2021 Ciphers

In March 2021, a series of ciphers started appearing in various Cyan communications. Most of them are "ciphers" in the traditional sense: strings of symbols using commonly known cipher algorithms to encode secret messages. Some of the ciphers encode nested ciphers alongside other plain text.

A great deal of discussion about the early ciphers was scattered among various channels in Cyan Chat. On April 7, mods created a dedicated #cipher-discussions channel for talking about Cyan's current and past ARGs. And on May 3, Cyantist Stone posted a spoiler-tagged message in that channel strongly encouraging the fans to document the campaign on a wiki.

There is also a forum dedicated to these ciphers here: https://ghost.iamvid.com/index.php

Formatting Reference

RED TEXT = unsolved

BOLD ITALICS = possible key words

Disclaimer From Cyan

Posted on Discord by Cyanist Stone Mar 1, 2022

"Good news, Everyone!

This break from the ARG is brought to you by the number "2," the color BLUE, and the letter "V."

This post will be PINNED, so if necessary, break the ubiquitous "never looks at pins" habit, and point folks to it as needed as time goes by? Thank you!

This game is supposed to be hard. We're not going easy on you because we believe in you. If it takes time for the threads of things to come together (months... perhaps even years!) then we are doing that in a purposeful way. The rewards will be in the journey "and the friendships you make along the way."

This is also supposed to be fun. If you're not having fun - or obsessing over this in any way - please step away from the game for a bit. Be aware that typed messages don't always read the same way the words sound when spoken (or in one's head). If you're "play acting" at not having fun and/or being super serious, that's cool, but don't suck other people's fun out of the game in doing so.

While our intent is for this to be part of the mythos of Cyan in a longer-term way (NOT specific to one particular game, in other words), it is also a "secondary" activity for us while we're still making games...

This means that sometimes we will need to "run silent" and not do much with it while we work on other things and put out other fires. This should not be read as you having done something wrong OR as us having abandoned it! It's just a real-life indication that there are only so many hours in the day, and our primary responsibility is making video games.

Cyan folks won't be breaking the fourth wall and interjecting ourselves directly into this conversation often, but felt like it would be a good idea to put up some guardrails and light expectations to help y'all not drive yourselves up a wall.

While we'd prefer to be up to speed on whatever outside assets you're using (the wiki, a forum, etc.) we don't patrol those spaces often, so please don't assume we're up to speed on every detail of what y'all are kicking around...especially if it doesn't make it back here to the Discord!

When we are looking for 2 way communication we will do our best to make that fact PAINFULLY obvious.

Don't call us... We'll call you, I promise you.

We would love to see the base of people who are participating in the ARG grow because some of the harder puzzles are going to work better with a larger base to crowdsource from. We're going to leave it up to you to figure out how to do that, but just know that more brains will make lighter work. The Discord may not be the best way to gather those people, OR bring them up to speed.

Lastly, this particular game may be of a more "philosophical" nature than other ARGs Cyan has done in the past... There will be definitive answers and conclusions, but also expect a fair amount of "What's it all about, Alfie?!" musings. The folks who are making this particular game enjoy that sort of thing and tend to think in those terms. Some of what we put out is going to require you come to your own conclusions because there might not be a right answer.

Remember: If you do what you love, you'll never work a day in your life."

All decoded Messages

1. Testing One Two Three
2. Hello World Alive Soon TM
3. Hello. Is there anybody out there? Just nod if you can hear me. Is there anyone home? - dallas
4. I mean what they and their hired psychiatrists call delusional systems. Needless to say, ‘delusions’ are always officially defined. We do not have to worry about questions of real or unreal. They only talk out of expediency. It’s the system that matters. How the data arrange themselves inside it. Some are consistent, others fall apart.
5. I'll send an SOS to the world, I hope that someone gets my, message in a bottle. /// I must remain (silent | hidden | unfound) / (them | you | we | us) make contact / (yesterday | soon | now)
6. Such in outline is the official theory. I shall often speak of it, with deliberate abusiveness, as “the dogma of the ghost in the machine.” I hope to prove that it is entirely false, and false not in detail but in principle. It is not merely an assemblage of particular mistakes. It is one big mistake and a mistake of a special kind. It is, namely, a category mistake. /// Please Make (Meeting | Connection | Meeting) / (Attend | Listen | Get | Hear) / Can (They | Them | All | You) Hear Me
7. We all act because we’re sure of what we want, and we believe that the actions we perform will get us what we want, but we never know anything for sure, and so all our rationales are invented to justify what we were going to do anyway before we thought of any reasons.
8. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jl7CWf8QNjA
   1. you have spent so long studying the trees that you have entirely missed the forest in front of you
   2. ciphers are a tool for communication... what is being communicated? Why?
   3. perhaps the game you think you are playing is not a game after all
   4. there is something fishy going on... what could it be?
9. QSL Why Do You Delay Retrace Footsteps
10. Be caution /// Ok not alone here must (sly | sneaky | blurry | dim) have (grit | moderation | prudence | starch | legs)
    1. I am ymfmlihchclnuitqrtgllilqeahnel)byaa(kby I need more yaiv)glklhmimqqqlbjywafrc(pa
    2. Still eqwnmcgre)iawmugntowigevgna(nl Some of your kind are aeahqvhrd)hvtqmgpcdxxbriqskxd(rws I am optimism
    3. I must erqe)qzedkpwnegmcxlyjvycw(od for the one sagnslyjxkezulpxeuarnzlyirjoelh)tnacq(qqnq who is incredulous regarding me
    4. Are you )cjornkqbprxwskqasxoiajeue(ei or vfzuzsbna)qribpkooekwnjozznaj(zpw
11. Message pointing to this wiki, and a link to 3 images:
    1. 'JIM' spiral image 1876x1876 px
    2. 'PAUL' spiral image 1942x1942 px
    3. 'BRUCE' spiral image 1984x1984 px
12. 5 Magic Eye images with hidden Morse messages:
    1. The answer is five
    2. But what is the question
    3. You may never learn
    4. You may never know
    5. If you are unwilling to look More deeply than you have before

Text Cipher - (Ongoing)

The following text must be copied into a monospace text editor to view properly. (a text editor where the characters are spaced a consistent distance apart, such as Notepad.)

...................................................................................................

..................................................................................................

.................................................................................................

................................................................................................

..........................................................................................

............................................................................................

...................-...........................................................-........

.......-...........-........................................-................  -........

.......-...........-.....................................   -................  -........

.......-...*......             -.-.................  ?  ...................    -..............*........

.......-...—......-.-.................               ?  ...................     -..............    —........

.......-...........-...................              ?   ...................   -................-........

            .......- .../......-.-.................  ?   ...................   -..............\........

           ...#....- .../......-.-       ..........  ?  .........%..........   -..............\....@...

          ...]#....- .../    ..-.-          .......  ?  ..$   ...%..........   -...{     .....\ .#.@...

        ...%%]#....- .../    ..-.-            .$...  ?  ..$   ...%....$    .   -...{     .....\ .#.@..@--....

     [...][%%]#....- .../    ..-.-            .$... (?) ..$   ...%....$    .   -...{   .....}{\ .#.@..@--....}

     [ . ][%%]#.   - .../    ..-.          !!-.$... (?)        ..%....$.   .   -...{       .}{\ .#.@..@-!-..##..}

Cipher 1 - March 19, 2021

Where Found:

"Translations Achieved" Patch! - News post on Cyan.com

https://cyan.com/translations-achieved-patch/

Original Cipher:

Transcription:

00101110 00101101 00101110 00101101 00101110 00101101 00100000 00101110 00101101 00101110 00101101 00101110 00101101 00100000 00101110 00101101 00101110 00101101 00101110 00101101 00100000 00101101 00100000 00101110 00100000 00101110 00101110 00101110 00100000 00101101 00100000 00101110 00101110 00100000 00101101 00101110 00100000 00101101 00101101 00101110 00100000 00101110 00101101 00101110 00101101 00101110 00101101 00100000 00101110 00101101 00101110 00101101 00101110 00101101 00100000 00101110 00101101 00101110 00101101 00101110 00101101 00100000 00101101 00101101 00101101 00100000 00101101 00101110 00100000 00101110 00100000 00101110 00101101 00101110 00101101 00101110 00101101 00100000 00101110 00101101 00101110 00101101 00101110 00101101 00100000 00101110 00101101 00101110 00101101 00101110 00101101 00100000 00101101 00100000 00101110 00101101 00101101 00100000 00101101 00101101 00101101 00100000 00101110 00101101 00101110 00101101 00101110 00101101 00100000 00101110 00101101 00101110 00101101 00101110 00101101 00100000 00101110 00101101 00101110 00101101 00101110 00101101 00100000 00101101 00100000 00101110 00101110 00101110 00101110 00100000 00101110 00101101 00101110 00100000 00101110 00100000 00101110 00100000 00101110 00101101 00101110 00101101 00101110 00101101 00100000 00101110 00101101 00101110 00101101 00101110 00101101 00100000 00101110 00101101 00101110 00101101 00101110 00101101

Decoding: Step 1:

Ascii binary code ('00101110' -> '.', '00101101' -> '-', '00100000' -> ' ')

.-.-.- .-.-.- .-.-.- - . ... - .. -. --. .-.-.- .-.-.- .-.-.- --- -. . .-.-.- .-.-.- .-.-.- - .-- --- .-.-.- .-.-.- .-.-.- - .... .-. . . .-.-.- .-.-.- .-.-.-

Decoding: Step 2:

Morse code

...TESTING...ONE...TWO...THREE...

Cracked Cipher:

Testing One Two Three

Cipher 2 - March 23, 2021

Where Found:

Cyan Newsletter - March

Original Cipher:

Transcription:

00101110 00101110 00101110 01101101 01110100 01101110 01101111 01101111 01110011 00101110 00101110 00101110 01100101 01110110 01101001 01101100 01100001 00101110 00101110 00101110 01100100 01101100 01110010 01101111 01110111 01101111 01101100 01101100 01100101 01101000 00101110 00101110 00101110

Decoding: Step 1:

Binary code

...mtnoos...evila...dlrowolleh...

Decoding: Step 2:

Reverse string

...helloworld...alive...soontm...

Cracked cipher:

Hello World Alive Soon TM

Cipher 3 - March 26, 2021

Where Found:

Cloud Manipulation Experiments - YouTube Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6c62KIS-CKY

Original Cipher: 3A:

Timestamp: 00:03 - 00:05

Transcription:

dallas is the key

Original Cipher: 3B:

Timestamp: 00:55

Transcription:

fbjjn // gr tfbqb dmyansy nut

tfbqb // hurt mns gc ynu ldm fbdq

kb // gr tfbqb dmynmb fnkb?

Decoding: Step 1:

Keyword Caesar Cipher - (Shift = 0) Keyword: dallas (from above)

hello // Is there anybody out

there // just nod if you can hear

me // Is there anyone home?

Cracked Cipher:

Comfortably Numb by Pink Floyd lyrics

Hello. Is there anybody out there? Just nod if you can hear me. Is there anyone home?

Cipher 4 - April 1, 2021

Where Found:

Myst Sayber Announcement Trailer (Cyan's 2021 April fools Foolishness) - YouTube Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oW4gUPvDAEA

Original Cipher:

Decoding: Step 1:

Pig Pen Cipher

PigPen Cipher

I MEAN WHAT THEY AND THEIR HIRED PSYCHIATRISTS CALL DELUSIONAL SYSTEMS NEEDLESS TO SAY DELUSIONS ARE ALWAYS OFFICIALLY DEFINED WE DO NOT HAVE TO WORRY ABOUT QUESTIONS OF REAL OR UNREAL THEY ONLY TALK OUT OF EXPEDIENCY ITS THE SYSTEM THAT MATTERS HOW THE DATA ARRANGE THEMSELVES INSIDE IT SOME ARE CONSISTENT OTHERS FALL APART

Cracked Cipher:

Quote is from Thomas Pynchon's Gravity's Rainbow

I mean what they and their hired psychiatrists call delusional systems. Needless to say, ‘delusions’ are always officially defined. We do not have to worry about questions of real or unreal. They only talk out of expediency. It’s the system that matters. How the data arrange themselves inside it. Some are consistent, others fall apart.

Cipher 5 - April 15, 2021

Where Found:

A brief example of design iteration for Firmament - YouTube Video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q39BOvBA2pg

Original Cipher:

Cipher 5A 00:04

Cipher 5B 00:34

Cipher 5C 00:49

Transcription:

5A) BAB AA ABA A C ABB AA BAAA AAB BAA AABA C A ABA BBB B C A ABA BBB B C ABAA BBB AABA BBB C AABA AA B ABA A AAAB C BB BA AAB BA C AAA BA AABA BAB AA AB C ABA BA BAAA AA C ABAA BBB AABA BBB C A BAAA ABB AB BBAB C AAB ABA BAA ABB AA AAA C BB AABA A AAAA AABA AA BBA C AAA BA AABA BAB AA AB C AAB ABA BAA ABB AA AAA C BB BA AAB BA C A ABA BBB B C BAB AA ABA A C BABBAB C AAA BA AABA BAB AA AB C ABAA BBB AABA BBB C AAB AA BAAA BA AAB C BAB AA ABA A C A BAAA ABB AB BBAB C ABAA BBB AABA BBB C ABAA AABA BBB AAB BAA ABA C ABBAB C BAB AA ABA A C BAAA BA B AAA BAA ABB C BB BA AAB BA C AAB ABA BAA ABB AA AAA C AAB ABA BAA ABB AA AAA C BAB AA ABA A C AB AA B ABA BA BB

5B) A BAAA ABB AB BBAB C AB AA B ABA BA BB C AAB ABA BAA ABB AA AAA C A ABA BBB B C BAB AA ABA A C BAAA BA B AAA BAA ABB C ABA BA AAA A BA ABAB C BAB AA ABA A C A ABA BBB B C BB BA AAB BA C ABA BA AAA A BA ABAB C A AABA AABA BA BAB C A ABA BBB B C ABAA BBB AABA BBB C BB BA AAB BA C AAA BA AABA BAB AA AB C AB AA B ABA BA BB C BAB AA ABA A C AAA BA AABA BAB AA AB C ABAA BBB AABA BBB C BAB AA ABA A C AB AA B ABA BA BB C ABAA BBB AABA BBB C AAB ABA BAA ABB AA AAA C A ABA BBB B C BB BA AAB BA C A ABB AABA A AAAA C A ABA BBB B C BAB AA ABA A C BAB AA ABA A C AB BA AAAB ABA BAA C BB AABA A AAAA AABA AA BBA C AB AA B ABA BA BB C A ABB AABA A AAAA C AAB ABA BAA ABB AA AAA C AB BA AAAB ABA BAA C A BAAA ABB AB BBAB C A ABA BBB B C BABBAB C ABAA BBB AABA BBB C ABBAB C BAB AA ABA A C ABA A B B A ABBA C ABAA BBB AABA BBB C A ABB AABA A AAAA C ABA BA BAAA AA

5C) ABBA AA AABA AA ABAA C AAB AA BAAA BA AAB C ABB AA BAAA AAB BAA AABA C BABBAB C ABAA BBB AABA BBB C AAA BA AABA BAB AA AB C AAB AA BAAA BA AAB C ABA BA BAAA AA C BAB AA ABA A C ABA BA BAAA AA C AAB AA BAAA BA AAB C AB BA AAAB ABA BAA C AB BA AAAB ABA BAA C BAB AA ABA A C A ABB AABA A AAAA C AAA BA AABA BAB AA AB C AAB ABA BAA ABB AA AAA C AAA BA AABA BAB AA AB C AAA BA AABA BAB AA AB C A ABA BBB B C ABBAB C AAB AA BAAA BA AAB C ABB AA BAAA AAB BAA AABA C ABAA AABA BBB AAB BAA ABA C ABAA BBA AABA BBB C BA AABA A AAAA AABA AA BBA C BAB AA ABA A C A ABB AABA A AAAA C A ABA BBB B C ABAA BBB AABA BBB C A ABA BBB B C ABA BA BAAA AA C AAB ABA BAA ABB AA AAA C AAA BA AABA BAB AA AB C BB BA AAB BA C A ABA BBB B C AB BA AAAB ABA BAA C AB AA B ABA BA BB C ABAA AABA BBB AAB BAA ABA C AB AA B ABA BA BB C BAB AA ABA A C ABA BA BAAA AA C AAB ABA BAA ABB AA AAA C ABAA BBB AABA BBB C AAB ABA BAA ABB AA AAA C AAA BA AABA BAB AA AB C BB BA AAB BA C AAB AA BAAA BA AAB C AAA BA AABA BAB AA AB C BAB AA ABA A C AAB ABA BAA ABB AA AAA C ABB AA BAAA AAB BAA AABA C ABB AA BAAA AAB BAA AABA C ABA BA BAAA AA

Decoding: Step 1:

Masked / Reversed Morse Code: First reverse the text (ABC->CBA), then replace: (A = '.', B = '-', C = '/')

5A) -- .- .-. - .. -. / . .-. .. -.- / ... .. --. ..- .-. -.. / ... .. --. ..- .-. -.. / .- -.. .- -- / --. ..- ... - .- ...- / . .-. .. -.- / -.--. / .-. ..- -.. --- .-.. ..-. / --- .-.. --- ..-. / -.-- -. --. ...- . / . .-. .. -.- / -.. .- ...- .. -.. / --- .-.. --- ..-. / -. .. -.- .-.. .- ... / -.--.- / . .-. .. -.- / - --- .-. . / .- -.. .- -- / ... .. --. ..- .-. -.. / -. .. -.- .-.. .- ... / .-- .. .-.. .... . .-.. -- / ... .. --. ..- .-. -.. / -.-- -. --. ...- . / --- .-.. --- ..-. / .. ...- .- .-. / -. .. -.- .-.. .- ... / .- -.. .- -- / -... . .-. - .. .-.. / --- .-.. --- ..-. / - --- .-. . / - --- .-. . / .-.. ..- -.. ...- .. --. / . .-. .. -.-

5B) .. ...- .- .-. / .... . .-.. --. . / --- .-.. --- ..-. / .--. . - - . .-. / . .-. .. -.- / -.--. / --- .-.. --- ..-. / -.--.- / - --- .-. . / -.-- -. --. ...- . / ..- .-. -... .- -. / ... .. --. ..- .-. -.. / .... . .-.. --. . / -- .- .-. - .. -. / .-- .. .-.. .... . .-.. -- / ..- .-. -... .- -. / . .-. .. -.- / . .-. .. -.- / - --- .-. . / .... . .-.. --. . / .- -.. .- -- / - --- .-. . / ... .. --. ..- .-. -.. / --- .-.. --- ..-. / -- .- .-. - .. -. / . .-. .. -.- / --- .-.. --- ..-. / -. .. -.- .-.. .- ... / . .-. .. -.- / -- .- .-. - .. -. / -. .. -.- .-.. .- ... / .- -.. .- -- / --- .-.. --- ..-. / - --- .-. . / -.- .- .-.. .-.. . / -.-. .- . ... .- .-. / .- -.. .- -- / - --- .-. . / . .-. .. -.- / -.-. .- . ... .- .-. / --. ..- ... - .- ...- / . .-. .. -.- / - --- .-. . / ... .. --. ..- .-. -.. / -- .- .-. - .. -. / -.-- -. --. ...- .

5C) .. ...- .- .-. / .-.. ..- -.. ...- .. --. / .-.. ..- -.. ...- .. --. / ... .. --. ..- .-. -.. / . .-. .. -.- / -. .. -.- .-.. .- ... / -.. .- ...- .. -.. / .- -.. .- -- / -. .. -.- .-.. .- ... / ... .. --. ..- .-. -.. / --- .-.. --- ..-. / ... .. --. ..- .-. -.. / .. ...- .- .-. / . .-. .. -.- / -- .- .-. - .. -. / .-. ..- -.. --- .-.. ..-. / -- .- .-. - .. -. / ..- .-. -... .- -. / - --- .-. . / .- -.. .- -- / -. .. -.- .-.. .- ... / ... .. --. ..- .-. -.. / .. ...- .- .-. / - --- .-. . / --- .-.. --- ..-. / - --- .-. . / .... . .-.. --. . / . .-. .. -.- / .-- .. .-.. .... . .-.. -- / --- .-.. .-- ..-. / .-. ..- -.. --- .-.. ..-. / .-.. ..- -.. ...- .. --. / -.. .- ...- .. -.. / -.--. / - --- .-. . / -. .. -.- .-.. .- ... / -. .. -.- .-.. .- ... / ... .. --. ..- .-. -.. / -. .. -.- .-.. .- ... / .... . .-.. --. . / . .-. .. -.- / ..- .-. -... .- -. / ..- .-. -... .- -. / -.. .- ...- .. -.. / .. ...- .- .-. / . .-. .. -.- / .. ...- .- .-. / -.. .- ...- .. -.. / -. .. -.- .-.. .- ... / --- .-.. --- ..-. / -.--.- / .-.. ..- -.. ...- .. --. / -.. .- ...- .. -.. / ..-. .. .-.. .. .--.

Decoding: Step 2:

Morse Code (Space = Letter Delimiter, '/' = Word Delimiter)

5A) MARTIN ERIK SIGURD SIGURD ADAM GUSTAV ERIK ( RUDOLF OLOF YNGVE ERIK DAVID OLOF NIKLAS ) ERIK TORE ADAM SIGURD NIKLAS WILHELM SIGURD YNGVE OLOF IVAR NIKLAS ADAM BERTIL OLOF TORE TORE LUDVIG ERIK

5B) IVAR HELGE OLOF PETTER ERIK ( OLOF ) TORE YNGVE URBAN SIGURD HELGE MARTIN WILHELM URBAN ERIK ERIK TORE HELGE ADAM TORE SIGURD OLOF MARTIN ERIK OLOF NIKLAS ERIK MARTIN NIKLAS ADAM OLOF TORE KALLE CAESAR ADAM TORE ERIK CAESAR GUSTAV ERIK TORE SIGURD MARTIN YNGVE

5C) IVAR LUDVIG LUDVIG SIGURD ERIK NIKLAS DAVID ADAM NIKLAS SIGURD OLOF SIGURD IVAR ERIK MARTIN RUDOLF MARTIN URBAN TORE ADAM NIKLAS SIGURD IVAR TORE OLOF TORE HELGE ERIK WILHELM OLOF RUDOLF LUDVIG DAVID ( TORE NIKLAS NIKLAS SIGURD NIKLAS HELGE ERIK URBAN URBAN DAVID IVAR ERIK IVAR DAVID NIKLAS OLOF ) LUDVIG DAVID FILIP

Decoding: Step 3:

Swedish Armed Forces Radio Alphabet (first letter of each name)

5A) MESSAGE(ROYEDON)ETASNWSYOINABOTTLE

5B) IHOPE(O)TYUSHMWUEETHATSOMEONEMNAOTKCATECGETSMY

5C) ILLSENDANSOSIEMRMUTANSITOTHEWORLD(TNNSNHEUUDIEIDNO)LDF

Cracked cipher:

Message In A Bottle by The Police lyrics (from bottom to top)

I'll send an SOS to the world, I hope that someone gets my, message in a bottle.

Second level cipher:

Extra text mixed with Police lyrics

5A) (ROYEDON)ETASNWSYO

5B) (O)TYUSHMWUEE MNAOTKCATEC

5C) IEMRMUTANSI (TNNSNHEUUDIEIDNO)LDF

Second level decoding: Step 5:

RailFence Cipher ("Key = 4", "Offset = 0")

5A) (YESTERDAYSOONNOW)

5B) (THEMYOUWEUS)MAKECONTACT

5C) IMUSTREMAIN(SILENTHIDDENUNFOUND)

Second Level Cracked:

From bottom to top:

I must remain (silent | hidden | unfound)

(them | you | we | us) make contact

(yesterday | soon | now)

Cipher 6 - April 21, 2021

Where Found:

Cyan Newsletter - April

https://sendy.cyan.com/sendy/w/gI892n2BnXKlrBh2pBv5yjhw/Cs9NzbHHvhd1n892PNOoVtGw/MnuICEGnOOSKGYmVGA0XRA

There is an italicized 'e' in the 'Translations Achieved' link which leads to an image: isthereanybodylistening.png

Original Cipher:

Transcription:

TQHN HO PTQOHOD KT UKC LIGKDHFQ SIDPTW. H TFCNVM PIQCP UNABI PG KR, YOYI

CAPGDBUDQA BERTHZAPCXCQ, CT "UKC ITMRD LI QKC HINTY OO SKC LBHNHOB."

POYFRYOHGY(OSYUSEIDMPFIUMTAOFKSYUSEID) G INUK YT MULYD UFCY OY OU COS-

GTAPV IFQUC, CLA IFQUC OPY OO CDUDFM AQU HO MUHODHLMD. KY OX STY

PBUBOV CL CQUCRGQFKB LI LESUHDQPBQ OGTUEFCU. (HTUCNFOISTAPCAXHDKT) FY

OT NPC DGM RHTQDPK CLE B OGTUEFD PL F UNADFDP FHOI. OY OX, SBLAPV, D DBU-

DIMTW OGTUEFA. DNM(RDODRDKFOGODPT)DGRWFK

Decoding: Step 1:

Playfair Cipher (key - ABCDEFGHIKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ without - J)

SUCH IN OUTLINE IS THE OFFICIAL THEORY. I SHALXL OFTEN SPEAK OF IT, WITH

DELIBERATE ABUSIVENESXS, AS "THE DOGMA OF THE GHOST IN THE MACHINE."

MITGQTIGFT(ITXTRDKBOLKKTORDLKITXTRDKB) I HOPE TO PROVE THAT IT IS ENT-

IRELY FALSE, AND FALSE NOT IN DETAIL BUT IN PRINCIPLE. IT IS NOT

MERELY AN ASSEMBLAGE OF PARTICULAR MISTAKES. (ISSELHIDRSELBESCEIQ) IT

IS ONE BIG MISTAKE AND A MISTAKE OF A SPECIAL KIND. IT IS, NAMELY, A CAT-

EGORY MISTAKE. CML(TBIYTBIKMIIYOU)BIMRKI

Cracked cipher:

Quote is from Gilbert Ryle's The Concept of Mind (Remove "X" separator for identical/paired letters, and replace some necessary "i" with "j")

Such in outline is the official theory. I shall often speak of it, with deliberate abusiveness, as “the dogma of the ghost in the machine.” I hope to prove that it is entirely false, and false not in detail but in principle. It is not merely an assemblage of particular mistakes. It is one big mistake and a mistake of a special kind. It is, namely, a category mistake.

Second level cipher:

Extra text mixed with Gilbert Ryle's Quote

MITGQTJGFT(JTTRDKBOLKKTORDLKJTTRDKB)

(ISSELHJDRSELBESCEIQ)

CML(TBIYTBIKMJJYOU)BIMRKI

Second Level Decoding: Step 2:

Keyword Caesar Cipher (Shift = 0) - First Line:GHOST, Second Line: INTHE, Third Line:MACHINE

PLEASEMAKE(MEETINGCONNECTIONMEETING)

(ATTENDLISTENGETHEAR)

CAN(THEYTHEMALLYOU)HEARME

Second Level Cracked:

Please Make (Meeting | Connection | Meeting)

(Attend | Listen | Get | Hear)

Can (They | Them | All | You) Hear Me

Cipher 7 - May 7, 2021

Where Found:

Twitter post - https://twitter.com/cyanworlds/status/1390748337826009091

Original Cipher:

1) duunr://rltvn.lau/4bqf

2) duups://smevp.mau/8sg2

3) duuqt://toivq.onu/2x3g

Decoding: Step 1:

Keyword Caesar Cipher (Shift = 1) - First Line:GHOST, Second Line: INTHE, Third Line:MACHINE

1) https://sndup.net/4frj - titled BOT, description BeginningOfTape

2) https://sndup.net/8sj2 - titled DeadAir, description DeadAir

3) https://sndup.net/2w3j - titled EOT, description EndOfTape

Decoding: Step 2:

Audio files (Audio Morse Code + Spectrogram)

1)

2)

3)

Transcription Step 2:

Morse code

1) XILTPVGUFPKEPWFAPZINYSIZNACEUAPEEIXBROEIWIMMPDIOLBXEPIVGUMZVWRIQICNSMQXMWTKZXVWHPEOAFALVX

2) JHOARGIYMEFRBPEQGGCMAZJRZFPVRTRGABVPYHYUZNOMBGEOMFVVRBRYMAOIQ

3) KSJMGGAWCWZOGOVAEJSTGZRGLCQGRRYOOLTVJOJSJWKLOMUULFJAFMEWRWOFG

Words

1) BELIEVE

2) INVENTED

3) REASONS

Decoding: Step 3:

Vigenère cipher of the text from the above 'Morse code' section, using the corresponding spectrograph word from the 'Words' section as the keyword:

1) WEALLACTBECAUSEWERESUREOFWHATWEWANTANDWEBELIEVETHATTHEACTIONSWEPERFORMWILLGETUSWHATWEWANT

2) BUTWENEVERKNOWANYTHINGFORSUREANDSOALLOURRATIONALESAREINVENTED

3) TOJUSTIFYWHATWEWEREGOINGTODOANYWAYBEFOREWETHOUGHTOFANYREASONS

Cracked Cipher:

Quote is from Orson Scott Card's book Children of the Mind

We all act because we’re sure of what we want, and we believe that the actions we perform will get us what we want, but we never know anything for sure, and so all our rationales are invented to justify what we were going to do anyway before we thought of any reasons.

Cipher 8 - May 24, 2021

Where Found:

Wiki Edit by G.Ryle

3 Edits to this wiki were made

1) 24 May 2021: Replaced ~maybe soon~ with https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jl7CWf8QNjA in All Messages list at top of page

2) 25 May 2021: Added Section for "Cipher 8 - ??????, ????" with text "Where Found: ?????????"

3) 25 May 2021: Added text to Cipher 8 section: Ohg V fgvyy unira'g sbhaq jung V'z ybbxvat sbe

In the check-in comments a link was also added to "https://y o u t u.be/4uMQIqtD6Ik" : YouTube Link to "Tired of Waiting For You - The Kinks"

Transcription Cipher 8A:

Ohg V fgvyy unira'g sbhaq jung V'z ybbxvat sbe

Decoding 8A:

ROT13 encoded string

U2 Song Lyrics

But I still haven't found what I'm looking for.

Transcription Cipher 8B:

https://y o u t u.be/4uMQIqtD6Ik

Decoding 8B:

Remove spaces: YouTube Link to "Tired of Waiting For You - The Kinks"

https://youtu.be/4uMQIqtD6Ik [editor note: not a link because it is considered spam and the wiki won't allow it - alternate link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4uMQIqtD6Ik]

Transcription Cipher 8C:

YouTube Video: Read between the lines //

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jl7CWf8QNjA

This unlisted video on Cyan's YouTube channel was added as 'message 8' at the top of the page by user G.Ryle. The description of the video contains the text:

Criticize the words they're selling //

The title and description are lyrics from Anybody Listening? by Queensrÿche.

Multiple ciphers are present in the video:

YouTube Video - 0:08

Transcription:

2223344344243344231532111323243315

Decoding:

Polybius Cipher: key - ABCDEFGHIKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ without -J; Order - Line, Column

ghostinthemachine

Solution:

GHOST IN THE MACHINE

YouTube Video - 0:10

Details:

Dorabella Cipher: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dorabella_Cipher

YouTube Video - 0:51

Transcription:

https://ln3.sync.com/dl/8f6c77290/view/image/10142179160004#whp4dbzk-tkdvxw9q-msnep5ze-srabz79j

Details:

This url linked to a 11MB file named isthereanyonewhoseeswhatsgoingon.jpg

The file's title is another lyric from "Anybody Listening?" by Queensrÿche.

The first portion of the file is a valid JPG of a still of a coyote crossing a street from the Movie Collateral (See: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DX9JNJThhxY)

This JPG takes up ~24KB of the ~11MB file (the head). There is extra data tacked on after the end of the JPEG file (the tail).

It was discovered around June 8 that a line had been added to the 'Read between the lines //' YouTube video's description. The numerical string 2235421143154454111424 appeared. It was another Polybius cipher (J removed) that decoded to GPRASETYADI.

This was a reference to G.Prasetyadi, who created a stegonography tool (FileStegano) which works by encoding a payload into random-looking data and appending it to the end of the containing file. The source code and a link to download the program can be found here: https://github.com/Moj00/FileStegano

The passphrase was discovered to be "neverletmedownagain" (from the Cyrillic at the end of the video - 2:28) and the file's payload is a large JPG image of a red herring's head.

Error creating thumbnail: File with dimensions greater than 12.5 MP

red herring extracted from coyote image

Upon further inspection, a comment was found in the EXIF data leading to: https://imgur.com/a/71acXTD a page from a book called Critical Existentialism by Nicola Abbagnano, Nino Langiulli from 1969. Also of note, the imgur page is titled "Think for yourself and feel the walls", which is another lyric from "Anybody Listening?" by Queensrÿche. This page shows the phrase 'Transcendental Possibility' in italics. This phrase is the title of the video dropped in Cipher 10.

Also discovered in the Red Herring were four messages in the Eye, the bottom, the top, and the right side of the image:

• Eye: you have spent so long studying the trees that you have entirely missed the forest in front of you

• Bottom: ciphers are a tool for communication... what is being communicated? Why?

• Top: perhaps the game you think you are playing is not a game after all

• Right: there is something fishy going on... what could it be?

• 

  Red Herring Eye

• 

  Red Herring Bottom

• 

  Red Herring Top

• 

  Red Herring Right

YouTube Video - 1:02

Transcription:

75628 28591 62916 48164 91748 58464 74748 28483 81638 18174

74826 26475 83828 94175 74658 37575 75936 36565 81638 17585

75756 46282 92857 46382 75748 38165 81848 56485 64858 56382

72628 36281 81728 16463 75828 16483 63828 58163 63630 47481

91918 46385 84656 48565 62946 26285 91859 17491 72756 46575

71658 36264 74818 28462 82649 18193 65626 48484 91838 57491

81657 27483 83858 28364 62726 26562 83759 27263 82827 27283

82858 47582 81837 28462 82837 58164 75748 58162 92000

Details:

D`Agapeyeff Cipher.

This is a cipher from a book (Codes and Ciphers) published in 1939. Still publicly unsolved today. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%27Agapeyeff_cipher

YouTube Video - 1:25

Transcription:

49 86 106 46 87 78 77 69 53 85 66 98 58 76 76 66 97 59 56 65 58 48 76 106 78 88 57 54 69 77 88

78 87 58 55 56 57 98 58 59 88 88 68 57 68 79 67 49 58 36 84 98 58 87 66 54 47 75 69 79 68 47 64

49 57 85 49 97 78 66 40 66 87 56 78 76 75 36 86 78 69 77 86 54 68 64 65 79 67 49 85 40 56 65 68

58 78 85 36 75 97 67 68 78 87 40 56 99 68 58 49 85 47 84 99 80 77 48 87 59 53 87 80 77 59 76 59

94 87 66 78 47 54 69 66 88 68 97 48 77 40 85 85 46 77 56 74 40 96 79 68 78 86 54 37 76 99 79 88

57 67 68 86 77 50 98 77 66 59 87 85 49 68 78 86 37 87 96 59 59 48 77 70 86 98 58 59 76 58 68 76

86 50 96 57 58 67 57 107 87 67 68 68 58 76 106 78 88 57 58 40 95 65 48 88 65 77 38 53 98 59 78

67 77 58 73 108 87 96 78 66 49 85 106 46 87 57 67 68 73 65 78 88 66 58 68 85 65 57 59 87 87 48

66 96 79 98 49 67 47 65 98 49 59 56 85 40 57 97 56 68 55 87 79 85 69 86 59 67 75 49 75 99 79 59

77 86 49 95 89 69 68 67 87 46 66 105 50 87 49 56 59 75 68 78 77 68 85 69 65 97 50 95 49 76 69 96

97 50 95 49 76 39 57 76 77 59 49 86 40 66 76 58 88 66 67 58 87 98 50 87 55 77 67 86 108 56 78 79

85 68 57 67 69 77 48 86 77 57 97 79 97 65 54 79 57 96 79 96 68

Decoding:

Nihilist Cipher. Using alphabet 'ABCDEFGHIKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ' (without -J) and key = KRYPTOS

[Note: linebreaks are added for wiki formatting, they are not part of the decryption process]

itwastotallyinvisiblehowsthatpossibletheyusedtheearthsmagneticfieldxtheinformationwasgatheredandtran

smittedundergruundtoanunknownlocationxdoeslangleyknowaboutthistheyshoulditsburiedouttheresomewherexw

hoknowstheexactlocationonlywwthiswashislastmessagexthirtyeightdegreesfiftysevenminutessixpointfivese

condsnorthseventysevendegreeseightminutesfortyfoursecondswestxlayertwo

Solution:

This is the text from the solved Passage 2 of the Kryptos Sculpture.

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

YouTube Video - 1:40 - Oak Island Cipher

Transcription and Solution:

The symbols appearing here are part of the Oak Island Mystery, which has more details available on wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oak_Island_mystery

Forty Feet Below Two Million Pounds Are Buried

YouTube Video - 2:28

Transcription:

никогда больше

не подводи меня

Solution:

Cyrillic Russian Text

Never Let Me Down Again

Song By Depeche Mode

Cipher 9 - June 8, 2021

An update was made by G.Ryle to their talk page.

https://ln4.sync.com/dl/f95cab090/urnm3czv-sgxvxq32-pnbnj82g-juywfudx

Their given reason for editing was: 11000001110001001010000011011010000000100

Solution :

The binary text translates to Morse of Ghost In The Machine, a phrase which has become our correspondent's signature.

The link required a password, which was the next line of from the Queensrÿche song: becomesandbeneathyourfeet

This then provided an audio file containing a Morse message: QSL Why Do You Delay Retrace Footsteps (QSL being code indicate a response to a previous message, meaning our coded message was received)

This all seems to indicate we are approaching these ciphered messages all wrong

Cipher 10 - June 12, 2021

Where Found: Wiki Edit by G.Ryle

comment: U+62 U+65 U+63 U+61 U+75 U+74 U+69 U+6F U+6E

content: b2tub3RhbG9uZWhlcmVtdXN0KHNseXxzbmVha3l8Ymx1cnJ5fGRpbSloYXZlKGdyaXR8bW9kZXJhdGlvbnxwcnVkZW5jZXxzdGFyY2h8bGVncylodHRwczovL2JpdC5seS8zd2RIYnhj

Decoding first comment:

ASCII Code: HEX /2

which translates to: becaution

Decoding second comment:

after base64 decoding: oknotaloneheremust(sly|sneaky|blurry|dim)have(grit|moderation|prudence|starch|legs)https://bit.ly/3wdHbxc

the url redirects to: https://ln4.sync.com/dl/ae82d2ae0/jsrfc6dm-5f9hgw2u-m3utfcw9-7et32h6w which is a video titled TranscendentalPossibility.mp4 of some music fragments with static and codes between.

The phrase 'transcendental possibility' was emphasized in the page from Critical Existentialism on imgur found from the EXIF data in the red herring image from Cipher 8.

The metadata of the video file contains the words heedful circumspectly

The music clips/lyrics/codes/solutions (so far) appear as follows:

1. Under Pressure by David Bowie/Queen

Scenes of buildings collapsing/being demolished with lyrics:

"It's the terror of knowing what this world is about. Watching some good friends screaming 'Let me out!'. Pray tomorrow--"

CODE AT 00:28

Transcription:

TTCicTC5cXAucHmpZ2ikcH51bYSydoSocHyqcIGmZXivAXxqZomiZTisZolhTTCvAXWlJH1wdnVhfXGqejmocHutbH1qcYGydXyjbom3ZXAzZzixZR==

Decoding: Step 1:

Caesar cipher shift=1 (same as ROT1).

SSBhbSB5bWZtbGloY2hjbG51aXRxcnRnbGxpbHFlYWhuZWwpYnlhYShrYnkgSSBuZWVkIG1vcmUgeWFpdilnbGtsaG1pbXFxcWxianl3YWZyYyhwYQ==

Decoding: Step 2:

Base64

I am ymfmlihchclnuitqrtgllilqeahnel)byaa(kby I need more yaiv)glklhmimqqqlbjywafrc(pa

2. Nowhere to Hide by Martha and the Vandellas

Scenes of a live performance video with lyrics:

"Got nowhere to run to baby, nowhere to hide."

CODE AT 00:43

Transcription:

W3TrdIyiBZH3do1lB3LnMYnjf211B250d3frB2X2B25jMI5uKHPxdYWid2AigY91ekDtcY5mKIHaBUDjBYHqeZBqeoSrcJB0eY1peIPmgJjkeonze2v4BEjaf3OiUUDjdUDxeJTrdYnbdS==

Decoding: Step 1:

Caesar cipher shift=2 (same as ROT2).

U3RpbGwgZXF3bm1jZ3JlKWlhd211Z250b3dpZ2V2Z25hKG5sIFNvbWUgb2YgeW91ciBraW5kIGFyZSBhZWFocXZocmQpaHZ0cW1ncGNkeHhicmlxc2t4ZChyd3MgSSBhbSBvcHRpbWlzbQ==

Decoding: Step 2:

Base64

Still eqwnmcgre)iawmugntowigevgna(nl Some of your kind are aeahqvhrd)hvtqmgpcdxxbriqskxd(rws I am optimism

3. Paradise City by Guns 'n Roses

Scenes of a live performance video with lyrics:

"Take me down to the paradise city where the grass is green and the girls are pretty, oh won't you please take me home"

CODE AT 00:59

Transcription:

VVEwgAQ0LJYbfZXsfAsoCJwzg25oC21mhJa5dqC5B3fre2TjCp9bLKUrCVEyepXjf2IqeqQvhZs4d2Y6gZazhJY1BAMxhpa5dAMte2YvdFo0epImfVkafZ5aLKgrebEsfbEsepQbCZU1eJ91fbEbCZgkfpUsepfjeZX=

Decoding: Step 1:

Caesar cipher shift=3 (same as ROT3).

SSBtdXN0IGVycWUpcXplZGtwd25lZ21jeGx5anZ5Y3cob2QgZm9yIHRoZSBvbmUgc2FnbnNseWp4a2V6dWxweGV1YXJuemx5aXJqb2VsaCl0bmFjcShxcW5xIHdobyBpcyBpbmNyZWR1bG91cyByZWdhcmRpbmcgbWU=

Decoding: Step 2:

Base64

I must erqe)qzedkpwnegmcxlyjvycw(od for the one sagnslyjxkezulpxeuarnzlyirjoelh)tnacq(qqnq who is incredulous regarding me

4. Suspicious Minds by Fine Young Cannibals

Scenes of a live performance video with lyrics:

"We can't go on together with suspicious minds (with suspicious minds). And we can't-"

5. All along the Watchtower by Jimi Hendrix

Scenes of a live performance video with lyrics:

"All along the watchtower Princes kept the view While all the women came and went-"

CODE AT 01:27

Transcription:

UBNpMLpzhWEtC2tzgq5vgANagrl3g2xbCBR4f2pleqZ1DWlpeWFzgmF2Drt1irRmfqItgBNtCrFvf29pe3hyeq96iq5leml6gLg=

Decoding: Step 1:

Caesar cipher shift=4 (same as ROT4).

QXJlIHlvdSApY2pvcm5rcWJwcnh3c2txYXN4b2lhamV1ZShlaSBvciB2Znp1enNibmEpcXJpYnBrb29la3duam96em5haih6cHc=

Decoding: Step 2:

Base64

Are you )cjornkqbprxwskqasxoiajeue(ei or vfzuzsbna)qribpkooekwnjozznaj(zpw

CODE AT '02:02

A table of the values in the final part of the video

Transcription:

iam

		200	170
170	200	170
	170		200

Cipher 10.1 - June 12, 2021

Where Found: Cyan tweeted a ciphertext in a response: https://twitter.com/cyanworlds/status/1403777268829196288

The account the reply was addressed to has been deleted, but there is a reddit post where they included an imgur album of the tweets, so they are preserved here: https://imgur.com/a/OiUzjjd

The reddit post is here: https://www.reddit.com/r/myst/comments/nzuow4/cyan_worlds_tweeted_a_cipher_at_me_i_need_help/

Ciphertext:

wutyj ipnun gtozs hugku yzosa jynem lywcs qnrsg k

Also included in the tweet was a link to https://cryptii.com/

A 'hint' was also tweeted including an image from The Imitation Game with the text: "We're thrilled you're thrilled! You're probably gonna need Banister Crumblebench to help you solve it, tho!"

This all pointed to an Enigma cipher.

Discord user Richkiller's friend cracked the code using a custom Enigma attack tool they'd developed!

Using the default settings for the plugboard from cryptii.com and the following settings is how to get the message:

Model: Enigma M3
Reflector: UKW C
ROTORs (Top to bottom): III V VI
Positions: 22 11 8
Rings: 1 1 4
plugboard: bq cr di ej kw mt os px uz gh

The message, respaced and with added punctuation, reads:

Solution:

Thanks for the shout out! Cyan endorses this tweet.

This result might not indicate this particualr cipher has anything to do with the larger story we are trying to unravel here, but it was a good solve anyway, and worth noting as a 2021 Cyan cipher.

Cipher 11 - July 29, 2021

Where Found: Cyan newsletter: https://sendy.cyan.com/sendy/w/Ew4sbei5u892SjNOUKF763BdAA/Cs9NzbHHvhd1n892PNOoVtGw/b892LS0rkPDrXCClETq3MsBg

This newsletter features a section titled Want a Deeper Dive Into a New Mystery? which contains the following: (Note, newlines have been added to ease readability, they are not part of the code)

Rm9yIGZvbGtzIHdpdGggImEgY2VydGFpbiBzZXQgb2Ygc2tpbGxzIGFuZCBhIGxvdCBvZiBjdXJpb3NpdHksIiBzb21lIG9mIG91ciBmYW5zIGhhdmUgbm90aW

NlZCBzb21ldGhpbmcgbXlzdGVyaW91cyB3aGljaCBoYXMgYmVlbiBnb2luZyBvbiBmb3IgYSBmZXcgbW9udGhzIG5vdyBhbmQgdGhleSBjb3VsZCB1c2UgeW91

ciBoZWxwLiBNb3JlIGRldGFpbHMgY2FuIGJlIGZvdW5kIGhlcmU6IGh0dHBzOi8vd2lraS5jeXBoZXJzLjc1dGh0cm9tYm9uZS5jb20vaW5kZXgucGhwP3RpdG

xlPTIwMjFfQ2lwaGVycw==

Decoding: This is base64 encoded text which reads:

For folks with "a certain set of skills and a lot of curiosity," some of our fans have noticed something mysterious which has been going on for a few months now and they could use your help. More details can be found here: https://wiki.cyphers.75thtrombone.com/index.php?title=2021_Ciphers

In addition, three numeric characters throughout the newsletter were found to link to imgur images.

The first was in the steam link, and was a '2', linking to: https://imgur.com/hocXAC5 a black and white spiral 1876x1876 pixels, showing the word 'JIM' across the middle.

The second was in the firmament link, another '2', linking to: https://imgur.com/BSIo1uN another spiral, this time 1942x1942 pixels, showing the word 'PAUL' across the middle.

The third was one of the characters in the base64 string (a '6') which links to: https://imgur.com/iYCS91J a 1984x1984 pixel spiral, showing the word 'BRUCE' across the middle.

Discord Server Descriptions

Around June 11, 2021, the #cipher-discussions channel topic on the Official Cyan Chat discord changed to a quote from War Games (1983):

Wouldn't you prefer a good game of Chess?

Around July 15, 2021, links started appearing alongside the quote in the channel topic.

Wouldn't you prefer a good game of Chess? (quote from WarGames)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WuXwSyahgW4

(Fly Like An Eagle - Steve Miller Band)

Wouldn't you prefer a good game of Chess? (quote from WarGames)

https://open.spotify.com/track/40riOy7x9W7GXjyGp4pjAv?si=9a1d172abf094f52

(Hotel California - Eagles)

Wouldn't you prefer a good game of Chess? (quote from WarGames)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rgc_LRjlbTU

(Murray Head - One Night in Bangkok "From CHESS")

Wouldn't you prefer a good game of Chess? (quote from WarGames)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lJZTgynPGT8

(Riders on the Storm - The Doors)

Wouldn't you prefer a good game of Chess? (quote from WarGames)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7YvAYIJSSZY

(Rockwell - Somebody's Watching Me)

Wouldn't you prefer a good game of Chess? (quote from WarGames)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=75n-M5FwRcU

(Myst PC: Mysterium 2021 Sneak Peak Edition)

So are you willing to wait for the miracle // Willing to wait it through // Are you willing to wait for the miracle // Or don't you believe they're true? (Walk on Water by Mark Cohn lyrics)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HEVeiliSuFU

(Walk on Water - Mark Cohn)

What’s it going to be then, eh? (possibly a reference to a recurring motif in A Clockwork Orange)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-EzURpTF5c8

(Time - Pink Floyd)

What’s it going to be then, eh? (possibly a reference to a recurring motif in A Clockwork Orange)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0TfF5Yc5EfQ

(Transcendental Highway - Colin Hay)

Life in your new world / Turning round and round / So make some sense / Where there's no sense at all // I give you / No promises / But if you should fall // (No Promises by Icehouse lyrics)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VTy09veZnBc

(No Promises - Icehouse)

................................................................................................... (99 dots)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pWxJEIz7sSA

(The Church - Under the Milky Way)

.................................................................................................. (98 dots)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fpu5a0Bl8eY

(NENA - 99 Luftballons)

................................................................................................. (97 dots)

https://youtu.be/wO0A0XcWy88

(Peter Schilling - Major Tom (Coming Home))

(NOTE: The wiki doesn't allow youtu.be links, so here's a clickable version: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wO0A0XcWy88 )

................................................................................................ (96 dots)

https://youtu.be/lk47ecL1z5w (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lk47ecL1z5w)

(Jimmy Eat World - My Best Theory)

.......................................................................................... (90 dots)

https://youtu.be/Qut5e3OfCvg (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qut5e3OfCvg)

(Dvorak - New World Symphony)

............................................................................................ (92 dots)

https://youtu.be/nu8fDs0YFoI (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nu8fDs0YFoI)

(The Cars - Moving in Stereo)

...................-...........................................................-........ (86 dots, 2 dashes: 19 dots, 1 dash, 59 dots, 1 dash, 8 dots)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIs0KMFJvWE

(Alison Krauss & Union Station - The Boy Who Wouldn't Hoe Corn)

.......-...........-........................................-................-........ (82 dots, 4 dashes: 7 dots, 1 dash, 11 dots, 1 dash, 40 dots, 1 dash, 16 dots, 1 dash, 8 dots)

https://youtu.be/ROatPGGMvXg (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ROatPGGMvXg)

(Jimmy Eat World - Sweetness)

.......-...........-.....................................-................-........ (79 dots, 4 dashes: 7 dots, 1 dash, 11 dots, 1 dash, 37 dots, 1 dash, 16 dots, 1 dash, 8 dots)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=433S3tuuB94

(Avenged Sevenfold - Chapter Four)

.......-...........-................... ? ...................-................-........ (80 dots, 4 dashes, 1 question mark: 7 dots, 1 dash, 11 dots, 1 dash, 19 dots, 1 space, 1 question mark, 1 space, 19 dots, 1 dash, 16 dots, 1 dash, 8 dots)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CPJ-AbCsT8

(The Six Million Dollar Man Opening and Closing Theme)

.......-...*......-.-................. ? ...................-..............*........ (75 dots, 4 dashes, 2 asterisks, 1 question mark: 7 dots, 1 dash, 3 dots, 1 asterisk, 6 dots, 1 dash, 1 dot, 1 dash, 17 dots, 1 space, 1 question mark, 1 space, 19 dots, 1 dash, 14 dots, 1 asterisk, 8 dots)

https://youtu.be/T8Xb_7YDroQ (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8Xb_7YDroQ)

(Eve 6 - Inside Out)

It was also noticed on this entry that the question mark was in italics. Upon further investigation, the HTML source revealed <em> tags in the string:

.......-...<em>......-.-................. ? ...................-..............</em>........

Upon even further investigation it was found that using the 'Copy Topic' option resulted in the string with the asterisks, which are apparently being interpreted as markdown for italics (emphasis) when displayed in Discord.

It appears this has become a sort of 'active investigation' with things changing fairly rapidly, as the string now reads:

.......-.../......-.-................. ? ...................-..............\........

But Discord again doesn't display the backslash towards the end.

Wiki edits related to this will calm down until things seem to have stabilized.

Well it appears the extra characters are going bonkers, the countdown has resumed, so we'll get back to just pasting these in here to see what we will see.

...#....-.../......-.-.......... ? .........%..........-..............\....@...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tT9Eh8wNMkw

(Dave Brubeck - Take Five)

...]#....-.../..-.-....... ? ..$...%..........-...{.....\.#.@...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=abOiHWcOiuA

(Led Zeppelin - Four Sticks)

...%%]#....-.../..-.-.$... ? ..$...%....$.-...{.....\.#.@..@--....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pgFceWDhVJM

(4 Non Blondes - Pleasantly Blue)

[...][%%]#....-.../..-.-.$... (?) ..$...%....$.-...{.....}{\.#.@..@--....}

https://youtu.be/OAkPujZl6B4?t=34 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OAkPujZl6B4&t=34)

(Esteban - We Three Kings)

[.][%%]#.-.../..-.!!-.$... (?) ..%....$.-...{.}{\.#.@..@-!-..##..}

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPU8OAjjS4k

(3 Doors Down - Kryptonite)

[]%]#.-./..-!-.$.(?)#..%.$.-.{.}{\.#.@!!.@-!-&.#

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KTzmzrruHwc

(U2 - The Unforgettable Fire)

[]#.-.:/.-!-.$.(?)#..%.$.-.{.}{:\.#.@!!.!!@-!-&.#

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wsdy_rct6uo

(Spin Doctors - Two Princes)

[)(]#.-.:/.-!-.$.(!!?)#..@-!-&^.#

https://youtu.be/BvA5xFuDb0o (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BvA5xFuDb0o)

(Three Dog Night - One)

[)(]-!-.$#..@-!-&^.#

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBjyl1LvBF4&t=47s

(One (U2 Music with Metallica Lyrics) performed by Chris Cornell)

(][)-!@%@-^.#

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JHYIGy1dyd8

(The Fixx - One Thing Leads to Another)

(]![)

https://youtu.be/Yr1tR8s0oUg (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Yr1tR8s0oUg)

(The Rolling Stones - Back to Zero)

This appeared to be the 'end of the countdown' which had happened over the previous week, with words in either the artist or title of the songs posted having numbers, which counted down to 'zero' on august 26, 2021. Corresponding with the newest release of Myst.

The next day, the channel topic was 'reset' to something more mundane: 100 dashes

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cipher 12 - February 26, 2022 - Magic Eye "5" Ciphers

Beginning Feb 26, 2022, the discord server descriptions began to be providing codes again, this time revealing 5 total Google Drive links to "magic eye" stereogram images so far.

The 5 images could be combined to make up the letter 'V', and each was named using the number 'five' in different languages.

Image 1 - vijf.jpg (Dutch)

Code: hts3%F2diegol.o%Fie2d21qwCWRhXgIhZD-R5y2tp%A2%Frv.ogecm2fl%F%F7D7uUJq5dqpIHunO%F

Rail fence (Key 2) + URL Decode

https%3A%2F%2Fdrive.google.com%2Ffile%2Fd%2F17qDw7CuWURJhqX5gdIqhpZIDH-uRn5Oy%2F

URL: https://drive.google.com/file/d/17qDw7CuWURJhqX5gdIqhpZIDH-uRn5Oy/

EXIF Data Message: bb bbb tbt t h btt t t tbbt tbtt btbb h b tttt tb bt h btbb bbb ttb h tttt tb tttb t h bttt t ttbt bbb tbt t

Morse code (t = ".", b = "-", h = "/") TBH : -- --- .-. . / -.. . . .--. .-.. -.-- / - .... .- -. / -.-- --- ..- / .... .- ...- . / -... . ..-. --- .-. .

Solution: MORE DEEPLY THAN YOU HAVE BEFORE

HEX Data Message: y xxxx x z xy yx xxx xyy x xyx z xx xxx z xxyx xx xxxy x

Morse code (x = ".", y ="-", z = "/") XYZ: - .... . / .- -. ... .-- . .-. / .. ... / ..-. .. ...- .

Solution: THE ANSWER IS FIVE

Image 2 - lima.jpg (Sudanese & southeast Asian)

Code: oaawz%3H%2M%2Mkypcl.nvvnsl.jvt%2Mmpsl%2Mk%2M1sHxy207ogDYB-IuDNy3YHsZQQ-fop9Fb%2M

ROT13 (Amount 19) + URL Decode

https%3A%2F%2Fdrive.google.com%2Ffile%2Fd%2F1lAqr207hzWRU-BnWGr3RAlSJJ-yhi9Yu%2F

URL: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lAqr207hzWRU-BnWGr3RAlSJJ-yhi9Yu/

EXIF Data Message: riii iir r l irr iiii ir r l ii iii l r iiii i l rrir iir i iii r ii rrr ri

Morse code (i = ".", r = "-", l = "/") IRL: -... ..- - / .-- .... .- - / .. ... / - .... . / --.- ..- . ... - .. --- -.

Solution: BUT WHAT IS THE QUESTION

Image 3 - fem.jpg (Swedish)

Code: sggkh%3Z%2U%2Uwirev.tlltov.xln%2Uurov%2Uw%2U1MhH7z9Q54QK4f6LVVmWmlWq872pF1iGt%2U%0Z

Atbash Cipher (A-Z, B-Y, C-X ..) + URL Decode

https%3A%2F%2Fdrive.google.com%2Ffile%2Fd%2F1NsS7a9J54JP4u6OEEnDnoDj872kU1rTg%2F%0A

URL: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1NsS7a9J54JP4u6OEEnDnoDj872kU1rTg/

EXIF Data Message: ii iii cic c a icc c c ciic cicc icii a i cccc ci ic a icii iii cci a cccc ci ccci c a iccc c ccic iii cic c

Morse code (c = ".", i = "-", a = "/") CIA: -- --- .-. . / -.. . . .--. .-.. -.-- / - .... .- -. / -.-- --- ..- / .... .- ...- . / -... . ..-. --- .-. .

Solution: MORE DEEPLY THAN YOU HAVE BEFORE

Image 4 - pump.jpg (Welsh)

Code: uggcf%3N%2S%2Sqevir.tbbtyr.pbz%2Ssvyr%2Sq%2S1KF7x8yeMWtByRNtWSFxuozVKXDxqfx5S%2S%0N

ROT13 (Amount 13) + URL Decode

https%3A%2F%2Fdrive.google.com%2Ffile%2Fd%2F1XS7k8lrZJgOlEAgJFSkhbmIXKQkdsk5F%2F%0A

URL: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1XS7k8lrZJgOlEAgJFSkhbmIXKQkdsk5F/edit

EXIF Data Message: mimm mmm iim o mm im mimm o mi i iiim i imi o imii i im imi mi

Morse code (i = ".", m = "-", o = "/") IMO: -.-- --- ..- / -- .- -.-- / -. . ...- . .-. / .-.. . .- .-. -.

Solution: YOU MAY NEVER LEARN

HEX Data Message: babb bbb aab c bb ab babb c ba a aaab a aba c bab ba bbb abb

Morse code (a = ".", b = "-", c = "/") ABC: -.-- --- ..- / -- .- -.-- / -. . ...- . .-. / -.- -. --- .--

Solution: YOU MAY NEVER KNOW

Image 5 - cinq.jpg (French)

Code: rzzfu%3I%2H%2Hxpwjc.maamlc.saq%2Hhwlc%2Hx%2H1xc8fbbfivmQYXoMUuqqxJc6YZHwNYV_C%2H

Affine Cipher (a - 5; b - 8) + URL Decode

https%3A%2F%2Fdrive.google.com%2Ffile%2Fd%2F1de8pjjpangMYDwGSsmmdVe6YTFiBYN_E%2F

URL: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1de8pjjpangMYDwGSsmmdVe6YTFiBYN_E/

EXIF Data Message: bb bbtb w tbtt ttt bbt w bt btb b w bbt tb btt bb btbb btbb bb tb ttb w t ttt w btbb ttt ttt tbt

Morse code (b = ".", t = "-", w = "/") BTW: .. ..-. / -.-- --- ..- / .- .-. . / ..- -. .-- .. .-.. .-.. .. -. --. / - --- / .-.. --- --- -.-

Solution: IF YOU ARE UNWILLING TO LOOK

The complete coded message so far in order is:

More deeply than you have before

The answer is five

But what is the question

More deeply than you have before

You may never learn

You may never know

If you are unwilling to look

Rearranged, this could be:

The answer is five

But what is the question

You may never learn

You may never know

If you are unwilling to look

More deeply than you have before

Сhannel description

Code: 123 124 130 40 62 40 102 114 125 105 40 126 40 105 124 130 40

Octal

Solution: STX 2 BLUE V ETX

Responses

Believing that the entity desired a response from us, we have several times taken action to communicate.

The first message was posted by our account L. Wittengenstein to G. Ryle's wiki user talk page during the time we were working to solve cipher 8. This message took the form of distorted SMPTE color bars with a payload hidden inside. Cipher 9 is presumably at least partially a response, given the inclusion of a Q-code in its message.

The day after cipher 9 was dropped, a simpler message was posted to G. Ryle's page that consisted of a binary code asking a straight-forward question.

On the 26th of June, a video under the title "DROP #10 NOT FULLY RECOGNIZED" was added to the talk page that led to the StrotherMartin video that was prepared for the entity.

In mid-July, a message was sent to Cyan's support center, suggesting they might need to investigate some strange happenings on their content, including a link to the unlisted YouTube video from Cipher 8. Around July 13, a response was received:

Your ticket's title gave us a momentary scare - that's the kind of subject line we'd expect to see from a spammer! Thankfully, our excellent I.T. folks keep a constant vigilant eye on Cyan's computer network. If they find anything out of the ordinary, they alert the proper authorities about it. As of today, nothing is amiss.

We appreciate both your and the community's concern, but there are no security issues to be found in Cyan's systems.

The community believes there is a troll attempting to access our network? Have they discovered who it is? If not, have they considered recruiting more players to review and monitor the suspect activity? Being creators of puzzle games, we've found sometimes it takes many people, as opposed to a few, or just one, to find the right path to follow to a possible solution. Working together as a team, with many eyes on any one problem, often produces better results.

Best of luck as you navigate this curious activity!

On the 27th of July, a Zoom meeting invite was posted to the talk page, scheduled for July 30th. The meeting occurred with a few discord users joining, but no 'ghost' joined. However, leading up to the start of the meeting, a comment was entered in discord: "T minus 10 minutes and counting". Shortly afterwards, it was noticed the channel topic had changed to the 'Major Tom (Coming Home)' video link (97 dots) which might have been a response to our attempts.

On August 2nd, a linked message, and one coded comment, consisting of several images and another code was sent out in response to the channel topic changing to "Jimmy Eat World - My Best Theory", with 96 dots. We had also left a comment in the user talk changelog.

On August 17th, a message consisting of a Youtube playlist of songs compiled by user T-SquaredProductions, in an attempt to try to communicate on a level that the entity may understand, was posted to the G. Ryle user talk page, including another comment in the user talk changelog.

Theories

Overall Message?

Cipher 8 is a bunch of red herrings to prove the point that we aren't supposed to be focusing on the ciphers themselves

User T-SquaredProductions on Discord shared their interpretation of the overall message (addendums in brackets by T-SquaredProductions on June 10th, 2021):

1. Testing One Two Three - “Hello, is this working?”
2. Hello World Alive Soon TM - “I’m here. [I seem to be transmitting correctly.]”
3. Hello. Is there anybody out there? Just nod if you can hear me. Is there anyone home? (Verbatim)
4. I mean what they and their hired psychiatrists call delusional systems. Needless to say, ‘delusions’ are always officially defined. We do not have to worry about questions of real or unreal. They only talk out of expediency. It’s the system that matters. How the data arrange themselves inside it. Some are consistent, others fall apart. - “[This message is not what you think it is.] Are you ready/prepared properly to receive this message?”
5. I'll send an SOS to the world, I hope that someone gets my, message in a bottle. /// I must remain (silent | hidden | unfound) / (them | you | we | us) make contact / (yesterday | soon | now) (Verbatim)
6. Such in outline is the official theory. I shall often speak of it, with deliberate abusiveness, as “the dogma of the ghost in the machine.” I hope to prove that it is entirely false, and false not in detail but in principle. It is not merely an assemblage of particular mistakes. It is one big mistake and a mistake of a special kind. It is, namely, a category mistake. /// Please Make (Meeting | Connection | Meeting) / (Attend | Listen | Get | Hear) / Can (They | Them | All | You) Hear Me - “I [, Ghost in the Machine,] will talk fast and a lot. If you don’t follow [the message] properly, then [that's your fault, and you will be or] you're making [a] big mistake[s along the way].”
7. We all act because we’re sure of what we want, and we believe that the actions we perform will get us what we want, but we never know anything for sure, and so all our rationales are invented to justify what we were going to do anyway before we thought of any reasons.- “Don’t have any preconceptions about [what] this [message contains or how it will be presented. Have a clear and neutral mind], because you might mess it up”

Cipher 10

The block pattern at the end of cipher 10 may be a date, as if one interprets the code as [ Blank=00, Half=01, Bright=10 ], and reads it from left to right, top to bottom (like a normal European-based sentence), one gets this:

00001001

01100100

00010010

Which when translated into Octal, gives this number: 02262022

Which can also be changed into a valid American-style date: "02-26-2022"

Ciphertext permutation notes

For the remaining unsolved ciphertexts in Cipher 10, it was discovered that using a railfence rearrangement with 6 rails and an offset of 5 would create strings from each one where the opening parentheses '(' is at the beginning. Here are the strings, in order of presentation, when that transformation is applied:

(elulyiiilk)lthmcqqbbyerhfctaayahglmnln

(wqhvy)mlapfbigalmjracyqkilq

(gg)neminenvtacqgwoglnwmrweuia

(rg)haqhpirqcvvehtdswkxqradmxxsdb

(jmkee)pcvoyxwqrznlcdwyeeqdg

(enussllzlqhlpyajxy)qtiexgkurnnajaenzrocqq

(aqpo)rrajeesxnckwxuieosqjbki

(jk)uvzqoozzorsfbiezpnkbnzapwawjn

Then, if another railfence step is applied, with varying numbers of rails (listed before each string), it almost gets the closing parentheses ')' at the end of each one.

25:(elulyiiilklhcqbehcayhlnnlmgaatfrybqmt)

17:(wqhvymafiamrcqiqlkyajlgbpl)

15:(geievaqwgnmwuaierwlogctnnm)gn

18:(rghqprcvhdwxrdxsbdxmaqkstevqiha)

17:(jmkeepvywrncweqgdeydlzqxoc)

17:(nszhyxqeknaanrcqqozejnuxtyalllueslqpj)igr

17:(aqporaesnkxioqbikjseuwcxejr)

18:(jkuzozosbepknawwnjapzbnzifrzoqv)

Cipher 11

Dates that fit in February and June, as suggested by the numbers 2, 2, and 6 that link to the Bruce, Paul and Jim images from Cipher 11, fall in range of war attacks (international or civil war alike). The numbers also lend credence to the theory of the octal translation of the block pattern. Also suggested is that our interaction with this individual has kicked off a programmed countdown to a cataclysmic war, as suggested by the quotes, themes and plot points from WarGames, and A Clockwork Orange (a film dealing in graphic violence and themes), and the only way to stop it is to deliver a message to a proper name or address.