Strange Transmissions

[Diamond Mantis]

Some of you may be aware of the strange transmissions that have been being picked up across the Outworld. It's being picked up in every Realm, despite the great disparity in our communication media. In the Crucible of Legends, the Seers are seeing it. In the Liberated Skies, I'm told several monitoring posts have now received it. And in Opportunity Noxx, a single frame is somehow being inserted into the NBTV broadcast at precisely 4.27 am every day. The messages are seemingly meaningless strings of numbers and letters. But this transmission, whatever it is, is deliberate, and so there is almost certainly meaning behind it.

The transmissions received so far:

Code:

blowZjVqQldVcWsxVFVPUlltS3cxTkpTQVlZcHhabmR6bVZYNVFmT2x3WGNWbldtRmttaXFtanpQcHFvTCtnaTM1bys4QzhKRXJIQThFZTh5S2wzSXBYaG5IR3ZwZXFoZmNIUWNMd0FsWXEveElvTk9wTWI3UkhqejFjNjNxY3BsTUdidm82WGNLS3B1SmlTdms3QWQwZ1Rvc2FxdndyYlRqYUZoNHlzQ1FBPQ==

Code:

b3VYbFhmQ2NRSjNHRzQwWnM0Z0k0UDJFbE1YOWpPbVpnUFFEeVB1U3oyTklvb3lGbTFIVm05YlF4Y00wSlZwMkx2TGJVU3I3Tk0vaTdheTlMZ3pQa3c9PQ==

And now there has been a third oddity. Someone has signed up to this forum that is not any of the Shapers that have been to the Nexus before, and they are hidden from most users. Their chosen name is VGhlUHJpbmNlSW5Hb2xkZW5Da, and their signature is 676f6c64656e636861696e73. And there, at last, a little information is available - that signature is a hexadecimal number, and translated to raw text, it spells "goldenchains".

Shapers of the nexus, we have a mystery on our hands.

[Bunny]

Could be facerolling.

Or a cat.

Or someone who thinks they're really clever.

[Ash]

Ooooh hohoho!

Well I know what sort of code that is and I know what the name translates to, and I have some theories as to the encrypted transmissions. But if you think I'm going to hand you that for free Prote, you've got another thing coming!

[CaptainWelderSparks]

Ash, if you think that this thing is limited to one territory or just Valtaria you are as naive as the rest of your people.

Here is what the Revolution has compiled so far:
1) The Prince in Golden Chains has ensconsed itself within the territory of "The Wastes of Ash and Bone", this is/ was under the control of Laszvelar.
2) The Geomantic engines in Valtaria are in an error state because of this anomaly. Two shapers cannot control a single territory.
3) This abberation has the ability to potentially *Kill* shapers.

If you think that this will not spread, you are wrong. All available and willing Revolutionaries are standing vigilant for signs of the spread of this rot.

A Revolutionary strike force has been assembled and will rendezvous in Valtaria as soon as dissonance will allow.

Now is the time to work together to protect what we have set out to make, a glorious vision of the future. Lets not squabble among the ruins of potential.

[Ash]

¬.¬ I knew that, Sparkles! Yeesh, revolution or no revolution you Combie types suck the joy out of everything. Maybe put that under line XXXVII of your declaration thingy, 'We Shall Have More Fun.'

Well fine, since we're all shary shary now...

The repeated transmissions don't seem to be anything I can decode with the basic, bog standard Prote encoding software. And it is a Prote format if anything, it's 'base64.' Which by the way is also what this bugger's chosen name on this forum is encoded in (translates to 'PrinceInGoldenCh' . Probably there's a length limit they couldn't get past, hee!)

Anyway. Same decoding didn't quite work with the transmission. I think it is either encoded with a specific key-phrase or it could be some sort of compressed data file. Prote kids used to share map-data with each other in this format for some strategy games, so that's not outside the realm of possibility.

[10C]

Sparky, quick question, when you say "Revolutionary strike force" are you in fact mistakenly referring to the Combine's arm of the TEMPEST ATTACK SQUAD?

Because I've been working on branding this thing for fucking ages and if you think I'm letting this chance to FINALLY make it happen slip through my fingers high holy living fuck you and I are not going to get on much longer.

Oh yes, for the record, membership of the TEMPEST ATTACK SQUAD is not optional. If you're a Tempest you're part of it, Sorry. I'm not sorry. Not at all.

Also, rude. Manners cost nothing, Cap'n Sparkles.

[CaptainWelderSparks]

Ten Count, I'll try to be nice and say this.
The Revolution is not The Peoples Combine. It never has been and never will be. Refer to it as such and we will fall out quickly. I really don't care about your branding.

Ash, there is more to this than our petty in-fighting. I don't want to see us torn apart by people thinking that they are the only solution to this. We need to pool our information.
Thank you for doing that.

And there seems to be an awful lot of dissonance on this channel.
Captain Welder Sparks out.

[10C]

We'll do this multiple-choice: I will provide three separate responses and you can pick the one you like the best. OK? OK!

#1:

oh no papa spark doesn't like me how will i possibly survive that what with all this experience of being officially ideologically unsound the burden of this will literally crush my tiny tiny heart

#2:

if you think I can just stop calling you lot the Combine at the drop of your unfashionable goggles you got a lot to learn, cap'n. shit, I can't even remember the name of the new one who voices Comrade Blebs and I actually like that show,
how hard do you think that habit is going to be to break?

#3:

alright for real when you and your strike force get together get somebody to drop me a line? I haven't killed anybody in fucking ages and trust me, you guys ain't experienced proper, high-quality fire support before. I'll be nice, I'll make t-shirts for everyone

YOU DECIDE! TEN COUNT EXTREMELY OOOOOOOOUT

[SkyShockSigma]

I support you choosing Option 3.

I've seen the prelims for the shirts, they're actually quite good.

[Miss Marina Montague]

Where's the popcorn apparition at?

[Ash]

Ten Count, you say 'join the Tempest Attack Squad' and I hear 'Hey Ash! I volunteer to be your meat-shield!'

By the way, anyone actually heard anything from that melodramatic zombie Lazzie since Goldie took his spot? He's not dead is he?

[CaptainWelderSparks]

I know he isn't dead as his territory is still there. He is also listed as an owner still. I sent him a ship-to-land message offering aid, but have received no replies.

[Diamond Mantis]

There's been some more strange data intercepted - I've managed to decode this one.

Raw data:

Translation

Only one hundred and four potentate have made the pilgrimage

[EngineerCam]

Good job!

And that definitely does correspond to the number of Shapers who've shown up at the Nexus, not altogether surprisingly.

[Ash]

Oh great, so we know this bugger can count at least. Good for them.

I mean it doesn't tell us much more. Potentate for what exactly?

Sod it, I'm just going to turn up with bullets, explosives and a sample spatula and make sense of this later in the lab.

[By My Crooked Teeth]

I must have missed this forum. Rust this would have saved me so much time. I have been getting strange transmittions in my Gallery for a while and I was having trouble working it out. This saves me a lot of time so my gratitude. I wrote to Laszvelar offering my aid but also got no reply. I am gathing my equipment to join the expedition to work out what this is. This is something I have never seen or even heard of before. This needs to be stopped here and now. Or it will spread. I...I will not let this fail. Any aid I can give is yours to those who need it.

[Diamond Mantis]

By my count, the figure of 104 shapers requires you to include this mysterious Prince in Golden Chains

[Ash]

Okay, look, my equipment is on the fritz but has anyone tried using parts of this clue or deriving something from it to use as a decryption key for the first 'base64' message?

Just a thought. But remember I thought of it first if I'm right!

[By My Crooked Teeth]

There are a 104 shapers that have passed through the Breach. Even if they haven't all arrived in the Nexus. I got a couple of predictive information even if I don't know all of it. This includes a couple who have territories waiting for owners and Ziggy. The Prince of Golden Chains seems to be the 105th

[EngineerCam]

Yes, my count matches Crooked', including Ziggy but not the Prince

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