Experiment 264

“F6.22b: the keys K4's AMSCO settings force at period 23, read for English (quadgrams), against the best forced key of each of 200 shuffles; 20 planted running-key messages for power”

F6.22b, the chase of 0263 (Alexis, 2026-10-28, #100: a result that beats its copies, even at the edge, gets a row). 0263 put K4's count of agreeing AMSCO settings at period 23 in the top 2.5% of 200 shuffles (21; 4 of 200 at or above) and found no forced key that is a passage of a named text. A count is a property of a text; what would single out a message is its key. Here every setting that agrees at 23, for K4, the same 200 shuffles (seed 2620) and 20 plants, has its forced key (up to 23 letters, numbered on the standard or KRYPTOS alphabet) scored for English by quadgrams, as a running key from any English text would score; K4's best against the shuffles' bests.

revertedstatus
experiment 263parents
64 stime, all phases
0candidates
0/24known letters
unclocked
1

The experiment method

What the method does with the 24 known letters.

K4the carved letters The 97 letters cut into the copper at the CIA, shown at the top of every experiment page. fits a two-step cipher (a grida grid Writing the message into rows of some width and reading it out in another order, column by column for instance, which shuffles the letters without changing them. shuffle, then the tablethe table The right-hand half of the sculpture, 26 rows of the alphabet each shifted one place further, starting from the word KRYPTOS. with a 23-letter key) in more ways than most scrambled copiesa shuffled control The same experiment run on the carved letters shuffled into a random order. do. For each way it fits, the known lettersthe known letters Sanborn has confirmed that positions 22 to 34 of the message read EASTNORTHEAST and positions 64 to 74 read BERLINCLOCK. spell out almost the whole 23-letter key. If Sanborn took his key from a book or a sentence, that key should read like English; here we check whether K4's keys read more like English than the keys scrambled copies are forced to.

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.

OBKRUOXOGHULBSOLIFBBWEASTNORTHEASTOTWTQSJQSSEKZZWATJKLUDIAWINFBBERLINCLOCKWGDKZXTJCDIGKUHUAUEKCARK4's 21 agreeing AMSCO settings at key length 23: the key each forces, written in slot order; the best key per text, scored for English (mean log quadgram over fully forced runs of four)K4's best key: SEV?HHEMTPMPXRMGRONEXHIbest key of each of 200 shuffles: -9.21 to -5.24, median -7.09K4 -6.53: 24 of 200 at or aboveplanted English keys (ochre dots, one per plant): 6 of 20 above every shuffleEASTNORTHEASTBERLINCLOCKIN: THE COPPER, ALL 97 LETTERS, THE 24 KNOWN PLACES IN ACCENTOUT: NO READING; K4'S KEYS INSIDE THE SHUFFLES', BUT THE SCORE SKIPPED MOST PLANTED KEYS
the idea

F6.22b chases 0263: if K4's period-23 AMSCO settings are real, the key they force should read as English, as a key from a book would.

the check

Each forced key scored by its mean quadgram over runs of four forced letters, keys with fewer than 8 such runs skipped; K4's best against 200 shuffles'; 20 planted English keys.

the bound

K4 inside (24 of 200 at or above), but only 6 of 20 plants found: their keys are often forced at 12-18 of 23 slots and were skipped. Rerun with a score that allows gaps (0265).

2

Experiment lineage

What this experiment was built on, from the lineage page: 8 experiments before it, back to the root of its line. Its number is in bold.

kept reverted, in its family's colour ×error or timeout reverted under today's rules built on a parent in the same family built on a parent in another family
3

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 under Result and bounds below.

4

Walkthrough, by hand

Redo the method on a few letters with pencil and paper.

  1. Take one of K4's agreeing settings: an AMSCO grid keyed by a word, then the table with a 23-letter key.
  2. Undo the grid for the 24 known places: each lands on a carved place, whose number mod 23 is its key slot.
  3. The key letter at that slot is the carved letter minus the known letter on the table (plus, for Beaufort).
  4. Write the 23 slots in order, '?' where nothing lands, and score the runs of four letters for English.
  5. Do the same for every agreeing setting of each scrambled copy, and compare the best scores.
the worksheet: the first steps by hand, on squared paper
planted keybest forced key readscorefoundWARANDHOWDIFFICULTITWOUGGDAQAULAUXSNTKLPEKFEEW-7.19noATURALLYONTHECONDITIONSAX?FGYIHLYOMMTUEOPLTUOX-6.92noLYDEDICATEDTOPLACIDREADLYDEDOLATEDTEJ??CIDHAD?-4.82yesYIMPRESSIVEORIGINALLYTHGRIDVOG?THMOUNKDGOEFAIL-6.05noHEMSELVESUNDERSHELTERINAIMNOVRA?KLDOCGRHRWAS?F-6.82noPASSINGTHESTONESANDBASK?AS?ING?HESTONESAND??SK-3.57yesEBUTALTHOUGHHEHADRESIGNZDISPDBSS?LKBBTMUNYZLER-7.38noSCOVEREDWITHTHINGOLDFOIACXUSJJUOAYTSKG?HBHPLKH-8.11noWith 24 known letters landing on fewer than 23 slots, a planted key such as WARANDHOWDIFFICULTITWOU is forced asW?RA?DH?WDIFFICUL?IT?OU: only 6 runs of four, under the 8 required, so the true key was never scored. The fix scoresevery forced letter (0265).PLANTED KEYS AND THE BEST KEY READ FROM EACH PLANT: PARTLY FORCED KEYS WERE SKIPPED
5

Worked example, generated

The same steps run by the code on the real letters.

F6.22b: the keys K4's AMSCO settings force at period 23, read for English.

  AMSCO keyed by a word, then the table with a 23-letter key: each known letter lands on a carved place p,
  and forces the key letter at slot p mod 23 (carved minus known on the table, or their sum for Beaufort).
  Written in slot order with '?' where nothing lands, a key taken from English text reads as English in runs of four.

  per text: the best such key over its agreeing settings; K4's against 200 shuffles'; 20 planted English keys for power.
6

Hypothesis, for a cryptanalyst

Family, key space, the constraint under test, and the clues it reads.

F6 (C1(a): a matrix code, then the table). AMSCO keyed by a dictionary word (0114's 891,360 routes, 3-15 columns), then a period-23 key on the sculpture's 8 table classes. With 24 known letters on 23 slots the key is almost fully forced in every agreeing setting, so a key drawn from any English text (C7(a), C5: a phrase as key; F1.3's test on this move) shows as English letters in slot order. Statistic: per text, the highest mean quadgram score over the 4-grams fully forced (slots 1-23, no wrap), over its agreeing settings and two numberings. Power: 20 plants (Carter messages, random route and class, a 23-letter window of English as key).

7

Prediction

Written before the run; the result decides it.

K4's best forced key inside the 200 shuffles' bests (p above 0.05), its letters no English; most planted keys above every shuffle (power at least 15 of 20). Zero candidates.

8

Method

  1. 0263's exact count at period 23, unchanged, for K4, its 200 shuffles (seed 2620) and 20 plants, every agreeing setting kept with its forced shifts per slot.
  2. Each forced key written as letters in slot order on the standard and on the KRYPTOS alphabet, '?' where no known letter reaches; scored by the mean log quadgram over the 4-grams with all four letters forced (at least 8).
  3. Per text the best score over its settings and numberings; K4's rank among the 200 shuffles'; a plant is found when its best is above every shuffle's.
  4. K4's forced keys listed in full.
9

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

F6.22b: K4's best forced key at 23 scores -6.53 (SEV?HHEMTPMPXRMGRONEXHI); 200 shuffles' bests -9.21 to -5.24, 24 at or above K4 (p 0.124); plants found 6 of 20

What was searched, as the harness recorded it.

item
F6.22b (chase of 0263's AMSCO period-23 count)
routes
891,360
classes
8
period
23
order
A (move, then the table)
agreeing settings
k4
21
copies min median max
1, 8, 31
statistic
per text: best mean log10 quadgram of a forced key (slots 1-23 in order, no wrap, standard or KRYPTOS numbering, at least 8 fully forced 4-grams) over its agreeing settings
k4 best
-6.525
k4 best key
SEV?HHEMTPMPXRMGRONEXHI
copies best min median max
-9.206, -7.094, -5.237
copies at or above
24
p
0.124
k4 forced keys
  1. route
    THIOPHOSPHATE, 13, 1, inverse
    class
    kry/kry/True
    numbering
    std
    key
    SEV?HHEMTPMPXRMGRONEXHI
    score
    -6.525
  2. route
    BLACKBIRDING, 12, 2, inverse
    class
    std/std/True
    numbering
    kry
    key
    BSQNNRRODDEFPFIONECKOBZ
    score
    -6.615
  3. route
    ADULTEROUSLY, 12, 2, inverse
    class
    std/std/False
    numbering
    kry
    key
    KDDAIRNWDHCKITEOCCWDOKW
    score
    -6.886
  4. route
    SNECKDRAWN, 10, 2, inverse
    class
    kry/std/False
    numbering
    std
    key
    GESNGVEHUOLIOXCJNAQQF?A
    score
    -7.46
  5. route
    TENORISTER, 10, 2, inverse
    class
    kry/std/False
    numbering
    std
    key
    GESNGVEHUOLIOXCJNAQQF?A
    score
    -7.46
  6. route
    UNIMAGINATIVENESS, 10, 2, inverse
    class
    kry/std/False
    numbering
    std
    key
    GESNGVEHUOLIOXCJNAQQF?A
    score
    -7.46
  7. route
    UNMINISTER, 10, 2, inverse
    class
    kry/std/False
    numbering
    std
    key
    GESNGVEHUOLIOXCJNAQQF?A
    score
    -7.46
  8. route
    INSPIRABILITY, 13, 2, inverse
    class
    kry/std/False
    numbering
    std
    key
    YUIXGARKNOQ?UMOUVMHLMTF
    score
    -7.492
  9. route
    THIOPHOSPHATE, 13, 1, inverse
    class
    kry/kry/True
    numbering
    kry
    key
    MTU?AATFNIFIWLFSLHGTWAB
    score
    -7.551
  10. route
    NATIONALNESS, 12, 2, inverse
    class
    std/kry/False
    numbering
    std
    key
    NLJPZMUOWOKYEIRHMIDYTAE
    score
    -7.614
  11. route
    TEMPERABILITY, 13, 1, inverse
    class
    std/kry/False
    numbering
    kry
    key
    HERARWSWKHQTTMZBPIEDQDF
    score
    -7.759
  12. route
    TRANSPROCESS, 12, 2, inverse
    class
    std/kry/False
    numbering
    std
    key
    NLJPZMUOWOKYEIRH?IDYTAE
    score
    -7.797
and 30 more
plants
found
6
of
20
each
  1. route
    VARIOLIZATION, 13, 1, inverse
    class
    std/kry/beau
    key
    WARANDHOWDIFFICULTITWOU
    numbering
    std
    best
    -7.189
    best key
    GGDAQAULAUXSNTKLPEKFEEW
    found
    no
    live
    8
  2. route
    UNSPONTANEOUSLY, 15, 1, inverse
    class
    std/std/vig
    key
    ATURALLYONTHECONDITIONS
    numbering
    std
    best
    -6.92
    best key
    AX?FGYIHLYOMMTUEOPLTUOX
    found
    no
    live
    3
  3. route
    PREVALESCENT, 10, 2, inverse
    class
    std/kry/vig
    key
    LYDEDICATEDTOPLACIDREAD
    numbering
    std
    best
    -4.824
    best key
    LYDEDOLATEDTEJ??CIDHAD?
    found
    yes
    live
    36
  4. route
    NONZEALOUS, 10, 1, inverse
    class
    kry/std/vig
    key
    YIMPRESSIVEORIGINALLYTH
    numbering
    kry
    best
    -6.053
    best key
    GRIDVOG?THMOUNKDGOEFAIL
    found
    no
    live
    11
  5. route
    ESCHATOCOL, 10, 2, forward
    class
    std/kry/beau
    key
    HEMSELVESUNDERSHELTERIN
    numbering
    kry
    best
    -6.818
    best key
    AIMNOVRA?KLDOCGRHRWAS?F
    found
    no
    live
    10
  6. route
    OVERHEADINESS, 10, 2, forward
    class
    std/kry/vig
    key
    PASSINGTHESTONESANDBASK
    numbering
    kry
    best
    -3.574
    best key
    ?AS?ING?HESTONESAND??SK
    found
    yes
    live
    13
  7. route
    THERAPEUTIST, 12, 2, forward
    class
    std/std/beau
    key
    EBUTALTHOUGHHEHADRESIGN
    numbering
    kry
    best
    -7.385
    best key
    ZDISPDBSS?LKBBTMUNYZLER
    found
    no
    live
    11
  8. route
    PAMPRODACTYLOUS, 15, 1, inverse
    class
    kry/kry/vig
    key
    SCOVEREDWITHTHINGOLDFOI
    numbering
    kry
    best
    -8.108
    best key
    ACXUSJJUOAYTSKG?HBHPLKH
    found
    no
    live
    3
  9. route
    BLEMISHMENT, 11, 1, inverse
    class
    kry/kry/beau
    key
    HEGOLDFOILFROMTHESMALLP
    numbering
    std
    best
    -4.312
    best key
    ?EGOL?FOILFROMTHE??ALLP
    found
    yes
    live
    21
  10. route
    NONMAGNETIC, 11, 2, forward
    class
    std/kry/beau
    key
    CAMEINTOTHEVILLAGEONEAF
    numbering
    kry
    best
    -7.492
    best key
    SAYJAQAVM?ETDGTJRDGICDU
    found
    no
    live
    6
  11. route
    METEMPIRICALLY, 10, 2, inverse
    class
    std/kry/vig
    key
    TTERTODEALWITHITWESHOUL
    numbering
    kry
    best
    -7.409
    best key
    BIZ?BFDSKUEWJUDAUXDSNSI
    found
    no
    live
    8
  12. route
    MUNITIONER, 10, 1, forward
    class
    std/kry/beau
    key
    TTEREDFROMTHESETRIALSAN
    numbering
    std
    best
    -7.137
    best key
    XAELDWEWWODJSOCHNDGXLUP
    found
    no
    live
    5
and 8 more
copies
200 fresh shuffles (seed 2620, as 0263)
exhaustive
yes
compute seconds
45
modal cost estimate
as 0263 (65 s on 32 cores, $0.03) plus key scoring: about $0.05

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 2026-11-05 17:14 UTC; updated after every experiment.
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