Amsterdam, 1923. Master clockmaker Pieter van Houten was known across the city for impossible mechanisms β clocks that chimed weather forecasts, locks opened by musical keys, automata that poured your morning coffee. His neighbours said he was merely eccentric. His rivals said he was mad.
On the evening of 14 November, Van Houten sent a single telegram to his apprentice: "It is finished. Come at dawn."
He was never seen again.
His workshop was found empty. His blueprints: gone. His life's masterwork β a mechanical oracle he claimed could predict any future event β was never found.
Amsterdam, today. You are a private investigator hired by the Van Houten estate. A canal maintenance crew has dredged up a waterproof tin box from the Prinsengracht. Inside: a key, a water-stained journal, and a note in Van Houten's handwriting:
"Whoever finds this β I trust you are clever enough to follow. I hid everything. They must never have it."
The journal is in your hands. The city is your puzzle.
Start at Dam Square, outside the Royal Palace. Your contact will find you.