Phase 5 Answers!

Here are the answers to the "Phase 5" puzzles:

Question 1 - "It takes a lot to laugh..."

This isn't actually a proverb, it's the title of a Bob Dylan song. "It takes a lot to laugh; it takes a train to cry."

That was surprising! Who would have thought that the Hegemon was a Dylan fan? Anyway, the URL is: http://extraordinary-popular-delusions.com/atc/phase5/train.shtml

Question 2 - The Train puzzle

Hint:

This one isn't as hard as it looks. We don't actually need to add up the infinite sum of distances that the hero travelled.

Answer:

One train was moving at 60 miles/hour, and the other was moving at 40 miles/hour, so they were travelling towards each other at a combined speed of 100 miles/hour. They started 200 miles apart, so they'll meet in exactly 2 hours.

The hero runs at 80 miles/hour, so in those two hours he would have run 160 miles.

So the next URL is: http://extraordinary-popular-delusions.com/atc/phase5/160.shtml

Question 3 - The Coded Message

Hint:

The only way to get the missing settings is through trial-and-error. There are only twelve possible combinations.

Settings:

The rotor order is 314, and the reflector is C.

Decrypted message: 

To: Special Operative Reinhardt, Geheime Staatspolizei HQ
From: High Command
Re: New Orders

It has come to our attention that Project Xylophone has been placed
in jeopardy by forces as-yet unknown. You are hereby commanded to
travel to Paragon City to investigate the situation.

The current status is as follows:

* The traitor agent Ilsa (now using the name "Peppermint") has been
actively searching for the Five Keys, under the guidance of a person
claiming to be The Hegemon. The immedidate threat seems to have passed;
we have obtained access to Ilsa's private journal and she has not
mentioned the Keys or The Hegemon in the past several weeks.

* Saboteurs within the Fifth Column have destroyed the Third Key to
the Thompson Harmonizer. (Despite our best efforts at education, some
elements in our ranks continue to focus on the personal hardships that
the activation of the Harmonizer would cause them; they're unwilling
to see the long-term strategic benefits.) Those directly involved have
been brought to justice, but it is possible that rogue elements still
remain.

You are therefore called upon to perform the following tasks:
* Identify and eliminate any remaining traitors within the Fifth Column.

* A copy of the Third Key is known to be in the archives at E.L.I.T.E.
Headquarters. If the Third Key cannot be recovered, then we will need
to search the entire keyspace again, which will delay our schedule by
at least five years.

* Under no circumstances should Ilsa be allowed to obtain the Keys that
are already known to us. (If the situation warrants, you can try to get
her to remember the First and Second Keys. At the current rate, it will
take another two years to finish searching the keyspace for them.)

These are all of the utmost priority. Any resources you require will be
supplied to you.

You may wish to begin by contacting a Paragon City citizen known as
"Crimson Tape". She has extensive knowledge of the E.L.I.T.E. archives,
and is in frequent contact with Ilsa. We have made much use of her in
the past, through our front organization, the "Concerned Citizens Council".
Be aware that she opposes the goals of the Fifth Column, and is only
helping us unwittingly. Under no circumstances should she be allowed to
learn the true nature of the Concerned Citizens Council. She can be
contacted through the usual channels in Paragon City, or e-mailed at
"crimson@extraordinary-popular-delusions.com"

Hail Victory,

[illegible signature]
That's all!