Defcon 24 Badge write-up

Much of this is presented as written by Cthaeh and Me, but we joined a team, and they should be mentioned as contributing a ton before most of the group vaporized when Council won. As such, the story ended up that it was just Cthaeh and me for much of Saturday and Sunday. Props to Jonathan (sciserax) and Madman, who came back and did most of the remaining parts with us. In the end, I was the only one left to hand 1o57 the last flag – or at least, I think I was last. Maybe Jonathan also hopped across that finish line later in the evening, but I needed to catch a plane, so I never found out.

Team credits:
Discordia
-sleep
-sloth
-d4e5
-sciserax
-madman
-metric
-cthaeh

The team credits are a little sketchy due to total implosion when Council took the victory, but everyone should be mentioned. Credit where credit is due.

-Metric

How this guide works – the blog post will contain only information gained by running around at the con, and the html comments will include hints, and there will be a link to the page with the full solution details and design speculations. I wanted to give a site that’s safe to read if you don’t want to be spoiled on the challenge at all, so here it is.
Later on, it gets into a string of semi-linear challenges, so each solution page
will link to another solutions page and so on.

Edit: Hoof, I didn’t realize the WordPress added such a big bunch of html to the top of it. Ah well, just scroll on past and you’ll find the bit where I’ve hid comments.

Part 0: Room keys

Gathered from various hotels on the Defcon Booking:Top two are from Paris and Planet Hollywood, next two are from Caesar’s Palace and the Linq (order?), and the last row are from Flamingo and Ballys.

Room Key solutions(++)

Part 1: Standee Glyphs

These are gathered from standees about the con. Sorry about image quality, I’ve done my best to realign so that they’re square-ish, but that’s obviously pretty lossy. Or I just suck at gimp.

From outside the Arcade in Ballys

Near 1o57 room, in hallway

Also near 1o57 room

outside elevator to 26th floor
on 26th floor

entrance to contest area


Glyph Solutions

Part 2: Badge silk screen

First, the images of the badges (backs only for non-human) – again, courtesy of the Wikia folks (sorry the arrangement looks shit. I blame WP):

 

 

 

 

 

 

The top part of the hidden traces is common to all of the badges:

nonpareil bimil: Icnwc lsrbcx
kc ntr-yudnv ifz xdgm yduxnw
yc iisto-eypzk

The middle part, also hidden traces, also common to all:

10000100001
 ΣA120215

Finally, the silk screen is different on each. Indexed by type of badge, the full list is:

Human: 010625110310031312
Goon: 032203011918071312
Artist: 02191718
Vendor: 182113
Contest: 110712072518191603
Speaker: 1718030310
CFP(?): 171825180701
Press: 11191803

Badge Solutions

Part 3: Badge serial dump

Disclaimer: due to certain inability to locate a soldering iron, I never managed to get to this myself; My team, and some folks on Wikia managed to extract these strings from the badge.

When the konami code is entered to the buttons

Konami Code unlocked!

Aqw ogcp K ecp'v ycnm vjqwij vjg ecukqp ykvj c hcmg dcfig?

At various other times:

Uqog hqnmu vjkpm vjg gngxcvqt qpna iqgu fqyp

Uqhvyctg Gpikpggtkpi okijv dg uekgpeg; dwv vjcv’u pqv yjcv K fq. K’o c jcemgt, pqv cp gpikpggt. - Lcokg Bcykpumk

NRtkguv: ”Pqy vjcv dtkpiu c yjqng pgy ogcpkpi vq ’Jqpgarqv’”

Nqqm, jcemgtu!

Nkxg fgoqu pgxgt yqtm, fqwdna uq cv FGHEQP

Ctg aqw uwtg vjku dcfig kup’v urakpi qp aqw?

Nqqm c hgf!

”K fqp’v mpqy yjgtg K’o iqkpi htqo jgtg, dwv K rtqokug kv yqp’v dg dqtkpi.” -Fcxkf Dqykg

Serial Solutions

 

Part 4: Lanyards

Unfortunately, I don’t have any full pictures of the set and the lovely image that they form, just the data.

There were 4 lanyards of the ordinary set; say it with me : Lock, Floppy, Jolly Roger, Rotary; good.

But, there was one more that was preferentially handed out to people new to the con and during 1o57’s opening ceremonies T-shirt gun style into the crowd. The full data, aligned as the lanyard art design would have you think:

n00b     rotary:        Jolly       Floppy      Key:
                        Roger:
00x      00100y
x10      00000y
x01      10010y
00x      10010y                                 1426
01x      01010y                                 1413
x01      10001y         0314        0721        2201
01x      00110y         1624        1819        2025
10x      00011y         2612        2209        1219
10x      01000y         1502        1815        1810
x10      10011y         1110        0211        1722
00x      01011y         2207        2201        0616
01x      01111y         2119        2010        0207
x01      01111y         2209        2213        2118
01x      01011y         1817        1405        0408
10x      10000y         0213        1706        1806
00x      01011y         1801        2308        0305
10x      01100y         2522        2603        0209
00x      00110y         0408        0408        2217
x00      01110y         0205        2216        1823
x01      01000y         2308        2425        0824
00x      01000y         2006        12          1815
00x      01001y                                 0211
x01      01001y                                 1806
x00      01000y
00x      00100y

Lanyard Solutions

Part 5: Defcon CD

Files available from the Defcon media server

CD Solutions

Part 6: The Program

On 1o57’s page, there are a bunch of equations. Written out in non-fancy-LaTeX typeset way, these are:

6(-(1/x) + 1) = 1/(e^(1/Sqrt(pi)))^2

(e - sqrt(x - pi^2))^(-1) = 7 - e^(sqrt(pi/7))

1/(x - (2/x + 9)) = (8 log(8))^2 + 1

(sqrt(x) - 1/pi)/pi = e^((1 - 1/log(2))^2)

(x - e^3)^2 = 4 - 1/pi^2

sqrt(e) x - 4 = ((2^pi)/pi)^2

Program Solutions

Part 7: Synthesis

Now, we need to put together the things we’ve found.

Careful on this one. If you’re playing along, this contains all the solutions to all of the above steps. So.. you know, Red blaring klaxon spoiler alert.

Synthesis solutions