[Colonol Dekker]

The solution >>>>>

Spoiler:

Will never be found, Waaaaaaahh.................
Please save our sanity, by giving just 2 credits a
month, you can sponsor a noob and train him to crack
Freespace/National treasur code hybrids.
555-HLPNOOB

[Tyrian]

Since there seem to be inconsistencies in the Mindspring Readme and that everyone knows it's the key, I am posting my copy of it. 

Mindspring Readme:

Welcome to MindSpring Internet Services!

MindSpring's commitment is not necessarily to be the biggest Internet Service Provider, but the best.  Winning the prestigious 1998 PC World magazine "World Class" award for Best Internet Service Provider, MindSpring continues to rate above competitors on the metrics it believes in:  support, software, and reliability.

Sign up now and receive:

-Waived Start-up Fee ($25 savings)
-30 Day Money Back Guarantee
-Local Access in more than 375 cities throughout the United States -Toll Free Technical Support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week -Flexible pricing plans start from $6.95/month to $19.95/month for unlimited access.

That's the relevant part, at least.

Happy Codebreaking!

[Tyrian]

Bumpage...Why?  Even I don't know...

*Starts to sing Stayin' Alive*   

[Goober5000]

Yeah, I think this has run its course.  Maybe you should post the solution.

[Tyrian]

Yeah, I think you're right. 

The solution:

The first number is the paragraph number.  The second number is the line number.  The last number is the letter in the line.

You should get this:

vilenoolaslnrgoiwiaotisin

Gibberish, right?

Apply Caesar's Box, an old Roman cypher.  The square root of 25 is 5.  So a 5 x 5 box looks like this:  (Pardon the spacing)

v o l  i    t
i  o n w  i
l   l r  i    s
e a g a  i
n s o o  n  !

Read across, you get the answer:

Volition will rise again soon!

[Mars]

Am I the only one who thinks that no one would have figured that out in a million years?

[Dark Hunter]

If it can be coded.... it can be decoded.


I might point out that the last line in the 5x5 box has six characters.

[Tyrian]

The exclamation point is just in there to denote the end of the line.  Technically, it shouldn't be in there, but I threw it in anyways.

[KappaWing]

Wow this was very interesting to read through. Nice coding! 

[Polpolion]

We should get you to do some of the FSO coding!!

[Tyrian]

@KappaWing -- Thanks.  Codes are something of a hobby with me.  If I get more positive feedback, I'll make another code for you guys to crack.

@thesizzler -- Cryptography is one thing...Advanced programming for a game engine is another.  I know a little C++ but I'm so rusty, I'd be worthless on the team.  I'll stick with my puzzles, but thanks for the compliment.