The Lost Symbol & the Lost Prize

By Bro. Giovanni A. Villegas (202)

Fact: What I am about to tell you actually happened. I am not making this all up. This anecdote fits this Cable Tow issue perfectly, as it is both Tech-related and Puzzle-related, which are the two main themes of this issue. This story is perhaps one of the most incredible yet unfortunate things that ever happened to me that morning of September 15, 2009. That was the release date of Dan Brown’s highly anticipated book, “The Lost Symbol,” which was meant to be the sequel to his best-selling novel, “The Da Vinci Code.” The book focused mainly on the Masons, so naturally I was very much interested.

I was actually one of those who patiently waited for the book, even weeks ahead of the abovementioned release date. This was upon learning from a few media hype that the book’s cover art contained a hidden code for readers to solve. I also learned that the first 33 people to successfully crack the said code would win a special signed copy of the book.

Knowing that the Philippines’ time zone is ahead of the US by at least 8 hours, I had strong hopes of winning one of those prized signed editions, assuming that I would get hold of a copy on the release date. Such would give me ample time to crack the hidden code hours before the first bookstores would even open in the other side of the globe.

That day finally arrived – the book’s release date. As luck would have it, my daughter had an early Gymboree class that morning in Greenbelt Mall, where there happened to be a nearby bookstore called Fully Booked. I knew I was going to be there a couple of hours before the store would open. And so, I dropped my daughter off and went straight to Fully Booked. I was expecting a long line, but when I got there, I was the only one outside waiting for the store to open. That gave me a chance to run through many things in my head: Would I be able to crack the hidden code? What if I don’t. Would spending almost P1,000 for a single book (that was already a lot of money way back then, especially for someone like me who was trying to make ends meet while raising a toddler in the city) be worth it? Would the novel be interesting enough, at least, to justify the cost?

I then started reconsidering whether I should still buy the book or not. It was indeed a bit more expensive than usual. However, the moment the store opened, I immediately went in and bought the book anyway. I was probably even the first one to ever buy it in the Philippines, as there was hardly anyone else there that early. (I may be wrong, though.)

Once I got outside, I immediately set out analyzing the book’s dust cover and saw a series of letters and numbers all across the artwork. I recognized what they were. When decoded and arranged, they revealed a particular phone number. Using my cellphone, I dialed the said number even if it was an overseas / long-distance phone call. And jackpot!

On the other end was a recording giving me another puzzle and an instruction to email the corresponding answer to symbolquest@ randomhouse.com. My heart was racing like never before. It was an adrenaline rush, fueling my wit and skills to levels I never knew existed. Then finally, I just cracked the code. It was actually a symbol – a very ancient and significant symbol. And I have found it... just minutes after going through the book’s cover.

I then rushed to a nearby Internet shop to email my answer, and thus finish my “symbol quest.” (Back then, our cellphones weren’t equipped to do emails, so we relied on computer rental stations.) Unfortunately, the nearby Internet shop was still closed and would not open for another half-hour. I waited and paced around. I became restless and anxious. When the shop finally opened, I hurriedly got on one computer, opened Yahoo Mail, and emailed my answer to the last puzzle. BUT out of the excitement, I made one

When I opened Yahoo Mail, it showed the normal screen I would normally see when logged in to my account, only that it wasn’t my account. Some guy who must have used that computer before me, probably the day before, failed to log out from his email. So, when I opened Yahoo Mail, it actually took me to his email account and I - pumped up with excitement, didn’t even notice. In other words, when I sent my answer to the specified email address of the symbol quest, I sent it using another person’s email account, not mine! Realizing my error, I immediately logged out from the wrong account to send my answer again using my own email address. I also to tried to contact the owner of that wrong account (a certain Arcel Catacutan, arcelqc@yahoo.com), telling him of the unfortunate incident. I got no reply – neither from the symbol quest, nor from the owner of the account I have mistakenly used.

To this day I often wonder: Did I just lose my chance to winning the symbol quest contest because of my blunder and oversight? Or did I lose simply because there were perhaps 33 others who actually beat me to it? Maybe the contest was for US-based readers only. Or maybe I actually did win, only that they sent a reply to that wrong email address I mistakenly used. I guess we’ll never know now. At least I am content with the belief that I may possibly have been one of the first in the country, if not on this side of the world to ever crack the code successfully in the cover of “The Lost Symbol.”

On the plus side, the book was indeed a great read – full of suspense and adventure. I still have my copy to this very day.

In related news, it was reported that NBC’s PeacockTV has ordered the go signal to push through with its adaptation of the “The Lost Symbol” into a continuing TV / streaming series, to be called “Dan Brown’s Landon.” Watch out for that.