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The transmission opens with the Anchor requesting the answer to the cipher and the viewers providing the correct response. This answer seems to trigger interfering footage of the Veiler cam, with hands holding a phone that displays the 2019 SPORE device.
The broadcast resumes, with the Anchor explaining the final calibration. This is the “Reception processor” calibration. The Anchor then proceeds to provide some of their story, with the understanding that viewers will receive and absorb the details to achieve resonance.
In brief: in 2040, the Anchor was a teacher, artist, and resident at the University of Chicago, largely unfamiliar with the efforts of the Fourcasters. Over time they were asked to join the efforts, even though the Fourcasters were resistance fighters with a mission that seemed very different from Darling’s own priorities. The Anchor nevertheless provided resources and safehouses. As Fourcaster activities progressed, the Veilers became aware of these efforts, and began to kidnap and detain Fourcasters. The Anchor is one of the last members of the resistance, having taken refuge in the bunker at the Terrarium. The Veilers were causing the ecosystem to collapse, and profiting from the resulting chaos. The Fourcasters have been attempting to undermine these efforts.
The Anchor expresses concern about their role in activating the SPORE device on the following day, but understands that this is their mission and that they must persist. They then ask for reassurance and encouragement, which the participants provide: they are not alone. This empathy, support, and community enables the calibration, and results in SPORE resonance.
The final cipher is displayed, following a flash of the symbol that adorned the Anchor’s neck in World 2: “QXPWFPXBF DRULCIHUOA! FIA NGQ TUW EIR OE TUW URLKQR.” The stream flickers briefly to footage of the Anchor in the SPORE room, indicating the commencement of a temporal breakdown.
Following the stream, the players recognize a Vigenere cipher and realize they will need to find the key to get the message. They correctly guess it should be eight letters long, and try different relevant words until finding “mansueto” works to give them the message: “EXCELLENT DECRYPTION! NOW USE THE KEY AS THE ANSWER.” After finding the answer, the players debate whether or not to tell the Anchor, as they believe that the last messages have seemed to be intercepted by the Veilers.
