I'm booking my ticket right now.

And, I've gotta tell you. All of you. If Mittelwerk REALLY has these mathematicians from the Vik Institute working with the Valenzetti Equation... if those savants were really running the damn thing 24/7, then I think we're all in serious trouble.

And, I'm not one for drama.

And, I know our info comes from a dead writer with no research or book to back up his claims... and a random guest on a podcast known to exaggerate.

But, if it does predict the END OF THE WORLD, and if it does have to be running all the time, what happens when the Valenzetti Equation STOPS?

Does Mittelwerk know something we don't?

I'd better find out.

I know no such thing. Please, believe me, Rachel.

You know he's alive, don't you? Tell me.

All I know is that Mittelwerk is, right now, in the Italian Riviera. Sanremo. Where Valenzetti was born... and, where he resided before he got on that plane.

I won't speculate.

That's why he went there personally, isn't it? He wouldn't care about a few mathematicians killed. But, with that equation stopped...

All I know is that from the minute the Institute opened, Mittelwerk's had those autistic savants running calculations in an unbroken loop, twenty four hours a day, not a single day missed. It was imperative that they never stopped. And, then, of course, the fire struck.

So, the mathematicians at the Vik Institute... were they really working with the Valenzetti Equation?

Rachel. I hate to say it, but I have heard the name Enzo Valenzetti. More than once, actually. I have it on authority (don't ask how) that the Valenzetti Equation is among the highest priority items on Mittelwerk's agenda.

Iceland Post 03

Friends.

Thanks for all your creative thinking on the glyphs (but why does it all seem to come back around to "Die?") and with proposals for our "team" name. "Percepticons," "Hanso Hunters," "The Blake Brigade" -- we're all these things. But, more than ever I have to believe, I have to HOPE... that we're friends.

Because, in this moment, with the nasty turn things have just taken... we've got to hold the line.

Armand Zander is MISSING.

I went by the Vik Institute. His car wasn't in the lot. I went by his house. The place was surrounded by cops. And reporters.

Rumor has it, they think Zander set the fire. Word has it from his superiors, he's been unhappy for some time. On edge. Writing threatening letters.

This stinks of Mittelwerk. Zander was our key to understanding what those mathematicians were doing with that equation, how those hieroglyphs, how their MEANING, fit into it. He stuck his neck out -- and he paid the price. I'm so sorry, Zander.

And of course, Mittelwerk has vanished in the night once again... Where could he have gone? GidgetGirl?

Well, let's think about it.

LOGIC would dictate Mittelwerk's run off somewhere safe, rather than face the scrutiny the fire has brought to bear.

LOGIC would dictate, now that his cover's blown, Mittelwerk's setting up another savant sweatshop to crunch that equation.
But, in my gut, neither of those scenarios feels right. And, I'll tell you why:

Two nights ago, DJ Dan did a show. One part of it just keeps coming back to me over and over. Listen to his podcast HERE.

Oh, that Valenzetti Equation. Gives you a warm and fuzzy feeling, doesn't it? The more I hear about it, the more I agree with you guys... this just has to have SOMETHING to do with Mittelwerk's mystery equation.
Now, first off... in case you're wondering, in case you hadn't figured it out already -- yeah, that was me who called in to DJ Dan's show.

I'M PERSEPHONE.

Sorry I wasn't straight with you from the get-go, but I just couldn't cop to hacking a DANISH WEBSITE while I was in Denmark. But, now that I'm out of the country, I feel like I owe you guys the truth.

That having been said...

Did you hear it? The part that made me think twice? You see, DJ Dan's guest, this mathematical forecaster, he says something REALLY interesting. He says Valenzetti died but in the next breath tells us the REAL TRUTH without realizing it himself: Valenzetti merely disappeared.

And "disappeared" doesn't equal dead in my book.

So, what if with his equation disrupted, with his formulations possibly destroyed by the fire, what if the reason Mittelwerk took off like a bat out of hell is that he's going to find Enzo Valenzetti? Crazy, right? Of course, it begs the question: WHERE?

So, that's my best theory. Let me know your thoughts - have I ignored my own warnings? Am I completely off the mark with this Valenzetti Equation? GidgetGirl, it's time to earn those contributor privileges. Can YOU tell us anything? (And, since we're giving out names, care to share yours?)

Iceland Post 02

Ladies and Gentlemen. A few words before I start:

1) The creep who BROKE into my room? Not dead. I hit him with the FLAT part of a pretty lightweight iron, guys. Not to mention, I DID check the newspapers.

2) Your comments? Most of them are FANTASTIC… but a few of you really like to go for the knees. Come on, haters… If you ever have the pleasure of trying to take down an insidious international corporation for yourselves one day, I think you might find yourself making a mistake or two as well. Cut a girl some slack.

That said, it looks like we’re all arriving on the same page. OF COURSE, I’ve had my suspicions about this Valenzetti equation… but, I guess I didn’t want to come off like one of those sandwich-board wearing lunatics pointing skyward in the middle of Times Square.

Well, no more. The end is near!!

Er…maybe. Let’s take a step back.

Fact is, though he seems to know what he’s talking about, the author Gary Troup didn’t know what was happening at the VIK INSTITUTE. We have to be careful. Sure, he mentions Alvar Hanso, sure he has some interesting things to say about Valenzetti’s Equation – which is WHY I hid the video on that site – but, that interview can’t provide us with conclusive EVIDENCE that Mittelwerk is using the Valenzetti Equation (or even has it!). Without the Valenzetti Equation book itself to fill in the details, we have to take Troup’s interview for what it is: just a good jumping-off point.

Now, as many of you know, the Gary Troup site crashed yesterday. The video is no longer viewable there. Whether the site crashed because of a bandwidth overload or whether the Hanso Squad slipped it a mickey, I can only be thankful that some of you guys (wish I had a name for you…DJ Dan has the ConspiraSpies, who are YOU? I’m taking suggestions…) posted my Zander video up on YOUTUBE. Go there now if you haven’t seen it.

You watch it? Good. But, be mindful: there is NO PROOF right now that this equation Zander mentioned IS the Valenzetti Equation or that the Valenzetti Equation has anything to do with Egyptian hieroglyphs. I’m not saying it’s NOT, but we shouldn’t shut our eyes so quickly to other possibilities.

Now, on the topic of those glyphs... Looks like all this is getting to Armand Zander, too.

He emailed me back this morning. The message was short and to the point. It simply contained this image:



Familiar? Some of you hit it right on the head… the glyphs are just like that savant memory test. And, if according to some, when taken together, the hieroglyphs do mean “Die,” then the creep-factor has just risen a few hundred points.

But, what do we think? Is it as simple as that? Should we, in fact, be looking at the glyphs one by one? Is that the answer? What if we rearrange them? What have we GOT here???

I’ll be back in a bit… want to see if Zander has anything more to say about this…

20.07: Something’s wrong.

I’ve been trying to email Armand Zander to see if any of this makes any sense to him, but for some reason, all my messages are getting bounced back. A computer-generated response keeps telling me his account, which worked fine yesterday, doesn’t exist.

And he’s not answering his phone.

Have they gotten to him?

Is this the Valenzetti Equation or something else? Would they really get rid of someone to protect it?

Am I next?

Saying a prayer for Zander…




01.53 P.S. ROT

Iceland Post 01

Well, looks like you guys kept yourself busy while I was en route to Iceland - a couple of you had the most interesting conversation following yesterday's post. Check it out:

UdonPaul331: I think Rachel is correct about Vigi Benoffski. I am from his home city, Kolobrzeg, in Poland. He teaches at the local University, and I happened to find this memo in my professor’s office:

http://benoffskimemo.blogspot.com

Roughly translated, this 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?

KemicalRXN654321: It's not. Benoffski must have been lying.

UdonPaul331: So, you think the memo was a cover? For what, though? I guess if you think about it... the letter was typed. Anybody could have written it.

KemicalRXN654321: I wouldn't say just anybody.

Rachel: Well, there you have it. I knew there was more to this.

19.40 Anyway, Iceland.

This place is gorgeous. Can't help but wish I were here under different circumstances. Course, if Mittelwerk knew I was here because of him, bet he'd say the same thing.

I'm staying in Reykjavik, the capital. Today, I drove down to Vik, at the southern tip of the island, and headed over to the Vik Academy. The local police were there, as well as some reporters... and, of course, who did I see walking the grounds with the Vik Institute's director, Armand Zander?

GidgetGirl had it right. Thomas Werner Mittelwerk is here. And he's brought a few of his goons. (Think one of them's my iron victim?)

Waiting was tough, but once Mittelwerk left, I managed to convince Armand Zander to meet me at a local restaurant for a chat. Yeah, I may have bent the truth a tiny bit about who I am. But, you won't believe the stuff I found out.

Now, before you find and watch the VIDEO buried somewhere on the web, you'd better go ahead and refresh your memory of Zander's LETTER to Mittelwerk...

Because that letter is how I got Zander to talk.



Yeah. I know.

I'm sure you're right there with me in wondering... What have I gotten myself into?

Does anyone else feel like we've just taken a sharp ninety-degree turn?

I don't know what I was expecting, but I guess I was anticipating the words "ship" or "map" or "island" - or geez, ALVAR HANSO - to factor into what's happened at the Vik Institute.

Definitely not an enclave of world-renowned mathematicians.

I've emailed Zander - he seemed pretty spooked at the restaurant, but maybe he'll come around and give us something more to go on.

In the meantime, hit me with your comments. If you have even a CLUE as to why Mittelwerk would have these mathematicians hiding in a mental hospital, running some arcane equation through the brains of a bunch of autistic savants, post about it. And while you're at it - take a stab at the hieroglyphics.

Good hunting.

Copenhagen Post 07

I woke up this morning - in an unspecified new hotel - to find a bundle of info posted in the comments section. I've been lagging, I admit (a brush with death will do that), but I've finally caught up with all your theories.

And, you know what? I think I spoke too soon on Friday. Linmoo, you must sleep less than I do... those maps I caught on camera WERE from Lake Superior!!! My hat is off to all those who contributed to this incredible bit of sleuthing.

However... and I'm not doubting you guys... it's just... this doesn't seem to make sense! I KNOW what I saw - I keep replaying it over in my mind's eye - Mittelwerk grabbed my arm. I looked down and saw another map of an island near the zero degree latitude line. My lapel-cam didn't catch it, but, that IS the equator, isn't it?

And what about those shipping lanes?

Mittelwerk MUST be looking at multiple islands. But, for what? One step forward, two back. The same questions remain. Keep those comments coming.

Now, speaking of comments...

As many of you have probably noticed, GidgetGirl is back. If you don't remember, she's the one that blasted me for posting those photos of Hugh McIntyre and his mistress.

But despite that, GidgetGirl's got a heart and a conscience.

This intel is solid - so solid that, true to my word, I've already taken down those photos.

And, in the hopes that this intel is tip-of-the-iceberg, I'm also gonna go the extra step (I hope you're reading this GidgetGirl!) of giving her contributor privileges. I'll be sending you the admin info, GidgetGirl.

But, enough about that. Here's the post:

Rachel, I have two pieces of information to share. I realize now, having watched yesterday's video, that you're literally putting your life on the line for this. And though you know I'm not a huge fan of your methods, I respect what you're trying to do. (Though, I still wish I knew why.)

I know you're a skeptic, but I assure you, I'm in a position to share things that nobody else knows about The Hanso Foundation.

Your "friend," Thomas Werner Mittelwerk, has flown to Iceland. He's cleaning up a mess involving one of the mental health institutes sponsored by the Hanso Mental Health Appeal.

I intercepted this article - http://vikarticle.blogspot.com/ - as it came over the AP Wire the day of your last post. Read it, and I'm certain you'll be convinced.

Coincidence? I think not. A bunch of you guessed it - this has to be the "Institute" situation my uninvited hotel room guest was talking about with Mittelwerk.

So, was this renowned mathematician, Vigi Benoffski, really visiting a patient at the Vik Institute at 3am??? Or was he there for another reason?

What about the others? Were they with him? Patients? Visitors? Something else? I did a search on those names, and let me tell you... those three sure ain't from Iceland.

If you remember Armand Zander's letter to Mittelwerk - the one Persephone posted on the hacked Hanso Foundation website - it mentioned an inaccessible third basement level of the Vik Institute.

And from the AP article, it looked like Zander knew way more than he was willing to say.

WHAT IS GOING ON?

Looks like we're heading to Iceland.

Copenhagen Post 06

My heart's still pounding. Just FIND AND WATCH THE VIDEO.



Once my head stopped spinning, I realized a couple things.

One. I'm not registered under Rachel Blake at the hotel. In fact, I've been paying cash for everything. Meaning, I was followed. And, those maps Mittelwerk was carrying? They mean something.

Two. I'm pretty sure it was that same man-in-black Mittelwerk was talking to the day I bumped him...



You make the call. Am I right?

Either way, that phone call he took - it was definitely from Mittelwerk. Wish I'd had the presence to take the cell phone. But whatever.

I'm lucky. Lucky I got to him before he finished whatever he was there to do. I've got all my gear. I'm still alive.

What do you guys think he was talking about: "What fire? Which Institute?" Give me your ideas in the comments box - let's figure it out.

Anyway, I'm outta here. I've got to switch hotels. Though, if I had a destination in mind, I'd be saying good-bye to Denmark altogether...