110 does not seem to be near a multiple of 15 or 29, so is it just a phantom? Could the period 29 peak be a phantom and not a true reflection of the period 15 peak + misalignment? Or perhaps the period 110 peak is also some evidence of this misalignment?

I have 20 repeats at 110. While it is possible that 29 is a phantom please let’s not assume this. Remember the following picture? It’s the 340 with all symbols with a count of 10 or higher expanded and 29 is still there. I’m moving forward in this direction.

Here is the 340 rewritten with the period 110 scheme:

I have the same string and see 33 bigrams. I’m wondering if there is a problem with my bigram count logic.

Update: I think it’s because I’m not wrapping around the cipher.

It makes more sense to wrap around the cipher so here are the corrected graphs (doranchak can you please verify some of my numbers). Everything that I said still makes sense and perhaps even more so. p110 is indeed a strange one and does not show up in the expanded version so it is perhaps related to some of the high count symbols or a phantom. It can also be seen that p29 for the expanded version is only one higher than p30.

Here is my plot (I only did 340 normal and 340 mirrored). Looks like a match to yours:

http://zodiackillerciphers.com/images/z … counts.png

Raw data:

http://zodiackillerciphers.com/images/z … ram-counts

And here is a plot of periodic trigrams:

http://zodiackillerciphers.com/images/z … counts.png

Raw data:

http://zodiackillerciphers.com/images/z … ram-counts

Here is a 5-gram that appears at period 101 of the normal 340:

And here’s a quadgram that shows up at period 116 of the normal 340:

O.k. I have gotten to a nice stopping point so that I can start showing what happened with smokie12.

The question is whether skipping two plaintext during a vertical to horizontal 17×19 transposition caused in increase in the number of period 37 bigram repeats.

EDIT:

Above the 340 is blue. Smokie12 is red. The x-axis is period and the y-axis is count.

The short answer is yes. But only some of the increase is attributed to newly created "true" period 37 bigrams that match other newly created "true" period 37 bigrams. Some of the increase is caused by newly created "true" period 37 bigrams that match original "false" period 37 bigrams.

This is the original plaintext tracing map before transposition. The numbers are not symbols. They are original plaintext positions. In smokie12 I skipped the plaintext at positions 80 and 110 when transposing. I shade those cells yellow here. I shaded the other cells according to position, with low positions in white, and high positions in green. That helped me a lot in future steps:

Here is the tracing map after transposition, but without skipping symbols 80 and 110:

The cell shading helps you to clearly see the period 19 transposition.

Here is what happens when a plaintext is skipped.

Below I show only the before transposition symbol positions 107-113 for clarity.

I also show plaintext ABCD before transposition at positions 160-163.

AB is a true period 1 bigram which should normally become a true period 19 bigram with the scheme.
AC is a true period 2 bigram which should normally become a true period 38 bigram with the scheme.
AD is a true period 3 bigram which should normally become a true period 57 bigram with the scheme.
BC is a true period 1 bigram which should normally become a true period 19 bigram with the scheme.
BD is a true period 2 bigram which should normally become a true period 38 bigram with the scheme.
CD is a true period 1 bigram which should normally become a true period 19 bigram with the scheme.

After transposition and skipping symbol 110, the rows around where symbol 110 should have been are distorted.

AB became a backwards true period 19 bigram.
AC became a backwards true period 37 bigram.
AD became a backwards true period 56 bigram.
BC became a backwards true period 18 bigram.
BD became a backwards true period 37 bigram.
CD became a backwards true period 19 bigram.

Here is the shaded tracing map, after transposition and skipping both symbols 80 and 110 where if you look closely at the position numbers, you can distortions in some of the rows:

And I had to visually look for and outline the distorted areas caused by both skipped symbols. I got lucky that the two distorted areas don’t overlap each other. It would have been nice to have a row between them that wasn’t distorted, but it turned out that the two distorted areas sit next to each other but don’t overlap.

The dashed line shows the areas of backward true period 18 bigrams. I changed the cell shading to yellow in rows affected by skipping symbol 80, and to blue in rows affected by skipping 110:

I need to take a little break, but the next step is to transfer the borders for the distorted areas onto my bigram finder spreadsheet and see what happens. That analysis is going to take me a while because I will have to go through the bigrams that appear in those areas one by one and find whether their matches are completely inside or partially or completely outside the distorted areas.

Awesome work so far smokie, I’ll take a deeper look after I finish this post.

I’ve ran these cipher files through the latest AZdecrypt with 6 different n-gram sets at an overkill 1000 random restarts and 10.000.000 iterations per random restart (very, very thorough).

results_sub_directory=340_test0

cipher_information=340n
HER>pl^VPk|1LTG2d
Np+B(#O%DWY.<*Kf)
By:cM+UZGW()L#zHJ
Spp7^l8*V3pO++RK2
_9M+ztjd|5FP+&4k/
p8R^FlO-*dCkF>2D(
#5+Kq%;2UcXGV.zL|
(G2Jfj#O+_NYz+@L9
d<M+b+ZR2FBcyA64K
-zlUV+^J+Op7<FBy-
U+R/5tE|DYBpbTMKO
2<clRJ|*5T4M.+&BF
z69Sy#+N|5FBc(;8R
lGFN^f524b.cV4t++
yBX1*:49CE>VUZ5-+
|c.3zBK(Op^.fMqG2
RcT+L16C<+FlWB|)L
++)WCzWcPOSHT/()p
|FkdW<7tB_YOB*-Cc
>MDHNpkSzZO8A|K;+

cipher_information=340m
d2GTL1|kPV^lp>REH
)fK*<.YWD%O#(B+pN
JHz#L)(WGZU+Mc:yB
2KR++Op3V*8l^7ppS
/k4&+PF5|djtz+M9_
(D2>FkCd*-OlF^R8p
|Lz.VGXcU2;%qK+5#
9L@+zYN_+O#jfJ2G(
K46AycBF2RZ+b+M<d
-yBF<7pO+J^+VUlz-
OKMTbpBYD|Et5/R+U
FB&+.M4T5*|JRlc<2
R8;(cBF5|N+#yS96z
++t4Vc.b425f^NFGl
+-5ZUV>EC94:*1XBy
2GqMf.^pO(KBz3.c|
L)|BWlF+<C61L+TcR
p)(/THSOPcWzCW)++
cC-*BOY_Bt7<WdkF|
+;K|A8OZzSkpNHDM>

cipher_information=340f
>MDHNpkSzZO8A|K;+
|FkdW<7tB_YOB*-Cc
++)WCzWcPOSHT/()p
RcT+L16C<+FlWB|)L
|c.3zBK(Op^.fMqG2
yBX1*:49CE>VUZ5-+
lGFN^f524b.cV4t++
z69Sy#+N|5FBc(;8R
2<clRJ|*5T4M.+&BF
U+R/5tE|DYBpbTMKO
-zlUV+^J+Op7<FBy-
d<M+b+ZR2FBcyA64K
(G2Jfj#O+_NYz+@L9
#5+Kq%;2UcXGV.zL|
p8R^FlO-*dCkF>2D(
_9M+ztjd|5FP+&4k/
Spp7^l8*V3pO++RK2
By:cM+UZGW()L#zHJ
Np+B(#O%DWY.<*Kf)
HER>pl^VPk|1LTG2d

cipher_information=340r
+;K|A8OZzSkpNHDM>
cC-*BOY_Bt7<WdkF|
p)(/THSOPcWzCW)++
L)|BWlF+<C61L+TcR
2GqMf.^pO(KBz3.c|
+-5ZUV>EC94:*1XBy
++t4Vc.b425f^NFGl
R8;(cBF5|N+#yS96z
FB&+.M4T5*|JRlc<2
OKMTbpBYD|Et5/R+U
-yBF<7pO+J^+VUlz-
K46AycBF2RZ+b+M<d
9L@+zYN_+O#jfJ2G(
|Lz.VGXcU2;%qK+5#
(D2>FkCd*-OlF^R8p
/k4&+PF5|djtz+M9_
2KR++Op3V*8l^7ppS
JHz#L)(WGZU+Mc:yB
)fK*<.YWD%O#(B+pN
d2GTL1|kPV^lp>REH


results_sub_directory=340_test1

cipher_information=340n_b19n
H+M8|CV@K+l#2E.B)
>EB+*5k.L-RR+4>f|
pMR(UVFFz9z/JNbVM
)|D>#Z3P>Ldl5||.U
qLFHpOGp+2|<Ut*5c
ZG+kNl%WO&D(MVE5F
V52+dp^D(+4(G++|T
B4-R)WkVW)+k#2b^D
4ct+cW<SPYLR/5J+J
YM(+|TC7zk.#Kp+fZ
+B.;+c+ztZ|<z28Kj
ROp+8y.LWBO1*H_Rq
#2pb&RB31c_8LKJ9^
%OF7TBlXz6PYATfSM
F;+B<MFG1BCOO|G)p
+l2_cFKzF*K<SBK2B
pzOUNyBO6N:(+H*;d
y7t-cYAy29^4OFT-+
N:^j*Xz6-<Sf9pl/C
pclddG+4Ucy5C^W(c

cipher_information=340n_b19m
)B.E2#l+K@VC|8M+H
|f>4+RR-L.k5*+BE>
MVbNJ/z9zFFVU(RMp
U.||5ldL>P3Z#>D|)
c5*tU<|2+pGOpHFLq
F5EVM(D&OW%lNk+GZ
T|++G(4+(D^pd+25V
D^b2#k+)WVkW)R-4B
J+J5/RLYPS<Wc+tc4
Zf+pK#.kz7CT|+(MY
jK82z<|Ztz+c+;.B+
qR_H*1OBWL.y8+pOR
^9JKL8_c13BR&bp2#
MSfTAYP6zXlBT7FO%
p)G|OOCB1GFM<B+;F
B2KBS<K*FzKFc_2l+
d;*H+(:N6OByNUOzp
+-TFO4^92yAYc-t7y
C/lp9fS<-6zX*j^:N
c(W^C5ycU4+Gddlcp

cipher_information=340n_b19f
pclddG+4Ucy5C^W(c
N:^j*Xz6-<Sf9pl/C
y7t-cYAy29^4OFT-+
pzOUNyBO6N:(+H*;d
+l2_cFKzF*K<SBK2B
F;+B<MFG1BCOO|G)p
%OF7TBlXz6PYATfSM
#2pb&RB31c_8LKJ9^
ROp+8y.LWBO1*H_Rq
+B.;+c+ztZ|<z28Kj
YM(+|TC7zk.#Kp+fZ
4ct+cW<SPYLR/5J+J
B4-R)WkVW)+k#2b^D
V52+dp^D(+4(G++|T
ZG+kNl%WO&D(MVE5F
qLFHpOGp+2|<Ut*5c
)|D>#Z3P>Ldl5||.U
pMR(UVFFz9z/JNbVM
>EB+*5k.L-RR+4>f|
H+M8|CV@K+l#2E.B)

cipher_information=340n_b19r
c(W^C5ycU4+Gddlcp
C/lp9fS<-6zX*j^:N
+-TFO4^92yAYc-t7y
d;*H+(:N6OByNUOzp
B2KBS<K*FzKFc_2l+
p)G|OOCB1GFM<B+;F
MSfTAYP6zXlBT7FO%
^9JKL8_c13BR&bp2#
qR_H*1OBWL.y8+pOR
jK82z<|Ztz+c+;.B+
Zf+pK#.kz7CT|+(MY
J+J5/RLYPS<Wc+tc4
D^b2#k+)WVkW)R-4B
T|++G(4+(D^pd+25V
F5EVM(D&OW%lNk+GZ
c5*tU<|2+pGOpHFLq
U.||5ldL>P3Z#>D|)
MVbNJ/z9zFFVU(RMp
|f>4+RR-L.k5*+BE>
)B.E2#l+K@VC|8M+H

cipher_information=340m_b15n
dEB+*5k.L(MVE5FV5
2c+ztZ2H+M8|CV@K<
Ut*5cZG|TC7zG)pcl
ddG+4dl5||.UqLcW<
STfN:^j*Xz6-z/JNb
VM)R)WkLKJy7t-cYA
y-RR+4>f|p+dp1*HB
pzOUNyBO+l#2E.B)+
kN|<z2p+l2_cFKUcy
5C^W(cFHk.#KSMF;+
B<MF<Sf9pl/C|DPYL
R/9^%OF7TB29^4OFT
-+MVW)+k_Rq#2pb&R
6N:(+H*;>^D(+4(8K
jROp+8zF*K<SBKl%W
O&Dp+fZ+B.;+G1BCO
O|pOGp+2|5J+JYM(+
lXz6PYA>#Z3P>L#2b
^D4ct+B31c_8R(UVF
Fz9G++|TB4-y.LWBO

cipher_information=340m_b15m
5VF5EVM(L.k5*+BEd
<K@VC|8M+H2Ztz+c2
lcp)Gz7CT|GZc5*tU
<WcLqU.||5ld4+Gdd
bNJ/z-6zX*j^:NfTS
AYc-t7yJKLkW)R)MV
BH*1pd+p|f>4+RR-y
+)B.E2#l+OByNUOzp
ycUKFc_2l+p2z<|Nk
+;FMSK#.kHFc(W^C5
LYPD|C/lp9fS<FM<B
TFO4^92BT7FO%^9/R
R&bp2#qR_k+)WVM+-
K8(4+(D^>;*H+(:N6
W%lKBS<K*Fz8+pORj
OCB1G+;.B+Zf+pD&O
+(MYJ+J5|2+pGOp|O
b2#L>P3Z#>AYP6zXl
FVU(R8_c13B+tc4D^
OBWL.y-4BT|++G9zF

cipher_information=340m_b15f
Fz9G++|TB4-y.LWBO
^D4ct+B31c_8R(UVF
lXz6PYA>#Z3P>L#2b
O|pOGp+2|5J+JYM(+
O&Dp+fZ+B.;+G1BCO
jROp+8zF*K<SBKl%W
6N:(+H*;>^D(+4(8K
-+MVW)+k_Rq#2pb&R
R/9^%OF7TB29^4OFT
B<MF<Sf9pl/C|DPYL
5C^W(cFHk.#KSMF;+
kN|<z2p+l2_cFKUcy
pzOUNyBO+l#2E.B)+
y-RR+4>f|p+dp1*HB
VM)R)WkLKJy7t-cYA
STfN:^j*Xz6-z/JNb
ddG+4dl5||.UqLcW<
Ut*5cZG|TC7zG)pcl
2c+ztZ2H+M8|CV@K<
dEB+*5k.L(MVE5FV5

cipher_information=340m_b15r
OBWL.y-4BT|++G9zF
FVU(R8_c13B+tc4D^
b2#L>P3Z#>AYP6zXl
+(MYJ+J5|2+pGOp|O
OCB1G+;.B+Zf+pD&O
W%lKBS<K*Fz8+pORj
K8(4+(D^>;*H+(:N6
R&bp2#qR_k+)WVM+-
TFO4^92BT7FO%^9/R
LYPD|C/lp9fS<FM<B
+;FMSK#.kHFc(W^C5
ycUKFc_2l+p2z<|Nk
+)B.E2#l+OByNUOzp
BH*1pd+p|f>4+RR-y
AYc-t7yJKLkW)R)MV
bNJ/z-6zX*j^:NfTS
<WcLqU.||5ld4+Gdd
lcp)Gz7CT|GZc5*tU
<K@VC|8M+H2Ztz+c2
5VF5EVM(L.k5*+BEd

cipher_information=340f_b15n
>;*H+(:N6R&bp2#qR
_k+)WVM+-TFO4^92B
T7FO%^9/RLYPD|C/l
p9fS<FM<B+;FMSK#.
kHFc(W^C5ycUKFc_2
l+p2z<|Nk+)B.E2#l
+OByNUOzpBH*1pd+p
|f>4+RR-yAYc-t7yJ
KLkW)R)MVbNJ/z-6z
X*j^:NfTS<WcLqU.|
|5ld4+Gddlcp)Gz7C
T|GZc5*tU<K@VC|8M
+H2Ztz+c25VF5EVM(
L.k5*+BEdOBWL.y-4
BT|++G9zFFVU(R8_c
13B+tc4D^b2#L>P3Z
#>AYP6zXl+(MYJ+J5
|2+pGOp|OOCB1G+;.
B+Zf+pD&OW%lKBS<K
*Fz8+pORjK8(4+(D^

cipher_information=340f_b15m
Rq#2pb&R6N:(+H*;>
B29^4OFT-+MVW)+k_
l/C|DPYLR/9^%OF7T
.#KSMF;+B<MF<Sf9p
2_cFKUcy5C^W(cFHk
l#2E.B)+kN|<z2p+l
p+dp1*HBpzOUNyBO+
Jy7t-cYAy-RR+4>f|
z6-z/JNbVM)R)WkLK
|.UqLcW<STfN:^j*X
C7zG)pclddG+4dl5|
M8|CV@K<Ut*5cZG|T
(MVE5FV52c+ztZ2H+
4-y.LWBOdEB+*5k.L
c_8R(UVFFz9G++|TB
Z3P>L#2b^D4ct+B31
5J+JYM(+lXz6PYA>#
.;+G1BCOO|pOGp+2|
K<SBKl%WO&Dp+fZ+B
^D(+4(8KjROp+8zF*

cipher_information=340f_b15f
*Fz8+pORjK8(4+(D^
B+Zf+pD&OW%lKBS<K
|2+pGOp|OOCB1G+;.
#>AYP6zXl+(MYJ+J5
13B+tc4D^b2#L>P3Z
BT|++G9zFFVU(R8_c
L.k5*+BEdOBWL.y-4
+H2Ztz+c25VF5EVM(
T|GZc5*tU<K@VC|8M
|5ld4+Gddlcp)Gz7C
X*j^:NfTS<WcLqU.|
KLkW)R)MVbNJ/z-6z
|f>4+RR-yAYc-t7yJ
+OByNUOzpBH*1pd+p
l+p2z<|Nk+)B.E2#l
kHFc(W^C5ycUKFc_2
p9fS<FM<B+;FMSK#.
T7FO%^9/RLYPD|C/l
_k+)WVM+-TFO4^92B
>;*H+(:N6R&bp2#qR

cipher_information=340f_b15r
^D(+4(8KjROp+8zF*
K<SBKl%WO&Dp+fZ+B
.;+G1BCOO|pOGp+2|
5J+JYM(+lXz6PYA>#
Z3P>L#2b^D4ct+B31
c_8R(UVFFz9G++|TB
4-y.LWBOdEB+*5k.L
(MVE5FV52c+ztZ2H+
M8|CV@K<Ut*5cZG|T
C7zG)pclddG+4dl5|
|.UqLcW<STfN:^j*X
z6-z/JNbVM)R)WkLK
Jy7t-cYAy-RR+4>f|
p+dp1*HBpzOUNyBO+
l#2E.B)+kN|<z2p+l
2_cFKUcy5C^W(cFHk
.#KSMF;+B<MF<Sf9p
l/C|DPYLR/9^%OF7T
B29^4OFT-+MVW)+k_
Rq#2pb&R6N:(+H*;>

cipher_information=340r_b19n
+-TFO4^92yAYc-t7y
d;*H+(:N6OByNUOzp
B2KBS<K*FzKFc_2l+
p)G|OOCB1GFM<B+;F
MSfTAYP6zXlBT7FO%
^9JKL8_c13BR&bp2#
qR_H*1OBWL.y8+pOR
jK82z<|Ztz+c+;.B+
Zf+pK#.kz7CT|+(MY
J+J5/RLYPS<Wc+tc4
D^b2#k+)WVkW)R-4B
T|++G(4+(D^pd+25V
F5EVM(D&OW%lNk+GZ
c5*tU<|2+pGOpHFLq
U.||5ldL>P3Z#>D|)
MVbNJ/z9zFFVU(RMp
|f>4+RR-L.k5*+BE>
)B.E2#l+K@VC|8M+H
c(W^C5ycU4+Gddlcp
C/lp9fS<-6zX*j^:N

cipher_information=340r_b19m
y7t-cYAy29^4OFT-+
pzOUNyBO6N:(+H*;d
+l2_cFKzF*K<SBK2B
F;+B<MFG1BCOO|G)p
%OF7TBlXz6PYATfSM
#2pb&RB31c_8LKJ9^
ROp+8y.LWBO1*H_Rq
+B.;+c+ztZ|<z28Kj
YM(+|TC7zk.#Kp+fZ
4ct+cW<SPYLR/5J+J
B4-R)WkVW)+k#2b^D
V52+dp^D(+4(G++|T
ZG+kNl%WO&D(MVE5F
qLFHpOGp+2|<Ut*5c
)|D>#Z3P>Ldl5||.U
pMR(UVFFz9z/JNbVM
>EB+*5k.L-RR+4>f|
H+M8|CV@K+l#2E.B)
pclddG+4Ucy5C^W(c
N:^j*Xz6-<Sf9pl/C

cipher_information=340r_b19f
C/lp9fS<-6zX*j^:N
c(W^C5ycU4+Gddlcp
)B.E2#l+K@VC|8M+H
|f>4+RR-L.k5*+BE>
MVbNJ/z9zFFVU(RMp
U.||5ldL>P3Z#>D|)
c5*tU<|2+pGOpHFLq
F5EVM(D&OW%lNk+GZ
T|++G(4+(D^pd+25V
D^b2#k+)WVkW)R-4B
J+J5/RLYPS<Wc+tc4
Zf+pK#.kz7CT|+(MY
jK82z<|Ztz+c+;.B+
qR_H*1OBWL.y8+pOR
^9JKL8_c13BR&bp2#
MSfTAYP6zXlBT7FO%
p)G|OOCB1GFM<B+;F
B2KBS<K*FzKFc_2l+
d;*H+(:N6OByNUOzp
+-TFO4^92yAYc-t7y

cipher_information=340r_b19r
N:^j*Xz6-<Sf9pl/C
pclddG+4Ucy5C^W(c
H+M8|CV@K+l#2E.B)
>EB+*5k.L-RR+4>f|
pMR(UVFFz9z/JNbVM
)|D>#Z3P>Ldl5||.U
qLFHpOGp+2|<Ut*5c
ZG+kNl%WO&D(MVE5F
V52+dp^D(+4(G++|T
B4-R)WkVW)+k#2b^D
4ct+cW<SPYLR/5J+J
YM(+|TC7zk.#Kp+fZ
+B.;+c+ztZ|<z28Kj
ROp+8y.LWBO1*H_Rq
#2pb&RB31c_8LKJ9^
%OF7TBlXz6PYATfSM
F;+B<MFG1BCOO|G)p
+l2_cFKzF*K<SBK2B
pzOUNyBO6N:(+H*;d
y7t-cYAy29^4OFT-+

So these are the 4 basic horizontal variations of the 340 (normal, mirrored, flipped and reversed) and the 16 variations of my first interpretation (the one that does not wrap around the cipher). Here are the scores, the number in bold is the average of the 6 different n-gram files.

(Practical Cryptography 5-grams, Reddit 5-grams, Usenet 6-grams, Reddit 6-grams, Usenet 7-grams, Reddit 7-grams)

340n: 17513: (20351,20046,17702,17595,14877,14507)
340m: 17548: (20231,20218,17503,17696,14972,14671)
340f: 17648: (20330,20208,17688,17874,15005,14784)
340r: 17429: (20219,20007,17473,17520,14883,14475)

340n_b19n: 17482: (20241,20078,17506,17543,14956,14571)
340n_b19m: 17657: (20437,20131,17614,17647,15237,14881)
340n_b19f: 17577: (20358,20098,17686,17707,15007,14606)
340n_b19r: 17590: (20464,20178,17648,17575,15018,14659)

340m_b15n: 17795: (20549,20244,17966,17816,15428,14770) <– 2nd
340m_b15m: 17698: (20430,20207,17857,17719,15221,14754) <– 4th
340m_b15f: 17641: (20422,20127,17639,17747,15214,14700)
340m_b15r: 17735: (20465,20340,17767,17802,15217,14823)

340f_b15n: 17799: (20618,20334,17762,17769,15384,14930) <– 1st
340f_b15m: 17688: (20390,20207,17743,17744,15256,14792) <– 5th
340f_b15f: 17673: (20407,20176,17777,17825,15065,14792)
340f_b15r: 17738: (20561,20282,17865,17743,15340,14642) <– 3rd

340r_b19n: 17597: (20403,20195,17535,17685,14968,14797)
340r_b19m: 17570: (20335,20092,17672,17700,15013,14612)
340r_b19f: 17671: (20387,20204,17726,17699,15223,14787)
340r_b19r: 17563: (20273,20093,17557,17690,15022,14744)

In general these scores are closely matched but some things can be observed. The vertically flipped and horizontally mirrored version of the 340 score slightly higher than the normal and reversed 340. 340f_b15n and 340m_b15n take the lead. On average the b15 schemes outscore the b19 schemes.

Thoughts: if the 340 somehow were to be a left-to-right, top-to-bottom cipher then it’s not hard to imagine that at least some of the information must have survived mostly any process. There is no indication of this whatsoever. I’ll now work on another interpretation.

Cipher results: https://drive.google.com/open?id=0B5r0r … GE1NnFzdUU

Almost forgot, thanks doranchak for double checking my bigram numbers! And thank you for your work so far smokie.

While I admire the cryptologists’ dedication and hard work, the fact that there have been no solutions found after all this time persuades me to believe that Zodiac’s codes are gibberish. If I’m wrong, I suspect the cracked code will reveal a recipe for Chinese upside down fruit cake.

I found only four period 37 bigram repeats that are totally inside the distorted areas. They would have been period 38 bigram repeats but for the distortion caused by skipping two symbols. The count of period 38 bigram repeats went down by 4 and count of period 37 bigram repeats went up by four because of the two skipped symbols.

42 19
49 23

And there were 15 symbol pairs ( 30 count total ) where a true period 37 bigram in the distorted areas matched false period 37 bigrams outside of the distorted areas.

18 37
57 4
9 39
40 5
54 29
20 8
5 35
43 52
8 59
51 6
8 28
63 10
39 8
26 26
19 49

That actually "created" a lot of new period 37 bigram repeats. But in smokie12, a period 37 bigram means nothing unless it is in the distorted areas.

Blue is smokie12 without skipping the symbols at positions 80 and 110. Red is smokie12 with skipping the symbols at positions 80 and 110. The x-axis is the period, and the y-axis is the repeat count. The distortions made subtle changes in a lot of areas around the lines that I drew. You can see that there were a lot of changes around the period 36 to period 41 range. The number of period 38 bigram repeats was somewhat reduced.

EDIT: Oddly the number of period 19 bigram repeats stayed exactly the same and the number of period 18 bigram repeats didn’t change that much. There must have been an offset.

The problem is that we don’t have a blue for the 340, so we don’t have anything to compare to. But I learned how to make a distortion map and have some ideas about how I can examine the 340 for a concentration of period x bigrams in one area of the message that have the same symbols as period x+1 bigrams in other areas of the message. I think next up is making a list of all of the period 37 bigrams (not bigram repeats) in the distorted areas. Then make a list of all of the period 38 bigrams (not bigram repeats) in the other areas of the message. Compare the two lists for matching symbol pairs to find any period 38 bigram repeats that were destroyed by skipping the symbols.

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The two period 37 bigrams with symbols 49 and 23 in the distorted areas match with only one period 38 bigram in the undistorted area, reducing the period 38 bigram repeat count by only one.

Here is the transposed plaintext tracing map. The symbols map to plaintext R and V.

After untransposition, you can see that they are in words VERY one time and OVER two times.

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I just found four more period 37 bigrams in the distorted areas that have matching symbols to period 38 bigrams that cross over with one symbol from the undistorted areas to the distorted areas and are therefore not distorted.

So that is ten count period 38 bigram repeats that were destroyed by skipping the two symbols. EDIT: 5 * 2 = 10; I count AB AB as two.

An update with some accounting for period 37 bigram repeat and period 38 bigram repeat totals coming up…

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