates | Message |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 0469:0081:OD6D:0240 | SEQUENCE 0H7-AA59-QK38 |
| 2 | 0469:0081:OD6D:0077 | SEQUENCE MBW-5651-P23K |
| 3 | 0469:0081:0D6D:0045 | SEQUENCE L22-QY7Y-6014 |
| 4 | 0469:0081:0D6D:0146 | SEQUENCE 43B-2G2K-2T16 |
| 5 | 0469:0081:OD6D:004D | SEQUENCE 1C1-80R1-JX3B |
| 6 | 0469:0081:OD6D:0165 | SEQUENCE 5YY-W349-L200 |
| 7 | 0469:0081:OD6D:017E | SEQUENCE 99J-U844-131Z |
| 8 | 0469:0081:OD6D:019A | SEQUENCE AA2-327B-QG24 |
The discovered commands had to be entered into the terminal in a specific order. The complete output of entering all 8 commands in the correct order can be found below:
> SEQUENCE 0H7-AA59-QK38 Transmission 1 of 8 A Sentinel screams in the sand. It is still alive, in spite of everything. Artemis stares at it. > SEQUENCE MBW-5651-P23K Transmission 2 of 8 Glitches, Nada had called them. Aberrations, increasing in frequency the closer one moved toward the centre. But Artemis had no wish to go there. They were looking for something. > SEQUENCE L22-QY7Y-6014 Transmission 3 of 8 There was no story to be told in the silence of this universe. No race but the great triad, the Gek, the Vy'keen, the Korvax. Whatever Artemis was, they were alone. > SEQUENCE 43B-2G2K-2T16 Transmission 4 of 8 It started with a signal. A voice cried out across the cosmos, and the Traveller followed. > SEQUENCE 1C1-80R1-JX3B Transmission 5 of 8 Artemis saw lights in the darkness, swarming about them as they tried to rest. But Artemis knew that the mind could deceive itself. The next morning, they found the source of the signal. > SEQUENCE 5YY-W349-L200 Transmission 6 of 8 They had found the path. They had found the answer, a price paid with their lives, their deaths. > SEQUENCE 99J-U844-131Z Transmission 7 of 8 When they first reached out to the heavens, they had no idea what to expect. The beauty. The mystery. The danger. > SEQUENCE AA2-327B-QG24 Transmission 8 of 8 Sequence complete The Traveller stepped through the portal. And somewhere, beyond all worlds, beyond all living things, two digits screamed upon a terminal. 16, they said. 16, the universe trembled...
At 19:07 UTC the STATUS command updated, confirming the completion of the sequence:
-// Subroutine Output Log //- > Complete sequence retrieved > Benchmark matched
Mr. Noodles
On August 3rd, individuals from the NMS community received different types of pet food in the mail.
Zock: Vitakraft. Drops with Strawberry. For Hamsters. 5.3oz, 150g Swampthing: Kaytee. Healthy Bits Treat. For Hamsters & Gerbils. 4.75oz, 134.7g CobraTV: Kaytee. Healthy Toppings, Papaya. For Small Animals. 2.5oz, 70.9g Unimatrix: Kaytee. For Rabbits, Guinea Pigs, and Chinchillas. Devander: Package was lost. GalacticGeographic: Kaytee. Healthy Toppings, Real Mixed Fruit. Small Animals. 1.6oz, 45.4g
Each package was from "loop16" and has a blue sticky note that said "For Mr. Noodles ONLY. DO NOT EAT".
Test Scenario
On August 4th, the STATUS command was changed to return:
-// Subroutine Output Log //- > 48h cooldown process started > Memo http://bit.ly/2huVvzE > Feed http://bit.ly/2hvGKwq > Loading test scenario > Expected processing time: 16 hours
The memo link lead to an internal memo from Major Sophia Dubois to All Staff which addresses concerns about the welfare of a particular test subject in the loop16 lab.
The feed link lead to a twitch stream consisting of an experimenters view of five monitors, a post-it pad, a pen, a Rubik's Cube, two network devices upon which a box was placed, several Sharpie markers, another post-it pad, an enclosure presumably housing one Mr. Noodles, a sphere containing an unknown, possibly nutritional substance, an audio mixing board, and a cassette tape. Five post-it notes were deployed:
CALL JJ was posted in the upper-left corner of the upper-right monitor"
The remaining post-its were affixed to the edge of the supporting table, from left to right:
TEA 50C
99 PT6
[a no-wifi symbol]
FEED MR. N @ 3PM
Maze 1
Shortly thereafter, a collaborative task began involving the commands of the twitch comment stream "voting" on the actions of a virtual hamster, and a maze was displayed upon the center display; the community was tasked with guiding the subject to the objective. Left-hand upper and lower monitors displayed SYSTEM CHECK and 30 MIN CYCLE, respectively, with the upper right monitor displaying the electorate.
Maze 1 of 4 was solved at 03:02 UTC 5 Aug 2017. The lower-left monitor was updated to reflect CYCLE SAVED
Dataset 1
At about 04:30 UTC the monitors on the WT live stream changed to this image:
Each of the images represented a main section of emotions on Robert Plutchik's Wheel of Emotions.
Top Left: The painting is St Filippo Neri in Ecstasy by Guido Reni, which on the Wheel of Emotions is ecstasy. Bottom Left: The name of the page shown in Taccuino Sanitatis is Aspects of everyday life, anger, which can be associated with rage. Top Right: DSM 307 is also known as the Nightmare Disorder, which can be associated with terror. Bottom Right: The picture is of The Angel of Grief, which on the Wheel of Emotions is grief.
Emailing Robert Plutchik to [email protected] as the answer to the puzzle returned this:
> Processing... > Input:Valid [Robert Plutchik] > Loading dataset into Loop16
After that, the center terminal updated to:
Then changed to:
It is thought that the message is meant to be "Do you hear me".
Soon after, around 05:00 UTC, the stream went into "Sleep Mode".
Remember
At 14:12 UTC emails were sent out saying "CYCLE ACTIVE" and included a link to the live stream. Soon after, different images and audio clips played, each leading to a command on the WT terminal in the format of REMEMBER [keyword], and giving a code to enter into the Twitch chat. Once the right code was entered into the chat as ![code], the next prompt would be displayed.
Eventually, the command REMEMBER LOOP16 was unlocked, redirecting to another PDF file.
A list of all REMEMBER commands can be found here.
The center screen then switched to say Hello, and played a couple different animations.
Maze 2
At 16:00 UTC, the second stage of the collaborative maze challenge begun. The time limit to complete this challenge was 60 minutes.
Players ran out of time before reaching the objective, and were presented with the chance to extend the time by either 10, 20 or 30 minutes. After voting in favor of a 30 minute time extension, players were able to successfully reach the objective, and used the left-over time to explore the maze.
Dataset 2
At around 20:00 UTC, while the TURING command was loading, the left side screens switched to ERROR and the center screen showing [email protected] with zebra stripes as its background. Searching for relations between the Turing and stripes and found a paper by Alan Turing called "The chemical basis of morphogenesis". Emailing morphogenesis returned this:
> Processing... > Input:Valid [The Chemical Basis of Morphogenesis] > Loading dataset into Loop16
Eighth Glyph
At approximately 4:00 PM EST on the 5th of August, the 8th glyph was unlocked. At around the same time, the Project WT map unlocked the second lock on the left side of the screen. Clicking the second lock highlighted 8 individual cities.
The eighth glyph included a link to a new PDF, which described an 'Advanced Calibration' task.
INSTRUCTIONS Subjects need to take a picture of each facility with a Pattern-A symbol or a similarly shaped object visible in the picture. Pictures should be sent using www.project-wt.com for calibration layer 2
'Pattern-A' was included on the PDF, and was identical to the symbol of the Atlas in No Man's Sky. The PDF also provided GPS coordinates for specific locations in each city.
LOCATIONS 34.1189153,-118.3006274 53.3874258,-6.3374794 43.8626809,-79.4242379 -37.8297383,144.9752148 48.8358871,2.3363411 59.342271,18.0541488 -33.934438,18.4769803 55.7582268,37.5680768
The 8 cities available on the second layer of project-wt.com during this Advanced Calibration phase were Los Angeles, Dublin, Toronto, Melbourne, Paris, Stockholm, Cape Town, and Moscow. Each set of coordinates led to an observatory in one of these cities. By around 2:00 PM UTC, players had taken the necessary photos of all 8 observatories with Pattern-A, and the second calibration process was complete. Accordingly, the solution to the eighth glyph was Observatory.
End of Phase 2
On the Waking Titan livestream at around 20:15 UTC the center screen updated to TERMINAL COMMAND TURING. Running the command TURING in the Waking Titan Terminal redirected players to this Reddit post, where players were invited to create a Turing Test for Loop16.
At 00:30 UTC, the deadline for the Turing Test submissions passed, and the screens updated to:
The bottom left screen updated to TERMINAL COMMAND IDENTIFY LOOP16. Running the command IDENTIFY LOOP16 on the Waking Titan terminal returned:
TEST A - https://pastebin.com/sFJ0PzJS TEST B - https://pastebin.com/YFUM7TvS TEST C - https://pastebin.com/T2vtGf22 TEST D - https://pastebin.com/0tk0zQ0B
Each Pastebin link was a submitted Turing Test and were soon voted on by Twitch chat, with D getting the most votes. Soon after, the center screen announced that the test had completed and the bottom left screen changed to TERMINAL COMMAND EMULATE. Running the command EMULATE on the Waking Titan terminal redirected to the Test D with loop16's responses. The screens then changed to say:
DID I PASS? DON'T TELL HER... GOOD NIGHT.
Shortly after, the screens changed to:
Running the command START SUNRISE.INIT redirected to a YouTube video with Elizabeth Leighton talking about the end of Phase 2. The description of the video contained a link to a new memo, also talking about the end of Phase 2.
End of Phase 2 video transcription:
Hello, Citizen Scientists, and welcome to your final challenge. You've done tremendous work. Today, we truly stand before a crossroad in history. This will be your most intensive challenge. We've completed calibration of our system, and are now going into the live test. Our simulation has already predicted everything that's going to happen over the next few days: What you'll try and do, how fast you'll work, whether you'll succeed or fail. You'll need to work together as a team. We'll be stretching the very limits of your creative problem solving abilities. Thank you. All of you. You may never fully learn what you've done here but I promise, you've brought a new era of humanity into existence. You have much to be proud of.
Immediately after Elizabeth's message, Phase 3 of Waking Titan began.
