Below is the text of the message. The key was revealed at Tale 1 Amnesty.
Egypt,
I'm writing this explanation of the Speed of the Serpent because, given the way that I have planned for it to unfold, it may leave the impression that I changed the code during the event for business reasons. This letter explains the plan as originally conceived and implemented. It is being placed on several websites in encrypted form, and publicized ahead of time, for decryption at a later date.
A Tale in the Desert often tries present situations that cause real-life conflicts, and challenges everyone to solve those problems. I thought that drug abuse is one real-life phenomenon that was probably impossible to model in a game like this: either the positive effects outweigh the negative, or they don't. It would be a simple calculation to decide whether to use the drug or not. By allowing the possibility of permanent death, the downside can be modelled.
Here's how Speed of the Serpent is planned to work: A single dose of the drug gives an instant 24 hours waypoint time, but requires thet you log in at least once every 30 days to drink some cabbage juice. If you don't, you die. You can only use SotS once per 24 RL hours, and can only use it with an "established" character (Must have passed all or most initiation Tests - haven't coded this part yet.
As the body count mounts, scientists extract serum from the bodies to find a cure. When 24 drops of serum have been collected, a cure is then instantly available at all schools, for free. Furthermore, it is assumed that all characters that are about to die make a quick dash to the nearest school at the last minute for an innoculation.
Anyway, that's the plan. Should be interesting to see the result!
Teppy