Has anyone managed to decode the binary square on page 35 of the expanded edition? I think it might be a 2D barcode when you color it in but none of the scanners seem to be able to detect anything.
Yep, it’s just text encoded to binary, so pasting it in any binary to ascii decoder will suffice. Decoded, it’s the ritual for leaving the Vast, which is basically the inverse of the one for entering it. It was a bit tricky to copy the diagonal text block on mobile but I managed it. Here’s the plaintext:
Leaving the Vast
Seek the lush, the mended, and familiar
It is closer than you think
Search for the canny, the clear and benign
They are comforting to you
Hide this spot from your eyes, your hands and breath.
Leave it outside you
Shout so all may hear:
I wish to leave the vast in the dark
And fall forward with dread
You are home.