Post by mortlach on Oct 10, 2016 19:14:24 GMT
Part 1: cicada3301.boards.net/thread/36/decrypt-runes-1-basic-tools
Introduction
This post discusses the simplest pages to solve. The following may seem overly detailed, the reason for this is, a) for practice, and b) to make the method for decrypting clear, with worked examples. Soon all we will have left are the pages that have been publically unsolved for years. We will use some of the tools from Part 1 to ‘decrypt’ some pages of the Liber Primus using a Substitution Cipher. These ciphers rely on a fixed mapping between the message-text (MT) and the cipher-text (CT). They work by replacing each letter of MT with a different letter, for example, if A is encrypted to R, then every time we see the letter A in MT, we replace it with an R in the CT, and vice-versa when solving.
Encryption / Encoding ?
Using the definitions below it is probably more accurate to say that these pages are encoded rather than encrypted. Generally, the difference is not that important for our purposes
Encoding: transforms data into another format using a scheme that is publicly available and can easily be reversed.
Encryption: transforms data into another format in such a way that only specific individual(s) can reverse the transformation.
Runes and Page Names
There are 17 pages before the mainly unsolved ‘58’ pages. Generally, the pages can be split into sections based on matching images. We will use the number definitions for these 17 pages from here: github.com/rtkd/idkfa
Spotting the Pattern
Messages contain information and that information is contained in some ordered structure: a pattern. Much of what we are trying to do when decrypting is find a pattern and then use it to make an assumption that helps narrow the huge parameter space we have to search. Hopefully, we will discuss more about patterns, information and meaning in future posts, for now though we shall press on with highlighting some patterns that arise and how to interpret them.
First Patterns, First Translations
Some of the pages have a simple encoding, and many of the first pages can be solved by replacing the runes with their Letter from the Gematria Primus. This can be done by inspection: looking at the runes and just trying. Here, we will also show how we can use the tools previously developed to help. Below is the Index of Coincidence (IoC) of rune 1-grams and 2-grams for each section, and from the Runeglish version of War and Peace:
TEXT War & Peace Page 1 Pages 3-4 Page 5 Pages 6-9 Pages 10-13 Pages 14-16
1-gram 1.77 1.86 1.17 1.63 1.90 1.78 1.11
2-gram 4.97 4.75 1.59 6.12 7.82 5.55 1.89
Pages 3-4 and Pages 14-16 have very different IoC values to War and Peace. Recall that in our definition of IoC a value of 1 would mean a random distribution where each rune has an equal probability of occurring. Both of these sections have values closer to 1 compared to the other sections, they are much more random. We will leave these pages for another post. For the other sections the IoC values can be used to justify assuming they are written in Runeglish and we find that Page 5, and pages Pages 10 -13 can be solved by simply swopping the runes for their Gematria letters (see end of post for the message texts).
On Page 1 and Pages 7-10 this does not work, we must try something else, for example, a simple substitution cipher. This is good guess because we know the IoC values look like Runeglish and simple substitution ciphers preserve the IoC values. In a substitution cipher, when we swop each letter for a different letter we are not changing the underlying statistics of the text, i.e. character frequencies, we are just changing the symbols used to represent the message in a like-for-like way. The IoC is invariant when changing all the symbols. There are many possible substitution ciphers, but for this puzzle we have some justification in limiting possible choices by making another reasonable assumption based on well-ordering the runes.
The Well-Ordering Principle from the Gematria Primus
The title of the Gematria states: an order and a value as revealed through 3301. Using this statement we will assume the order of the runes is important and should be preserved. Reducing the number of simple substitutions to 58 distinct cases. (Always be mindful of your assumptions: this is one that seems to be universally accepted, but that doesn’t mean it is true.) The well-ordering of the runes can be explained in a number of ways. Here is one:
The order of the runes is given by the rune-prime values, and so we have two choices, ascending or descending value, these are often called Forward and Reverse. The well-ordering principle and Forward and Reverse directions can be visually represented by arranging the runes in a circular ring (similar to a clock face with 29 hours). The runes are arranged clockwise for Forward, and counter-clockwise for Reverse. We then arrange the Letters from the Gematria on an outer disc, crucially: in the same order for both discs. With this arrangement all the well-ordered substitution ciphers can be found by rotating the outer discs. A rune is decoded by reading off the Letter from the matching outer section. This also gives us a natural way to label each substitution with a number referencing how many runes we’ve had to advance, or shift, the cipher disc by. Care must be taken when labelling the shifts with a number as there are many self-consistent possibilities. This animation should make it clear, along with the labelling used in this post:
Brute-Forcing the Well-Ordered Shifts
As well as trying to be smart and spotting the pattern, sometimes we need to check many possibilities and so we iterate over those possibilities: ‘Brute-forcing.’ Here we will try and brute-force the well-ordered shifts by trying every possible shift. Checking 58 different decrypted texts by eye is time consuming and dull, we can use our log probability values, obtained in Part 1 to score each iteration. Here is the method which we do for both cipher discs:
a. Decode the CT runes using the cipher disc
b. Score the decrypted text with log probabilities
c. Shift the cipher disc by 1,
d. if this configuration has not been tried go to a, otherwise stop
As an example for scoring text consider these runes from the start of Page 1: ᚱ,ᛝ,ᚱ,ᚪ,ᛗ,ᚹ,ᛂ,ᛁ :
Forward Cipher Disc, Shift = 0 decoded runes = R, (I)NG, R, A, M, W, J, I
Forward Cipher Disc, Shift = 0 4-grams {R,(I)NG,R,A}, {(I)NG,R,A,M}, {R,A,M,W}, {A,M,W,J}, {M,W,J,I}
We look-up each 4-gram’s log probability in the pre-computed table, add them together to give a total score for this encoding and shift, we then rotate the cipher disc and repeat:
Forward Cipher Disc, Shift = 1 decoded runes = C, OE, C, AE, L, H, EO, J
Forward Cipher Disc, Shift = 1 4-grams {C,OE,C,AE},{OE,C,AE,L}, {C,AE,L,H},{AE,L,H,EO}, {L,H,EO,J}
When we do this for each ordered shift, shown below, one score is significantly higher than the others:
Page 1 {Forward Shift, Log Probability Score }
{0, -1241.06}, {1, -1264.39}, {2, -1263.4}, {3, -1249.55}, {4,-1261.76}, {5, -1212.29}, {6, -1229.6}, {7, -1254.45}, {8, -1188.31}, {9, -1245.32}, {10, -1253.56}, {11, -1228.56}, {12, -1246.33}, {13, -1211.97}, {14, -1206.87}, {15, -1259.98}, {16, -1262.14}, {17, -1264.16}, {18, -1250.52}, {19, -1222.62}, {20, -1193.99}, {21, -1236.18}, {22, -1205.87}, {23, -1237.46}, {24, -1244.97}, {25, -1252.79}, {26, -1229.15}, {27, -1236.28}, {28, -1229.69}
Page 1 {Reverse Shift, Log Probability Score }
{0, -792.268}, {1, -1229.59}, {2, -1237.91}, {3, -1254.24}, {4, -1262.27}, {5, -1242.37}, {6, -1247.32}, {7, -1252.91}, {8, -1231.84}, {9, -1243.29}, {10, -1253.21}, {11, -1260.44}, {12, -1250.92}, {13, -1231.81}, {14, -1199.27}, {15, -1163.6}, {16, -1241.05}, {17, -1240.53}, {18, -1260.42}, {19, -1247.43}, {20, -1256.56}, {21, -1225.97}, {22, -1256.68}, {23, -1185.49}, {24, -1242.11}, {25, -1260.22}, {26, -1258.53}, {27, -1245.74}, {28, -1228.15}
visual inspection shows a valid message:
Page 1, Reverse, Shift = 0:
A , W,A,R,N,(I)NG , B,E,L,I,E,U,E , N,O,TH,(I)NG , F,R,O,M , TH,I,S , B,O,O,C , E,X,C,E,P,T , W,H,A,T , Y,O,U , C,N,O,W , T,O , B,E , T,R,U,E , T,E,S,T , TH,E , C,N,O,W,L,E,D,G,E , F,I,N,D , Y,O,U,R , T,R,U,TH , E,X,P,E,R,I,E,N,C,E , Y,O,U,R , D,EA,TH , D,O , N,O,T , E,D,I,T , O,R , C,H,A,(I)NG,E , TH,I,S , B,O,O,C , O,R , TH,E , M,E,S,S,A,G,E , C,O,N,T,A,I,N,E,D , W,I,TH,I,N , E,I,TH,E,R , TH,E , W,O,R,D,S , O,R , TH,E,I,R , N,U,M,B,E,R,S , F,O,R , A,L,L , I,S , S,A,C,R,E,D
The same method works for pages 7 to 10, this time with Shift = 3 for the Reverse cipher disc. (It is important to remember that defining the shift as a number depends on your choice of arranging the runes and which way you rotate the disc, different definitions are possible.)
Summary
We have successfully decoded some of the pages of the Liber Primus. For the simple pages we did not need to be so thorough: there are many ways to arrive at the same answers. However, what is more interesting is that we have started to develop a procedure for decrypting using the tools we have built. This procedure is based on the following steps:
1. Look for a pattern
2. Interpret the pattern and choose some method
3. Make some reasonable choices of how to apply that method
4. Brute-force those choices, giving each possibility a score
5. Visually inspect high scores
6. Success!
Further posts will look at the pages with low IoC, Pages 3-4 and Pages 14-16.
*Comments, questions, suggestions, omissions etc ? please try #cicadasolvers
MSGA
Message Texts Decoded With This Method
Page 5 Forward Shift = 0
S,O,M,E , W,I,S,D,O,M , TH,E , P,R,I,M,E,S , A,R,E , S,A,C,R,E,D , TH,E , T,O,T,I,E,N,T , F,U,N,C,T,IO,N , I,S , S,A,C,R,E,D , A,L,L , TH,(I)NG,S , S,H,O,U,L,D , B,E , E,N,C,R,Y,P,T,E,D , C,N,O,W , TH,I,S 272 , 138 , S,H,A,D,O,W,S , 131 , 151 , AE,TH,E,R,EA,L , B,U,F,F,E,R,S , U,O,I,D , C,A,R,N,A,L , 18 , 226 , O,B,S,C,U,R,A , F,O,R,M , 245 , M,O,B,I,U,S
Pages 6 to 9 Reverse Shift = 3;
A , C,O,A,N , A , M,A,N , D,E,C,I,D,E,D , T,O , G,O , A,N,D , S,T,U,D,Y , W,I,TH , A , M,A,S,T,E,R , H,E , W,E,N,T , T,O , TH,E , D,O,O,R , O,F , TH,E , M,A,S,T,E,R , W,H,O , A,R,E , Y,O,U , W,H,O , W,I,S,H,E,S , T,O , S,T,U,D,Y , H,E,R,E , A,S,C,E,D , TH,E , M,A,S,T,E,R , TH,E , S,T,U,D,E,N,T , T,O,L,D , TH,E , M,A,S,T,E,R , H,I,S , N,A,M,E , TH,A,T , I,S , N,O,T , W,H,O , Y,O,U , A,R,E , TH,A,T , I,S , O,N,L,Y , W,H,A,T , Y,O,U , A,R,E , C,A,L,L,E,D , W,H,O , A,R,E , Y,O,U , W,H,O , W,I,S,H,E,S , T,O , S,T,U,D,Y , H,E,R,E , H,E , A,S,C,E,D , A,G,A,I,N , TH,E , M,A,N , TH,O,U,G,H,T , F,O,R , A , M,O,M,E,N,T , A,N,D , R,E,P,L,I,E,D , I , A,M , A , P,R,O,F,E,S,S,O,R , TH,A,T , I,S , W,H,A,T , Y,O,U , D,O , N,O,T , W,H,O , Y,O,U , A,R,E , R,E,P,L,I,E,D , TH,E , M,A,S,T,E,R , W,H,O , A,R,E , Y,O,U , W,H,O , W,I,S,H,E,S , T,O , S,T,U,D,Y , H,E,R,E , C,O,N,F,U,S,E,D , TH,E , M,A,N , TH,O,U,G,H,T , S,O,M,E , M,O,R,E , F,I,N,A,L,L,Y , H,E , A,N,S,W,E,R,E,D , I , A,M , A , H,U,M,A,N , B,E,(I)NG , TH,A,T , I,S , O,N,L,Y , Y,O,U,R , S,P,E,C,I,E,S , N,O,T , W,H,O , Y,O,U , A,R,E , W,H,O , A,R,E , Y,O,U , W,H,O , W,I,S,H,E,S , T,O , S,T,U,D,Y , H,E,R,E , A,S,C,E,D , TH,E , M,A,S,T,E,R , A,G,A,I,N , A,F,T,E,R , A , M,O,M,E,N,T , O,F , TH,O,U,G,H,T , TH,E , P,R,O,F,E,S,S,O,R , R,E,P,L,I,E,D , I , A,M , A , C,O,N,S,C,IO,U,S,N,E,S,S , I,N,H,A,B,I,T,(I)NG , A,N , A,R,B,I,T,R,A,R,Y , B,O,D,Y , TH,A,T , I,S , M,E,R,E,L,Y , W,H,A,T , Y,O,U , A,R,E , N,O,T , W,H,O , Y,O,U , A,R,E , W,H,O , A,R,E , Y,O,U , W,H,O , W,I,S,H,E,S , T,O , S,T,U,D,Y , H,E,R,E , TH,E , M,A,N , W,A,S , G,E,T,T,(I)NG , I,R,R,I,T,A,T,E,D , I , A,M , H,E , S,T,A,R,T,E,D , B,U,T , H,E , C,O,U,L,D , N,O,T , TH,I,N,C , O,F , A,N,Y,TH,(I)NG , E,L,S,E , T,O , S,A,Y , S,O , H,E , T,R,A,I,L,E,D , O,F,F , A,F,T,E,R , A , L,O,(I)NG , P,A,U,S,E , TH,E , M,A,S,T,E,R , R,E,P,L,I,E,D , TH,E,N , Y,O,U , A,R,E , W,E,L,C,O,M,E , T,O , C,O,M,E , S,T,U,D,Y , A,N , I,N,S,T,R,U,C,T,IO,N , D,O , F,O,U,R , U,N,R,EA,S,O,N,A,B,L,E , TH,(I)NG,S , EA,C,H , D,A,Y
Pages 10-13, Forward Shift = 0
TH,E , L,O,S,S , O,F , D,I,U,I,N,I,T,Y , TH,E , C,I,R,C,U,M,F,E,R,E,N,C,E , P,R,A,C,T,I,C,E,S , TH,R,E,E , B,E,H,A,U,IO,R,S , W,H,I,C,H , C,A,U,S,E , TH,E , L,O,S,S , O,F , D,I,U,I,N,I,T,Y , C,O,N,S,U,M,P,T,IO,N , W,E , C,O,N,S,U,M,E , T,O,O , M,U,C,H , B,E,C,A,U,S,E , W,E , B,E,L,I,E,U,E , TH,E , F,O,L,L,O,W,(I)NG , T,W,O , E,R,R,O,R,S , W,I,TH,I,N , TH,E , D,E,C,E,P,T,IO,N , W,E , D,O , N,O,T , H,A,U,E , E,N,O,U,G,H , O,R , TH,E,R,E , I,S , N,O,T , E,N,O,U,G,H , W,E , H,A,U,E , W,H,A,T , W,E , H,A,U,E , N,O,W , B,Y , L,U,C,C , A,N,D , W,E , W,I,L,L , N,O,T , B,E , S,T,R,O,(I)NG , E,N,O,U,G,H , L,A,T,E,R , T,O , O,B,T,A,I,N , W,H,A,T , W,E , N,E,E,D , M,O,S,T , TH,(I)NG,S , A,R,E , N,O,T , W,O,R,TH , C,O,N,S,U,M,(I)NG , P,R,E,S,E,R,U,A,T,IO,N , W,E , P,R,E,S,E,R,U,E , TH,(I)NG,S , B,E,C,A,U,S,E , W,E , B,E,L,I,E,U,E , W,E , A,R,E , W,EA,C , I,F , W,E , L,O,S,E , TH,E,M , W,E , W,I,L,L , N,O,T , B,E , S,T,R,O,(I)NG , E,N,O,U,G,H , T,O , G,A,I,N , TH,E,M , A,G,A,I,N , TH,I,S , I,S , TH,E , D,E,C,E,P,T,IO,N , M,O,S,T , TH,(I)NG,S , A,R,E , N,O,T , W,O,R,TH , P,R,E,S,E,R,U,(I)NG , A,D,H,E,R,E,N,C,E , W,E , F,O,L,L,O,W , D,O,G,M,A , S,O , TH,A,T , W,E , C,A,N , B,E,L,O,(I)NG , A,N,D , B,E , R,I,G,H,T , O,R , W,E , F,O,L,L,O,W , R,EA,S,O,N , S,O , W,E , C,A,N , B,E,L,O,(I)NG , A,N,D , B,E , R,I,G,H,T , TH,E,R,E , I,S , N,O,TH,(I)NG , T,O , B,E , R,I,G,H,T , A,B,O,U,T , T,O , B,E,L,O,(I)NG , I,S , D,EA,TH , I,T , I,S , TH,E , B,E,H,A,U,IO,R,S , O,F , C,O,N,S,U,M,P,T,IO,N , P,R,E,S,E,R,U,A,T,IO,N , A,N,D , A,D,H,E,R,E,N,C,E , TH,A,T , H,A,U,E , U,S , L,O,S,E , O,U,R , P,R,I,M,A,L,I,T,Y , A,N,D , TH,U,S , O,U,R , D,I,U,I,N,I,T,Y , S,O,M,E , W,I,S,D,O,M , A,M,A,S,S , G,R,EA,T , W,EA,L,TH , N,E,U,E,R , B,E,C,O,M,E , A,T,T,A,C,H,E,D , T,O , W,H,A,T , Y,O,U , O,W,N , B,E , P,R,E,P,A,R,E,D , T,O , D,E,S,T,R,O,Y , A,L,L , TH,A,T , Y,O,U , O,W,N , A,N , I,N,S,T,R,U,C,T,IO,N , P,R,O,G,R,A,M , Y,O,U,R , M,I,N,D , P,R,O,G,R,A,M , R,EA,L,I,T,Y
Introduction
This post discusses the simplest pages to solve. The following may seem overly detailed, the reason for this is, a) for practice, and b) to make the method for decrypting clear, with worked examples. Soon all we will have left are the pages that have been publically unsolved for years. We will use some of the tools from Part 1 to ‘decrypt’ some pages of the Liber Primus using a Substitution Cipher. These ciphers rely on a fixed mapping between the message-text (MT) and the cipher-text (CT). They work by replacing each letter of MT with a different letter, for example, if A is encrypted to R, then every time we see the letter A in MT, we replace it with an R in the CT, and vice-versa when solving.
Encryption / Encoding ?
Using the definitions below it is probably more accurate to say that these pages are encoded rather than encrypted. Generally, the difference is not that important for our purposes
Encoding: transforms data into another format using a scheme that is publicly available and can easily be reversed.
Encryption: transforms data into another format in such a way that only specific individual(s) can reverse the transformation.
Runes and Page Names
There are 17 pages before the mainly unsolved ‘58’ pages. Generally, the pages can be split into sections based on matching images. We will use the number definitions for these 17 pages from here: github.com/rtkd/idkfa
Spotting the Pattern
Messages contain information and that information is contained in some ordered structure: a pattern. Much of what we are trying to do when decrypting is find a pattern and then use it to make an assumption that helps narrow the huge parameter space we have to search. Hopefully, we will discuss more about patterns, information and meaning in future posts, for now though we shall press on with highlighting some patterns that arise and how to interpret them.
First Patterns, First Translations
Some of the pages have a simple encoding, and many of the first pages can be solved by replacing the runes with their Letter from the Gematria Primus. This can be done by inspection: looking at the runes and just trying. Here, we will also show how we can use the tools previously developed to help. Below is the Index of Coincidence (IoC) of rune 1-grams and 2-grams for each section, and from the Runeglish version of War and Peace:
TEXT War & Peace Page 1 Pages 3-4 Page 5 Pages 6-9 Pages 10-13 Pages 14-16
1-gram 1.77 1.86 1.17 1.63 1.90 1.78 1.11
2-gram 4.97 4.75 1.59 6.12 7.82 5.55 1.89
Pages 3-4 and Pages 14-16 have very different IoC values to War and Peace. Recall that in our definition of IoC a value of 1 would mean a random distribution where each rune has an equal probability of occurring. Both of these sections have values closer to 1 compared to the other sections, they are much more random. We will leave these pages for another post. For the other sections the IoC values can be used to justify assuming they are written in Runeglish and we find that Page 5, and pages Pages 10 -13 can be solved by simply swopping the runes for their Gematria letters (see end of post for the message texts).
On Page 1 and Pages 7-10 this does not work, we must try something else, for example, a simple substitution cipher. This is good guess because we know the IoC values look like Runeglish and simple substitution ciphers preserve the IoC values. In a substitution cipher, when we swop each letter for a different letter we are not changing the underlying statistics of the text, i.e. character frequencies, we are just changing the symbols used to represent the message in a like-for-like way. The IoC is invariant when changing all the symbols. There are many possible substitution ciphers, but for this puzzle we have some justification in limiting possible choices by making another reasonable assumption based on well-ordering the runes.
The Well-Ordering Principle from the Gematria Primus
The title of the Gematria states: an order and a value as revealed through 3301. Using this statement we will assume the order of the runes is important and should be preserved. Reducing the number of simple substitutions to 58 distinct cases. (Always be mindful of your assumptions: this is one that seems to be universally accepted, but that doesn’t mean it is true.) The well-ordering of the runes can be explained in a number of ways. Here is one:
The order of the runes is given by the rune-prime values, and so we have two choices, ascending or descending value, these are often called Forward and Reverse. The well-ordering principle and Forward and Reverse directions can be visually represented by arranging the runes in a circular ring (similar to a clock face with 29 hours). The runes are arranged clockwise for Forward, and counter-clockwise for Reverse. We then arrange the Letters from the Gematria on an outer disc, crucially: in the same order for both discs. With this arrangement all the well-ordered substitution ciphers can be found by rotating the outer discs. A rune is decoded by reading off the Letter from the matching outer section. This also gives us a natural way to label each substitution with a number referencing how many runes we’ve had to advance, or shift, the cipher disc by. Care must be taken when labelling the shifts with a number as there are many self-consistent possibilities. This animation should make it clear, along with the labelling used in this post:
Brute-Forcing the Well-Ordered Shifts
As well as trying to be smart and spotting the pattern, sometimes we need to check many possibilities and so we iterate over those possibilities: ‘Brute-forcing.’ Here we will try and brute-force the well-ordered shifts by trying every possible shift. Checking 58 different decrypted texts by eye is time consuming and dull, we can use our log probability values, obtained in Part 1 to score each iteration. Here is the method which we do for both cipher discs:
a. Decode the CT runes using the cipher disc
b. Score the decrypted text with log probabilities
c. Shift the cipher disc by 1,
d. if this configuration has not been tried go to a, otherwise stop
As an example for scoring text consider these runes from the start of Page 1: ᚱ,ᛝ,ᚱ,ᚪ,ᛗ,ᚹ,ᛂ,ᛁ :
Forward Cipher Disc, Shift = 0 decoded runes = R, (I)NG, R, A, M, W, J, I
Forward Cipher Disc, Shift = 0 4-grams {R,(I)NG,R,A}, {(I)NG,R,A,M}, {R,A,M,W}, {A,M,W,J}, {M,W,J,I}
We look-up each 4-gram’s log probability in the pre-computed table, add them together to give a total score for this encoding and shift, we then rotate the cipher disc and repeat:
Forward Cipher Disc, Shift = 1 decoded runes = C, OE, C, AE, L, H, EO, J
Forward Cipher Disc, Shift = 1 4-grams {C,OE,C,AE},{OE,C,AE,L}, {C,AE,L,H},{AE,L,H,EO}, {L,H,EO,J}
When we do this for each ordered shift, shown below, one score is significantly higher than the others:
Page 1 {Forward Shift, Log Probability Score }
{0, -1241.06}, {1, -1264.39}, {2, -1263.4}, {3, -1249.55}, {4,-1261.76}, {5, -1212.29}, {6, -1229.6}, {7, -1254.45}, {8, -1188.31}, {9, -1245.32}, {10, -1253.56}, {11, -1228.56}, {12, -1246.33}, {13, -1211.97}, {14, -1206.87}, {15, -1259.98}, {16, -1262.14}, {17, -1264.16}, {18, -1250.52}, {19, -1222.62}, {20, -1193.99}, {21, -1236.18}, {22, -1205.87}, {23, -1237.46}, {24, -1244.97}, {25, -1252.79}, {26, -1229.15}, {27, -1236.28}, {28, -1229.69}
Page 1 {Reverse Shift, Log Probability Score }
{0, -792.268}, {1, -1229.59}, {2, -1237.91}, {3, -1254.24}, {4, -1262.27}, {5, -1242.37}, {6, -1247.32}, {7, -1252.91}, {8, -1231.84}, {9, -1243.29}, {10, -1253.21}, {11, -1260.44}, {12, -1250.92}, {13, -1231.81}, {14, -1199.27}, {15, -1163.6}, {16, -1241.05}, {17, -1240.53}, {18, -1260.42}, {19, -1247.43}, {20, -1256.56}, {21, -1225.97}, {22, -1256.68}, {23, -1185.49}, {24, -1242.11}, {25, -1260.22}, {26, -1258.53}, {27, -1245.74}, {28, -1228.15}
visual inspection shows a valid message:
Page 1, Reverse, Shift = 0:
A , W,A,R,N,(I)NG , B,E,L,I,E,U,E , N,O,TH,(I)NG , F,R,O,M , TH,I,S , B,O,O,C , E,X,C,E,P,T , W,H,A,T , Y,O,U , C,N,O,W , T,O , B,E , T,R,U,E , T,E,S,T , TH,E , C,N,O,W,L,E,D,G,E , F,I,N,D , Y,O,U,R , T,R,U,TH , E,X,P,E,R,I,E,N,C,E , Y,O,U,R , D,EA,TH , D,O , N,O,T , E,D,I,T , O,R , C,H,A,(I)NG,E , TH,I,S , B,O,O,C , O,R , TH,E , M,E,S,S,A,G,E , C,O,N,T,A,I,N,E,D , W,I,TH,I,N , E,I,TH,E,R , TH,E , W,O,R,D,S , O,R , TH,E,I,R , N,U,M,B,E,R,S , F,O,R , A,L,L , I,S , S,A,C,R,E,D
The same method works for pages 7 to 10, this time with Shift = 3 for the Reverse cipher disc. (It is important to remember that defining the shift as a number depends on your choice of arranging the runes and which way you rotate the disc, different definitions are possible.)
Summary
We have successfully decoded some of the pages of the Liber Primus. For the simple pages we did not need to be so thorough: there are many ways to arrive at the same answers. However, what is more interesting is that we have started to develop a procedure for decrypting using the tools we have built. This procedure is based on the following steps:
1. Look for a pattern
2. Interpret the pattern and choose some method
3. Make some reasonable choices of how to apply that method
4. Brute-force those choices, giving each possibility a score
5. Visually inspect high scores
6. Success!
Further posts will look at the pages with low IoC, Pages 3-4 and Pages 14-16.
*Comments, questions, suggestions, omissions etc ? please try #cicadasolvers
MSGA
Message Texts Decoded With This Method
Page 5 Forward Shift = 0
S,O,M,E , W,I,S,D,O,M , TH,E , P,R,I,M,E,S , A,R,E , S,A,C,R,E,D , TH,E , T,O,T,I,E,N,T , F,U,N,C,T,IO,N , I,S , S,A,C,R,E,D , A,L,L , TH,(I)NG,S , S,H,O,U,L,D , B,E , E,N,C,R,Y,P,T,E,D , C,N,O,W , TH,I,S 272 , 138 , S,H,A,D,O,W,S , 131 , 151 , AE,TH,E,R,EA,L , B,U,F,F,E,R,S , U,O,I,D , C,A,R,N,A,L , 18 , 226 , O,B,S,C,U,R,A , F,O,R,M , 245 , M,O,B,I,U,S
Pages 6 to 9 Reverse Shift = 3;
A , C,O,A,N , A , M,A,N , D,E,C,I,D,E,D , T,O , G,O , A,N,D , S,T,U,D,Y , W,I,TH , A , M,A,S,T,E,R , H,E , W,E,N,T , T,O , TH,E , D,O,O,R , O,F , TH,E , M,A,S,T,E,R , W,H,O , A,R,E , Y,O,U , W,H,O , W,I,S,H,E,S , T,O , S,T,U,D,Y , H,E,R,E , A,S,C,E,D , TH,E , M,A,S,T,E,R , TH,E , S,T,U,D,E,N,T , T,O,L,D , TH,E , M,A,S,T,E,R , H,I,S , N,A,M,E , TH,A,T , I,S , N,O,T , W,H,O , Y,O,U , A,R,E , TH,A,T , I,S , O,N,L,Y , W,H,A,T , Y,O,U , A,R,E , C,A,L,L,E,D , W,H,O , A,R,E , Y,O,U , W,H,O , W,I,S,H,E,S , T,O , S,T,U,D,Y , H,E,R,E , H,E , A,S,C,E,D , A,G,A,I,N , TH,E , M,A,N , TH,O,U,G,H,T , F,O,R , A , M,O,M,E,N,T , A,N,D , R,E,P,L,I,E,D , I , A,M , A , P,R,O,F,E,S,S,O,R , TH,A,T , I,S , W,H,A,T , Y,O,U , D,O , N,O,T , W,H,O , Y,O,U , A,R,E , R,E,P,L,I,E,D , TH,E , M,A,S,T,E,R , W,H,O , A,R,E , Y,O,U , W,H,O , W,I,S,H,E,S , T,O , S,T,U,D,Y , H,E,R,E , C,O,N,F,U,S,E,D , TH,E , M,A,N , TH,O,U,G,H,T , S,O,M,E , M,O,R,E , F,I,N,A,L,L,Y , H,E , A,N,S,W,E,R,E,D , I , A,M , A , H,U,M,A,N , B,E,(I)NG , TH,A,T , I,S , O,N,L,Y , Y,O,U,R , S,P,E,C,I,E,S , N,O,T , W,H,O , Y,O,U , A,R,E , W,H,O , A,R,E , Y,O,U , W,H,O , W,I,S,H,E,S , T,O , S,T,U,D,Y , H,E,R,E , A,S,C,E,D , TH,E , M,A,S,T,E,R , A,G,A,I,N , A,F,T,E,R , A , M,O,M,E,N,T , O,F , TH,O,U,G,H,T , TH,E , P,R,O,F,E,S,S,O,R , R,E,P,L,I,E,D , I , A,M , A , C,O,N,S,C,IO,U,S,N,E,S,S , I,N,H,A,B,I,T,(I)NG , A,N , A,R,B,I,T,R,A,R,Y , B,O,D,Y , TH,A,T , I,S , M,E,R,E,L,Y , W,H,A,T , Y,O,U , A,R,E , N,O,T , W,H,O , Y,O,U , A,R,E , W,H,O , A,R,E , Y,O,U , W,H,O , W,I,S,H,E,S , T,O , S,T,U,D,Y , H,E,R,E , TH,E , M,A,N , W,A,S , G,E,T,T,(I)NG , I,R,R,I,T,A,T,E,D , I , A,M , H,E , S,T,A,R,T,E,D , B,U,T , H,E , C,O,U,L,D , N,O,T , TH,I,N,C , O,F , A,N,Y,TH,(I)NG , E,L,S,E , T,O , S,A,Y , S,O , H,E , T,R,A,I,L,E,D , O,F,F , A,F,T,E,R , A , L,O,(I)NG , P,A,U,S,E , TH,E , M,A,S,T,E,R , R,E,P,L,I,E,D , TH,E,N , Y,O,U , A,R,E , W,E,L,C,O,M,E , T,O , C,O,M,E , S,T,U,D,Y , A,N , I,N,S,T,R,U,C,T,IO,N , D,O , F,O,U,R , U,N,R,EA,S,O,N,A,B,L,E , TH,(I)NG,S , EA,C,H , D,A,Y
Pages 10-13, Forward Shift = 0
TH,E , L,O,S,S , O,F , D,I,U,I,N,I,T,Y , TH,E , C,I,R,C,U,M,F,E,R,E,N,C,E , P,R,A,C,T,I,C,E,S , TH,R,E,E , B,E,H,A,U,IO,R,S , W,H,I,C,H , C,A,U,S,E , TH,E , L,O,S,S , O,F , D,I,U,I,N,I,T,Y , C,O,N,S,U,M,P,T,IO,N , W,E , C,O,N,S,U,M,E , T,O,O , M,U,C,H , B,E,C,A,U,S,E , W,E , B,E,L,I,E,U,E , TH,E , F,O,L,L,O,W,(I)NG , T,W,O , E,R,R,O,R,S , W,I,TH,I,N , TH,E , D,E,C,E,P,T,IO,N , W,E , D,O , N,O,T , H,A,U,E , E,N,O,U,G,H , O,R , TH,E,R,E , I,S , N,O,T , E,N,O,U,G,H , W,E , H,A,U,E , W,H,A,T , W,E , H,A,U,E , N,O,W , B,Y , L,U,C,C , A,N,D , W,E , W,I,L,L , N,O,T , B,E , S,T,R,O,(I)NG , E,N,O,U,G,H , L,A,T,E,R , T,O , O,B,T,A,I,N , W,H,A,T , W,E , N,E,E,D , M,O,S,T , TH,(I)NG,S , A,R,E , N,O,T , W,O,R,TH , C,O,N,S,U,M,(I)NG , P,R,E,S,E,R,U,A,T,IO,N , W,E , P,R,E,S,E,R,U,E , TH,(I)NG,S , B,E,C,A,U,S,E , W,E , B,E,L,I,E,U,E , W,E , A,R,E , W,EA,C , I,F , W,E , L,O,S,E , TH,E,M , W,E , W,I,L,L , N,O,T , B,E , S,T,R,O,(I)NG , E,N,O,U,G,H , T,O , G,A,I,N , TH,E,M , A,G,A,I,N , TH,I,S , I,S , TH,E , D,E,C,E,P,T,IO,N , M,O,S,T , TH,(I)NG,S , A,R,E , N,O,T , W,O,R,TH , P,R,E,S,E,R,U,(I)NG , A,D,H,E,R,E,N,C,E , W,E , F,O,L,L,O,W , D,O,G,M,A , S,O , TH,A,T , W,E , C,A,N , B,E,L,O,(I)NG , A,N,D , B,E , R,I,G,H,T , O,R , W,E , F,O,L,L,O,W , R,EA,S,O,N , S,O , W,E , C,A,N , B,E,L,O,(I)NG , A,N,D , B,E , R,I,G,H,T , TH,E,R,E , I,S , N,O,TH,(I)NG , T,O , B,E , R,I,G,H,T , A,B,O,U,T , T,O , B,E,L,O,(I)NG , I,S , D,EA,TH , I,T , I,S , TH,E , B,E,H,A,U,IO,R,S , O,F , C,O,N,S,U,M,P,T,IO,N , P,R,E,S,E,R,U,A,T,IO,N , A,N,D , A,D,H,E,R,E,N,C,E , TH,A,T , H,A,U,E , U,S , L,O,S,E , O,U,R , P,R,I,M,A,L,I,T,Y , A,N,D , TH,U,S , O,U,R , D,I,U,I,N,I,T,Y , S,O,M,E , W,I,S,D,O,M , A,M,A,S,S , G,R,EA,T , W,EA,L,TH , N,E,U,E,R , B,E,C,O,M,E , A,T,T,A,C,H,E,D , T,O , W,H,A,T , Y,O,U , O,W,N , B,E , P,R,E,P,A,R,E,D , T,O , D,E,S,T,R,O,Y , A,L,L , TH,A,T , Y,O,U , O,W,N , A,N , I,N,S,T,R,U,C,T,IO,N , P,R,O,G,R,A,M , Y,O,U,R , M,I,N,D , P,R,O,G,R,A,M , R,EA,L,I,T,Y
