Rest of the solved 408 cipher..lots of theories. Here is a new one:
Z says he wouldn’t give us his name. In fact, he did not. But what if he encrypted it or at least gave a hint? A cipher inside the cipher? Anagrammed? Usually I do not like anagrams but for a name…..? We thought about ‘Timothi Peter’ etc. before..but no conclusive solution so far.
WHAT if Z had not given us his name? What if he just gave a hint?
Another point….Z, in the 408, wrote ‘sloi’ instead of ‘slow’. Most likely because of symbols/homophones looking very similar to each other..what if this had happened in the EBEORIETEMETHHPITI part, too? What if this was in fact EBEORWETEMETHHPITI, instead? Z DID make the error and believed that ‘I’ was a ‘W’…
So let’s anagram it..
Under consideration of these circumstances, this is my favourite solution:
"MEET WITH THE PROBIES"
Now what I don’t know is if ‘probies’ is a valid word..but if it had been used for probation officers, I’d definitely talk to the Bloch’s near Washington/Cherry..
QT
*ZODIACHRONOLOGY*
I think the answer lies not in the letters but the layout. The cipher is divided equally into three portions of 8 lines. The 18 characters can be divided into three portions of 6 letters. He is signing off the cipher. I won’t go any further, but believe there is a running theme throughout at least 8 pieces of correspondence.
EBEORIETCMETHHPITI
ROSSMERCERSULLIVAN
Doesn’t fit with the substitution, but find it interesting.
Pretty sure this was solved already by demonstrating that the remaining letters were in fact pulldown filler.
Nope…the letters being a filler is just a guess. Always wondered about that ‘solution’ because who needs that many fillers….? I only know about one single cipher using fillers..
Probies: YES there were probies at both, universities and newspaper companies…so even if the solution is correct – no additional use..
QT
*ZODIACHRONOLOGY*
You’d need that much filler if you wanted clean three-way asymmetry in the ciphers sent to the three newspapers, which suggests to me The Zodiac initially planned to send his cipher to one paper, probably the Vallejo-Herald Times.
Afterwards, he changed his mind, but because the cipher wasn’t constructed for an easy three-way split, he had to add junk to the end.
I created my own 408 from scratch, using paper, a unique key, blue Sharpies, and white art paper.
I can tell you, there’s no way you want to start a new cipher, because it’s a royal bitch just the first time around.
I spent hours creating the grid and doing the overlays, which caused endless frustration.
I’m sure The Zodiac felt the same way.
Nope…the letters being a filler is just a guess
If it’s a guess, it’s a hell of a one, because for every letter in the 408’s junk ending, there is a corresponding filler letter, which is pretty much unlikely given the mathematical odds. Some are even in sequence.
But whatever. You keep chasing the imaginary phantasm in the form of The Zodiac leaving his name in the 408 even though he clearly stated he’d never give his identity.
Perhaps one day you, or someone else, will find the gold at the rainbow’s end. Just watch out for the pissed off leprechaun named Patricia Hautz.
If this were filler, it would be the first time the Zodiac had nothing to say.
The final 18 symbols of the 408 are very likely filler, and it is not just a "guess." There is very strong – amazingly strong – statistical data showing this.
I (among others) started this idea, a thread of which is at ZKF. Unfortunately, the images and charts that I made have vanished. I will try to re-start that thread here, once I see if I still have the data. The original thread is here:
http://www.zodiackillerfacts.com/forum/ … f=49&t=423
I will try to re-post this stuff here, when I have time. It’s not just "a guess" though, that is fairly insulting, considering the time and research that went into this. I have no POI in this case, and nothing to prove or refute, I just want to know the truth. And in this case "filler" is what the math, the statistics, and the evidence suggest.
-glurk
——————————–
I don’t believe in monsters.
If this were filler, it would be the first time the Zodiac had nothing to say.
He had something to say. He was saying I’m so smart and clever I can create three symmetrical ciphers and then mail each one to different newspaper.
Really, you have to think a little less supermagical and overly-cryptoverbal when it comes to the machinations of deluded, homicidal nutbags. They’re rarely so convoluted in their thinking.
I have no POI in this case, and nothing to prove or refute, I just want to know the truth.
-glurk
Same here, but I imagine you and I are only a little more common with respect to this case as Stars and Stripes bedsheets are in Vladimir Putin’s bedroom.
No offense, but it seems few people want the actual truth, and even fewer don’t have someone in mind as the killer.
The final 18 symbols of the 408 are very likely filler, and it is not just a "guess." There is very strong – amazingly strong – statistical data showing this.
I (among others) started this idea, a thread of which is at ZKF. Unfortunately, the images and charts that I made have vanished. I will try to re-start that thread here, once I see if I still have the data. The original thread is here:
http://www.zodiackillerfacts.com/forum/ … f=49&t=423
I will try to re-post this stuff here, when I have time. It’s not just "a guess" though, that is fairly insulting, considering the time and research that went into this. I have no POI in this case, and nothing to prove or refute, I just want to know the truth. And in this case "filler" is what the math, the statistics, and the evidence suggest.
-glurk
I remember that, there is good evidence it is just filler.
I was convinced the final 18 symbol instances were filler for a long time before I saw glurk’s "column analysis" over on ZKF. But, when I saw that analysis, it removed all doubt from my mind. It was an excellent observation. BTW, there is a snapshot of it here:
http://www.zodiackillerfacts.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=49&t=42 3″> http://web.archive.org/web/201102040011 … f=49&t=423
Additionally, a careful inspection of the 408 suggests that the killer made a mistake when transitioning from the second third to the last third. In particular, he almost certainly left out a word. I believe the word was ‘PEOPLE’. So, the likely scenario is that the Zodiac constructed the content of the 408 with the intention of having less than one line (17 symbol instances) of filler. Specifically, he expected to have 18 – 6 = 12 remaining symbol instances. But, he left out the word and ended up with 18.
These different pieces strongly suggest any anagram of 18 letters is just wrong.
The Zodiac was hardly a consummate literary authority. The fact that he left out a word means…he left out a word.
In creating a similar three-part pen and paper cipher, I made an identical mistake. I actually forgot to encode a word from the plaintext to the ciphertext.
It happens, and then you have to start completely over because "Sharpie don’t erase".
He wrote his plaintext correctly, but in transcoding from plaintext to ciphertext, elided the word "people".
In the end, he would have had six fewer filler letters.
Just ASSUMING that ‘Meet with the probies’ is a valid solution for EBEORIETEMETHPITI..such probation officers would, according to Z, be able to give his name. Now we do know about the Bloch’s, the house where Z had disappeared after the Stine murder. Lot’s of speculation, I know, but is there any way to find out WHO had been under probation in those years?
QT
*ZODIACHRONOLOGY*
