A Friend (under construction)

Who is he/she?

"A Friend" was the one who welcomed us to the forums, asking for help and telling us to be careful. Some time during May 10, his/her posts disappeared and changed to simply: Original post has been deleted. There’s no conspiracy .

I will try and gather as much as I can from the original posts here, as well as other facts and theories about "A Friend".

Forum Posts

The first post:

"You've arrived. Thank the Gods"
Last edited by A friend : May 9, 2007 at 02:21 AM.

This forum might not live for long - in fact, the first people to make it here were prevented from posting. THEY do not want us to communicate with each other, and THEY have eyes and ears everywhere.

The code is not yet cracked. What do the symbols mean? How are the three cities linked? What do they not want us to know?

It may be a game to them, but it's not a game - it's real. Dark days are coming. We must band together now, we must be prepared, and we must protect HER from the evil that rises.

Gaia is under threat. Your help is desperately needed.

(A friend.)


"The code has been cracked!"
Posted the morning of May 10 by A friend:

The code has been cracked, the locations marked. My friends - you've been helpful beyond measure. I WILL call on you again.

Five sacred places point to an ancient secret buried by time - a Pandora's Box that was very nearly opened, less than a century ago.

Once more this secret is in danger of being exposed. That MUST NOT be allowed to happen!

I'm taking this information with me to people who can help. Powerful friends. Warriors. Protectors. They inhabit this world, and yet they live apart from it, in secret places, hidden places...in the dark places.

Be safe. Be vigilant. Be aware. We are approaching an end, and a new beginning. You will be called on again. And this time - the battle will be harder.

A friend.
20121221

A friend posted this message at the forum, and it was erased 5 minutes later..

Today, 05:50 PM
They've tried to shut me out, but I still have powerful friends amongst them.

The game has been announced, and it's too late for us to do anything about that.

All we can do now is wait for the secret world - the real world of secrets - to respond. Some of them will not be happy to see their secrets exposed. But they will deny everything. They always do.

There's something else, too... Don't be surprised if I call on some of you soon, as I said I would. I have been contacted by...well, it doesn't matter who. But I may soon be in possession of the final piece to this puzzle.

My post will not be here long, I suspect, so spread the word, keep vigilant, and don't trust them. They have no idea what they have just unleashed.

Why were the messages erased? Who are "They"?

Some of the theories concerning this are:

• This was all part of a plot build-up, which they decided to stop once they changed the name.
• "They" finally got to the forums and dealt with A friend.

New message from A Friend, at the forum at 01:35 but after 1 minute it was erased:

Friends - and enemies:

Together we are stronger than we are apart; once again that has been made abundantly clear to me. With your assistance and diligence, I'm closer than ever to deciphering the cryptic clues on (and in) the photograph.

But we aren't there yet. I have been preoccupied with...other matters, and your assistance is still of the utmost importance. I believe we only have a few days before time runs out. I may be wrong. But if I am right, we must work harder to crack this infernal code.

As I told you yesterday, I know we need the following information:

When was the photograph taken - on the minute. Year, date, time.
Where was the photograph taken - exactly.
Who took the photograph - and who was his most trusted friend.

These things will point us through the dark days that are coming, and unlock a message from the past - a message that will, hopefully, inspire us and guide us through the dark days ahead.

How do I know these things? I'm being led through the darkness by a guiding light, just as I lead you through the falling dark. I don't know who she really is, who she answers to, or why she's chosen me - but she has, as I have chosen you.

Please, as always, record my words carefully. This message will be deleted soon, I'm sure, and I don't have the resources at this moment to send you another mail. I can't risk exposing trusted friends in precarious positions, and will only ask them such favours when the circumstances warrant it.

Remember this: there may be other messages, hidden ones, that we have yet to find. I feel there's something missing. But I KNOW that some of you - some of you - are on the right track. I believe we have the year, I believe we know where it was taken, but we need all the information - as quickly as possible.

Be safe. Stay vigilant. I will return.

A friend.


Yet another new message from A Friend at 17:51 GMT Sunday 13th May. (Thanks Cillus)

You have found the precise date, I'm sure of it. It corresponds perfectly with my own research into the photograph, and with what A. B. has told me. Year, month, date - you have solved the riddle.

I do not believe, however, that you have found the exact time yet. I know the hour and minute will be marked clearly, albeit cryptically, on the photograph - I have encountered others like it, and these details are crucial to those who frequent the secret world - but I cannot decipher the code myself. For this I must rely entirely on you.

I also believe the location to be self-evident, though I hesitate to be more precise. I want the answer to come from you. I could very well be wrong in my assumptions, and every statement I make has a way of becoming the accepted truth - something for which I only have myself to blame, of course.

I have some new information, however. She told me that the arrow points the way, and the gate is one of five. Yes...yes, it makes perfect sense...but I don't want you to discount other possibilities just yet. I will leave it to you - all of you - to answer that riddle.

Where do all the numbers point? Again, one of you has the answer already, I'm very sure of that. Together you will crack the code and unlock the final message for me, for all of us, for everyone.

When you do, I must disappear for a while. I have become much more visible than I had hoped I would have to, and they are hunting me. Every hour, every minute, brings them closer. I don't have much longer.

Be vigilant. Be prepared. And don't stop until you have the answer. I depend on you. The world depends on you.

A friend


A friend wrote 14th May 2007 11:24

My situation is increasingly precarious. I stay on the move, go online only where I feel safe - in public places, coffee shops, libraries. I have stopped using my phone. I keep looking over my shoulder. I'm the last to get on the train, making sure no one enters after me - and I'm the last one off, just before the doors close. I avoid dark places, I stay where there are people, always, and I keep my eyes turned down and my face in shadow.

Paranoia grips my heart. I can't tell friend from foe, safe haven from devious trap. Sometimes I'm not even sure I'm being followed... Until I catch a glimpse of something strange in a darkened reflection, or hear a disturbingly familiar sound when I lie awake at night...

Yet I'm committed to this cause, as are you - I'm sure of it - and I will not stop until I know the whole Truth.

The code remains unbroken, however.

You have not yet found the place the photograph was taken - I'm sure of it. Remember: the arrow points the way, she said. There is an arrow made from numbers. You found it once. You can find it again.

I fear you have not found the precise hour, either. I have nothing but a gut feeling about this, but I think the answer may be even more obvious than we first thought.

With everything else, I'm confident that we have the answers we need, but not yet the way to use those answers.

Some of you are certainly on the right track, but the secret may be buried in a place closer to home, right under our eyes. Certain people are in possession of something precious that we need access to - people who should never have had it in the first place - and they are foolish enough to put it where someone, anyone, can access it.

The year. The date. The time. The place. These will lead us to a final message, and tell us something of the past...and the future.

Be vigilant, friends. Beware reflections in windows and strange sounds at night. It might mean you are getting too close. Leave it be, then, all of this, and return to your life in the sun. Enjoy it while it's still there.

I wish I could.

A friend

E-Mails

This E-mail was sent to people registered at the official forums:

From: A friend - hideseek@gmail.com
I said I would call on you again. I had no idea it would be so soon. A trusted friend has sent me a scan of an old photograph thought lost that may hold clues to the true nature of the conspiracy. I need your help to decipher the clues and find its source. You were the ones, the chosen ones, who discovered the truth behind the numbers. You are needed once more. http://www.flickr.com/photos/thehiddenplaces/493782881/ Your friend, HS


This is what to be found at Flickr:


A.B. sent it to me. I don't yet know why - she refuses to say. What significance does it hold? I must gather the following information: When was it taken. Where - exactly - and by whom. Who is the man standing near the camera? And how will this information relate to the approaching darkness? (Quickly now...they are trying to make this all go away. I will have to move the photograph again soon.)





Our friend was right, just a short while later the picture was gone, only a short message left:

The photo you were looking for has been deleted.
You might like to ask The Secret Places about it!

New Email, May 14, 2007, 12:00

Friends.

I'm no longer able to post on the forums. My messages are deleted instantly,
and unwanted eyes are able to pry into our private affairs. I am, however,
still able to use the very same channels for sending mail that cannot be
tracked back to where I currently am. For now.

Hopefully all of you are to be trusted. Don't show your cards - and be
cautious.

I believe you have found the location now. Yes, the arrow points there - the
pentagram - and all prior signs correspond with your latest theory. It is as
I thought, but I needed it confirmed. Good work!

I'm as much in the dark as you are about the time. I know the clues are
right there in the photo, as clear as day, as obvious as anything we've ever
looked at...but the answer still eludes me. The clock is a message, I'm sure
of it. But how to read it? You must focus on that now. We have the other
pieces.

Remember: Year, month, day, hour, minute - and the location.

The names are the key to the message.

My coffee grows cold and I'm receiving long looks from the staff. I should
move on before the lunch crowd arrives. I don't know where to go next, but I
will try to check in again soon. If not today, then certainly tomorrow. But
then, after that... Time runs short. I must disappear or risk exposing
myself.

Hurry. You are closer than ever. I depend on you now.

A friend



May 14 2007 23:46:49 "thank you"

Friends.

You have cracked the code! An important message has been unveiled - one that is more important than you could possibly imagine.

I know now who A.B. is, and I know how to contact her. She might - no, she will - help me disappear. And I trust that she will be able to answer a few of my many questions regarding the sleeping threat.

I owe you a great deal, friends. Without your help, I would not have found the letter from Belmont, and I would have been searching still for answers and for a safe house. Because of you - every single one of you - I shall sleep soundly tonight, without waking in fear and jumping at shadows. Thank you.

I might return one final time in the days to come to tell you some of what I've learned, but I can make no promises about that. I intend to disappear for a while, at least until my enemies grow tired and return to their stone buildings and their long tables, but I will be back again some day - this I DO promise. There is much more to learn about the secret world, and I intend to learn it all...before it is too late.

Be safe, friends. Be vigilant - always. Be strong. Keep searching. Keep learning. Keep reading, listening, watching. The answers hide in history, mythology, legends, and stories. The day will come when you are needed, all of you, in the battle against darkness. Without people like you, our Earth - Gaia - is doomed.

Farewell,

A friend