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Sphere

Mark Reed

The introductory rebus may be read as:

For each of the eight pairs, find the key col. In everything, seek the zenith, each one half of one thirteenth of the whole.

Each set of numbers can be scaled upward to be read as global coordinates. Google Earth can be used to locate each of these 16 points. They are locations of the following prominent mountain peaks:

McKinley, U.S. (Alaska)
Gora Belukha, Russia
Mitchell, U.S. (North Carolina)
Richard-Mollard, Guinea/Ivory Coast
Gunung Dempo, Indonesia (Sumatra)
Kaplan, Antarctica
Volcan Karisimbi, Rwanda/Congo
Jabal an Nabi Shu'ayb, Yemen

Aconcagua, Argentina
K2, China/Pakistan
McKinley, U.S. (Alaska)
Loma Mansa, Sierra Leone
Gunung Kerinci, Indonesia (Sumatra)
Kirkpatrick, Antarctica
Luigi di Savoia, Uganda
Ararat, Turkey

Solvers must find the saddle point or col between the two mountain peaks in each row. In general, the peaks on the right are the parents (which has many definitions) of the peaks on the left, but knowing that is not necessary to solve the puzzle.

The phrase “each half of one thirteenth of the whole” should clue the solver that one of the coordinates should be divided up into 26 parts, each part being assigned a letter. The sentence “In everything, seek the zenith” should clue the solver that only the zenith angle is the coordinate that this should be done with

The zenith angle coordinate of the col (or saddle point) should thus be assigned a letter. The eight coordinates will spell OTTOMANS.