On the Subject of Ultimate Cycles

How insecure are these words???

This module consists of a screen, eight dials with red labels, and a QWERTY keyboard.

The labels on the dials, when decrypted and read from left to right, spell out an eight-letter word.

The word has been encrypted through a series of ciphers, indicated by the direction each dial is pointing, from left to right.

The objective of the module is to decrypt the eight letter word using the 45° clockwise rotations, starting from north, of the dials from right to left, then taking the response and encrypting it through the same ciphers from left to right.

Once deciphered, find the word in the table below, the word written below it is the word that should be entered.

Apply the same sequence of encryptions to the response word, and type out the encrypted response word using the keys.

The word is automatically submitted when eight keys are pressed.

The red button can be pressed at any time before the eighth key is pressed to cancel the input.

Inputting any of the eight letters incorrectly will cause a strike to be issued and reset the module.

Note: Unless stated otherwise, any reference to a letter’s alphabetic position starts at A = 1. Similarly, any reference to the position of a dial starts from the leftmost dial = 1.

(d) = Decryption process.
(e) = Encryption process.

0/N: Atbash Logic Cipher

Construct an 8-bit binary string, where each bit is the number of 45° clockwise rotations, starting from north, of each dial from left to right, modulo 2. Create eight pairs of bits using the following positions in the string: 12 34 56 78 13 57 24 68.

Using the operator corresponding to the position of the current cipher dial (starting with AND = 1), find the truth values of each pair; the encrypted letter depends on whether each is true or false.

If the LED below the current cipher dial is lit, use the top half of the table below.
Otherwise, use the bottom half.

To decrypt, reference the row corresponding to the truth value obtained from the binary pair and the logic gate in the half of the table determined earlier. Within that row, find the encrypted letter, and the decrypted letter will be in the same column, in the shaded row.

To encrypt, reference the row corresponding to the truth value obtained from the binary pair and the logic gate in the half of the table determined earlier. Find the unencrypted letter in the shaded row, and the encrypted letter will be in the same column, in the referenced row.

B1	B2	AND (P1)	OR (P2)	XOR (P3)	IMP ⇒ (P4)	NAND (P5)	NOR (P6)	XNOR (P7)	IMPBY ⇐ (P8)
1	1	T	T	F	T	F	F	T	T
1	0	F	T	T	F	T	F	F	T
0	1	F	T	T	T	T	F	F	F
0	0	F	F	F	T	T	T	T	T

Lit	F	E	J	Z	K	S	B	X	T	L	R	I	D	F	G	U	M	C	Q	O	H	A	W	P	Y	V	N
	T	A	R	P	O	E	T	Y	K	X	G	Q	N	M	J	I	H	S	L	C	V	B	D	W	Z	F	U
Letter		A	B	C	D	E	F	G	H	I	J	K	L	M	N	O	P	Q	R	S	T	U	V	W	X	Y	Z
Unlit	T	F	U	A	D	W	Y	E	X	O	H	S	R	Q	N	M	J	T	C	P	B	G	V	L	K	I	Z
	F	M	E	B	K	D	Z	S	L	J	X	N	F	T	U	W	R	I	O	G	C	Y	H	P	A	Q	V

1/NE: Caesar Cipher

Shift each letter of the word forwards (e)/backwards (d) through the alphabet by the number of 45° clockwise rotations, starting from north, of each dial individually.

If the LED of the current cipher dial is lit, shift all letters further forwards (e)/backwards (d) by the number corresponding to the position of the current cipher dial.
Otherwise, shift all letters backwards (e)/forwards (d) by the number corresponding to the position of the current cipher dial.

2/E: Playfair Cipher

• The indexing of the lists starts at zero.
• Use the keyword corresponding to the number of 45° clockwise rotations, starting from north, of the first dial after the current cipher dial, wrapping around back to the first dial if necessary.
• If there are less than three unique ports on the bomb, use the keyword from List A. Otherwise, use the keyword from List B.
• The keyword gives the first ten letters/top two rows of the keysquare.
  • If the LED corresponding to the current cipher dial is lit, reverse the keyword.
• The remaining fifteen letters not present in the keyword fill out the remaining three rows of the keysquare in alphabetical order, excluding X.
• Split the word into four pairs of letters.
• For each pair of letters:
  • If both letters are identical, the encrypted pair is two of the letter diametrically opposite in the keysquare.
  • Otherwise, if both letters are in the same row of the keysquare, replace them with the letters to their immediate right (e)/left (d) respectively, wrapping around to the other side of the row if necessary.
  • Otherwise, if both letters are in the same column of the keysquare, replace them with the letters immediately below (e)/above (d) them respectively, wrapping around to the other side of the column if necessary.
  • Otherwise, if the letters are on different rows and columns, replace each of them with the letter on the same row but in the column of the other letter in the original pair.

List	Keyword	KW Reversed (lit)	Remaining letters
A0	ALGORITHMS	SMHTIROGLA	BCDEFJKNPQUVWYZ
A1	AUTHORIZED	DEZIROHTUA	BCFGJKLMNPQSVWY
A2	BLUEPRINTS	STNIRPEULB	ACDFGHJKMOQVWYZ
A3	DESPICABLY	YLBACIPSED	FGHJKMNOQRTUVWZ
A4	FORMIDABLE	ELBADIMROF	CGHJKNPQSTUVWYZ
A5	HYPERBOLIC	CILOBREPYH	ADFGJKMNQSTUVWZ
A6	IMPORTANCE	ECNATROPMI	BDFGHJKLQSUVWYZ
A7	LABYRINTHS	SHTNIRYBAL	CDEFGJKMOPQUVWZ
B0	WANDERLUST	TSULREDNAW	BCFGHIJKMOPQVYZ
B1	VANQUISHED	DEHSIUQNAV	BCFGJKLMOPRTWYZ
B2	ULTRASONIC	CINOSARTLU	BDEFGHJKMPQVWYZ
B3	SCRAMBLING	GNILBMARCS	DEFHJKOPQTUVWYZ
B4	PRECAUTION	NOITUACERP	BDFGHJKLMQSVWYZ
B5	OSTRACIZED	DEZICARTSO	BFGHJKLMNPQUVWY
B6	METHODICAL	LACIDOHTEM	BFGJKNPQRSUVWYZ
B7	MAGNITUDES	SEDUTINGAM	BCFHJKLOPQRVWYZ

Important:

• If the pair of letters is XX, the pair is unchanged by the cipher.
• If the pair of letters is either X# or #X, where # is a letter other than X, the X is changed to be identical to the other letter in the pair, and the pair is then enciphered/deciphered normally.
  Then, the new letter is changed back to an X.

3/SE: Pigpen Cipher

Translate each letter of the word using one of the two pigpen ciphers below. If the LED corresponding to this cipher dial is unlit, use Cipher I. Otherwise, use Cipher II.

Rotate the shape corresponding to the letter 45° clockwise (e)/counter-clockwise (d) an amount equal to the number of 45° clockwise rotations, starting from north, of its respective dial. Then, translate it back into a letter using the same pigpen diagram determined earlier, shown below.

3/SE j: Pigpen Cipher, The Way That Speakingevil Coded It, But Visualised!!!

Use the left/right half of the table corresponding to the state of the current cipher dial’s LED. Find the letter and move right (e)/left (d) within the row, a number of times equal to the number of 45° clockwise rotations of the corresponding dial, starting from north. Should you reach a coloured square, teleport to the other coloured square of the same colour, without modifying your movement direction. The coloured cells do not count as cells themselves, but rather as portals.

		Cipher I (unlit)										Cipher II (lit)
Left Two Grids		A	S	C	U	I	V	G	T			A	S	E	W	Q	Y	M	U
		B	K	F	O	H	Q	D	M			C	D	K	L	O	P	G	H
		E				N						I				J
Right Two Grids		J	W	L	Y	R	Z	P	X			B	T	F	X	R	Z	N	V
		K	F	O	H	Q	D	M	B			D	K	L	O	P	G	H	C
		N				E						J				I

4/S: Chaocipher

The indexing of the lists starts at zero. For this cipher, the leftmost dial has a position of zero.

• The two lists give the keywords for two keystrings, the keyword from List A is used for the first keystring and the keyword from List B is used for the second keystring:
  • If the sum of the digits in the serial is greater than 9, the position of the current cipher dial determines the keyword in List A and the number of 45° clockwise rotations, starting from north, of the previous dial determines the keyword from List B.
  • Otherwise, the position of the current cipher dial determines the keyword in List B and the number of 45° clockwise rotations, starting from north, of the previous dial determines the keyword from List A.
  • If the current cipher dial is the first dial, use the last dial.

• Take the two keywords, and append the remaining unused sixteen letters in alphabetical order to form your Chaocipher.
• For each letter in the encrypted word, consider the status of the LED below the dial, referenced by its position from left to right:
  • If the LED of the current cipher dial is the same as the LED of the referenced dial, shift the second keystring to the left by the number of 45° clockwise rotations, starting from north, of the referenced dial.
  • Otherwise, shift the first keystring to the left by the number of 45° clockwise rotations, starting from north, of the referenced dial.
• Find the letter in the first (e)/second (d) keystring. Take the letter in the same position in the other keystring to get your enciphered/deciphered letter.

Note: The shifted keystrings are NOT reset to default after the encryption/decryption of each letter. Shifting is always performed on the latest iteration of the keystrings.

The interactive is on the next page.

5/SW: Monoalphabetic Substitution Cipher

The position of the current cipher dial corresponds to which of the eight words in the list below is the keyword for this cipher.

Make a new string consisting of the thirteen letters of the alphabet that are not present in the chosen keyword in alphabetical order.
If the LED corresponding to the current cipher dial is lit, then reverse this string.

Pos.	Keyword	Remaining letters (unlit)	Remaining Letters (lit)
1	DOCUMENTARILY	BFGHJKPQSVWXZ	ZXWVSQPKJHGFB
2	FLAMETHROWING	BCDJKPQSUVXYZ	ZYXVUSQPKJDCB
3	FLOWCHARTINGS	BDEJKMPQUVXYZ	ZYXVUQPMKJEDB
4	HYDROMAGNETIC	BFJKLPQSUVWXZ	ZXWVUSQPLKJFB
5	METALWORKINGS	BCDFHJPQUVXYZ	ZYXVUQPJHFDCB
6	MULTIBRANCHED	FGJKOPQSVWXYZ	ZYXWVSQPOKJGF
7	TROUBLEMAKING	CDFHJPQSVWXYZ	ZYXWVSQPJHFDC
8	UNPREDICTABLY	FGHJKMOQSVWXZ	ZXWVSQOMKJHGF

• If the number of batteries on the bomb is even, then place this string at the end of the keyword.
• Otherwise, place this string at the beginning of the keyword.

Write the full alphabet underneath this new keystring. Find the letter in the alphabet (e)/keystring (d) and take the letter at the same position in the other string.

6/W: Hill Cipher

The indexing of the lists starts at zero.

If the bomb has more lit than unlit indicators, the keyword for this cipher belongs to List A. Otherwise, the keyword for this cipher belongs to List B.

The keyword used for this cipher depends on the number of 45° clockwise rotations, starting from north, of the dials adjacent to the current cipher dial:

If the current cipher dial:

• Is the first dial, use the keyword corresponding to six plus the number of 45° clockwise rotations, starting from north, of the second dial.
• Is the last dial, use the keyword corresponding to six plus the number of 45° clockwise rotations, starting from north, of the seventh dial.
• Otherwise, use the keyword corresponding to the sum of the numbers of 45° clockwise rotations, starting from north, of the two dials adjacent to the current cipher dial.

List	Keyword	Key Matrix	N		List	Keyword	Key Matrix	N
A0	AEON	1-5-15-14	23		B0	BOMB	2-15-13-2	23
A1	COPY	3-15-16-25	23		B1	BUSY	2-21-19-25	7
A2	EACH	5-1-3-8	19		B2	DICE	4-9-3-5	11
A3	GOOD	7-15-15-4	19		B3	FAUX	6-1-21-24	11
A4	IOTA	9-15-20-1	5		B4	HUSK	8-21-19-11	1
A5	KILO	11-9-12-15	21		B5	JUKE	10-21-11-5	1
A6	MARK	13-1-18-11	5		B6	LIMA	12-9-13-1	25
A7	ONCE	15-14-3-5	15		B7	LOCI	12-15-3-9	19
A8	QUIT	17-21-9-20	5		B8	NAME	14-1-13-5	21
A9	RIOT	18-9-15-20	23		B9	PUSH	16-21-19-8	7
A10	SYNC	19-25-14-3	11		B10	RISE	18-9-19-5	17
A11	UNDO	21-14-4-15	25		B11	TASK	20-1-19-11	11
A12	WORK	23-15-18-11	3		B12	VOID	22-15-9-4	21
A13	YEAR	25-5-1-18	9		B13	XYST	24-25-19-20	21
A14	ZEAL	26-5-1-12	5		B14	ZOOM	26-15-15-13	3

Create a 2×2 square keymatrix consisting of the alphabetical positions of the letters in the keyword modulo 26.

If the LED of the current cipher dial is lit, swap the top-right and bottom-left values in the matrix.

Find the multiplicative inverse, N, of the determinant of the keymatrix using the following equation, where N is any integer and A, B, C, D are the four values in the keymatrix in reading order:

N(AD - BC) mod 26 = 1

Next, create the adjugate matrix of the keymatrix by copying the original matrix, and swapping A and D and negating B and C (in other words, slapping on a negative sign :P).

Then, multiply the values of the adjugate matrix by the multiplicative inverse, and take each value modulo 26. This is the inverse matrix.

Split the encrypted word into four pairs.

For each pair in order, using the original keymatrix (e)/inverse matrix (d):

• Turn the letters into their alphabetical positions.
• Take the sum of the products of the first number with A and the second number with B, modulo 26.
• Turn this back into a letter to get the first letter.
• Take the sum of the products of the first number with C and the second number with D, modulo 26.
• Turn this back into a letter to get the second letter.

Important: Because Z has an alphabetic position of 26, its corresponding alphabetical position for this cipher is zero.

7/NW: Bitshift Cipher

Create a string of 24 bits of binary consisting of the 3 bit binary representations of the numbers of 45° clockwise rotations, starting from north, of each dial from left to right. If the LED corresponding to a given dial is lit, invert the bits of its respective binary representation.

Concatenate all binary representations together, then prepend a zero and append a one.

Write the alphabet out in order above the binary string.

Split the alphabet into two sets, with each set containing the letters corresponding to the zeros and ones in the 26-bit string, retaining their orders.

Find the letter in the correct set:

• If the LED of the current cipher dial is lit, shift the letter to the right (e)/left (d) within its set by the position of the current cipher dial from left to right.
• Otherwise, shift the letter to the left (e)/right (d) within its set by the position of the current cipher dial from left to right.

Keyword Table

Keyword Table cont.