“F3.2: the Morse E counts and the plate's line lengths as the number half of a two-part key, each reading with an unknown word, exact”
F3.2. 0038 added an unknown word to 17 digit strings from the story, one of them the Morse E counts as the digits 510179. Here each count is one key value (10 is ten, not 1 then 0), and the readings are listed in full from the two transcriptions of the Morse (knowledge/01-facts.md, Rumkin): the E runs in carved order, the E totals per message, both directions; and from the plate (knowledge/01-facts.md transcript): the 28 line lengths, their departures from 31, the lower plate's 14 alone, K4's own lines (4, 31, 31, 31), and two place readings: the line and the column of each K4 letter on the copper. 15 sequences, each forward and reversed where it repeats, every alignment, both signs, 12 table rules, word lengths 1-24.
The Morse code at the entrance is padded with single dots, read as the letter E, in little groups. The copper's lines are not all the same length. Either could be the number half of a key: a secret word for letters, these numbers added on top. For every way of reading the numbers, 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. tell us what the secret wordthe secret word The word or string a cipher needs besides the method. would have to be; we check whether it can be one word at all, and whether it is English, and compare with scrambled copies.
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
The Morse at the entrance is padded with groups of single dots (E), and the copper's lines are of slightly different lengths. Either set of numbers could be the number half of a key whose other half is a secret word.
the check
Every reading of the numbers, as values one per letter, repeated from every starting point, added or subtracted, with a secret word of 1 to 24 letters on each of 12 table rules; the 24 known letters must agree on the word.
the bound
Not one setting fits K4 or any of 20 scrambled copies; a text planted this way is found. F3.2 closed.
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 the E runs as carved: 2, 1, 6, 3, 2, 2, 5, 3, 1, 1, repeated under the message from some starting run.
On the sculpture's table the known E at place 22 over the carved F asks for key value 1.
Subtract the run number under place 22: what is left is the secret word's letter for that slot.
With a 7-letter word, places 22 and 29 share a slot: the two leftovers must agree.
Go through all 24 known letters for every word length, start and sign; a survivor's word is looked up.
Repeat on scrambled copies.
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.
Morse E runs from the first run, Vigenere on the KRYPTOS table, word length 7
place known carved key run word value slot
22 E F 1 1 0 0
23 A L 10 6 4 1
24 S R 21 3 18 2
25 T V 18 2 16 3
26 N Q 1 2 25 4
27 O Q 15 5 10 5
28 R P 2 3 25 6
29 T R 23 1 22 0
30 H N 5 1 4 1
31 E G 2 2 0 2
32 A K 19 1 18 3
33 S S 0 6 20 4
34 T S 2 3 25 5
64 B N 11 3 8 0
65 E Y 17 2 15 1
66 R P 2 2 0 2
67 L V 5 5 0 3
68 I T 15 3 12 4
69 N T 11 1 10 5
70 C M 9 1 8 6
71 L Z 8 2 6 0
72 O F 7 1 6 1
73 C P 20 6 14 2
74 K K 0 3 23 3
5
Hypothesis, for a cryptanalyst
Family, key space, the constraint under test, and the clues it reads.
C25(b) (the Morse E counts as numbers), C5(b) ('key word/s'), C6 (Scheidt's two-part keys), A14-style layout readings (the plate's line lengths). Model: carved = T(plain, k_i), T one of 12 rules (Vigenere, Beaufort, variant; plain and cipher alphabets standard or KRYPTOS), k_i = w[i mod a] + s d[(i + o) mod m] for a repeating sequence d of length m (or d_i for a place reading), s = +-1, w an unknown word of length a. The 24 known letters force k at their places; w's slots must agree. Checks: 24 minus the slots the known places fill. Statistic: live settings by checks and dictionary words among fully forced words, K4 against 20 shuffled coppers.
6
Prediction
Written before the run; the result decides it.
Live settings with 4 or more checks: K4 inside the coppers' range for every reading; no dictionary word of 4 or more letters forced on K4 beyond the coppers' rate. Zero candidates.
7
Method
Build the 15 readings.
For each text, table rule and reading, alignment and sign: the word's value at each known place.
For each word length 1-24: slot agreement; fully forced words looked up in the dictionary, every rotation, standard and KRYPTOS lettering.
Count live settings by checks and hits; K4 against 20 coppers; one planted text as a builder check.
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
live settings with >=4 checks: K4 0 (coppers 0-0); dictionary words 4+: K4 0 (coppers 0-0); plant found True
What was searched, as the harness recorded it.
family
word plus a number sequence from the Morse or the plate layout, k = w[i mod a] + s d, 12 table rules, exact