Welcome to Project XXXX.
Put on your headphones for the best experience.
<span onclick="window.playGameMusic()">[[CLICK HERE TO BEGIN THE SOLSTICE MYSTERY|Start]]</span><div class="ghost-container">
<div class="pixel-ghost"></div>
<div class="ghost-tie"></div>
<div class="ghost-label">ALAN</div>
</div>
Alan floats closer, looking over your shoulder at the ancient notebook resting beside the machine.
"Ah, a standard shift cipher," Alan says, rubbing his ghostly chin. "Brilliant in its simplicity, though the German military gave us a bit more trouble with it back in my day. Look at this scratched into the wood:"
**"W K R Q K T X H"**
"The key is written below it," Alan points out. "It says: *Shift backward by 3 spaces in the alphabet.* (D becomes A, E becomes B, F becomes C...)"
What does the word decrypt to?
* [[Is it "T H O U G H T"?|Answer: T H O U G H T]]
* [[Is it "W I N T E R S"?|Wrong Answer]]
* [[Is it "S O L S T I C E"?|Wrong Answer]]
(set: $flower1 to true, $newflower to 1)
<div class="ghost-container">
<div class="pixel-ghost"></div>
<div class="ghost-tie"></div>
<div class="ghost-label">ALAN</div>
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(display: "RenderGarden")
*Click.* The cipher machine whirs, and a small drawer pops open. On the window sill, a tiny green shoot sprouts from the dust, blooming instantly into a vibrant pink flower.
"Splendid!" Alan beams. "Thought. A beautiful word. Let's keep moving!"
[[Continue to the next mechanism|The Secret Runner]]
<div class="ghost-container sad-ghost">
<div class="pixel-ghost"></div>
<div class="ghost-tie"></div>
<div class="ghost-label">ALAN</div>
</div>
Alan shakes his head gently, a wry smile on his face. "Not quite, my young friend. Remember to count backward by three letters for each character. Let's try again."
[[Try the puzzle again|Look at the first puzzle]]<span onclick="window.playGameMusic()">
<div class="ghost-container">
<div class="pixel-ghost"></div>
<div class="ghost-tie"></div>
<div class="ghost-label">ALAN</div>
</div>
(set: $flower1 to false, $flower2 to false, $flower3 to false, $flower4 to false, $flower5 to false, $newflower to 0)
The attic is thick with dust and the golden light of the June Solstice. You are sitting on the floor, staring at a bizarre, heavy wooden box with metal rotors. A cipher machine.
Your parents called upstairs a minute ago: "Hey, XXXX! Dinner's almost ready!"
But you're too distracted. You press a key. *Click.* A spark flies from the machine, and the dust motes in the air begin to swirl together into a glowing, translucent figure. He wears a tweed suit, has kind eyes, and looks terribly amused.
"Good afternoon," the ghost says, offering a translucent hand. "I'm Alan. And you must be... well, your name seems to be encrypted. Shall we crack the code together?"
[[Look at the first puzzle]]
</span>(set: $currentStep to 0)
<div class="ghost-container">
<div class="pixel-ghost"></div>
<div class="ghost-tie"></div>
<div class="ghost-label">ALAN</div>
</div>
(display: "RenderGarden")
Alan touches a hidden dial on the side of the box.
"Excellent work on that Caesar shift," he smiles. "For this next mechanical barrier, the machine has inverted its internal gear setup completely. It has processed the answer entirely backwards."
The cipher reads:
**"E N I H C A M G N I R U T"**
What does this message say when processed through the mirror arrays?
* [[TURING MACHINE->The Apple Riddle]]
* [[MACHINE RUNNER->Wrong Answer Running]]
* [[ENGINE COLOSSUS->Wrong Answer Running]]
(set: $flower2 to true, $currentStep to 2)
<div class="ghost-container">
<div class="pixel-ghost"></div>
<div class="ghost-tie"></div>
<div class="ghost-label">ALAN</div>
</div>
(display: "RenderGarden")
*Click.* A second flower grows upwards, shooting straight toward the sky before unfurling its pink petals beautifully next to the first one!
"Spot on!" Alan beams. "Now the core is trying an old biblical method—an **Atbash Cipher**. The alphabet is fully flipped upside-down: A becomes Z, B becomes Y, C becomes X, and so on."
The copper cylinder displays:
**"N L I K S T T V M V H R H"**
What biological pattern keyword does this decode to?
* [[METAMORPHOSIS->Wrong Answer Biology]]
* [[MORPHOGENESIS->Alans Legacy]]
* [[PHOTOSYNTHESIS->Wrong Answer Biology]]
<div class="ghost-container sad-ghost">
<div class="pixel-ghost"></div>
<div class="ghost-tie"></div>
<div class="ghost-label">ALAN</div>
</div>
The box clicks aggressively. Alan looks slightly tired.
"Not quite. Charles Babbage designed those options a century before my time! Think about the simple machine named after me."
[[Try again|The Secret Runner]]
(set: $flower3 to true, $currentStep to 3)
<div class="ghost-container">
<div class="pixel-ghost"></div>
<div class="ghost-tie"></div>
<div class="ghost-label">ALAN</div>
</div>
(display: "RenderGarden")
A third stem surges high, snapping into a fully formed blossom.
"Magnificent," Alan says softly. "We are dropping into the fundamental layer of digital logic now. The machine is transmitting a sequence of 8-bit binary ASCII code streams."
The paper ribbon reads:
**"01000010 01001111 01001101 01000010 01000101"**
*Clue: 01000010 equals the letter 'B'. Decode the remaining four bytes to find the name of our code-cracking machine.*
* [[BOMBE->Juneteenth Puzzle]]
* [[BABBAGE->Wrong Answer Life]]
* [[BINARY->Wrong Answer Life]]
<div class="ghost-container sad-ghost">
<div class="pixel-ghost"></div>
<div class="ghost-tie"></div>
<div class="ghost-label">ALAN</div>
</div>
The gears stutter. Alan looks down with a puzzled frown.
"Ah, close, but those belong to plants and butterflies! We are looking for the word that means the creation of biological shape."
[[Try again|The Apple Riddle]]
(set: $flower4 to true, $currentStep to 4)
<div class="ghost-container">
<div class="pixel-ghost"></div>
<div class="ghost-tie"></div>
<div class="ghost-label">ALAN</div>
</div>
(display: "RenderGarden")
A fourth flower bursts into life, matching the rhythm of your progress perfectly.
"You're a natural cryptanalyst," Alan says proudly. "The final safety valve is a missing-letter matrix cipher. It requires the absolute key of liberation to unlock the core housing."
The box locks up, displaying this fragment across its display pins:
**"E _ A _ C _ P _ _ I _ N"**
Which completed word shatters the final code?
* [[ELIMINATION->Wrong Answer Solstice]]
* [[EMANCIPATION->Answer: Turing Test]]
* [[EVALUATION->Wrong Answer Solstice]]
<div class="ghost-container sad-ghost">
<div class="pixel-ghost"></div>
<div class="ghost-tie"></div>
<div class="ghost-label">ALAN</div>
</div>
The gears grind. Alan looks down at his tie. "Not quite. That machine didn't crack the naval codes. Think back to the turning points of WWII."
[[Try again|Alans Legacy]]
(set: $flower5 to true, $newflower to 5)
<div class="ghost-container fading-ghost">
<div class="pixel-ghost"></div>
<div class="ghost-tie"></div>
<div class="ghost-label">ALAN</div>
</div>
(display: "RenderGarden")
The final metal plate slides away, revealing a mirror hidden inside the lid of the box. You look into the glass, but instead of seeing a stranger, you see your own reflection surrounded by blooming pink flowers.
Alan stands beside your reflection, smiling softly as his pixels begin to turn transparent.
"The machine wasn't hiding a historical secret, XXXX. It was decoding *you*. Throughout history, people like me had to hide who we were. But the solstice is the turning point where the light finally wins."
Downstairs, your family calls out again, but this time, the static clears completely. You hear it perfectly:
"Hey, **You**! Dinner's ready!"
Alan begins to fade completely into the warm solstice sunlight, giving you a final nod. "Never forget who you decoded today. You are exactly who you are meant to be."
**THE END**
<div class="ghost-container sad-ghost">
<div class="pixel-ghost"></div>
<div class="ghost-tie"></div>
<div class="ghost-label">ALAN</div>
</div>
The keys seize up. Alan looks at you with a solemn expression. "No... that word represents the cage, not the key. Reflect on the spirit of June's great turning points."
[[Try again|Juneteenth Puzzle]]{
(if: $flower1 is true and $newflower is 1)[<div class="flower-container new-flower pos-1"><div class="stem"><div class="bud"></div></div></div>]
(if: $flower1 is true and $newflower is not 1)[<div class="flower-container pos-1"><div class="stem"><div class="bud"></div></div></div>]
(if: $flower2 is true and $newflower is 2)[<div class="flower-container new-flower pos-2"><div class="stem"><div class="bud"></div></div></div>]
(if: $flower2 is true and $newflower is not 2)[<div class="flower-container pos-2"><div class="stem"><div class="bud"></div></div></div>]
(if: $flower3 is true and $newflower is 3)[<div class="flower-container new-flower pos-3"><div class="stem"><div class="bud"></div></div></div>]
(if: $flower3 is true and $newflower is not 3)[<div class="flower-container pos-3"><div class="stem"><div class="bud"></div></div></div>]
(if: $flower4 is true and $newflower is 4)[<div class="flower-container new-flower pos-4"><div class="stem"><div class="bud"></div></div></div>]
(if: $flower4 is true and $newflower is not 4)[<div class="flower-container pos-4"><div class="stem"><div class="bud"></div></div></div>]
(if: $flower5 is true and $newflower is 5)[<div class="flower-container new-flower pos-5"><div class="stem"><div class="bud"></div></div></div>]
(if: $flower5 is true and $newflower is not 5)[<div class="flower-container pos-5"><div class="stem"><div class="bud"></div></div></div>]
}