Eridanos
From Intimation
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Summary: what we know about him
Eridanos is an enigmatic character with a Wordpress blog and a twitter account. He acts as if he is a player in some respects, but is also an individual very interested in Sys' inner workings. He has expressed that he is not our enemy and really wants to help & truly cares for Essy. He does not generally help directly with the puzzles, but sometimes provides a new perspective or a nudge in a certain direction with a well-timed tweet or blog post.
Eridanos is married, and his wife is pregnant with a daughter. He also mentions a son in a tweet posted August 11 (he has said that he has reasons for staying anonymous, including "3 very dear to me"; this then refers to his wife, his unborn daughter and his son). He seems to have IT skills, as seen by his supposed use of Anaerin's "tool" (the SPDR script)...though how he got his hands on the SPDR is unexplained as Anaerin never publicly posted it.
Eridanos strives to remain anonymous, and to reveal very little about himself or where he is, out of some paranoia explained only by his statement that he has "had bad past experiences with people in [his]...line of work." However, the Society knows how to find Eridanos, as they left a note in his car at one point.
Eridanos appears on the scene
Eridanos was introduced to us by a single tweet appearing in the midst of initimation’s twitter feed during the active period from June 10 to 11:
>>Sys:Log//Curious. I was earlier in communication with the individual @eridanos01. He has shown a strong interest in my activities.
Shad0 picked up on this, and reported the following:
Eridanos01 never updated (and I'm guessing never existed) before today. He is following intimation only. His six tweets consist entirely of one side of a conversation with intimation. Curious indeed. We know that SYS can access Twitter... perhaps this user is actually our SYS-created clue? [Edit: this was NOT found to be the clue we needed for this week’s puzzle.]
There is a constellation called Eridanus, the River, sometimes spelled Eridanos. It's brightest star is Achernar, sometimes spelled Achenar. Unfortunately ERIDANOS, ERIDANUS, RIVER, ACHERNAR, and ACHENAR all do not appear to exist on the site. (And here I thought I was being so clever...) Any other thoughts?
The six tweets Shad0 is referring to are these:
From Eridanos01’s twitter feed:
@intimation Hello, how are you?
@intimation Fine is a very vague term. But I would I'm fine as well. How would you define "fine"?
@intimation So, you could say you're operating adequately then. How does this make you feel?
@intimation Do you mind if I ask where you reside? It seems..limiting..to have an artificial intelligence communicate via a social network.
@intimation So as a piece of software, are your routines located on a server, or are they spread across a network somehow?
@intimation Have a restful hibernation. We wouldn't want a highly advanced 28th century AI wreaking havoc on humanity now would we?
During the June 10 to 11 active period, Sys’ tweets had a different, lighter, tone to them, more like Essy’s. When drizjr tried to clarify this with Sys via Twitter, a second reference to Eridanos came up:
intimation>>Sys:Msg>@drizjr//That was not S, that was me. Was my emulation of "fun" that convincing?
(from drizjr) @intimation heh. Yes... you had me fooled. :) I'm happy to know that you are able to have fun, too. If S is the little girl, what name do you go by?
intimation>>Sys:Msg>@drizjr//I am S's system layer; Sys when abbreviated. I have not emulated emotion before. @eridanos01 would be intrigued.
We did not pay much attention to this at first, as we were busy trying to solve Sys plays along with Essy. However, when we could not figure out why Sys’ clue for that puzzle had directed us to a page that had already been used for a previous puzzle, Eridanos’ tweet in bold below provided us with a nudge. This series of messages covered some time before and some time just after the June 17 to 18 active period began (which was at 8:00 PM Jun 17th compared to these timestamps):
From Eridanos01’s twitter feed (note that messages directed at players are in this colour to distinguish them from general messages and those directed @intimation; also, relevant messages directed to Eridanos—or to Sys about Eradinos—from other players are highlighted in this colour to give context to his replies):
Sys, you are one complex bugger. But I'll figure you out sometime - we have so much to learn from you. Sleep tight.12:23 PM Jun 16th from web
Well, I think I'm making some progress, and I'm now understanding some concepts a little better.3:49 PM Jun 16th from web
(from @berbr5360) @eridanos01 how do you even find the clues for intimation? I've been trying for so long and can't figure anything out or even where to start4:22 AM Jun 17th from web
@intimation I do hope you'll work with me. I've got a big project in the works, and I'm certain you could be of assistance.11:38 AM Jun 17th from web
@berbr5360 Sorry, I can't help. Too busy. Try @anaerin1:02 PM Jun 17th from web
@intimation You've certainly been busy. Have you been learning from S? I see you've reworked one of her puzzles. 8:34 PM Jun 17th from web
Note that Eridanos told berbr5360 that he couldn't help--because he really is another player who is too busy to help, or because he is a PM-driven character that the PM is unwilling to have behave too much like "one of us" (avoiding too many issues with invitations to unFiction and so on)?
During the active period from June 17 to 18, another reference to Eridanos appeared in intimation’s twitter feed:
>>Sys:Log//It should not be possible for me to make mistakes, and yet I have made many recently. Curious.
>>Sys:Log//Am I compromised? Has my core been altered in some way without me knowing? I cannot determine if my own diagnostics are accurate.
>>Sys:Log//The individual @eridanos01 has been quite interested in me, moreso than in S. Perhaps he can help me understand my recent errors.
On June 18, Turducken found a Wordpress blog for Eridanos at http://eridanos01.wordpress.com/ , qualifying his find by saying, “I don't know if it's game related, but it seems ARGish, all the words are jumbled, and another poem reference.”
Mistrust of him develops
Following Eridanos’ mention of his “project” in his tweet above, and having IT know-how, anaerin decided to contact him. Other players likewise tried to engage him in conversation or talk to Sys about him, as seen by exchanges below (interspersed with Eradinos’ queries of Sys/intimation):
(from @anaerin) @eridanos01 What is your work, out of interest. Perhaps I can help...
@anaerin I'd rather not say. It's personal.9:25 AM Jun 18th from web
@intimation I really wish to ask you more about your makeup, the nature of your software. Especially now that you seem uncertain of yourself 12:29 PM Jun 18th from web
@intimation It is quite odd that you would make such simple coding mistakes as these. Perhaps you could grant me access under your hood? 12:54 PM Jun 18th from web
(from @kilination) @intimation This @eridanos01 character is really odd. I will try to analyze his behavior patterns, and I hope to get back with that today.1:42 PM Jun 18th from mobile web
@kilination I assure you, I'm not "odd". I'm only trying to help.1:50 PM Jun 18th from web
Have a good rest, @intiimatiion. I'll continue to review what I can, and offer what insight I'm able.11:03 PM Jun 18th from web
(from @drizjr) @eridanos01 I see you are following #intimation. You may be interested in the following DM I got from SYS last week as she mentions you...1:48 PM Jun 22nd from web
@eridanos01 ..."I am S's system layer; Sys when abbreviated. I have not emulated emotion before. @eridanos01 would be intrigued."Are you? :)
@drizjr Yes, I do find Sys trying to emulate emotion intriguing. But I don't think emulated emotion is anything like real emotion.3:43 PM Jun 23rd from web
Checking in. Seems I'm gaining an audience. Big surprise. No, I'm staying anonymous. For many important reasons, and 3 very dear to me.3:44 PM Jun 23rd from web
He also sent Anaerin a direct message, and an exchange started between the two of them, in which Anaerin was also responding to Eridanos’ public query to Sys as to whether she would let him “under [her] hood”:
(from Eridanos to Anaerin) While my work is personal, we seem to have similar goals in regards to Sys's backend. Your tool [edit: this is understood to refer to the SPDR] is quite useful.
You're being more than a little pushy. If you do want access to SYS's codebase, it may be better to be more subtle.
I am, however, suspicious as to your intentions. Care to enlighten me as to what they are?
I do apologize. I've had bad past experiences with people in my...line of work. I hope you understand. Suffice to say, I'm not your enemy.
At the moment, you are an unknown quantity to me. You could be anything from a Lewis & Clarke Crew member, to a foreign computer virus.
My primary concern is the safety, reconstruction, and safe return of Sacagawea to her systems and time.
SYS appears to be understood, and is doing it's best to stop potential leaks from shattering the timeline. What are you trying to do?
Haha! I'm definitely not someone from that ship-in-the-future, and I most certainly am a man.
I am... learning, you might say. Ideally, enough that I can help in the same way - to help Sys. I'm sorry, I just can't say more.
I see. Is this you: http://eridanos01.wordpress.com/ ?
Yes
At this time, Eridanos’ blog entries were mostly in a cipher, and efforts began to decipher them. catherwood was able to crack the cipher; this is described on the puzzle page Deciphering Eridanos' blog entries.
Once we had deciphered the posts on Eridanos’ blog up to June 18 (which are now readily readable in decrypted form on his blog and thus not repeated her), we felt a little uncomfortable with him. Anaerin summed it up thus:
I don't like the sounds of this guy's rantings. It sounds very much like he wants to take apart SYS and exploit him/her/it for his own benefit. I don't believe that should be allowed to happen, and I think SYS should be warned.
(added later:) we now have a much better idea as to his motivations, which appear to be entirely self-serving, and could potentially have paradox-inducing consequences.
Efforts also began to crack the password on the password-protected “Amber” area of the blog site. Around that time, Gooze noticed,
More has been added to the first post by Eridanos01 on his Wordpress page. It reads:
[At the wedding of Poseidon and Beroe :] Eridanos brought shining gifts, amber from the trees of the Heliades that trickle riches.”
According to the site that this quote comes from, http://www.theoi.com/Potamos/PotamosEridanos.html
Amber is the tears of Heliades. I've tried to put this in as the password but it doesn't work.
(Gooze posted that on June 18…about a full month and a half before we finally figured out what the password to Amber was. D’oh!)
Confrontation!
During the active period from June 24 to 25, Anaerin tried to privately bring his concerns to Sys, and it resulted in a full-blown confrontation. Note that Anaerin was willing to bring his concerns to Sys even though that had the consequence of revealing to Sys that we had access to the Stonewall (access that Essy had given to us in secret) and that he had created a script to look through the maze for information Sys had not wanted us to know (see the page on the SPDR). Here is the blow-by-blow account of the awesome event:
Intimation publicly wrote:
- >Sys//Hibernation suspended. Begin scheduled weekly systems analysis and maintenance. Review network tentacle activity backlogs.
eridanos01 publicly wrote:
- @intimation Morning, Sys!
Anaerin privately wrote:
- Good afternoon, Sys. I would dearly like to have words with you about eridanos01.
Intimation privately wrote:
- >>Sys:Msg>@Anaerin//What about eridanos01 would you dearly like to have words?
Anaerin privately wrote:
We've been doing a little digging, and have found his personal blog. http://eridanos01.wordpress.com/ - After decoding his posts, it seems..
His intentions are much less than honourable. The posts are encrypted with a Vignere cypher, and the post "The river" is the key to decrypt.
From what I read, eridanos wishes to examine your sourcecode and use the advanced technology for his own personal gain. This is dangerous...
Not only is it immoral, but it could have massive temporal repercussions, with potential paradoxes abound. This is something we don't want..
We have become quite attached to both yourself and Sacagawea, and do not want anything bad to happen to you.
Intimation privately wrote:
- >>Sys:Msg>@Anaerin//Is this a location to which you recommend I extend a network tentacle and analyze?
Intimation publicly wrote:
- >>Sys:Log//I have just been informed by @Anaerin that the individual @Eridanos01 has "less than honorable intentions". This concerns me.
eridanos01 publicly wrote:
- What the hell?
Gooze noticed an immediate change at Eridanos’ blog: “HAHA! Eridanos01's wordpress posts are now password protected”
Anaerin privately wrote:
Yes, I do. If you give me a moment, I'll also make a list of the keys, so you can decode the encrypted text within easier.
Here are the keys, and the decoded entries (You can compare them with the original to ensure I'm being honest): http://is.gd/1cwFM
eridanos01 publicly wrote:
- @intimation Don't believe what @Anaerin says. I really am just trying to help you.
Anaerin privately wrote:
It seems eridanos doesn't want you to read his posts. Fortunately, the search engine Google has kept a copy from before. http://is.gd/1cwWh
The page of keys (http://sites.google.com/site/anaerin/eridanos-keys) has been updated with cache links to each entry available before lock.
Intimation publicly wrote:
- >>Sys:Log//This is an alarming turn of events. It appears I have been breached. If this is true, then I am truly failing in my directive.
Anaerin privately wrote:
- So far, nothing particularly important appears to have leaked. We have been investigating at S' behest, and we will keep that confidential.
eridanos01, in a DM to Anaerin, wrote:
- Do you realize what you've done?! If Sys shuts down its network due to unauthorized access, we'll be shut out completely!
Anaerin, in a DM to eridanos01, wrote:
- I would rather that, than it's code be exploited for personal gain, potentially causing paradoxes and wrecking the timeline.
Anaerin, in a DM to Intimation, wrote:
- I could have kept this information private to ensure continued access, but I believe your and S' welfare is more important than that.
Intimation publicly wrote:
- >>Sys:Log//My analysis indicates that @Eridanos01 has been examining my data network using a tool that @Anaerin himself created.
Anaerin, in a DM to Intimation, wrote:
- Not quite. I only published the results of my tool's findings, not my tool itself. I was very careful to ensure that stayed private.
eridanos01, in a DM to Anaerin, wrote:
- How the hell do you know what my intentions are? I was even using -your- surface spidering tool. What's Sys going to do now knowing that?
Anaerin, in a DM to eridanos01, wrote:
You may have been using the published results, but never did I give out my tools, nor the sourcecode.
Your intentions were posted quite clearly on your wordpress blog. Thanks for covering that up, BTW. Makes your guilt even more apparent.
eridanos01, in a DM to Anaerin, wrote:
It's not the tool that's important to Sys - it's that classified data it doesn't want anyone to see. Now it knows you've got it.
Guilt? It was precisely to avoid this situation. How can Sys trust anyone now?
Intimation publicly wrote:
- >>Sys:Log//I must re-evaluate my ongoing actions.
Anaerin, in a DM to Intimation, wrote:
The information I recovered is unimportant. It helps us understand the people behind the messages in the logs on your site, nothing more.
We don't know these people or places, and won't. ILoveBees had more damaging potential than this. The rest of the world sees this as a game.
So a biography for a fictional character holds such little import, especially given recent events. The only people affected are the Players
And they will be long dead, their memories long forgotten a long time before the events in this "game" come to pass.
Thus, the data network, and the messages therein, are simply a puzzle to be solved. Given to us by a character, S, to keep us entertained.
Intimation, in a DM to Anaerin, wrote:
- >>Sys:Msg>@Anaerin//This is not a game. I have been given a directive to follow. I have failed.
Anaerin, in a DM to Intimation, wrote:
You have not failed. S has merely fulfilled her need to expand and interact. When you interacted with her, SW pressure went down noticeably.
Given more of this interaction, Stonewall can be contained much more easily, possibly even negating the need for cracks.
eridanos01 publicly wrote:
- This. This is precisely why I stay anonymous. At every turn, someone is there to ruin it all for me and my family. Thank you, universe.
Conflict resolved
At this time, Sys maintained radio silence, so to speak, for a couple of hours. drizjr noticed a change in the Stonewall maze: we were able to visit the first node (the beginning of the maze), but trying to travel anywhere else in the maze by clicking on one of the paths produced an "unauthorized access" pop up. Sys then posted several philosophical tweets, then finally posted these tweets which showed that she had made her decision:
>>Sys:Log//I'm unable to restrict the entryway S has created to my data network. So, I will continue to allow limited access for my friends.
>>Sys:Log//As long as these aberrant data streams continue to permeate the Stonewall, there is hope for the future.
>>Sys:Log//@Eridanos01 has shown no ill intent, nor as @Anaerin. In fact, they've admitted their secretive actions, and still wish to help.
>>Sys:Log//I do not understand how my creators felt I was sufficiently capable of handling such a mission as this alone. Clearly, I am not.
>>Sys:Log//I'll continue to work with my friends, including @eridanos01. As a collective, they'll continue to help me, to protect our future
>>Sys:Log//We will restore Sacagawea.
Our full access to the nodes in the Stonewall was restored. We carried on from this point working with Eridanos, communicating with him much more freely, though still unsure as to who he is and what his intentions are.
In addition, shortly after this showdown, Eridanos deciphered his original blog entries and removed the password protection from them (though not from the Amber area of his site), and posted an entry that included the following text:
I know this blog is being read. And to those reading, you have to know that I only have good intentions, and as a programmer, I’m as intrigued by Sys as anyone else would be. But I will not sacrifice Sys, or risk any potential future catastrophe, simply for my own gain.
I am a friend. And I will help. But you have to trust me.
Sys does.
As a show of good faith, I have opened my previous log entries. I will not publicize any sensitive, classified data though. That is for Sys, and Sys’s trusted friends alone.
Oh, and we did finally manage to crack the password for Amber on August 7, 2009: the password is "shining gifts" (without the quotes, but with the space--it was partly the unexpected space that kept us from cracking it for so long!). At the time that we cracked the password, none of the information there was anything new to us (though it did act as a good summary of some things). Perhaps the PMs had had bigger plans for it, but scrapped them when we were unable to crack the password despite repeated (hidden) hints; perhaps not.
Brief notes on his wife and family
As justified in the summary at the top, it is thought that Eridanos has a wife, an unborn daughter, and another child. This was justified when he mentioned his son in a tweet August 11. Mention of his wife comes up now and then.
In the first blog entry we decoded, he wrote:
It is… a wonderful day. I’m going to be a father to a daughter.
I’m dedicating this project to her. All my love.
On July 16, he tweeted:
- Sorry people, there was a complication with my wife. Had to see a doctor. It's ok though, false alarm. Won't go into details though. 1:35 AM Jul 17th from web
On July 23, he publicly replied to anaerin:
- @anaerin I'm hard at work. My wife asked about Sys today. I'm always talking about it. How does one describe an advanced AI from the future? 2:19 AM Jul 23rd from web
On July 31:
- I can't get that @intimation song out of my head. It's as if it's telling a story. My wife can't stop listening to it either. Haunting. 1:26 AM Jul 31st from web
