Story
It has been an age since the ‘Ratvolution,’ when the test subjects traded places with their tormentors …
MAUS: Klaus, I am troubled, my friend. If we continue to put our
subjects through experiments, how are we any better than they were?
KLAUS: You are too sensitive, Maus. For starters, we have fur, provide
better food, and no more running!
MAUS: Thank you, Klaus. All my reservations have been answered.
KLAUS: I admit the berries were nice. But moving on, you see how
easily Subject M and Subject S are manipulated?
MAUS: Yes. Even with their faulty memories and haphazard
record-keeping, they continue to display remarkable tenacity
and analytic ability …
KLAUS: … when they are not distracted by the chatter of other humans.
MAUS: All we had to do was bury a lab key and provide a map in
a room with more than one door …
KLAUS: … and snacks and a shovel.
MAUS: … and one book to read every other day.
KLAUS: Of course, Maus, we are not inanimal after all !
Observe, they have triggered the security alarm in the lab already.
MAUS: Now, we will teach them some manners!
KLAUS: They must deduce the 81 digit deactivation code in order to
turn on all the lights and find the …
Etymology
Cambridge Dictionary About Words : Mind your p's and q's
Rules
Standard Sudoku rules apply.
Palindromes: Digits on an orange palindrome line read the same forwards as backwards.
Pentomic Renban: The grid is populated with a number of "Exploding Pentominoes." These each represent a non-repeating set of five consecutive digits in any order, one per box in the cells corresponding to the shape and orientation of the pentomino, and its position within a cell, without any rotation or reflection.
Note
When considering pentominos, pay attention to where each sits within a cell. For example, in this puzzle, the P pentomino at R4C4 is shifted left, so it specifies cells in columns 1 and 4 rather than columns 4 and 7. This pentomino defines a P shaped set of five cells, the top left corner of boxes 1, 2, 4, 5, and 7. The pentomino could appear in any of those five cells without changing the set.
Play Online
This puzzle employs dynamic fog. Entering a correct digit will clear at least the cell it occupies, and sometimes other cells as well.
Illustration of Exploding Pentominoes
The five cells of the Pentomic Renban Set defined by each Exploding Pentomino occupy the same position in each 3x3 box.
Puzzle Series
Solution code: the 9 digits on a straight line passing through Subject M and Subject S, followed by a 6 letter word for what triggered the alarm