OVERVIEW

You and one counterparty have been routed to a sealed zone for a sanctioned attempt at SIG CRYPT shard decryption. Each operative locks one half of a 12-digit threshold key — six private digits each. The combined pool of 12 digits is the joint key surface.

Bid against that pool. Read your counterparty. Call their bluff before they call yours. The Multilateral Threshold Decryption Compact will arbitrate.

SYNC PHASE

The MTDC issues two single-use ciphers for this engagement. Accept the first, or CYCLE to swap to the second — once accepted, the lock is final.

Once both halves are locked, the engagement opens to bidding. A locked half cannot be changed for the remainder of the engagement.

Enrolled operatives may instead pin a live code from a sanctioned authenticator.

BIDDING

Each bid is a claim that quantity shards in rank can be jointly opened — equivalently, that quantity digits of that rank appear across the combined 12-digit pool.

Successive bids must escalate. Higher quantity always beats lower quantity. At equal quantity, higher rank wins. The first bid has no floor — the opening operative must raise.

Example: [7 7 7] claims three Sevens are extractable. [8 8 8] beats it (same quantity, higher rank). [2 2 2 2] also beats it (higher quantity wins regardless of rank). [6 6 6] does not (same quantity, lower rank).

RANK ORDERING

Each authenticator digit maps to one rank. Two non-obvious entries: rank 1 is the highest (Ace), and rank 0 is Ten, ranked between Nine and Ace.

  1   ACE
  0   TEN
  9   NINE
  8   EIGHT
  7   SEVEN
  6   SIX
  5   FIVE
  4   FOUR
  3   THREE
  2   TWO

Highest to lowest: ACE > TEN > 9 > 8 > 7 > 6 > 5 > 4 > 3 > 2

CHALLENGE

In lieu of raising, you may invoke the failsafe — challenging the standing bid. The MTDC then reveals both locked halves and audits the claim.

Cannot challenge on the opening turn — there is no standing bid to dispute. The opening operative must raise.

DECRYPTION REVEAL

On challenge invocation, the MTDC counts digits of the claimed rank across the full 12. The standing bid stands or falls against that count.

• VERIFIED — actual count meets or exceeds the bid. Challenger locked out, bidder succeeds in the decryption.
• FALSE — actual count falls short. Challenger wins the decryption, Bidder is locked out.

Equality favors the bidder. The burden of disproof rests on the challenger. MTDC decisions are final; there is no appeal.

REMATCHES

Rematches initiate a new engagement against a new zone, opened by either operative. Anonymous engagements leave no record — closing the tab discards the session.