CLUESDAY INTERROGATION
Tuesday, July 13, 2010 at 6:00AM Feeling frustrated by our inability to crack the clues on Floor Twelve, I decided to return to the source: Dr. PK Quello. We hadn't gotten much info from him previously, but this time I had a new strategy: enhanced interrogation techniques. In front of me I had a healthy buffet of ice-cream novelties; in front of Quello, only a simple Otter Pop. Who could resist the temptation? I knew he'd crack in no time.
In the interests of providing you sleuths with the maximum information, I hereby present an unedited transcript of our conversation.
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07/11/10 — AT/PQ
AT: Dr. Quello, you know why you're here. The twelfth-floor emerald has still not been recovered. No more puzzles -- tell me the correct location!
PQ: If the incorrect is there, the correct is not there.
AT: Yes, but…well, sure, but then if the correct is not there, then… I mean, if what is not there is not incorrect, then… [bites an It's-It; chews thoughtfully] Come on, Doctor, just give me the three coordinates—this is getting embarrassing. I demand answers! [bangs table; winces; rubs pinkie]
PQ: The answer, or close to it, is written in white on black.
AT: Oh, forget it. I'm getting hungry. Are you hungry at all? Brunch was like an hour ago.
PQ: What goes in is the same as what comes out.
AT: Let's break for lunch.
Reader Comments (27)
Hasn't this location already been checked!??!?!?!?
Herr 2308: Which location do you mean!?!?!?!?!!?!?!?!!??!?!!?!?
Gus--
I take the clues from this interview as leading to Arkansas I 40 MM 235. I searched this thoroughly several weeks ago. Could the marker be missing here?
Hmm as I thought. Seems like I will have to rattle the hornets nest to find this number 12. Ster like P.K said the answer is written in white and black. I would maybe focuas my search towards the Teachings of Edward and where his plunders lie. Make sure to compansate for the hight of the sand you search rather that a number of grains you have found on the floor.
Note to Gus, if my suspicsions are correct, the emerald number will be resting out of the hands on any muggles with my FTF claim on it.
Note to Everyone else: to make this interesting I left clues to the location I belive it is at in this message and challenge you to use the clues to log this before myself.
Nadine: Your theory is interesting. I am interested! But what is your reasoning for that location? How do the clues here and elsewhere lead there?
Gus,
Who is Nadine?
cj
"What goes in is the same as what comes out." My mind immediately went to the poo cake and urine-lade. Oh, that Quello!
Honest to gosh, Gus, you talk more than my Aunt Nellie. Some of us have only been on the case a coupla days. Don't cha trust us? Give us a chance, man. Please stop talking. Zip it. Close your pie hole. Button it. Take the fifth. Hush, pal!
—Junior Deducers
Floors 4, 9, & 13 still need to be solved, right? Just checking
The interview occurred on the 11th and reference was made to "brunch being like an hour ago". Possibly another reference to the number 11. New York was the 11th state to be admitted to the union.
Boo - 4, 9, & 12 are unsolved. Floor 13 may or may not contain clues to help with any or all of these...
I have a question for Quello: What is the half-life of an onion?
Gus, I'm worried about the example you are setting for the youth of America. I hear there is an epidemic of obesity. Maybe you can team up with Travis Pupkin in your next mystery and he can help you get into shape. Or Montecore can put you on the big green wheel!
How do we know the 12th floor holds the clues to the 12?
Boo- We don't! Thus far only Floor 7 has had the corresponding emerald number.
I agree with Frizbee87... if what we need is in the book Gus, your hands should be busy with donuts and the like, not typing findings on here and talking through more interviews. And I've had the book for a long time. If one has the book, use it. All I ever want someone to verify is that a) the treasure is still there and b) that clues to find it are still valid... that is if a hunt goes too long, which this hardly qualifies for in our "right now" society. I vote for a "Therrsday"...where Red Herrings are rampant and states you have had your favorite meals in are discussed.
I know people have checked Ar I-40 235....someone needs to check Ar I-40 236 (The answer, or close to it, is written in white on black)
What about AR I-40 exit 2? Supposedly it has been checked already.
We should check again.....
Unrelated: has anyone checked Delaware I-95, mm5 for floor 4
Multiple times.... definitely nothing there....
FLOOR 4: I've been "tinking". How about revisiting the Las Vegas, NV area? I see multiple items that could be relevant (such as, stairs resembling Caesars Palace architecture, the ball and cigars shaped like a "Y" for Bally's, the grand piano for Liberace, an aura of desert heat). The clock reads 5 after 1 but could mean the I-15. The extra 5 in the shavings could mean the 515. The 95 (thermometer reading) and 515 are one and the same for several miles. I believe some of these ideas have already been contributed by other deducers. If it is Las Vegas, that could be why Gus is always referring to food, buffets, and desserts. Would this mean there is a number buried under a palm tree somewhere? I love palm trees!
Gus,
The floor I have been examining reads like a road map with written directions; I followed these directions to a tee, left no rock unturned, and hunted around every tree. All of the synonyms and anagrams and double-entendres reinforce the road map. I started at the rest area-the obvious first stop, but that was too simple. From there, I went to the ends of the earth, and still nothing. What am I missing? I need another clue! I'm running out of gas and my legs hurt!
Theda or anyone else who is starting to feel frustrated: Please join the discussion at the TCWAF forum on Tweleve.com: http://tweleve.org/clock-without-face/
Toward the bottom of the main page is a thread entitled "Please report fruitless searches!" It's a little difficult to wade through all the posts, but it may help to save you gas and aggravation. And others could benefit from knowing which sites you have checked already.
Other threads give you an opportunity to benefit from the thinking of others. I don't know if it's 100% true, but there seems to be a recent consensus that red lights in the illustrations indicate red herrings (false clues). If you are basing your search on something that includes a red light, you may be out of luck. (There are some red clues that appear to be o.k. - a ketchup bottle, a red door - so the red <u>lights</u> are the only things that appear to rule things out.)
A lot of us are getting a bit tired and cranky at this point, but at least we can be tired and cranky as a group!
P.S. There are other websites with TCWAF forums - Unifiction and HitContests and a Wiki - but the discussion is most active on Tweleve at this point.
This is hardly the time to ask for more clues. Or be frustrated. A good treasure takes some time to find, this is not tabloid news or the ice cream shop within walking distance where instant gratification is expected, this is a treasure hunt folks. If you have the book, toil away and keep hunting. If you dont, buy the book. In any case, reflect on the times where there were things to be discovered but no internet, forums or direct links to the source to ask for more in discovering those things.
Deducers: I am thrilled by this outpouring of theorizing, collaboration, and opining. Onimod's words are wise: now is when we must redouble our efforts. If one of us falters, another must step to the fore. Furthermore, as Onimod suggests, perhaps there is some beauty in the hunt itself. It reminds me of the words of Rilke, in his "Letters to a Young Poet (Junior Deducers Edition)"... perhaps I will even write a full post on this topic.
Anyhoo, Frizbee and others, do not fear -- I am but a messenger, a mere confidential assistant, and all heavy lifting/sleuthing/digging is still in your court. No matter what info-scraps I'm able to gobble up and spit out, I'm certain that this hunt still has legs, this dog will hunt, this hole has a dog-leg.