I remembered in the morning that my father had at least one if not all of the Pirates of the Caribbean movies on DVD. So off to my parents house to raid the movie Library. While there, I got the second and third Pirates movies, the second Matrix movie (just in case there was something about the Oracle from the Matrix) and just for good measure, a new Dilbert book.
I watched the third Pirates movie first because it was "At the End of the World" and about half way through got to this dialog:
Gibbs: Look sharp, men. It's not for naught that this be called Shipwreck Island, on which is found Shipwreck Cove and the town of Shipwreck!
Jack Sparrow: You know, for all that pirates are clever cobs, we are a very unimaginative lot when it comes to naming things. I once sailed with a geezer; lost both his arms and part of his eye.
Gibbs: What'ya call 'im?
Jack Sparrow: ... Larry.
So now I had to tell the Oracle: "Larry". But who or what was "the Oracle"? And
Leeuwenhoek?!? How does a
16th century, Dutch scientist have a game computer that would involve an Oracle?
Well, this was the most thought provoking part of the puzzle so far. I ranged up and down on the terms: "Oracle", "Leeuwenhoek", and "Larry" and went so far as to wonder about Larry Ellison from Oracle Corp.; Whether Leeuwenhoek was an anagram for something; whether my brother had worked his way through
Civilization III far enough to have gotten the 16th Century Dutch involved...
So I started thinking a bit more obtusely. Leeuwenhoek made many microscopes and is sometimes considered the "Father of Microbiology". My mom has a Master's in microbiology, but I'm not supposed to ask anyone for hints. But maybe my mom
is the Oracle and I'm supposed to say the word "Larry" to her to get a specific response. Or maybe it's her computer.
So on a trip to Costco, I detoured to my parents' house. My mom was out shopping, so I couldn't inquire as to Larry, but I decided to look on her computer which was sitting in the dining room. My dad reminded me that touching mom's computer was taking my own life into my hands, but I told him I'd be careful and he could watch what I did. He declined, saying that this would only put both of our lives into my hands...
Luckily, when I pulled up the login window for my mom's computer, there was a user: "Oracle, The". I logged on with "Larry" as a password and then found out that my mom had renamed her hard drive: "Leeuwenhoek"! But more importantly, there was a rather prominent picture set as the
desktop background.
Well, this was another bookcase in my own house, so I went to Costco and then back home. The book in question was in our living room and when extracting it, I found
another clue.
So now all that's left to solve is: which movie are we gonna see?
That, and how do I repay the favor ;-)
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