[semi-open post: It's a kindness that the mind can go where it wishes]

[greentara]

Dark is winding its way to an end but Constance has been tolerating it well enough. She is used to eating sparingly and spending long amounts of time indoors, getting lost in threads of research and exploring the corners of the mansion. Having discovered three wooden crates filled with interesting looking papers, she promptly moved them into the room she has co-opted as a meditation room, not wanting to either lose them or bring any dust or debris into her own room.

The room is small and sparse, lit with a small brazier and a handful of candles. There are tatami mats covering the floor, bordered in a light green color that complements the cream wallpaper. A small wooden table holds some meditation supplies and a Tibetan mandala hangs on the wall but otherwise there isn't much else. Some marks on one of the wooden columns indicate that knife practice has also been an occupation of this room.

The brazier is lit and Constance unwittingly has a piece of cobweb stuck in her hair at the moment as she sifts through a handful of papers.

Comments

[greentara]

"A world puzzle," Constance says, dryly. It is, of sorts. The first paper in the folder shows a large array of random letters set in a 30 by 30 square. "My first thought was that it is a word search, but I can't seem to be able to find any words in it."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"A world puzzle," Susan echoes, taking the paper out and holding it up to the light. "I'm afraid I'm not familiar with word searches."

[greentara]

"The point of a word search is to find words hidden in the square, whether vertical, horizontal, or diagonal. There are none at first glance -- but then again, perhaps the hidden words aren't even English." Constance frowns slightly. "I'm sure this folder was in the the paperwork I found for a reason."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"And the words oughtn't be connected in a jumble?" If Susan had lived twenty-five years later, she'd be able to suggest a Boggle sort of approach specifically. She traces, in a jagged line, hast.

[greentara]

"Sometimes there is a theme, sometimes not. This could also be something entirely different. If we had a computer, we could input this array and have the machine automatically look for connections."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"Would a mobile phone be useful?" Susan asks, looking up. "Crowley gave me his. I really only use it for photographs."

[greentara]

"Unless we use it to document evidence, it won't be much use without internet connection or data," Constance says, gently. "Mobile phones were never built to be self-contained."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"How unuseful," Susan sighs. "Very well. I expect we had best do it the old-fashioned way, hadn't we?"

[greentara]

"I have blank paper and some pencils here should you need some. All of my other supplies and reference books are in my room -- unless you think we should move these files to the library."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"To what end?" Susan wonders. Naturally she's got her notebook and pen in her voluminous pocket, and she withdraws them now. "I've filed away all the papers I found in the sheds in my personal parlor."

[greentara]

"It's always best to be over prepared." She does, however, stare at the array of letters for a long moment, content to remain in her meditation room for the time being. "Perhaps it could be some sort of code."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"It isn't a simple rotational code," says Susan, after a longer moment of studying the letters in different chunks. "Perhaps it's based on some other document in this folder?" She starts shuffling through the other papers.

[greentara]

"A key of sorts, perhaps?" Constance is still engrossed in the array of letters. It's intriguing in its simplicity -- and suspiciously fitting that she discovered it in a moment when she needed the mental stimulation. "I wasn't able to find any Latin, Greek, or Italian words either," she adds.

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"I'm afraid my French and especially German aren't strong enough to do a proper search," Susan says, still focused on paging through the other papers. She pauses on one that looks particularly inscrutable and hands it over. "What do you make of this?"

[greentara]

Constance looks from the sheet of letters that she's currently holding over to the new sheet of paper that Susan has found.

"It's the same format," she comments, glancing between the two.

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"The symbols are so queer," says Susan, turning the paper around. "Perhaps they're the cipher?"

[greentara]

"Do you think so?" Constance frowns. "I don't see any discernible connection between these symbols."

[quote_gentle_unquote]

"No, nor I." Susan turns the paper upside down. "And there isn't enough repetition to be able to guess at any sort of specific connection to particular letters. Perhaps some sort of column-and-row formulation...?"