It was a normal Tuesday at the superconductor, until a bug in the system created a small situation. Now your team is trapped in eleven separate pocket dimensions. Luckily for you, there’s a half-finished experimental teleportation robot that may be able to get you all home, if you can figure out how to work through the quirks of its design.
这是超导体实验室的一个普通星期二, 但一个系统漏洞造成一个突发小状况, 把你的团队困在 11 个 单独的空间维度里。 幸运的是,有一个实验性 远距传送机器人半成品, 若能弄懂其古怪设计和如何操控, 它可能会把你们送回家。
Over interdimensional radio, your engineers explain that the robot can teleport into the alternate universes you’re trapped in, but it’ll do so completely at random. The robot has two levers and one big button. When it appears, you just switch the position of one of the levers from A to B or vice versa, and then the robot will note your dimensional position and teleport to another of the eleven dimensions at random. If it shows up again, you’ll have to pull a lever before it’ll teleport away. When anyone presses the button, the robot will bring everyone who pulled a lever back home. Anyone who didn’t will be lost in the multi-verse forever.
你的工程师 通过跨维无线电解释说, 机器人可以随机穿越到 你们被困的另一个宇宙。 机器人有两个控制杆和一个大按钮, 当它出现时, 你只需切换任意一个控制杆的位置, 从 A 到 B,或从 B 到 A, 机器人就会记住你所在的维度位置, 并随机穿越到 11 个空间维度中的一个。 若它再次出现,你必须 变换控制杆的位置,它才会离开。 当有人按下按钮时, 机器人会把曾拉动控制杆的人全带回家。 而没有拉过控制杆的人, 将会永远迷失在多元宇宙中。
The challenge is to make sure everyone has pulled a lever before anyone hits the button. While you can talk to each other now over the interdimensional radio and agree on a plan, the robot’s teleportation technology will interfere with all attempts at communication once it arrives. You won’t be able to attach messages to the robot or scratch notes into its superstrong alloy body. Your only way to communicate information is to change the position of exactly one lever or hit the button.
挑战在于,如何在按下按钮前, 确保每个人都拉了控制杆。 虽然你现在可以用跨维无线电互相交谈, 并一起制定方案, 但机器人一旦抵达, 其远程传送技术会干扰所有的通信。 你无法在机器人身上附加消息, 也不能在其超强的合金体上刻字。 你们沟通的唯一方式, 就是改变一个控制杆的位置或按下按钮。
What plan will make sure everyone gets home?
什么样的计划将确保每人都能回家呢?
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It would be nice if you could set different combinations of the levers to indicate who’s already been visited by the robot. But it has only two levers. That gives four combinations— far too few to communicate about 11 people, especially when you’re forced to flip one to send the robot onward. There must be another way.
用控制杆的位置组合 来代表机器人访问过谁, 是个不错的主意, 但它只有两个控制杆, 即仅有四种组合—— 组合太少了,无法代表 11 人, 特别是你必须用掉一个组合, 才能让机器人去其他人那里。 肯定有另外一种方式。
The critical insight is that not everyone has to know when every pocket dimension has been visited. If one person accepts responsibility ahead of time for hitting the button, then only they need to know who the robot has visited. In fact, they don’t even need to know exactly who’s been visited… just how many people have been.
解题关键在于, 并非每个人都必须了解 哪些空间维度已被访问过。 如果某人提前接受按下按钮的任务, 那么,只需他知道机器人访问过谁即可。 其实,他甚至无须知道 机器人去过谁那里…… 只需知道去过多少人那里即可。
You volunteer to be the person in charge of pressing the button when the moment is right, and give the following directions to everyone else. Your plan is simple: you’ll use the left lever to count visits, and the right lever will have no meaning, so there’s no harm in moving it up or down. Each of the others will pull the left lever from position A to position B exactly once. If the robot appears with the left lever already pulled down, or if an individual has previously pulled the left lever down at any point in the past, then they should move the right lever. You, meanwhile, will be the only one who ever resets the left lever from position B to position A. This gives you a way to count how many people have been visited by the robot. Everyone needs to pull the left lever down exactly once, and you’re the only one to pull it back up. So you know that the tenth time the robot visits you with its left lever in the down position, it must have visited all ten of the others. And that means you’re safe to press the button and teleport everyone home. It may take a while– most likely the robot will need to teleport around 355 times; but better that than leave anyone behind. Your teammates phase back into your home dimension one at a time. The mission proves a great success. Well...mostly.
你主动承担了任务, 在一切就绪的时候按下按钮的任务, 并给其他人下达如下的指示。 你的计划很简单: 你将用左控制杆来计算访问次数, 而右控制杆没有任何用处, 所以,移动右控制杆位置无所谓。 其他每个人都会拉动左控制杆, 从位置 A 到位置 B,仅一次。 若机器人出现时左控制杆已拉到 B, 或某人已在先前某时 把左控制杆拉到 B 位置, 这时,他们应该移动右控制杆的位置。 而你,才是唯一重置左控制杆的人, 从位置 B 重置到 A 。 这就提供了计算 被机器人访问过的人数的方法。 每个人只需将左控制杆 拉到 B 位置 1 次, 而你是唯一能将位置重置回 A 的人。 所以,当机器人第十次拜访你、 且左控制杆处于下方位置 B 时, 你就知道,它已访问过其他所有人了。 也意味着,你可以安全地 按下按钮,传送每人回家。 这可能需要一段时间—— 很可能机器人要传送约 355 次; 但总比留下任何一个人要好。 你的队友依次回到 你们家所在的维度空间, 任务圆满完成。 嗯……理论上如此。