Date: 25 March 1998
My father, Dr. Harold James Whitcombe, left very clear instructions in his final will. Among them was a request that the notes he spent so many years compiling should not remain hidden forever. He believed that some discoveries are best made by those willing to seek them out, and that knowledge should eventually be shared with the wider world.
For many years I kept these papers safely stored away, uncertain whether his request was meant seriously or merely as one of his curious intellectual games. However, the passing of time has convinced me that his intentions were genuine. The world is changing, and it seems fitting that I honour his wishes in the very way he described — by placing these notes somewhere that all the wide world might see them.
For many years I kept these papers safely stored away, uncertain whether his request was meant seriously or merely as one of his curious intellectual games. However, the passing of time has convinced me that his intentions were genuine. The world is changing, and it seems fitting that I honour his wishes in the very way he described — by placing these notes somewhere that all the wide world might see them.
Dr Harold Whitcombe, Norton Summit, April 1976
And so, as of today, 25 March 1998, I have chosen to publish the final pages of my father's writings here.
If you have arrived at this page, it is likely that you have already followed the trail he left behind. What follows are the final notes he left regarding the matter.
Harry & Emily Whitcombe, September 1989
Final Notes of Dr. Harold Whitcombe
There comes a moment in every investigation when the seeker must stop reading and begin looking.
The hills around Norton Summit have changed little since the days when the first orchards were planted, and from certain vantage points one can still see the landscape much as it appeared more than a century ago. It was always my belief that the land itself holds memory, and that those who study it carefully will see what others overlook.
To continue, you must find a place where the view resembles the one shown here.
Stand there for a moment and take in the scene as I once did.
You are searching not for a landmark, but for something less obvious — a short string of characters that appear to make no sense at all.
This sequence is the final key.
Those who have followed the trail this far will know that the answer lies not in the letters themselves, but in how they are read.
– III