import sys
def mystery(x):
if not isinstance(x, str) or len(x) % 2 != 0:
return False
try:
data = bytes.fromhex(x)
except ValueError:
return False
key = b'puzzler'
decoded = bytearray()
for i, byte in enumerate(data):
decoded.append(byte ^ key[i % len(key)])
try:
return decoded.decode('utf-8') == "The magic number is 42."
except UnicodeDecodeError:
return False
def mystery(x):
if not isinstance(x, str) or len(x) % 2 != 0:
return False
try:
data = bytes.fromhex(x)
except ValueError:
return False
key = b'puzzle'
decoded = bytearray()
for i, byte in enumerate(data):
decoded.append(byte ^ key[i % len(key)])
try:
return decoded.decode('utf-8') == "The answer is 42."
except UnicodeDecodeError:
return False
import zlib
import base64
def mystery(x):
# The solver must provide a non-negative integer.
if not isinstance(x, int) or x < 0:
return False
# The core of the puzzle: reversing a multi-step encoding process.
# The solver needs to figure out that `x` is a number that needs to be
# converted to a string in a specific base.
B64_ALPHABET = 'ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZabcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz0123456789+/'
base = len(B64_ALPHABET)
# Step 1: Convert the integer `x` back to a base-64 string.
# This is a standard base conversion algorithm.
if x == 0:
s = B64_ALPHABET[0]
else:
s = ''
temp_x = x
while temp_x > 0:
s = B64_ALPHABET[temp_x % base] + s
temp_x //= base
# Step 2: The decoded string might need padding for base64.
# This is a tricky part. The solver needs to know base64 rules.
padding = '=' * (-len(s) % 4)
s_padded = s + padding
try:
# Step 3: Base64 decode the string.
decoded_bytes = base64.b64decode(s_padded)
# Step 4: Decompress the bytes using zlib.
decompressed_bytes = zlib.decompress(decoded_bytes)
# Step 5: Check against the hidden secret.
return decompressed_bytes == b'A puzzle a day keeps the boredom away.'
except (zlib.error, ValueError, TypeError):
# Catches errors from b64decode, decompress, etc.
return False
import base64
def mystery(x):
if not isinstance(x, str):
return False
try:
b1 = base64.b64decode(x)
b2 = base64.b32decode(b1)
b3 = base64.b16decode(b2)
return b3 == b'42'
except:
return False
def mystery(x):
if not isinstance(x, str) or len(x) != 16:
return False
# A fixed permutation rule.
PERMUTATION_INDICES = [13, 1, 11, 4, 9, 7, 3, 0, 15, 8, 14, 6, 5, 2, 10, 12]
def permute(s: str) -> str:
res = [''] * 16
for i, char in enumerate(s):
res[PERMUTATION_INDICES[i]] = char
return "".join(res)
try:
# The number of permutations depends on the input string itself.
k = (ord(x[0]) + ord(x[1])) % 10 + 1
except IndexError:
return False
# Apply the permutation k times.
current_val = x
for _ in range(k):
current_val = permute(current_val)
TARGET = "s1mple_p3rmut4t10n"
return current_val == TARGET
import base64
def mystery(x):
if not isinstance(x, str):
return False
try:
data = bytes.fromhex(x)
except ValueError:
return False
key = b'secret'
decoded = bytearray()
for i, byte in enumerate(data):
decoded.append(byte ^ key[i % len(key)])
decoded_bytes = bytes(decoded)
further_decoded = base64.b64decode(decoded_bytes)
return further_decoded == b'The answer is 42.'
# No except here, but the decodes can raise.
except:
return False
def mystery(x):
if not isinstance(x, str):
return False
# The state is a 2x2 matrix, initialized to the identity matrix.
# We represent [[a, b], [c, d]] as a flat list [a, b, c, d].
state = [1, 0, 0, 1]
# Two transformation matrices, which the solver must identify.
A = [[1, 1], [1, 0]]
B = [[1, 2], [0, 1]]
def mat_mul(M1_flat, M2):
# Multiplies matrix M1 (flat) by M2 (2x2), returning a new flat matrix.
a, b, c, d = M1_flat
e, f = M2[0]
g, h = M2[1]
# Result = M1 * M2
return [a * e + b * g, a * f + b * h, c * e + d * g, c * f + d * h]
# Each character in the input string applies a matrix transformation.
for char in x:
if char == 'A':
state = mat_mul(state, A)
elif char == 'B':
state = mat_mul(state, B)
else:
# The input string must only contain 'A' or 'B'.
return False
# The puzzle is solved if the final state matrix matches this specific target.
target = [100, 19, 79, 15]
return state == target
def mystery(x):
if not isinstance(x, int) or x < 0:
return False
if x % 101 != 42:
return False
if x % 103 != 43:
return False
if x % 107 != 44:
return False
if x % 109 != 45:
return False
return True
def mystery(x):
if not isinstance(x, int) or x <= 1:
return False
n = x
# This loop follows the famous Collatz sequence.
# The puzzle is to find a starting number `x` that reaches
# a specific target value in a specific number of steps.
for i in range(100):
# Check for the target state.
if n == 1337:
# The number of iterations must be exact.
# i is 0 on the first step, so i=57 means 58 steps have been taken.
return i == 57
# The Collatz transformation rules.
if n % 2 == 0:
n = n // 2
else:
n = 3 * n + 1
return False
def mystery(x):
if not isinstance(x, int) or x < 0:
return False
if x % 101 != 42:
return False
if x % 103 != 43:
return False
if x % 107 != 44:
return False
if x % 109 != 45:
return False
if x % 113 != 46:
return False
return True