Solving Kryptos - A Map of the MALL to the WALL

 

-- John Scott

Can you see anything  "Q" ?
 

That was the question -- and the answer -- James Sanborn posed in K3 of Kryptos, a sculpture  located on the grounds of the CIA that has bedeviled professional and amateur cryptologists  since its unveiling on November 3, 1990.  There has been much speculation about the meaning of the messages it bears. Of the four messages, three have been solved, with the fourth remaining one of the most famous codes in the world. But JS advises, once K4 is solved there is a deeper puzzle to be solved, and KRYPTOS is a message to allow an agent to find his way home and "speaks to a sense of place."

SOLVING KRYPTOS is E-Z - It's a MAP OF THE MALL TO THE WALL.

J.S. Reflecting on K4 - "There are encoding systems which use pattern, light and shadow, which is like a mirror, and it's those kinds of systems that I was most interested in using, because I'm an artist... and I chose not to use, in at least what's been deciphered already.  I like to use spatial systems of encoding and decoding. It's also well-known that I did use some matrix codes." (NB. Mad World CIA spymeister James ANGLEton called the world of spies a "wilderness of mirrors.")

KRYPTOS is divided into four messages: K1 and K2 used polyalphabetic substitution and K3 used transposition.  There are intentional repeats and misspellings. For X-ample:

DESPARATLY -- Correct spelling is "desperately."  J.S. subbed an A for E between P and R. Letter between P and R is Q;  Q = E.   Note: E is missing between T and L.  READ: "E" is hidden at intersection of the coordinates.

UNDERGRUUND -- Correct spelling is "underground."  J.S. subbed U for O.  Letters S-T are between R+U and there is a Double U in ground.   READ: STATE (ST) R-U and "W" in ground.

IQLUSION -- Correct spelling is "illusion."  J.S. subbed Q for L in center of I - L.  Letters J-K are between I-L.   READ: Q @ J-K (Center). 

Kryptos Morse Code

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
d i g e   t a l e e e	i n t e r p r e t a t i   u
e e s h a d o w e e	f o r c e s e e e e e
l u c i d e e e	m e m o r y e
t   i s y o u r	p o s i t i o n
s o s
r q

 K1 -  Keywords PALIMPSEST  and KRYPTOS

"BETWEEN SUBTLE SHADING AND THE ABSENCE OF LIGHT LIES THE NUANCE OF IQLUSION"

 K2 - Keywords ABSCISSA and KRYPTOS  

IT WAS TOTALLY INVISIBLE HOWS THAT POSSIBLE ? THEY USED THE EARTHS MAGNETIC FIELD X THE INFORMATION WAS GATHERED AND TRANSMITTED UNDERGRUUND TO AN UNKNOWN LOCATION X  DOES LANGLEY KNOW ABOUT THIS ?  THEY SHOULD ITS 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 X LAYER TWO

Anagram of Palimpsest + Abscissa = PS: It's as simple (read: E-Z) as A-B-C.

K3  - Keywords KRYPTOS=0362514 (nb. ref. letters C-F-B-E-A-D transposition  = A-B-C + F-E-D)  

"SLOWLY DESPARATLY SLOWLY THE REMAINS OF 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 X CAN YOU SEE ANYTHING Q ? 

K4 -OBKRUOXOGHULBSOLIFBBWFLRVQQPRNGKSSOTWTQSJQSSEKZZ
      WATJKLUDIAWINFBNYPVTTMZFPKWGDKZXTJCDIGKUHUAUEKCAR 

J.S:  "K4 is the apex of the pyramid." 

 LAYER TWO indicate K4 has two levels of code: transposition and substitution.  
  
"BETWEEN SUBTLE SHADING AND THE ABSENCE OF LIGHT LIES THE NUANCE OF IQLUSION"  may  refer to Kryptos Morse Code "SHADOW FORCES"  and  "It was totally INVISIBLE."    Sanborn's sculpture "INVISIBLE Forces" has a ZIGZAG design.  Deciphering K4 is E-ZZ using polyalpha "SHADOW" substitution and "ZIGZAG" transposition. The ORIGINS (Q = E) of CIA HQ Langley (L) can be found in the Kryptos Morse code and shadow zigzag coordinates in Sanborn's COMPASS ROSE MATRIX.  
 (source: Dan Ankuda)


K4 is split in Kryptos matrix in T-WO. (Note: there is only one Q in the deciphered text in place of L in Illusion in ZigZag formation and next to the hidden E.)

 Directions from the Mall to the Wall

The Compass Rose Matrix corresponds favorably to the map of the National Mall:  "U-U" ( "W") on the X Abscissa is in the approximate position of the Washington Monument.

"A-B-E" and  "E-B-A" (Abe's reflection) are in the approximate position of the Lincoln Memorial at the Reflecting Pool.    

Significance of the Ls -- With the exceptions of letters R and Q,  an "L" borders the rays of the Compass Rose Matrix from (T) the ORIGIN.  Assuming  L = Angle of X-Y coordinates,  then E-E-E-E in L formation above T (ORIGIN) approximates "Q" location,  the E-shaped original HQ of the CIA-L (LANGLEY)at the Potomac Annex of the State Department (ST) between C and D streets (CQD).       

"Details of the rooms emerged from the M-I-ST" --   Letters J-K-L are between I - M.   J-K-L denotes OSS-CIA temporary buildings located near the Reflecting Pool during WWII. (Only W-W(2) knows)  

Message X Marks the Spot:  Plot the 38th, 57th, 77th, 8th, and 44th letters of K4 and character at 6.5 (OPQRS:6.5:TUVWX) = "S"   results in:  T38 I57 S6.5 D77 O8 S44  -  "T IS DOS."

OBKRUO(S)XOGHULBSOLIFBBWFLRVQQPRNGKSSOTWTQSJQSS 
EKZZWATJKLUDIAWINFBNYPVTTMZFPKWGDKZXTJCDIGKUHUAUEKCAR

Given  "T IS YOUR POSITION - E"  from the Kryptos Morse Code strata message, substituting T= DOS,  then  "DOS IS YOUR POSITION - E."   DOS is abbreviation for the Department of State.  Message reads: Department of State is your position - E.

RQ: Intersection of X axis WEST R coordinate and Y axis North Q coordinate is "SEE", which connects with "OSS,"  the ORIGIN of the CIA.  Extending a line through the center of Kryptos Double U and the granite outcroppings next to the reflecting pond in the CIA courtyard intersects with the Big W, the Washington Monument, on the Mall. 

 A line extending from the Washington Monument through the "Hydra" (Big "W") tree at 225 degrees on the Mall intersects with the John Paul Jones, "father" of the US Navy (SOS) statue.  Navy Hill at the Potomac Annex  "R Q", the original building of the OSS-CIA, is located between C and D streets (CQD- SOS).

From T (T is your position), go five points on X axis to U-U ( Big W - Washington Monument), and then five points on Y axis to "ST" (read: State Dept) at E.  "Q",  the E- shaped building,  represents the "simple past" of the CIA-OSS. "Q"  is hidden from street view at 25th + E Street  (NB. 25 extra Es in the Kryptos Morse Code)  on the Potomac Annex (PA) of the State Department, which is next to the J. Kennedy Center. (I should know as my office overlooked "Q" and I often had my lunch on the picnic tables next to it.)

Kryptos Morse Code SOS and R Q - A variant of the CQ call, CQD, was the first code used as a distress signal. It was adopted in 1904, but was replaced between 1906 and 1908 by the SOS code. SOS RQ CQD point to Navy Hill and "Q" hidden from street view between C and D streets on the Potomac Annex of the State Department.   Note: In Kryptos Matrix, E-E-E-E in "L formation is located 11 points north of Hidden E in misspelling "desparat(e)ly and "Q' in misspelling "IQLUSION."

                                                                 KRYPTOS "Hidden Area E"
   Big W: The BERLIN WALL

J.S. said that he wanted to reveal a clue to mark the 20th anniversary of the sculpture’s dedication at CIA headquarters in 1990. He said it would be a “significant clue” and hinted that it would “globalize” the sculpture. Asked if this meant it would take the sculpture off CIA grounds and out of the United States, he conceded it would.  Then the  ‘Berlin’ clue makes a lot of sense, in historical context of the Berlin Wall coming down that year.  The Berlin Wall came tumbling down in Nov. 1989, almost exactly a year before the dedication of the Kryptos sculpture at CIA headquarters, and would have been on Sanborn’s mind.  The National Mall's  Reflecting Pool, the Kryptos reflective pool, K1, K2, K3, and K4 have spatial interconnections with the  BERLIN tunnel aka the WONDERFUL Tunnel aka PBJOINTLY aka  PROJECT REGAL aka OPERATION GOLD.  (Note misspellings in Matrix  A and U (AU - gold) equally spaced from T on the X axis total 11 spaces.   J.S. indicated the positions of the misspellings were "important."    The Berlin Tunnel and the Reflection Pool are approximately the same length - 1476 feet.   K1 tunnel reference - "absence of light."  K2 tunnel plaintext reference -  "The information was gathered and transmitted undergruund to an unknown location. It's buried out there somewhere."  Telegraphic and other material went each week to Washington, where it was studied at the “Hosiery Mill,” in one of the temporary buildings set up along the Reflecting Pool during World War II.    K3 tunnel reference - X Can you see anything Q?"  Carter  replied, "Yes, Wonderful things.  Everywhere the glint of GOLD."    K4 references -  SILENT keyword rotational transpositions include BERLIN,WATCH, DIG KH THE KING. (source: Monet)  (Note: William King Harvey was the BERLIN CIA STATION CHIEF in charge of Berlin Tunnel Op for 11 months and 11 days.)


KRYPTOS Matrix 11-Strings (Note: 11 characters in each axis of the Kryptos matrix)  


String T - ABE - C- D T-L-E  HQ.  (Read: From T  A-B-E (Lincoln Memorial) in Q1 are coordinates (ORIGIN) at C, D and E Streets to  HQ of the OSS).
String T - From T note opposite reflection of  "A-B-E"  is E-B-A-A-D-R in Q2 


                                                   BETWEEN SUBTLE SHADING...

String T - L U S U Y E R L Y L.   T (Lincoln Memorial), Angle of S (Double U)  U - U (Washington Monument),  and Y axis - E is at coordinates R, L to"SEE OSS"  
String T - A T C E  A N  E   T E M P --  At T (DOS) "C" and  "E" (streets) an "E" temp building (Q and B)
 String in Q2 -  M-E- D- U- B  - N-H-L  (L pattern) borderd by Es.  NB: Navy's Bureau of Medicine (BUMED) on Navy Hill.   Note String Q3 - THE SAIL LAB  (above DOOR).   BUMED
String in Q3 on Y Axis -  D E A T (Right Angle) H - A B E - L-L  (read: Lincoln Memorial)
String  X Abscissa String  "TX R U"    - ZZ Top (apex) aka The Little Band from TX

 ...AND THE ABSENCE OF LIGHT


                                                           MIRROR MIRROR ON THE MALL 




ANTIPODES, a Kryptos clone, is located at the Hirshhorn Museum.  J.S. - "ANTIPODES is an appropriate name."  Read: KRYPTOS is in the opposite direction of ANTIPODES on the National Mall.


In Kryptos Matrix reflection C Q in K4;  E-Z as A-B-C: 

E:  Find K4 letters in the Kryptos Matrix and substitute the reflected letters connected with Es and Ls in L formation to find the location of "E" = "Q", the ORIGIN of the OSS/CIA.  X-ample: NYPVTT = BERLIN 

 "N" K4  =   B      Note three N-B mirror reflections in K1 connected to Es and Ls in L formation

 "Y" K4   =   E      Note four Y-E mirror reflections  in Q2 connected to Es and Ls in L formation 

 "P" K4    =  R      Note three P-R mirror reflections in Q2 (@ pt  "A" ="E") Q3 (P-E-R) + E connections
"V"  K4  =   L      Note two V- L mirror reflections @ Y axis + "L" and Q4  + E connections
 "T" is your position:
"T" K4   =    I       T-I mirror reflections at T (ORIGIN), Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4 + E connections
"T" K4  =     N      T-N mirror reflections Q1, Q2, Q3, Q4 + E connections

The Big W: WHY did Sanborn provide a "BERLIN" clue? 

Z:  If BERLIN WALL is code for FENCE (J.S. indicated the positions of the misspellings were important) use rail 11 fence ZIGZAG (ZZ) transposition to decipher K4 BIG W.   " WHO KNOWS THE EXACT LOCATION ?  ONLY WW   THIS WAS HIS LAST MESSAGE X"

The BIG W is a SIGN WAVE


O                   B                   K                      R                       U                
 O                 X O                G H                 U L                    B S               
  O               L   I                F   B                B   W                 F   L              
   R             V     Q             Q     P              R     N               G    K              S
    S           O       T           W       T           Q       S             J       Q           S
     S         E         K          Z          Z          W        A           T        J          K 
      L       U           D        I             A       W           I         N           F       B  
       N     Y             P      V              T     T              M     Z              F      P   
        K   W               G   D                K   Z                 X   T                J   C    
         D I                    G K                 U H                  U A                  U E     
          K                      C                      A                      R                     
                        

K4 - Exact location of Q -  E E E

E                   B                     R                        R                      U                
 E                 X O                 G H                     U  L                 B S               
  E               L    I               F    B                   B   W               F   L              
   S             L     Q             Q     R                R      B             G     R                X
    T           O       T           W       T             Q        S           J       Q              X
     W         E         R          Z          Z           W         A          T        J            R 
      L       U           D        I             A        W           I        B           F         B  
       B     E             R       L              I      N              M     Z             F      R   
        K   W              G    D                R   Z                 X   T               J    C    
         D I                   G R                  U H                 U A                  U E     
          R                      C                     A                     R             

The Big "W" - WHAT is Kryptos?
 

Scheidt hinted Kryptos was a pictorial representation.  Perhaps  Kryptos whirlpool (black hole = "absence of light") is the Reflecting Pool,  the "subtle shading" of the Lincoln profile red slate represents the Lincoln Memorial on BACON Drive)("between subtle shading and absence of light lies the nuance of IQLUSION"),  the A-B-C F-E-D Triangle Rock borders 23rd Street,  the 11 ft petrified wood symbolizes the Museum of Natural History, which is located behind the "Big Double U" (W), Washington Monument,  and the adjacent red block of stone with the blue and white "round-tunda" symbol with the letter J represents the Jefferson Memorial.

Jefferson's Cipher Wheel -   Jefferson cipher wheel, invented by Thomas Jefferson, was introduced in 1922, the year of the opening of Tut's tomb, and was used by the Army, Coast Guard, and Radio Intelligence Division of the Federal Communications Commission until early in World War II.  Note the parallels of CIA, Morse Code, SOS + RQ, and "Only WW knows", as well as the rest of the Sec. 2 secret message.  there are (2) "TJ" ("Thomas Jefferson") strings next to each other in Sec. 4.

The Big "W" - WHY did Sanborn create Kryptos? 

As K3 was a reference to Carter's discovery of King Tut's tomb in the Valley of Kings, Kryptos points to the "crypts" of the American "kings" - Jefferson, Washington, Lincoln - on the National Mall.
K2 references another KING - Martin Luther King:  Q1 String  M-L-K  NU (read: "knew"  or "and you") A-L (Abe Lincoln)  located between A - D ("address") and two WWs  (WW II  - "only WW knows")  "This was his last message (at) X"  - and null cipher clues DESPAIR, ATLAS may refer to  "Valley of Despair" and "free at last."  Dream speech alludes to King's Lincoln Memorial address in 1963, which alludes to Lincoln's Gettysburg address in 1863.  Curiously, there are 63 letters in K1.


"Details of the rooms emerged from the M(JKL)I-ST"

Buried in the "simple past"  during WW II were JKL intelligence buildings stationed on the National Mall near the Lincoln Memorial, the Reflecting Pool  and the State Dept (I M ST- ate), the site of "Q". (note: J-K-L string on bottom row of the Matrix Y axis @LIFT)  

Because there is no monument to "Q" ,"E" and "JKL"  - the origins of the  CIA (L) on the National Mall,  J.S. created Kryptos as a monument of the National Mall at CIA (L) Langley and a map from the Mall to the marble WALL at the ENTRANCE to CIA Langley.

The off-line Kryptos letters - D-Y-A-H-R-O  - are a symbol for "Die a Hero"  
 


and the 97 letters of K4 read:

                                   X IN HONOR OF THOSE  MEMBERS
                            OF THE CENTRAL INTELLIGENCE AGENCY
           WHO GAVE THEIR LIVES IN THE SERVICE OF THEIR COUNTRY XX" 

 (xx= end of message)


JS:  "K4 is the Apex of the Pyramid. It was in FRONT of you."

 
 

Read John's "SEVEN" COME 11: 

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"DIVE"   Logline: An American naval officer is forced to pilot a Colombian cartel submarine loaded with cocaine into San Diego harbor. But there's something else on board.  Tagline:  Sub-text: Hidden between the lines.

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