Conspiracy Theories

Solutions to these puzzles will at times feel like conspiracy theories. That’s because they are—like them. Conspiracy theories tie together naturally occurring coincidences using hypothetical conspiracies. Byron, on the other hand, connects coincidences with puzzles. When we hear a litany of seemingly related but clearly coincidental details strung together, our knee-jerk reaction is to mentally gag or tune out, which is a perfectly normal and healthy response. However, in this case, we’re dealing with a very complex puzzle that requires us to find patterns among several disparate clues. 

Byron had a rare talent for finding associations in the natural world. He has always been described as an avid reader, constantly pouring over all sorts of unusual books and records. We have to keep this in mind as we decipher this puzzle. It gets quite convoluted, so bear with me. 

…the coliseum

With metal walls

Face the water

Your back to the stairs 

Feel at home 

The name of the Coliseum in Rome was derived from the huge statue that, in ancient times, stood beside it, the Colossus of Nero. This statue in turn was named and patterned after the Colossus of Rhodes in Ancient Greece. We now circle back to modern times. In 1883 Emma Lazarus wrote a poem in honor of The Statue of Liberty, parts of which we’ve all heard, “Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…” However, most of us don’t know the name of the poem: “The New Colossus.” The Statue of Liberty is a colossus, with copper metal walls, and holding a lamp. She is positioned to face the water, the route immigrants take on their way to Ellis Island, so they might feel welcomed, feel at home.

A green tower of lights 

Lady Liberty’s copper exterior has turned a pale green due to oxidation. Her official title is “Liberty Enlightening the World.”  She could be described as a green tower of lights with metal walls. 

Lit by lamp light 

In addition to the torch (lamp) in her right hand, she also holds something in her left, which is “lit by lamp light.”  It is a tablet, representing a book of law with only a date on its cover, in Roman Numerals, of course, July 4, 1776. The fourth of July is the most powerful symbol of American Independence. This is our distance: four. Now let's see if we can confirm this in the image and maybe figure out the units—feet, yards, etc.

The four petals of the gladiolus are near the feet of the fairy—four feet. The foot stepping on home plate depicted on her right sleeve also suggests the units are in feet. We also have the four words “In truth, be free,” the number four in the upper right of the ring around the witch’s head, the foursided peridot, and the four four-sided symbols in the image (baseball bases) lit by lamplight. 

Using our scattergram logic, this all points to the casque having been buried four feet from home plate—specifically, in the middle baseball field, four feet east northeast from home plate (toward second base). This location is consistent with the best guess of the workers who inadvertently dug it up. The location of the Google Earth marker for the treasure now appears off by a bit because the field was renovated and home plate moved. So that’s it, we’re all done. Mystery solved, right? Well, except for the secret of The Secret. Let’s review the Boston clues, starting at the beginning, looking for patterns, and see if we can figure out the secret of The Secret for Boston. 

Welcome to Level 8.