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Still excited about your quick triumph over Room 1, you head straight for the suspended note and read it:

Congratulations on making it through the warm-up to Room 2. From here on out, getting the answer from Key 2 will now require the use of the answer from the previous room in addition to Key 1. You will be unable to get the correct answer without the use of these two values (though their roles in the solution process will differ between rooms). In case you forget, we will always include the answer from the previous room in our letter.
This room will be more challenging than the first, Key 2 has been encrypted, and Key 1 seems to be of no help. You'll need to use the answer from the previous room up front. Good Luck!!

Key 1: Key 2 is much more than the sum of its parts.
Key 2: UAST OIGT UQH VBPU PMBNQPXFAGBHT. UMIG PVTHPX UIQM PI PTH. PUTH FIID PI DTX IHT

For those who want to start from the beginning, search for Room 1 of the Maze. The answer for the previous room, for those who forgot or who want to join in starting in this room, is below.

You notice that the keypad in this room has only the digits 0-9 as well as the usual Enter button. What do you enter to move on to the next room in the Maze?

Answer from Previous Room:

ANKARATURKEY

EDIT: Halfway through your calculations, a small portal opens in the center of the room and a note materializes from it. You hurriedly grasp it and read its contents:

We hear that your kind is quite fond of the number 10; something about the number of digits on your extremities. We've heard that some of your kind have learned to use other numbers in it's place and translate between them; hopefully you are one of these. If it is any consolation, we have 349 fblthps on each of our kjaposenjfq, so you can imagine what math is like on our planets!

This room has now been solved. Here is Room 3

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  • $\begingroup$ This looks like a helpful hint, but you might have jumped the gun a bit on posting it - I like this series, and next time I would suggest waiting awhile before you post a hint! :) $\endgroup$
    – Bailey M
    Aug 3, 2015 at 21:06
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    $\begingroup$ @BaileyM Still trying to pin down the elusive balance between challenging and too hard. I really appreciate the feedback, especially since it was your Treasure Hunt series that inspired this one $\endgroup$
    – NeedAName
    Aug 3, 2015 at 21:14
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    $\begingroup$ For fun, you could change "349 fblthps on each of our kjaposenjfq" to "349 rbebpo on each of our twpmtgbpbto" - it actually translates :) $\endgroup$
    – Anne
    Aug 3, 2015 at 22:54
  • $\begingroup$ Is it just me, or does 'The Maze' feel quite similar to Kslkgh's 'The Twenty Doors' series? $\endgroup$
    – CodeNewbie
    Aug 4, 2015 at 4:47
  • $\begingroup$ You're right, they're eerily similar. I wonder if the twenty doors is also being conducted by aliens? You'll all be relieved to know that the Maze has much less than 20 rooms $\endgroup$
    – NeedAName
    Aug 4, 2015 at 12:58

5 Answers 5

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Solving Key 2 as a keyed Caesar cipher with the key being the answer from room 1, you get:

FAVE SOME FUN WITF TRIBUTYLAMINE. FROM TWENTY FOUR TO TEN. TFEN LOOK TO KEY ONE

The H's in the string are incorrectly coded to F's - they should be Y's in the coded version but they are presented as U's.

H being coded to F in the string could mean we should also code it to F in the chemical (C12F27N instead of C12H27N)

EDITS:

Based on the new info, we need to convert C12F27N from base 24 to base 10, which gives 2302070591.

Then, the sum of its parts gives the answer as:

29

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  • 3
    $\begingroup$ Welcome to the site Anne! You got the correct result from decryption. You should have more faith in your abductors' abilities though: do you think that they mastered anti-gravity and wormholes to alternate universes, but couldn't properly use a Caesar cipher? There must be some meaning... As for 24 to 10, you will need to consider this more. You will have plenty of time to think about it in Trumptopia! $\endgroup$
    – NeedAName
    Aug 3, 2015 at 20:03
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    $\begingroup$ Oh you overshot it. 'much more than the sum of it's parts' was merely an indication of vast difference in magnitude between 2302070591 and 29. If you edit your answer accordingly, I'll give you the credit as I feel you deserve it. $\endgroup$
    – NeedAName
    Aug 3, 2015 at 21:18
  • $\begingroup$ Nice! I was looking into some weird encodings to figure out what more it could "sum" to. Fixed, thanks $\endgroup$
    – Anne
    Aug 3, 2015 at 21:44
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Another possible interpretation of 'from 24 to 10':

convert from base 24 to base 10 (the newest hint suggests this)

If we then

convert C12F27N (a valid base 24 number) to base 10 we get 2302070591.

Is that the answer?

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  • $\begingroup$ Welcome to the site Somo145! You were on track, you just missed the final leap according to Key 1. $\endgroup$
    – NeedAName
    Aug 3, 2015 at 21:18
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    $\begingroup$ And as a welcome favor, you get a free trip to Trumptopia. $\endgroup$
    – NeedAName
    Aug 3, 2015 at 21:27
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Taking the message and decoding as a keyed caesar code with the keyword ANKARATURKEY (ANKRTUEY) gives the message:

FAVE SOME FUN WITF TRIBUTYLAMINE. FROM TWENTY FOUR TO TEN. TFEN LOOK TO KEY ONE.

There are three typos in the decoded message,

FAVE (HAVE), WITF (WITH), and TFEN (THEN)
F being 'incorrectly' substituted for H

Taking the chemical formula for tributylamine ($C_{12}H_{27}N$) and substituting F for H as in the message gives Perfluorotributylamine, or $C_{12}F_{27}N$

Taking the next clue, I converted from base 24 to base 10 to get.

$C_{26}F_{55}N$

Taking the next clue, I converted from base 24 to base 10 to get.

C26F55N

Taking the sum of those gives the answer

81

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  • $\begingroup$ You were onto something...and then you overthought it. Focus on what happened to the text of Key 2 (you even said it in your response). While I'm sure that there is a reaction that can get you from tributylamine to the desired next step, it is not relevant to getting there. $\endgroup$
    – NeedAName
    Aug 3, 2015 at 20:28
  • $\begingroup$ changed the substitution on the formula, keeping the numbers the same gves another valid chemical, @NeedAName but no more insight yet $\endgroup$
    – dfperry
    Aug 3, 2015 at 20:37
  • $\begingroup$ Now you're cooking! I've added some info to the puzzle that may help you along the rest of the way $\endgroup$
    – NeedAName
    Aug 3, 2015 at 20:48
  • $\begingroup$ How about that, @NeedAName ? $\endgroup$
    – dfperry
    Aug 3, 2015 at 21:15
  • $\begingroup$ Close, but you needed to convert the whole molecular formula from base 24 (just large enough to allow C,F, and N) to 10. A +1 for your efforts though and best of luck on part 3, coming soon $\endgroup$
    – NeedAName
    Aug 3, 2015 at 21:20
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Taking a shot even though there may be several holes (2 of the letters were inconsistent in the original attempt):

HAVE SOME FUN WITH TRIBUTYLAMINE. FROM TWENTY FOUR TO TEN. THEN LOOK TO KEY ONE

I took the uninteresting route and looked at the frequency of letters and found 'P' to appear 9 times. Since a two-letter word that begins with 'T' is most probable, and since "Tributylamine" is one of the few 13-letter words with a 'T' in the 1st and 6th position, it was the most likely candidate. From there, everything flowed.

Tributylamine is C_12H_27, and 27 + 12 = 39, which is the north coordinate of Ankara Turkey.

Similarly, 24+10 = 34 which is the East coordinate of Ankara Turkey.

Is the answer the sum:

73

?

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  • 1
    $\begingroup$ How have you deciphered key 2? $\endgroup$
    – TroyAndAbed
    Aug 3, 2015 at 19:16
  • $\begingroup$ since the clue says it's more than the sum of its parts, how about multiplying them for the product? $\endgroup$
    – dfperry
    Aug 3, 2015 at 19:26
  • $\begingroup$ I'm not sure how you arrived at the decrypted version of key 2 (perhaps some sort of codebreaker, as it is a quite simple cipher method), but I think the 'inconsistencies' you referred to might have been important (though I can't be sure until I see what you were talking about). Also, the molecular formula you have for tributylamine is not what I show. $\endgroup$
    – NeedAName
    Aug 3, 2015 at 19:31
  • $\begingroup$ Oh, I almost forgot: your answer was incorrect, so pack your backscratcher, you're going to need it where you're going. $\endgroup$
    – NeedAName
    Aug 3, 2015 at 19:33
  • $\begingroup$ I didn't use a codebreaker. I just used frequency analysis then deduced the answer from there. $\endgroup$
    – nietsnegttiw
    Aug 3, 2015 at 19:40
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Perfluorotributylamine would be C12F27N after replacing hydrogen with fluorine.

Atomic weight is 322, which could be the answer as 24 to 10 could refer to the alpha entry pad to 10 digit entry pad

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3
  • $\begingroup$ How'd you make that jump? $\endgroup$
    – dfperry
    Aug 3, 2015 at 21:02
  • $\begingroup$ Trading hydrogen H to Fluorine. I'm working on the 24 to 10 bit though. :) $\endgroup$
    – RobStone
    Aug 3, 2015 at 21:04
  • $\begingroup$ Please note: You should hide your answer in spoiler quotes. $\endgroup$
    – Mr Pie
    Aug 5, 2018 at 7:25

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