The Logic Gates of Hell

You stumble through the pitch black labyrinth where you have been trapped for the past few hours, struggling to find your way out. You sense the oppressing walls brushing your shoulders on either side, making you feel claustrophobic in the tight corridors. There's only one thought on your mind, and it's to leave this godforsaken maze.

All of a sudden, you spot what seems to be a miniscule, vague shimmer of light in the distance. As you paw your way forward, the light grows bigger and brighter, until you can finally identify the source: a lone lantern hanging aside a gilded tapestry. At the foot of the tapestry lay an ornate box with its lid sealed tightly shut.

You first examine the tapestry and find some instructions on the wall hanging in front of you...


Perplexed by the depictions of the bizarre creatures and the multitudes of gates, you ponder the meaning behind the instructions. You recall your hand brushing over metal fixtures protruding from the slick stone walls, but didn't think too much of it at the time. Now you wonder if they are the gates that you see in tapestry. What of the strange creatures then?

As you ponder that thought, you decide to try your hand at opening the box. Surprisingly, it opens up effortlessly to reveal a pile of odd looking... cookies? You take one out and inspect it. It appears to be vaguely bird-shaped and a quick nibble reveals that it tastes like a butter cookie.

Your culinary ventures don't last for long though, as you hear the sound of rustling coming from the distance. The sound grows louder and louder and you grab the lantern from the wall in fright. Just what in the world is that noise?

All of a sudden, you see a group of furry creatures emerge from the shadows. Some are plump mochi-like beings, while others have spikey fur and glowing red eyes. These must be the chimimoryo that the tapestry was referring to!

The chimimoryo had stopped their advance towards you, but they now stare blankly in your direction, almost as if they were looking past you. Or... perhaps they really are looking at what's behind you? You glance between the chimimoryo and the chest full of cookies, and an idea creeps into your mind. You grab an armful of the cookies and start passing them out to the chimimoryo. As they receive their cookies, they start bouncing up and down excitedly, unable to contain themselves. You bundle the rest of the cookies up into your shirt and head off down the corridor, looking for signs of any doors.

As you're making your way back through the winding maze, you recall the instructions on the tapestry. The behavior of five of the gates were fully explained, but the remaining three have been left somewhat of a mystery. Based on the statements in the instructions, you wonder if you can figure out the exact behavior of these three gates as well...



Now that that's out of the way, you can finally see if you can figure out how to exit this place. While you were figuring out the logic of the gates of banishment, wickedness, and resolution, you managed to find a few of the gates that were depicted on the tapestry. They were relatively easy to find with the light of your newly acquired lantern. It seems that these gates are your only chance of escaping this hell...



Once you walk through the final gate, you feel a huge sense of relief when you see a bright light at the end of the corridor. You've finally made it out.

As you step out from the dark corridors into the brightness of the mortal realm, you have to cover your eyes from the dazzling light all around you. When your eyes begin to adjust, you find yourself standing inside what looks to be a college lecture hall. You glance around at the crowd of faces around you, staring in your direction.

"Hey, you!"

The sudden bark snaps you to attention and you look towards the source of the angry voice. A stern middle-aged man glares down at you from behind his podium.

"Sit down right this instant, I will not tolerate any further disruptions of the class."

Obedient out of fear, you climb the steps of the lecture hall and slump down into a seat in the back corner. The professor resumes his lecture.

"Now that we've covered all of the logic gates, I expect you all to be prepared enough to tackle the homework assignment for this week."

Gates... gates.................. gates?!

You sit up with a start. The diagrams on the blackboard look so vaguely familiar. Where have you seen these before?

With a jolt, you remember the hellish experience that you just went through in the maze with the mysterious chimimoryo and the magical gates. So why is it that this lecture so oddly resembles the puzzles you just worked though?

Jigoku-san: Gates of apathy, gates of contradiction? What a load of baloney. Let me lift the veil from your eyes and let you see the true nature of the world.



"AHHHH!!! What are those?!"

Surprisingly, the others students in the lecture hall don't react to your screams. It's as if time has frozen still. The only other movement in the room came from the professor, who was looking straight at you. You notice that two yellow horns have sprouted up from the top of his head.

Jigoku-san: These are the true logic gates of hell. The foundations of any digital system. Pure and demon? No, there are only 1's and 0's. Cute illustrations of creatures passing through gates? No, there are only truth tables. The mortal realm is a colder place than you can ever imagine, colder than the depths of hell.

As you suffer from a mini existential crisis, Jigoku-san continues.

Jigoku-san: Now, will you be able to confront the truth behind this world?



Note:

• Here is a quick tutorial on how to create truth tables for logic gate circuits: https://www.computerscience.gcse.guru/theory/logic-circuits
  
• You are also free to use Google to look for additional guides on how to tackle these problems. Keywords: "logic gate", "truth table"

Jigoku-san: Impressive. You've picked this up rather quickly. Now it's time.

You stare at Jigoku-san, confused.

Jigoku-san: It's time... to d-d-d-d-do a pop quiz!



Note:

• Googling is allowed! However, Jigoku-san will not be pleased if you just randomly try different answers!
  
• The answers for #10 should say OR instead of NAND