Journal Code Decryption
Oct. 23rd, 2009 08:49 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
tothelightWHO IS A NERD
CLAUDE IS A NERD
BUT A NERD WHO HAS FIGURED OUT THE ANSWER IN BETWEEN CRAMMING NOTES ABOUT FUNGI
seriously I've found the complete solution so if you want to figure it out personally for IC/OOC reasons then don't look under this cut :< Also, if you *do* look, try not to spoil it for other people!
With help from techniques from The Adventure of the Dancing Men (o Holmes, is there no mystery you can't help with) and this site which has handy word substitution and letter frequency analysis sections
FOR THE ANSWER WITHOUT ALL THIS STEP-BY-STEP STUFF, SCROLL TO THE END
ETA (13/06/09): Noticed a missing 'H' in Cygnus's transcript of their actual page, adding it to their line
Lines:
AEM Y CE AHUDC ARD DIP AIND CE KHETNULAN ARD
RDYNF CHYSUF TMU ARD NYAV OMHU OARD
NACUUM ANUC Y CE AHU CERD
ADYM UUD AP OTYANMY OYS DE CLUMP RDIUC ARD RLYAN IUO VE
CNAKHIR HYS TMU ARD. KHEJUS BAAG
Notes:
letter freq: a-21, b-1, c-11, d-15, e-9, f-2, g-1, h-7, i-5, j-1, k-3, l-3, m-8, n-10, o-5, p-3, q-none, r-11, s-4, t-4, u-16, v-2, w-none, x-none, y-11, z-none
most frequent (going down): a (21), u (16), d (15), r + c + y (11), n (10), e (9), m (8), h (7), i + o (5), s + t (4), l + p + k (3), f + v (2), b + g + j (1)
rd-9, ar-6, ce-4, an-4
aa - occurs 1x midword
uu - occurs 2x, one midword
ard - 6x
[ CLAUDE-MUN'S REASONING STAGES ]
* separates the lines
Stage 1 - standalones 'y' and 'ard = A and EHT
* aem y ce ahudc ard dip aind ce khetnulan ard * * rdynf chysuf tmu ard nyav omhu oard * * nacuum anuc y ce ahu cerd * * adym uud ap otyanmy oys de clump rdiuc ard rlyan iuo ve * * cnakhir hys tmu ard. khejus baag *
- 'y' is either I or A - A is a more frequent letter (cause it's a particle) so tried 'y'->A swap
- 'ard' appears a lot alone and in 'oard' - could be The or And (both particles) but 'a'->A swap makes no sense and there's no (common) word with _the, so maybe reverse? 'oard = _EHT (The_)
with 'y' = A and 'ard' = EHT, you get:
* Eem A ce EhuTc EHT Tip EinT ce khetnulEn EHT * * HTAnf chAsuf tmu EHT nAEv omhu oEHT * * nEcuum Enuc A ce Ehu ceHT * * ETAm uuT Ep otAEnmA oAs Te clump HTiuc EHT HlAEn iuo ve * * cnEkhiH hAs tmu EHT. khejus bEEg *
( * E.. A .. E..T. EHT T.. E..T .. .......E. EHT * * HTA.. ..A... ... EHT .AE. .... .EHT * * .E.... E... A .. E.. ..HT * * ETA. ..T E. ..AE..A .A. T. ..... HT... EHT H.AE. ... .. * * ..E...H .A. ... EHT. ...... .EE. * )
seems to make sense since -rd appears a lot in the code and TH- is a common starter in English.
Hope you're good at reading backwards from here on.
Stage 2 - 'e'=I
Now 'e', which appears in the two-letter coded bits 'ce' (3x) 'de' and 've' (once each) is either A or I (can't be O, E or U) assuming 'd' = T. But we're going with 'y'=A, so let's try 'e'=I;
* aem y ce ahudc ard dip aind ce khetnulan ard * * rdynf chysuf tmu ard nyav omhu oard * * nacuum anuc y ce ahu cerd * * adym uud ap otyanmy oys de clump rdiuc ard rlyan iuo ve * * cnakhir hys tmu ard. khejus baag *
* EI. A .I E..T. EHT T.. E..T .I ..I....E. EHT * * HTA.. ..A... ... EHT .AE. .... .EHT * * .E.... E... A .I E.. .IHT * * ETA. ..T E. ..AE..A .A. TI ..... HT... EHT H.AE. ... .I * * ..E...H .A. ... EHT. ..I... .EE. *
Stage 3 - 'uu' = OO
Since 'aa' is EE, the only other vowel 'uu' could be is OO (unless 'u' is a consonant, but high frequency and positioning in 'uud' and 'nacuum' makes it less likely)
* EIm A cI EhOTc EHT Tip EinT cI khItnOlEn EHT * * HTAnf chAsOf tmO EHT nAEv omhO oEHT * * nEcOOm EnOc A cI EhO cIHT * * ETAm OOT Ep otAEnmA oAs TI clOmp HTiOc EHT HlAEn iOo vI * * cnEkhiH hAs tmO EHT. khIjOs bEEg *
* EI. A .I E.OT. EHT T.. E..T .I ..I..O.E. EHT * * HTA.. ..A.O. ..O EHT .AE. ...O .EHT * * .E.OO. E.O. A .I E.O .IHT * * ETA. OOT E. ..AE..A .A. TI ..O.. HT.O. EHT H.AE. .O. .I * * ..E...H .A. ..O EHT. ..I.O. .EE. *
Some sparse phrases already coming out.
Line 1 (Cepheus's): "The _e_o_____ i_ t__e __t the _to_e i_ a _ie."
Line 4 (Pyxis's): "I_ _o_ _ea_h the _o_th __o__ it _a_ a__ea__ _e too _ate".
Stage 4 - 'm' = L
What could 'm' be that goes with 'too _ate' and 'a _ie'? too Late and a Lie.
* EIL A cI EhOTc EHT Tip EinT cI khItnOlEn EHT * * HTAnf chAsOf tLO EHT nAEv oLhO oEHT * * nEcOOL EnOc A cI EhO cIHT * * ETAL OOT Ep otAEnLA oAs TI clOLp HTiOc EHT HlAEn iOo vI * * cnEkhiH hAs tLO EHT. khIjOs bEEg *
* EIL A .I E.OT. EHT T.. E..T .I ..I..O.E. EHT * * HTA.. ..A.O. .LO EHT .AE. .L.O .EHT * * .E.OOL E.O. A .I E.O .IHT * * ETAL OOT E. ..AE.LA .A. TI ..OL. HT.O. EHT H.AE. .O. .I * * ..E...H .A. .LO EHT. ..I.O. .EE. *
Stage 5 - 'c' = S and 't' = D
- "the _e_o__i__ i_ t__e __t the _to_e i_ a lie", "thi_ o_e i_ a _o_e loo_e_" - replacing 'c' with S would have 'this' and 'is'.
- "ol_" appears twice and the first word in SLT that occurs to one; "old". So try 't' = D.
* EIL A SI EhOTS EHT Tip EinT SI khIDnOlEn EHT * * HTAnf ShAsOf DLO EHT nAEv oLhO oEHT * * nESOOL EnOS A SI EhO SIHT * * ETAL OOT Ep oDAEnLA oAs TI SlOLp HTiOS EHT HlAEn iOo vI * * SnEkhiH hAs DLO EHT. khIjOs bEEg *
* EIL A SI E.OTS EHT T.. E..T SI ..ID.O.E. EHT * * HTA.. S.A.O. DLO EHT .AE. .L.O .EHT * * .ESOOL E.OS A SI E.O SIHT * * ETAL OOT E. .DAE.LA .A. TI S.OL. HT.OS EHT H.AE. .O. .I * * S.E...H .A. DLO EHT. ..I.O. .EE. *
Stage 6 - Solving Vulpecula's line; 'n' = R, 'h' = N
"This o_e is a so_e loose_". Loosen? 'n' occurs for the latter two blanks, and sone loosen doesn't sound like anything... but sore looser does.
"This one is a sore looser"? Seems better.
Try that for the rest:
* EIL A SI ENOTS EHT Tip EiRT SI kNIDROlER EHT * * HTARf SNAsOf DLO EHT RAEv oLNO oEHT * * RESOOL EROS A SI ENO SIHT * * ETAL OOT Ep oDAERLA oAs TI SlOLp HTiOS EHT HlAER iOo vI * * SREkNiH NAs DLO EHT. kNIjOs bEEg *
* EIL A SI ENOTS EHT T.. E.RT SI .NIDRO.ER EHT * * HTAR. SNA.O. DLO EHT RAE. .LNO .EHT * * RESOOL EROS A SI ENO SIHT * * ETAL OOT E. .DAERLA .A. TI S.OL. HT.OS EHT H.AER .O. .I * * SRE.N.H NA. DLO EHT. .NI.O. .EE. *
Stage 7 - Solving Cepheus's line; 'i'=U, 'p' = B
"The re_ordin_ is tr_e __t the stone is a lie". "Recording"? But assuming character doesn't know what a recording is, alternate route - 'i' could be U since it makes for "true" and "_ut" ("but", since the sentence would then compare 'true' and 'lie'. So 'p' is then B.)
"The re_ordin_ is true but the stone is a lie".
Try that for the rest:
* EIL A SI ENOTS EHT TUB EURT SI kNIDROlER EHT * * HTARf SNAsOf DLO EHT RAEv oLNO oEHT * * RESOOL EROS A SI ENO SIHT * * ETAL OOT EB oDAERLA oAs TI SlOLB HTUOS EHT HlAER UOo vI * * SREkNUH NAs DLO EHT. kNIjOs bEEg *
* EIL A SI ENOTS EHT TUB EURT SI .NIDRO.ER EHT * * HTAR. SNA.O. DLO EHT RAE. .LNO .EHT * * RESOOL EROS A SI ENO SIHT * * ETAL OOT EB .DAERLA .A. TI S.OLB HTUOS EHT H.AER UO. .I * * SRE.NUH NA. DLO EHT. .NI.O. .EE. *
Stage 8 - Solving Pyxis's line; 'o' = Y, 'l' = C, 'v' = F, 's' = M
"I_ _ou rea_h the south blo_s it _a_ alread_ be too late". Just reading this out loud gives you an idea, but just to be 100% sure;
- "alread_" - "already", therefore 'o' = Y and "_ou" - "you"
- "rea_h" - "reach", therefore 'l' = C and "blo_s" = "blocs"
- "I_ you reach the south blocs it _ay already be too late".
- "If you reach the south blocs it may already be too late". therefore 'v' = F and 's' = M.
Try that for the rest:
* EIL A SI ENOTS EHT TUB EURT SI kNIDROCER EHT * * HTARf SNAMOf DLO EHT RAEF YLNO YEHT * * RESOOL EROS A SI ENO SIHT * * ETAL OOT EB YDAERLA YAM TI SCOLB HTUOS EHT HCAER UOY FI * * SREkNUH NAM DLO EHT. kNIjOM bEEg *
* EIL A SI ENOTS EHT TUB EURT SI .NIDROCER EHT * * HTAR. SNAMO. DLO EHT RAEF YLNO YEHT * * RESOOL EROS A SI ENO SIHT * * ETAL OOT EB YDAERLA YAM TI SCOLB HTUOS EHT HCAER UOY FI * * SRE.NUH NAM DLO EHT. .NI.OM .EE. *
Stage 9 - Solving Lacerta's line; 'f' = W
"They only fear the old _omans _rath". Both are 'f', so it's easy to put W in there.
"They only fear the old woman(')s wrath".
'f' doesn't occur anywhere in the other lines.
Stage 10 - Solving Cygnus's line and conclusions; 'k' = G, 'j' = V, 'b' = P and 'g' = K.
"_ee_ mo_in_. the old man hun_ers". (Charlie/Joe forgot to add the period or didn't see it in his notes. ETA: He also wrote 'kejus' instead of 'khejus' DAMMIT JOE)
- 'k' is the last unsolved letter of "recordin_" in Cepheus's line, and "hungers" and "recording" make logical words. This also leads to "mo_ig".
- "_ee_ mo_ing. the old man hungers".
Remaining letters that haven't been matched with their codes: J, K, P, Q, V, X, Z
'j', 'b' and 'g' all occur singly so it's three of those unmatched letters. Only contextually sensible fill is "keep movig", assuming a spelling error (like with Vulpecula's "looser"). So 'j' = V, 'b' = P and 'g' = K.
"Keep moving. The old man hungers."
AND NOW FOR THE SUMMARY
ARE YOU SURE YOU DON'T WANT TO READ THE NOTES
POSITIVE
*****REALLY*******
OKAY
EIL A SI ENOTS EHT TUB EURT SI GNIDROCER EHT
HTARW SNAMOW DLO EHT RAEF YLNO YEHT
RESOOL EROS A SI ENO SIHT
ETAL OOT EB YDAERLA YAM TI SCOLB HTUOS EHT HCAER UOY FI
SREGNUH NAM DLO EHT. GNIVOM PEEK
Read in reverse:
* The recording is true but the stone is a lie. (bottom of page with poetry and flowers - Cepheus)
* They only fear the old womans wrath. (bottom of page with mushrooms and plants - Lacerta)
* This one is a sore looser. (bottom of page with doodled Trickster picture - Vulpecula)
* If you reach the south blocs it may already be too late. (alongside picture of bone instrument - Pyxis)
* Keep moving. The old man hungers. (written at bottom of page with list of Blanks(?) - Cygnus)
Code key (code = actual letter)
A=E
B=P
C=S
D=T
E=I
F=W
G=K
H=N
I=U
J=V
K=G
L=C
M=L
N=R
O=Y
P=B
Q=_
R=H
S=M
T=D
U=O
V=F
W=_
X=_
Y=A
Z=_
