Countdown Crisis

The Countdown Crisis was a period of time lasting about one month, from January 30 until February 23 of 2012, in which the Triumvirate was attacked by a figure who Ehtya, the hero of the Triumvirate in this crisis, dubbed Countdown. It is cited as one of the most extraordinary attacks and one of the most frantic period of time for the Triumvirate.

## Preliminary Actions

On January 30, the text on the header of the private Triumvirate Executive Branch site and on the public court site appeared to have been altered or experiencing a technical issue. The letter "A" was replaced on both with a 4 (Like this: *Triumvirate Executive Br4nch* / *Universal Triumvir4te Court*) and though several people on each site took notice it was dismissed as a glitch or accident. Major Executive Arnold Ogamon proceeded to fix the titles. The next day, January 31, a similar thing occurred except it was the letter "E" being replaced with the number 3 (Like this: *Triumvirate 3xecutive Branch* / *Univ3rsal Triumvirate Court*) and once again it was dismissed, but not reverted due to inactivity on that date. The next day, February 1, was the date that Head of Intelligence Ascencia drew attention to possible concern over the matter. The letter "T" on both sites titles was replaced with the number 2 {Like this: *Triumvira2e Executive Branch* / *Universal Triumvira2e Court*) and Ascencia stated that this was clearly a countdown to something, indicating the pattern 4, 3, 2... Ascencia then issued a few commands and security measures including closing any threads on the Executive Branch site that were confidential, confirming all senior executives had access to the emergency backup site for the Executive Branch, and perhaps most importantly: telling Ehtya, the Minor Executive, to be on several times daily in case something were to happen to Major Executive Arnold Ogamon.

February 2 was the date that triggered the most panic, when the title of both sites shown an "I" replaced with the letter 1 (Like this: *Tr1umvirate Executive Branch* / *Un1versal Triumvirate Court*), it became very clear that something was about to happen. That day Head of Disaster Preparation Red issued his emergency plan which had several points but the most notable was the point that someone ought to leave the sites in question and stay hidden so that if either site was harmed, at least one Executive would not be in danger. Ehtya was the logical choice, as Minor Executive part of his job was to be prepared to serve as a backup plan, as Chief Ambassador he could inform and request assistance from allies, and as a Founding Executive he held great insight into Triumvirate culture and could, most likely, have single-handedly rebuilt the Triumvirate by himself.

Before February 3 reared its ugly head, both Ascencia and Arnold Ogamon encouraged Executives (and the Chief Justice) to make sure that their emails were secure and usable, and that they had the contact information of everybody else.

On February 3, the entire title on both sites had been replaced by only the number 0. It is suggested that this might have been a reference to Zerouh, the Triumvirate's founder. That day progressed with a lot of tension, most Executives checked on the site regularly and several commented on the feeling of the "calm before a storm".

At exactly 8:00 PM on Friday, February 3, the 0 in the title was changed to "0 - TIME'S UP" and the first attack on the Triumvirate by Countdown was launched.

## First Attack

At 8:00 PM on Friday, February 3, the first attack was made. The title which had previously been only "0" was changed to "0 - TIME'S UP". Nine minutes after 8:00, Ascencia attempted to get onto the site and the first to notice the title change. After several attempts, he discovered he was unable to access his account on the Executive Branch site, he quickly sent out an email informing several of the other Executives about this. Around an hour after this, Arnold Ogamon announced that he was having a similar problem and Red indicated that he was not having this problem at all and could still access the site normally. Arnold sent an email to Chief Justice Esteemi warning him about what was going on. At around 10:30 that night Ehtya finally saw what had happened and was warned to stay clear from the Executive Branch site and wait for more news via email. Arnold and Red made a plan that Red would stay on the attacked site informing the rest of the Executive Branch that couldn't access the site about what was happening there which proved useful for the rest of the crisis with Red relaying information.

 File:All seeing eye.jpg
 File:Flag 4.png
After this initial attack, activity that night was high between Red, Arnold, and Ascencia, as they attempted to make a plan and get the Executive Branch members on the backup site. Red asked if Arnold would attempt to contact Zerouh just in case he could do something, of course, Zerouh had left the Triumvirate a long time ago and hadn't been heard from since then. In the middle of all the confusion, Red discovered that Phillip's account had been deleted from the site. Arnold and Emperor Hester, leader of the allied Empire Clan, began discussing the attack as well. At 11:40 that night Chief Justice Esteemi emailed Arnold telling him that he couldn't access his account on the Triumvirate sites either.

### The All-Seeing Eye

As the confusion and emails were whizzing around, Red discovered something that he reported scared him a great deal, the picture on the header of the Executive Branch and Court sites, which was previously the flag of the Triumvirate, had been changed to a picture of the all-seeing eye (also known as the Eye of Providence) at 12:00 AM that night. There are a few very curious theories about what this meant. It was interpreted by the Executives to mean that the attacker was watching them and knew what was happening, what they might have been talking about. It's also interesting to note that the image was, in some ways, a reversal of the Triumvirate flag: it was an opposite triangle, it radiates out (instead of the Triumvirate flag, with radiates in towards the word "Zerou" in the middle), and the darker region is along the outside of the image compared to the Triumvirate flag where the darker region is inside the triangle.

### Ascencia's Ultimatum

At 12:06 AM that night, Ascencia sent out one of the most famous emails from the entire crisis, it was sent to Arnold, Ehtya, and Red and said this:

***"They took down all the site leaders. They're trying to destroy the sites and how we run them. Ehtya, Stavrok, Red, Phillip and Mitar need to get to the emergency site NOW.***

***Arnold, I don't want to be the one to say this, but you need to invoke article 2:6:2. You can't do anything, you and me are sitting ducks. It has to be done. From one sitting duck to another, you need to do it. And you need to do it tonight."***

***-Universal Triumvirate Head of Intelligence Ascencia, Founding Executive***

Article 2:6:2 of the Triumvirate Constitution states that, should the Major Executive declare that they are unable to perform the duties of their office, that they may temporarily resign and the Minor Executive shall become the acting Major Executive. After hearing this suggestion from Ascencia, Major Executive Arnold Ogamon was very hesitant and attempted to console himself with the fact that he could still perform his duties from just email and without having access to the Triumvirate sites. After this response Ascencia replied with this other very famous message:

***"DO IT NOW ARNOLD. You can't do anything. In my entire time in the Triumvirate I have never demanded anything from you, I think I get to do it once, especially in as serious a situation as this. You don't have an option on this.***

***INVOKE 2:6:2 TONIGHT"***

After Ascencia gave him this strict ultimatum, Red also pressured Arnold. Arnold, feeling very conflicted, asked for some time to think.

## Resignation

At 12:50 AM on February 4, 2012, Major Executive Arnold Ogamon sent out his Letter of Incapacity announcing that he was unable to perform the duties of his office and was giving those powers to the Minor Executive. This was the first time this had ever been done in the history of the Triumvirate. It is often pondered what would have happened if Ascencia had not been able to persuade Arnold Ogamon to resign in this moment, would the Triumvirate have fallen? Many understand that if it weren't for Ascencia telling Arnold to do this and Arnold willing to let go of his pride and release the position in this moment, that the Triumvirate very well may have collapsed right then and there.

Once this occurred, Ascencia quickly sent an email out to Ehtya stating ***"Ehtya - You need to get your shit together, stand up, get on the Wiki, and tell people what is happening. Get people in communication, get the remaining Executives together and GET THIS UNION UNITED"***. After reading this, the level to which Ehtya stood up and asserted his role impressed many, saying such things as ***"Ascencia, you don't need to tell me twice. Its time for some action."***. Ehtya issued a series of "emergency orders" stating that he believed, in such a dire time, he believed the acting Major Executive has some additional emergency powers. Among these first orders were these:

1. Commanding that all able Executives apply to join the emergency site. Red and Ehtya were already secure on the emergency site but Mitar, Phillip, and Stavrok hadn't joined it yet.
2. Stating that no one is permitted to edit or do anything on the old Executive Branch site without permission from Ehtya directly.
3. Commanding that Head of Intelligence Ascencia give him a daily intelligence report on the matter.
4. And appointing Red to be in charge of monitoring the old site since none of the others to safely access it.

After giving these emergency orders Ehtya wrote and released his War Address, a speech that has been dubbed "The Gettysburg Address of the Triumvirate" (it was originally called that by Ascencia). In this address he spoke of what had happened, Arnold's hand down of powers, and of his own interpretation of what must happen in order to protect the Union. Ehtya's famous quote, ***"Whoever and whatever you are, surrender now or you'll regret laying a single finger on the Universal Triumvirate. You're mistaken if you think we won't fight you until the bitter end"***, comes from this speech. After this speech came out at 2:09 in the night, most of the activity had wound down. Several people sent their regards to Ehtya about his speech and then most of them went to sleep, awaiting what would happen to the Triumvirate in such a serious situation with a new leader.

## Regrouping

The following morning, February fifth, Ascencia and Arnold were still unable to join the site along with Chief Justice Esteemi (who, although he was not an Executive, was supposed to join the site in order to keep key individuals in better communication). Acting Major Executive Ehtya was able to get all those who could access the emergency site onto it the next day, this included himself, and his fellow Executives Stavrok, Mitar, Red, and Phillip. It was soon discovered that, like Phillip, Mitar's account had also been removed from the main Executive site. Also that morning there was a message left on the main page of the Executive site, it was first noticed by Ascencia and it said "Good Morning. One of you is missing, where oh where did you go?". It was likely a reference to Ehtya seeing as Ehtya was on the site earlier when Countdown gave his warnings of his imminent attack but was removed in order to keep Ehtya safe before the attacks began, thus preventing Countdown from getting to Ehtya.

On February sixth, Ehtya issued several more emergency decrees with the following points:

1. In the current times of threat, the Major Executive (himself) would be able to overrule the Head of Intelligence. This was because Ascencia, the Head of Intelligence, wasn't able to do much since he was cut off from access to the sites, and because Ehtya had to be able to make quick decisions.
2. A military court would be temporarily created. Though it was never used, Ehtya created a military court just in case a court was needed during the crisis since Chief Justice Esteemi was also cut off the Supreme Court was disabled. Justice Hik10er was instated as its head.

On February seventh, a riddle appeared on the home page of the main Executive Branch website. The riddle was first discovered by Stavrok and it read:

*"One leader has resigned*
*One leader can't talk*
*One leader has no role*
*And now only one leader can walk.*
*You will soon have none left*
*So keep your eyes on the clock.*
*Just wait for the end*
*Tick - tock. Tick - tock "*
The conversation about the riddle moved to emails so that input from Arnold and Ascencia could be considered. Arnold, Red, and Ehtya concluded that this was detailing a chronological list of events detailing how each "leader" would lose power and concede. The leader who resigned was Arnold (his resignation had made him almost useless and he was mentally unfit to lead). The leader who couldn't talk it was assumed was Ascencia (this was later confirmed when Ascencia was literally unable to get back in contact with the Triumvirate due to Countdown blocking access to his email and other communication measures). The leader who had no role is assumed to be Esteemi, this is assumed because Countdown may have been interpreting leaders as those who were the "heads" of different parts of the government (Esteemi's account was disabled by Countdown and he couldn't do anything - therefore giving him "no role"). The one leader who can walk was clearly Ehtya since he was the last one standing after all others had fallen. The last half of the riddle was easier to interpret, it implied that in due time Ehtya will fall as well.

During the discussion about what this riddle meant, which lasted about two days, after seeing that Ascenica hadn't responded to anyone since February fourth, fear began to arise that something had happened to him. Ascencia was not heard from again until the crisis was ended, besides one instance when Ascencia tried to send a coded message to Ehtya and Arnold but neither comprehended it.

## Lull of Peace

February eighth was relatively uneventful until that evening when Arnold stated that since he considered himself incapable of doing anything and mentally not prepared to deal with his role in this, that he would be taking a leave for at least a week (the leave ended up going on until the crisis ended, and Arnold wasn't heard from again during the duration of his leave). This was considered by many to be one of the most irresponsible things Arnold Ogamon ever did in his career, leaving the Triumvirate in its hour of need. It also perfectly fulfilled the riddle Countdown left, showing that Arnold had resigned from his office and due to that he wasn't able to lead the Triumvirate anymore so he left.

That date Ehtya also tabled two Constitutional amendments to the remainder of the Executive Branch. One stated that in matters of security, if the Executive Branch was split, that the Major Executive would have the power to make the decision. This amendment passed. The second was slightly more controversial and stated that no person with a significant criminal record or with an primary allegiance not to the Triumvirate would not be able to become Major Executive. This second one did not pass due to intensive dislike by Red but it was tabled again and passed after the crisis (resulting in Red's resignation as he had no intent to be in the Triumvirate if he would be unable to run for Major Executive in the future).

February ninth was much more event filled than the previous day. That morning Red discovered a new riddle posted on the old Executive Branch site (it was posted sometime the previous night), this riddle was much more serious:

"*Four, three, two, one*
*I counted until you had to run.*
*Now I'll count one, two, three, four*
*Then your leader won't be with you anymore."*
It was when Ehtya and Red were discussing this riddle that Ehtya discovered a general pattern in Countdown's riddles. Countdown never used proper nouns and he used rhymes. Whether or not this meant anything is still unknown. Interpreting this riddle was easier though as it was clear what it meant: after Countdown counted up to four Ehtya would be gone, or at least something along those lines. This caused some panic in the Executive Branch and Ehtya went about planning some security measures including devising the first Emergency Access Code and initiating Operation Lone Postal. That evening Red discovered the count in the header of the Executive Branch site to be at two which means day one was the previous date (February 8th). February 9th was also the day that Ascencia had attempted to send a coded message to both Arnold and Ehtya but seeing as Arnold had temporarily left and Ehtya didn't recognize the coded email and dismissed it as nonsense, Ascencia remained in the dark until the end of the crisis. February 10th was a rather interesting day beginning with, under Ehtya's suggestion, Ascencia being declared officially a victim of the attack since he had not been heard from at all. Red discovered the counter at three as well as a new riddle:

*"Zero once said*
*You'd all be dead*
*Within a year after he was gone.*
*Now look what will occur*
*You cannot endure*
*He was right and I have won."*
This riddle still is the subject of much conspiracy as it seems to imply that Zerouh may have had some form of communication with whoever Countdown was at some point. No person in the Triumvirate has ever confirmed that Zerouh ever said anything remotely similar to this publicly or privately to anyone.

February 11th was a very stressful day for most of the active Executives, that morning the counter reached four. Red and Stavrok confirmed that Ehtya was still safe. After the counter reached four it appeared as if the attack had either failed, not been carried out, or was yet to come. During the course of the day Ehtya first brought up the idea that it might have been Zerouh who was doing this as an attempt to unite or test the Triumvirate though the idea was generally dismissed by Red and Stavrok. Stavrok also began his efforts to keep the Triumvirate running strong despite the attack and went on to give the Executive Branch a small update on the financial progress of the Triumvirate. At about 3:40 that afternoon Countdown changed the title of the site once again to blank indicating the count towards the attack had ended and posted a new riddle:

*"I have taken control of the man*
*For even though you could have ran*
*You were much, much too slow,*
*Allowing me to deal this blow.*
*He will claim to be himself, but he is not,*
*Then your trust in him will rot.*
*You cannot rely on him, what truth there is.*
*Your President is mine, and you are his.*
*Pay attention to this night*
*So I can deliver my final sight.*
*I will light the last fire*
*Then I will show you my desire.*
*A day you'll have to choose your fate*
*Only then will this abate.*
*Whether you choose to fight and fall*
*Or choose to remain standing tall."*
Red initially believed Countdown was referring to Arnold as being taken over and proceeded to confirm Ehtya was still safe and confirm his identity. After seeing that Ehtya was untouched and nothing had happened, the consensus was that this was a trick by Countdown to attempt to break the Executives apart by making them mistrustful of Ehtya and each other. Countdown underestimated the wit of the Executive Branch and of Ehtya's security measure and operation launched several hours earlier: Operation Lone Postal.

## Operation Lone Postal

During the confusion of the day February 11, Ehtya initiated his operation and plan to take back the Triumvirate: Operation Lone Postal. Ehtya sent an email to key Triumvirate individuals at noon insisting that they delete the email permanently once they read it as the attack that date was likely imminent. The content of the email included the announcement that Ehtya began Operation Lone Postal and also contained a security code "Com1088", that each of these key Triumvirate members could use to confirm their identity should anyone be compromised. Within hours after Ehtya initiated this operation and security measure the supposed attack occurred and Countdown gave a new riddle (as shown in the previous section). Countdown assured the Executive Branch in this riddle that he'd deliver his demands that night, and at 1:30 AM on February 12, he displayed them:

*"You have fought until you could not stand*
*So now I'll tell you my demand:*
*Concede the Triumvirate to me,*
*Or you will always be forced to flee.*
*For I will keep it alive,*
*so that you can strive.*
*And so your rule of some and my rule of one*
*Can rid it of the old and give it to the young"*
As Ehtya observantly pointed out, it appeared as though Countdown's demand was that the Executive Branch give Countdown control of the Triumvirate. The next morning the rest of the Executives discovered this message; Red promptly pointed out a few things Countdown may or may not have unintentionally revealed about himself: That Countdown was attempting some sort of diplomacy seeing that he couldn't defeat the Triumvirate completely, that he had some desire for the value of the Triumvirate, and that he recognized that Ehtya was not weakened. After this Ehtya requested that Red post a thread on the old site saying "The President wants to discuss what we've decided - Create an account on our wiki to talk with him", which Red did, as an attempt to trap or at least communicate directly with Countdown.

Countdown responded late that night:

*"I will speak with the President on my terms.*
*At my time. On my rules. And with the method I want.*
*If the President reveals any of the conversation we have*
*You will not have a second chance.*
*Understood?"*
and to that Ehtya asked Red to urgently reply "Understood" which was done. Having Ehtya be the one to potentially communicate with Countdown was one benefit to the Triumvirate - as the head ambassador and negotiator, a long time Triumvirate member, and as he was the de facto leader of the Triumvirate of the time, he would have a significant presence against whomever Countdown was. It is known that Countdown made contact with Ehtya sometime the following morning, February 13th, and that Ehtya stuck by his word, not revealing anything about what he and Countdown discussed.

Operation Lone Postal dominated Ehtya's business for the next several days despite the conversation he was having with Countdown. Ehtya worked independently to prepare an additional backup site for the Triumvirate, prepare a full character profile of Countdown, and attempted to gather any pieces of information about who Countdown was and what his motive for attacking the Triumvirate was from the discussion they were having.

February 14th was a fairly uneventful day, it started off with Stavrok bringing up that more Triumvirate members should invest in the Triumvirate economy, which quickly turned into a debate between he and Red. Ehtya got involved in the argument bringing up his opinion that he thought it should be compulsory for all able Executives to invest in the system but Ehtya's attention was mostly on more dire matters in his discussion with Countdown.

February 15th and 16th revolved around waiting for Ehtya and Countdown to finish speaking with each other so they were fairly quiet. Ehtya managed to end the dispute between Red and Stavrok over financial investment. The Triumvirate's ally, Emperor Hester, and Ehtya continued speaking about the outcomes and damage of the crisis and the Emperor was able to give an outsiders view on the situation and provide the names of some possible suspects for aiding (or even being) Countdown.

## The Discussion

From February 13th until February 17th, Ehtya and Countdown had an intimate discussion in which Ehtya attempted to work out a solution with Countdown. To this day, very little is known about the subject or details of this conversation, only two know the full story: one who swore he would never tell, and one who has vanished never to be seen again. What is known is that Ehtya and Countdown each gained a significant amount of respect for each other and that the content of this discussion led Ehtya to suspect Countdown was Zerouh. Ehtya also spoke that Countdown knew about the emergency site and had knowledge of what was happening on the emergency site indicating that Countdown had been watching everything happening on the emergency site the entire time and that, even though he could have attacked it, he held back. Ehtya asked Countdown what had happened to Ascencia during this conversation and while Countdown did not give details he indicated that it was his own doing that had kept Ascencia at bay. The details of this discussion are the subject of many suspicions by those who theorize about what the crisis was all about and who Countdown actually was.

## The Deal

February 17th is a day that shall be forever known in Triumvirate history, while most of the day was rather serene at 7:07 PM Ehtya reported on what he and Countdown had agreed to. Ehtya reported that he had convinced Countdown to make a bet with him, a bet in which if Ehtya won then the Triumvirate would get everything back plus more and if Countdown won, he'd get what he wanted and more. The deal was the following:

Each leader, both Ehtya and Countdown, would have one match of chess in which Countdown played as white, making the first move, and Ehtya played as black. If Ehtya won the game, Countdown would surrender and release all information about how he attacked the Triumvirate to Ehtya, he would let Ascencia back into communication, and he'd leave the Triumvirate alone and never come back. However, Ehtya would promise to, no matter what, do everything in his power to prevent the Triumvirate from going after Countdown. If Countdown won then Ehtya would write a letter which he would publish publicly stating that he is handing control of the Triumvirate over to Countdown (of course, this letter would not be legitimate as Ehtya did not have the power to do anything remotely like that), and then, after doing that, Ehtya would leave the Triumvirate forever, never coming back or affiliating with the Triumvirate in any way ever again.

Ehtya reported that he had done everything he could to get the deal this way and that, if this deal hadn't been made, the Triumvirate would most certainly fall as Countdown was purposefully holding back from unleashing crippling attacks. Ehtya stated that there was some poetic element to this agreement - legend has it the Triumvirate was first conceived of over a game of chess, it seemed fitting that something of this magnitude would be decided over a game of chess as well. After concern from some of the Executives was noted Ehtya explained that he did have some experience with chess but was terrified about how any of this could end, the risk Ehtya was making was unlike any ever seen. When Stavrok finally saw on February 19th what Ehtya had agreed to, though Ehtya expected a very strict response from him seeing as Stavrok was Ehtya's longest friend in the Triumvirate, Stavrok responded *"Ehtya my good friend, I don't think I've ever had more respect for you then I do right now mate. Youe devotion to the Triumvirate and what we do is so great that you'd rather see yourself go away than the Triumvirate, you risk everything for us. I'm proud to say you're my friend"*.

Countdown presented another riddle around this time giving his view on the matter:

*"This feud is nearly at an end*
*For that, to you, I must commend.*
*A decision has been made, unlike any before:*
*The President and I will go to war.*
*An elegant war, from an older age,*
*The fate of the Triumvirate will be what we wage.*
*In this grand duel, wit is the victor;*
*That is the type of match which I prefer.*
*The man with resolve will win this game*
*And forever will that man live on in fame."*
Though most of the concern of the Executives and Triumvirate members centered around the upcoming match which Ehtya said would start in a few days, Ehtya moved forward to get some important measures passed so that order could be kept in the concerned Triumvirate. On February 18th, he issued two more emergency orders, the first of which was likely unconstitutional but never challenged due to the necessity of it:

1. Any absense by any Triumvirate member, including Executives, that is due to this attack, shall not count towards an official absense.
2. As acting head of intelligence and acting major executive, all information regarding any messages Countdown has left, any discussion we've had about Countdown, and any other information about this crisis is now level one classified. It may not be shared with anyone besides top government positions in the Triumvirate (only justices, executives, deputies, and directors may see the information).

February 19th and 20th were very quiet, another calm before the upcoming storm. It should be noted that Stavrok released his first weekly financial bulletin on February 20th, which was a project he had been planning for some time but was finally able to unleash.

## The Match

On the morning of February 21, Ehtya reported that the official match had begun. By the afternoon of February 22 Ehtya reported that the match was not going well and that Countdown was surprisingly remarkable at chess. After stating this Red began to attempt to urge Ehtya to forsake the agreement with Countdown and go against his word but Ehtya refused and tried to assure the Executive Branch that if he did things would turn out worse. The exact moves of the game are not known but it is known that Countdown performed a variety of obscure moves like taking each other's queens very quickly, allowing one of Ehtya's knights to stay unharmed near Countdown's side of the board for the entire game, and being very aggressive with his own king.

## Victory

February 23, another legendary day, was the date the match came to its end; though the end of the match was far from ordinary. Ehtya reported extraordinary losses that day and said the match would be over very soon with an unfortunate end as he was dramatically overwhelmed and defeated. Ehtya was down to three pieces by the end of the game: his King, a knight, and a bishop. At some point that evening, towards the end of the game, Countdown cornered Ehtya's king and said "No matter what move you make, you will be in checkmate on my next turn". Ehtya searched for nearly an hour for a solution, pondering every move, every piece, everything, but Countdown was correct - no matter what Ehtya did, he had lost. Upon realizing this Ehtya said "Eventually everyone, even I, will fall, but the Triumvirate never will" and moved his King. For many minutes there was no response, and Ehtya sat there waiting, waiting for his role in the Triumvirate to end, and for it all to be swept away with a single move by his opponent. At 10:00 that night Countdown replied, not by moving, but by saying "Fare thee well Ehtya, and fare thee well to the honorable Triumvirate", and then surrendering the match to Ehtya. Ehtya attempted to ask Countdown what he meant but that was the last time Countdown was ever heard from.

Ehtya proceeded to check on the Triumvirate sites, curious about what had just happened, and discovered everything had been put back to the way it was within two exceptions: The original attacked Executive Branch site now said "The Honorable Executive Branch of the Triumvirate" and the main page where Countdown had been putting his riddles stated "Fare thee well honorable Triumvirate". At 11:22 Ascencia, unheard from for days, sent out an email to Ehtya, Arnold, Red, and Stavrok asking what had happened as he was able to access his email again. Ehtya then began working on a victory address and restoring all sites and explaining what had happened.

While this was going on and Ascencia was preparing the original site for the Executive Branch to move back to Ehtya looked back at the chess game and what had happened, it then occurred to him that Ehtya was being played through the entire game. Countdown had manipulated him, forcing Ehtya's pieces where Countdown wanted them to go. When Ehtya looked at why he realized the match told a story, an amazing story. Countdown took Ehtya's queen and rook within a move of each other, allowed one knight to stay standing, cornering the king and bringing one king very close to the other. Ehtya wrote about this analogy in the address he was preparing.

At 1:41 AM February 24, Ehtya published his Victory Address, explaining what had happened, what this meant, and what must happen now that it was resolved. Ehtya stated in this address that he recognized the peculiarity of the situation but that the Triumvirate should look towards rebuilding before we ponder what had happened.

## Aftermath

After midnight on February 24, Ascencia was hard at work to reassemble the Executive Branch on the main site. He spent his time starting a discussion to bring everyone back together, checking site security, and piecing together what had happened. Ehtya and Ascencia were the only ones active that night but the next morning Stavrok and Red both rushed in to congratulate Ehtya and assist in repairing the Triumvirate. Most of that date was spent comparing what had happened, but Arnold was still unheard from. Later that day, Stavrok nominated Ehtya for several awards: The Distinguished Defensive Service Award, Speech Writing Recognition Award, and, most significantly, The Triunity High Honor Emblem - the most prestigious award in the Triumvirate, this made Ehtya the second person to ever get that award behind Zerouh. Support for giving Ehtya those awards was, of course, very high as everyone recognized the brilliance, bravery, and honor that Ehtya displayed.

February 25 was spent the same way, comparing notes, and rebuilding. Ehtya, Red, and Ascencia spoke of how Ascencia had fallen out of contact and what had happened in regards to his security. By the afternoon of February 26, Arnold Ogamon had returned and announced he was ready to take back the role of Major Executive whenever Ehtya was ready, he just wanted a little bit of time to get situated. Red and Ascencia began talking about what was to be done with the emergency site that the Executive Branch used during this crisis and Red became upset when Ascencia announced it would be classified and restricted. The information about how Countdown attacked the Triumvirate was classified and presented to Ascencia and Arnold by Ehtya and the Executive Branch resumed full activity and attending to its usual duties quickly.

Unfortunately, there was a dark piece to the recovery, Red was extraordinarily upset that, in his opinion, he didn't get enough credit for what he did during the crisis. This had a major backlash for him as Ascencia was furious that he was trying to elevate himself with the situation. Arnold attempted to resolve the dispute but was unsuccessful and the argument finally resolved with Red becoming so upset that he announced he would be resigning and leaving the Executive Branch and possibly the entire Triumvirate.

Despite this dire feeling by Red, the Triumvirate reunited and the implementation of better security occurred quickly. Arnold and Ascencia began looking into an investigation of what had happened however with resistance by Ehtya who, still adhering to his deal with Countdown, announced he would stand against any investigation or pursuance of Countdown the investigation was put on hold.

As of now, the Triumvirate has fully recovered from the incident; repairing security flaws, improving communication measures, and addressing the creation of vital emergency resources.

## Impacts

The Countdown Crisis had a number of serious outcomes for the Triumvirate, some of which were predictable, and some that have been surprising.

The obvious impact is that Triumvirate defense measures and security increased greatly, as often happens in the case of an attack on any unit. Because Countdown explained to Ehtya exactly how he attacked and infiltrated the Triumvirate, the Department of Intelligence with the assistance of the Major Executive was able to implement measures to prevent this from ever happening again.

The power that Ehtya demonstrated as the acting Major Executive led to some additional impacts on the power of the Major Executive, Minor Executive, and the Executive Branch in emergency situations. Ehtya's display set the precedent for the Major Executive having additional power during emergency situations in which the Executive Branch cannot convene, come to decisions, or is unable to act quick enough. This expanse of Major Executive powers is subject to some controversy as some argue it may have been unconstitutional for Ehtya to make these orders but on the other end it is also argued that were a single individual not able to make these quick decisions when the Executive Branch is incapable to, that there would be no one "in charge". It does fit in with the principles Zerouh left behind for what he believed should be the powers and the role of the Major Executive as Zerouh did state *"...in such dire situations, the opinion of the many elite may no longer be viable as an effective decision making device, the only device fit is that of a single commander"* and the Constitution also states *"The Major Executive, the chief Executive maintaining the Executive Branch..."*.

Another consequence of these events was the effect it had on the politics of the Executive Branch in the period after the crisis. The resignation of Red was one of these events as was the general support for Ehtya from most of the Executives and the populace.

## Theories and Conspiracies

Due to the sheer amount of unknown pieces in this crisis, a number of theories and conspiracies have emerged. The Triumvirate government has not recognized or taken up any official standpoint on who Countdown was or what his motives were for attacking the Triumvirate. The official opinion of the Triumvirate government is that Countdown was an unknown attacker who had an unknown motive for what he did.

### Countdown Was Zerouh

This is probably the most popular conspiracy as it originated from the hero of the crisis, Ehtya. This conspiracy theory references several similarities between Countdown and Zerouh:

1. They both spoke very eloquently, never speaking in an "unrefined" manner.
2. Countdown had some knowledge of leadership in the Triumvirate as Zerouh would have had.
3. Zerouh was extremely fond of the game of chess, and he was extraordinarily good at it (like Countdown).

Along with those similarities it's been noted that Countdown was extremely careful to conceal everything about himself, he never gave away his email, never left an IP address, never gave an indication of anything about himself. This could indicate that Countdown was someone the Triumvirate would have had record of (like Zerouh). It should also be noted that Ascencia had been picking up an IP visiting the confidential Executive Branch from time to time that seemed like it could have been Zerouh; if it were actually Zerouh it would show Zerouh was still stopping by from time to time to check in on the Triumvirate.

While the way Countdown infiltrated and attacked the Triumvirate has been classified as confidential, it is known that it is a method that Zerouh in particular would have had the knowledge and opportunity to utilize.

As for the motive, this part might be one of the best arguments for it: Countdown attacked the Triumvirate forcing the Executive Branch to flee to the emergency site. Just like Countdown surrendered when he was one move away from defeating Ehtya in the chess match, Countdown knew about the emergency site but he didn't attack it. Both situations imply that Countdown wanted the Triumvirate to live on. This is something Zerouh would have wanted and if you look at the impacts of the crisis, it helped the Triumvirate much more than it harmed it.

### Countdown Was Ehtya

This theory basically revolves around all that Ehtya had to gain from what happened and that Ehtya had inside knowledge of how the Triumvirate sites function.

Ehtya, as a Founding Executive and as the Minor Executive had insight into how Triumvirate sites function, he could have used that to make the attack. Like the Zerouh was Countdown theory relies on, Countdown was very careful to conceal anything about himself, as Ehtya would have to have been otherwise it would have been discovered.

Ehtya had a great deal to gain from the events that happened, he became the most powerful man in the Triumvirate, he received several awards, has been considered a hero ever since, and he furthered several key components of his personal agenda while he was acting Major Executive. The incentive is clear. When you also consider that the only person to ever "speak" with Countdown was Ehtya and that practically everything that happened between them was only seen by Ehtya, it becomes more suspicious.

### Countdown Was PHANTOM

Surprisingly this theory has only been a mere rumor compared to several of the other ones. It's source is clear, PHANTOM, an old adversary of Ascencia and of the Triumvirate, probably had the skill and motive to attack the Triumvirate. Why he would have let the Triumvirate go at the end is one of the many downfalls in this theory.

### The Countdown Crisis Was An Inside Job

This conspiracy theory has little basis besides paranoia but the general belief behind this one is that the Executive Branch, or rather, several Executives together performed the entire crisis on their own in order to make themselves and the Triumvirate look good. Arnold, Ascencia, and Ehtya are the usual suspects for the ones who might have performed this attack but often Red and Chief Justice Esteemi are considered some of the culprits as well.

This theory hinges on the fact that Ascencia, Ehtya, and Arnold all could have done everything Countdown did since they had management powers on Triumvirate sites and working together they just made an elaborate story about how Countdown prepared all these riddles and about a fantastic game of chess in which Ehtya, "the great hero", defeated Countdown for good.

### Countdown and Ehtya Planned It Together

This belief has the premise that Countdown was someone that Ehtya knew (perhaps Zerouh or another Executive), and that together they planned it to make Ehtya and the Triumvirate look good. This is probably the second most popular theory as it does have a strong basis: that not only was Ehtya the only one who spoke directly to Countdown, but also that no one observed any of the interactions between Ehtya and Countdown. In part of the deal that Ehtya and Countdown made, Ehtya was not allowed to go after Countdown and was supposed to do everything he could to prevent anyone else from doing so is another piece of evidence for this theory. The chess game that no one saw and that all anyone had to go on was Ehtya's word is another suspect aspect brought up by this view on the crisis.