Dave shook his head. Everyone had the same story. Everyone trapped in the room were going to be participating in the International Science Competition held in Athens. In the middle of the night they received a cryptic note, seemingly from the organizers. Once solved they were told to keep this the note secret as it was the organizers' way of eliminating weaker contestants. The note then asked the contestants to gather at some ruins by the edge of town, about 15 minutes walk from the hotel, where a bus would take them to the next location. It made a lot of sense then.
That was then. Not anymore. Each of them left the hotel individually and as they headed towards the ruins, they suddenly felt sleepy and was "knocked out" (so to speak) before reaching their destination. All of them woke up in a mysterious room - all four walls of brick and a floor of polished marble, just like a chamber in any temple in Ancient Greece. They were surrounded by statues of ancient Greek mythological creatures and shelves full of books, sorted by categories - Science, Algebra, you name it.
Just like a library or a chamber of any temple in Ancient Greece. Except that there was no way out.
"So what do we do?"
"I have no idea..."
The conversation was prematurely ended when a marble tile slid open and a stone altar came up bearing the following message in a papyrus parchment;
These steps lead to egress,
If you can make sense out of it,
I know you're trapped but don't stress,
You just have a few clues to beat.
First of all you need a key,
It's written here, as you can see,
Not square, not flat, but one that is round,
Just look up, sometimes down, but don't look all around;
1, 4, 7, 9, 11, 12, 14, 16
Think long, think hard, think smart,
With the key you can start,
But wait, a copy of it you may need,
Bond with your professor; and he may help get you freed.
You're ready now my friend,
To tackle this ugly fiend,
Put this mess in its rightful place,
Just don't stare the problem right in its face.
33 63 101
Dave, being ever alert, noted that it had been exactly 30 minutes since everyone woke up.
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"Same story, I got that note too."
Dave shook his head. Everyone had the same story. Everyone trapped in the room were going to be participating in the International Science Competition held in Athens. In the middle of the night they received a cryptic note, seemingly from the organizers. Once solved they were told to keep this the note secret as it was the organizers' way of eliminating weaker contestants. The note then asked the contestants to gather at some ruins by the edge of town, about 15 minutes walk from the hotel, where a bus would take them to the next location. It made a lot of sense then.
That was then. Not anymore. Each of them left the hotel individually and as they headed towards the ruins, they suddenly felt sleepy and was "knocked out" (so to speak) before reaching their destination. All of them woke up in a mysterious room - all four walls of brick and a floor of polished marble, just like a chamber in any temple in Ancient Greece. They were surrounded by statues of ancient Greek mythological creatures and shelves full of books, sorted by categories - Science, Algebra, you name it.
Just like a library or a chamber of any temple in Ancient Greece. Except that there was no way out.
"So what do we do?"
"I have no idea..."
The conversation was prematurely ended when a marble tile slid open and a stone altar came up bearing the following message in a papyrus parchment;
These steps lead to egress,
If you can make sense out of it,
I know you're trapped but don't stress,
You just have a few clues to beat.
First of all you need a key,
It's written here, as you can see,
Not square, not flat, but one that is round,
Just look up, sometimes down, but don't look all around;
Think long, think hard, think smart,
With the key you can start,
But wait, a copy of it you may need,
Bond with your professor; and he may help get you freed.
You're ready now my friend,
To tackle this ugly fiend,
Put this mess in its rightful place,
Just don't stare the problem right in its face.
Dave, being ever alert, noted that it had been exactly 30 minutes since everyone woke up.
"Now what?"
"Solve the problem, I guess?"
***
Can you solve the puzzle?
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