In 2007, LowHero.DLL released a track called _Last Orbit_. You can listen to it here. The song was written as a puzzle (or a riddle), using a combination of word-play and code. It has been featured on passionforpuzzles.com and at least a few people have attempted to answer the riddle to no avail. I thought with all the interest in J.J. Abrams and his mysterious shows like Lost, there might be more activity surrounding this music/puzzle experiment but now that I am several releases past this attempt to be clever, it is unlikely that my intended audience will engage.
With this in mind, I have decided to post the solution to the riddle. The lyrics and clues original clues can be found at passionforpuzzles.com. In the interest of space, I will only provide the relevant lyrics for decoding below.
Lyric in bold, decoded in italics:
To IVB1 and back
I V B 1 scrunched together can be viewed as M31 (easier to see if you draw it on paper), which is the abbreviation for Messier Object 31, better known to astronomy lovers as the Andromeda Galaxy
Ask me if I’m ready to go and I’ll tell you it’s a matter of fact but I placed the call and Rome didn’t answer
“and Rome didn’t answer” is code for Andromeda - And rome d(idn’t) a(nswer)
Ellie’s lips tickle when she drinks her wine
“Ellie’s lips tickle” is code for Elliptical (Messier 32 is an elliptical galaxy)
She’s a bright 32 with plenty of time
M32 is a very bright, young galaxy as galaxies go
The first on the scene, a popular thing
M32 was the first elliptical galaxy discovered and is easily visible with a home telescope, making it very popular with everyday enthusiasts
A small face with big impact
M32 is a very small galaxy and in its relatively recent history ‘punched a hole’ in its nearest and much more dominant cousin - Andromeda (M31)
Aspire all to …
“Aspire all” is code for “a spiral.” M81 is a Spiral Galaxy (note, M82 is not)
what is in eye-view if your vision is perfect and your aim is true
M81 has been claimed to be seen by the naked eye by several individuals though Wikipedia states that it is too diffuse to be seen. One would have to read pages other than wikipedia to pick up on its naked eye visibility. That being said M82 has no chance of being seen via naked eye.
82 is distorted and I can’t ignore it but we keep our friendship in tact
M82 is an irregular (distorted) galaxy. The “I” in this case is M81, whose gravitational pull is largely responsible for M82 being irregular (distorted). “We” and “our” in this case of friendship are M81 and M82, as indicated before are considered a close pair by the star-gazing community.
To summarize the solution to the challenge, which was to
1) Name the common theme for the song
Galaxies or Messier Objects … there are many hints to this throughout the song
2) Each verse has a unique solution
Verse 1 = Messier 31 (Andromeda)
Verse 2 = Messier 32
Verse 3 = Messier 81 (not Messier 82)
I hope you found this interesting and somewhat educational. It was a real challenge to write a catchy song that projects a lot of imagery, double meanings, and underlying code.
Jonathan Chalker
