What was the treasure hunt in _Alchemy_, the illustrated book by Graeme Whittle, and was it solved?

http://www.hutch.com.au/~graemew/Index.html

A member of our treasure hunt club came across a book called Alchemy by
Graeme Whittle in a remainder book shop.

I did a web search and this is what I came up with.

I've emailed Graeme about his original book and will pass on the
information retrieved.

-- Mark Parry <mparry@mertcplc.demon.co.uk>

[ Editor: the attached Web page, "Pixelcraft", converted from HTML
(link targets in parentheses; the pictures are omitted): ]

  ABOUT PIXELCRAFT (Otherstuff.html)

  Welcome to the Pixelcraft homepage.  Click here to find out about our
  full range of products and services.

  ALCHEMY (Alchemy.html)
  Alchemy Index (Alchemyindex.html)

  Alchemy is a beautifully illustrated web based story book for
  intelligent readers of all ages.  Join Qwyfyx the Magician in his
  search for the fabulous Philosopher's Stone or use the index to
  access the pages at random.

  ART GALLERY (Gallery.html)

  A gallery of exciting computer generated images.

  SHANNON'S GALLERY (Sindex.html)

  A collection of graphic art by Shannon Gray.

  If you would like to comment on these pages or find out more about
  Pixelcraft you can email me at.. graemew@hutch.com.au

  Copyright Graeme Whittle 1996

[ Editor: Mark Parry's second mail, forwarding Graeme Whittle's answers
to his questions: ]

Thought you might find this interesting everyone.

> Thanks for your interest in "Alchemy",

> >Can you give me more information about the book:
> Yes, I wrote and Illustrated the book in the wilds of the west coast of
> Tasmania while my wife worked a a counsellor in the local community.
>
> >When was it published?
> Alchemy was published in October 1993, by the end of the year though the
> publisher was bankrupt and in spite of good sales I wasn't paid.
>
> >When did it end?
> I presume you mean the Puzzle?
> It was solved a few months after publication by an expert gamer by the name
> of Mike Houle. Mike is a lecturer in computer studies at Newcastle
> University. (Newcastle Australia that is)
>
> >What was the prize?
> The prize was the original painting of the double spread in the centre of
> the book. My ratbag publisher also promised 2 ounces of gold, this was not
> forthcoming however.
>
> >What was the outcome?
> As for the book, you'll have to discover that for yourself. As for me I
> moved back to Sydney to work with my former employer on educational videos.
>
> >Do you have any further information that you think our members would be
> >interested in reading.
> It is not possible to solve the puzzle from the website. Interest in the
> site is growing however and in time I may "de linearise" the story making
> it more interactive and include the puzzle. If you wish I will keep you
> informed on future developments.
>
> >Are there any copies of the book left or available?
> We are not sure about this but since the site was posted interest has been
> generated so I may try and track the remainding copies down, I think they
> are in the web of deception; if I can manage to get hold of copies for sale
>
> I would appreciate it very much if you could publicise the address of my
> website (come to think of it how did you get it?)
>
> Graeme Whittle

> http://www.hutch.com.au/~graemew/Alchemy.html

-- Mark Parry <MParry@mertcplc.demon.co.uk> (May 1996)

[ Editor: the solution of the book's puzzle is not in the collected
material.  See also references/web.sites, where Graeme Whittle
announced a Philosopher's Stone hunt on the same site in October
1996. ]