How do you decode a PAO composite back into its three items?

Read the slots in fixed order: the person names item 1, the action names item 2, the object names item 3.

Decoding is the exact inverse of encoding. You see "Bond surfing on a cake" and ask, in order:

1. Whose person is Bond? → item 1 (A♠).
2. Whose action is surfing? → item 2 (7♥).
3. Whose object is a cake? → item 3 (K♦).

Because every person/action/object belongs to exactly one item, each slot resolves to one answer — and the fixed order gives you the sequence.

Go deeper:

• Nelson Dellis teaches Bill Weir a deck — shows reading a meshed scene back into card order.