What exactly is the alphanumeric string in A Scandal in Belgravia?
In A Scandal in Belgravia Irene Adler shows the following text to Sherlock
007 Confirmed allocation
4C12C45F13E13G60A60B61F34G34J60D12H33K34K
and he figures out "these are seat allocations on a passenger jet" in several seconds.
I don't get it. If every "number-then-letter" combination in the string is a specific seat then there're only 14 people on the plane (a 747 which takes around four hundred people). Plus what's the point in planning which seats are taken without deciding who takes each seat? I don't see how this sequence could help anyone except Sherlock.
What exactly is in the string and how does it help plan the operation with the jet?
Best Answer
The string uniquely identifies the flight based on its partial flight number and the numbers of a few confirmed sets of booked seats. There are a few lone bookings (single passengers) and a few bookings for two or three consecutive seats (couples and families). Considered as a whole, the combination acts as something of a fingerprint for the flight in question.
All that the code does is finger the exact flight which is going to be bombed. It's all rather gimmicky.
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Why is it called A Scandal in Belgravia?
Statue of Sherlock Holmes in Edinburgh. "A Scandal in Belgravia" alludes to this 'classic' image of Holmes created by illustrator Sidney Paget.How did Sherlock know the password?
When Irene touched him, he too checked her pulse and (u must be knowing that a person's pulse increase when he sees his loved one) so Irene's pulse was too increased. Also her pupils were dilated which is too a sign that she was into Sherlock (a little) so he just deduced that the password should be 'I am SHERLOCKED'.I AM SHERLOCKED | A Scandal in Belgravia | Sherlock | BBC
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