sub deserialize {
    my ($self, $blackbox) = @_;

    # capture up to 16-byte random sentinel.
    $blackbox->get_data =~ s/
            (.*?)
            (?:
               $self->{record_separator} | $
            )
        //xsm or confess("no match");

    return unpack("(w/a)*", $1); 
}