It is a shame to observe some of the blatant entropy spewed to hinder others out of greed.

Thank you to Alberto, NoMachine, and many others who have contributed so much to these endeavors. I have learned a great deal from many of you who so willingly shared your code, time and very essence while working on this puzzle.

I have also been afflicted with the obsession of plinking away at the code, tearing it apart at the bit in hopes to glimpse the true clockwork beneath. I can see the draw which has held many of you here for so long observing.

Imagine my own anger with myself after finding out #66 has been solved and going back over the many terrabytes of code I have horded, scrapped and reconstructed across this thread well into a third restart. My hypothesis had placed me within 2**61 or less of the key. An going back over my bat files and clutters external drives stuffed to the brim with my attempts.

I had calculated 2628a3ad7d90cd20f to 2728ad7d90cd20f. I had sitting in a bat file created and last ran 5/13/2024.


I agree with many and none of the findings here.

Perhaps it is part of my unique approach... preferring to bash myself upon the rocks while learning to swim after leaping into the sea that these puzzles represent. While thrashing away in my inadequate mind at this, and many other puzzles. I have discovered a few things. Alberto has probably also and is why he is still here to observe. I will with-hold my many hypotheses and the likes as I am a woefully ignorant newcomer, but I am observant.

While there is no pattern as the author clearly stated, he did have a system in which he used to generate the keys, and how clever and simple it was hidden is plain sight. I almost missed it myself, but kept rounding back to it.

There is no pattern, but all beings are creatures of habit. Don't waste your time on seeking the pattern. It is pointless at this size of key space. Leverage your ingenuity, cunning and logic. Stop blind skips into the key space, look for habit, not pattern. #66 broke many of the rules the author seemed to have kept to, no repeating characters greater than two. No repeated string lengths. The vast keyspace size now protects the prizes, not some cleverly constructed riddle or system to solve.

I am here to offer what the author secretly wished to set about and construct with his double puzzle. This puzzle is not just about cracking the entropy. It is about cracking the human condition, there are keen minds here and the blockchain is power.

Smart-contracts written and publicly audited could govern the key space search server, so blind trust is removed. True equality could be possible. I reference Alberto mostly because he has the most work along with WanderingPhilosopher, there are most likely others I miss, and forgive my ignorance.

Understand those people gave openly and freely shared with all so everyone was given equal chance.

Thank you, to those who gave openly because they understood this concept so well.

To those dreaming, I say dream, but understand. You must give before others learn to give also. It one of the strangest paradoxes. No one will share until you decide to teach them how to share.

If you all would stop searching in single castles with vaults empty waiting for the prize while dreaming, this puzzle would crumble in a few months under true collaboration.

Truly come together and work as a team. I see several small groups within these pages, islands of brilliant minds drawn to one another.

But, what do I know. I am just some old man to the party.  A SimpleMind.

Greetings to Everyone here. I hope to add my small contribution and knowledge to these pages, I am ExiledDatum.