Kryptos : On the Origins of Palimpsest : a theory on the acquisition of the K1 keyword
A PDF version of this document can be found here.
This is an attempt to acquire the keyword PALIMPSEST from the Morse coded messages, using the odd vertices of palindromes (the letter(s) centering the palindrome).
The Kryptos Morse
code messages are found on two of the three strata outcroppings in front of
the CIA entrance, the north outcropping and the compass outcropping.
Note: The Morse code is read when facing South.
Here are a number of photographs (taken by Jim Gillogly) of the Morse code in question. Click on each for a larger rendition.
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A graphic overview of the outcroppings near the front entrance, including Morse code, the compass and lodestone.
Continuing...
On the Origins of Palimpsest : a theory on the acquisition of the K1 keyword
This is an attempt to acquire the keyword PALIMPSEST from the Morse coded messages, using the odd vertices of palindromes (the letter centering the palindrome).
Here are the Kryptos
Morse code messages, found on the strata outcroppings in front of the CIA entrance,
as read when facing South.
The 1's stand for the dits, the 0's for the dashes.
| 1 011 11 001 1 0 10 1011 1 1 1 11 01 0 1 101 1001 101 1 0 10 0 11 0 | E DIGETAL EEE INTERPRETAT/IT/U/(ION) |
| 0 11 111 0100 000 110 101 1001 000 111 11 0 11 000 01 1 | T IS YOUR POSITION E |
| 1 1 1110 11 101 0 110 10 1011 1011 0100 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11 01 1110 11 111 11 0111 1011 1 | EE VIRTUALLY E EEEEEE INVISIBLE |
| 1 1 111 1111 10 011 000 100 1 1 1101 000 101 0101 1 111 1 1 1 1 1 | EE SHADOW EE FORCES EEEEE |
| 1011 110 0101 11 011 1 1 1 00 1 00 000 101 0100 1 | LUCID EEE MEMORY E |
| 101 0010 | RQ |
| 111000111 | SOS |
The end of the
Morse INTERPRETAT/IT/U/(ION) has been cut such that, after the last T,
there is only a double dit and a dash.
Clearly, the inference is that the word INTERPRETATION was the original Morse
before the abscission.
Thus, the double dit was the letter I, and the single dash
was once accompanied by two similar dashes, to make up the letter O.
Regardless, all we now have is 11 0, which is most appropriately interpreted
as the letter I plus a dash. The dash is thus interpreted as
a T.
| ..............................................................(...U) E ..D .I ..G E T .A ...L E E E .I .N T E ..R ...P ..R E T .A T .I T(.O .N) 1 011 11 001 1 0 10 1011 1 1 1 11 01 0 1 101 1001 101 1 0 10 0 11 0(00 01) |
E DIGETAL EEE INTERPRETAT/IT/U/(ION) |
| T .I
..S ...Y ..O
..U ..R ...P
..O ..S .I
T..I ..O .N
E 0 11 111 0100 000 110 101 1001 000 111 11 0 11 000 01 1 |
T IS YOUR POSITION E |
| E
E ...V
.I ..R T ..U
.A ...L ...L
...Y E E E E E E E
.I .N ...V
.I ..S
.I ...B ...L
E 1 1 1110 11 101 0 110 10 1011 1011 0100 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 11 01 1110 11 111 11 0111 1011 1 |
EE VIRTUALLY E EEEEEE INVISIBLE |
| E
E ..S
...H .A ..D
..O ..W E
E ...F ..O
..R ...C E ..S
E E E E E 1 1 111 1111 10 011 000 100 1 1 1101 000 101 0101 1 111 1 1 1 1 1 |
EE SHADOW EE FORCES EEEEE |
| ...L
..U ...C .I
..D E E E .M
E .M
..O ..R ...Y
E 1011 110 0101 11 011 1 1 1 00 1 00 000 101 0100 1 |
LUCID EEE MEMORY E |
| ..R
...Q 101 0010 |
RQ |
| ..S
.O .S .
. . SOS is a special
case in which the letter string SOS is used to 111000111 . . . represent a single character 'SOS'. The O here is thus, not the vertex. |
SOS |
The following table outlines the proposed method of acquisition. The order of the Morse coded messages is South to North.
P,P 1st and 3rd |
T
E R P R E T E R P R E R P R |
..............................................................(...U) |
A |
T
A T |
|
I |
T
I T |
|
T |
I
T I |
T .I
..S ...Y ..O
..U ..R ...P
..O ..S .I
T .I
..O .N E |
L |
L
L |
E
E ...V
.I ..R T ..U
.A ...L
...L ...Y
E E E E E E E .I
.N ...V .I
..S
.I ...B ...L
E |
S |
I
S I |
|
S |
E
S E
|
E
E ..S
...H .A ..D
..O ..W E
E ...F ..O
..R ...C E ..S
E E E E E |
M |
E
M E |
...L
..U ...C .I
..D E E E .M
E .M
..O ..R ...Y
E |
E |
M
E M |
(We'll ignore the RQ and SOS, and the trivial E's that could be acquired via E E E.)
We thus have acquired the letters PPAITLSSME, only and all the letters required to form the word PALIMPSEST.
For those that
might have a problem with the acquisition of an L from the
LL of VIRTUALLY,
there is also a more elegant, encompassing solution to acquire the L, one that
requires additional knowledge of the Kryptos environment.
Now, where, oh where, can we find an extra L? ....<stroking chin>HHHmmmm?!?!!!!!!!</stroking chin>
Could it be in the tableau?
Here's a reminder. The tableau has an extra L at the end of row 15.
.ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZABCD
AKRYPTOSABCDEFGHIJLMNQUVWXZKRYP
BRYPTOSABCDEFGHIJLMNQUVWXZKRYPT
CYPTOSABCDEFGHIJLMNQUVWXZKRYPTO
DPTOSABCDEFGHIJLMNQUVWXZKRYPTOS
ETOSABCDEFGHIJLMNQUVWXZKRYPTOSA
FOSABCDEFGHIJLMNQUVWXZKRYPTOSAB
GSABCDEFGHIJLMNQUVWXZKRYPTOSABC
HABCDEFGHIJLMNQUVWXZKRYPTOSABCD
IBCDEFGHIJLMNQUVWXZKRYPTOSABCDE
JCDEFGHIJLMNQUVWXZKRYPTOSABCDEF
KDEFGHIJLMNQUVWXZKRYPTOSABCDEFG
LEFGHIJLMNQUVWXZKRYPTOSABCDEFGH
MFGHIJLMNQUVWXZKRYPTOSABCDEFGHI
NGHIJLMNQUVWXZKRYPTOSABCDEFGHIJL
(row 15)
OHIJLMNQUVWXZKRYPTOSABCDEFGHIJL
PIJLMNQUVWXZKRYPTOSABCDEFGHIJLM
QJLMNQUVWXZKRYPTOSABCDEFGHIJLMN
RLMNQUVWXZKRYPTOSABCDEFGHIJLMNQ
SMNQUVWXZKRYPTOSABCDEFGHIJLMNQU
TNQUVWXZKRYPTOSABCDEFGHIJLMNQUV
UQUVWXZKRYPTOSABCDEFGHIJLMNQUVW
VUVWXZKRYPTOSABCDEFGHIJLMNQUVWX
WVWXZKRYPTOSABCDEFGHIJLMNQUVWXZ
XWXZKRYPTOSABCDEFGHIJLMNQUVWXZK
YXZKRYPTOSABCDEFGHIJLMNQUVWXZKR
ZZKRYPTOSABCDEFGHIJLMNQUVWXZKRY
.ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZABCD
So there you have
it.
The letters of the word PALIMPSEST can be acquired using the
vertex of palindromes found in the Morse code messages,
and (if need be) with the purchase of the letter L oddly dangling
at the end of the tableau's row 15.
The major strength of this theory is the fact that it can be applied very quickly, with virtually no paper work.
The only weakness of this theory is that it doesn't provide a ready means to infer the order in which the letters are arranged. This a minor weakness; for anagram users, this would not be a problem.
Another strength of this theory is that no letters other than those found in the word PALIMPSEST were forced upon us.
Also note that if the 2nd I in DIGITAL was not replaced by E, then this theory would have forced upon us the letter G. Perhaps the explanation why Jim Sanborn chose to make that change.
Just a thought.
Monet