Part 33: Update 14 Bonus

Update 14 Bonus



Reception

Yes, comrade?
I'd like to call a Leningrad number.



I don't know the number. Perhaps you could find it?
One moment.. I'm sorry, comrade; that service is currently undergoing technical overhauling, in line with our progressive modernization plan.

—or--

Forward to socialist social perfection!
You have already been fully informed of our modernization project, comrade!

—or--

Bring me a bottle of vodka and a glass.
Forbidden, comrade! Alcohol-abuse saps the strength of Soviet manhood.

The operator rings off.

Guzenko

We did the puzzle the hard way. There's a much easier way. Let's call Guzenko.

After some seconds...

Guzenko here.
This is Rukov. I have a problem with a coded message.
Explain what you found and where and how you found it.



Well, it's not that complicated. I helped your father with something similar once. The tiles above and beside the bathroom mirror are supposed to contain the key for decoding the message. The mirror itself is a grid where you arrange the letters of the alphabet. What you need is the key! Five letters along the top and five figures along the side. You should be able to find the letters and figures. If you can't, then phone me back.

He phones off.

We try him again.

Guzenko here.
I haven't found the letters of numbers for decoding the message.
You surprise me! They're the five letters and five numbers used in the coded message. You just have to put them in the right order. If you're still stuck, then call me back.

And again.

Guzenko here.
I can't work out the right order for the letters and figures.
Comrade captain! Your father would have solved this problem. Think of the phone call you received: “BORIS” above and “37452” down the side. So if you take “B3” and cross-reference the letter and the figure, you get “A”. “S7” gives you “J”. Simple really.

One last time.

Guzenko here.
This code is just too complicated, Guzenko!
Here is the message, comrade captain: “If you want to live switch your room light on and off three times in succession then dial the number you heard on the phone”.