In the case of the puzzle, the input bits consisted of the six-bit cipher derived from the ribbons on the key paired with each of the 6-bit chunks from the 608-bit string encoded in the flames. After the XOR operation was applied to the entire string, the new string was then divided into 4-bit chunks, each of which represented a single flame in the photo.

Each bit in the 4-bit chunks represented a characteristic of the flame and each characteristic group could be represented as a bit: short (0) or tall (1) / red (0) or yellow (1) border /narrow (0) or wide (1) / purple (0) or green (1) interior—in that order. So, for example, a 4-bit chunk with the value 0110 would be a short (0), yellow border (1), wide (1), purple interior (0) flame in the painting.