Saturday, July 23, 2011

Kryptos

I was obsessed with the 4th Kryptos cipher for a few months and determined to solve it. However, the more I understood the artist Jim Sanborn, and the more I understood the cipher, the more I came to believe it is simply impossible to solve though cryptanalysis. Even if I programmed every cipher into a brute-force cracker and ran them all for eternity, which I considered, I believe that would not help. So I've kinda lost interest. (Edit: the bug came back a few months later, I'm going to try a little longer.) However, before moving on I thought I'd share everything I have learned and post it in one spot instead of spread all over the Internet intermingled with conspiracy theories and alphabet soup.

Note: This is very fact-dense and link-sparse article. I intended to add more citations, but they are spread so far and wide it was easier to just type up what I knew and get to the links later. Feel free to request links to anything I claim and I will update this blog with them.

The Sculpture

Kryptos contains 4 ciphers (refereed to as K1 through K4) on one side and an over-sized keyed Vigenère tableau on the the other. These are all carved into a thick copper plate, installed with a pond and petrified wood and strata of granite and copper with Morse code palindromes etched upon them. There are suggestions from the artist that once the 4 ciphers are solved there is a larger puzzle. Through mistakes and counting white-space and punctuation and an extra L in the tableau, the two sides have the same number of characters -- 869 (11x79) each. That is a lot of carving.

Update: That extra L was added for "aesthetic reasons." (read that somewhere, can't find a link though... did I imagine it?) Either kerning was adjusted to make room for the L, or mistakes in kerning were made requiring this L. Sanborn has left this L off of the models of Krypto he sells and says it is not important for solving Kryptos, so that suggests it was a kerning mistake. Or... he could just be OCD and having 869 characters on one side and 868 on the other was unaesthetic. I can respect that.

K1

K1 is a keyed Vigenère cipher. The keyed Vigenère tableau from the sculpture is used with the password PALIMPSEST (which means layers of writing, like from the re-use of old parchment, or maybe like the layers of Morse code and granite slabs in the sculpture, or maybe it's a hint to use part of the sculpture as a OTP). It was broken both by hand and by computer years ago, and is partially broken by a slight modification of the code found here (though using bi-grams and tri-grams could greatly improve the results, remind me to modify this code some day...). The solution is:

BETWEEN SUBTLE SHADING AND THE ABSENCE OF LIGHT LIES THE NUANCE OF IQLUSION

Some Kryptos fanatics will tell you that this and all misspellings are intentional and have some mysterious meaning (more on this later), but when you look at Sanborn's original paperwork it seems to be completely accidental.


(Click to enlarge.)

Sanborn misspelled "PALIMPCEST" and thus altered the ciphertext, resulting in "IQLUSION" when deciphered rather than the "ILLUSION" as written on the worksheet. He also misspelled it "PALIMPCEST" where he wrote the keyword at the top of the page. It also looks like he wrote "PLAIMPCEST" many times on the worksheet before correcting the C to and S in all but the last instance. This, to me, is 100% confirmation that this misspelling was completely accidental. (Again, I hear the distant screams of the fanatics, more on this later.)

K2

The second cipher uses the same algorithm and the same keyword, but with the password ABSCISSA, which seems to refer to the coordinates contained within the plaintext. It was solved by the same people at the same time as vaguely referred to earlier, and is solved instantly by the code mentioned above. It contains two mistakes which I have colored red:

The plaintext reads:

IT WAS TOTALLY INVISIBLE HOWS THAT POSSIBLE ? THEY USED THE EARTHS MAGNETIC FIELD X THE INFORMATION WAS GATHERED AND TRANSMITTED UNDERGRUUND TO AN UNKNOWN LOCATION X DOES LANGLEY KNOW ABOUT THIS ? THEY SHOULD ITS BURIED OUT THERE SOMEWHERE X WHO KNOWS THE EXACT LOCATION ? ONLY WW THIS WAS HIS LAST MESSAGE X THIRTY EIGHT DEGREES FIFTY SEVEN MINUTES SIX POINT FIVE SECONDS NORTH SEVENTY SEVEN DEGREES EIGHT MINUTES FORTY FOUR SECONDS WEST ID BY ROWS

Mistakes

Again, I can hear the Kryptos fanatics screaming at my blasphemy. Repeating this heresy once got me censored from the moderated Kryptos yahoo group, and here's why. In 2003, a 2nd-hand report claimed:
"He said that the misspellings were deliberate, but it was less important *what* they were, but, "it's more the orientation of those letters that's useful there." Later on in the evening, he repeated the point, saying that it was the "positioning" that was important."
This "fact" has been repeated by the press, for instance by the WSJ on 5/27/2005, and has become gospel. Note that "the misspellings" was never defined, but is believed by some to mean "all five misspellings," and to others it means "four misspellings except the misspelling that he later admitted was accidental", or perhaps it means "the misspellings in K3 which we were talking about at the time but that context was not mentioned in the 2nd-hand report." Though later context in that report suggests they were talking about K1 and/or K2, but as it seems obvious the error in K1 was accidental so perhaps Sanborn is still unaware of the error in K1 and was referring only to "undergruund" in K2?

This belief that all mistakes were unintentional is most interesting, since 3 years later on April 19, 2006 Sanborn admitted he hasn't been paying attention to the decipherments, even when they were personally presented to him in a powerpoint presentation by Elonka Dunn. He said he had just noticed he made a huge, unintentional mistake: that "ID BY ROWS" should have really been "X LAYER TWO" as he left out a character. That mistake, and the fact he didn't notice it in the decipherments for years and years despite them being projected in front of his face, does not speak well for his attention to detail.

Still, Kryptos fanatics will tell you that the other mistake in K2, "UNDERGRUUND," was intentional. This is also an odd claim because of the following evidence. First is his original worksheet:

This shows "UNDERGROUND" spelled correctly. Of course this does not tell us if he accidentally carved the wrong letter, understandable when carving hundreds and hundreds of letters, or if this was intentional for some mysterious reason. However, Sanbron included this cipher on another sculpture named Antipodes, and he did not repeat this mistake, but instead carved the letters exactly as shown on the worksheet. This seems to strongly suggest the mistake was accidental (I know Kryptos was carved by hand, perhaps Antipodes was done by a machine, far faster and mistake-free?) or maybe the mistake doesn't work with the geometry on Antipodes. Again, do not discuss this on the moderated email list, it is verboten. Instead please stick to rambling alphabet-soup claims that Nostradamus both predicted, and solved, K4 -- those are welcomed with open arms.
Edit/update: Elonka's photo of Antipodes. I circled location of missing K2 error.

So, it seems quite certain all of the mistakes in K1 and K2 were accidental, but reports claim Sanborn was just as certain they were not. So, there you go, clear as mud. Maybe that's why it's a banned subject.

K3

This cipher is a transposition cipher. It has been solved 3 different ways: one that starts with an offset and skips a period of characters, one that involves reading stuff backwards with a staircase pattern and shuffling with the keyword KRYPTOS (to which Sanborn said must be "a by-product of the original matrix system"), and one that seems, in my opinion, to be much more likely and matches Sanborn's affinity for "matrices."

Write the cipher in a 24x14 grid. (Note, there are three raised characters which I have written in lower case, plus the N in front of them which is offset(which no-one ever seems to mention/notice)):

ENDyaHrOHNLSRHEOCPTEOIBI
DYSHNAIACHTNREYULDSLLSLL

NOHSNOSMRWXMNETPRNGATIHN
RARPESLNNELEBLPIIACAEWMT

WNDITEENRAHCTENEUDRETNHA
EOETFOLSEDTIWENHAEIOYTEY

QHEENCTAYCREIFTBRSPAMHHE
WENATAMATEGYEERLBTEEFOAS

FIOTUETUAEOTOARMAEERTNRT
IBSEDDNIAAHTTMSTEWPIEROA

GRIEWFEBAECTDDHILCEIHSIT
EGOEAOSDDRYDLORITRKLMLEH

AGTDHARDPNEOHMGFMFEUHEEC

DMRIPFEIMEHNLSSTTRTVDOHW


Rotate this 90 degrees clockwise

DAEGIFWQEWRNDE
MGGRBIEHONAOYN
RTOISONEEDRHSD
IDEEETAETIPSHy
PHAWDUTNFTENNa
FAOFDEACOESOAH
ERSENTMTLELSIr
IDDBIUAASNNMAO
MPDAAATYERNRCH
ENREAEECDAEWHN
HEYCHOGRTHLXTL
NODTTTYEICEMNS
LHLDTOEIWTBNRR
SMODMAEFEELEEH
SGRHSRRTNNPTYE
TFIITMLBHEIPUO
TMTLEABRAUIRLC
RFRCWETSEDANDP
TEKEPEEPIRCGST
VULIIREAOEAALE
DHMHETFMYTETLO
OELSRNOHTNWISI
HEEIORANEHMHLB
WCHTATSEYATNLI

Reform it into a 8x42 grid

DAEGIFWQ
EWRNDEMG
GRBIEHON
AOYNRTOI

SONEEDRH
SDIDEEET
AETIPSHy
PHAWDUTN
FTENNaFA
OFDEACOE
SOAHERSE
NTMTLELS
IrIDDBIU
AASNNMAO
MPDAAATY
ERNRCHEN
REAEECDA
EWHNHEYC
HOGRTHLX
TLNODTTT
YEICEMNS
LHLDTOEI
WTBNRRSM
ODMAEFEE
LEEHSGRH
SRRTNNPT
YETFIITM
LBHEIPUO
TMTLEABR
AUIRLCRF
RCWETSED

ANDPTEKE
PEEPIRCG
STVULIIR
EAOEAALE
DHMHETFM
YTETLOOE
LSRNOHTN
WISIHEEI
ORANEHMH
LBWCHTAT
SEYATNLI


Rotate this 90 degrees clockwise

SLOWLYDESPARATLYSLOWLYTHEREMAINSOFPASSAGED EBRISTHATENCUMBEREDTHELOWERPArTOFTHEDOORWA YWASREMOVEDWITHTREMBLINGHANDSIMADEATINYBRE ACNINTHEUPPERLEFTHANDCORNERANDTHENWIDENING THEHOLEALITTLEIINSERTEDTHECANDLEANDPEEREDI NTHEHOTAIRESCAPINGFROMTHECHAMBERCaUSEDTHEF LAMETOFLICKERBUTPRESENTLYDETAILSOFTHEROOMW ITHINEMERGEDFROMTHEMISTXCANYOUSEEANyTHINGQ

I colored the YAR red and the N green for readability, now a "ray" from the upper left-hand side. Perhaps "ray" is a hint for the whole puzzle, or maybe K4. Maybe the N means something, given the compass rose on site, maybe not.

Note there are two misspellings in the word "DESPARATLY" which should be "desperately" -- one letter longer and with an E instead of the first A. Clearly if the plaintext was one letter longer this encryption/decryption scheme would not work, so it seems this must be intentional, and perhaps this is the intentional misspelling Sanborn referred to. From that 2003 report:
"I asked him if the "desparatly" typo was deliberate or accidental, and he
declined to answer."
(Yet he answered about the other mistakes? Suggesting there are other intentional mistakes? Or he's nuts?) But why change an E to an A? Why would that be important? Is it a random mistake he was embarrassed about? Is this plaintext somehow used to decrypt K4?

The latter seems to be suggested from Sanborn's worksheets, as shown in an episode of NOVA:



Does "P" refer to "plaintext" and "C" to "ciphertext? Is this the mask or part of the encryption in K4? Or am just I seeing what I want to see?

K4

So this is all intriguing and there seems to be lots of hints and the earlier ciphers were pretty easy with modern tools, and Sanborn even announced the location of the plaintext letters "BERLIN" in K4, so why give up? Well, according to hints Sanborn and his CIA crypto-teacher have given, K4 is enciphered in a two step process. The first step is a "mask" to "hide the plain text letter frequencies." Then that encrypted text is encrypted again. And did I mention the final text is only 97 letters long?

And Sanborn has alluded to the mask not having anything to do with cryptography or things us nerds would think to analyze, but is more of a subjective, artistic thing.

Now, if it was something as simple as a mono-alphabetic substitution, one could simply try every key of a/every cipher for part 2, and then look for English-like letter frequency distributions and break K1. (I tried this to some degree, and was considering a larger scale before I got disillusioned.) But that is not the impression I get as to what the mask is. I'm guessing it is some sort of poly-alphabetic pattern, using characters from other parts of the artwork (he hinted that all the characters are there or something) and with only 97 letters this is a lost cause until more hints are released. In fact, if I am right that the mask is poly-alphabetic, then even if the entire plaintext was released I still don't think it would be possible to determine the two ciphers used. We would need hints specific to the mask.

Edit: perhaps I was being too hasty, and I also confused the author of a quote about the mask (I should really find more of those links to prevent more mistakes...) It was Scheidt who said the other ciphers didn't hide the statistics, and he was right. An amateur might think a keyed Vigenère cipher hides the stats, but not an ex chairman of the CIA. So to "mask" those doesn't necessarily mean using a two stage cipher. It could mean a cipher like ADFGX, or perhaps previous parts of the cipher are used as a One Time Pad (is that subjective and artistic?), that would certainly mask that statistics. I even had a few ideas on that I will add in a future blog...

Edit: even more Antipodes scribbles. I reversed images taken from the inside so you can see the full text of: K3, K4, K1, K2, K3, K4, K1, and the beginning of K2. The error in K1 appears twice. The error in K2 is not present twice. The missing S at the end of K2 is still missing from the one ending of K2.
Antipodes top and center
Antipodes center and bottom. Not there is overlap in the images (partial K2 and K3)

19 comments:

  1. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  2. Hi bud. I used all the clues at my disposal and managed to find a way to convert NYPTT to BERLIN exactly. Thing is, the rest of the text is pretty garbled... Not sure where to go from here as i'm no cryptologist yo. I have plenty more notes if you want in. Elonka's not answering her email (for a change) and it may be too early to tell the newspaper. But, still, with 91 letters not looking quite right, the chances of me getting BERLIN decoded are pretty f**king high for a fluke no? Hit me up at flyingaces28@gmail.com Cheers.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. If it doesn't solve the rest of the cipher it's most likely not the solution and it just coincidentally solved those 6 letters. It's not that big of a fluke because I'm assuming you were working with the aim of solving those six letters and then seeing if it worked on the rest, and there must be millions of ways to solve those 6 letters (hence my frustration with this cipher).

      You could post it to her group for input if you haven't already. I don't read that group any more and have basically given up on Kryptos until another hint comes along... or I find a way to run into Sanborn and ask him questions...

      Delete
  3. This comment has been removed by the author.

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  4. This is a good post, I hope more Kryptos fans find their way here! Doesn't mean I can walk away myself but you have somehow managed to stay sane and rational after trying Kryptos (and the people it attracts) and that's no small feat.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Thanks! I still ponder it occasionally, and try to think of how I would create the code were I the artist. It's just hard to keep all the real information separate from the wild speculation and opinions stated as facts. That's why I wrote this post. I was hoping people who question me on it and force me to find more citations, I like to have a rock solid foundation to start from.

      One thing I swear I read but can't find... Sanborn hinted it might be a visual system, but did he or someone else say something to the effect of "it may take an artist to break K4?" Have you read that anywhere or am I crazy?

      Delete
  5. Hello from Spain

    + I suggest a solution to KRIPTOS K4

    + IF the sculptor of Kryptos Mr. Sanborn has provided The New York Times with the answers to six letters in the sculpture’s final passage. The characters that are the 64th through 69th in the final series on the sculpture read NYPVTT. When deciphered, they read BERLIN
    http://www.nytimes.com/2010/11/21/us/21code.html?ref=us

    + THEN in my humble opinion the best solution is this:
    PEOPLE TO CREATE A SAFER, FREER WORLD AND SURELY THERE IS NO BETTER PLACE THAN BERLIN THE MEETING PLACE OF EAST AND WEST

    + BECAUSE

    1_is a fragment of a speech of Ronald reagan in front of Berlin Wall and complies with the requirements explained by the sculptor.
    —Ronald Reagan, address at the Brandenburg Gate, June 12, 1987.
    LOOK http://www.historyplace.com/speeches/re ... r-down.htm

    He said:
    “Today, thus, represents a moment of hope …….PEOPLE TO CREATE A SAFER, FREER WORLD AND SURELY THERE IS NO BETTER PLACE THAN BERLIN THE MEETING PLACE OF EAST AND WEST, to make a start.”


    2_a question needs an answer:

    SO, if K 3 has a question: ” …… can you see anythyngq?“. (The account of Howard Carter, the renowned Egyptologist, as he opened King Tut’s tomb. --and breaking the WALL--)

    THEN … K 4 has an beatiful answer “ People to create a safer, freer world ……..” (a fragment of a speech of Ronald reagan in front of Berlin WALL)


    3_is a beautiful and elegant solution, is what wanted the CIA: The Central Intelligence Agency planned the expansion known as the New Headquarters Building in the 1980s and asked artists to submit proposals to create a work of art for the courtyard. The broad principles it provided for the $250,000 commission included the notion that it should “engender feelings of well-being, hope.”

    FINALLY
    + I do not know the name of the encryption system, but this solution complies with the requirements and is lovely.

    Maybe you can find the code used

    Goodbye.

    ReplyDelete
  6. You need Einstein to solve this:
    "Any intelligent fool can make things bigger, more complex, and more violent. It takes a touch of genius -- and a lot of courage -- to move in the opposite direction."
    aka.
    "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler."

    OK, so this message has a public key:
    "And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free."
    That's all you need to know, now we should go in the mind of the Author.

    He played with your ego.
    You know that you don't do anything that you don't understand, right?
    So he done it because he knows what he was doing.

    He was holding your mind - he stole your most precious thing - you are trying to find the answer, but it's actually a magic trick, it's an illusion:

    You could decypher what he wrote, but he wrote something that even to him makes no sence.
    He tricked you.

    Now, how can truth set you free, except that you know he was just joking?

    Because Truth is the most powerful power in the world.
    Truth is the Word of God.

    Truth can set you free.
    All you need to do is say the truth, but we'll need Einstein one more time:

    “Energy cannot be created or destroyed, it can only be changed from one form to another.”

    So, if you cannot create energy (and/or mass), that means there is limited amount of energy.
    But when was it created if it cannot be created?
    Answer is:
    It's always been here and it will always be here.
    We are in Infinity: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aXuTt7c3Jkg
    (Holographic Universe, as some scientist say).

    If there is infinity, what am I in it?
    Are we out of it, or we are in it?
    Are we all connected?

    Truth is, time is illusion.
    There is no time, there is just constant change.

    If there is no time, and we are in Infinity,
    is there Negative Infinity?
    We say numbers go from minus infinity to infinity, it's a "line".

    I'll tell you that's a LIE!
    There are no negative numbers.
    Have you ever seen -20 apples on tree?
    Or would you have to have information about something that HAPPENED, to now realize it is gone.

    But is it gone, if we are in infinity?
    Or has it just changed to something else?

    If you knew the truth, that you are slave to money, illusion in databases of banks, that all you need is food, water and place to sleep,
    that we are in infinite energy and that we can tap on it,
    if you knew we could Re-Live Tesla's dream of free energy for everybody,
    If you knew how to Decipher Bible to make scientific sense like I did,
    Then you would, like me,
    Be free.

    When you know that humans are just shells of energy flowing through them, that our body is just our instrument, that your body is a prism of light and that you create different shades of rainbow, different sounds, but that total power is in Peace.

    You see, when someone is telling you something he understands and you don't, that makes you confused, that makes you want to know more, that steals your mind.
    Author knows it like I know it.
    It's hypnosis. His energy, his knowledge is inside you, but you cannot find it.

    I know all he knows, but even more.
    I know how to set you free, all you need to do is Learn like I did.

    ReplyDelete
  7. Einstein, Help us!
    "Peace cannot be kept by force. It can only be achieved by understanding."

    Would you like to stop paying taxes?

    You just have to stop doing it, and say the truth why you don't want to do it.

    You just say that you don't want to pay taxes because you know that there is no evil in the world.
    There is only ignorance and confusion.
    There is only mind control.
    Like Author controlled your mind for so many years, he made you spend so much time thinking about it, instead of you being at Peace.

    The only solution for Humanity problem is to understand that Peace is the only solution, that knowing the truth, how human body and mind works,
    when you realize that you are NOT free because if you were to stand up now and dance like a monkey people around you would be confused,
    because they think that is not "normal".
    But that's just because they are slaves of their fears.
    They don't know that telling the truth can save you from anything.

    E.G.
    You walk down the street and guy comes with the gun to mug you, what would you do?

    He expects you to be frightened, because he is frightened also, that's why he has a gun.
    Now, you could try to fight him, or you could make Peace, tell the truth, Hypnotize him back:
    "
    Hi child.
    You do remember you were a child one, right?
    What happened to that child? Why do you want to hurt me,
    I'm not your enemy.
    I know you are not evil, and that you think peace of paper can save you,
    but that paper is just trapped knowledge, it's the Control they made
    to keep you slave.
    You could be free, because all you need is some food and water for your body,
    for your biological machine, and some hapiness for your mind, and we are most happy when someone comes and tells us something new that we understand.

    So, come with me, and let's say the world that they are spending their FREE 'time' working instead of being with ones they love.

    BTW Do you know that there is not enough money to pay all the wealth in the world?
    That's because it's all illusion, like time is!
    There is plenty for all of us, we just need to share.
    We could create new nation, one country, destroy weapons, because no mother wants to send their children in war for someone elses stupid idea.
    Let us all, like Jesus said, be brothers and sisters, because that's what we are.
    We are just tiny little zeroes in The One - Infinity.
    There is enough for all of us, all we have to do is stop being confused.
    We need to learn.
    And if money is trapped knowledge, imagine how much
    THE ULTIMATE TRUTH is worth?

    So, if you want to mug me, if you want to take all I have,
    let me buy a coffe and make you warm, and let's talk about your
    problems and how you can solve it".


    Now, do you think he would shoot?
    Do you even remember I was talking to the mugger?

    No, I was telling the truth, I was singing, and you were confused,
    you'll have to read this one more time,
    because I just stole all you've got :)

    If you share it,
    it will grow.

    That is the power of Knowledge.

    There is only NOW
    Infinite NOW's

    Well, now you know the solution to this stupid
    Kryptos puzzle..

    Would you like to know the Puzzle of Religion?
    Do you want to know why this is "Matrix".
    Why you are a slave?

    Would you like to know the secret of Mayan prophecy?
    Would you like to know wh@ Jesus is?

    Would you like to know how to be Almighty?
    Would you like to hear the Word of God?

    Truth..
    It will set you free

    ReplyDelete
  8. All you need to do is step through the mirror.
    Because all you know is a lie...
    And solution is SOOOO SIMPLE.
    Like Einstein said:
    "Everything should be made as simple as possible, but not simpler."
    All you need to know is:
    Mind is controlling body.
    Your body is not the cause of your mind, it's the consequence.
    Mind and body are one - read body you'll read mind - mentalists know that
    Difference between you and dead corpse is in the energy flowing through you.
    Light. Life force.
    Jesus is abstraction: Truth, Life, Path.
    That means: Know truth that Life is everything that exists, that there will always be enough of everything because there is infinity and you don't need to be afraid of holding the past, live in it, when past is just a "file in your computer".
    Stop dwelling in past, loose fear / confusion - ignorance,
    and you'll be free.
    Watch any movie or read any book knowing that "better the guy is, he is closer to truth".
    Devil/Evil is just a lie - knowing how to control people and not setting them free.

    Once you know the truth, you'll realize that you are a superhero, that you can mind control other people, that you can fly, destroy any enemy...
    But you do it with peace.

    You just ignore ANYONE who wants to fight with you, thrust me, their mind wants to be at peace - he will stop eventually.
    Only way to stop bullets is to stop firing first.
    Because we live in action-reaction world.
    That's the pattern around us.
    But you can stop emotions, anger, hate, suffering, by knowing that all that happened had to happen, and you cannot change it.
    But nothing is lost - you are just light passing through matter, you'll be free once you leave it. When you break this puppet you use to walk around the world. But your energy will stay in it, forever.
    You are in hell. Heaven is just a state of mind:
    Constant Peace.
    Knowledge of Everything.

    Wanna lesson?
    http://tiny.cc/AnswerToEverything

    ReplyDelete
  9. Hi Seth, nice read on Kryptos. I have some info for you which you're welcome to try. The Roman Numerals on the CIA wall from John 8:32 I believe were also on the Kryptos Dedication.

    Used as a key, modified with a Q added (QIXX XXXII) will decrypt two plain text words TIME FLIES, 5 letters after BERLIN CLOCK. The word before Berlin Clock appears to be THE, which seems obvious, and the five letters after CLOCK appear to be TRUTH (also from John 8:32. There would be a full stop after Truth if those are correct. Best, James

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  10. I worked on the assumption that to be able to "see" anything between X and Q you would need I's (eyes).

    So by running this basic three letter key XIQ through multiple lines of K4 code, quite a number of words came out. They didn't make much sense at first, and were completely not what I had expected, but I'll put them here and perhaps one or more of them might be correct. Note that I shifted the OB to the end, making K the first CT letter, and CAROB the end CT after seeing two odd letters each end which formed OPEN when put them back together.

    IF WE CAN PUSH BEYOND DAWN , ABOVE THIS BLACK SKY, REALLY I ADMIRE YOU KNOW THE BERLIN CLOCK TRUTH. TIME FLIES, SLOWLY I OPEN.

    After finding those words, I looked around and found a lot of clocks and sundials have the phrase Tempus Fugit (Time Flies) and it's also written on the Berlin Wall. I've also seen it on hour glasses, and Jim did mention something about grains of sand escaping from an hour glass being clues..?

    I guess we'll have to see what Jim says, maybe one or two words or back to the drawing board...who knows.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. I think your theory could work well except, there might be some loopholes, I'm guessing K4 is not as complicated as we all are perceiving it to be, it might be something basic, otherwise simple, but because we all are thinking to high up we're all failing to see the possibility of a quite simple solution. I suggest we consider the hints 'BERLIN CLOCK', and his latter statement 'to delve deeper' (as it might actually be the algorithm written for the clock, it's unique way of telling time, etc...)
      Also he did mention that the answer was a riddle, and that one needed to be on the grounds to solve the deciphered text (riddle, a.k.a K4).

      Also there's the possibility of there being a simple word, phrase or a sentence as long as the 97 characters in that code that would be needed to decrypt it.

      There's also the possibility of him utilizing some kind of 2-step encryption method (e.g using the Caesar Cipher and then decrypting that answer derived with say... the Vigenère Cipher,etc.)

      He also mentioned that the first 3 parts of the ciphertext were also clues to the final part of the plaintext.

      And I also think we need to understand each part deeply to decipher the last part. He's already made it clear that there's an illusion between not knowing something (shade) and finally understanding (light)...

      Perhaps that could open another can of worms as he is an artist and shade and light could simply be tint and shade as appled to visual art...

      Point is, we're obviously missing something that could probably be right under our noses in search of something probably less complex...

      We need not chase waterfalls instead of the river.

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  11. Very cool blog post! The observations regarding the Kryptos K3 worksheet that Jim Sanborn showed on NOVA are especially thought-provoking... I'd like to agree that the alternating P and C characters in front of the rows could be somehow significant.

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    1. P and C label the rows as Plaintext and Ciphertest.

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  12. Has anyone tried using the word candle as the key word on the first passage? He hints at the upper left hand corner of the monument in the gut passage. He also says removing debris as if to omit letters maybe. It's a possibility that the first passage contains a clue to solving the last part.

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    1. Yes, it's been discussed dozens of times in the yahoo group. The problem is we don't know the 1 or 2 algorithms used, and until we do it's hard to test possible keys.

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  13. I appreciate your rotating matrix explanation of K3. This would suggest that the '?' after the Q belongs to K4 which would make it and even 98 characters long.

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