Symbolic decryption is a field I do in fact have some knowledge of, but please know that the following break is by all means work only to the best of my own ability, and should not be accepted as the sole true interpretation. So consider the following as an exhibition of this IRL skill solely for y'all's own curiosity's sake of satisfaction.
So; firstly, learn to be organized. Always start by listing out the given symbols at hand, sorting them into numerically quantified categories according to visual similarity, like so:
- Two (2) anchors.
- Twelve (12) horizontal traffic lights (HTL).
- Four (4) vertical traffic lights (VTL).
- Eight (8) maps.
- Four (4) castles.
- One (1) Easter Island head statue.
- One (1) biplane.
- One (1) torii.
- One (1) crackhouse.
- One (1) fountain.
- One (1) monorail.
- One (1) train.
- One (1) boat.
- One (1) locomotive.
And, we have the following text characters included as well:
:/9//&
#
lolaklkk
Now we can begin the decryption process. The first and most obvious cipher to the layman for use, is the association cipher; what are pictures of? A crude, rude but effective method, so we'll try that first.
Traffic lights. Maps insinuating a global sense of travel. An assortment of vehicles. From the symbols employed in this message, at first glance it is obvious there is an overall theme of '
transportation' to this particular piece. Thus, the foundation of context. Easy enough.
But now we must consider the order of things. In order to do so as effectively solvent as possible, the following you're about to see is a special decoding method of sussing out hidden links, inspired by a technique that artists use to maintain proportion while drawing, particularly, faces. Said artists flip the canvas upside-down while they work, and the new perspective of the familiar allows their perceptive eye to notice irregularities in the facial features drawn, and so correct them accordingly (another way is to present the work to a mirror, same principle).
So, pay attention:
Why have four traffic lights in between the two anchors? Then seven more traffic lights. Then six maps before the first castle, then two maps before the three castles; then suddenly you get vertical traffic lights, they start standing up. Then you get the first text block; then, the statue, the plane, the torii and the crackhouse. There is clear intended meaning here, before the first hashtag, then: VTL, second text block, HTL, VTL, fountain, monorail, VTL, train, boat, locomotive.
From the anchor to the crackhouse; then, from the hashtag to the locomotive:
According to Wikipedia, the word "train" comes from the old French "trahiner", which comes from the Latin "trahere", which means to pull, to draw. What else is traditionally drawn?
Maps are. Maps are drawn up. Anchors are drawn up. Anchors are drawn up to (re)commence travel after being stationary via them. What else makes you stop and (re)start?
Traffic lights. Red, yellow, green. (Re)-d means stop. "re" colloquially means "regarding" something. So what are we supposed to be looking for as we stop? What possibly stops just to regard things? Sight. Sights. Sightseeing.
Landmarks. Tourists stop just to see them. Easter Island is a popular tourist destination due to its famous ancient statues, the mo'ai. The Japanese torii symbolically marks the traversal from the profane to the sacred. Both are popular attractions for sightseeing tourists. "Torii" in Japanese means "bird abode". Birds "Twitter". What else flies?
A plane. The plane. The biplane. A biplane traditionally uses a propeller as its means of powered flight. Powered flight.The torii, the "bird abode", the connection to a higher power, "traversal from the profane to the sacred". What is considered profane? The crackhouse. Ronald Reagan's 'War on Drugs'. What do drugs do?
They allow you to experience the depths of your unconscious mind, and in ancient history to be under trance was to be in commune with the gods; "from the profane to the sacred". The mind is often considered as the final frontier of medical research. The theme is supposed to be transportation. Drugs propel us into the mind. A biplane propels us into the sky. What is beyond the sky?
According to Star Trek: "Space, the final frontier." But Star Trek's in the future; what, currently propels us into space?
A rocket.
Yet, if you've noticed, we've skipped a bit: consider now, those four castles: Four castles. Fourcastles. ForecastL's. Forecast: Losses.
What is the word "forecast" generally used in relation to?
The weather. So, "losses"?
The losses of polar ice due to climate change.
And the text blocks, you ask?
":/9//&, #, lolaklkk"?
The definition of the colon as a grammatic device denotes that whatever follows it is meant to be construed as part of a consecutive series as comma'd: "lolaklkk". kalkollk. Calculate. To slash means to divide, nine "&" three slashes, for a "#" (number); nine slashed by three is three. After the hashtag? Three vertical traffic lights. Three colours to each traffic light. The traffic light signifies a stop or go. The fountain? Signifies release. There are three types of train displayed.
The first train is a monorail section, just like how it all began.
The second train is a boxy subway train-car, like the one you rode in on into the city.
And the boat in between the second and third trains? A ship, trapped in the ice. But thanks to global warming, it's about to be released.
The third train?
A steam-powered locomotive.
In order to effectively eliminate global physical shipping costs and therefore not only the environmental impact but also the overall RRP, look forward to Half-Life 3 being exclusively digitally-distributed via Steam.