Tagruato Whistleblower Memo #2

Dennis has received a new memo from "The Whistle Blower", which was sent by e-mail using the Tagruato e-mail address: 18kagashimad@tagruato.jp. Dennis had previously e-mailed them asking about the ParafFun recall.

The memo itself is written in Japanese, but another hand-written message reads:

Americans, No Oil Here! They must have known before they built! - The Whistle Blower

UPDATE: Kosmopol from Unfiction has provided a translation. The document is a financial statement for the third quarter of 2007, with a table of the profits from each drilling station. Conspicuously, missing from the list is the Chuai station.

Tagruato Hack Leads to TidoWave.com

UnForum member Eliss has used clues left from last week's two attacks on Tagruato's Web site to find T.I.D.O. Wave.

T.I.D.O. Wave is a "nonprofit, grassroots, environmental activist organization dedicated to saving our planet from the world's most nefarious corporations." It is run by a group called Les Guerriers de Mère-Terre (The Warriors of Mother Earth). The group was founded by notorious conservationist Les Bandit Vert (The Green Bandit).

Be sure to catch up on T.I.D.O history, read through the blog entries, and browse the Cruel-etin Board. There are several secrets to be found in this site, I'm sure. One of which is the story behind the mysterious death of Kazui Ichigawa.

Update: TIDO has now opened the comments for anyone. This means a lot of Out of Game (OOG) info is spreading. Does this mean TIDO is OOG? Either way, I think the blog is still useful, but I wouldn't put much stock in any of the comments.

Tagruato Voicemail Updated | Memorial Service

Tagruato's voicemail system has been updated again. This time with a message of a memorial service. You can listen to the English portion of the call here: English VM Message

Thank you for calling Tagruato. All of our lines are currently busy.

If you are calling regarding the Kazui Ichigawa memorial service, all seats have been filled, and registration is now closed.

For all other concerns, please leave a message, and one of our representatives will find you as soon as possible.

I wonder if this has anything to do with the incident mentioned in the Top Secret Tagruato memos being sent with Slusho! orders?

Thanks to Dennis and TeddyBear for this info.

Update: Recently discovered T.I.D.O. Wave Web site answers some questions about Kazui Ichigawa's death.

November 28, 2007
Death of Tagruato Biologist!

Many thanks to our friend in the field who passed the original article on to us. It’s translated below:

YOSHIDA MEDICAL RESEARCH MOURNS THE LOSS OF MARINE BIOLOGIST

Tagruato suffered a large loss yesterday when Kazui Ichigawa, 63, and his family were found dead early in the morning.

His body, along with the bodies of his wife, Rie Ichigawa, 55, daughter Norika, 36, and granddaughter Kyoko,10, was discovered in the Daisetsu-San National Park at a popular RV camping area. Early word from the police is that it was a gas explosion in their trailer.

In a statement released to the press, press consultant Aki Ito said, “We are shocked and saddened at the sudden passing of perhaps our finest Marine Biologist. Ichigawa was not only an employee, but also a friend. He died with honor.”

His tragic death comes mere days after he abruptly retired from YMR. When informed of that, Ito replied, “It is a shame and a tragedy- this is a man who always put his family first.”

A close friend and co-worker (who asked to remain anonymous) believes that Ichigawa uncovered a magnificent discovery before he retired. “Unfortunately, his computer and files, even ones he kept in his home safe, are nowhere to be found. Tagruato is currently conducting a search for them.”

Ichigawa is survived by his son-in-law, Toshiro, 39, who was away on business at the time of the accident.

A memorial service will be held at Tagruato Headquarters. For details, contact a Tagruato representative at +81-3-5403-6318.

Slusho! Store Orders Contain More Clues

Reports are coming in from several unforum members that have received more than random newspaper clippings with their Slusho! store orders. They are now being shipped with pieces of a Tagruato memo. Unfortunately, no one has an entire memo, and they're all in Japanese.

However, on the back of the memos, there's a message in English.

American, The Chuai station hides a dark secret. Good people are going missing. Expect further communication in the near future. - the Whistle Blower

Dennis has pieced together the torn pages. And members of unforum have been up all night trying to translate the memo. Here's what they've come up with.

TRANSLATION OF TAGRUATO LETTER
LABELED "IMPORTANT SECRECY"

兌 You obtain, the batten -----
---------------------------------------------------
{TO:} Level 1 Temporary Provision Staff Member
{FROM:} Judgement Council
{SUBJECT: Trusting Those Out of Our Sight}
{DATE:}11/24/2007
----------------------------------------------------
Effective Immediately!

Over the next few days, because of the incident that took place, starting now all letters to the outside will first
pass through our communication center, or they will not go out. Level 1 Personnel? They will remain where they are,
making certain to read the message from start to finish. (How will they know it is authentic, this message that is
dispatched everywhere? When it is inscribed by the 貫.)

In addition, working hard/employment rusted overtime? As for the employees, they will be made to wait in their
appointed lodging facility until told otherwise.

If one witnesses an act of misconduct, and neglects to report it to the Council, Chuai's department bureau will enforce
principles and regard it as a violation. There will be no exceptions.

THANKS TO KOZMO, MrTOASTY, JULIA, BACON ARMY, and KOSMOPOL at unforum for the translation!

The Chuai Station is located nearest New York City. The site was supposed to open in September 2007, but the interactive map hasn't been updated in a while. Perhaps there are some problems at the station as indicated with this torn memo? One has to wonder if this has anything to do with Teddy and "The Cause."

Tagruato Web Site "Hacked" Again!

Tagruato has been hacked again. Interestingly enough, it's the exact same hack as before.

Yesterday, Tagruato was updated with three news articles. You can read those here and here.

Dennis still has the pre-pre-hacked mirror site up, so visit it for more clues.

Maybe we missed something the first time? Maybe we saw the right clues but interpreted them incorrectly?

Update: After roughly 7 hours, the Tagruato site is back up. Currently, there is nothing to indicate there was ever a hack on the site; no press releases, no explanation, nothing.

Bold Futura Investor News

Two new articles are available on the Tagruato Investor News page. Both were posted November 27 and cover news about Bold Futura, a subsidiary of the company.

BOLD FUTURA HIRES “DREAM TEAM”
In a move surely to shake up the world of physics, Bold Futura has recruited one hundred of the top physics majors graduating from universities around the world. Most highly sought after was Johan Hedberg from Sweden. His internationally-acclaimed thesis on the intricate ecosystems of deep sea crevices landed him immediate tenure at his university but he turned it down for the opportunity to work for Bold Futura. “They offered me free reign to do whatever I want as long as the board approves and oversees it, “said Hedberg at Futura’s November press conference, “Plus I’ll have comfort and security for a long, long time.”

It is unclear what Futura’s expectations are for these young minds. The company is cheerfully vague regarding their intentions for the new all-star quantum squad.

“With those young, fresh minds working together, anything is possible. I’ve watched these new graduates - they have ideas on everything from creating new energy sources to starting us down the road to teleportation,” said Tokyo-based Professor Akira Okinawa. “As a citizen to Japan and the human race, I cannot think of a better place for their ideas to flourish. Bold Futura is cutting edge and innovative. It has a plan for us all.”

Ganu Yoshida is the CEO of Bold Futura’s parent company, Tagruato. When asked about this “quantum coup”, he answered, “Now that we have all the best minds, we won’t need to worry about competition. This is what the industry needs right now: a company focused not on what its competitors are doing, but instead what it can do to make the world a better place.”

American Mike Siegel graduated last May in a cap and gown. Now he’ll be on the other side of the world in a labcoat. He won’t miss home though. “They offered me a chance to make history and to work with the best in my field. How could I turn that down?”

TAGRUATO LAUNCHES FIRST SATELLITE

Through its Bold Futura subsidiary, Tagruato successfully launched its first geostationary satellite “Hatsui” yesterday afternoon. At first, the launch was thought to be rescheduled because of poor weather conditions. Yesterday morning brought heavy rain and lightning strikes near the launch pad. Despite this adversity, however, the abort command was overruled by CEO Ganu Yoshida. After a five minute delay, the launch went off without any disasters.

Mission Chief Kenji Matsui claimed, “At first we thought the lightning might strike the satellite. It could cause a fire to catch within the electrical systems. It would have been seven years of hard work and sleepless night wasted.”

When asked why he overruled the abort command, Yoshida said, “Because here at Tagruato, we don’t let lightning stand in the way of achieving our goals. In this case that goal was reaching for the stars.”

Yoshida could not be more specific as to what “reaching for the stars” entails, but assured us, “It will be big.”

Bold Futura recently announced that one billion Yen will be allocated towards space research. “The future of man depends on our ability to spread outwards into the universe. At Tagruato, we want to be the first to take you there,” Yoshida added.”

Slusho! Smilers! Visit Animal Control Center

The Tagruato Headlines have been updated again. In a story posted on November 27, the Slusho! Smilers! visited a remote animal control center in Takayama.

Smilers at the Animal Control Center!
Tagruato’s troupe of Slusho! Smilers! struck again last Friday, this time at a remote animal control center in Takayama. Bearing armfuls of Slusho! happy drinks for all the lower wage workers, the girls also organized a Slusho! drinking contest for two dozen of the center’s caged puppies and kittens.

“Kittens love Slusho! It reminds them of mother’s milk!” grinned Smiler! Mayu.

The workers whooped and cheered as the animals swam and drank their way through a 40-liter trough of Blueberry Zoom. After twenty minutes, Pickle, a spotted Labrador pup, was still happily lapping Slusho! “This one will come home to Ganu!” said acrobatic Smiler! Yuuka as she clutched the lucky puppy, “He just couldn’t get enough Zoom!” With the center in Takayama, the girls completed their nationwide tour of Japan’s animal shelters. While all the shelters received a generous donation from the Tagruato Cares! foundation, the centers with the most Slusho!-friendly animals were purchased and welcomed into the Tagruato family. These centers will undergo a full renovation in the next three years, making way for modern facilities with up-to-date research, technology, and rehabilitation equipment.

“Tagruato is working so hard to ensure a prosperous future for humans,” said company spokeswoman Suzume Soga. “We want that future for small animals as well.”

Tagruato Web Site Restored, Kind Of...

The previous hack of the Tagruato Web site and the cryptic picture of CEO Ganu Yoshida have been removed. Currently, the page is "Under Construction" and displays the message seen above.

Update: Tagruato is back up and it appears to be exactly as it was pre-hack. I guess it didn't take long for the IT department to get it up and running again. Interestingly enough, there's no mention of the ParafFUN! recall.

ParafFUN! Recall Notice on Tagruato Voice Mail

The Web page for Tagruato isn't the only thing that has changed lately. Nauttebayo at UnFiction recently called the Tagruato phone number and noticed the voice mail had changed. The voice mail is as follows.

Thank you for calling Tagruato. Due to high call volumes, your call has been transferred to an automated answering service. If you have questions concerning our ParafFun recall, please leave a message, and one of our associates will find and support you as soon as possible.

Looking back at the pre-hacked Tagruato Web site (thanks again to Dennis, for hosting the mirror), you'll notice ParafFUN! wax was used for lots of things.

ParafFUN! WAX DISTRIBUTORS
One of the many byproducts of our Petroleum reservoir is paraffin wax, an alkane with dozens of handy uses in your day to day life! Edible, malleable, colorable, and a fine electrical insulator. ParafFun! Wax Distributors meets all your wax needs.

The word "edible" is interesting. My guess would be this wax, as a petroleum byproduct, comes from the same place Tagruato harvests the Slusho! secret ingredient, Seabed Nectar. Chances are, Tagruato has begun noticing some side effects of their special ingredient and are now recalling ParafFUN! wax because of it.

Tagruato Web Site "Hacked"

It appears someone has hijacked the Tagruato site. The site is now simply an image of CEO Ganu Yoshida with devil horns and some random sea creatures. Also of note is the destroyed city in the background. The site's new title is "TAGRUATO IS DESTROYING OUR OCEANS."

The image also can be seen at http://tagruato.jp/tagru_009.jpg. A quick search for other images using that same filing system brought back no results.

While this appears to be a hack of the Web site, this is most likely a part of the viral marketing scheme. This could be very much like the hack on the Hanso Foundation by Rachel Blake in the LOST ARG. Could this be the work of Teddy and "The Cause"?

UPDATE: Dennis appears to have found some clues within the picture itself. The wave and sea animals all have roman numerals hidden on them.

I. Tanner Crab
II. Irukandji Jellyfish
III. Dumbo Octopus
IV. Ogrefish
V. Ocean Waves, similar to Hokusai's "Great Wave Off Kanagawa"

Picture courtesy of Pr0LiFiX and Project Cloverfield.

Interestingly enough, if you use the first letters of the message, "Tagruato Is Destroying Our Oceans," and use letters from the animals, Tanner Crab, Irukandji Jellyfish, Dumbo Octopus, Ogrefish, Ocean Waves, they match up. So, what is TIDOO ? I guess we'll find out soon enough.

Dennis also has created a mirror of the old Tagruato site, in case any sleuths out there can find other clues hidden in the lost Web pages. Visit it here: http://tagruato.cloverfieldclues.com/

Tagruato Investor News Page Updated

Jawbone over at unfiction discovered the Tagruato Investor News page has been updated. Tagruato is the parent company of Slusho!

A search for the Ravaille Research Center turns up this page on the Science Forums.

The attached document from 5Pancakes (??) is below.



unfiction member Chrizzy points to a specific section of the document noting Seabed's Nectar may cause "accelerated growth...and a full body".



Where have we seen these symptoms before?



Stay tuned for updates as we (and the folks at unfiction) research this more. For now, feel free to speculate in the comments section.

Slusho Update

The home page at Slusho has been updated with two new buttons. The first is for "Distribution Opportunities."

Join the Slusho! Team soon!!! Distribution Opportunities available by contacting us through our parent, TAGRUATO! Extensive research reveals that our incredibly tasty flavor mixtures would be loved throughout the West! Become a pioneer, spread Noriko's dream and purchase a Slusho! machine for your store today! We will send representatives and scientists who will train you on how to operate our machine, and preserve the flavor of our special ingredient, Seabed's Nectar!! And what is more, we will have the special flavor tasties delivered bi-weekly, right to your storefront!!! We are highly optimistic that the FDA and other such organizations will quickly approve our ingredient for consumption in the West. They need only look to the East to see its remarkable health benefits - it is nutritious and thrifty!

TEL +81-3-5403-6318
18KagashimaD@tagruato.jp

The second button's text is in Japanese. When you click the button, it simply says, "We Are Coming, We'll Find You Soon!!" My guess is this button is reserved for a store directory if/when Slusho reaches American shores.

Tagruato | New 1-18-08 Site

It appears there is a new site entangled in this mystery we call Cloverfield. The site is for Tagruato, "a collective of top scientists, engineers, and businessmen committed to leading our investors and the whole of mankind into the future." The page loads with the graphic above, and then prompts users to choose a language. Interestingly enough, English is the only one that works.

A statement from the Tagruato Corp. CEO follows.

We regard ourselves as explorers, and believe there is much more our planet has to offer than has already been discovered. We view every challenge as an opportunity for innovation. With our groundbreaking deep-sea drilling technology, Tagruato has positioned itself to become a world leader in energy resources, medical research, advanced technology production, and consumable product.

- Ganu Yoshida
C.E.O.

Subsidiaries of Tagruato include Bold Futura, Yoshida Medical Research, Slusho! brand happy drink, and ParafFun! Wax Distributors.

YOSHIDA MEDICAL RESEARCH
YMR is a genetic research firm specializing in deep sea bioprospecting.

SLUSHO!
Created by Tagruato C.E.O. Ganu Yoshida, Slusho! brand happy drink is a icy cool beverage that is rapidly becoming one of the company's most profitable expenditures.

BOLD FUTURA
Bold Futura is the contractor sector of our company principally engaged in the conception, design, manufacture and integration of advanced technology products.

ParafFUN! Wax Distributors
ParafFun! Wax Distributors meets all your wax needs.

There is a lot of information on the Tagruato Web site to decipher and investigate. But, it seems the most important aspect is that this is a corporation with "fourteen drilling rigs strategically positioned around the globe, each a billion dollar marvel of modern engineering. One, the Chuai Station, is opening in September 2007 off the east coast of North America."


According to an interactive map on the site, it's not too far from the coast of New York. I suspect this may be the cause of monster attack. Deep sea drilling might awaken the monster, and the nearest land mass to that station is NYC.

There's also a lot of chatter on the site about cancer research using deep sea ingredients. The Slusho Web site also claims to include secret deep sea ingredients. And a snippet on the Tagruato site claims the following.

Tagruato's crew of Slusho! Smilers! arrived at the Ibaraki Nursing Home in Mito yesterday with a special surprise for the feeble elders on Floor 3 - Slusho! brand happy drink! The lovely ladies handed out seven drinks to each senior in any flavor they could imagine.

"This Mikan-Strawberry Tasty makes me feel young again!” exclaimed 98-year-old Hiro Chinen.

Another aged lady asked to have a Nashi-Banana Anime hooked into her IV.

As the patients sucked their drinks down, the Slusho! Smilers! sang and danced to the Slusho! Song! Those who were able clapped along.

"I felt like a pretty angel," said longtime Smiler! Kimi. "Dancing in front of those old folks showed them that just because they cannot leave their beds, the rest of us can, and the world is still a bright shiny place."

The nursing home donation is the latest wonderful act by the Tagruato Cares charitable foundation. Other recent events include Blankets for the Homeless and Tiny Orphan's Circus Fieldtrip.

Special thanks to the folks at the Unforum and at /film for helping with this news.