On the Subject of Cruel Piano Keys

The devil’s interval approaches...

See Appendix A for indicator identification reference.
See Appendix B for battery identification reference.
See Appendix C for port identification reference.
See the third page for serialism & music terminology reference.

  • A cruel piano keys module will present with 4 musical symbols in the top indicator and a 12-note keyboard to input with.
  • Each rule consists of one or more required symbol(s) and optional further requirements based on the bomb casing.
  • Follow the list of rules down in Table 2 until one matches the criteria for the module and bomb.
  • Then use the lookup criteria to find the prime 12-tone row from Table 1.
  • Then apply the according transformation from Table 2 to the 12-tone row, and execute this final sequence.
  • A failed attempt will require re-entry of the entire note sequence.

Table 1.

# Prime 12-tone Sequence # Prime 12-tone Sequence
0 F D F# G# C B A# C# G E D# A 5 C D# F# D F C# B A G A# E G#
1 A# A C E C# D D# G B F# G# F 6 G# C A# C# E G B D# A D F F#
2 F# B A G# D C G C# F D# E A# 7 E A C# B G G# A# D# F# F C D
3 E D# D F# F A# G# C# C B G A 8 G# D# D E A# C# F# G F A C B
4 D E A A# C B C# G# F F# D# G 9 D# G# C B D C# F# A# F G A E

Table 2.

Required Symbol(s) Further Requirements Lookup Index Transformation
and T 2 or more indicators (lit or unlit) Left-most digit in serial number RI
# or An empty port plate Number of battery holders* P, transpose down by 'x' semitones, where 'x' = number of minutes remaining
U or 2 or more of a certain type of port Least significant digit of number of completed modules I
B and 2 or more port plates 9 minus the number of unlit indicators R
C or c Serial contains 1 or more vowels Least significant digit of number of strikes R, transpose down by 3 semitones
n or m Even number of batteries DVI-D present: 7
Otherwise: 3
P, transpose up by 'x' semitones, where 'x' = number of ports
b or An indicator with no vowels in the label 8 I
or Less than 2 ports 4 R
or (No other requirements) 5 P
If none of these rules apply, refer to the manual for Piano Keys and play the given note sequence according to its rules.

Notes:
*: If the number of battery holders exceeds 9, continually subtract 10 until you have a result in the 0 to 9 range (inclusive).
: If the result is negative, continually add 10 until you have a result in the 0 to 9 range (inclusive).
: The Stereo RCA port does not count as 2 separate ports; the Red & White connectors are part of the same singular port.

Serialism & Music Terminology

To clarify, the note below a C would be a B, and similarly, the note after a B would be a C. The 12 tones on the piano essentially wrap around.

The Prime sequence (or 'P' for short), is the original or base form of the 12-tone row. No transformation takes place.

The Retrograde sequence (or 'R' for short), takes the Prime sequence, but executes it in reverse order. For example, the Retrograde of the Prime row A B C D E would be E D C B A.

The Inverse sequence (or 'I' for short), takes the Prime sequence, but the intervals between the notes are inverted. For example, take the interval from A to B; the interval is +2 semitones, as it takes you 2 semitones to get from A to B (A goes to A# then B). The inversion of this interval would be -2 semitones. Therefore, the inverted sequence would be A then G, as G is -2 semitones away from A (A goes to G# then G).
As an extended example, the Inversion of the Prime row A B C D E would be A G F# E D; the first note always remains the same, and all the other notes get inverted relative to that note.

The Retrograde Inverse sequence (or 'RI' for short), takes the Inverse sequence in Retrograde. For example, the Retrograde Inverse of the Prime row A B C D E would take the Inverse first (which is A G F# E D), and then the Retrograde of this Inverse would be D E F# G A.

Transpositions apply a translation of the tone row up or down by a given number of semitones. For example, the Prime row A B C D E transposed up by 1 semitone would be A# C C# D# F.

An Interval is the tonal distance between two distinct notes and is usually measured in semitones. For example, the interval from G to B is up 4 semitones.