The Alan Turing Cryptography Competition

2012 edition. From the people behind the MathsBombe Competition.
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Chapter 2

Sunday - Gorton Monastery

"Gorton Monastery!", shouted Mike, "Let's go and find the next clue". He was halfway out of the room before Ellie realised what was happening. "Wait", she cried, "I'm coming too!". They pelted out of the house, grabbed their bikes and started peddling furiously.

Gorton Monastery, built in the 1860s, was an imposing Victorian Gothic edifice. "It's huge", said Mike as they arrived "How will we find the clue?". "Dunno", replied Ellie, "it could be anywhere". They locked their bikes to the fence and wandered into the grounds.

A marquee was pitched outside the main building and lots of people were milling around. "What's going on?" asked Ellie. "Oh, it's an afternoon concert", said a passing official, "have you got a ticket?" "Ummm, no, but can we just have a look around." "Well, we usually expect a donation", said the official shaking a collection box that had suddenly appeared. Ellie dropped a few coins into the box and she and Mike walked into the tent.

The marquee was full of people and rather stifling, but the children wriggled through the crowd and escaped into the cloister. "Phew" said Mike, "where shall we start? The clue said to delve deep, should we dig up the garden?"

Just then, two heavyset men pushed their way past, knocking Mike to the ground. "Hey", shouted Ellie, "watch where you're going!" The men just laughed and ignored her. "Hey", she said, "I'd like an apology!". The men stopped, turned round slowly and said "Listen little girl. We've no time for the likes of you. Get out of our way - we're going to be rich!". The men laughed again and made their way to the exit. Mike had got back to his feet and was frowning. "How do you think they're going to get rich?" "Do you think they've on the trail of the Turing Treasure?" "I doubt it, who else would know about it?" Mike looked thoughtful and then cried out in triumph as he picked up a mobile phone. "It must have fallen out of his pocket as he pushed past me. Look, I think they are after the treasure and I think they've beaten us to the clue."

"Oh no", said Ellie, as she looked at the phone, "the phone looks broken. The screen is cracked, but it's still displaying a message."

Chapter 2 image

What does the message say? The code word is the 13th word in the message.

Background:

Alan Turing is probably best known now for his work as a code-breaker at Bletchley Park during the 2nd World War and for his contributions to theoretical computer science. However, for many years his contributions to society were enormously underestimated due to the secrecy surrounding the code-breakers (that the Enigma machine had been broken was declassified only in the 1970s) and the stigma attached to his homosexuality (which led to his early death in 1954). There are now many tributes to Turing and his work around Manchester: part of Manchester's ring road near Gorton is named 'Alan Turing Way', the School of Mathematics at the University of Manchester is located in the Alan Turing Building, and a memorial and statue to Turing can be found in Sackville Park, between the University of Manchester and Canal Street.

Alan Turing Cryptography Competition 2012 is organised by the The Department of Mathematics at The University of Manchester.
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