The game so far - act 2

After the Hanso site shutdown (June 16), the source code revealed a new URL: www.rachelblake.com.

Just before this went up, a video of Rachel herself was found on Monster.com and passed around – the same video that was later on Rachel’s site. Not sure if this was a deliberate leak or just a slip-up.

Anyway, on Rachel’s site you find a blog about a young woman’s trip to Europe – including Copenhagen – with what looks to be a version of the Alvar Hanso jumping-around-to-destinations map in the background. And over on the right, an innocuous-looking little box says “Extra Info.”

Back to the Persephone.thehansofoundation.org page, which is still active even though the rest of the Hanso site is shut down (hmm…) There you see a creepy upside-down masky kind of woman’s face, dim, and some weird sounds in the background. After a while of listening, you’ll hear a voice start to say some stuff that sounds very weird. This is Persephone giving us some numbers in audio-style, but she’s saying them backward, so clever folks reversed the audio and got these numbers:
101 118 105 100 101 110 116 32 97 103 101 110 100 97

Converted from ASCII to text, that’s “evident agenda” – that’s the password to put into Rachel’s blog page to get to the SECRET blog behind it, which is at stophanso.rachelblake.com

You encounter this message:
If you don't want to know the truth about the Hanso Foundation, you'd better turn around. Cause there's no going back after this...
Please enter your date of birth

And you do and it takes you to the blog's first post, where Rachel puts up the video that was leaked on Monster earlier (and she acknowledges the leak, too). The video is basically Rachel telling you she is in Copenhagen to take down the Hanso Foundation, she has some gadgets and disguises to make this happen (?) and she wants our help to take them down even if they get her. She also thinks Mittelwerk is the key to everything bad. Not clear here if we’re supposed to assume Rachel is Persephone or not. You can watch the video on YouTube here in case it disappears from her blog.

She also has a dialogue with someone who supposedly commented on her blog named MelODrama. This Mel says he has proof about Hanso's bad deeds, and he and Rachel are working out a deal to see if they trust each other to reveal the stuff in a way that makes them both comfortable, etc.

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On June 19, clever readers watching the shutdown Hanso site noticed these words popping up on the screen:
orientation testing issue 1980

So they naturally tried this URL:
www.thehansofoundation.org/
orientation_testing_issue_1980/

Which led to a creepy fast-moving Dharma initiative memory test film, ostensibly one that the savants mentioned in DJ Dan’s podcast were tested with. At the end, you get this message:

Who were they?
Where did they go?
Why didn't they return?
Whatever happened to the Dharma Initiative?

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On June 20, Rachel’s blog was updated with a message to “FIND” her new video – with a link to the Retrievers of Truth site. On the message boards there was a new thread, titled “The best place to hide something is right under our noses.” It mentions www.broadbandstories.com

Going there shows a montage of photos – one of the ones in the middle (about a motorcycle) leads you to Rachel’s new video. In it she is staking out Mittelwerk. She says he goes to the same vegan restaurant every day (in his electric car) and meets with a succession of be-suited men, and then he spends the rest of the day at the Hanso Foundation. But today was different – he left in a rush and went to a shipping company called Allied Copenhagen Marine Merchants. Rachel dressed up as a pizza delivery girl and went in to see what the company was and noticed a door marked “Archive.” The receptionist said only “personnel” could go in, but Mittelwerk obviously got in. Rachel thinks he’s looking for something.

On her blog she says she waited around after Mittelwerk left and talked to the archive delivery guy (Joen) and told a sob story about wanting info on her great-grandfather, and he let her into the archive. She snapped a pic of a computer where Mittelwerk had (improbably) left his last query up

The screen says:
SHIP LN EQUAT 1900
and
SHIP LN EQUAT 2000
and at the bottom
Property of the Hanso Group

She asks readers for info, and they come up with a “history” book that talks about a Magnus Hanso being involved in shipping and the slave trade, AND a site (warning, annoying music) that lists the top 8 shipwrecks – one of which is the Black Rock.

She ends with:
So, what do we think? Was The Hanso Foundation built on the backs of slaves?
Why am I not surprised?

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On June 21, a new DJ Dan podcast was discovered in the owelles folder on the Jeep compass site. In this one, DJ Dan talks about life extension company Flower of Life Enterprises, which he says is a subsidiary of Hanso. He also says Alvar Hanso has been undergoing life extension treatments that have turned him in a "monkey man" -- that he is, in fact, Joop -- and that's why he isn't seen in public anymore.

FYI, Wikipedia has an entry about what a "Flower of Life" is.

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Also on June 21, Rachel added a post to her blog (stophanso.rachelblake.com). This one was about Hugh McIntyre again, more about how he's cheating (which Persephone had revealed before), but this time, it was revealed that his girlfriend is a "corporate liaison" for the Global Welfare Consortium. So basically, she's helping her man help his company cover up their misdeeds.

Rachel also documents a back-and-forth she supposedly had with a blog commenter named GidgetGirl about how she shouldn't post photos of Hugh's private life. Not sure why/if that's really relevant to anything. Rachel has also tightened security for commenting on her blog since people are idiots.

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On June 22, Rachel had a new blog post. This one explained how Rachel had hidden a microphone in the salt shaker at Mittelwerk's regular table at the vegan restaurant and caught a conversation between him and someone named Minsu. Only problem -- it was in Korean, so she threw it back on readers to solve.

She had hidden the link to the recording inside the message boards on the site http://au.messages.yahoo.com/lost/. Find the "Welcome Aboard. Introduce yourself!" folder and then the "Anyone speak Korean???" thread. A little way down in the convo is this link:
http://au.docs.yahoo.com/mittelwerk/

Rachel had given the user name and password for the link on her site: rblake and 105years. Put that in and hear the Korean conversation. Props to our own Soyong for a rapid and 99% accurate translation! The official translation came though a bit later, and it is:

MITTELWERK: Minsu, so great to see you.

MINSU: Dr. Mittelwerk. Good to see you too. Mr. Paik sends his warmest regards.

MITTELWERK: He's just saying that because we've paid him so much money.

MINSU: Ah. I see that it's straight to business.

MITTELWERK: As always.

MINSU: I think you'll be pleased to hear your ship is almost ready; with all the modifications. But I have to warn you - this kind of ship can't dock just anywhere.

MITTELWERK: We have a port. How long will it be?

MINSU: I'd say no sooner than three weeks.

MITTELWERK: Could you pass the pepper? So what will it take to make it 2 weeks?

Rachel says this all throws her off, as it's not what she expected, and she hasn't heard any mention of Hanso.

My theory: They need the special ship to transport monkey-man Alvar!! :-)

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Also on June 22, a new folder popped up in the letyourcompassguideyou.com/usr/ folder list. The folder is "trash." Inside is a file called OpenersHep.log (note that OpenersHep is an anagram of Persephone). Clicking the file brings up an IM transcript between Persephone (now pretty clear she and Rachel are the same) and "wtkFleet35," who apparently works for Jeep. Here's their convo:

Session Start (wtkFleet35:OpenersHep): Mon Mar 1 21:34:42 2006
[21:34] OpenersHep: Hey. I have something for you to see. It’s important.
[21:34] wtkFleet35: who is this?
[21:35] OpenersHep: A friend.
[21:35] wtkFleet35: really?
[21:35] wtkfleet35: …
[21:35] wtkFleet35: all my friends have names. do you have one?
[21:36] OpenersHep: You can stop them, William.
[21:38] OpenersHep: You have no idea, do you? What you’re contributing to. What you’re helping them do.
[21:38] wtkFleet35: who? stop who?
[21:38] OpenersHep: Your business partners. The Hanso Foundation.
[21:40] wtkFleet35: look, think you’re talking to the wrong guy
[21:40] wtkFleet35: sorry
[21:40] OpenersHep: WAIT!
[21:40] wtkFleet35 has logged off.
Session Close (OpenersHep): Mon Mar 6 21:40:42 2006

Session Start (wtkFleet35:OpenersHep): Fri Mar 03 13:08:17 2006
[13:08] OpenersHep: Good. You’re online. Look, I know how that came off before – maybe a little… stalker-y? Sorry. But, I’ve gotta talk to you.
[13:10] wtkFleet35 has logged off.
Session Close (OpenersHep): Fri Mar 03 15:12:23 2006

Session Start (wtkFleet35:OpenersHep): Sat Mar 04 21:30:10 2006
[21:30] OpenersHep: William.
[21:30] OpenersHep: Are you there?
[21:40] wtkFleet35: enough already! Tell me who you are or I’m blocking ypi!
[21:40] wtkFleet35: you! this is ridiculous!
[21:41] wtkFleet35: 5
[21:41] wtkFleet35: 4
[21:41] OpenersHep: Stop
[21:41] wtkFleet35: 3
[21:41] OpenersHep: So, you’ll listen? If I tell you my name?
[21:42] OpenersHep: Promise not to boil your bunny
[21:42] wtkFleet35: cute
[21:44] OpenersHep: My name is Rachel B. I have information… it’s about Africa. Do you know what I’m talking about?
[21:50] wtkFleet35: not a clue
[21:50] OpenersHep: I don’t believe that. And neither do you.
[21:51] OpenersHep: The Hanso Foundation is using your vehicles, Bill. They’re hurting people, and your vehicles are part of it.
[21:51] wtkFleet35: that’s not possible
[21:52] OpenersHep: They’re being used for transport.
[21:52] wtkFleet35: my vehicles…
[21:52] wtkFleet35: are being used… for TRANSPORT?
[21:52] wtkFleet35: wow. Hope you didn’t strain anything coming up with that one.
[21:52] OpenersHep: You want to joke around, Bill? Or you want to know what’s REALLY going on?
[21:55] wtkFleet35: i have work to do. no time for your nonsense.
[21:55] OpenersHep: Fine. Take your time. Wallow in your denial. And when you come around, take a look at these files.
[21:57] *** OpenersHep is trying to send you "missing_organs.zip".
[21:57] OpenersHep: Whenever that night comes, when you can’t sleep cause the guilt’s eating you alive? Come find me.
[1:34] *** You have received F:\admin\my_docs\missing_organs.zip.
Session Close (OpenersHep): Fri Mar 03 1:34:42 2006

Session Start (wtkFleet35:OpenersHep): Sun Mar 05 09:23:14 2006
[21:40] wtkFleet35: ok. tell me more?

So now we're trying to find the password to get into
http://www.letyourcompassguideyou.com/admin/my_docs/missing_organs.zip

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On June 23, Rachel posted a new blog entry. This one had a picture of her in a blond wig and said that she had maybe done something "incredibly stupid" and that she had posted a video for us to find, with the help of Mel0drama.

The link she gave us for the video was to this site: www.43things.com

After a fair bit of hunting around, some folks discovered you could look up people on the site, and via that method found a profile page for "RBlake." It listed 43 things she wanted to do in life. Some of the things were odd, one-word entries. Soon it was noticed that all the one-worders were listed next to one of the Lost numbers:

4. truth
8. safe
15. Reckon
16. Copenhagen
23. Alvar
42. sumo

So we figured those items were significant. Next someone noticed that entry # 43, the last one, said "Have a refreshing beverage." (After all our Lymon hijinks we really should have caught that right away.) Anyway, that led people to the Sublymonal.com site again. Putting in the words above (all in one string) makes the site go quiet, but ANOTHER password box appears.

Back to Rachel's blog post. She said Mel0drama had helped, so we went back to the original post that mentioned him. And at the end of their convo in that post, Rachel says: Gotta go. I've got 43 things to do to stop their "better tomorrow."

Since "better tomorrow" is in quotes, it was attempted as a password on the second Sublymonal sign-in, and it worked.

It led to this page:
www.sublymonal.com/_hidden

Which showed a list of folders. All of the folders were "access denied" except the one called 48. Inside it are two html files -- untitled1 and untitled2. Untitled1 is the video.

It shows Rachel getting fed up with just following Mittelwerk around and deciding to take bolder action. She puts on a blonde wig and sunglasses and follows Mittelwerk to the Copenhagen Cartographical Society and waits for him to come out with whatever he's getting (ostensibly maps), and then (very unconvincingly) bumps into him hard enough to make him drop his stuff. Mittelwerk (who by the way is rocking a completely ridiculous party-in-the-back ponytail wig) seems to almost recognize her before his bodyguard or whoever shooes her away. In the fumble, she gets a shot of the maps he was carrying, which show an island. No names, numbers, scale -- but a shape of an island.

So she's now expecting us to figure out which island it is and tell her what to do next. "You point, I go," she says.

Also, back in the 48 folder, there's the other file -- untitled 2. That shows a memo from a Dr. J. Hackett (mentioned by Mel0drama in Rachel's blog post #1) from the EDC (which we know from Mel is the Engineering Development Center) to a Dr. V. Kini at Lewis King Laboratories. Dr. Perez is also CC'd. The subject is "Doubleblind Data" and the text is:

The reformulation trials (Project Sumo) are progressing well. As always, we are slowed by patent lawyers who need too much information (you know the drill). Please send the results of the secondary doubleblind study as soon as they are compiled.

Your work is proving fruitful (pun intended!) in establishing the proof that the original experimentation was confounded by the ridiculous implementation parameters established by our friends in Copenhagen.

Fruitful?? As in... LYMON? :-)

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On June 26, DJ Dan had a new podcast (linked from his site to Monster.com on this page). This one basically goes on about how much he luuuurrrves Rachel and thinks she's awesome and we need to help her out. Duh.

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Also on June 26, Rachel posted a new blog entry. This one had a link to a new video which led to the letyourcompassguideyou site and the /usr/ folder list. The "trash" folder had a new item titled "illumination," and clicking it opened a new window with a Jeep site. It's an interactive view of the Jeep Compass, and if you look around the various views (view Interior, then "In Back") you'll find a hotspot for a "Removeable Flashlight" (hence, illumination). Clicking it and then the "View Demo" link shows you the video.

In it, Rachel says that Mittelwerk is gone, she can't find him. She needs to go to the RIGHT city to keep following him. She also recaps what we know so far, but does clearly say that the island Mittelwerk is investigating is near the equator (so apparently the Edward Island guesses aren't right?).

While she's talking, someone tries to open her door, so she hides in the closet. (But her camera is still set up and running.) A man (seems to be the same one that acted as Mittelwerk's bodyguard in the bumping-into-him video) comes in and starts to look through her bag. He gets a call and says "What fire? Which instititute?" Then "You hired me to fix things. It'll be fixed."

He looks around some more, but Rachel jumps out of the closet and clocks him with an iron (!). He goes down, and she digs in his pocket to look at his phone, but he stirs and she freaks and drops the phone and bonks him again. Then she gathers up her stuff and runs, saying "I guess maybe I'm on to something."

Back to her blog, and Rachel notes that the guy must have followed her to the hotel, since she didn't register under her name there and has paid in cash. She also says that the phone call he got was definitely from Mittelwerk (I guess based on the peek she got at his phone). She says she's changing hotels, but wishes she could leave Denmark altogether (if she knew where to go, hint hint to us).

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Also on the compass site on June 26, if you click the area around 216 to 252 degrees, an admin box pops up wanting a password. Various folks deduced that the correct username is wtk (for William T. Kilpatrick, who is the Jeep guy that Rachel - as OpenersHep - had the IM conversation with - as wtkFleet35 - and sent a video file to) and the password is "themouthpiece" (user earlier, of course, but again found on the Jeep image next to the Buddha that has popped up again, in the trash folder).

That leads to letyourcompassguideyou.com/admin, and there's one folder there (so far) -- my_docs. Inside that folder is wtk.mov. It links to a video on YouTube which has a guy kind of pixelized so you can't really see him clearly, and his voice is altered. He says:

I have no business coming out like this, but I need to clear the air on something. Consider this my public apology to DJ Dan. I had the wrong person but I'll make it right soon. To the believers, I must stay away for a while, but keep digging. Jeep rescinded the contract for good reason. I'm proud of that and will reveal what I can, when I can. Thank you Master48(?) (or Maestro 48?), you're a true believer.

No idea what this is about, really, unless this is the guy that called in to threaten Dan during that earlier podcast. Is it William? Why would he have threatened Dan all bad-ass scary like that? Weird.

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And finally, on the same (busy) June 26, there was a new thread posted at Retrievers of Truth (title: If you don't get it you don't get it.) Basically it says they're going to start leaving us daily clues that we have to find and piece together to get a REAL clue. It says the clues are "right in front of your face" at the Verizon site (richerdeeperbroader.com). Then it mentions "The first word in the first song in Cabaret." The first song in that musical seems to be "Wilkommen," and the first word of that song is, uh... "Wilkommen." (That's "welcome" in German for the language-impaired.)

Perhaps a reference to the "welcome" screen of the Verizon site, which does say "Welcome to the world of Verizon Broadband." But that's as far as we've gotten.

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On June 27, Rachel had a new post (Copenhagen Post 07). This one talked about how she's all confused about the island stuff, because she agrees with the folks who've pointed out that it matches Edward Island, but she doesn't think that could be it because she's sure she saw something indicating the equator on a map Mittelwerk dropped (that her camera didn't get). Complex mystery, or sloppy game design? Hmm...

Anyway, she has received some info from GidgetGirl (the one who got so upset at her for posting the pics of Hugh cheating on his wife). GG says Mittelwerk has left Copenhagen and gone to Iceland to deal with this.

It's an article GG says she got on the AP wire. It says this:

A tragic fire struck a hospital in the town of Vik, Iceland at 3 a.m. today, leaving one man, renowned mathematician Vigi Benoffski, dead, and several others hospitalized for burns and smoke inhalation. Authorities released only the names of three of the injured: Janos Backh (38), Orhan Hikmet Ran (43) and Vikram Sahani (28). Their families refused comment.

The coastal community was awakened in the early morning hours by sirens, as rescue and fire united rushed to contain the blaze that erupted on a basement level of The Vik Institute, an advanced mental health facility endowed by international philanthropic organization, The Hanso Foundation. Hospital director Armand Zander: "We are most thankful more were not put in harm's way. What happened to Mr. Benoffski is a horrible tragedy."

While the fire has been ruled accidental, uncertainty still lingers. It is not yet known whether the injured included any hospital patients. And, while Zander asserted that Benoffski "must have been visiting," he refused to comment how a visitor could have obtained access to a basement level well past visiting hours.

So perhaps Benoffski was there working with the savants they were testing/using for calculations? Rachel says she did a search on the others named in the story, and "those three sure ain't from Iceland."

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Also on June 27, a new thread appeared on the ROT site, titled "Our AIM is true." The main thing that stands out is Fiberoptician saying:
"What he's trying to say is that if you're gonna be on that thing [meaning AOL Instant Messenger], better have a GOOD REASON."

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On June 28, Rachel updated her blog, saying she is now in Iceland (following Mittelwerk). She posts some "comments" she "found" in her blog that lead to a letter (in Polish). According to the poster, the letter says: "Benoffski was to appear at a mathematics symposium in Perth, Australia... I checked the dates - they overlap with the SAME DATE he died in that fire in Iceland. How is that possible?" Theories ensue about it being a cover for something, and that maybe Benoffski didn't write it at all.

Anyway, Rachel says she went to the Vik Institute and saw Zander and Mittelwerk (with his goons), and once Mittelwerk took off she pretended to be a reporter to interview Zander about the fire.

She has a video of him meeting her at a restaurant, (originally hidden on Gary Troup's site, but that site crashed pretty quickly, so now it's on YouTube) in which she comes clean about her purpose, tells him she knows about his letter to Mittelwerk, and he spills some stuff about Benoffski and the weird goings-on at the Institute. He says the sub-basement is not full of mental patients, but world-class mathematicians, and some of them are being forced to be there. He confirms the autistic savants are working down there on some equation (surely the Valenzetti equation) that has "representational" symbols that look like Egyptian heiroglyphics (like the ones in the Simon game). Rachel tells Zander to get away from them, and he says there is no getting away. Hey, it's like The Firm starring Tom Cruise!

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On June 29, Rachel talks more about the Zander stuff, cautioning that it MIGHT not be the Valenzetti Equation we're dealing with here. She also says Zander e-mailed her the heiroglyphics, which ARE the ones from the savant memory test (Simon game) and that some are theorizing that the glyphs taken together mean "Die." But she's not sure if we should take them together or what. Then she updates to say Zander has gone missing.

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On June 30, DJ Dan had a new podcast (hidden on the ROT site - use the "polar bear" password to get to the hidden message boards and find the thread "By the power of gravy... I HAVE THE POWER!") that has a math-tastic guy who talks about Valenzetti and his equation that he says is used to look into the future of mankind. He says Valenzetti was killed when his plane went missing. He also talks about Gary Troup's book, which he says disappeared when the Hanso Foundation bought the publishing company. Also, Rachel calls in (as Persephone) and spills what she learned from Zander about the savants and the equation.

Dan's site was also updated to put Mittelwerk's pic on the "Eyes on the Man" page (shot taken from Rachel's video).

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Also on June 30, Rachel updated her blog to say Zander is definitely missing, and possibly being set up as the starter of the Vik fire. Mittelwerk is also gone. She also mentions DJ Dan's 6/30 podcast and confirms that she IS PERSEPHONE and she was the one who called in. She points out that Dan's caller says Valenzetti is dead but he really just DISAPPEARED. And if he's not dead, maybe Mittelwerk has gone to find him.

She updates later to post a convo with GidgetGirl, who says Valenzetti is from "the Italian Riviera. Sanremo" and that's where he lived before he disappeared, and that's where it looks like Mittelwerk has gone. She (GG) also says the Valenzetti Equation is definitely a hot item on the Hanso agenda, and that there's some danger if the calculations are ever stopped. So Rachel hops a plane to Italy.

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On July 3, Rachel posted from Italy with a new video (on the richerdeeperbroader site, requires a login which she has provided = rblake, allveggie). It is at this link:
http://www.richerdeeperbroader.com/welcome/your/next/video/needs/
your/experiences/check/tomorrow/
Which seems to be the string the ROT forum posters were giving us in bits and pieces via their daily clues.

The video is in Quicktime format, and the good folks over at the Lost Experience Clues site put it up on YouTube for those non-Quicktime-y.

In the video, Rachel is spying on the Hanso guys long-distance with binocs and a long-distance mike. She says Mittelwerk is there, plus Hugh McIntyre (sans mistress) and Peter Thompson, plus several members of the Global Welfare Consortium. She reconfirms that she believes they're there to find Valenzetti, and she can't believe he's dead -- her instincts say he can't be. Then says she her instincts often lie to her, and mentions that "it must be in my genes." Hmm... who is Rachel related to? She also later says her mom always told her growing up that she (the mom) dreamed of coming there, to Italy? Or to Sanremo specifically? Then she says, "Goodnight Mrs. Calabash, wherever you are." That's apparently the sign-off Jimmy Durante always used. Huh?

Back on her blog, she references Mittelwerk's letter that mentions the Spider Protocol. This letter was pieced together from clues found on the ROT site. Poster Matt has a pulled-together version of the letter here, and Rachel transcribes it on her blog. Basically it says that the sites they've been wanting to use "remain unsuitable for carrying out the SPIDER PROTOCOL," so they've got to revert back to "the original island target." Which they haven't used for some time. Yep, it does sound like the "Lost" island, but who knows.

Anyway, Rachel ties it back to her island that she saw on Mittelwerk's maps, the one near the equator. She also wonders what this Spider thing could be. She asks readers for info on Valenzetti, and they point her to the Valenzetti equation site, which apparently says Val himself was from Sardinia, not Sanremo... so now Rachel's nervous that GidgetGirl steered her wrong. GidgetGirl later posts comment saying she got the info from the Hanso dossier on Valenzetti.

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On July 4, while we Americans were all out watching fireworks, Rachel updated to say she's still in Sanremo. She posts a conversation she recorded between Mittelwerk and "a couple of his cronies." This recording is hidden on a yahoo blog site called "The Lost Ninja." She gives the login: rblake, organharvest. When you get to the Ninja site, look on the left for "Lost Radio" and click "The Truth." Then enter the password and listen.

Mittelwerk says the fire didn't set them back that much, but a woman points out that they lost Benoffski as well as time. Mittelwerk says Benoffski's family won't go public -- he's "seen to that." The woman says they're funneling millions into his "mental programs" without knowing if the equation is even the right one. Mittelwerk says the Mental Health Appeal is the centerpiece of all their future plans. A man pipes up to say they don't even know if the equation is really the Valenzetti Equation. Mittelwerk says HE is certain. The woman brings up Alvar, wonders what he has to say, and the guy (now revealed to be Peter Thompson) says it'd be nice if Alvar made an appearance. Mittelwerk reminds them of an orientation video where Alvar apparently talks all about the Equation. He also says Valenzetti didn't keep a copy of the equation, offered it to the U.N., but they didn't want it. But Alvar did, and since he was going to use it to do research, Valenzetti donated it. But Peter still says it might not be the real one. Mittelwerk gets mad and brings up the cancer Peter was cured of. "Who cured your cancer? Tell me." Peter says Mittelwerk did. End of convo.

Rachel says this proves they ARE working with the Valenzetti Equation, which, duh, and says that means "Mittelwerk is dipping his hands in a stream that leads to apocalypse." She says she'd love to find Alvar if he's still alive.

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On July 5, Rachel updated to say she had followed Mittelwerk into town to the Alvar Hanso Center for Advanced Medical Sciences at Sanremo Mercy Memorial Hospital. She says it's one of THOSE hospitals (referencing the articles about the organ harvesting). Rachel saw him talking to a nurse she calls Sophia, and she later got info from the nurse and recorded it. She links to www.channel4.com/thisisaknife. Click the "Play Now" on the front page and watch until the end of the video, and you'll see a quick flash of Rachel, the Hanso logo with "Reaching out to a better tomorrow" and a flash that says "Navigate to the truth." Not sure yet how the full audio was found from that, but you can just listen directly here.

Rachel has bribed the nurse to spill, and the nurse tells her they gave Mittelwerk a blood treatment, an "exchange transfusion," replacing all his blood with fresh blood. They also gave him vaccinations that were "proprietary formulations" -- for hep A, B, DPT, measles, flu, typhoid, yellow fever. Rachel wonders where he'd be going to need all that, and the nurse says there's not enough money in the world for her to tell that. She also warns Rachel to stay away from these people and says Rachel must have a mother who cares about her. Rachel says her mother is dead and that's why she's doing this.
Back at the blog, Rachel puzzles over this and remembers the letter from the doctor in Madrid about Alvar's blood condition. She also theorizes that Mittelwerk is heading for his Spider Protocol island, and she's going to stick to him.

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Also on July 5, DJ Dan had a hidden podcast. You go to the Sublymonal banner ad on his podcast page and type in anything, and it shows you the word "pyramids," which leads to the pyramid pic at the bottom of Dan's page, and clicking that leads to the hidden podcast, which is here.

This one is about cults. Anthony from Michigan says his grandma was in a cult back in college. Joined the "Karma Imperative" (Dharma Initiative?) and went to some island (the fire? the flame?) and never returned.

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On July 6, Rachel updated to say she'd stumbled across the Hanso ship, called Helgus Antonius, saw a Hanso big giant crate being loaded into it. Apparently Mittelwerk is on the ship, too, and he sailed away. She doesn't know where he's gone or what's going on.

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On July 10, Rachel updated to say her site was hacked, she's not sure by whom or how. She's been in Sanremo still trying to get info on the Hanso ship, but despite parting with her "Widmore severance package" (so that's where she worked), she can't bribe anything out of anyone. She says some posters say "Helgus Antonius" may mean "Holy Flower," or maybe "Saint Anthony" ("Patron Saint of Lost Things"). She still doesn't know where Mittelwerk has gone or what to do.

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DJ Dan also had a new podcast on July 10, linking over to the compass site (in the owelles folder again). He talks about Rachel and her troubles hitting dead ends and how she can't find Alvar Hanso. He asks anyone who's seen Alvar to call in. Lots of people call in, referencing lots of things from the Lost show (Mr. Clucks, soccer stadium stair-run, faith healer in Ayer's Rock, Oceanic Airlines VIP lounge, etc.) but no one comes up with anything that seems definitively promising.

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