Meta Puzzle
Confirmation of a "puzzle within a puzzle" is confirmed in two locations.
In the FAQ, Loki says:
"... but I'll let you in on a little secret. If you are the first person to find and solve my secret puzzle, you can have your name engraved and immortalized on an AMD chip for a production run through March 31, 2007."
The Rules state:
"Meta Puzzle Bonus: The first individual to correctly solve the Meta Puzzle will automatically receive the AMD Signature Chip Bonus, which means their name will be inscribed on each AMD Athlon 64 FX chip manufactured from the time of the award through March 31, 2007. If you are deemed the recipient of this Meta Puzzle Bonus, follow the instructions presented at time of notification or receipt. This Bonus has no cash value."
It is unknown at this time whether or not any of the clues in the original cypher, Video-Ignition, Video-Loki, puzzle mailings, or any other pre-awareness text and images relate to the Meta Puzzle. However, it is highly likely that the Video-Loki contains additional clues, since the video is now on the main Vanishing Point page, and has puzzle-like elements that have yet to be explained by the pre-awareness phase.
Finishing all of the Week 1 Puzzles gives a congratulatory e-mail from Loki. At the end of the video, the string "on_the_run" flashes on the screen. Going to this directory on the Vanishing Point game's server yields the following message:
Good, you’re paying attention.
You’ve found something that very few others will…
This page is not part of the challenge to give away a trip into space….it’s something different.
When I was hired to build the Vanishing Point, I realized it was an opportunity to build something personal that I’ve been trying to find a way to build for many years now, and that if players were smart enough to get through the puzzle suites, they might also be smart enough to help me with this.
So let’s see if you can help. In return, I have one amazing bonus prize to give away.
If you are the first person in the world to help me find my own vanishing point, I will print your name on the actual casing of every AMD Athlon 64 FX computer chip manufactured between now and March 31, 2007.
When the time is right, I’ll ask you a question. For now, follow this trail to get the word it leads to.
Contact me.
By "Contact Me" she means send a email to loki[at]vanishingpointgame.com, doing so gets you the reply:
Life is a mix of work and play. You've found play... ~L
So, if @vanishingpointgame.com is Play, then @microsoft.com is Work, right? Perhaps, doing so gets you the reply:
Hmmm. Not quite what I had in mind. Try harder - then listen closely. ~L
If you called Microsoft and asked an operator to be transferred to Loki, you'll get the following message:
"Awesome work. All knowledge eventually needs effective diagnosis."
Which leads to http://www.vanishingpointgame.com/awakened.
You're given another phone number. When you call it, you have to provide a fax number. When you do, you get a fax document ...
Itinerary for: L Kitsune
Date Flight Depart Arrive
Jan 4 AW 291 12:05p 2:22p
Jan 11 SW 608 7:00p 8:05p
Jan 18 AA 1308 1:45p 6:40p
Jan 24 UA 373/339 9:15a 1:07p
Jan 28 AK 394 9:55a 12:08p
That last number, 12:08p is circled, and handwritten under it is the following:
Former AT&T Bldg. x55654
Flight: 394 Track this Flight From: Seattle to San Jose, CA Date: Wednesday, January 10, 2007 Page Last Updated: 9:57:14 AM update
Departure Scheduled Actual Gate Arrival Scheduled Actual Comments Alerts Seattle 9:55 AM 9:49 AM D9 San Jose, CA 12:08 PM ETA 11:51 AM N/A
The former AT&T building located in San Jose is AMD's headquarters. Call their main number (408-749-4000) and use the x55654 extention and you get a recording.
Hi, this is Loki. Or rather her electronic footprint left behind on this machine.
Funny how the inanimate world retains traces of things long after they've disappeared, isn't it?.
If you're calling about the murmuring rock project, it's on hold indefinitely ... unfortunately.
Here is a recording of it http://www.windowsconnected.com/files/folders/misc/entry5565.aspx
Searching the internet for "Murmuring Rock" yields information about Lorelei, which is both rich in folklore, and fills in the missing part of the itinerary. It appears that Loki is the nickname of Lorelei Kitsune.
Searching the internet for "Kitsune" yields a story about a nine-tailed fox on Wikipedia:
The story of the nine-tailed fox is told by Shuri Kurogane in Ran, Akira Kurosawa's epic retelling of King Lear. Kurosawa's Dreams contains a segment, Sunshine through the Rain, about a boy who witnesses a kitsune wedding and thereby angers them.
