Tags
Doug Dorst, Estonia, Estonia-R, JJ Abrams, MAC WAS JUDAS NOT TIAGO, nihilist cipher, Ragnar Rummo, V.M. Straka, Vic Cipher, VM Straka
Fn5 in Chapter 6 has been frustrating. Yes, the last two digits of the years (64,33) were used as part of the overall Nihilist cipher spanning most of the footnotes to form the message MAC WAS JUDAS NOT TIAGO (see marginalia p236). However, the use of the years does not address the use of the name Ragnar Rummo of Estonia.
Until now?
Adam Laceky, an avid fan of “S,” noticed this: within the nihilist family of ciphers is the VIC Cipher. It uses what is called a straddling checkerboard. A key row in this encryption mechanism uses only the highest frequency letters: ESTONIA and R. And there it is: Estonia and Ragnar Rummo – emphasis on the R.
This is an amazing find (thank you, Adam!). It does not yet give us the complete cipher or its solution, but it seems a giant leap for Strakian kind. Perhaps this is enough for the cryptanalyst in you to crack the code?
Thoughts On "S" 
Oops…I thought I had posted a longish comment here, but sadly I think WordPress ate it.
😦
WordPress seems to be VERY finicky about comments
Hi Mystimus and fellow Birders!
The Straddling Checkerboard in not only a part of the VIC cipher (and other ciphers), but is a cipher in and of itself.
The Straddling Checkerboard is simple and straightforward — just the type of cipher FXC/Straka/Eric/Jen (Dorst) would use (SEE MY COMMENT BELOW). The Straddling Checkerboard converts plaintext into numbers while also effecting fractionation. While it’s common to use the 7-8 most frequently occurring English letters to set up the top row of a Straddling Checkerboard, it isn’t mandatory. You could use any 7-8 letters you want to. There are also variations utilizing fewer letters in the top row.
ESTONIA is a mnemonic often used to remember the most frequently occurring letters of the English (not just to set up a Straddling Checkerboard, but for frequency analysis as well). ESTONIA-R was one of the mnemonics used during WWII. Other mnemonics I’ve seen include ATONE SIR, and A SIN TO ERR (omitting the 2nd R). However the 8 most frequently occurring letters of the English alphabet are actually ETAOINSH (in deceasing order of frequency) with H seen just slightly more frequently than R. So while a more accurate mnemonic would probably be ESTONIA-H, seeing ESTONIA-R usually makes me think of Straddling Checkerboard ciphers.
[CONTD]
The VIC cipher is a rather complex, multi-step, Soviet field cipher which uses a Straddling Checkerboard as one of its steps. The VIC cipher uses a 20 letter keyphrase (often in the form of a popular song) and a 6 digit number (often a date) to generate a 50 digit pseudo-random sequence of numbers through mod10 and chain arithmetic. The last 10 digits of that sequence are used as a key to transpose 0-9 for the top row of a Straddling Checkerboard, with which the plaintext is enciphered. That ciphertext is then put through a double transposition (where the transposition tables themselves are constructed from the 50 digit pseud-random sequence described above and an identification number).
So yeah, the VIC cipher is complex enough that I doubt Dorst would have used it.
I was hoping you would chime in here. I have always leaned your way for solving ciphers. So do you think the ESTONIAn Ragnar Rummo is simply atmospheric towards the giveaway nihilist cipher and not indicative of another? Seems like it is at least hinting at something more – even if it isn’t VIC? Thanks for the detailed explanation.
Sorry about the split posts – WordPress is making me post piece meal. I’ll pick this up at the end of my (long) comment 😉
Recognizing that a Straddling Checkerboard is exactly the kind of cipher Dorst would use, I had brought it up at SFiles22 (granted that was a loooong time ago), initially regarding Chap2 FN3, and then later regarding unused FNs and numbers. I’ll have to take a look back through my notes, but so far I had tried Straddling Checkerboard decrypts on the number of FNs per chapter, unused FNs & unused numbers — all with no luck.
Maybe I should go back and try again, leaving 5 & 6 blank in the top row (for Ragnar Rummo) or by using Ragnar Rummo as the key to transpose 0-9 in the top row. I guess Ragnar Rummo could also be the key to a Vigenère/Nihilist type subtraction. IDK.
If anyone has any ideas, let me know. We are looking for a series of numbers that range from:
– 0-98 for a simple Straddle Checkerboard, though likely no higher than 69
– 0-120’s in case of a Vigenère/Nihilist type additive OR
– 0-9 if converted to mod10
@Brian/Mystimus — Yeah, “ESTONIA” definitely made me think of some type of straddling checkerboard cipher, which I’ve tried in a bunch of places without success. I STILL think there’s one in there somewhere — we just need to find the right ciphertext and key, and figure out which checkerboard setup Dorst/FXC used.
ESTONIA doesn’t really hint at basic Nihilist since that uses a Poybius square to encipher numbers and letter frequency isn’t involved.
Another reason Dorst probably didn’t use the VIC cipher is that it wasn’t discovered until 1953.
A typewriter keyboard is, basically, a straddling checkerboard. In Straka’s time, most typewriters didn’t use the numeral 1, using instead the lowercase L. Maybe some also replaced 0 with O. That would give you the two blank spaces.
There’s some evidence that Ragnar Rummo is referenced in Interlude. The eight Agent #s omit 0 and 5, which is cool, but the straddling checkerboard cannot generate those numbers, since the two-digit numbers include 26, 34, and 47.