Room 127
Page 6
to: st_norman1992@izmail.com
cc:
re: re: Technical Question
Steve:
All I could find was that it's a Vermont IP address. It's located somewhere near Burlington. Other than that, there's nothing. Sorry if that isn't useful.
Anna
samthegrey@eeeureka.com (Samantha Strickland) 6/5/13, 1:45pm
to: st_norman1992@izmail.com
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re: re: I'm going to E3!
Steve that's so exciting! I'm really happy for you! Keep me updated!
kengreene@gamecore.net (Ken Greene) 6/5/13, 2:01pm
to: st_norman1992@izmail.com
cc:
re: re:Your Big Break?
That's good to hear. Like I said, this should have been something fun for you but it turned into something I needed from you. Sucks but, hey, maybe you'll get a couple more articles to your name.
I talked to Dave's mother on the phone today. God damn did I feel like such a weirdo about it all. Dave is a full grown dude, and here I am calling his mother to ask up about him. I just didn't know what else to do. He's never disappeared like this before. It's not just about the video work, or his articles, or his E3 assignments. I'm fucking worried about him.
A few minutes ago I got on his computer to snoop around. Not normally my style but, like I said, I'm freaked. Thought maybe I'd see that he was searching for plane tickets to Buenos Aires or something. At least then I'd have a clue what happened to him. From what I can tell, when he came in this weekend he spent almost all of his time playing Room 127.
I decided to install the game and poke around with it a bit. I don't know why. Just... I have to do something, right? And what else am I supposed to do?
Ken
st_norman1992@izmail.com (Steve Norman) 6/5/13, 6:12pm
to: rand@burlingtonfreepress.com
cc:
re: Monmouth Valley Bomb Threat
Dear Mr. Rand:
My name is Steven Norman and I am researching the 1995 Monmouth Valley Bomb Threat. Naturally, my research led me to your article, written shortly after the incident. I suppose it might be too much to hope that you remember anything else, but I'd really like to know everything you can recall. The bomb threat has come up in another story that I'm working on and I'd like to pick your brain about everything you discovered during your research.
Every story I could find about the incident told me the same thing. A man called in a bomb threat to a school in Monmouth Valley. The authorities came, found the bomb, and diffused it. Signs pointed to the man who set the bomb being the same man who reported it. But that's it... Was there anything else? Anything you couldn't report? Anything that didn’t quite check out? I know this is an awkward request, but I'd really appreciate being able to talk about it.
Most importantly, I'd like to know if you ever came across anything by the name “Room 127” while you were working on the story. “Room 127” is a piece of software which is really the focus of my inquiry, but I've come to so many dead ends... But one source pointed me to the bomb threat.
Thanks for any help you can provide,
Steve Norman
Intern
GameCore.net
A CDN Communications Company
st_norman1992@izmail.com (Steve Norman) 6/5/13, 6:49pm
to: archer42@eeeurka.com
cc:
re: Room 127
Mr. Archer:
Thanks for your informative e-mail about the history of Room 127. I was wondering if you happened to have any additional information from the rec.games.video posts regarding the game. This is going to sound strange, but a friend of mine has gotten wrapped up in the version of the Room 127 game that we received in our office and he might be in trouble. Anything else we could know about the game might be helpful.
You probably think this is crazy, getting all worked up about a fifteen year old newsgroup hoax. But we're worried and I'm following any lead I can get.
Thanks,
Steve Norman
Intern
GameCore.net
A CDN Communications Company
kengreene@gamecore.net (Ken Greene) 6/6/13, 7:05am
to: brettjackson@gamecore.net, jillwright@gamecore.net, st_norman1992@izmail.com
cc:
re: Thursday
Hey everyone,
Looks like it's happening again. Every year, I feel like one of us gets sick right before E3. Just in time to infect the rest of the world of games journalism with another super bug. I'll be staying at home today, trying to recuperate so I'm not too miserable this weekend.
Of course, I'll still have my computer so let me know if you need anything.
Ken
st_norman1992@izmail.com (Steve Norman) 6/6/13, 9:14am
to: kengreene@gamecore.net
cc:
re: re: Thursday
Ken:
I have to know... Did you play Room 127 yesterday at all?
Steve
brettjackson@gamcore.net (Brett Jackson) 6/6/13, 10:50am
to: st_norman1992@izmail.com
cc:
re: Midnight Street
Steve:
We just got in a preview build of Midnight Street 3. It's a racing game. Normally Dave would handle previews of racing titles but, well, you know. If you're bored, you can come by and pick it up. I'm certainly not going to fucking touch it. I don't even drive in real life.
Brett
rand@burlingtonfreepress.com (Yancy Rand) 6/6/13, 11:19am
to: st_norman1992@izmail.com
cc:
re: re: Monmouth Valley Bomb Threat
Mr. Norman:
I have to admit that your inquiry caught me off guard. Even I had to go back through the paper's archives to determine what exactly you were talking about.
I suspect, if you have gone as far to e-mail me, that you have already read my article. You already know the details. Some lunatic calls in a bomb threat to a school. This probably does not even make the news, but this was just a few weeks after the Oklahoma City bombing. The country is on edge, and any threat of violence seems connected.
Unlike most bomb threats, the police did indeed find an explosive device on school grounds. It was hidden in a vent right next to the computer lab. The bomb wasn't terribly complex and they were able to disarm it without any difficulty. No one ever found the person who set it or the person who called in the threat, but in the end that's not what was important. No one was hurt.
I'm not sure what else there is to say. Honestly, it was not even the most interesting thing to come out of that high school. Ever heard of Benjamin Rickett? He killed four women in the Burlington metropolitan area back in 2002. Absolutely brutal. Maybe the worst story I ever covered. That's what I think of when I hear about Monmouth Valley High School. He was a student there. Even was in the computer lab when the bomb squad descended on the school. More than once I wondered if those girls would still be alive if the device had gone off...
As far as Room 127, I've never heard of it. Sorry.
Yancy Rand
kengreene@gamecore.net (Ken Greene) 6/6/13, 11:44am
to: st_norman1992@izmail.com
cc:
re: re: Thursday
Yeah, I played it for about an hour yesterday. Didn't get much further than you. I thought that the obvious thing would be to use the vial on the still equipment. But I did that and the game crashed. Maybe there's some other step you need to do before you go to the distillery shack but I can't think of it yet.
Ken
st_norman1992@izmail.com (Steve Norman) 6/6/13, 12:30pm
to kengreene@gamecore.net
cc:
re: re: Thursday
Ken:
I just asked because I've noticed a strange pattern. You're going to think I'm crazy for even suggesting this, but I got sick after I played Room 127 for the first time. S
o did Dave. It's probably just a coincidence, but... I feel like there's a lot of weird stuff going on. I thought I should bring it up.
As far as the game goes, I think it crashes instead of giving a game over sequence or anything like that. I think about the times I've had it crash on me and it feels like right after I do something I shouldn't have.
Hope you feel better.
Steve
archer42@eeeureka.com (Vivek Archer) 6/6/13, 1:44pm
to: st_norman1992@izmail.com
cc:
re: re: Room 127
Steve:
I really can't be much more help. It was just too long ago. I tried to go back and track down some of the old newsgroups posts, but they're gone. You know, some of that stuff is still out there and just waiting to embarrass me if anyone finds out my old handle. Too bad the original Room 127 posts were lost to history. Up until the hoax was discovered, it was a real big deal in the admittedly insulated video game newsgroup world.
Vivek Archer
FiftyNineNine Networking Solutions
Systems Analyst
st_norman1992@izmail.com (Steve Norman) 6/6/13, 2:30pm
to: archer42@eeeureka.com
cc:
re: re: Room 127
Vivek:
I am sorry to keep bothering you, but I just have one more question for you. Do you remember if, in the original posts, there was any mention of Admiral Decker getting physically sick after playing Room 127 for the first time? Headache? Vomiting? Anything like that?
Steve
jillwright@gamecore.net (Jill Wright) 6/6/13, 3:12pm
to: st_norman1992@izmail.com
cc:
re: E3 plans
attachment: reservation.pdf; hotel.pdf
Hi Steve: Here's the plan for getting down to Los Angeles this weekend. I've attached the reservations for our rental van and hotel rooms. We'll meet up Saturday morning in the parking lot where I'm picking up the van and drive down together.
Make sure to bring plenty of clothing changes. Inevitably someone is going to spill a drink or a plate of chili fries on you. It will probably be Brett.
Jill
st_norman1992@izmail.com (Steve Norman) 6/6/13, 3:29pm
to: jillwright@gamecore.net
cc:
re: re: E3 plans
Thanks for the info, Jill! I'm totally looking forward to the trip, even if it's starting to look like I'll be spending most of it working if Dave's not going to be there.
Steve
kengreene@gamecore.net (Ken Greene) 6/6/13, 4:12pm
to: st_norman1992@izmail.com
cc:
re: re: Thursday
Steve:
I took home my laptop with Room 127 installed, so I was able to fuck around with it a bit more. I was right about there being another path other than the distillery shack. If you keep walking past it, you get to something that looks like a guard tower. I went inside. There are three floors to this room. The first one is empty. The second one is being patrolled by some kind of guard. Is this the first enemy or NPC in the game? Other than the blobby looking nurse that grabs you when you use the glass in the dark hallway? I don't know.
The stairs are in the middle of the floor and you can only go up by typing in “UP”. You have to time it just right so the guard has his back turned while you're on the second floor. It's really tough. If he sees you, he rushes towards you and the game crashes. God damn I wish there were save points in this game.
There's some kind of cabinet on the third floor. When you search it you find a syringe. I haven't been able to get down past the guard on the second floor, though. He always sees me.
I'll be in tomorrow. I'm already feeling better. You're right about your theory that the game made me sick. That does sound crazy. The only games that can make me feel ill are the Petz series of games, which is why the last one I played was Hamsterz Talent Show. I'm sure it's just a coincidence. Like I said, I always get sick right before E3. Apparently, I subconsciously enjoy being patient zero and spreading a cold all around the show floor.
Ken
archer42@eeeureka.com (Vivek Archer) 6/6/13, 5:59pm
to: st_norman1992@izmail.com
cc:
re: re: Room 127
You're right. How did you know that? I didn't even remember it until you brought it up. Admiral Decker's first post after he started playing the game was to say that he'd been throwing up for the last hour. His next said that he went to the doctor and that nothing was wrong with him.
This isn't another stage of the hoax, is it? I can't possibly guess how you'd know about those posts. It's gone from rec.games.video. I should have known you were just messing around.
st_norman1992@izmail.com (Steve Norman) 6/6/13, 6:29pm
to: archer42@eeeureka.com
cc:
re: re: Room 127
Vivek:
I swear I'm not screwing around with you. Until I got your first e-mail, I'd never even heard of rec.games.video. I'm still in undergrad. You can check my profile on GameCore.net. I couldn't have participated in those discussions. If anything, I'm worried that you're screwing around with me because right now I'm freaking out a little.
One of my friends seems to be missing, and he got further in the game than the rest of us. It made me sick. It made my editor-in-chief sick. I'm starting to get scared that this is a real thing and I just want answers.
Steve
archer42@eeeureka.com (Vivek Archer) 6/6/13, 7:10pm
to: st_norman1992@izmail.com
cc:
re: re: Room 127
The game is a hoax. That's all it is. Please don't e-mail me again.
st_norman1992@izmail.com (Steve Norman) 6/6/13, 9:02pm
to: samthegrey@eeeureka.com
cc:
re: E3 Requests?
Hey Sam, looks like I'll be driving down to Los Angeles on Saturday with the crew. It's a good thing. Feeling a bit stressed out right now and I could use something like a massive video game convention to take my mind off of stuff.
I think I told you that one of the associate editors has gone missing. Somehow I got it into my head that Room 127—yes, that damn thing—was involved and I started poking around and asking questions about a couple of the responses I got to the article. It hasn't gone well. I know it's my own fault. I shouldn't even be thinking about that game anymore, just like I said. At least I stopped playing it. Still... It freaks me out how it's gotten into my head and that just makes me think it's somehow more significant than it really is.
Fortunately I won't have time to think about Room 127 this weekend. Let me know if you have any requests for stuff I should try and see at E3. I have a few appointments scheduled, but I still will have a decent amount of free time to check out the show floor.
Love,
Steve
samthegrey@eeeureka.com (Samantha Strickland) 6/6/13, 11:30pm
to: st_norman1992@izmail.com
cc:
re: re: E3 Requests?
Steve, you really have to stop fixating on that game! It's probably nothing, and I don't know how it could possibly have anything to do with the editor going missing. I think you're just looking for something that isn't there. When weird stuff happens, we look for reasons that it happened. Dave disappearing and this game showing up are both strange, and you've just connected them in your head to try and make sense of it all.
Hopefully E3 will give you the time away from it that you need!
As far as requests go, make sure to check out whatever Capcom is up to. I really want to know what's up with a new Darkstalkers game.
Thinking of you,
Sam
kengreene@gamecore.net (Ken Greene) 6/7/13, 9:04am
to: brettjackson@gamecore.net; jillwright@gamecore.net; st_norman1992@izmail.com
cc:
re: E3
Staff:
Due to today's events we will be canceling our trip to E3. Further, if you'd like to go home for the day, please do so. I don't think I can be here today and I don't expect you to be here either.
Ken
jdevries@cdncommunications.net (Jason DeVries) 6/7/13, 9:39am
to: mailinglist_onlinestaff_all@cdncommunications.net
cc:
re: Counseling Available
To all CDN Communications Online personnel:
I have arranged through our insurance services and counseling provider Apex Therapy for an on-site counselor to be available today in our HR office. I realize that you may need someone to talk to today, but please be aware that not everyone deals with grief in the same fashion. Your co-workers may prefer to be on their own, so if you want to speak with someone, please call our office and schedule an appointment. CDN Communications will cover any related co-pays or deductible costs for the visit.
Sincerely,
Jason DeVries
Director of Human Resources
CDN Communications – Online Media Division
brettjackson@gamecore.net (Bretty Jackson) 6/7/13, 10:01am
to: jdevries@cdncommunications.net