[Wayback @ Perplex City Stories] Perplex City Story So Far

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	Podcast 10 - Equilibrium The end is here Three Years ONCE UPON A TIME... Iona Interviews... Violet Kiteway Q&A Academy Plans to Bring Receda Cube Home HOMEWARD BOUND Pair to Receive Award for Foiling Third Power SHINY SHINY Reversioned I'M BOTH SORRY Violet Kiteway: "I Was Wrong" PRISONER Of CONSCIENCE The Sum of Good Intentions a changed man Violet Kiteway: "I Stole the Cube" hands up Council Speaks on Cube, Third Power happily ever after?

Episodes
	E1: The Theft E2: The Hunt Begins E3: The Journalist E4: The Advisor E5: The Third Power E6: The Vanishing E7: The Mother E8: The Murder E9: The Librarian E10: The Chase E11: The Conclave E12: The Lighthouse E13: The Thunderclap Episode Summaries » View all Categories »

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The Third Power

Ancient, mythical and feared organisation

A secret society known to have existed for hundreds of years, with an unhealthy interest in controlling the Cube. Their operatives are thought to be on Earth as well as in Perplex City, and often occupy prominent social positions. V is believed to be a senior member, though even he is not the top man. Since the Cube's recovery, the organisation is thought to have been destroyed... but will they ever truly be wiped out?

Three Years

19 Feb 07

Kurt's magnum opus, a 4,000-word blog post covering: how he was persuaded to 'save' the Cube; what happened on The Night; an encounter with Caine; doctoring the puzzle cards; getting friends killed; and whether it was all worth it.

Iona Interviews... Violet Kiteway

19 Feb 07

In the third and final installment of the Violet interviews, Vi faces some tough questions - from the Cube Hunters on Earth.

And in case you were wondering... no, you'll never see her naked.

Academy Plans to Bring Receda Cube Home

19 Feb 07

Sente is to open a small temporary portal between Earth and Perplex City, to take the Cube back to its rightful home.

Pair to Receive Award for Foiling Third Power

19 Feb 07

Violet and Kurt are granted the prestigious 'Silver Solve' for their work on saving the Cube. That's all right then.

Reversioned

13 Feb 07

Violet struggles to cope with her identity crisis. After three years of lying - of having a public face and a rather pained, private one - she can finally relax and be herself. Whoever that is.

Violet Kiteway: "I Was Wrong"

13 Feb 07

In Part II of her interview, Violet tries to explain what happened on the night she took the Cube, how Kurt was involved, and why the two of them planned to use the puzzle cards as a way of getting the Cube back safely.

She also admits to having made some serious and fatal errors of judgement. No kidding.

The Sum of Good Intentions

9 Feb 07

Kurt goes retrospective, looking back over the past couple of years and realising what's changed. His friends, himself, even the city. But they will all carry on, absorbing the changes, because that is what civilisations do.

Violet Kiteway: "I Stole the Cube"

9 Feb 07

In a Sentinel exclusive, Violet finally reveals that it was she who stole the Cube. With a little help from Kurt. It all started with a poker game at the Five of Cups, when the landlord (Bernardo Holyoke) mistook her for another member of the crew hired to steal the Cube for the Third Power.

This is just part one of a three-part interview. More will be revealed...

Council Speaks on Cube, Third Power

9 Feb 07

The Council delivers a report on the Third Power ('soundly dismantled'), Helena Frye ('immense contributions') and Violet & Kurt ('took the Cube'). Looks like our blogging friends are going to be cleared of any charges, though.

The Cost

1 Feb 07

Kurt summarises the raid on Ascendancy Point. Six dead. Caine pummeled. Helena Frye shot. Scarlett alive. Third Power defeated?

Over

1 Feb 07

An epic entry from Violet - in length as well as importance. Not only does she recount 'Operation Bayonet', but she also reveals how she discovered that Caine killed Anna. Turns out that 'Faberling' is not only the name of Caine's new single - it was also Anna's very secret pet name for her husband Fleming. Either Caine and Anna were having an affair, or she told him the name as a final clue to the others, pointing the finger just before she died.

Violet has been going out with a liar and a killer for a year. She's trying to deal with it.

CRT Scribe Arrested

31 Jan 07

A short but powerful story from The Sentinel: Caine has been arrested for Anna's murder!

Hello?

31 Jan 07

A dazed, drugged and damaged Scarlett recounts her ordeal at the hands of the Third Power. With badly hurt fingers, she's forced to leave the message using dictation.

Operation Bayonet report

31 Jan 07

Helena Frye's case notes on the whole raid on Ascendancy Point, from planning through to completion (and getting herself shot).

The deepest blues are black

31 Jan 07

Caine gives his account of 'Operation Bayonet' - sounds like he was unusually heroic. Not only did he take on two guards in a fight he'd never win (to create a distraction), but he also killed a man who was torturing Scarlett in the Third Power lair.

At least, that's his version...

6 Killed in Deadly Police Raid on Point

31 Jan 07

The Sentinel reports on last night's daring rescue of Scarlett, revealing that details of the Third Power's membership were also discovered. Alas, two police officers lost their lives - as did four members of the Third Power, including the Academy's Roberto Solitano (Anna's old boss).

All in

30 Jan 07

A last-minute message from Kurt - they're about to start Operation Bayonet.

Rolling the Hard Six

29 Jan 07

After a huge amount of preparation, one of Helena's agents gets caught by security guards while trying to plant sensors in Ascendancy Point. It looks like the Third Power are none the wiser, but it does mean that the team is forced to try Plan B. Which means Kurt.

He strongly advises any Cube Hunters to read up on the plan for tomorrow night's assault by checking out the full police briefing.

1111

26 Jan 07

Kurt starts pill-popping in the hothouse that is the police nerve centre. Violet is permitted to join the rescue attempt. And the Cube Hunters come through with the answer to the triangulation data: the Third Power's signals are coming from the 110th floor of Ascendancy Point.

Prepare for the assault: Tuesday Jan 30th, 7pm GMT.

Inside out

26 Jan 07

Violet manages to persuade Helena that the police need her 'Third Power expertise'. She's in the police HQ now, and her key access is severely limited. They're nearly ready to go.

Struggle

25 Jan 07

Kurt manages to isolate the Third Power's radio messages. Now he just needs some Earth-based help to triangulate the signal.

Peripatetic

25 Jan 07

A restless Violet tries to make herself useful. She's desperate to get in on the rescue attempt, but how can she convince Helena to take her along to Ascendancy Point?

The Tallest Tower

23 Jan 07

Result! The clever Cube Hunters work out where the Third Power's signals have been coming from - and it's something of a surprise. Kurt and Helena plan to narrow down the target area while her team works out how best to assault the location and rescue Scarlett. The assault is planned for Tuesday Jan 30th.

Relay Race

22 Jan 07

Helena agrees to help, and fills Kurt in on what she knows about the Third Power's communications. It centres around a defunct network called Relaynet, which is laid alongside the city's underground rail lines. Kurt is sure the Cube Hunters on Earth can help to track down where the Third Power's messages are being sent from. Helena offers him (and us) access to her case notes.

A Break

20 Jan 07

Kurt calls Helena Frye and asks for help in saving Scarlett. Helena is a little sceptical about the whole Earth-object-in-Sente's-house story, but she agrees to look into it. She even offers Kurt a job.

Making the Call

19 Jan 07

Violet calls back, and plays Kurt a message left by Scarlett. Violet, for one, doesn't buy it. Kurt is suspicious too and suggests enlisting Helena Frye's help in tracking Scarlett down. He's back in the game.

Taken

19 Jan 07

The all-new slacker Kurt is disturbed by another call from Violet. Scarlett has vanished. And the Third Power have been sending messages about a 'genuine, non-repro Earth artefact' and securing a 'package'. Could this all be related?

Enjoy the silence?

15 Jan 07

Caine returns to the fray. He gives a full round-up of the past couple of months' events, including the state of his relationship with Violet, Scarlett's mental health, the Third Power's hunt for the Cube, politics at the Academy, the PCAG final, and The Ooze's rising profile.

The Beginning of the End

15 Jan 07

Kurt returns! But he's hardly returning in triumph - it looks like he's about to get fired for the apparent flimsiness of the data link's firewall and the infiltration of the Library of Babel site.

With all that, he doesn't feel much like going to the Academy Ball tonight.

Earlywine Reversal: Earth Data Link Opened by City Council

15 Jan 07

Oops. Nathan Earlywine decides he might not have been right to close the data link after all - especially as it looks like the Third Power has been circumventing the firewall all along.

Receda's Revenge 2: The Revenge

25 Oct 06

Following a hint from Combed Thunderclap's latest Library of Babel entry, the Cube Hunters take part in a live text adventure - the sequel to Receda's Revenge.

But this time, there's more than just text. The players are given an online sketch pad to solve visual puzzles and fight evil sock puppets, and there are extra audio features to keep them entertained ("Squeeeee!"). There are some good gags too.

At the end of it all, they are given a hint to the Cube's location: it is hidden in an 'arboreal' area. Read the logs and see screenshots here.

Many Cube Hunters died for this information. Use it well.

Severed

20 Oct 06

Kurt is in charge of locking down the data link, in accordance with Earlywine's orders. That means no more blog posts, no more uncensored communication... is this goodbye? Or just au revoir?

Statement from the Academy

18 Oct 06

Sente is forced to defend himself in light of the Viendenbourg revelations. He did what he thought was best...

Scott Fails Vote of Confidence, Election Moved Up

17 Oct 06

The Viendenbourg scandal looks like it will put a premature end to Scott's leadership of the Council. A new leadership election will now take place on Wednesday 18 October.

Academy, Scott Implicated in Human Trials of Wartime Tech

16 Oct 06

Violet and Scarlett spill the beans to the Sentinel, handing over all the material they found at Lancewood and Viendenbourg, implicating Sente and Council Leader Camryn Scott. Nathan Earlywine capitalises on the political situation and makes a decisive move for power.

Search Agent

10 Oct 06

Kurt updates us on the latest rumblings in the CRT, his heart-to-heart with Scarlett, and the strange virus that seems to be destroying all references to Special Project 487.

Back on the road again

6 Oct 06

Violet and Scarlett set off for Viendenbourg, to find out what's been going on. There are many questions to be answered: who was Major Jake Maine? Who was experimenting on him, and why? What (if anything) does it have to do with the Cube?

With luck, this week should make things a little clearer.

Lancewood Logs

22 Sep 06

Scarlett talks about Level 1 of the laboratory, and points readers towards the chat logs from yesterday afternoon.

Hobbs Island

20 Sep 06

Scarlett and 'grumpy-pants' Violet find the remains of the lighthouse, and what looks like a concrete bunker underneath it. They'll investigate further tomorrow, with more hi-tech gear.

Sea Journey

15 Sep 06

Kurt works out that the squiggly lines correspond to the landscape of the Lancewood Archipelago - a rather remote set of islands off the coast. So Scarlett and Violet book passage on the next chater boat out there. They'll need to get some directions from the Reconstructionists, though, who know the islands best.

Not good

11 Sep 06

Following a night of intriguing debauchery, Violet meets Professor Sedgewick to discuss the Granier notes. Sedgewick, believing the notes to be a token from an ardent if quirky admirer of Vi, agrees to take a look. But what on Earth (well, not on Earth, obviously, but... anyway) was Violet up to last night, and with whom...?

Success!

8 Sep 06

Scarlett gets the puzzle lock open in Uncle Sanjean's house - and discovers a bundle of notes! Included amongst them is what looks like a puzzle.

Bleh

8 Sep 06

Vi gives her version of the argument with Caine, and isn't entirely sure if they've split up or not. Meanwhile, Scarlett has given her the new Granier notes to decipher, which should keep her mind off boys.

Warning

6 Sep 06

Caine, disturbed by a message from one of the Cube Hunters, withdraws from the conclave's investigations. He's worried that he might be a target; that he might have got Anna killed; and that someone inside the group might have betrayed them.

No luck yet

4 Sep 06

Still no progress in solving the Granier mosaic puzzle. Scarlett encourages the Cube Hunters to keep plugging away...

First Principles

4 Sep 06

Kurt meets up with Crypto Karen and asks for her help in identifying Special Project 487. She reluctantly agrees and comes back with another enigma: the word 'axiom'.

Perhaps a puzzle

1 Sep 06

Scarlett stumbles on something intriguing in Uncle Sanjean's house - some kind of mosaic puzzle. Maybe the Cube Hunters could help her come up with a solution...?

Realise

1 Sep 06

Combed Thunderclap declares that they stole the Cube, and that they'll need Earth's help to recover it. The transcript here doesn't do the gorgeous animation justice.

Exploration

30 Aug 06

Scarlett distracts herself from exam revision by scouring her uncle's house for secret passageways and trapdoors. No luck yet, though.

Academy Issues Denial of Involvement with Portal, Blackout

29 Aug 06

Sente and the Council come into conflict over the big blackout. The official statement is here. Looks like the Academy is coming under more pressure to reveal their secrets and strategems...

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