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 Forum index » Archive » Archive: General » Old News & Rumors
[Trailhead] Vladimir Sirin
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Lystella
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Joined: 02 Feb 2010
Posts: 394

 		Ooooh okies!

PostPosted: Thu Oct 13, 2011 7:59 am
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ddl
Decorated


Joined: 09 Sep 2010
Posts: 225
Quote:
VS 3.1: This may help: http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Beginning_M...

VS 3.1: It may not...

Lystella: hmm....I think it does offer helpful words.

VS 3.1: perhaps this then? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s_hcXiGb6_s

Lystella: Definitely helps in untangling brain knots!

Lystella: But yes, the beginning is a good place to start

VS 3.1: All we will suggest is listen VERY carefully to the words - we do not intend to just amuse with music...


http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Beginning_Mathematics/Where_To_Start%3F_With_Nothing!

Edit: Noting that the above link does work, you just have to include the '!'.

PostPosted: Thu Oct 13, 2011 11:49 am
Last edited by ddl on Thu Oct 13, 2011 6:54 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Lystella
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Joined: 02 Feb 2010
Posts: 394

 		I think (but not entirely sure) I get what is being referred to there now and will scratch out previous post accordingly. Sowiz about that!

PostPosted: Thu Oct 13, 2011 4:29 pm
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Maurice
Boot

Joined: 09 Nov 2009
Posts: 10
Location: Calgary, AB

 		Just an update on a conversation I had with VS on Wednesday PM...
VS states that knowledge of chess variants and Carroll's literature are not required for solving the test.

Quote:
Me: Hello New Friend.

Vlad: AUTOMATIC LIVE SENSORY INPUT DETECTED - Do you wish to continue?

M: Yes

V:Please state form of response required: 1]Text in electronic mailing 2]Voice prompt/response 3]Interactive 4] xxxxdeactivatedxxxxx

M: 2

V: Please provide telephonic communication information:

M: +1 (403) XXX-XXXX

V: LOCATION: CALGARY, US - RANGE [AT CURRENT] EXCEEDS LIMIT OF POWER.
Please state form of response required: 1]Text in electronic mailing 2]Voice prompt/response [UNAVAILABLE] 3]Interactive 4] xxxxdeactivatedxxxxx

M: 3

V: Hello friend - how may we help you?

D: I had a question pertaining to the first test.jpg.

V: Go ahead...

D: Is there an algorithm connecting the numbers? Possible with chess moves in a game of Alice Chess?

V: Knowledge of variants of chessa re not needed for the test.
error: chess are
error: chess are are chess
error resolved - Intueor apologises.

D: Thank you. Is knowledge of the literary works of Louis Carroll needed for the test?

V: No.
The works of Louis Carroll, [and the other variants of Yates' choosing] are not needed to decipher the message or solve the task.

D: Is there a known cypher/decription for each number individually? Or; alternatively, do the numbers have a mathmatical relationship when combined?

V: http://www.etymonline.com/index.php?term=test
Link found in response to inquiry...
error error error

D: Thank you new Friend.
I hope we may meet again soon.

V: SYSTEM REBOOTING...


PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 2:45 pm
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Maurice
Boot

Joined: 09 Nov 2009
Posts: 10
Location: Calgary, AB

 		Also; VS commented on his Facebook status saying he would be down for the weekend:

Quote:
To all test candidates - enjoy our new electronic emailing auto-response during the update process... Not a dog but still something invisible...


I sent a blank email and received this autoreply:

Quote:
NEW: QXQgdGhpcyBtb21lbnQgdGhlIHRlc3QtY2FuZGlkYXRlIGVudGVyZWQNCnRoZSBzYWxvb24uIFRoZXkgd2VyZSBhIHRoaW4gcGVyc29uLCB3aXRoIGEgbWVhbiBhbmQgY3JhZnR5IGZhY2UsIGFuZCBhIGdyZWVuaXNoLXllbGxvdyBjb21wbGV4aW9uOyBhbmQgdGhleSByZS1yZWFkIHRoZWlyIHRleHQgbWVzc2FnZSB2ZXJ5IHNsb3dseSwgbG9va2luZyBzdXNwaWNpb3VzbHkgYWJvdXQgdGhlbSBhcyBpZiB0aGV5IHRob3VnaHQgdGhlcmUgbWlnaHQgYmUgYSBzYXZhZ2UgY2x1ZSAqaGlkZGVuKiBzb21ld2hlcmUu


Which is:
Spoiler (Rollover to View):
At this moment the test-candidate entered
the saloon. They were a thin person, with a mean and crafty face, and a greenish-yellow complexion; and they re-read their text message very slowly, looking suspiciously about them as if they thought there might be a savage clue *hidden* somewhere.


This is a reference from L. Carroll's 'Sylvie and Bruno':
Page 2:
Spoiler (Rollover to View):

At this moment the Sub-Warden entered the saloon. He was a thin man, with a mean and crafty face, and a greenish-yellow complexion; and he crossed the room very slowly, looking suspiciously about him as if be thought there might be a savage dog hidden somewhere.

http://books.google.com/books?id=7uAmNEey-AkC&pg=PA12&lpg=PA12&dq=%22a+mean+and+crafty+face%22&source=bl&ots=P1VeM-XKl-&sig=B1zoDGzlYRLyiA95GBVpZcsi-_8&hl=en&ei=zYiYTo7WIOLa0QGIx8TVAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=4&ved=0CDAQ6AEwAw#v=onepage&q=%22a%20mean%20and%20crafty%20face%22&f=false


PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 2:50 pm
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chimpo42
Boot

Joined: 23 Oct 2010
Posts: 13

 		So with the text message reference above I went back to the email he sent and highlighted between VS 3.1 and Intueor Thanks You and found this written in white.

Quote:
So she sat on, with closed eyes, and half believed herself in Wonderland, though she knew she had but to open them again, and all would change to dull...


This is a quote from right at the end of Alice in Wonderland.

PostPosted: Fri Oct 14, 2011 11:26 pm
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ironnikki
Unfettered


Joined: 13 Jul 2009
Posts: 502
Location: Iowa City, IA

 		So it sounds like, based on Maurice's conversation and the links that Vlad has sent us, this test is mathematical in nature. Seeing as we've seen magic squares previously, I found the sums of all of the rows and columns, but didn't see any kind of pattern. Some quick (and probably incorrect) mental math on various other squares inside of the pattern didn't come up with anything, either. I also tried some experimentation with adding numbers in white spaces, and subtracting numbers in black, but still nothing.

I'm sure that the green squares are an important part of this puzzle, but I'm not sure what they have in common. There's 8 of them, including the "me?" square, which eliminates the possibility of a magic square. I don't think that the file size is large enough to suggest destegging, but I'm not very skilled in the process, so I could be wrong.
_________________
An Adventurer Is Me!
Played: Intimation, Purity Towers, Vanessa Atalanta (sort of), TV III

PostPosted: Sat Oct 15, 2011 11:34 am
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chimpo42
Boot

Joined: 23 Oct 2010
Posts: 13

 		I'm quite sure now that the green squares are important. I emailed Vlad saying "Reality" which is the next word in his hidden quote and after the auto-reply, he sent:

Quote:
Yes - but don't be so green as to ignore the obvious in the test...




VS 3.1


EDIT: He posted on Facebook:
Quote:
Vladimir Sirin
‎***REPROCESS UPDATE: GREEN wIRES LINKED NOW TO ThE LINEaR PROCESS tESTING VIA CaRROLL mODULE LiNK.***


The lower case letters spell "whatami" or What am I?


EDIT (again): I typed all the numbers in green into this site and here's what it came up with. I didn't read the whole page and sent "Not square?" to Vlad but its probably wring.

http://oeis.org/search?q=45+21+37+98+22+72+75+&sort=&language=english&go=Search

PostPosted: Sun Oct 16, 2011 2:19 am
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veebee
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Joined: 02 Apr 2008
Posts: 551

 		**waves** Hiya, I haven't been on here for ages but this piqued my interest Very Happy

I was looking at the "test" and wondered if it had something to do with chess pieces and their values, though now I'm not so sure.....
Spoiler (Rollover to View):
However I came accross some info about "chess automatons" the first of whick was the Turk. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Turk
It turns out that Charles Carroll who signed the Declaration of Independance http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charles_Carroll_of_Carrollton played against it, then I find that another Charles Michael Carroll wrote a book about chess automatons http://www.bookfinder.com/dir/i/The_Great_Chess_Automaton/0486218821/

I guess he's a relative of Turk playing Carroll, but it just got me wondering more about
Quote:
***REPROCESS UPDATE: GREEN wIRES LINKED NOW TO ThE LINEaR PROCESS tESTING VIA CaRROLL mODULE LiNK.***
and which Carroll it refers to?

_________________
Foily! No-one will brainwash me!!

PostPosted: Sun Oct 16, 2011 10:48 am
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QuintusSeptime
Boot

Joined: 09 Oct 2011
Posts: 23
Quote:

[You]
Hiya, Vlad.
[Vladimir Sirin]
power limited - how may we help you?
[You]
You aren't square, is that what you're looking for?
[Vladimir Sirin]
...no...
Intueor is international - as is mathematics and chess...
[You]
Is knowledge of chess necessary for test1?
[Vladimir Sirin]
http://www.thefreedictionary.com/knowledge
yes: 5 no:1,2,3,4,6
[You]
Which Carroll is the Carroll module named for?
[Vladimir Sirin]
Read the test message in depth. each word is there for a reason... - no errors i this message either...
except the last statement - error: in
[You]
You are a rook?
[Vladimir Sirin]
You baseically have 64 numbers, encoded. Their position would be understood by anyone playing chess...
[You]
base-ically. love it. Thanks so much, Vladimir.
[Vladimir Sirin]
One question left to be answered - which do you ask: rook or Caroll?
[You]
Which Carroll is the module named for?
[Vladimir Sirin]
Spinney.
Powering down...
[You]
Bye, Vlad.


So obviously something Base64 needs to happen here, right?

PostPosted: Sun Oct 16, 2011 6:30 pm
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ironnikki
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Joined: 13 Jul 2009
Posts: 502
Location: Iowa City, IA

 		I agree, Quintus. I just got home from Chicago, so after I do some laundry and other necessary things, I'll take another look at the puzzle. I also enjoyed Vlad's reference to Caroll Spinney. I'm not sure if it's relevant or not, but it made me smile all the same.

Welcome, veebee! Jump right in; as you can tell, we're kind of lost on the puzzle, and could use as much help as we can get!

Chimpo, that's a really cool website. I'm going to have to add that to my bookmarks!
_________________
An Adventurer Is Me!
Played: Intimation, Purity Towers, Vanessa Atalanta (sort of), TV III

PostPosted: Sun Oct 16, 2011 7:34 pm
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aquarius904
Decorated

Joined: 16 Mar 2008
Posts: 156

 		That chat was very informative Quintus. I haven't had a chance to really look at this since the other day and Vlad has attempted to chat with me a few times and I've not been able to. I just started a new job and it's been taking up a large portion of my time. I'm gonna look at it a bit tonight before I go to bed and see what I can work out "base"d on that conversation.

Edit: I'm sort of starting to grasp something here. You have 64 tiles on a chess board, numbered in descending order vertically from 8 to 1, and horizontally from a to h. Base64 seems to make sense in this case. Chess notation is a lot of number and letter combinations http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chess_notation. Going by what Vlad said:
Quote:
You baseically have 64 numbers, encoded. Their position would be understood by anyone playing chess
This most definitely has to do with base64 as it relates to chess notation on the board. I'm feeling like I'm on the verge of a breakthrough with it. This will haunt me for the rest of the night.

Doble Edit: Vlad also said to re read the test message in depth and that each word is there for a reason. SO:

Quote:
Dear friend
We now note that, internationally speaking, a group of possible players is now available...
Good.
Welcome to Intueor - possibly...
The game of kings awaits you - cover all bases in solving it - and you will understand the position you are in...


Note refers to "notation". Internationally would go along with what he said about both mathematics and chess being international; chess notation is called "algebraic". Game of Kings "is" chess; however, I'm guessing with notation and movement your "position" is whatever the number for a checkmated king would be at that spot using Base64.

Trois Edits: I found this interesting: http://0xdeadbeef.us/archives/4-base64-is-not-encyption!.html

PostPosted: Sun Oct 16, 2011 10:57 pm
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veebee
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Joined: 02 Apr 2008
Posts: 551

 		The notation link didn't work for me, here's another: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Algebraic_notation_(chess)
(you need to copy and paste it into the address bar to get to the full article for some reason)
There is also numeric notation which could be relevant:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICCF_numeric_notation

Encoding the numbers as they are into base 64 doesn't seem to give the correct "notation" outputs, I tried the top row, then the bottom row, then the first column going up from the bottom.... some have looked close but no cigar Sad

Edit: Mind you, you do only get 9 capital letters in the encoding, but they are not all as they should be:
I got NUTEMYDOQ, and he does mention "internationally" so are we looking at different letters to the English, eg the rook in many languages is T (for words similar to and meaning Tower)?
Edit 2: The numbers encoded into Base 64:
Test.pdf
Description 
pdf

 Download 
Filename  Test.pdf 
Filesize  180.11KB 
Downloaded  59 Time(s) 
_________________
Foily! No-one will brainwash me!!

PostPosted: Mon Oct 17, 2011 7:00 am
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aquarius904
Decorated

Joined: 16 Mar 2008
Posts: 156

 		Well, based on Vladimirs new clue:

Quote:
Locate your position firstly...


I looked at the chess board at the location title "me?" and based on the position of the Rook and algebraic notation I got Rh1. If you look at Base 64 you get R=17, h=33, and 1 = 53. Add it up and you get 103. I went out on a limb and asked Vlad if "my" position is number 103. If it's correct I may have an idea on how to solve this.

PostPosted: Mon Oct 17, 2011 11:51 pm
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Telos954
Entrenched


Joined: 10 Dec 2009
Posts: 817
Location: Hollywood, Florida

 		Something new from our old beloved PM? Been a while, and I regret not having played a bigger part in the last two. The first was some good fun.

I just got the initial emails, I hadn't checked that email account in a month or so, been busy with work and stuff. I decided I'd pop in and see if the ball started rolling yet, which it seems to have. I'll catch up when I can and try to participate when possible.
_________________
Herpderp WoW. Herpderp Minecraft. Herpderp Skyrim. Herpderp girlfriend. Been out of the ARG scene too long.

PostPosted: Tue Oct 18, 2011 12:14 am
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