Decode this: could you make it as a double agent?

Rami Malek as Heller and Caitriona Balfe as Inquiline in 20th Century Studios' The Amateur Photograph: John Wilson

When Charlie Heller (Rami Malek) learns his wife has been murdered in a terrorist incident, he demands revenge. And when his superiors refuse to take action, he shakes off his life as a brilliant intelligence analyst to track down those responsible.

Does he have what it takes to become a field agent? Can his smarts put him ahead of those who underestimate his capabilities? The Amateur, also starring Laurence Fishburne as Henderson and Jon Bernthal as a field veteran, is coming to cinemas on 10 April, and we want to know if you have the intellect to join Charlie on his mission of revenge.

Take our entrance exam to see if you are operating at Charlie’s level, or if you bring a different set of skills to the task.

1. The ancient Scytale cipher was used by which army to share secret messages?

   1. Spartans

   2. Trojans

   3. Vikings

   4. Romans

2. 

   Rami Malek stars in The Amateur as an introverted analyst forced to take drastic action. Which of the following secret codes can be turned back into his name using the ROT13 cipher?

   1. jebatanzr

   2. enzvznyrx

   3. svfuohear

   4. iratrnapr

3. Kryptos is a sculpture by the artist Jim Sanborn on the grounds of the CIA headquarters, in Langley, Virginia. Since it was unveiled in 1990, how many of its five encrypted messages have been decoded?

   1. None

   2. Two

   3. Three

   4. All of them

4. The famed Bletchley Park in England was home to the code-breaking machine that decoded messages from the German Enigma machine during the second world war. What was the code-breaking machine called?

   1. The Bridge

   2. The Bombe

   3. The Breaker

   4. Big Buddy

5. A double agent needs to be comfortable switching between multiple codes. In the Nato phonetic alphabet, CIA is Charlie India Alpha. What is it in the APCO system used widely among US law enforcement?

   1. Cornelis Izaak Anton

   2. Caesar Ivar Adam

   3. Cuddles Idle Aardvaark

   4. Charles Ida Adam

6. Spies sometimes leave packages at secret locations so they can pass on information without meeting a contact in person. These locations are known as what?

   1. Dead drops

   2. Parcel pickups

   3. Lost luggage

   4. Quick catchments

7. 

   Undercover spies who will be on their own if they are discovered are sometimes referred to as NOCs. What does NOC stand for?

   1. Non-official cover

   2. Not our command

   3. Never outside command

   4. No orders coming

8. A covert listening device known as The Thing was given to the US ambassador to the Soviet Union in 1945, hidden within a gift. Designed by the Russian inventor Leon Theremin, most famous for his eerie musical instrument, the microphone was inside a carved wooden Great Seal of the United States. How long did it take to be discovered?

   1. Three to six months

   2. Two to three years

   3. Five to six years

   4. Two decades

9. The Amateur is based on a novel of the same name by Robert Littell. In which year was it published?

   1. 1976

   2. 1981

   3. 1986

   4. 1991

10. 

    Just one clue: 10-April. Can you decode these secret messages to find the final answer?

    1. Ut znk xomnz zxgiq. Haz oz oy tuz znoy utk

    2. Tuz znoy utk koznkx. Zxe gmgot

    3. Znoy oy tuz znk gtyckx eua ckxk ruuqotm lux

    4. Znk Gsgzkax oy ysgxzkx zngt znke znotq gtj yu gxk eua

Solutions

1:A, 2:B - In order, using a ROT13 code, in which each letter in the coded messages is substituted with one 13 further back in the alphabet, these are: wrongname; ramimalek; fishburne; vengeance., 3:C, 4:B, 5:D, 6:A, 7:A, 8:C, 9:B, 10:D - Using 10-4=6 as a Caesar cipher, and substituting each letter in the coded messages with a letter six further back in the alphabet, the answers are: On the right track. But it is not this one. Not this one either. Try again. This is not the answer you were looking for. The Amateur is smarter than they think and so are you.

Scores

1. 9 and above.

   9-10. You have the intellect of Rami Malek’s Charlie Heller. Never waiver from your mission and never let those who stand in your way stay there for long.

2. 6 and above.

   6-8. You have the skills of Laurence Fishburne’s Henderson. You have excellent spycraft but sometimes solve problems with force and leave the brains to the analysts.

3. 3 and above.

   3-5. You are just like Jon Bernthal’s field veteran. Street-smart and ready for action, you prefer to lead with your brawn whenever you can. Every code can be broken if you hit it hard enough.

4. 0 and above.

   0-2. Let’s cast you as a generic CIA worker. Stick to checking ID badges and being bamboozled by the Charlie Hellers of the world. If something goes wrong, duck for cover.

20th Century Studios The Amateur is only in cinemas 10 April 2025