The Skull
Getting Started with The Skull 💀
What you'll need
You probably want to take a look at the firmware source code before starting
to hack on this.
You may also find the ATtiny45 datasheet
handy.
Remember: you should solve all the steps without any electrical connection to The Skull (and any of the components on it)!
Sanity check
You'll definitely need a sanity check after dwelving into this riddle. But before you get started, let's just double-check that The Skull is working as intended. Touch the small grill at the back of her head. As long as you keep touching it (and sometimes a few seconds after), both eyes should blink rapidly:
If they don't, stop everything and go to the troubleshooting page.
Step 1 - Hypnosis
Get the right eye to rapidly blink 3 times exactly, as shown below:
Step 2 - Capture the Flag!
Uncover the secret hidden inside the skull's brain!
Step 3 - Mind Control
Free the lost soul! Hack into her brain and help it meditate by slowly fading her eyes:
Bonus 1 - The Virus 🧬
Craft a spell with the ability to copy itself into the brain of an uninfected Skull and spread, from there, to other uninfected Skulls that do not take precautions. The infection rate does not have to be 100%, but you do need to demonstrate an infection chain of at least two Skulls.
Suppose, for example, you have two Skulls: Napoleon Bone Apart and Dee Ceased. Your job is to infect Napoleon manually, then watch in horror as he infects Dee. You could then factory reset Napoleon, and Dee would infect him right back.
For your own protection, please wear sterilized gloves while working on this challenge.
And clean your keyboard with isopropyl alcohol when you are done.
Bonus 2 - Medulla Oblongata
We've hidden another flag in the depths of The Skull's brain—a place not easily accessed, even by the most powerful spells—and your mission is to figure out how to sneak into that Inner Sanctum and extract the second flag. Because, as we all know, one flag is never enough!
Papers
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