Atlas Park Blimp: Will we ever know?

[LadyShin]

Many of you have seen it. A few of us have wondered at its significance.

PCA7738058 - the number written on the side of the Atlas Park Blimp.

An internet search for this number will show the cryptic words, "What is the purpose of this BLIMP? A search for PCA7738058 reveals a coded system for monitoring DNA PROTEIN. You are being MONITORED. Who is watching you? What do they want? Be careful, heroes. Don't be fooled."

Doing a little searching of my own, I found the blimp was called "Spirit of Freedom" (catchy!)

"Piloted by Captain James Finney, the current Spirit of Freedom was built in 2003 by American Blimp Corporation in Oregon. The airship is a modified twin turbo-prop A-60 + airship. It measures 128 feet from nose to stern and holds 69.000 cubic feet of helium.
The Spirit of Freedom makes her home at the old naval air station Warwick, Now called NAC Field. The airship is one of four blimps and is Narragansett Airship Company's flagship."

--


Then there's this article in the paragon times: http://wiki.cohtitan.com/wiki/Paragon_Times/20050330

I found an excerpt here:

"The new Spirit of Freedom continues to patrol the skies above Paragon City. "Our mission has changed a bit," says Captain Finney. "We have a lot of specialized and classified gear onboard—high tech stuff—that allows us to conduct surveillance on a level that's quite astounding. We work closely with the Federal Bureau of Super-powered Affairs (FBSA) and the city government. Another service we've provided in the aftermath of the Rikti Invasion is detailed mapping to be used in the rebuilding of Paragon City. I'm proud to be part of this city's revival.""

So, a blimp that had been run by the FBSA, a system for monitoring DNA....Any thoughts?

[Blondeshell]

https://images.weserv.nl/?url=www.xtreak.com%2Fgo%2FBlondeshell%2F164188%2FNot_Sure_if_serious.jpg

[houtex]

I, for one, would *LOVE* to be monitored by an FBSA run Blimp... mean's I'd be playin' CoH again.

That is my thought, LadyShin.

[TimtheEnchanter]

It could just as likely be a reference to something OOG. A little inside joke some artist stuck in there for the fun of it, meaning it could be a reference to literally anything.

Filtering out the other potential obvious... punch those numbers into a pocket calculator, turn it over, and you'd have: BSOBELL.

Alpha-code? Doesn't really work, because those always start at 1 (referring to A) unless the code requires one to shift everything. But that's going into ARG territory and I doubt it'd be something that complex.

[Tenzhi]

Assuming the PC is Paragon City, the A7738058 could be hex...

[TimtheEnchanter]

Assuming the PC is Paragon City, the A7738058 could be hex...

Converting hex to ASCII gave me...

Code Select Expand

§s€X

Ssex?

... if that's the correct decryption, whoever did that was a perv.  8)

Ignoring the ASCII, the plain numeric translation is: 167 115 128 88

[Tenzhi]

Ignoring the ASCII, the plain numeric translation is: 167 115 128 88

Coordinates?

[Arachnion]

Coordinates?

http://maps.google.com/maps?q=167+115+128+88&hl=en&sll=26.741938,-80.12904&sspn=0.401034,0.727158&hq=167+115+128+88&t=m&z=10

:o

That being said, PCA7738058 could also be a code string.

The costume part files all have lines that start with a capital P to denote their internal filename.

P3494824 for instance. No letters though, I think.

I have seen these "P strings" appear in other games too, such as THQ/Relic's "Dawn of War 1" PC game too.

[McCreed]

My first guess would be that PCA stands for Paragon City Airship or something like that, but who knows?

The 7 digits afterward could be phone digits.  Everyone pick an area code and start dialin'!  :D

[Lucretia MacEvil]

We clearly have too much free time on our hands nowadays.

*Glares at NCsoft*

But, on-topic, I'm also curious about what, if anything, the blimp's numbers mean, now that I know about them.
I didn't ever notice it HAD numbers.  I wish I'd known before the closure, so I could've flown up there to check it out ;) :P.

[Thunder Glove]

Ignoring the ASCII, the plain numeric translation is: 167 115 128 88

Well, 167.115.128.88 is an IP address located in Lake Forest, IL which belongs to W.W. Grainger, Inc.

.. I don't think that means anything.

[Triplash]

Well, 167.115.128.88 is an IP address located in Lake Forest, IL which belongs to W.W. Grainger, Inc.

.. I don't think that means anything.

...or does it?

According to that article, W. W. Grainger is an industrial supply company, providing materials like motors and plumbing supplies. Exactly like you would use to build an army of steamwork automatons!

What's more, they are also the national founding sponsor of the "Ready When the Time Comes" program. "Ready When the Time Comes"? As in... "Preparing for the Coming Storm"?!?!?

- dun dun duuuuunnnnn -

I leave it to you all to draw your own chilling conclusions. But as for me... what has been Googled cannot be UnGoogled.

*starts digging out a fallout bunker*

[Tubbius]

It's all a Nem. . . naaaaaaaah.  :)

[dwturducken]

[snark]Settle down, Langdon![/snark]

;)

[SkyStreak]

In game x, y, and z coordinates?

[LadyShin]

In game x, y, and z coordinates?

hmm....Pretty sure it was only 600 meters up..possibly!

[Ironbull]

We need the cypher  (Sp?)  Without it, we may never break the code.  Course it may say something silly like "Free Blimp Rides."  Then again, it may be the locations of....  Hmmm...

[The Fifth Horseman]

Well, 167.115.128.88 is an IP address located in Lake Forest, IL which belongs to W.W. Grainger, Inc.

.. I don't think that means anything.

http://whois.domaintools.com/7.73.80.58
O.o Department of Defense?

[TimtheEnchanter]

http://whois.domaintools.com/7.73.80.58
O.o Department of Defense?

Look this way please...

https://images.weserv.nl/?url=2.bp.blogspot.com%2F_R_sbWukBfwI%2FSJUs6u2Q5eI%2FAAAAAAAACqQ%2Fw-Sm8WTrsIA%2Fs400%2Fneuralizer_mib.jpg

[Aggelakis]

http://whois.domaintools.com/7.73.80.58
O.o Department of Defense?

http://whois.domaintools.com/8.67.53.09
*chin scratch*
I had to. My inner 80s geek needs to do this with every number-input box.