I mentioned I don't have a choice in how the string is packed. Even if the "wrong packing" was used for a string = "-1" , how can I unpack it back to "-1"? Another way of saying it is, both strings "-1" and "d1" pack with H2 to the same character (squiggly N). If I know ahead of time it must be an integer, what unpacking can I use to get "-1"