Hello, T-Marines!

So, what was the point of this project?

(We don't know, so could you please tell us? Just kidding ...)

/u/gnuworldorder hit the nail on the head when they posted to the subreddit about working on the project as a community on 11/5/15.

There are some very impressive intellects among you. Even in a city as "small" as Pittsburgh, it is astounding to be able to find - by luck or judgment - such talented people.

Some of you will know your IQ and will wear it like a badge of pride.

Some of you will have so many academic credentials that you have more letters after your name than you have in it.

Some of you will realize - and be able to accept, even rejoice in the fact - that you are gifted in a certain way.

And nothing about any of that is anything but a good thing.

However, some of you will feel inferior.

Some of you will assume your IQ is towards the 10th percentile rather than the 90th.

Some of you will have never finished school.

Some of you will have been told by others that you do have special talents, but cannot for the life of you see this for yourself.

Others still will have been told all their lives that they were stupid; that they weren't as able as other people.

We hope we have shown those people that this is simply not true.

We hope that our challenges have been varied enough to illustrate that EVERYONE has it within them to contribute. Every single one of you has a unique set of talents with which you can make a difference.

Each one of you has the capability to be the only person in a city of 300,000 to be able to understand THAT particular riddle, to solve THAT particular puzzle or to provide THAT particular slither of information which was key in breaking things wide open.

Solving a puzzle provides a sense of accomplishment - it's good for the sense of self to know that you have provide the correct answer to a question, especially a difficult one.

We hope that you felt that little fillip during our project. If you haven't, then you should now that you have collectively reached the end. Give yourselves a pat on the back: one person could not have solved ALL of these puzzles.

YOU contributed in some degree to this achievement and we hope that you are able to recognize that fact.

You are all winners.

There will be other such projects. We would like to invite you to join them; whether you're trying to decode another message from a numbers station or whether you're on the "other side" and trying to come up with a puzzle that's interesting, challenging and not completely impossible all at the same time.

The projects may be near or far; they may be both. If you're interested, either you will find them or they will find you.

As the truly wonderful Mr. Rogers said:

"You made this day a special day by just your being you. There's no other person in the whole world like you and I like you just the way you are".

We hope to see you soon,
Your friends @ TM