Someone at Two Sigma’s HackerLab left an unfinished project on Workbench 7: a tangle of wires, a hand-drawn circuit diagram pinned to the pegboard, and a stack of loose notes with the labels smudged off. The machine won’t power on until someone traces the correct wire path from the power source to the output terminal.
Your Job
Trace the wire path, collect the signal codes along the way, and determine the activation password.
Connecting the Wire
Start at the junction marked POWER SOURCE. Follow the signal arrow from a junction to get to the next junction, then follow that junction’s arrow, and so on. You always move exactly one junction in the arrow’s direction unless a note specifically instructs otherwise. You may never run a wire off the edge of the diagram.
Signal Codes
Most junctions contain a signal code letter. Record each one as you go. When your wire reaches OUTPUT, the codes collected will be the activation password.
The Builder’s Notes
Some junctions on the diagram are marked with a star. The builder left a note at each one, but the labels have worn off. The notes below were found loose on the workbench. When you reach a starred junction, you must decide which note applies based on whether the resulting path remains valid. Not all starred junctions may be on the correct path, so some notes may remain unused.
Crossed Wires: Someone swapped the wire spools. Red signal arrows are now treated as Blue and Blue signal arrows are now treated as Red for all purposes, including any active color-based notes.
Frequency Cycling: The wires must alternate colors in a specific pattern. From this point forward, you may only enter a junction whose arrow matches the next color in this repeating sequence: Blue, then Yellow, then Red, then Green, then back to Blue. The very first junction you enter after this note must have a Blue arrow.
Reverse Polarity: Everything’s backwards. All printed signal arrows now point opposite to their true direction. ↑ means ↓, → means ←, and vice versa. All other active notes remain in effect.
Safety Override: All other active notes are immediately deactivated. Signal arrows are read exactly as printed. Every signal code you collected from a junction with a Red signal arrow was corrupted, do not include them in the activation password.
Signal Boost: The wire is overcharged. From now on, whenever you land on a junction that does not have a signal code letter, ignore that junction’s arrow entirely. Instead, continue one additional junction in the direction that brought you there. Then read the arrow at the junction you end up on and proceed normally.
