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This is the fourth in a series of puzzles where the answer will always be an international airport. Previous puzzles can be found first, second, and third. The puzzles are all independent, but follow the same general format and story.


Barry was enjoying his time relaxing after the last job, but work must go on, and he just received a rather long letter from the Don.

Barry,

There are only two kinds of people in this world, those who act against me and those who support me. The first are nobodies. They are worth nothing, not my time, and certainly not worth my money. The second group are all that matters. Those who, like yourself, have proven themselves worthy of my interest.

Mr. Smith, and his daughter Ms. Doe, have recently found themselves in my displeasure. I find myself unsure, a rare occurance for me, on how to proceed. If I am still concerning myself with them, are they truly nothing... After all, they did not go to the FBI like Moore, Thompson, and Bawling. Now that was disappointing. Still, I cannot say it was entirely unexpected. There are those in this world who simply do not have the constitution to do this line of work, not like the old days.

Forgive an old man his nostalgia, unseemly though it may be, as these days it is the only solace still available to me. Things have changed so quickly. This world, sometimes I think it no longer welcomes men such as myself. However, as I think on it some more, I think that it is men like myself, like you, who truly make the world work. We are not afraid to get dirty. To do what must be done. To risk it all, everything we have built, to see that things do not become stagnant.

Now on to subjects which, although more pleasant, are no less important. Your next task should be rather enjoyable. I believe this is not only the first time you have visited this country, but also the first time you have been in this time zone. You will probably suffer some jetlag, in fact I am fairly certain you will, so you should prepare to rest for a couple days, perhaps even a week, before returning home. I would encourage you to make the most of this time, think of it as a well deserved vacation. Of course that is to happen only after you complete the task at hand.

When you return, I will need you to talk to Alan, Bob, Charity, and Daniella. We will need them to help us get several items, including 1,000,000 Vietnamese Dong, 2,000 pounds of butter, and 50,000 dollars. We should be able to get a solid return on this investment. I would be surprised if we do not net at least 1,000,000,000 dollars by the end of the decade. I believe you will be able to afford a second plane, perhaps even a Gulfstream, when all is said and done. You will need to take me on a ride when you do so.

The current operational budget is $316,402,977.53. This is definitely a good thing, in fact, I believe it is the highest we have ever enjoyed. We must make sure we stay profitable. I do not want to go back to where we were two decades ago. Ahh, look at me being nostalgic again, oh well. Alas, this has already been a very long letter, but I beg you allow an old man time to ramble. People really just don't write enough letters anymore, only email...

Anyway, I am sure you already know this, of course, but do not forget to bring your mask. Things the way the are now that is cruical. It is imperative we do nothing to stand out, nor to invite even the most cursory investigation of the authorities. Your paperwork should all be in order. Do not worry about being denied entry. I can assure you, I have personally seen to all of the necessary details, and I will take responsibility for any mishaps.

I will provide some more details. Take the first train available, after you land and go through immigration of course. Get off at the third stop. Go to the store across the street. There should be a man, five and a half feet tall, behind the counter. You will ask him for directions to the festival. He will say he does not speak English. You are to ask again, and this time he will bring out another worker, a man who will call himself Abe. Walk outside, following Abe, and he will point out another man he will identify as Mr. Tony. This will be your primary contact.

Sincerely, with wishes of luck, your friend,

Don

Can you use the Don's letter to figure out where he has Barry flying to next?

Hint 1

A bit early, but I feel with this one being so extremely verbose, I need to get the fist hint out there. About 99% of the letter is fluff, but there's a very important clue early on, and from there you can pick out the important pieces to solve the puzzle.

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1 Answer 1

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Barry is flying to

Haneda Airport, 35.5494, 139.7798

Explanation

The phrase 'There are only two kinds of people in this world, those who act against me and those who support me' hints towards binary. Take all commas from the blockquote and interpret them as 0 and take all dots and interpret them as 1. Then split the whole thing into bytes (i.e. 8-digits) and convert each one to a character with ASCII

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  • $\begingroup$ Curious, did you just guess for which to give a value of 0 and which a value of 1, or did you catch the hint? $\endgroup$ Oct 28, 2020 at 19:22
  • $\begingroup$ @AnthonyIngram-Westover I guessed, meaning I looked at the first occurence and figured it must be 0 if we're dealing with A____. I didn't catch the hint, maybe because the second group is "more important", i.e. "all that matters", generally? $\endgroup$ Oct 28, 2020 at 19:25
  • $\begingroup$ Yeah, the first (as in the first to appear in the puzzle) is literally nothing $\endgroup$ Oct 28, 2020 at 23:05

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