Mission #6 (NIF)

Initial E-mail | Solution

Initial E-mail:

CPT Needa,

You have accomplished all your missions admirably to date. We are sure that this mission will prove no challenge to one of your great talent. The hardware which you purchased for the reconstruction of the cloning cylinder has now been assembled, and the cylinder is nearly ready to be used. However, our scientists have encountered a few problems.

The software provided with the cylinder has a few bugs in it, and we are missing some pass codes. We need you to determine what the correct codes are from any information you can find. The cloning cylinder is located at http://vanguard.phpcoding.org/cloning/. We have been able to extract some puzzling information from the software, in the form of riddles. Our technicians will forward to you what they were able to extract soon.

Keep trying until you achieve success! When you have completed the mission, the software will output a verification code which you must send to our technicians at techies@nif.net to complete your mission. It may also be wise to keep a note of the code for future missions.

{Salute}
TCH/GN Manwe/ISD Emperor's Will
LV/SC [CORE]
NIF Technical Officer

Solution:

On the Cloning Cylinder site was located the following message:

Following it were five riddles that the agent had to solve, and then use the algorithm on the answer to obtain the correct code.

Riddle for Code #2:

Colored as a maiden tweaked,
time was naught when I began;
through the garden I was sneaked,
I alone am the fall of man.

What am I?

Answer: Apple

Riddle for Code #3:

I weaken all men for hours each day.
I show you strange visions while you are away.
I take you by night, by day take you back,
None suffer to have me, but do from my lack.

What am I?

Answer: Sleep

Riddle for Code #5:

I have not flesh, nor feathers,
Nor scales, nor bone.
Yet I have fingers and thumbs,
Of my own.

What am I?

Answer: Glove

Riddle for Code #7:

Thirty white horses on a red hill,
First they champ,
Then they stamp,
Then they stand still.

What are we?

Answer: Teeth

Riddle for Code #8:

I go around in circles,
But always straight ahead.
Never complain,
No matter where I am led.

What am I?

Answer: Wheel

A bright agent could have figured these out by himself. An even brighter one could have figured out that he need not waste his time or brain power, simply search for these riddles using any old search engine and get the answer. After the correct codes were entered, the system ran a particularly cool Flash animation verifying the codes and outputting the verification code of K4HVD.

 

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