Hello! This is a guide to help people solve the 000 puzzle in this guide I will be doing 2 things, I will explain how to do each page while also telling the story that is happening at the same time page by page.
Page 1: There is no 000
Story: We kick off with the main character, You! You are low level [Insert what ever you want here] doing misc research on the RPC Authority's systems when you accidentally type in three 0s which then leads you to this.
You don't know what to make of it, and what's worse after stumbling upon what appears to be a mere system placeholder The Board of Global Directors sends you a message directly to your Authority browser.
You do however notice something odd about the letter itself, beyond the fact that the Board would even care you found this page.
Puzzle: There are 3 hidden links on this page. 2 lead to random RPCs and the other one leads to Page 2. The link you looking for is here.
Simply click on the period
Page 2: ArcOS Verison 4.9.2
Story: After uncovering what appears to be a hidden link in the first message you're left with this:
ArcOS Version 4.9.2?? You don't recall there ever being such a version available for use, you must be logging into some sort of VM or external system, but whys its here? It asks you to enter your Credentials of which you look in your files for. You find your Credentials which have been downloaded on your computer through unknown means, tho it is likely that it has come from the page itself. Someone wants you to dig deeper.
the ARC Bot Also sends you an error message with a strange Object Class Sigil, you've never seen it before.
Puzzle: Perhaps the most controversial part of the puzzle in its whole. there are actually 2 ways of getting past this page, the first is a continuation of the story while the second is a shortcut to the article itself. looking at the files (for your credentials) we can see that the image in this page is labeled Credentials.jpg.
Downloading the image and opening it as notepad or doc yields this result
Which is a direct link to the third page. If you open the Object Class Sigil in a new tab you can note its name, and type that into your browser with and underscore1to reach the article
Page 3: Project Eskalion
Story: You reach the build only to find that it exclusively holds a set of files pertaining to a "Project Eskalion" A project you have never heard of. This page introduces us to 3 Characters, Agent Jackson, Doctor Samson, and Agent Alan Monroe, the two former appear to be people who worked on Project Eskalion while the latter appears to be an outside observer, maybe he's the one whos been leading you here, assuming he's still alive.
Puzzle: This page tells you what to do and how to do it.
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You'll also want to grab the Ceaser Cipher found here.
Page 4: A Tale of 3 Brothers
Story: After doing as Agent Monroe asks you come across what appears to be a mere story, perhaps some leftovers from the Authoritas. But just as you give up Arc Bot sends you another message.
Commentary: there are 3 bad endings on this page (the links that are found directly on it). The first one simply has the Board finding you and sending you to Site-009, the second has Agent Monroe's grandson says you've been too much of liability so they kill you, and the final appears to be an error in the Arc OS system take away from it what you want.
Puzzle: Simple find the hidden code and use the Ceaser Cipher do decipher it.
after doing this you have arrived at your destination, the 000 article congratulations!
FAQ
Question: so that's it, there's nothing more after this?
Answer: at the time of writing this, YES that's it! I have a plan for future additions for more 000 related content but that's tentative and subject to change.
Question: so its the Ark of the Covenant?
Answer: Yes, and No.
Question: Why is 000's article like this?
Answer: The way 000 is right now is a result of its long and controversial history on the site2 when writing 000 many people had the expectations expressed to me personally that they thought 000 was going to be one of the greatest RPCs on the site. That's a rather tall order to fill on command and honestly that was never the intention, when it finally came down to actually writing the article it became apparent that nothing was going to work completely. Either we went with 100% here's the Ark Cliche and hope it sticks or we go for a subversion, so we went for a summation of both.
Question: I didn't get this hidden meaning can you explain it?
Answer: There is none! RPC-000 was written intentionally to have loosely connected threads with which you come to your own conclusion, I've had people come to me and say that they love the complex imagery found across pages, some of which was intentional and some of which was not. I have also had people come to me and tell me that they loved the lack thereof of which some are also intentional and not. At the end of the day art is subjective, take away from it what you will, don't let me tell you what to think!
Question: Can I make an edit [Insert place here]
Answer: No!