1.02 Core Dump 1

Order

1.02

Status

::BUILD-READY::

Location

Status: "Trenchwood Institute" -- Highlands Elementary School, 2320 Newport St, San Mateo, CA 94402

GC PoC: Erik Stuart, (650) 395-8463, lab@trenchwood.com

Parking: School lot, free

Type

Mandatory Puzzle

Plot Setup

Time machine has malfunctioned, but no one knows why. Prof. Chronos knows that the time machine can do a core dump for diagnostic purposes. Unfortunately, when she checks it it has been corrupted (turned into a puzzle!) by the very same malfunction. So she needs the players to decode the core dump so she knows what to fix.

Props

• Physical "Toggle Burner" boards, one for each team.
• Printout of "core dump" word list, two for each team: [[1]]

Plot Point to Convey

One of the "tachyon midi ether co-keypads" is broken. Luckily, Prof. Chronos is an expert in such matters--she did her dissertation on the topic! Moreover, she's not surprised that Doctor When screwed it up; he never was any good at tachyon midi ether co-keypads, going all the way back to high school. However, she is only good on their theory. To actually create a new one she needs the help of someone with implementation experience. Doctor When isn't available, so the nearest alternative is Dorian Claire in San Francisco.

Short Description

Each team is given a corrupted "Toggle Burner" core dump board to decode in order to figure out what's wrong with the time machine.

Open Time Period

Saturday, 9:10 AM-11:00 AM.

Playtest teams took 50-80 minutes to solve the puzzle. We should start aggressively hinting at around 10:30 AM.

Staff Instructions

Prof. Chronos will give live speech to all teams at once and then hand out boards. Note that she will ask teams to leave Institute to solve, and only to return once they have a solution.

Actors:

• PROFESSOR CATHERINE CHRONOS: Kristina Kenney

Other Roles: Lab Assistant. Wander around helping teams, but don't get in their way. Impress upon them the urgency of getting the Doctor back.

Script:

PROF. CHRONOS:

The machine's core dump could tell us what went wrong.

Prof. Chronos pulls a single core out of the machine. She examines it and can't hide her distress.

Oh, no. It was damaged in the meltdown. I wish there was some fast way to do this, but it looks like we're going to have to painstakingly unscramble the core dump. Would you please help? Let me get a section of the core for each group of you.

Prof. Chronos pulls additional sections of core out of the machine and hands them out to each group of visitors.

I'm afraid I have to ask you to examine your cores outside--it's going to get really busy in the lab as we work on the repairs. But I'll send some lab assistants with you to answer any questions you might have while you're working. When you figure out what went wrong, please come back inside and see me.

Answers: When a team has a solution it will re-enter the Institute and approach Prof. Chronos. After she goes through the script (below), hand them an [Act 1 Contact Information Sheet] to lead them into Midi Ether Co-Keypad Ring A. Notify GC HQ so we can send them an e-mail that goes with the next puzzle. [Hopefully we'll have internet working at this site and then an onsite staffer can enter the team's progress in the online tracking system and send them the email on the spot.]

Script:

PLAYERS (paraphrase):

The core dump says the machine's co-keypad is ruined!

PROF. CHRONOS:

Oh, of course! Doctor When was never very good at tachyon midi ether co-keypads. But luckily I am the world's expert on their theory.

Prof. Chronos opens a panel in the machine to reveal the smoking ruins of one of the co-keypads.

Gadzooks! One of the co-keypads is shot. It appears to be pad number... 34. We'll have to design a new one. Would you please do that? I'm an expert on their theoretical underpinnings, but to design new ones we'll need some practical help.

Normally I'd ask Wesley...Doctor When. But he's...not here at this time! [sniff!]

But, wait...there's another nearby expert who just may be able to help you. Please go to Prof. Dorian Clair's laboratory in San Francisco. Tell him that you need a midi-ether co-keypad design kit and the diagnostic dump for pad #34. Using the kit, you should be able to design a working pad -- email me a picture of your design when you're done. If you have any trouble with your design call 650-395-TIME and one of the lab assistants may be able to help.

Detailed Description

The core dump is actually a physical circuit board with little rings attached to resemble an old computer memory core module. The rings are thumb-sized, much larger than real cores, so that letters printed on them are legible to the unaided eye.

Puzzle Answer

CO-KEYPAD IS RUINED

Puzzle Solution

1) The title "TOGGLE BURNER" is printed on the puzzle. This is a spoonerism of "Boggle Turner", a hint that the rings should be turned so that the letter grid, if played as a 4x4 Boggle board, would yield all the words on the accompanying printout.

The correctly-solved grid is:

CHAN
GETO
BACK
SIDE

which reads, left-to-right and top-to-bottom,

CHANGE TO BACK SIDE

2) This instruction means that every ring should be flipped 180 degrees to reveal the letters on the back. Doing so yields this grid:

SIDF      STHE
LAEL  or  LPFD
AGHI      AILI
NOTP      NOGA

which reads, either zig-zagging up and down or spiraling outward,

FLIP THE DIAGONALS

3) Flipping the 8 diagonal rings back to how they were reveals a final message, not on the face, but around the sides:

COKEYPAD IS RUINED

4) Orthogonally to the above steps, each ring has one letter printed in a slightly different typeface than the others. They constitute a hint that may be discovered at any time, spelling out the phrase:

LOOK AT EDGES LATER

Budget

• $45 circuit boards
• $45 plastic tubing, 43 feet
• $20 copper wire, 200 feet
• $20 stick-on letters

Credits

• Dwight - concept, logic design, presentation design
• Wei-Hwa - logic suggestions, graphic design

Manager

Dwight

Hints

Ask teams what they have done, probing details if necessary (often this will get a team unstuck by themselves).

Response to Correct Answer

Answers will be given to onsite staff. See Staff Instructions.

Other Notes

Dwight's daughter hired to construct the boards needed for the full run.

Previous iteration notes at: Boggle