New U.S. Adventurer with a Few Questions

[ingosabi]

Hi everyone,

First off, great puzzle and seems like a great community. I haven't been reading the posts too much to avoid spoilers, but it seems that most people aren't posting anything too helpful.

I've had my Isis for a couple of weeks (left untouched more days than not!). I solved the clues on day 1 (the first 10), but still have not made any other progress and have only discovered the 11th clue by reading online. Otherwise it's just been a lot of button pushing and ring turning without any discernible change.

Then, last night, something changed. The placentas are now 1 cm apart (or nearly so), and I cannot hear the two ball bearings in the "main compartment." However, I have no idea if I released the third BB, and my tests prior to this unexpected change suggested that I did NOT. Now I'm back to being stuck in my new position.

So, I have a few questions, and I understand if they cannot all be answered until I reach 5% Valhalla. Thanks in advance for any hints/advice/non-spoilers that you can offer. I want to solve this sucker myself, but want to make sure I'm not already in trouble.

Thanks,
Ingo

1) Does being at the 1cm stage necessarily mean I have released the third ball bearing?

2) Should I be able to reverse the 1cm position the same way I got it there to begin with (which still eludes me)?

3) Since I can no longer hear the BBs that you hear at first, I have no way of telling if I have released the third one. Right?

4) The clues are obviously more meaningful than they seem at first. I've counted letters, words, tried various algorithms, etc., but to no avail. Following them in order requires hearing the third BB (see above). Any help?

5) Clue 11 seems a little extreme. There are a lot of obvious references on here to the "big bang" and some people dropping their Isis from heights of even 6 feet! Based on these indicators (and given the frustration that the Isis conjures), it seems one could get carried away. How concerned should I be that I will break my Isis?

6) Finally, I've noticed a lot of people seem to "accidentally" open their Isis rather than logically. Any idea what proportion of the 5% has been accidental vs. intentional? I'm mostly curious, but would also like reassurance that there's some logic to this thing.

Thanks!

[bingabonga]

Firstly, wecome to the adventure!

i will answer what i can for you, but some with ???? are suitable for 5% only im afraid.

1. not necessarily
2. yes
3. true
4. no help ????
5. reality check here, dont drop from 5 stories up, re-read thread for useful articles to use.
6. only a few are accidental, there is a logical method to opening.

hope this helps! Bing!

[ingosabi]

Thanks, Bing.

A follow-up to my fifth question: Can you be a little more precise than "dont drop from 5 stories up?" I would hate to be unable to open the Isis simply because I'm not using enough force for fear of breaking it.

Sorry if I'm saying too much, but I think even a very casual look at this forum would get someone this far.

thanks,
ingo

[cslrobert]

The ISIS is VERY durable, I doubt you can hurt it.

But, its just a $200 precisely engineered puzzle that has the beautiful inner workings comparable to a Da Vinci painting. So go ahead bash your work of art I don't care (que tear drop).

[NoHeat]

To answer your question about ti being accidental or not I have my wn thoughts having just rescently opened my ISIS.

You have the clues and you have an idea of what you should be doing, but you cannot see what is going on inside your ISIS so you don't truly know what your doing is right or not. I will tell you when it is time to open your ISIS you will feel it, literally. So is it accidental or logical I like to think of it as organized chaos. Logically precise steps being followed by a unique individual doing those steps in their own way with the ultimate always being one of two things: an open ISIS or a still closed ISIS.

[ingosabi]

Thanks for the input, everyone. I appreciate it.

cslrobert: It's precisely because the Isis is a piece of art that I wish to avoid accidentally smashing it to bits. I was already dismayed to find a small scratch on the button that I made when working the whole thing over with a heavy object salvaged from an old stereo speaker.

[Jehuty]

LOL! It sounds like you're having a good time with your Isis. Really, that's the good part, cause once you open it you have to deal with Puzz's crazy riddles. And trust me, those can be way harder than Isis. Keep up the good work. Hope to see you in the 5% Club soon.

cslrobert: Way to guilt trip him into never touching his Isis again, lol.

[bingabonga]

find a list of numbers to use!

thats it!

[Feep]

I now understand what that "clue" means, bingabonga, and to the OP, just ignore it. I find all the "hints" that the people are giving on these forums to be misleading.

Don't listen to us. Listen to your brain.

[cslrobert]

Huh

[ingosabi]

Ahh, sweet (still inexplicable) success! My Isis is open, after 23 days of not knowing what I was doing. So I'm supposed to take a picture and send it to someone, yes? Don't worry, I'll find the instructions somewhere.

On to the next phase!