Cryptography Puzzle: Decoding Guide

Here’s a cryptography puzzle using an alphanumeric substitution code that could unlock a digital or physical lock:

Puzzle:

You’ve found a lock with a 5-digit code. The hint to the code is hidden in this message, which has been encoded using an alphanumeric system where:

A = 1, B = 2, C = 3, …, Z = 26

The message reads:

TUBQ 5, OBU 7, LFD 4, SJU 6, XJU 9

Each word in the message represents one digit of the lock code. Solve the puzzle to find the 5-digit code.

Decoding Steps:

Translate each letter to its corresponding number:
- T (20) U (21) B (2) Q (17)
- O (15) B (2) U (21)
- L (12) F (6) D (4)
- S (19) J (10) U (21)
- X (24) J (10) U (21)
Identify the pattern or key numbers:
- Each word has a number following it, which indicates which letter from the word to use for the code:
  - From TUBQ 5, use the 5th letter from “TUBQ” (doesn’t exist, so it’s the 1st letter of the next word):
    - O (15)
  - From OBU 7, use the 7th letter from “OBU” (doesn’t exist, so it’s the 1st letter of the next word):
    - L (12)
  - From LFD 4, use the 4th letter from “LFD” (doesn’t exist, so it’s the 1st letter of the next word):
    - S (19)
  - From SJU 6, use the 6th letter from “SJU” (doesn’t exist, so it’s the 1st letter of the next word):
    - X (24)
  - From XJU 9, use the 9th letter from “XJU” (doesn’t exist, so it’s the 1st letter of the word itself):
    - X (24)
However, this approach seems to yield a problem since we can’t go beyond the word length. Let’s correct this by using the actual number:
- From TUBQ 5, the 5th number from “TUBQ” doesn’t exist, so we use the 1st letter of “TUBQ”:
  - T (20) – 5 = 15 (O)
- From OBU 7, the 7th number from “OBU” doesn’t exist, so we use the 1st letter of “OBU”:
  - O (15) – 7 = 8 (H)
- From LFD 4, the 4th number from “LFD” doesn’t exist, so we use the 1st letter of “LFD”:
  - L (12) – 4 = 8 (H)
- From SJU 6, the 6th number from “SJU” doesn’t exist, so we use the 1st letter of “SJU”:
  - S (19) – 6 = 13 (M)
- From XJU 9, the 9th number from “XJU” doesn’t exist, so we use the 1st letter of “XJU”:
  - X (24) – 9 = 15 (O)

Answer:

The 5-digit code to unlock the lock is: 158813

This puzzle uses a combination of alphabetic substitution and a numeric twist to create the code for unlocking. Remember, in real-world scenarios, ensure you have permission to unlock or access any secured items!

Category: Cryptography

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Cryptography Puzzle: Decoding Guide

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