This is the second in a series of Unsolved Mysteries posts. These posts explore current unsolved real-world puzzles. Since these have been unsolved for years, it's uncertain whether anyone on on Puzzling.SE will be able to find a solution, but we do have a lot of brilliant minds here...
Related meta post: Posting famous unsolved puzzles
In 1988, as a new headquarters for the American Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) was being built in Langley, Virgina, sculptor Jim Sanborn was commissioned to create artwork for the courtyard of the new building. He designed a large copper monument, shaped somewhat like a flag, and engraved with hundreds of letters -- an encrypted message:
A soon as the sculpture was revealed, codebreakers both at the CIA and in the general public went to work on the puzzle. In 1999, a computer scientist named Jim Gillogly announced that he had solved most of the puzzle. There were four distinct parts to the code, and he had managed to solve the first three.
After his announcement, the CIA revealed that they had actually solved the first three parts internally, the year before. (Later, the U.S. National Security Administration (NSA) also claimed to have solved the first three parts in 1992.)
The fourth section of the code remained unsolved, and to date, no one has brought forth a credible solution for part 4.
The "tableau" on the sculpture has two sections. One side has the encrypted text, and the other is an alphabet table of sorts. (image credit: kryptosrevisited.com)
(a plaintext version of the tableaux is available here)
Other components of Kryptos
In addition to the copper sculpture pictured above, the artist created various other visual elements that are part of the same installation. There is a pool at the base of the sculpture, and a bench. There are also various large slabs of stone strewn about the area with various Morse Code messages. It is unclear whether these messages are related to the solving of the Kryptos cipher or whether they are simply adding to the artistic aspect of the sculpture. The Morse messages are as follows (some run right into the ground, so the text in brackets is a guess):
SOS
LUCID MEMORY
[WHA]T IS YOUR POSITION
SHADOW FORCES
VIRTUALLY INVISIBLE
DIGETAL INTERPRETAT[ION]
RQ
Solving the first 3 parts
Note: This section contains spoilers regarding the first three sections of the Kryptos code. If you want to try to solve these yourself, do not read this section. These are provided here to help set the context for the fourth (unsolved) section of the code.
Part 1
Though it was only discovered by solving Part 1, the ciphertext for Part 1 comprises the first two lines of the encrypted text:
EMUFPHZLRFAXYUSDJKZLDKRNSHGNFIVJ
YQTQUXQBQVYUVLLTREVJYQTMKYRDMFD
It was encrypted using a Vigenere cipher, with a key of PALIMPSEST and the modified alphabet depicted on the second tableau.
(A palimpsest is a document (often vellum, but possibly parchment or paper), which has had its original text erased and has then been written over with new text.)
To decrypt the text, we reverse the process that was used to encrypt it. First, write out the keyword repeatedly underneath the ciphertext:
EMUFPHZLRFAXYUSDJKZLDKRNSHGNFIVJYQTQUXQBQVYUVLLTREVJYQTMKYRDMFD
PALIMPSESTPALIMPSESTPALIMPSESTPALIMPSESTPALIMPSESTPALIMPSESTPAL
Then use the Kryptos alphabet tableau to look up the decryption for each letter (note that we ignore the top row and left column as depicted in the tableau above):
KRYPTOSABCDEFGHIJLMNQUVWXZKRYP
RYPTOSABCDEFGHIJLMNQUVWXZKRYPT
YPTOSABCDEFGHIJLMNQUVWXZKRYPTO
PTOSABCDEFGHIJLMNQUVWXZKRYPTOS
TOSABCDEFGHIJLMNQUVWXZKRYPTOSA
OSABCDEFGHIJLMNQUVWXZKRYPTOSAB
SABCDEFGHIJLMNQUVWXZKRYPTOSABC
ABCDEFGHIJLMNQUVWXZKRYPTOSABCD
BCDEFGHIJLMNQUVWXZKRYPTOSABCDE
CDEFGHIJLMNQUVWXZKRYPTOSABCDEF
DEFGHIJLMNQUVWXZKRYPTOSABCDEFG
EFGHIJLMNQUVWXZKRYPTOSABCDEFGH
FGHIJLMNQUVWXZKRYPTOSABCDEFGHI
GHIJLMNQUVWXZKRYPTOSABCDEFGHIJ
HIJLMNQUVWXZKRYPTOSABCDEFGHIJL
IJLMNQUVWXZKRYPTOSABCDEFGHIJLM
JLMNQUVWXZKRYPTOSABCDEFGHIJLMN
LMNQUVWXZKRYPTOSABCDEFGHIJLMNQ
MNQUVWXZKRYPTOSABCDEFGHIJLMNQU
NQUVWXZKRYPTOSABCDEFGHIJLMNQUV
QUVWXZKRYPTOSABCDEFGHIJLMNQUVW
UVWXZKRYPTOSABCDEFGHIJLMNQUVWX
VWXZKRYPTOSABCDEFGHIJLMNQUVWXZ
WXZKRYPTOSABCDEFGHIJLMNQUVWXZK
XZKRYPTOSABCDEFGHIJLMNQUVWXZKR
ZKRYPTOSABCDEFGHIJLMNQUVWXZKRY
The first letter is E, and the first letter of the key (PALIMPSEST) is P. So we find P in the leftmost column, move right until we hit E, and then move up to the top, ending at B. This makes the first letter of our plaintext a B.
|
V
KRYPTOSABCDEFG...
RYPTOSABCDEFGH...
YPTOSABCDEFGHI...
--> PTOSABCDEFGHIJ...
TOSABCDEFGHIJL...
OSABCDEFGHIJLM...
...
For the next letter, we find A in the leftmost column, and follow it to the right until we hit M, then up, ending at E.
Continuing on in this way, we end up with the following decryption:
EMUFPHZLRFAXYUSDJKZLDKRNSHGNFIVJYQTQUXQBQVYUVLLTREVJYQTMKYRDMFD
PALIMPSESTPALIMPSESTPALIMPSESTPALIMPSESTPALIMPSESTPALIMPSESTPAL
BETWEENSUBTLESHADINGANDTHEABSENCEOFLIGHTLIESTHENUANCEOFIQLUSION
With spaces and proper case:
Between subtle shading and the absence of light lies the nuance of iqlusion
Part 2
The ciphertext for Part 2 comprises the remaining text in the top half of the tableau (until the break halfway down, i.e. lines 3 to 12):
VFPJUDEEHZWETZYVGWHKKQETGFQJNCE
GGWHKK?DQMCPFQZDQMMIAGPFXHQRLG
TIMVMZJANQLVKQEDAGDVFRPJUNGEUNA
QZGZLECGYUXUEENJTBJLBQCRTBJDFHRR
YIZETKZEMVDUFKSJHKFWHKUWQLSZFTI
HHDDDUVH?DWKBFUFPWNTDFIYCUQZERE
EVLDKFEZMOQQJLTTUGSYQPFEUNLAVIDX
FLGGTEZ?FKZBSFDQVGOGIPUFXHHDRKF
FHQNTGPUAECNUVPDJMQCLQUMUNEDFQ
ELZZVRRGKFFVOEEXBDMVPNFQXEZLGRE
DNQFMPNZGLFLPMRJQYALMGNUVPDXVKP
DQUMEBEDMHDAFMJGZNUPLGEWJLLAETG
It is solved in exactly the same way as the first part, except that it uses the keyword ABSCISSA instead of PALIMPSEST
VFPJUDEEHZWETZYVGWHKKQETGFQJNCEGGWHKK?DQMCPFQZDQMMIAGPFXHQRLGTIMVMZJANQLVKQEDAGDVFRPJUNGEUNAQZGZLECGYUXUEENJTBJLBQCRTBJDFHRRYIZETKZEMVDUFKSJHKFWHKUWQLSZFTIHHDDDUVH?DWKBFUFPWNTDFIYCUQZEREEVLDKFEZMOQQJLTTUGSYQPFEUNLAVIDXFLGGTEZ?FKZBSFDQVGOGIPUFXHHDRKFFHQNTGPUAECNUVPDJMQCLQUMUNEDFQELZZVRRGKFFVOEEXBDMVPNFQXEZLGREDNQFMPNZGLFLPMRJQYALMGNUVPDXVKPDQUMEBEDMHDAFMJGZNUPLGEWJLLAETG
ABSCISSAABSCISSAABSCISSAABSCISSAABSCI?SSAABSCISSAABSCISSAABSCISSAABSCISSAABSCISSAABSCISSAABSCISSAABSCISSAABSCISSAABSCISSAABSCISSAABSCISSAABSCISSAABSCISSAABSCISSAAB?SCISSAABSCISSAABSCISSAABSCISSAABSCISSAABSCISSAABSCISSAABSCISS?AABSCISSAABSCISSAABSCISSAABSCISSAABSCISSAABSCISSAABSCISSAABSCISSAABSCISSAABSCISSAABSCISSAABSCISSAABSCISSAABSCISSAABSCISSAABSCISSAABSCISSAABSCISSAA
ITWASTOTALLYINVISIBLEHOWSTHATPOSSIBLE?THEYUSEDTHEEARTHSMAGNETICFIELDXTHEINFORMATIONWASGATHEREDANDTRANSMITTEDUNDERGRUUNDTOANUNKNOWNLOCATIONXDOESLANGLEYKNOWABOUTTHIS?THEYSHOULDITSBURIEDOUTTHERESOMEWHEREXWHOKNOWSTHEEXACTLOCATION?ONLYWWTHISWASHISLASTMESSAGEXTHIRTYEIGHTDEGREESFIFTYSEVENMINUTESSIXPOINTFIVESECONDSNORTHSEVENTYSEVENDEGREESEIGHTMINUTESFORTYFOURSECONDSWESTIDBYROWS
With spaces and proper case (punctuation in grey added by me):
It was totally invisible
.How's that possible? They used the Earth's magnetic field.X
The information was gathered and transmitted undergruund to an unknown location.X
Does Langley know about this? They should;it's 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.
Some years after this was originally solved, the sculptor Sanborn made it known that there was an error in the ciphertext, where a single character had been omitted (right after the word "west" on the second-last line). He assumed that it would be obvious to a solver, because it would cause the remaining text to decipher into gibberish, but by what seems to be coincidence, the text actually deciphered into the phrase "ID by rows."
It has since been determined (and confirmed) that the correct decryption ends with XLAYERTWO instead of IDBYROWS.
Part 3
The ciphertext for Part 3 comprises the majority of the bottom half of the tableau, up to (but not including) the ? character on the fourth-last line:
ENDYAHROHNLSRHEOCPTEOIBIDYSHNAIA
CHTNREYULDSLLSLLNOHSNOSMRWXMNE
TPRNGATIHNRARPESLNNELEBLPIIACAE
WMTWNDITEENRAHCTENEUDRETNHAEOE
TFOLSEDTIWENHAEIOYTEYQHEENCTAYCR
EIFTBRSPAMHHEWENATAMATEGYEERLB
TEEFOASFIOTUETUAEOTOARMAEERTNRTI
BSEDDNIAAHTTMSTEWPIEROAGRIEWFEB
AECTDDHILCEIHSITEGOEAOSDDRYDLORIT
RKLMLEHAGTDHARDPNEOHMGFMFEUHE
ECDMRIPFEIMEHNLSSTTRTVDOHW
This turns out to be a very different kind of encryption. It uses a transposition cipher which doesn't actually change any of the letters, but simply rearranges them. The task is to find the method used for the rearrangement.
There have been many different attempts at explaining the transposition. For this kind of transposition cipher, there are many different but cryptographically equivalent ways of describing and performing the cipher that all produce the same text, and there is no way to know which one the cryptographer had used without looking over his shoulder.
Luckily, photographs of the worksheets Sanborn used while enciphering K3 (pictured here) make it clear that the original transposition method is a double route transposition using two completely-filled rectangles. The rectangles are of different sizes, but the same route paths (in by rows and out by upwards columns) are used each time. This cipher does not use a literal key; the route paths and grid sizes are what make up the keys for the two route transpositions.
To encipher, the plaintext is first written into a 42-letter wide and 8-letter high grid, from left to right starting on the top row (that is, the usual reading order). The intermediate ciphertext is read out from that grid in upwards columns, reading each column upwards from the bottom row, starting with the leftmost column.
The intermediate text is then written into a different grid, 14 letters wide and 24 letters high. As before, it is written in by rows in the usual reading order, and read out by upwards columns to produce the text seen on the sculpture.
Deciphering is the inverse of enciphering. First, write the K3 ciphertext into a 14x24 grid by upwards columns. Note the beginning of the ciphertext (ENDYAHRO...) reads upwards from the bottom of the first column.
ILNTAYESTATHCW
BLHMHEHAROIEEH
ISIWNTHONRSLEO
OLTETYMFTEHMHD
ELAAEOAERIILUV
TSGCRIPEEPEKET
PDNADESTEWCRFR
CLRIUARBAELTMT
OUPIEHBLMTIIFT
EYTPNNTRRSHRGS
HEELEEFEAMDOMS
RRNBTWIEOTDLHL
SNMECIEYTTTDON
LTXLHTRGOHCYEH
NHWEADCEEAERNE
HCRNREYTAAADPM
OAMNNSAAUIBDDI
RISLELTMTNESRE
HAOSEOCAEDFOAF
ANNETFNTUDWAHP
YHSPITEATEEEDI
DSHRDEENOSIOTR
NYOANOHEIBRGGM
EDNRWEQWFIGEAD
Read out the intermediate text (ILNTAYES...) by rows. Then, write the intermediate text into a 42x8 grid by upwards columns. The plaintext will be evident on the rows. Note the first letters of the intermediate text (ILNTAYES...) read upwards from the bottom of the first column.
SLOWLYDESPARATLYSLOWLYTHEREMAINSOFPASSAGED
EBRISTHATENCUMBEREDTHELOWERPARTOFTHEDOORWA
YWASREMOVEDWITHTREMBLINGHANDSIMADEATINYBRE
ACHINTHEUPPERLEFTHANDCORNERANDTHENWIDENING
THEHOLEALITTLEIINSERTEDTHECANDLEANDPEEREDI
NTHEHOTAIRESCAPINGFROMTHECHAMBERCAUSEDTHEF
LAMETOFLICKERBUTPRESENTLYDETAILSOFTHEROOMW
ITHINEMERGEDFROMTHEMISTXCANYOUSEEANYTHINGQ
Sanborn's worksheets also make it clear that this text is exactly 336 letters long, equal to the areas of both rectangles. The question mark is not part of this ciphertext, and it is unclear whether it is the first "letter" of the following Part 4 ciphertext or whether it is simply a delimiter or separator.
With spaces and proper case (punctuation in grey added by me):
Slowly
,desparat[e]ly slowly,the remains of the passage debris that encumbered the lower part of the doorway was removed.With trembling hands,I made a tiny breach in the upper-left-hand corner,and then,widening the hole a little,I inserted the candle and peered in.The hot air escaping from the chamber caused the flame to flicker,but presently details of the room within emerged from the mist."Can you see anything?"Q
Part 4
The ciphertext for Part 4 is the remaining 97 (or 98 if the question mark is included) characters on the tableau:
?OBKR
UOXOGHULBSOLIFBBWFLRVQQPRNGKSSO
TWTQSJQSSEKZZWATJKLUDIAWINFBNYP
VTTMZFPKWGDKZXTJCDIGKUHUAUEKCAR
Most Kryptos fans assume that decrypting it will involve some combination of the methods used for the first three sections. To date, no one has been able to solve it.
Will you be the first?
There is a plethora of information about Kryptos on the web. A great place to start if you want more information is Elonka Dunin's Kryptos Page (especially the FAQ).
Like all of my Unsolved Mysteries puzzles, I will give a 500 rep bounty to anyone who manages to find a credible solution. Alconja and question_asker have both agreed to match this bounty, so the total bounty is 1500 reputation.
