I have a question. In regards to the 3 part cipher that was supposedly solved already, how did the authorities (or whoever) decide each part would go where in the cipher? Who decided which one would be on top, middle, bottom? And how did they know that’s the way it was meant to be arranged? I apologize if this is a dumb question and the answer is common knowledge in the case. It’s just something that I have wondered from the beginning because I don’t think that cipher was ever actually solved correctly yet.
When the Hardens solved the cipher, it became clear what order was correct.
As well, there are now numerous computerized solvers that can solve it – there are at least 4 that I know of – and they can solve it no matter how the three parts are ordered. And they all come to the same solution as the Hardens. And it is the correct solution.
-glurk
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I don’t believe in monsters.
Ok, thank you.
Have asked the same question to myself often, too, as it is not obvious which part is #1-3.
Harden somehow made it right.
QT
*ZODIACHRONOLOGY*
I just am not sold on the fact that if they did indeed solve it then why would the last bit just be jibberish? I know the widely accepted theory is the author meant to leave it as jibberish for whatever reason. Maybe the Hardens were wrong? Maybe the Zodiac Killer made that one just as difficult to solve as the others? I know that’s not nearly as fun of a theory, but it makes no sense to me that one is easy enough for the masses to solve while all the others are still unsolved to this day. I think they made it fit. I don’t think it’s actually solved at all. But that’s just my gut feeling.
The order was hinted at by Zodiac:
Vallejo times: Here is a cyipher or that is part of one. The other 2 parts have been mailed to the S.F. Examiner + S.F. Chronicle.
SF Examiner: Here is a cipher or that is part of one. The other 2 parts are being mailed to the Vallejo Times + S.F. Chronicle.
SF Chronicle: Here is a part of a cipher the other 2 parts of the cipher are being mailed to the editors of the Vallejo Times + SF Examiner.
Vallejo Times is listed first twice and is the first part. SF Examiner is listed first once and is the second part. SF Chronicle is listed last twice and is the third part.
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Zodiac appears to like order:
It reads SLAVES PARADICE, the first word SLAVES is horizontal, the horizontal direction is primary to the vertical direction in our writing system. BY FIRE, BY GUN, BY KNIFE and BY ROPE appears in alphabetical order from left-to-right, top-to-bottom (writing system). The BY words appear horizontally as it is the first word, again the horizontal direction is the primary direction (writing system). Of course this is supposed to represent some kind of 2-dimensional dice as the writing of PARADICE and the image conveys.
In general, while Zodiac appears to like order on a macro level he also seems keen to put in some elements of disorder every time. Starting orderly while finishing sloppy etc.
Hi relentlessz,
It’s just something that I have wondered from the beginning because I don’t think that cipher was ever actually solved correctly yet.
It is quite impossible to obtain a solution that makes sense in terms of content and grammar, but does not correspond to the actual solution. With a One Time Pad this is possible. With a homophonic encryption with a certain length this is not possible anymore. It’s best to try it out for yourself:
http://www.oranchak.com/zodiac/webtoy/
The automatic solvers that exist can easily solve such encryptions. Maybe a letter is wrong, but there is never a completely different plaintext.
Maybe the Zodiac Killer made that one just as difficult to solve as the others? I know that’s not nearly as fun of a theory, but it makes no sense to me that one is easy enough for the masses to solve while all the others are still unsolved to this day. I think they made it fit. I don’t think it’s actually solved at all. But that’s just my gut feeling.
For this you have to deal with the system of homophone encryption in more detail. To make a cipher of this length "fit" doesn’t work. This only works if the cipher is very short. Then you can interpret almost everything into it. Since the key contains a unique assignment of symbol to letter, you cannot create a (meaningful) text at will. After one or two lines it does not work any more.
z340 can be a hoax or contain an essential error during the encryption phase that prevents a solution. Or a creative own idea of Zodiac, which nobody has come up with yet. The other ciphers are simply too short to get a definitively provable solution.
Translated with http://www.DeepL.com/Translator
It was just a thought.
I am sure someone has questioned the Harden’s solution before? Even though it makes sense to take their solution as gospel. It, on the other hand, makes no sense that the other ciphers have never been solved since the 408 was seemingly, solved so easily, in just a week. I know there are tools out there that come up with the same solution. I just believe that it’s wrong and that it too is unsolvable. The Zodiac Killer said he was crack proof. If the cipher was solved incorrectly and everyone accepted the incorrect answer, he was and still is, crackproof. I think he did all the ciphers the same way. All nonsense. Just to keep everyone guessing. He was amused by how much time was wasted by so many many people, smart people, important people through how many decades now? He died feeling a sense of glory that he got away with it. He won. If it’s too difficult for people that are highly trained to solve these types of things, it most likely is a joke and just something he came up with that he knew would never lead anyone anywhere. Just so he could have the last laugh.
Just my opinion.
Jarlve:
The order was hinted at by Zodiac:
Vallejo times: Here is a cyipher or that is part of one. The other 2 parts have been mailed to the S.F. Examiner + S.F. Chronicle.
SF Examiner: Here is a cipher or that is part of one. The other 2 parts are being mailed to the Vallejo Times + S.F. Chronicle.
SF Chronicle: Here is a part of a cipher the other 2 parts of the cipher are being mailed to the editors of the Vallejo Times + SF Examiner.Vallejo Times is listed first twice and is the first part. SF Examiner is listed first once and is the second part. SF Chronicle is listed last twice and is the third part.
—–
Zodiac appears to like order:
It reads SLAVES PARADICE, the first word SLAVES is horizontal, the horizontal direction is primary to the vertical direction in our writing system. BY FIRE, BY GUN, BY KNIFE and BY ROPE appears in alphabetical order from left-to-right, top-to-bottom (writing system). The BY words appear horizontally as it is the first word, again the horizontal direction is the primary direction (writing system). Of course this is supposed to represent some kind of 2-dimensional dice as the writing of PARADICE and the image conveys.
In general, while Zodiac appears to like order on a macro level he also seems keen to put in some elements of disorder every time. Starting orderly while finishing sloppy etc.
"The Escape Game"
Dice game like "Clue" game, by knife in the foyer or something like that. 1977 "escape game", Dungeon dice "escape game", Parker Brothers-1977 has dice with knives on it…
this is good stuff
Thank you greenglow2
I have a question. In regards to the 3 part cipher that was supposedly solved already, how did the authorities (or whoever) decide each part would go where in the cipher? Who decided which one would be on top, middle, bottom? And how did they know that’s the way it was meant to be arranged?
Well Donald & Bettye Harden solved it supposedly just by guessing the order by looking for Double "LL" and the word "I" as in Kill or Killing (which I find very dubious) Below is the Dripping Pen letter which seems to be a clew in what order the Cipher was meant to be solved.
