Bombs Away
You arrive ten minutes before the deadline mentioned in the note sent to headquarters. The device looks small, but the transponder on its side suggests a network—possibly more bombs hidden inside the nearby opera house.
Your phone buzzes. A text appears. Then another. They claim to hold encrypted instructions to defuse the bomb. A trap? A test? How did they get your number? You don’t have time to decide. You start decoding.
Take a look at the bomb, as well as the text messages. The three middle text messages seem to be miniature puzzles or instructions. Try deciphering each of the three middle texts first.
It seems like the mysterious messenger is instructing you to unscramble “ECRDUT” to create two words. Take a look at the bomb. Are there two words that would make sense given the bomb’s construction? It looks like the bomb has a switch, keypad, some lighted tubes, and several colored wires.
The mysterious messenger seems to be telling you to extract letters from this list. The list is numbered - could these numbers perhaps be significant? How might they identify, or “extract” specific letters? The resulting word or short phrase should make sense given that the bomb includes a switch, keypad, lighted tubes and several colored wires.
The mysterious messenger instructs you to “shift to previous”, for the coded phrase “GMJQTXJUDI”. Is there a way you can replace each letter in this phrase by using a “shift”? Think about each letter individually in the context of the alphabet. The bomb has a switch, keypad, lighted tubes and several colored wires - the instruction should make sense with this construction.
The letters “ECRDUT” can be unscrambled to create the words: “CUT RED”
Using the numbers to index into each word, the letters: P - R - E - S - S - T - H - R - E - E are revealed (first letter from “Panic”, second from “Tripwire” etc.).
Shifting each letter back by one in the alphabet transforms “GMJQTXJUDI” into “FLIPSWITCH”
Given these three solutions, can you now use the diagram on the back of the device to determine the order of the three processes?
“Press Three” fits into the first row on the back of the device (with the dark bar being the space between words). “Cut Red” fits into the second row. “Flip Switch” fits into the third row.
You’ll notice that two letters from each row are identified, and then placed in a subtraction operation. Can you use the alphanumeric table at the bottom to complete the diagram and determine the sequence?
The “T” and “R” are identified in the first row. These translate to 20 - 18 = 2.
The “U” and “R” are identified in the second row. These translate to 21 - 18 = 3.
The “I” and “H” are identified in the third row. These translate to 8 - 7 = 1.
To diffuse the device, you should first flip the switch, then press three, and finally, cut the red wire. Enter this solution to discover the conclusion to the puzzle, as well as some info about this puzzle mechanic.