Stay Positive

The following is part of a thread on the now defunct message board, 10topr. The forum was quickly taken down after its owners discovered the connection to a number of explosions, but before it became public knowledge. As a result, we’ve only been able to piece together the last page from online archiving projects and caches.

Onyxx:

Well, this has blown up. You guys sure love a mystery. Since no one wants to read the entire thread, I’m fielding a lot of repeated questions so here’s a quick summary of what we know so far:

I received a package last week to my house wrapped only in brown paper with my name and address written on it in marker. There was no return address. I do not know where it came from.

Inside was a dark, wooden box, about the size of a DVD player. Go to the first page in the thread for pictures. Embedded in the front of the box are nine rollers with numbers on them. Think slot machine reels. The rollers feel like polished stone, and the numbers are engraved. The first six are at zero but the last three read two, one and four.

There is no crank or knob or any way to turn the rollers. I’ve tried turning the numbers from the front with my fingers and some of my gentler phone hacking tools but they just won’t move.

The numbers do turn on their own randomly, though, so there must be a power source inside.

There’s a symbol carved into the wood on the left side, next to the first number. It looks like a K but with two curved lines through it, like snakes. The symbol is painted gold.

There’s nothing else. No buttons or holes, just the numbers and the symbol. I can’t even see the joins.

It makes no sound when I shake it but it is heavier than you’d expect. I can’t hear anything mechanical going on inside.

That’s all I know so far. Please help me figure out what this thing is, it’s driving me crazy!

DeepLore:

My guess is an Internet of Things device. My favourite cafe has a counter on their wall to track social media followers. Maybe yours is a cryptocurrency value? (That would explain all the zeroes). Is there a coin or token with that K symbol?

Onyxx:

I have a good amount of crypto, so I took a quick look through my exchange and couldn’t find anything, but I like the Internet of Things idea. It would have to have some way to connect to a network, but who knows what’s inside this thing? There could certainly be a WiFi receiver or a SIM card for all I know. I really don’t want to open it up, though, not yet. There’s a spot in my workshop that gets no wifi or cell reception, so I’ve left it there for now. If the numbers have changed when I check on it next, we’ll know it’s not pulling any data from the web.

Snidewinder:

This is that backyard bunker all over again. I’m going to wear out my F5 key refreshing this thread!

Onyxx:

Haha, I remember the bunker thread! What a letdown when he finally got it open! Hopefully, this box has more than some old rolls of carpet inside.

BigSandwich:

Late to the party but why has no one suggested this could be a bomb? OP, you are insane to open any package you aren’t expecting, especially one wrapped like that. And for the love of God, stop shaking it! Call the police. NOW.

Onyxx:

I get where you’re coming from but the numbers don’t always go down. Sometimes they do, but sometimes they go up.

BigSandwich:

Bombs in real life don’t have big obvious countdown timers! This isn’t the movies! Look at this diagram: <<LINK REMOVED>>. A bomb like that can be set off at any time with a cellphone.

ExtraDan [MOD]:

BigSandwich, I’ve removed your link for obvious reasons. I’ve kept your comment up because I think your point is valid, but consider this a very strong warning.

Apologies to the rest of you that the link stayed up as long as it did. Thanks to everyone who reported it.

Onyxx:

But then why have numbers at all if it’s a bomb? Also it’s been a week and it hasn’t exploded so I think I’m pretty safe.

BigSandwich:

It hasn’t exploded YET. Can someone ELSE please tell OP to go to the cops? You’re all enabling very dangerous behaviour.

Doovamax:

It’s not a bomb because OP is trolling. He built this box himself for fake internet points.

Onyxx:

If I could craft something this beautiful I would one hundred percent own up to it, but in reality I would lose a finger if I went near a table saw or masonry tools. I’m good with electronics, sure, but the work that went into this thing is way beyond my skills, believe me!

Snidewinder:

Bump. You can’t just disappear like that, OP! We need answers!

Snidewinder:

Bump. WHERE IS OP????

BigSandwich:

My guess is everywhere.

Snidewinder:

Dude.

Onyxx:

Sorry it’s been a few days but I have a couple of updates. I still don’t know what this thing is, but I think we can rule out the Internet of Things. The numbers still changed in my dead spot. BUT I do know where the box came from!

I got a notification from eAuctions that my purchase was awaiting feedback. Long story short, I must have ordered it online after a night of drinking. This isn't the first time I've drunkenly bought something and forgot but usually it's pizza.

Anyway, I logged in and looked at the original listing and, guys, it’s wild.

The seller claims it’s a Karma Clock. As in it tracks my karma. Good deeds make the numbers go up, bad deeds make it go down. As long as the numbers stay above zero, I’m a good person and I guess, go to heaven? I may be mixing philosophies.

Now, the listing said it was for entertainment purposes only and it wasn’t real, blah blah blah, but I left good feedback for the seller, and the numbers went up on the clock. So… maybe????

Doovamax:

OK, so it was a troll all along. Called it. Well played, OP.

DeepLore:

Maybe it’s tracking eAuctions feedback for the seller?

Onyxx:

It was still in the dead spot.

Snidewinder:

So if this is real, then do some more good deeds, see if the numbers go up. I hate to suggest you do bad things to see if the numbers go down, but… for science? Steal a stick of gum or something small, nothing that will send you below zero.

Snidewinder:

Bump. Oh no, not again! OP, where are yoooooou?

Snidewinder:

Bump.

Doovamax:

Hope you’re staying positive, OP. Get it?

BigSandwich:

I've wasted enough time on this thread. I'm out.

Snidewinder:

You don't have to tell us when you come and go.

ExtraDan [MOD]:

@Onyxx, this thread is devolving into arguments and jokes, so I will be closing and locking this post in 24 hours if you do not post an update.

Onyxx:

I AM SO SORRY that I went away for so long but I’m back with news.

This will likely be the last update, as I no longer have a computer for reasons that will be obvious in a minute and 10topr sucks on mobile. I'm posting from an internet cafe that charges by the minute so I'll have to rush through a lot of info in a short amount of time, but here's the gist of it: the box is real.

I cashed in my crypto after the latest boom which gave me a good sum to experiment with. I donated to a few charities and sure enough, the numbers on the clock went up. Way up. The more I gave, the bigger the change on the box.

Also, I think there was a sacrifice aspect to it. Money I got from selling my stuff gave me huge gains when I donated it. My car was a big win, but the house put me at all nines. Now, the numbers won’t go up any further.

I’m living in my workshop now, everything I need is there. I don’t have much money left but I'm planning a spending spree of a different kind.

I’m working on something big. You won't hear from me again but you might hear about me. Thanks for the link, @BigSandwich.