Around 150 people descended on the intersection of West 56th Street and 6 1/2 Avenue in New York City Thursday in the hopes of catching an exchange between two characters in a code-cracking drama that unfolded on Reddit last night.
Reddit user delverofsecrets claimed a raggedy dressed man handed him a cryptic code on the subway. Users of the social news site quickly decoded the message, revealing the location and time of a meeting for Thursday, July 19th.
Because of the publicity the story received, however, a new Reddit user claiming involvement sent delverofsecrets a private message with a new code, also quickly deciphered by Reddit:
YOU HAVE MANAGED TO FIND THE MESSAGE WITH THE HELP OF FRIENDS. YOU CHANGED THE RULES NOW SO WILL I. JULY TWELVE FOUR PM. FIND THE BLUE JAY AT SIX AND A HALF AND FIFTY SIXTH AND TELL HIM YOU ARE THE LAST
Redditors on the scene at around 3:30 p.m. were anxious to find out if the episode was some sort of job interview, a government operation, or a beautifully executed marketing stunt. Many speculated that it was somehow tied to the forthcoming release of The Dark Knight Rises.
All the while, users remained glued to their smartphones, drilling down into the Reddit thread for an update from the original poster (the OP), and searching for clues on the scene notably, the blue jay referenced in the second code.
Right around the supposed meeting time of 4 p.m., an elderly man dressed in blue with a long scraggly beard passed by, and the crowd rushed him in the hope that he was Mr. Input, the originator of the first code. The man spoke unintelligibly, leading some to believe he was revealing more riddles or clues. But he said nothing substantial, and the crowd let him pass through.
Onlookers assumed the opportunity had come and gone. Nobody in the crowd confessed to being the OP.
Man on 56th Street
Then, an update in the comments of the original thread at 4:16 p.m.:
Op here, Im hopping on the E now, Ill be there in 10″
The crowd waited feverishly for his arrival. By now, more people had accumulated, many unaware of the original Reddit thread. They simply wanted to know what all the commotion was about. The Internet is here, replied a number of onlookers. Police also arrived on the scene to keep an eye on the crowds.
About 30 minutes later, another update from delverofsecrets:
Off subway getting there now wearing Yankees hat + messenger bag
The tension was palpable. Sure enough, a man bearing the description came down 56th Street, and the crowd pounced. Unfortunately, he had no idea what they were talking about. People were suspicious, but they let him off the hook, and he went inside a nearby building.
A few minutes later, the man of the hour arrived on the scene.
[Crowd at 56th and 6 1/2]
His name is Ali, and he arrived bearing the fabled encoded paper.
I was expecting 10 people, he told the crowd that encircled him and applauded when he revealed the original document. The E Train takes a long time, he explained to those wondering why he was so late.
Ali had seen pictures in the Reddit thread of the elderly man in blue; that, he said, was not the person who gave him the code in the subway. He was clean shaven, about my height.
Ali did not reveal his own last name, as he felt his privacy had been breached by some investigative Redditors who found his Facebook profile and phone number. Ive been getting a lot of creepy calls from people. Youre a time traveler!
The OP said he was unsure the purpose of the code or whom he was intended to meet. I do think it might be marketing, Ali told Mashable. What I can assure you is that Im not in on it.
It seems the fated meeting never took place, and police finally disbursed the crowd from the sidewalk. There is some speculation that the second message sent privately to Ali containing personal details about the backpack he was wearing on the subway was from someone he already knew. Someone attempting to play a trick on him.
Interestingly, Ali said that Redditors username was his own phone number backwards.
If this is the case, the second message could be a hoax, and the original meeting date of July 19 is still on.
