diff --git a/forensics/eavesdrop/capture.flag.pcap b/forensics/eavesdrop/capture.flag.pcap new file mode 100644 index 0000000..229b1cc Binary files /dev/null and b/forensics/eavesdrop/capture.flag.pcap differ diff --git a/forensics/eavesdrop/file.des3 b/forensics/eavesdrop/file.des3 new file mode 100644 index 0000000..31983e5 --- /dev/null +++ b/forensics/eavesdrop/file.des3 @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +Salted__Ó †<¦PÚÿO¾r †E~cbkí¦Æ’ÍÒp&®}î¦Ñé³Ô +F \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/forensics/eavesdrop/file.txt b/forensics/eavesdrop/file.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..16b01f1 --- /dev/null +++ b/forensics/eavesdrop/file.txt @@ -0,0 +1 @@ +picoCTF{nc_73115_411_5786acc3} \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/forensics/eavesdrop/solution.md b/forensics/eavesdrop/solution.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..54b43f7 --- /dev/null +++ b/forensics/eavesdrop/solution.md @@ -0,0 +1,20 @@ +Taken from `tcp.stream eq 0` + +> Hey, how do you decrypt this file again? +> You're serious? +> Yeah, I'm serious +> *sigh* openssl des3 -d -salt -in file.des3 -out file.txt -k supersecretpassword123 +> Ok, great, thanks. +> Let's use Discord next time, it's more secure. +> C'mon, no one knows we use this program like this! +> Whatever. +> Hey. +> Yeah? +> Could you transfer the file to me again? +> Oh great. Ok, over 9002? +> Yeah, listening. +> Sent it +> Got it. +> You're unbelievable + +`file.des3` taken from `tcp.stream eq 2`, by showing data as `Raw` and saving to file. diff --git a/forensics/eavesdrop/solve.sh b/forensics/eavesdrop/solve.sh new file mode 100755 index 0000000..8ef297d --- /dev/null +++ b/forensics/eavesdrop/solve.sh @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +#!/usr/bin/env nix-shell +#!nix-shell -i bash -p bash openssl + +openssl des3 -d -salt -in file.des3 -out file.txt -k supersecretpassword123 diff --git a/forensics/enhance/drawing.flag.svg b/forensics/enhance/drawing.flag.svg new file mode 100644 index 0000000..b46a637 --- /dev/null +++ b/forensics/enhance/drawing.flag.svg @@ -0,0 +1,122 @@ + + + + + + + + + + image/svg+xml + + + + + + + + + + p i c o C T F { 3 n h 4 n c 3 d _ d 0 a 7 5 7 b f } + + diff --git a/forensics/enhance/flag.txt b/forensics/enhance/flag.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1b2f059 --- /dev/null +++ b/forensics/enhance/flag.txt @@ -0,0 +1 @@ +picoCTF{3nh4nc3d_d0a757bf} diff --git a/forensics/extensions/flag.png b/forensics/extensions/flag.png new file mode 100644 index 0000000..81d54f7 Binary files /dev/null and b/forensics/extensions/flag.png differ diff --git a/forensics/extensions/flag.txt b/forensics/extensions/flag.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..81d54f7 Binary files /dev/null and b/forensics/extensions/flag.txt differ diff --git a/forensics/file_types/Flag.sh b/forensics/file_types/Flag.sh new file mode 100755 index 0000000..e7da9ca --- /dev/null +++ b/forensics/file_types/Flag.sh @@ -0,0 +1,172 @@ +#!/bin/sh +# This is a shell archive (produced by GNU sharutils 4.15.2). +# To extract the files from this archive, save it to some FILE, remove +# everything before the '#!/bin/sh' line above, then type 'sh FILE'. +# +lock_dir=_sh00046 +# Made on 2023-03-16 01:40 UTC by . +# Source directory was '/app'. +# +# Existing files will *not* be overwritten, unless '-c' is specified. +# +# This shar contains: +# length mode name +# ------ ---------- ------------------------------------------ +# 1092 -rw-r--r-- flag +# +MD5SUM=${MD5SUM-md5sum} +f=`${MD5SUM} --version | egrep '^md5sum .*(core|text)utils'` +test -n "${f}" && md5check=true || md5check=false +${md5check} || \ + echo 'Note: not verifying md5sums. Consider installing GNU coreutils.' +if test "X$1" = "X-c" +then keep_file='' +else keep_file=true +fi +echo=echo +save_IFS="${IFS}" +IFS="${IFS}:" +gettext_dir= +locale_dir= +set_echo=false + +for dir in $PATH +do + if test -f $dir/gettext \ + && ($dir/gettext --version >/dev/null 2>&1) + then + case `$dir/gettext --version 2>&1 | sed 1q` in + *GNU*) gettext_dir=$dir + set_echo=true + break ;; + esac + fi +done + +if ${set_echo} +then + set_echo=false + for dir in $PATH + do + if test -f $dir/shar \ + && ($dir/shar --print-text-domain-dir >/dev/null 2>&1) + then + locale_dir=`$dir/shar --print-text-domain-dir` + set_echo=true + break + fi + done + + if ${set_echo} + then + TEXTDOMAINDIR=$locale_dir + export TEXTDOMAINDIR + TEXTDOMAIN=sharutils + export TEXTDOMAIN + echo="$gettext_dir/gettext -s" + fi +fi +IFS="$save_IFS" +if (echo "testing\c"; echo 1,2,3) | grep c >/dev/null +then if (echo -n test; echo 1,2,3) | grep n >/dev/null + then shar_n= shar_c=' +' + else shar_n=-n shar_c= ; fi +else shar_n= shar_c='\c' ; fi +f=shar-touch.$$ +st1=200112312359.59 +st2=123123592001.59 +st2tr=123123592001.5 # old SysV 14-char limit +st3=1231235901 + +if touch -am -t ${st1} ${f} >/dev/null 2>&1 && \ + test ! -f ${st1} && test -f ${f}; then + shar_touch='touch -am -t $1$2$3$4$5$6.$7 "$8"' + +elif touch -am ${st2} ${f} >/dev/null 2>&1 && \ + test ! -f ${st2} && test ! -f ${st2tr} && test -f ${f}; then + shar_touch='touch -am $3$4$5$6$1$2.$7 "$8"' + +elif touch -am ${st3} ${f} >/dev/null 2>&1 && \ + test ! -f ${st3} && test -f ${f}; then + shar_touch='touch -am $3$4$5$6$2 "$8"' + +else + shar_touch=: + echo + ${echo} 'WARNING: not restoring timestamps. Consider getting and +installing GNU '\''touch'\'', distributed in GNU coreutils...' + echo +fi +rm -f ${st1} ${st2} ${st2tr} ${st3} ${f} +# +if test ! -d ${lock_dir} ; then : +else ${echo} "lock directory ${lock_dir} exists" + exit 1 +fi +if mkdir ${lock_dir} +then ${echo} "x - created lock directory ${lock_dir}." +else ${echo} "x - failed to create lock directory ${lock_dir}." + exit 1 +fi +# ============= flag ============== +if test -n "${keep_file}" && test -f 'flag' +then +${echo} "x - SKIPPING flag (file already exists)" + +else +${echo} "x - extracting flag (text)" + sed 's/^X//' << 'SHAR_EOF' | uudecode && +begin 600 flag +M(3QAH`.Y*D@0`````!````$F2#L[`!&U8(`T&F0VH`T&@:```#0!IH``&@'J:#1HT` +M]"`!H-``!M0;4VH>IM3,:FH@T:&(#3)B:`T,F@:-!IDTT-&AHP3(&@T-,0T& +M(&0Q#1IH/2`,(-H1H`R9`%4T3)H>D:`TR9&AHT`R!H&09#",0``8C0#$,@,@ +MR8F@`TT:!H:!D8C0`0`@`"01`H!^_$QU,`V*$A`!6'F(]N[-;FC]^&3PR1#9 +MPR,KRW>RXRA?-VG(E/=DW&Q`:DU8G> +MMFW,-D>1C@-1P&"MR*[TX&O7KM9]S5=DU0VC=9?.T'0?DVD+/#[?',M)']85 +M*8@&IZ7%1U*=`[3V(?.C;*QER!+T,)6UYG?BLMV7!\L\;3$+^W%89SR(9RO( +M>+3K'>QL]21+'O&!V`_:4<W`87AZF@[I +M:]!!QL1^'NUJ#8O\=0A54@29A#E-6B(?TR(09S3_#,Z0H'SQBO?]^LMC2G$! +MA!19*?93"DWLZ`^I!$.L*!%ILMU#!AJ3SP_!>:^5PJIFC)-,*5ERC!7="@"$ +M,$;I*/dev/null 2>&1 || ${echo} 'flag': 'MD5 check failed' + ) << \SHAR_EOF +0838b0ca0f0415b3cb6f24da377204de flag +SHAR_EOF + +else +test `LC_ALL=C wc -c < 'flag'` -ne 1092 && \ + ${echo} "restoration warning: size of 'flag' is not 1092" + fi +fi +if rm -fr ${lock_dir} +then ${echo} "x - removed lock directory ${lock_dir}." +else ${echo} "x - failed to remove lock directory ${lock_dir}." + exit 1 +fi +exit 0 diff --git a/forensics/file_types/flag.ar b/forensics/file_types/flag.ar new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0343913 Binary files /dev/null and b/forensics/file_types/flag.ar differ diff --git a/forensics/file_types/flag.bz2 b/forensics/file_types/flag.bz2 new file mode 100644 index 0000000..e1fc9c5 Binary files /dev/null and b/forensics/file_types/flag.bz2 differ diff --git a/forensics/file_types/flag.cpio b/forensics/file_types/flag.cpio new file mode 100644 index 0000000..763837e Binary files /dev/null and b/forensics/file_types/flag.cpio differ diff --git a/forensics/file_types/flag.gz b/forensics/file_types/flag.gz new file mode 100644 index 0000000..b18272f Binary files /dev/null and b/forensics/file_types/flag.gz differ diff --git a/forensics/file_types/flag.lz b/forensics/file_types/flag.lz new file mode 100644 index 0000000..521522c Binary files /dev/null and b/forensics/file_types/flag.lz differ diff --git a/forensics/file_types/flag.lz4 b/forensics/file_types/flag.lz4 new file mode 100644 index 0000000..028473f Binary files /dev/null and b/forensics/file_types/flag.lz4 differ diff --git a/forensics/file_types/flag.lzip b/forensics/file_types/flag.lzip new file mode 100644 index 0000000..804ed55 Binary files /dev/null and b/forensics/file_types/flag.lzip differ diff --git a/forensics/file_types/flag.lzop b/forensics/file_types/flag.lzop new file mode 100644 index 0000000..80f4eee Binary files /dev/null and b/forensics/file_types/flag.lzop differ diff --git a/forensics/file_types/flag.txt b/forensics/file_types/flag.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..3a4455a --- /dev/null +++ b/forensics/file_types/flag.txt @@ -0,0 +1 @@ +picoCTF{f1len@m3_m@n1pul@t10n_f0r_0b2cur17y_950c4fee} diff --git a/forensics/file_types/flag.txt.hex b/forensics/file_types/flag.txt.hex new file mode 100644 index 0000000..077a9f4 --- /dev/null +++ b/forensics/file_types/flag.txt.hex @@ -0,0 +1,2 @@ +7069636f4354467b66316c656e406d335f6d406e3170756c407431306e5f +6630725f3062326375723137795f39353063346665657d0a diff --git a/forensics/information/cat.jpg b/forensics/information/cat.jpg new file mode 100644 index 0000000..7351fbc Binary files /dev/null and b/forensics/information/cat.jpg differ diff --git a/forensics/information/solve.sh b/forensics/information/solve.sh new file mode 100755 index 0000000..aad2447 --- /dev/null +++ b/forensics/information/solve.sh @@ -0,0 +1,5 @@ +#!/usr/bin/env bash +# +# NOTE: this is the license in the EXIF data. Not easy to spot... +# +echo "cGljb0NURnt0aGVfbTN0YWRhdGFfMXNfbW9kaWZpZWR9" | base64 -d diff --git a/forensics/like1000/1000.tar.bak b/forensics/like1000/1000.tar.bak new file mode 100644 index 0000000..1910d19 Binary files /dev/null and b/forensics/like1000/1000.tar.bak differ diff --git a/forensics/like1000/flag.png b/forensics/like1000/flag.png new file mode 100755 index 0000000..125251d Binary files /dev/null and b/forensics/like1000/flag.png differ diff --git a/forensics/like1000/solve.sh b/forensics/like1000/solve.sh new file mode 100755 index 0000000..199ece6 --- /dev/null +++ b/forensics/like1000/solve.sh @@ -0,0 +1,14 @@ +#!/usr/bin/env nix-shell +#!nix-shell -i bash -p bash ouch + +cp 1000.tar.bak 1000.tar + +for i in {1000..2}; do + ouch decompress $i.tar + mv $i/$((i-1)).tar . + rm -rf $i $i.tar +done + +ouch decompress 1.tar +mv 1/flag.png . +rm -rf 1 1.tar diff --git a/forensics/lookey_here/anthem.flag.txt b/forensics/lookey_here/anthem.flag.txt new file mode 100644 index 0000000..0db4cdb --- /dev/null +++ b/forensics/lookey_here/anthem.flag.txt @@ -0,0 +1,2146 @@ + ANTHEM + + by Ayn Rand + + + CONTENTS + + PART ONE + + PART TWO + + PART THREE + + PART FOUR + + PART FIVE + + PART SIX + + PART SEVEN + + PART EIGHT + + PART NINE + + PART TEN + + PART ELEVEN + + PART TWELVE + + + + + PART ONE + + It is a sin to write this. It is a sin to think words no others + think and to put them down upon a paper no others are to see. It + is base and evil. It is as if we were speaking alone to no ears + but our own. And we know well that there is no transgression + blacker than to do or think alone. We have broken the laws. The + laws say that men may not write unless the Council of Vocations + bid them so. May we be forgiven! + + But this is not the only sin upon us. We have committed a greater + crime, and for this crime there is no name. What punishment + awaits us if it be discovered we know not, for no such crime has + come in the memory of men and there are no laws to provide for + it. + + It is dark here. The flame of the candle stands still in the air. + Nothing moves in this tunnel save our hand on the paper. We are + alone here under the earth. It is a fearful word, alone. The laws + say that none among men may be alone, ever and at any time, for + this is the great transgression and the root of all evil. But we + have broken many laws. And now there is nothing here save our one + body, and it is strange to see only two legs stretched on the + ground, and on the wall before us the shadow of our one head. + + The walls are cracked and water runs upon them in thin threads + without sound, black and glistening as blood. We stole the candle + from the larder of the Home of the Street Sweepers. We shall be + sentenced to ten years in the Palace of Corrective Detention if + it be discovered. But this matters not. It matters only that the + light is precious and we should not waste it to write when we + need it for that work which is our crime. Nothing matters save + the work, our secret, our evil, our precious work. Still, we must + also write, for—may the Council have mercy upon us!—we wish to + speak for once to no ears but our own. + + Our name is Equality 7-2521, as it is written on the iron + bracelet which all men wear on their left wrists with their names + upon it. We are twenty-one years old. We are six feet tall, and + this is a burden, for there are not many men who are six feet + tall. Ever have the Teachers and the Leaders pointed to us and + frowned and said: + + “There is evil in your bones, Equality 7-2521, for your body has + grown beyond the bodies of your brothers.†But we cannot change + our bones nor our body. + + We were born with a curse. It has always driven us to thoughts + which are forbidden. It has always given us wishes which men may + not wish. We know that we are evil, but there is no will in us + and no power to resist it. This is our wonder and our secret + fear, that we know and do not resist. + + We strive to be like all our brother men, for all men must be + alike. Over the portals of the Palace of the World Council, there + are words cut in the marble, which we repeat to ourselves + whenever we are tempted: + + “WE ARE ONE IN ALL AND ALL IN ONE. + THERE ARE NO MEN BUT ONLY THE GREAT _WE_, + ONE, INDIVISIBLE AND FOREVER.†+ + We repeat this to ourselves, but it helps us not. + + These words were cut long ago. There is green mould in the + grooves of the letters and yellow streaks on the marble, which + come from more years than men could count. And these words are + the truth, for they are written on the Palace of the World + Council, and the World Council is the body of all truth. Thus has + it been ever since the Great Rebirth, and farther back than that + no memory can reach. + + But we must never speak of the times before the Great Rebirth, + else we are sentenced to three years in the Palace of Corrective + Detention. It is only the Old Ones who whisper about it in the + evenings, in the Home of the Useless. They whisper many strange + things, of the towers which rose to the sky, in those + Unmentionable Times, and of the wagons which moved without + horses, and of the lights which burned without flame. But those + times were evil. And those times passed away, when men saw the + Great Truth which is this: that all men are one and that there is + no will save the will of all men together. + + All men are good and wise. It is only we, Equality 7-2521, we + alone who were born with a curse. For we are not like our + brothers. And as we look back upon our life, we see that it has + ever been thus and that it has brought us step by step to our + last, supreme transgression, our crime of crimes hidden here + under the ground. + + We remember the Home of the Infants where we lived till we were + five years old, together with all the children of the City who + had been born in the same year. The sleeping halls there were + white and clean and bare of all things save one hundred beds. We + were just like all our brothers then, save for the one + transgression: we fought with our brothers. There are few + offenses blacker than to fight with our brothers, at any age and + for any cause whatsoever. The Council of the Home told us so, and + of all the children of that year, we were locked in the cellar + most often. + + When we were five years old, we were sent to the Home of the + Students, where there are ten wards, for our ten years of + learning. Men must learn till they reach their fifteenth year. + Then they go to work. In the Home of the Students we arose when + the big bell rang in the tower and we went to our beds when it + rang again. Before we removed our garments, we stood in the great + sleeping hall, and we raised our right arms, and we said all + together with the three Teachers at the head: + + “We are nothing. Mankind is all. By the grace of our brothers are + we allowed our lives. We exist through, by and for our brothers + who are the State. Amen.†+ + Then we slept. The sleeping halls were white and clean and bare + of all things save one hundred beds. + + We, Equality 7-2521, were not happy in those years in the Home of + the Students. It was not that the learning was too hard for us. + It was that the learning was too easy. This is a great sin, to be + born with a head which is too quick. It is not good to be + different from our brothers, but it is evil to be superior to + them. The Teachers told us so, and they frowned when they looked + upon us. + + So we fought against this curse. We tried to forget our lessons, + but we always remembered. We tried not to understand what the + Teachers taught, but we always understood it before the Teachers + had spoken. We looked upon Union 5-3992, who were a pale boy with + only half a brain, and we tried to say and do as they did, that + we might be like them, like Union 5-3992, but somehow the + Teachers knew that we were not. And we were lashed more often + than all the other children. + + The Teachers were just, for they had been appointed by the + Councils, and the Councils are the voice of all justice, for they + are the voice of all men. And if sometimes, in the secret + darkness of our heart, we regret that which befell us on our + fifteenth birthday, we know that it was through our own guilt. We + had broken a law, for we had not paid heed to the words of our + Teachers. The Teachers had said to us all: + + “Dare not choose in your minds the work you would like to do when + you leave the Home of the Students. You shall do that which the + Council of Vocations shall prescribe for you. For the Council of + Vocations knows in its great wisdom where you are needed by your + brother men, better than you can know it in your unworthy little + minds. And if you are not needed by your brother man, there is no + reason for you to burden the earth with your bodies.†+ + We knew this well, in the years of our childhood, but our curse + broke our will. We were guilty and we confess it here: we were + guilty of the great Transgression of Preference. We preferred + some work and some lessons to the others. We did not listen well + to the history of all the Councils elected since the Great + Rebirth. But we loved the Science of Things. We wished to know. + We wished to know about all the things which make the earth + around us. We asked so many questions that the Teachers forbade + it. + + We think that there are mysteries in the sky and under the water + and in the plants which grow. But the Council of Scholars has + said that there are no mysteries, and the Council of Scholars + knows all things. And we learned much from our Teachers. We + learned that the earth is flat and that the sun revolves around + it, which causes the day and the night. We learned the names of + all the winds which blow over the seas and push the sails of our + great ships. We learned how to bleed men to cure them of all + ailments. + + We loved the Science of Things. And in the darkness, in the + secret hour, when we awoke in the night and there were no + brothers around us, but only their shapes in the beds and their + snores, we closed our eyes, and we held our lips shut, and we + stopped our breath, that no shudder might let our brothers see or + hear or guess, and we thought that we wished to be sent to the + Home of the Scholars when our time would come. + + All the great modern inventions come from the Home of the + Scholars, such as the newest one, which was found only a hundred + years ago, of how to make candles from wax and string; also, how + to make glass, which is put in our windows to protect us from the + rain. To find these things, the Scholars must study the earth and + learn from the rivers, from the sands, from the winds and the + rocks. And if we went to the Home of the Scholars, we could learn + from these also. We could ask questions of these, for they do not + forbid questions. + + And questions give us no rest. We know not why our curse makes us + seek we know not what, ever and ever. But we cannot resist it. It + whispers to us that there are great things on this earth of ours, + and that we can know them if we try, and that we must know them. + We ask, why must we know, but it has no answer to give us. We + must know that we may know. + + So we wished to be sent to the Home of the Scholars. We wished it + so much that our hands trembled under the blankets in the night, + and we bit our arm to stop that other pain which we could not + endure. It was evil and we dared not face our brothers in the + morning. For men may wish nothing for themselves. And we were + punished when the Council of Vocations came to give us our life + Mandates which tell those who reach their fifteenth year what + their work is to be for the rest of their days. + + The Council of Vocations came on the first day of spring, and + they sat in the great hall. And we who were fifteen and all the + Teachers came into the great hall. And the Council of Vocations + sat on a high dais, and they had but two words to speak to each + of the Students. They called the Students’ names, and when the + Students stepped before them, one after another, the Council + said: “Carpenter†or “Doctor†or “Cook†or “Leader.†Then each + Student raised their right arm and said: “The will of our + brothers be done.†+ + Now if the Council has said “Carpenter†or “Cook,†the Students + so assigned go to work and they do not study any further. But if + the Council has said “Leader,†then those Students go into the + Home of the Leaders, which is the greatest house in the City, for + it has three stories. And there they study for many years, so + that they may become candidates and be elected to the City + Council and the State Council and the World Council—by a free and + general vote of all men. But we wished not to be a Leader, even + though it is a great honor. We wished to be a Scholar. + + So we awaited our turn in the great hall and then we heard the + Council of Vocations call our name: “Equality 7-2521.†We walked + to the dais, and our legs did not tremble, and we looked up at + the Council. There were five members of the Council, three of the + male gender and two of the female. Their hair was white and their + faces were cracked as the clay of a dry river bed. They were old. + They seemed older than the marble of the Temple of the World + Council. They sat before us and they did not move. And we saw no + breath to stir the folds of their white togas. But we knew that + they were alive, for a finger of the hand of the oldest rose, + pointed to us, and fell down again. This was the only thing which + moved, for the lips of the oldest did not move as they said: + “Street Sweeper.†+ + We felt the cords of our neck grow tight as our head rose higher + to look upon the faces of the Council, and we were happy. We knew + we had been guilty, but now we had a way to atone for it. We + would accept our Life Mandate, and we would work for our + brothers, gladly and willingly, and we would erase our sin + against them, which they did not know, but we knew. So we were + happy, and proud of ourselves and of our victory over ourselves. + We raised our right arm and we spoke, and our voice was the + clearest, the steadiest voice in the hall that day, and we said: + + “The will of our brothers be done.†+ + And we looked straight into the eyes of the Council, but their + eyes were as cold blue glass buttons. + + So we went into the Home of the Street Sweepers. It is a grey + house on a narrow street. There is a sundial in its courtyard, by + which the Council of the Home can tell the hours of the day and + when to ring the bell. When the bell rings, we all arise from our + beds. The sky is green and cold in our windows to the east. The + shadow on the sundial marks off a half-hour while we dress and + eat our breakfast in the dining hall, where there are five long + tables with twenty clay plates and twenty clay cups on each + table. Then we go to work in the streets of the City, with our + brooms and our rakes. In five hours, when the sun is high, we + return to the Home and we eat our midday meal, for which one-half + hour is allowed. Then we go to work again. In five hours, the + shadows are blue on the pavements, and the sky is blue with a + deep brightness which is not bright. We come back to have our + dinner, which lasts one hour. Then the bell rings and we walk in + a straight column to one of the City Halls, for the Social + Meeting. Other columns of men arrive from the Homes of the + different Trades. The candles are lit, and the Councils of the + different Homes stand in a pulpit, and they speak to us of our + duties and of our brother men. Then visiting Leaders mount the + pulpit and they read to us the speeches which were made in the + City Council that day, for the City Council represents all men + and all men must know. Then we sing hymns, the Hymn of + Brotherhood, and the Hymn of Equality, and the Hymn of the + Collective Spirit. The sky is a soggy purple when we return to + the Home. Then the bell rings and we walk in a straight column to + the City Theatre for three hours of Social Recreation. There a + play is shown upon the stage, with two great choruses from the + Home of the Actors, which speak and answer all together, in two + great voices. The plays are about toil and how good it is. Then + we walk back to the Home in a straight column. The sky is like a + black sieve pierced by silver drops that tremble, ready to burst + through. The moths beat against the street lanterns. We go to our + beds and we sleep, till the bell rings again. The sleeping halls + are white and clean and bare of all things save one hundred beds. + + Thus have we lived each day of four years, until two springs ago + when our crime happened. Thus must all men live until they are + forty. At forty, they are worn out. At forty, they are sent to + the Home of the Useless, where the Old Ones live. The Old Ones do + not work, for the State takes care of them. They sit in the sun + in summer and they sit by the fire in winter. They do not speak + often, for they are weary. The Old Ones know that they are soon + to die. When a miracle happens and some live to be forty-five, + they are the Ancient Ones, and the children stare at them when + passing by the Home of the Useless. Such is to be our life, as + that of all our brothers and of the brothers who came before us. + + Such would have been our life, had we not committed our crime + which changed all things for us. And it was our curse which drove + us to our crime. We had been a good Street Sweeper and like all + our brother Street Sweepers, save for our cursed wish to know. We + looked too long at the stars at night, and at the trees and the + earth. And when we cleaned the yard of the Home of the Scholars, + we gathered the glass vials, the pieces of metal, the dried bones + which they had discarded. We wished to keep these things and to + study them, but we had no place to hide them. So we carried them + to the City Cesspool. And then we made the discovery. + + It was on a day of the spring before last. We Street Sweepers + work in brigades of three, and we were with Union 5-3992, they of + the half-brain, and with International 4-8818. Now Union 5-3992 + are a sickly lad and sometimes they are stricken with + convulsions, when their mouth froths and their eyes turn white. + But International 4-8818 are different. They are a tall, strong + youth and their eyes are like fireflies, for there is laughter in + their eyes. We cannot look upon International 4-8818 and not + smile in answer. For this they were not liked in the Home of the + Students, as it is not proper to smile without reason. And also + they were not liked because they took pieces of coal and they + drew pictures upon the walls, and they were pictures which made + men laugh. But it is only our brothers in the Home of the Artists + who are permitted to draw pictures, so International 4-8818 were + sent to the Home of the Street Sweepers, like ourselves. + + International 4-8818 and we are friends. This is an evil thing to + say, for it is a transgression, the great Transgression of + Preference, to love any among men better than the others, since + we must love all men and all men are our friends. So + International 4-8818 and we have never spoken of it. But we know. + We know, when we look into each other’s eyes. And when we look + thus without words, we both know other things also, strange + things for which there are no words, and these things frighten + us. + + So on that day of the spring before last, Union 5-3992 were + stricken with convulsions on the edge of the City, near the City + Theatre. We left them to lie in the shade of the Theatre tent and + we went with International 4-8818 to finish our work. We came + together to the great ravine behind the Theatre. It is empty save + for trees and weeds. Beyond the ravine there is a plain, and + beyond the plain there lies the Uncharted Forest, about which men + must not think. + + We were gathering the papers and the rags which the wind had + blown from the Theatre, when we saw an iron bar among the weeds. + It was old and rusted by many rains. We pulled with all our + strength, but we could not move it. So we called International + 4-8818, and together we scraped the earth around the bar. Of a + sudden the earth fell in before us, and we saw an old iron grill + over a black hole. + + International 4-8818 stepped back. But we pulled at the grill and + it gave way. And then we saw iron rings as steps leading down a + shaft into a darkness without bottom. + + “We shall go down,†we said to International 4-8818. + + “It is forbidden,†they answered. + + We said: “The Council does not know of this hole, so it cannot be + forbidden.†+ + And they answered: “Since the Council does not know of this hole, + there can be no law permitting to enter it. And everything which + is not permitted by law is forbidden.†+ + But we said: “We shall go, none the less.†+ + They were frightened, but they stood by and watched us go. + + We hung on the iron rings with our hands and our feet. We could + see nothing below us. And above us the hole open upon the sky + grew smaller and smaller, till it came to be the size of a + button. But still we went down. Then our foot touched the ground. + We rubbed our eyes, for we could not see. Then our eyes became + used to the darkness, but we could not believe what we saw. + + No men known to us could have built this place, nor the men known + to our brothers who lived before us, and yet it was built by men. + It was a great tunnel. Its walls were hard and smooth to the + touch; it felt like stone, but it was not stone. On the ground + there were long thin tracks of iron, but it was not iron; it felt + smooth and cold as glass. We knelt, and we crawled forward, our + hand groping along the iron line to see where it would lead. But + there was an unbroken night ahead. Only the iron tracks glowed + through it, straight and white, calling us to follow. But we + could not follow, for we were losing the puddle of light behind + us. So we turned and we crawled back, our hand on the iron line. + And our heart beat in our fingertips, without reason. And then we + knew. + + We knew suddenly that this place was left from the Unmentionable + Times. So it was true, and those Times had been, and all the + wonders of those Times. Hundreds upon hundreds of years ago men + knew secrets which we have lost. And we thought: “This is a foul + place. They are damned who touch the things of the Unmentionable + Times.†But our hand which followed the track, as we crawled, + clung to the iron as if it would not leave it, as if the skin of + our hand were thirsty and begging of the metal some secret fluid + beating in its coldness. + + We returned to the earth. International 4-8818 looked upon us and + stepped back. + + “Equality 7-2521,†they said, “your face is white.†+ + But we could not speak and we stood looking upon them. + + They backed away, as if they dared not touch us. Then they + smiled, but it was not a gay smile; it was lost and pleading. But + still we could not speak. Then they said: + + “We shall report our find to the City Council and both of us will + be rewarded.†+ + And then we spoke. Our voice was hard and there was no mercy in + our voice. We said: + + “We shall not report our find to the City Council. We shall not + report it to any men.†+ + They raised their hands to their ears, for never had they heard + such words as these. + + “International 4-8818,†we asked, “will you report us to the + Council and see us lashed to death before your eyes?†+ + They stood straight all of a sudden and they answered: “Rather + would we die.†+ + “Then,†we said, “keep silent. This place is ours. This place + belongs to us, Equality 7-2521, and to no other men on earth. And + if ever we surrender it, we shall surrender our life with it + also.†+ + Then we saw that the eyes of International 4-8818 were full to + the lids with tears they dared not drop. They whispered, and + their voice trembled, so that their words lost all shape: + + “The will of the Council is above all things, for it is the will + of our brothers, which is holy. But if you wish it so, we shall + obey you. Rather shall we be evil with you than good with all our + brothers. May the Council have mercy upon both our hearts!†+ + Then we walked away together and back to the Home of the Street + Sweepers. And we walked in silence. + + Thus did it come to pass that each night, when the stars are high + and the Street Sweepers sit in the City Theatre, we, Equality + 7-2521, steal out and run through the darkness to our place. It + is easy to leave the Theatre; when the candles are blown out and + the Actors come onto the stage, no eyes can see us as we crawl + under our seat and under the cloth of the tent. Later, it is easy + to steal through the shadows and fall in line next to + International 4-8818, as the column leaves the Theatre. It is + dark in the streets and there are no men about, for no men may + walk through the City when they have no mission to walk there. + Each night, we run to the ravine, and we remove the stones which + we have piled upon the iron grill to hide it from the men. Each + night, for three hours, we are under the earth, alone. + + We have stolen candles from the Home of the Street Sweepers, we + have stolen flints and knives and paper, and we have brought them + to this place. We have stolen glass vials and powders and acids + from the Home of the Scholars. Now we sit in the tunnel for three + hours each night and we study. We melt strange metals, and we mix + acids, and we cut open the bodies of the animals which we find in + the City Cesspool. We have built an oven of the bricks we + gathered in the streets. We burn the wood we find in the ravine. + The fire flickers in the oven and blue shadows dance upon the + walls, and there is no sound of men to disturb us. + + We have stolen manuscripts. This is a great offense. Manuscripts + are precious, for our brothers in the Home of the Clerks spend + one year to copy one single script in their clear handwriting. + Manuscripts are rare and they are kept in the Home of the + Scholars. So we sit under the earth and we read the stolen + scripts. Two years have passed since we found this place. And in + these two years we have learned more than we had learned in the + ten years of the Home of the Students. + + We have learned things which are not in the scripts. We have + solved secrets of which the Scholars have no knowledge. We have + come to see how great is the unexplored, and many lifetimes will + not bring us to the end of our quest. But we wish no end to our + quest. We wish nothing, save to be alone and to learn, and to + feel as if with each day our sight were growing sharper than the + hawk’s and clearer than rock crystal. + + Strange are the ways of evil. We are false in the faces of our + brothers. We are defying the will of our Councils. We alone, of + the thousands who walk this earth, we alone in this hour are + doing a work which has no purpose save that we wish to do it. The + evil of our crime is not for the human mind to probe. The nure + of our punishment, if it be discovered, is not for the human + heart to ponder. Never, not in the memory of the Ancient Ones’ + Ancients, never have men done that which we are doing. + + And yet there is no shame in us and no regret. We say to + ourselves that we are a wretch and a traitor. But we feel no + burden upon our spirit and no fear in our heart. And it seems to + us that our spirit is clear as a lake troubled by no eyes save + those of the sun. And in our heart—strange are the ways of + evil!—in our heart there is the first peace we have known in + twenty years. + + + + PART TWO + + Liberty 5-3000... Liberty five-three thousand ... Liberty + 5-3000.... + + We wish to write this name. We wish to speak it, but we dare not + speak it above a whisper. For men are forbidden to take notice of + women, and women are forbidden to take notice of men. But we + think of one among women, they whose name is Liberty 5-3000, and + we think of no others. The women who have been assigned to work + the soil live in the Homes of the Peasants beyond the City. Where + the City ends there is a great road winding off to the north, and + we Street Sweepers must keep this road clean to the first + milepost. There is a hedge along the road, and beyond the hedge + lie the fields. The fields are black and ploughed, and they lie + like a great fan before us, with their furrows gathered in some + hand beyond the sky, spreading forth from that hand, opening wide + apart as they come toward us, like black pleats that sparkle with + thin, green spangles. Women work in the fields, and their white + tunics in the wind are like the wings of sea-gulls beating over + the black soil. + + And there it was that we saw Liberty 5-3000 walking along the + furrows. Their body was straight and thin as a blade of iron. + Their eyes were dark and hard and glowing, with no fear in them, + no kindness and no guilt. Their hair was golden as the sun; their + hair flew in the wind, shining and wild, as if it defied men to + restrain it. They threw seeds from their hand as if they deigned + to fling a scornful gift, and the earth was a beggar under their + feet. + + We stood still; for the first time did we know fear, and then + pain. And we stood still that we might not spill this pain more + precious than pleasure. + + Then we heard a voice from the others call their name: “Liberty + 5-3000,†and they turned and walked back. Thus we learned their + name, and we stood watching them go, till their white tunic was + lost in the blue mist. + + And the following day, as we came to the northern road, we kept + our eyes upon Liberty 5-3000 in the field. And each day + thereafter we knew the illness of waiting for our hour on the + northern road. And there we looked at Liberty 5-3000 each day. We + know not whether they looked at us also, but we think they did. + Then one day they came close to the hedge, and suddenly they + turned to us. They turned in a whirl and the movement of their + body stopped, as if slashed off, as suddenly as it had started. + They stood still as a stone, and they looked straight upon us, + straight into our eyes. There was no smile on their face, and no + welcome. But their face was taut, and their eyes were dark. Then + they turned as swiftly, and they walked away from us. + + But the following day, when we came to the road, they smiled. + They smiled to us and for us. And we smiled in answer. Their head + fell back, and their arms fell, as if their arms and their thin + white neck were stricken suddenly with a great lassitude. They + were not looking upon us, but upon the sky. Then they glanced at + us over their shoulder, as we felt as if a hand had touched our + body, slipping softly from our lips to our feet. + + Every morning thereafter, we greeted each other with our eyes. We + dared not speak. It is a transgression to speak to men of other + Trades, save in groups at the Social Meetings. But once, standing + at the hedge, we raised our hand to our forehead and then moved + it slowly, palm down, toward Liberty 5-3000. Had the others seen + it, they could have guessed nothing, for it looked only as if we + were shading our eyes from the sun. But Liberty 5-3000 saw it and + understood. They raised their hand to their forehead and moved it + as we had. Thus, each day, we greet Liberty 5-3000, and they + answer, and no men can suspect. + + We do not wonder at this new sin of ours. It is our second + Transgression of Preference, for we do not think of all our + brothers, as we must, but only of one, and their name is Liberty + 5-3000. We do not know why we think of them. We do not know why, + when we think of them, we feel all of a sudden that the earth is + good and that it is not a burden to live. We do not think of them + as Liberty 5-3000 any longer. We have given them a name in our + thoughts. We call them the Golden One. But it is a sin to give + men names which distinguish them from other men. Yet we call them + the Golden One, for they are not like the others. The Golden One + are not like the others. + + And we take no heed of the law which says that men may not think + of women, save at the Time of Mating. This is the time each + spring when all the men older than twenty and all the women older + than eighteen are sent for one night to the City Palace of + Mating. And each of the men have one of the women assigned to + them by the Council of Eugenics. Children are born each winter, + but women never see their children and children never know their + parents. Twice have we been sent to the Palace of Mating, but it + is an ugly and shameful matter, of which we do not like to think. + + We had broken so many laws, and today we have broken one more. + Today, we spoke to the Golden One. + + The other women were far off in the field, when we stopped at the + hedge by the side of the road. The Golden One were kneeling alone + at the moat which runs through the field. And the drops of water + falling from their hands, as they raised the water to their lips, + were like sparks of fire in the sun. Then the Golden One saw us, + and they did not move, kneeling there, looking at us, and circles + of light played upon their white tunic, from the sun on the water + of the moat, and one sparkling drop fell from a finger of their + hand held as frozen in the air. + + Then the Golden One rose and walked to the hedge, as if they had + heard a command in our eyes. The two other Street Sweepers of our + brigade were a hundred paces away down the road. And we thought + that International 4-8818 would not betray us, and Union 5-3992 + would not understand. So we looked straight upon the Golden One, + and we saw the shadows of their lashes on their white cheeks and + the sparks of sun on their lips. And we said: + + “You are beautiful, Liberty 5-3000.†+ + Their face did not move and they did not avert their eyes. Only + their eyes grew wider, and there was triumph in their eyes, and + it was not triumph over us, but over things we could not guess. + + Then they asked: + + “What is your name?†+ + “Equality 7-2521,†we answered. + + “You are not one of our brothers, Equality 7-2521, for we do n + wish you to be.†+ + We cannot say what they meant, for there are no words for their + meaning, but we know it without words and we knew it then. + + “No,†we answered, “nor are you one of our sisters.†+ + “If you see us among scores of women, will you look upon us?†+ + “We shall look upon you, Liberty 5-3000, if we see you among all + the women of the earth.†+ + Then they asked: + + “Are Street Sweepers sent to different parts of the City or do + they always work in the same places?†+ + “They always work in the same places,†we answered, “and no one + will take this road away from us.†+ + “Your eyes,†they said, “are not like the eyes of any among men.†+ + And suddenly, without cause for the thought which came to us, we + felt cold, cold to our stomach. + + “How old are you?†we asked. + + They understood our thought, for they lowered their eyes for the + first time. + + “Seventeen,†they whispered. + + And we sighed, as if a burden had been taken from us, for we had + been thinking without reason of the Palace of Mating. And we + thought that we would not let the Golden One be sent to the + Palace. How to prevent it, how to bar the will of the Councils, + we knew not, but we knew suddenly that we would. Only we do not + know why such thought came to us, for these ugly matters bear no + relation to us and the Golden One. What relation can they bear? + + Still, without reason, as we stood there by the hedge, we felt + our lips drawn tight with hatred, a sudden hatred for all our + brother men. And the Golden One saw it and smiled slowly, and + there was in their smile the first sadness we had seen in them. + We think that in the wisdom of women the Golden One had + understood more than we can understand. + + Then three of the sisters in the field appeared, coming toward + the road, so the Golden One walked away from us. They took the + bag of seeds, and they threw the seeds into the furrows of earth + as they walked away. But the seeds flew wildly, for the hand of + the Golden One was trembling. + + Yet as we walked back to the Home of the Street Sweepers, we felt + that we wanted to sing, without reason. So we were reprimanded + tonight, in the dining hall, for without knowing it we had begun + to sing aloud some tune we had never heard. But it is not proper + to sing without reason, save at the Social Meetings. + + “We are singing because we are happy,†we answered the one of the + Home Council who reprimanded us. + + “Indeed you are happy,†they answered. “How else can men be when + they live for their brothers?†+ + And now, sitting here in our tunnel, we wonder about these words. + It is forbidden, not to be happy. For, as it has been explained + to us, men are free and the earth belongs to them; and all things + on earth belong to all men; and the will of all men together is + good for all; and so all men must be happy. + + Yet as we stand at night in the great hall, removing our garments + for sleep, we look upon our brothers and we wonder. The heads of + our brothers are bowed. The eyes of our brothers are dull, and + never do they look one another in the eyes. The shoulders of our + brothers are hunched, and their muscles are drawn, as if their + bodies were shrinking and wished to shrink out of sight. And a + word steals into our mind, as we look upon our brothers, and that + word is fear. + + There is fear hanging in the air of the sleeping halls, and in + the air of the streets. Fear walks through the City, fear without + name, without shape. All men feel it and none dare to speak. + + We feel it also, when we are in the Home of the Street Sweepers. + But here, in our tunnel, we feel it no longer. The air is pure + under the ground. There is no odor of men. And these three hours + give us strength for our hours above the ground. + + Our body is betraying us, for the Council of the Home looks with + suspicion upon us. It is not good to feel too much joy nor to be + glad that our body lives. For we matter not and it must not + matter to us whether we live or die, which is to be as our + brothers will it. But we, Equality 7-2521, are glad to be living. + If this is a vice, then we wish no virtue. + + Yet our brothers are not like us. All is not well with our + brothers. There are Fraternity 2-5503, a quiet boy with wise, + kind eyes, who cry suddenly, without reason, in the midst of day + or night, and their body shakes with sobs they cannot explain. + There are Solidarity 9-6347, who are a bright youth, without fear + in the day; but they scream in their sleep, and they scream: + “Help us! Help us! Help us!†into the night, in a voice which + chills our bones, but the Doctors cannot cure Solidarity 9-6347. + + And as we all undress at night, in the dim light of the candles, + our brothers are silent, for they dare not speak the thoughts of + their minds. For all must agree with all, and they cannot know if + their thoughts are the thoughts of all, and so they fear to + speak. And they are glad when the candles are blown for the + night. But we, Equality 7-2521, look through the window upon the + sky, and there is peace in the sky, and cleanliness, and dignity. + And beyond the City there lies the plain, and beyond the plain, + black upon the black sky, there lies the Uncharted Forest. + + We do not wish to look upon the Uncharted Forest. We do not wish + to think of it. But ever do our eyes return to that black patch + upon the sky. Men never enter the Uncharted Forest, for there is + no power to explore it and no path to lead among its ancient + trees which stand as guards of fearful secrets. It is whispered + that once or twice in a hundred years, one among the men of the + City escape alone and run to the Uncharted Forest, without call + or reason. These men do not return. They perish from hunger and + from the claws of the wild beasts which roam the Forest. But our + Councils say that this is only a legend. We have heard that there + are many Uncharted Forests over the land, among the Cities. And + it is whispered that they have grown over the ruins of many + cities of the Unmentionable Times. The trees have swallowed the + ruins, and the bones under the ruins, and all the things which + perished. And as we look upon the Uncharted Forest far in the + night, we think of the secrets of the Unmentionable Times. And we + wonder how it came to pass that these secrets were lost to the + world. We have heard the legends of the great fighting, in which + many men fought on one side and only a few on the other. These + few were the Evil Ones and they were conquered. Then great fires + raged over the land. And in these fires the Evil Ones and all the + things made by the Evil Ones were burned. And the fire which is + called the Dawn of the Great Rebirth, was the Script Fire where + all the scripts of the Evil Ones were burned, and with them all + the words of the Evil Ones. Great mountains of flame stood in the + squares of the Cities for three months. Then came the Great + Rebirth. + + The words of the Evil Ones... The words of the Unmentionable + Times... What are the words which we have lost? + + May the Council have mercy upon us! We had no wish to write such + a question, and we knew not what we were doing till we had + written it. We shall not ask this question and we shall not think + it. We shall not call death upon our head. + + And yet... And yet... There is some word, one single word which + is not in the language of men, but which had been. And this is + the Unspeakable Word, which no men may speak nor hear. But + sometimes, and it is rare, sometimes, somewhere, one among men + finhat word. They find it upon scraps of old manuscripts or + cut into the fragments of ancient stones. But when they speak it + they are put to death. There is no crime punished by death in + this world, save this one crime of speaking the Unspeakable Word. + + We have seen one of such men burned alive in the square of the + City. And it was a sight which has stayed with us through the + years, and it haunts us, and follows us, and it gives us no rest. + We were a child then, ten years old. And we stood in the great + square with all the children and all the men of the City, sent to + behold the burning. They brought the Transgressor out into the + square and they led them to the pyre. They had torn out the + tongue of the Transgressor, so that they could speak no longer. + The Transgressor were young and tall. They had hair of gold and + eyes blue as morning. They walked to the pyre, and their step did + not falter. And of all the faces on that square, of all the faces + which shrieked and screamed and spat curses upon them, theirs was + the calmest and the happiest face. + + As the chains were wound over their body at the stake, and a + flame set to the pyre, the Transgressor looked upon the City. + There was a thin thread of blood running from the corner of their + mouth, but their lips were smiling. And a monstrous thought came + to us then, which has never left us. We had heard of Saints. + There are the Saints of Labor, and the Saints of the Councils, + and the Saints of the Great Rebirth. But we had never seen a + Saint nor what the likeness of a Saint should be. And we thought + then, standing in the square, that the likeness of a Saint was + the face we saw before us in the flames, the face of the + Transgressor of the Unspeakable Word. + + As the flames rose, a thing happened which no eyes saw but ours, + else we would not be living today. Perhaps it had only seemed to + us. But it seemed to us that the eyes of the Transgressor had + chosen us from the crowd and were looking straight upon us. There + was no pain in their eyes and no knowledge of the agony of their + body. There was only joy in them, and pride, a pride holier than + is fit for human pride to be. And it seemed as if these eyes were + trying to tell us something through the flames, to send into our + eyes some word without sound. And it seemed as if these eyes were + begging us to gather that word and not to let it go from us and + from the earth. But the flames rose and we could not guess the + word.... + + What—even if we have to burn for it like the Saint of the + Pyre—what is the Unspeakable Word? + + + + PART THREE + + We, Equality 7-2521, have discovered a new power of nature. And + we have discovered it alone, and we alone are to know it. + + It is said. Now let us be lashed for it, if we must. The Council + of Scholars has said that we all know the things which exist and + therefore the things which are not known by all do not exist. But + we think that the Council of Scholars is blind. The secrets of + this earth are not for all men to see, but only for those who + will seek them. We know, for we have found a secret unknown to + all our brothers. + + We know not what this power is nor whence it comes. But we know + its nature, we have watched it and worked with it. We saw it + first two years ago. One night, we were cutting open the body of + a dead frog when we saw its leg jerking. It was dead, yet it + moved. Some power unknown to men was making it move. We could not + understand it. Then, after many tests, we found the answer. The + frog had been hanging on a wire of copper; and it had been the + metal of our knife which had sent the strange power to the copper + through the brine of the frog’s body. We put a piece of copper + and a piece of zinc into a jar of brine, we touched a wire to + them, and there, under our fingers, was a miracle which had never + occurred before, a new miracle and a new power. + + This discovery haunted us. We followed it in preference to all + our studies. We worked with it, we tested it in more ways than we + can describe, and each step was as another miracle unveiling + before us. We came to know that we had found the greatest power + on earth. For it defies all the laws known to men. It makes the + needle move and turn on the compass which we stole from the Home + of the Scholars; but we had been taught, when still a child, that + the loadstone points to the north and that this is a law which + nothing can change; yet our new power defies all laws. We found + that it causes lightning, and never have men known what causes + lightning. In thunderstorms, we raised a tall rod of iron by the + side of our hole, and we watched it from below. We have seen the + lightning strike it again and again. And now we know that metal + draws the power of the sky, and that metal can be made to give it + forth. + + We have built strange things with this discovery of ours. We used + for it the copper wires which we found here under the ground. We + have walked the length of our tunnel, with a candle lighting the + way. We could go no farther than half a mile, for earth and rock + had fallen at both ends. But we gathered all the things we found + and we brought them to our work place. We found strange boxes + with bars of metal inside, with many cords and strands and coils + of metal. We found wires that led to strange little globes of + glass on the walls; they contained threads of metal thinner than + a spider’s web. + + These things help us in our work. We do not understand them, but + we think that the men of picoCTF{gr3p_15_@w3s0m3_4c479940} +our + power of the sky, and these things had some relation to it. We do + not know, but we shall learn. We cannot stop now, even though it + frightens us that we are alone in our knowledge. + + No single one can possess greater wisdom than the many Scholars + who are elected by all men for their wisdom. Yet we can. We do. + We have fought against saying it, but now it is said. We do not + care. We forget all men, all laws and all things save our metals + and our wires. So much is still to be learned! So long a road + lies before us, and what care we if we must travel it alone! + + + + PART FOUR + + Many days passed before we could speak to the Golden One again. + But then came the day when the sky turned white, as if the sun + had burst and spread its flame in the air, and the fields lay + still without breath, and the dust of the road was white in the + glow. So the women of the field were weary, and they tarried over + their work, and they were far from the road when we came. But the + Golden One stood alone at the hedge, waiting. We stopped and we + saw that their eyes, so hard and scornful to the world, were + looking at us as if they would obey any word we might speak. + + And we said: + + “We have given you a name in our thoughts, Liberty 5-3000.†+ + “What is our name?†they asked. + + “The Golden One.†+ + “Nor do we call you Equality 7-2521 when we think of you.†+ + “What name have you given us?†They looked straight into our eyes + and they held their head high and they answered: + + “The Unconquered.†+ + For a long ti we could not speak. Then we said: + + “Such thoughts as these are forbidden, Golden One.†+ + “But you think such thoughts as these and you wish us to think + them.†+ + We looked into their eyes and we could not lie. + + “Yes,†we whispered, and they smiled, and then we said: “Our + dearest one, do not obey us.†+ + They stepped back, and their eyes were wide and still. + + “Speak these words again,†they whispered. + + “Which words?†we asked. But they did not answer, and we knew it. + + “Our dearest one,†we whispered. + + Never have men said this to women. + + The head of the Golden One bowed slowly, and they stood still + before us, their arms at their sides, the palms of their hands + turned to us, as if their body were delivered in submission to + our eyes. And we could not speak. + + Then they raised their head, and they spoke simply and gently, as + if they wished us to forget some anxiety of their own. + + “The day is hot,†they said, “and you have worked for many hours + and you must be weary.†+ + “No,†we answered. + + “It is cooler in the fields,†they said, “and there is water to + drink. Are you thirsty?†+ + “Yes,†we answered, “but we cannot cross the hedge.†+ + “We shall bring the water to you,†they said. + + Then they knelt by the moat, they gathered water in their two + hands, they rose and they held the water out to our lips. + + We do not know if we drank that water. We only knew suddenly that + their hands were empty, but we were still holding our lips to + their hands, and that they knew it, but did not move. + + We raised our head and stepped back. For we did not understand + what had made us do this, and we were afraid to understand it. + + And the Golden One stepped back, and stood looking upon their + hands in wonder. Then the Golden One moved away, even though no + others were coming, and they moved, stepping back, as if they + could not turn from us, their arms bent before them, as if they + could not lower their hands. + + + + PART FIVE + + We made it. We created it. We brought it forth from the night of + the ages. We alone. Our hands. Our mind. Ours alone and only. + + We know not what we are saying. Our head is reeling. We look upon + the light which we have made. We shall be forgiven for anything + we say tonight.... + + Tonight, after more days and trials than we can count, we + finished building a strange thing, from the remains of the + Unmentionable Times, a box of glass, devised to give forth the + power of the sky of greater strength than we had ever achieved + before. And when we put our wires to this box, when we closed the + current—the wire glowed! It came to life, it turned red, and a + circle of light lay on the stone before us. + + We stood, and we held our head in our hands. We could not + conceive of that which we had created. We had touched no flint, + made no fire. Yet here was light, light that came from nowhere, + light from the heart of metal. + + We blew out the candle. Darkness swallowed us. There was nothing + left around us, nothing save night and a thin thread of flame in + it, as a crack in the wall of a prison. We stretched our hands to + the wire, and we saw our fingers in the red glow. We could not + see our body nor feel it, and in that moment nothing existed save + our two hands over a wire glowing in a black abyss. + + Then we thought of the meaning of that which lay before us. We + can light our tunnel, and the City, and all the Cities of the + world with nothing save metal and wires. We can give our brothers + a new light, cleaner and brighter than any they have ever known. + The power of the sky can be made to do men’s bidding. There are + no limits to its secrets and its might, and it can be made to + grant us anything if we but choose to ask. + + Then we knew what we must do. Our discovery is too great for us + to waste our time in sweeping the streets. We must not keep our + secret to ourselves, nor buried under the ground. We must bring + it into the sight of all men. We need all our time, we need the + work rooms of the Home of the Scholars, we want the help of our + brother Scholars and their wisdom joined to ours. There is so + much work ahead for all of us, for all the Scholars of the world. + + In a month, the World Council of Scholars is to meet in our City. + It is a great Council, to which the wisest of all lands are + elected, and it meets once a year in the different Cities of the + earth. We shall go to this Council and we shall lay before them, + as our gift, this glass box with the power of the sky. We shall + confess everything to them. They will see, understand and + forgive. For our gift is greater than our transgression. They + will explain it to the Council of Vocations, and we shall be + assigned to the Home of the Scholars. This has never been done + before, but neither has a gift such as ours ever been offered to + men. + + We must wait. We must guard our tunnel as we had never guarded it + before. For should any men save the Scholars learn of our secret, + they would not understand it, nor would they believe us. They + would see nothing, save our crime of working alone, and they + would destroy us and our light. We care not about our body, but + our light is... + + Yes, we do care. For the first time do we care about our body. + For this wire is as a part of our body, as a vein torn from us, + glowing with our blood. Are we proud of this thread of metal, or + of our hands which made it, or is there a line to divide these + two? + + We stretch out our arms. For the first time do we know how strong + our arms are. And a strange thought comes to us: we wonder, for + the first time in our life, what we look like. Men never see + their own faces and never ask their brothers about it, for it is + evil to have concern for their own faces or bodies. But tonight, + for a reason we cannot fathom, we wish it were possible to us to + know the likeness of our own person. + + + + PART SIX + + We have not written for thirty days. For thirty days we have not + been here, in our tunnel. We had been caught. It happened on that + night when we wrote last. We forgot, that night, to watch the + sand in the glass which tells us when three hours have passed and + it is time to return to the City Theatre. When we remembered it, + the sand had run out. + + We hastened to the Theatre. But the big tent stood grey and + silent against the sky. The streets of the City lay before us, + dark and empty. If we went back to hide in our tunnel, we would + be found and our light found with us. So we walked to the Home of + the Street Sweepers. + + When the Council of the Home questioned us, we looked upon the + faces of the Council, but there was no curiosity in those faces, + and no anger, and no mercy. So when the oldest of them asked us: + “Where have you been?†we thought of our glass box and of our + light, and we forgot all else. And we answered: + + “We will not tell you.†+ + The oldest did not question us further. They turned to the two + youngest, and said, and their voice was bored: + + “Take our brother Equality 7-2521 to the Palace of Corrective + Detention. Lash them until they tell.†+ + So we were taken to the Stone Room under the Palace of Corrective + Detention. This room has no windows and it is empty save for an + iron post. Two men stood by the post, naked but for leather + aprons and leather hoods over their faces. Those who had brought + us departed, leaving us to the two Judges who stood in a corner + of the room. The Judges were small, thin men, grey and bent. They + gave the signal to the two strong hooded ones. + + They tore the clothes from our body, they threw us down upon our + knees and they tied our hands to the iron post. The first blow of + the lash felt as if our spine had been cut in two. The second + blow stopped the first, and for a second we felt nothing, then + the pain struck us in our throat and fire ran in our lungs + without air. But we did not cry out. + + The lash whistled like a singing wind. We tried to count the + blows, but we lost count. We knew that the blows were falling + upon our back. Only we felt nothing upon our back any longer. A + flaming grill kept dancing before our eyes, and we thought of + nothing save that grill, a grill, a grill of red squares, and + then we knew that we were looking at the squares of the iron + grill in the door, and there were also the squares of stone on + the walls, and the squares which the lash was cutting upon our + back, crossing and re-crossing itself in our flesh. + + Then we saw a fist before us. It knocked our chin up, and we saw + the red froth of our mouth on the withered fingers, and the Judge + asked: + + “Where have you been?†+ + But we jerked our head away, hid our face upon our tied hands, + and bit our lips. + + The lash whistled again. We wondered who was sprinkling burning + coal dust upon the floor, for we saw drops of red twinkling on + the stones around us. + + Then we knew nothing, save two voices snarling steadily, one + after the other, even though we knew they were speaking many + minutes apart: + + “Where have you been where have you been where have you been + where have you been?...†+ + And our lips moved, but the sound trickled back into our throat, + and the sound was only: + + “The light... The light... The light....†+ + Then we knew nothing. + + We opened our eyes, lying on our stomach on the brick floor of a + cell. We looked upon two hands lying far before us on the bricks, + and we moved them, and we knew that they were our hands. But we + could not move our body. Then we smiled, for we thought of the + light and that we had not betrayed it. + + We lay in our cell for many days. The door opened twice each day, + once for the men who brought us bread and water, and once for the + Judges. Many Judges came to our cell, first the humblest and then + the most honored Judges of the City. They stood before us in + their white togas, and they asked: + + “Are you ready to speak?†+ + But we shook our head, lying before them on the floor. And they + departed. + + We counted each day and each night as it passed. Then, tonight, + we knew that we must escape. For tomorrow the World Council of + Scholars is to meet in our City. + + It was easy to escape from the Palace of Corrective Detention. + The locks are old on the doors and there are no guards about. + There is no reason to have guards, for men have never defied the + Councils so far as to escape from whatever place they were + ordered to be. Our body is healthy and strength returns to it + speedily. We lunged against the door and it gave way. We stole + through the dark passages, and through the dark streets, and down + into our tunnel. + + We lit the candle and we saw that our place had not been found + and nothing had been touched. And our glass box stood before us + on the cold oven, as we had left it. What matter they now, the + scars upon our back! + + Tomorrow, in the full light of day, we shall take our box, and + leave our tunnel open, and walk through the streets to the Home + of the Scholars. We shall put before them the greatest gift ever + offered to men. We shall tell them the truth. We shall hand to + them, as our confession, these pages we have written. We shall + join our hands to theirs, and we shall work together, with the + power of the sky, for the glory of mankind. Our blessing upon + you, our brothers! Tomorrow, you will take us back into your fold + and we shall be an outcast no longer. Tomorrow we shall be one of + you again. Tomorrow... + + + + PART SEVEN + + It is dark here in the forest. The leaves rustle over our head, + black against the last gold of the sky. The moss is soft and + warm. We shall sleep on this moss for many nights, till the + beasts of the forest come to tear our body. We have no bed now, + save the moss, and no future, save the beasts. + + We are old now, yet we were young this morning, when we carried + our glass box through the streets of the City to the Home of the + Scholars. No men stopped us, for there were none about from the + Palace of Corrective Detention, and the others knew nothing. No + men stopped us at the gate. We walked through empty passages and + into the great hall where the World Council of Scholars sat in + solemn meeting. + + We saw nothing as we entered, save the sky in the great windows, + blue and glowing. Then we saw the Scholars who sat around a long + table; they were as shapeless clouds huddled at the rise of the + great sky. There were men whose famous names we knew, and others + from distant lands whose names we had not heard. We saw a great + painting on the wall over their heads, of the twenty illustrious + men who had invented the candle. + + All the heads of the Council turned to us as we entered. These + great and wise of the earth did not know what to think of us, and + they looked upon us with wonder and curiosity, as if we were a + miracle. It is true that our tunic was torn and stained with + brown stains which had been blood. We raised our right arm and we + said: + + “Our greeting to you, our honored brothers of the World Council + of Scholars!†+ + Then Collective 0-0009, the oldest and wisest of the Council, + spoke and asked: + + “Who are you, our brother? For you do not look like a Scholar.†+ + “Our name is Equality 7-2521,†we answered, “and we are a Street + Sweeper of this City.†+ + Then it was as if a great wind had stricken the hall, for all the + Scholars spoke at once, and they were angry and frightened. + + “A Street Sweeper! A Street Sweeper walking in upon the World + Council of Scholars! It is not to be believed! It is against all + the rules and all the laws!†+ + But we knew how to stop them. + + “Our brothers!†we said. “We matter not, nor our transgression. + It is only our brother men who matter. Give no thought to us, for + we are nothing, but listen to our words, for we bring you a gift + such as had never been brought to men. Listen to us, for we hold + the future of mankind in our hands.†+ + Then they listened. + + We placed our glass box upon the table before them. We spoke of + it, and of our long quest, and of our tunnel, and of our escape + from the Palace of Corrective Detention. Not a hand moved inhat + hall, as we spoke, nor an eye. Then we put the wires to the box, + and they all bent forward and sat still, watching. And we stood + still, our eyes upon the wire. And slowly, slowly as a flush of + blood, a red flame trembled in the wire. Then the wire glowed. + + But terror struck the men of the Council. They leapt to their + feet, they ran from the table, and they stood pressed against the + wall, huddled together, seeking the warmth of one another’s + bodies to give them courage. + + We looked upon them and we laughed and said: + + “Fear nothing, our brothers. There is a great power in these + wires, but this power is tamed. It is yours. We give it to you.†+ + Still they would not move. + + “We give you the power of the sky!†we cried. “We give you the + key to the earth! Take it, and let us be one of you, the humblest + among you. Let us all work together, and harness this power, and + make it ease the toil of men. Let us throw away our candles and + our torches. Let us flood our cities with light. Let us bring a + new light to men!†+ + But they looked upon us, and suddenly we were afraid. For their + eyes were still, and small, and evil. + + “Our brothers!†we cried. “Have you nothing to say to us?†+ + Then Collective 0-0009 moved forward. They moved to the table and + the others followed. + + “Yes,†spoke Collective 0-0009, “we have much to say to you.†+ + The sound of their voices brought silence to the hall and to beat + of our heart. + + “Yes,†said Collective 0-0009, “we have much to say to a wretch + who have broken all the laws and who boast of their infamy! + + “How dared you think that your mind held greater wisdom than the + minds of your brothers? And if the Councils had decreed that you + should be a Street Sweeper, how dared you think that you could be + of greater use to men than in sweeping the streets?†+ + “How dared you, gutter cleaner,†spoke Fraternity 9-3452, “to + hold yourself as one alone and with the thoughts of the one and + not of the many?†+ + “You shall be burned at the stake,†said Democracy 4-6998. + + “No, they shall be lashed,†said Unanimity 7-3304, “till there is + nothing left under the lashes.†+ + “No,†said Collective 0-0009, “we cannot decide upon this, our + brothers. No such crime has ever been committed, and it is not + for us to judge. Nor for any small Council. We shall deliver this + creature to the World Council itself and let their will be done.†+ + We looked upon them and we pleaded: + + “Our brothers! You are right. Let the will of the Council be done + upon our body. We do not care. But the light? What will you do + with the light?†+ + Collective 0-0009 looked upon us, and they smiled. + + “So you think that you have found a new power,†said Collective + 0-0009. “Do all your brothers think that?†+ + “No,†we answered. + + “What is not thought by all men cannot be true,†said Collective + 0-0009. + + “You have worked on this alone?†asked International 1-5537. + + “Many men in the Homes of the Scholars have had strange new ideas + in the past,†said Solidarity 8-1164, “but when the majority of + their brother Scholars voted against them, they abandoned their + ideas, as all men must.†+ + “This box is useless,†said Alliance 6-7349. + + “Should it be what they claim of it,†said Harmony 9-2642, “then + it would bring ruin to the Department of Candles. The Candle is a + great boon to mankind, as approved by all men. Therefore it + cannot be destroyed by the whim of one.†+ + “This would wreck the Plans of the World Council,†said Unanimity + 2-9913, “and without the Plans of the World Council the sun + cannot rise. It took fifty years to secure the approval of all + the Councils for the Candle, and to dece upon the number + needed, and to re-fit the Plans so as to make candles instead of + torches. This touched upon thousands and thousands of men working + in scores of States. We cannot alter the Plans again so soon.†+ + “And if this should lighten the toil of men,†said Similarity + 5-0306, “then it is a great evil, for men have no cause to exist + save in toiling for other men.†+ + Then Collective 0-0009 rose and pointed at our box. + + “This thing,†they said, “must be destroyed.†+ + And all the others cried as one: + + “It must be destroyed!†+ + Then we leapt to the table. + + We seized our box, we shoved them aside, and we ran to the + window. We turned and we looked at them for the last time, and a + rage, such as it is not fit for humans to know, choked our voice + in our throat. + + “You fools!†we cried. “You fools! You thrice-damned fools!†+ + We swung our fist through the windowpane, and we leapt out in a + ringing rain of glass. + + We fell, but we never let the box fall from our hands. Then we + ran. We ran blindly, and men and houses streaked past us in a + torrent without shape. And the road seemed not to be flat before + us, but as if it were leaping up to meet us, and we waited for + the earth to rise and strike us in the face. But we ran. We knew + not where we were going. We knew only that we must run, run to + the end of the world, to the end of our days. + + Then we knew suddenly that we were lying on a soft earth and that + we had stopped. Trees taller than we had ever seen before stood + over us in great silence. Then we knew. We were in the Uncharted + Forest. We had not thought of coming here, but our legs had + carried our wisdom, and our legs had brought us to the Uncharted + Forest against our will. + + Our glass box lay beside us. We crawled to it, we fell upon it, + our face in our arms, and we lay still. + + We lay thus for a long time. Then we rose, we took our box and + walked on into the forest. + + It mattered not where we went. We knew that men would not follow + us, for they never enter the Uncharted Forest. We had nothing to + fear from them. The forest disposes of its own victims. This gave + us no fear either. Only we wished to be away, away from the City + and from the air that touches upon the air of the City. So we + walked on, our box in our arms, our heart empty. + + We are doomed. Whatever days are left to us, we shall spend them + alone. And we have heard of the corruption to be found in + solitude. We have torn ourselves from the truth which is our + brother men, and there is no road back for us, and no redemption. + + We know these things, but we do not care. We care for nothing on + earth. We are tired. + + Only the glass box in our arms is like a living heart that gives + us strength. We have lied to ourselves. We have not built this + box for the good of our brothers. We built it for its own sake. + It is above all our brothers to us, and its truth above their + truth. Why wonder about this? We have not many days to live. We + are walking to the fangs awaiting us somewhere among the great, + silent trees. There is not a thing behind us to regret. + + Then a blow of pain struck us, our first and our only. We thought + of the Golden One. We thought of the Golden One whom we shall + never see again. Then the pain passed. It is best. We are one of + the Damned. It is best if the Golden One forget our name and the + body which bore that name. + + + + PART EIGHT + + It has been a day of wonder, this, our first day in the forest. + + We awoke when a ray of sunlight fell across our face. We wanted + to leap to our feet, as we have had to leap every morning of our + life, but we remembered suddenly that no bell had rung and that + there was no bell to ring anywhere. We lay on our back, we threw + our arms ou and we looked up at the sky. The leaves had edges + of silver that trembled and rippled like a river of green and + fire flowing high above us. + + We did not wish to move. We thought suddenly that we could lie + thus as long as we wished, and we laughed aloud at the thought. + We could also rise, or run, or leap, or fall down again. We were + thinking that these were thoughts without sense, but before we + knew it our body had risen in one leap. Our arms stretched out of + their own will, and our body whirled and whirled, till it raised + a wind to rustle through the leaves of the bushes. Then our hands + seized a branch and swung us high into a tree, with no aim save + the wonder of learning the strength of our body. The branch + snapped under us and we fell upon the moss that was soft as a + cushion. Then our body, losing all sense, rolled over and over on + the moss, dry leaves in our tunic, in our hair, in our face. And + we heard suddenly that we were laughing, laughing aloud, laughing + as if there were no power left in us save laughter. + + Then we took our glass box, and we went on into the forest. We + went on, cutting through the branches, and it was as if we were + swimming through a sea of leaves, with the bushes as waves rising + and falling and rising around us, and flinging their green sprays + high to the treetops. The trees parted before us, calling us + forward. The forest seemed to welcome us. We went on, without + thought, without care, with nothing to feel save the song of our + body. + + We stopped when we felt hunger. We saw birds in the tree + branches, and flying from under our footsteps. We picked a stone + and we sent it as an arrow at a bird. It fell before us. We made + a fire, we cooked the bird, and we ate it, and no meal had ever + tasted better to us. And we thought suddenly that there was a + great satisfaction to be found in the food which we need and + obtain by our own hand. And we wished to be hungry again and + soon, that we might know again this strange new pride in eating. + + Then we walked on. And we came to a stream which lay as a streak + of glass among the trees. It lay so still that we saw no water + but only a cut in the earth, in which the trees grew down, + upturned, and the sky lay at the bottom. We knelt by the stream + and we bent down to drink. And then we stopped. For, upon the + blue of the sky below us, we saw our own face for the first time. + + We sat still and we held our breath. For our face and our body + were beautiful. Our face was not like the faces of our brothers, + for we felt not pity when looking upon it. Our body was not like + the bodies of our brothers, for our limbs were straight and thin + and hard and strong. And we thought that we could trust this + being who looked upon us from the stream, and that we had nothing + to fear with this being. + + We walked on till the sun had set. When the shadows gathered + among the trees, we stopped in a hollow between the roots, where + we shall sleep tonight. And suddenly, for the first time this + day, we remembered that we are the Damned. We remembered it, and + we laughed. + + We are writing this on the paper we had hidden in our tunic + together with the written pages we had brought for the World + Council of Scholars, but never given to them. We have much to + speak of to ourselves, and we hope we shall find the words for it + in the days to come. Now, we cannot speak, for we cannot + understand. + + + + PART NINE + + We have not written for many days. We did not wish to speak. For + we needed no words to remember that which has happened to us. + + It was on our second day in the forest that we heard steps behind + us. We hid in the bushes, and we waited. The steps came closer. + And then we saw the fold of a white tunic among the trees, and a + gleam of gold. + + We leapt forward, we ran to them, and we stood looking upon the + Golden One. + + They saw us, and their hands closed into fists, and the fists + pulled their arms down, as if they wished their arms to hold + them, while their body swayed. And they could not speak. + + We dared not come too close to them. We asked, and our voice + trembled: + + “How did you come to be here, Golden One?†+ + But they whispered only: + + “We have found you....†+ + “How did you come to be in the forest?†we asked. + + They raised their head, and there was a great pride in their + voice; they answered: + + “We have followed you.†+ + Then we could not speak, and they said: + + “We heard that you had gone to the Uncharted Forest, for the + whole City is speaking of it. So on the night of the day when we + heard it, we ran away from the Home of the Peasants. We found the + marks of your feet across the plain where no men walk. So we + followed them, and we went into the forest, and we followed the + path where the branches were broken by your body.†+ + Their white tunic was torn, and the branches had cut the skin of + their arms, but they spoke as if they had never taken notice of + it, nor of weariness, nor of fear. + + “We have followed you,†they said, “and we shall follow you + wherever you go. If danger threatens you, we shall face it also. + If it be death, we shall die with you. You are damned, and we + wish to share your damnation.†+ + They looked upon us, and their voice was low, but there was + bitterness and triumph in their voice. + + “Your eyes are as a flame, but our brothers have neither hope nor + fire. Your mouth is cut of granite, but our brothers are soft and + humble. Your head is high, but our brothers cringe. You walk, but + our brothers crawl. We wish to be damned with you, rather than + blessed with all our brothers. Do as you please with us, but do + not send us away from you.†+ + Then they knelt, and bowed their golden head before us. + + We had never thought of that which we did. We bent to raise the + Golden One to their feet, but when we touched them, it was as if + madness had stricken us. We seized their body and we pressed our + lips to theirs. The Golden One breathed once, and their breath + was a moan, and then their arms closed around us. + + We stood together for a long time. And we were frightened that we + had lived for twenty-one years and had never known what joy is + possible to men. + + Then we said: + + “Our dearest one. Fear nothing of the forest. There is no danger + in solitude. We have no need of our brothers. Let us forget their + good and our evil, let us forget all things save that we are + together and that there is joy as a bond between us. Give us your + hand. Look ahead. It is our own world, Golden One, a strange, + unknown world, but our own.†+ + Then we walked on into the forest, their hand in ours. + + And that night we knew that to hold the body of women in our arms + is neither ugly nor shameful, but the one ecstasy granted to the + race of men. + + We have walked for many days. The forest has no end, and we seek + no end. But each day added to the chain of days between us and + the City is like an added blessing. + + We have made a bow and many arrows. We can kill more birds than + we need for our food; we find water and fruit it + night, we choose a clearing, and we build a ring of fires around + it. We sleep in the midst of that ring, and the beasts dare not + attack us. We can see their eyes, green and yellow as coals, + watching us from the tree branches beyond. The fires smoulder as + a crown of jewels around us, and smoke stands still in the air, + in columns made blue by the moonlight. We sleep together in the + midst of the ring, the arms of the Golden One around us, their + head upon our breast. + + Some day, we shall stop and build a house, when we shall have + gone far enough. But we do not have to hasten. The days before us + are without end, like the forest. + + We cannot understand this new life which we have found, yet it + seems so clear and so simple. When questions come to puzzle us, + we walk faster, then turn and forget all things as we watch the + Golden One following. The shadows of leaves fall upon their arms, + as they spread the branches apart, but their shoulders are in the + sun. The skin of their arms is like a blue mist, but their + shoulders are white and glowing, as if the light fell not from + above, but rose from under their skin. We watch the leaf which + has fallen upon their shoulder, and it lies at the curve of their + neck, and a drop of dew glistens upon it like a jewel. They + approach us, and they stop, laughing, knowing what we think, and + they wait obediently, without questions, till it pleases us to + turn and go on. + + We go on and we bless the earth under our feet. But questions + come to us again, as we walk in silence. If that which we have + found is the corruption of solitude, then what can men wish for + save corruption? If this is the great evil of being alone, then + what is good and what is evil? + + Everything which comes from the many is good. Everything which + comes from one is evil. This have we been taught with our first + breath. We have broken the law, but we have never doubted it. Yet + now, as we walk through the forest, we are learning to doubt. + + There is no life for men, save in useful toil for the good of all + their brothers. But we lived not, when we toiled for our + brothers, we were only weary. There is no joy for men, save the + joy shared with all their brothers. But the only things which + taught us joy were the power we created in our wires, and the + Golden One. And both these joys belong to us alone, they come + from us alone, they bear no relation to all our brothers, and + they do not concern our brothers in any way. Thus do we wonder. + + There is some error, one frightful error, in the thinking of men. + What is that error? We do not know, but the knowledge struggles + within us, struggles to be born. Today, the Golden One stopped + suddenly and said: + + “We love you.†+ + But they frowned and shook their head and looked at us + helplessly. + + “No,†they whispered, “that is not what we wished to say.†+ + They were silent, then they spoke slowly, and their words were + halting, like the words of a child learning to speak for the + first time: + + “We are one... alone... and only... and we love you who are + one... alone... and only.†+ + We looked into each other’s eyes and we knew that the breath of a + miracle had touched us, and fled, and left us groping vainly. + + And we felt torn, torn for some word we could not find. + + + + We are sitting at a table and we are writing this upon paper made + thousands of years ago. The light is dim, and we cannot see the + Golden One, only one lock of gold on the pillow of an ancient + bed. This is our home. + + We came upon it today, at sunrise. For many days we had been + crossing a chain of mountains. The forest rose among cliffs, and + whenever we walked out upon a barren stretch of rock we saw great + peaks before us in the west, and to the north of us, and to the + south, as far as our eyes could see. The peaks were red and + brown, with the green streaks of forests as veins upon them, with + blue mists as veils over their heads. We had never heard of these + mountains, nor seen them marked on any map. The Uncharted Forest + has protected them from the Cities and from the men of the + Cities. + + We climbed paths where the wild goat dared not follow. Stones + rolled from under our feet, and we heard them striking the rocks + below, farther and farther down, and the mountains rang with each + stroke, and long after the strokes had died. But we went on, for + we knew that no men would ever follow our track nor reach us + here. + + Then today, at sunrise, we saw a white flame among the trees, + high on a sheer peak before us. We thought that it was a fire and + stopped. But the flame was unmoving, yet blinding as liquid + metal. So we climbed toward it through the rocks. And there, + before us, on a broad summit, with the mountains rising behind + it, stood a house such as we had never seen, and the white fire + came from the sun on the glass of its windows. + + The house had two stories and a strange roof flat as a floor. + There was more window than wall upon its walls, and the windows + went on straight around the corners, though how this kept the + house standing we could not guess. The walls were hard and + smooth, of that stone unlike stone which we had seen in our + tunnel. + + We both knew it without words: this house was left from the + Unmentionable Times. The trees had protected it from time and + weather, and from men who have less pity than time and weather. + We turned to the Golden One and we asked: + + “Are you afraid?†+ + But they shook their head. So we walked to the door, and we threw + it open, and we stepped together into the house of the + Unmentionable Times. + + We shall need the days and the years ahead, to look, to learn, + and to understand the things of this house. Today, we could only + look and try to believe the sight of our eyes. We pulled the + heavy curtains from the windows and we saw that the rooms were + small, and we thought that not more than twelve men could have + lived here. We thought it strange that men had been permitted to + build a house for only twelve. + + Never had we seen rooms so full of light. The sunrays danced upon + colors, colors, more colors than we thought possible, we who had + seen no houses save the white ones, the brown ones and the grey. + There were great pieces of glass on the walls, but it was not + glass, for when we looked upon it we saw our own bodies and all + the things behind us, as on the face of a lake. There were + strange things which we had never seen and the use of which we do + not know. And there were globes of glass everywhere, in each + room, the globes with the metal cobwebs inside, such as we had + seen in our tunnel. + + We found the sleeping hall and we stood in awe upon its + threshold. For it was a small room and there were only two beds + in it. We found no other beds in the house, and then we knew that + only two had lived here, and this passes understanding. What kind + of world did they have, the men of the Unmentionable Times? + + We found garments, and the Golden One gasped at the sight of + them. For they were not white tunics, nor white togas; they were + of all colors, no two of them alike. Some crumbled to dust as we + touched them. But others were of heavier cloth, and they felt + soft and new in our fingers. + + We found a room with walls made of shelves, which held rows of + manuscripts, from the floor to the ceiling. Never had we seen + such a number of them, nor of such strange shape. They were not + soft and rolled, they had hard shells of cloth and leather; and + the letters on their pages were so small and so even that we + wondered at the men who had such handwriting. We glanced through + the pages, and we saw that they were written in our language, but + we found many words which we could not understand. Tomorrow, we + shall begin to read these scripts. + + When we had seen all the rooms of the house, we looked at the + Golden One and we both knew the thought in our minds. + + “We shall never leave this house,†we said, “nor let it be taken + from us. This is our home and the end of our journey. This is + your house, Golden One, and ours, and it belongs to no other men + whatever as far as the earth may stretch. We shall not share it + with others, as we share not our joy with them, nor our love, nor + our hunger. So be it to the end of our days.†+ + “Your will be done,†they said. + + Then we went out to gather wood for the great hearth of our home. + We brought water from the stream which runs among the trees under + our windows. We killed a mountain goat, and we brought its flesh + to be cooked in a strange copper pot we found in a place of + wonders, which must have been the cooking room of the house. + + We did this work alone, for no words of ours could take the + Golden One away from the big glass which is not glass. They stood + before it and they looked and looked upon their own body. + + When the sun sank beyond the mountains, the Golden One fell + asleep on the floor, amidst jewels, and bottles of crystal, and + flowers of silk. We lifted the Golden One in our arms and we + carried them to a bed, their head falling softly upon our + shoulder. Then we lit a candle, and we brought paper from the + room of the manuscripts, and we sat by the window, for we knew + that we could not sleep tonight. + + And now we look upon the earth and sky. This spread of naked rock + and peaks and moonlight is like a world ready to be born, a world + that waits. It seems to us it asks a sign from us, a spark, a + first commandment. We cannot know what word we are to give, nor + what great deed this earth expects to witness. We know it waits. + It seems to say it has great gifts to lay before us, but it + wishes a greater gift for us. We are to speak. We are to give its + goal, its highest meaning to all this glowing space of rock and + sky. + + We look ahead, we beg our heart for guidance in answering this + call no voice has spoken, yet we have heard. We look upon our + hands. We see the dust of centuries, the dust which hid the great + secrets and perhaps great evils. And yet it stirs no fear within + our heart, but only silent reverence and pity. + + May knowledge come to us! What is the secret our heart has + understood and yet will not reveal to us, although it seems to + beat as if it were endeavoring to tell it? + + + + PART ELEVEN + + I am. I think. I will. + + My hands... My spirit... My sky... My forest... This earth of + mine.... What must Iy besides? These are the words. This is + the answer. + + I stand here on the summit of the mountain. I lift my head and I + spread my arms. This, my body and spirit, this is the end of the + quest. I wished to know the meaning of things. I am the meaning. + I wished to find a warrant for being. I need no warrant for + being, and no word of sanction upon my being. I am the warrant + and the sanction. + + It is my eyes which see, and the sight of my eyes grants beauty + to the earth. It is my ears which hear, and the hearing of my + ears gives its song to the world. It is my mind which thinks, and + the judgement of my mind is the only searchlight that can find + the truth. It is my will which chooses, and the choice of my will + is the only edict I must respect. + + Many words have been granted me, and some are wise, and some are + false, but only three are holy: “I will it!†+ + Whatever road I take, the guiding star is within me; the guiding + star and the loadstone which point the way. They point in but one + direction. They point to me. + + I know not if this earth on which I stand is the core of the + universe or if it is but a speck of dust lost in eternity. I know + not and I care not. For I know what happiness is possible to me + on earth. And my happiness needs no higher aim to vindicate it. + My happiness is not the means to any end. It is the end. It is + its own goal. It is its own purpose. + + Neither am I the means to any end others may wish to accomplish. + I am not a tool for their use. I am not a servant of their needs. + I am not a bandage for their wounds. I am not a sacrifice on + their altars. + + I am a man. This miracle of me is mine to own and keep, and mine + to guard, and mine to use, and mine to kneel before! + + I do not surrender my treasures, nor do I share them. The fortune + of my spirit is not to be blown into coins of brass and flung to + the winds as alms for the poor of the spirit. I guard my + treasures: my thought, my will, my freedom. And the greatest of + these is freedom. + + I owe nothing to my brothers, nor do I gather debts from them. I + ask none to live for me, nor do I live for any others. I covet no + man’s soul, nor is my soul theirs to covet. + + I am neither foe nor friend to my brothers, but such as each of + them shall deserve of me. And to earn my love, my brothers must + do more than to have been born. I do not grant my love without + reason, nor to any chance passer-by who may wish to claim it. I + honor men with my love. But honor is a thing to be earned. + + I shall choose friends among men, but neither slaves nor masters. + And I shall choose only such as please me, and them I shall love + and respect, but neither command nor obey. And we shall join our + hands when we wish, or walk alone when we so desire. For in the + temple of his spirit, each man is alone. Let each man keep his + temple untouched and undefiled. Then let him join hands with + others if he wishes, but only beyond his holy threshold. + + For the word “We†must never be spoken, save by one’s choice and + as a second thought. This word must never be placed first within + man’s soul, else it becomes a monster, the root of all the evils + on earth, the root of man’s torture by men, and of an unspeakable + lie. + + The word “We†is as lime poured over men, which sets and hardens + to stone, and crushes all beneath it, and that which is white and + that which is black are lost equally in the grey of it. It is the + word by which the depraved steal the virtue of the good, by which + the weak steal the might of the strong, by which the fools steal + the wisdom of the sages. + + What is my joy if all hands, even the unclean, can reach into it? + What is my wisdom, if even the fools can dictate to me? What is + my freedom, if all creatures, even the botched and the impotent, + are my masters? What is my life, if I am but to bow, to agree and + to obey? + + But I am done with this creed of corruption. + + I am done with the monster of “We,†the word of serfdom, of + plunder, of misery, falsehood and shame. + + And now I see the face of god, and I raise this god over the + earth, this god whom men have sought since men came into being, + this god who will grant them joy and peace and pride. + + This god, this one word: + + “I.†+ + + PART TWELVE + + It was when I read the first of the books I found in my house + that I saw the word “I.†And when I understood this word, the + book fell from my hands, and I wept, I who had never known tears. + I wept in deliverance and in pity for all mankind. + + I understood the blessed thing which I had called my curse. I + understood why the best in me had been my sins and my + transgressions; and why I had never felt guilt in my sins. I + understood that centuries of chains and lashes will not kill the + spirit of man nor the sense of truth within him. + + I read many books for many days. Then I called the Golden One, + and I told her what I had read and what I had learned. She looked + at me and the first words she spoke were: + + “I love you.†+ + Then I said: + + “My dearest one, it is not proper for men to be without names. + There was a time when each man had a name of his own to + distinguish him from all other men. So let us choose our names. I + have read of a man who lived many thousands of years ago, and of + all the names in these books, his is the one I wish to bear. He + took the light of the gods and he brought it to men, and he + taught men to be gods. And he suffered for his deed as all + bearers of light must suffer. His name was Prometheus.†+ + “It shall be your name,†said the Golden One. + + “And I have read of a goddess,†I said, “who was the mother of + the earth and of all the gods. Her name was Gaea. Let this be + your name, my Golden One, for you are to be the mother of a new + kind of gods.†+ + “It shall be my name,†said the Golden One. + + Now I look ahead. My future is clear before me. The Saint of the + pyre had seen the future when he chose me as his heir, as the + heir of all the saints and all the martyrs who came before him + and who died for the same cause, for the same word, no matter + what name they gave to their cause and their truth. + + I shall live here, in my own house. I shall take my food from the + earth by the toil of my own hands. I shall learn many secrets + from my books. Through the years ahead, I shall rebuild the + achievements of the past, and open the way to carry them further, + the achievements which are open to me, but closed forever to my + brothers, for their minds are shackled to the weakest and dullest + ones among them. + + I have learned that my power of the sky was known to men long + ago; they called it Electricity. It was the power that moved + their greatest inventions. It lit this house with light which + came from those globes of glass on the walls. I have found the + engine which produced this light. I shall learn how to repair it + and how to make it work again. I shall learn how to use the wires + which carry this power. Then I shall build a barrier of wires + around my home, and across the paths which leato my home; a + barrier light as a cobweb, more impassable than a wall of + granite; a barrier my brothers will never be able to cross. For + they have nothing to fight me with, save the brute force of their + numbers. I have my mind. + + Then here, on this mountaintop, with the world below me and + nothing above me but the sun, I shall live my own truth. Gaea is + pregnant with my child. Our son will be raised as a man. He will + be taught to say “I†and to bear the pride of it. He will be + taught to walk straight and on his own feet. He will be taught + reverence for his own spirit. + + When I shall have read all the books and learned my new way, when + my home will be ready and my earth tilled, I shall steal one day, + for the last time, into the cursed City of my birth. I shall call + to me my friend who has no name save International 4-8818, and + all those like him, Fraternity 2-5503, who cries without reason, + and Solidarity 9-6347 who calls for help in the night, and a few + others. I shall call to me all the men and the women whose spirit + has not been killed within them and who suffer under the yoke of + their brothers. They will follow me and I shall lead them to my + fortress. And here, in this uncharted wilderness, I and they, my + chosen friends, my fellow-builders, shall write the first chapter + in the new history of man. + + These are the things before me. And as I stand here at the door + of glory, I look behind me for the last time. I look upon the + history of men, which I have learned from the books, and I + wonder. It was a long story, and the spirit which moved it was + the spirit of man’s freedom. But what is freedom? Freedom from + what? There is nothing to take a man’s freedom away from him, + save other men. To be free, a man must be free of his brothers. + That is freedom. That and nothing else. + + At first, man was enslaved by the gods. But he broke their + chains. Then he was enslaved by the kings. But he broke their + chains. He was enslaved by his birth, by his kin, by his race. + But he broke their chains. He declared to all his brothers that a + man has rights which neither god nor king nor other men can take + away from him, no matter what their number, for his is the right + of man, and there is no right on earth above this right. And he + stood on the threshold of the freedom for which the blood of the + centuries behind him had been spilled. + + But then he gave up all he had won, and fell lower than his + savage beginning. + + What brought it to pass? What disaster took their reason away + from men? What whip lashed them to their knees in shame and + submission? The worship of the word “We.†+ + When men accepted that worship, the structure of centuries + collapsed about them, the structure whose every beam had come + from the thought of some one man, each in his day down the ages, + from the depth of some one spirit, such spirit as existed but for + its own sake. Those men who survived those eager to obey, eager + to live for one another, since they had nothing else to vindicate + them—those men could neither carry on, nor preserve what they had + received. Thus did all thought, all science, all wisdom perish on + earth. Thus did men—men with nothing to offer save their great + number—lost the steel towers, the flying ships, the power wires, + all the things they had not created and could never keep. + Perhaps, later, some men had been born with the mind and the + courage to recover these things which were lost; perhaps these + men came before the Councils of Scholars. They were answered as I + have been answered—and for the same reasons. + + But I still wonder how it was possible, in those graceless years + of transition, long ago, that men did not see whither they were + going, and went on, in blindness and cowardice, toheir fate. I + wonder, for it is hard for me to conceive how men who knew the + word “I†could give it up and not know what they lost. But such + has been the story, for I have lived in the City of the damned, + and I know what horror men permitted to be brought upon them. + + Perhaps, in those days, there were a few among men, a few of + clear sight and clean soul, who refused to surrender that word. + What agony must have been theirs before that which they saw + coming and could not stop! Perhaps they cried out in protest and + in warning. But men paid no heed to their warning. And they, + these few, fought a hopeless battle, and they perished with their + banners smeared by their own blood. And they chose to perish, for + they knew. To them, I send my salute across the centuries, and my + pity. + + Theirs is the banner in my hand. And I wish I had the power to + tell them that the despair of their hearts was not to be final, + and their night was not without hope. For the battle they lost + can never be lost. For that which they died to save can never + perish. Through all the darkness, through all the shame of which + men are capable, the spirit of man will remain alive on this + earth. It may sleep, but it will awaken. It may wear chains, but + it will break through. And man will go on. Man, not men. + + Here on this mountain, I and my sons and my chosen friends shall + build our new land and our fort. And it will become as the heart + of the earth, lost and hidden at first, but beating, beating + louder each day. And word of it will reach every corner of the + earth. And the roads of the world will become as veins which will + carry the best of the world’s blood to my threshold. And all my + brothers, and the Councils of my brothers, will hear of it, but + they will be impotent against me. And the day will come when I + shall break all the chains of the earth, and raze the cities of + the enslaved, and my home will become the capital of a world + where each man will be free to exist for his own sake. + + For the coming of that day shall I fight, I and my sons and my + chosen friends. For the freedom of Man. For his rights. For his + life. For his honor. + + And here, over the portals of my fort, I shall cut in the stone + the word which is to be my beacon and my banner. The word which + will not die, should we all perish in battle. The word which can + never die on this earth, for it is the heart of it and the + meaning and the glory. + + The sacred word: + + EGO + + + diff --git a/forensics/lookey_here/solve.sh b/forensics/lookey_here/solve.sh new file mode 100755 index 0000000..472b63d --- /dev/null +++ b/forensics/lookey_here/solve.sh @@ -0,0 +1,3 @@ +#!/usr/bin/env bash + +grep -o "picoCTF{.*}" anthem.flag.txt diff --git a/forensics/milkslap/concat_v.png b/forensics/milkslap/concat_v.png new file mode 100644 index 0000000..af5894c Binary files /dev/null and b/forensics/milkslap/concat_v.png differ diff --git a/forensics/milkslap/solve.sh b/forensics/milkslap/solve.sh new file mode 100755 index 0000000..1bc429b --- /dev/null +++ b/forensics/milkslap/solve.sh @@ -0,0 +1,5 @@ +#!/usr/bin/env nix-shell +#!nix-shell -i bash -p bash zsteg + +export RUBY_THREAD_VM_STACK_SIZE=500000000 +zsteg concat_v.png diff --git a/forensics/redaction_gone_wrong/Financial_Report_for_ABC_Labs.pdf b/forensics/redaction_gone_wrong/Financial_Report_for_ABC_Labs.pdf new file mode 100644 index 0000000..dfa87e0 Binary files /dev/null and b/forensics/redaction_gone_wrong/Financial_Report_for_ABC_Labs.pdf differ diff --git a/forensics/redaction_gone_wrong/solve.sh b/forensics/redaction_gone_wrong/solve.sh new file mode 100755 index 0000000..89ab50d --- /dev/null +++ b/forensics/redaction_gone_wrong/solve.sh @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +#!/usr/bin/env nix-shell +#!nix-shell -i bash -p bash poppler_utils + +pdftotext ./Financial_Report_for_ABC_Labs.pdf - | grep -o "picoCTF{.*}" \ No newline at end of file diff --git a/forensics/shark_on_wire_1/capture.pcap b/forensics/shark_on_wire_1/capture.pcap new file mode 100644 index 0000000..10056c0 Binary files /dev/null and b/forensics/shark_on_wire_1/capture.pcap differ diff --git a/forensics/shark_on_wire_1/solution.md b/forensics/shark_on_wire_1/solution.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..65b7093 --- /dev/null +++ b/forensics/shark_on_wire_1/solution.md @@ -0,0 +1,37 @@ +Randomly found in udp stream 6 while going through all the data sent back and forth. + +``` +70 +69 +63 +6f +43 +54 +46 +7b +53 +74 +61 +54 +33 +31 +33 +35 +35 +5f +36 +33 +36 +66 +36 +65 +36 +65 +7d +``` + +cyberchef says + +``` +picoCTF{StaT31355_636f6e6e} +``` diff --git a/forensics/so_meta/pico_img.png b/forensics/so_meta/pico_img.png new file mode 100644 index 0000000..bce998a Binary files /dev/null and b/forensics/so_meta/pico_img.png differ diff --git a/forensics/so_meta/solve.sh b/forensics/so_meta/solve.sh new file mode 100755 index 0000000..930d9b5 --- /dev/null +++ b/forensics/so_meta/solve.sh @@ -0,0 +1,4 @@ +#!/usr/bin/env nix-shell +#!nix-shell -i bash -p bash exiftool + +exiftool ./pico_img.png | grep -o "picoCTF{.*}" diff --git a/forensics/wireshark_doo_dooo_do_doo/shark1.pcapng b/forensics/wireshark_doo_dooo_do_doo/shark1.pcapng new file mode 100644 index 0000000..88d7de5 Binary files /dev/null and b/forensics/wireshark_doo_dooo_do_doo/shark1.pcapng differ diff --git a/forensics/wireshark_doo_dooo_do_doo/solution.md b/forensics/wireshark_doo_dooo_do_doo/solution.md new file mode 100644 index 0000000..a46b052 --- /dev/null +++ b/forensics/wireshark_doo_dooo_do_doo/solution.md @@ -0,0 +1,9 @@ +Found in tcp stream 5, packet 827 (the first unencrypted stream) + +`Gur synt vf cvpbPGS{c33xno00_1_f33_h_qrnqorrs}` + +Seems flaglike, maybe rot13 to protect against text search? + +**Output from cyberchef:** + +`The flag is picoCTF{p33kab00_1_s33_u_deadbeef}`