“Hand key schedules: the tableau rows as keys ('layer two'), a keyword stepped by skip, stutter, back-and-forth, triangle and square rules, and restarted at each carved line; each tested exactly on fixed, free and paired alphabets”
F1.4. The list of hand schedules is written first (C20(c)-(e) and the hand rules a person with a keyword and a pencil would use), then each is tested exactly. Covered before and not rerun: Berlin clock (0079), Carter dates (0038), progressive per repeat (0011, 0042), restart at each word (0101), autokeys (0002, 0003, 0012, 0118), the second plate and the sculpture's texts as running keys (C20(c): 0017, 0090, 0117), a shift per carved line plus a word (0088). K5 as key (C20(e)) is blocked: no text. New here: (A) C20(d) the tableau rows as fixed keys; (B) skip one keyword letter every m letters; (C) each keyword letter used r times; (D) the keyword forward then backward; (E) the keyword indexed by triangle or square numbers; (F) the keyword restarted at each carved line of the plate. B-F with an unknown keyword of length 2-31 on 8 standard/KRYPTOS tables, one free alphabet (both forms) and two free alphabets.
revertedstatus
a new rootparents
30 mintime, all phases
0candidates
0/24known letters
1
The experiment method
What the method does with the 24 known letters.
Someone enciphering by hand with a key wordthe secret word The word or string a cipher needs besides the method. has simple ways to use it besides repeating it: skip a letter now and then, use each letter twice, go back and forth through the word, jump ahead by growing steps, or start the word again at the start of each carved line. Or, reading 'layer two' literally, use the second row of the big tablethe table The right-hand half of the sculpture, 26 rows of the alphabet each shifted one place further, starting from the word KRYPTOS. on the sculpture as the key. We list these rules, then check each against the 24 known lettersthe known letters Sanborn has confirmed that positions 22 to 34 of the message read EASTNORTHEAST and positions 64 to 74 read BERLINCLOCK., with the sculpture's table, a plain table, and tables in any order at all.
Words in the margin are defined on the glossary page.
1.1
The method at work
The carved letters go in at the top; the reading comes out at the bottom.
the idea
Besides repeating a key word, a person with a pencil can skip a letter now and then, use each twice, go back and forth, jump by growing steps, or restart at each carved line; or use a row of the sculpture's table as the key ('layer two'). The list was written first.
the check
Each rule groups the known places by the key letter they use; each group must share a key value, on the sculpture's tables or on alphabets in any order.
the bound
The run hit its 30-minute budget inside the skip rule, so most of the list went untested here. One cell (skip, two free alphabets) was above ten coppers; 0127 replicated it and 0128 finished the list.
2
Best candidate against the known letters
This experiment produced no candidate: the search ruled everything out before a full text was built. Its product is the bounded negative in section 7.
3
Walkthrough, by hand
Redo the method on a few letters with pencil and paper.
Take a key word of n letters, unknown, say n = 7, and a rule, say 'skip one key letter every 5 letters'.
Walk along K4 writing under each place the number of the key letter it uses: 0 1 2 3 4, then skip, 6 0 1 2 3, then skip, and so on, counting modulo 7.
Known places with the same number must have the same key value.
With the sculpture's table, key value = place of the carved letter minus place of the known letter in KRYPTOS order; compare.
With an unknown table, solve for whether any alphabet makes them agree.
Repeat for every rule, every n, every starting phase, and on scrambled copies of K4.
the worksheet: the first steps by hand, on squared paper
4
Worked example, generated
The same steps run by the code on the real letters.
skip schedule: key word of 7 letters, one key letter skipped every 5 letters; KRYPTOS on both sides, Vigenere
place known carved key letter no. key value
22 E F 4 1
23 A L 5 10
24 S R 6 21
25 T V 0 18
26 N Q 2 1
27 O Q 3 15
28 R P 4 2
29 T R 5 23
30 H N 6 5
31 E G 1 2
32 A K 2 19
33 S S 3 0
34 T S 4 2
64 B N 5 11
65 E Y 6 17
66 R P 1 2
67 L V 2 5
68 I T 3 15
69 N T 4 11
70 C M 5 9
71 L Z 0 8
72 O F 1 7
73 C P 2 20
74 K K 3 0
key letter numbers with clashing values: [0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6]: dead
5
Hypothesis, for a cryptanalyst
Family, key space, the constraint under test, and the clues it reads.
C20(c)-(e) ('layer two': the second plate, the tableau's row two, K5), C5 (simple, remembered, keyed by word/s), C3(a) (the plate as grid). Model for B-F: key value at message place i (0-based) = W[f(i) mod n] for an unknown keyword W of length n: B f = i + floor((i + phi)/m), m 2-30; C f = floor((i + phi)/r), r 2-6; D W then W reversed (period 2n or 2n-2, end letters repeated or not); E f = T(i + phi) = (i + phi)(i + phi + 1)/2 or (i + phi)^2; F f = column on the carved line minus 1 (K4 fills columns 28-31 of line 11, then lines 12-14), counted from the line start or from K4's first letter; phi over its whole range; n 2-26 (2-31 for F). Each setting partitions the 24 known places into slots; distinct partitions are tested once. Tests: (i) 8 tables (plain and cipher standard or KRYPTOS, Vigenere or Beaufort): all key values in a slot equal; (ii) one free alphabet, forms V and B, and (iii) two free alphabets, by 0119/0123's exact decider (CRT mod 13 and 2, witness re-checked). Count consistent partitions with at least one check, per schedule and test, on K4 and 10 shuffled coppers (seed 126). (A): the 26 carved tableau rows (30 letters plus the extra L) with and without the index letter, as repeating keys from every start, key letters on the standard or KRYPTOS order, 8 tables: count known letters reproduced.
6
Prediction
Written before the run; the result decides it.
No schedule fits on the standard or KRYPTOS tables with at least three checks, and the tableau rows reproduce at most 7 of 24 known letters, as on coppers. On free alphabets, consistent counts lie inside the coppers' range for every schedule and test, give or take one cell in the roughly 20 compared (chance). Any cell outside the range with K4 high is replicated before anything else.
7
Method
Build each schedule's settings and the slot partition of the 24 known places it gives; keep distinct partitions.
For each partition and text (K4 and 10 coppers), test the 8 tables, one free alphabet (V, B) and two free alphabets exactly.
Count consistent partitions with at least one check.
Tableau rows as fixed keys: best count of known letters reproduced.
Compare K4 with the coppers' range.
8
Result and bounds
The harness's record: candidates, gates, loss, and the negative result this experiment leaves behind.
0candidates returned
0passed every gate
0/24known letters, best
–lowest loss
nonechampion before
Outside the copper range: ['B skip | two free: K4 461 vs 305-449']. K4 consistent on std/KRYPTOS tables: 0 partitions (max checks 0). Tableau rows as keys: K4 best 6/24, coppers [6, 6, 5].
What was searched, as the harness recorded it.
family
hand key schedules with an unknown keyword (skip, stutter, back and forth, triangle, square, line restart), and the tableau rows as keys
partitions
B skip
distinct
3,729
with checks
3,729
C stutter
distinct
207
with checks
207
E triangle
distinct
350
with checks
350
E square
distinct
229
with checks
229
F line restart
distinct
30
with checks
30
D back and forth
distinct
509
with checks
509
cells
B skip | tables
k4
0
coppers
0, 0
B skip | free V
k4
67
coppers
22, 390
B skip | free B
k4
173
coppers
101, 229
B skip | two free
k4
461
coppers
305, 449
C stutter | tables
k4
0
coppers
0, 0
C stutter | free V
k4
0
coppers
0, 0
C stutter | free B
k4
0
coppers
0, 0
C stutter | two free
k4
0
coppers
0, 0
E triangle | tables
k4
0
coppers
0, 0
E triangle | free V
k4
0
coppers
0, 0
E triangle | free B
k4
0
coppers
0, 0
E triangle | two free
k4
0
coppers
0, 0
E square | tables
k4
0
coppers
0, 0
E square | free V
k4
0
coppers
0, 0
E square | free B
k4
0
coppers
0, 0
E square | two free
k4
0
coppers
0, 0
F line restart | tables
k4
0
coppers
0, 0
F line restart | free V
k4
0
coppers
0, 0
F line restart | free B
k4
0
coppers
0, 0
F line restart | two free
k4
0
coppers
0, 0
D back and forth | tables
k4
0
coppers
0, 0
D back and forth | free V
k4
0
coppers
0, 0
D back and forth | free B
k4
0
coppers
0, 0
D back and forth | two free
k4
0
coppers
0, 0
outside copper range
B skip | two free: K4 461 vs 305-449
k4 consistent on standard or kryptos tables
none
n k4 consistent on tables
0
tableau rows as keys
keys
52
starts
every
tables
16
k4 best hits
6
coppers best hits first 3
6, 6, 5
covered elsewhere
Berlin clock
0079
Carter dates
0038
progressive
0011, 0042
restart per word
0101
autokey
0002, 0003, 0012, 0118
C20(c) second plate / sculpture texts
0017, 0090, 0117
shift per carved line
0088
blocked
C20(e) K5 as key
no text
controls
10 shuffled coppers (seed 126), identical tests
How this experiment sits among the others is on the lineage page; its family's open hypotheses are on the families page.
Rendered from the record on 2026-10-18 12:26 UTC; updated after every experiment.