#code cracking

When Dickens sat down to compose the Tavistock letter, he would have been amused to consider that, almost 165 years later, it would be pulled to pieces, endlessly analysed and ultimately deciphered by, among others, a 20-year-old student from Ohio called Ken Cox. “I thought it was mind-boggling that there was something he’d written that nobody had read yet,” says Cox, a fan of puzzles, Dickens and even shorthand, who studies cognitive science at the University of Virginia.

So what does the Tavistock letter say? Sadly, it is not notes for – or even part of – a long-lost short story, although there is hope that the other documents may include fiction. What it does reveal is a suitably convoluted tale of a canny businessman who has reached a fraught juncture in his love life and literary career, and is now leaning on his connections and the courts for help.

One of my favorite quotes will be hidden behind this. See if you can crack it.

SAA O LMPE OD O LMPE MPYJOMH.

The Uncrackable Code

Date: Jul 8, 2019

Artist: Jim Sanborn

For as long as I can remember, the gift giving tradition between myself and INTP has been... well, difficult. By which I mean, we enjoy making it difficult, or at the very least interesting, for the receiver to open said gift. 

There was the stock standard ‘I’ve wrapped it in umpteen layers’, the old favourite ‘I just covered the entire thing in one continuous roll of sticky tape’, the ‘I’ve woven zip ties around it so that it covers the entire thing’ and of course the ‘I’ve just created this weird pyramid box so that you can’t guess what’s inside. 

Not to mention the ‘I’ve vivisected this pillow pet, stuffed your present inside and stitched it back up like some bizarre, badly done stuffed animal autopsy.’ (Zippers were later added to this pillow pet and have been a staple in our gift giving ever since, being passed back and forth each Christmas or birthday).

It was fun. It was frustrating. It was....

BOUND TO ESCALATE EVENTUALLY.

Needless to say, it did.

In December of 2015 I arrived at INTP’s house for Christmas gift giving to find this:

waiting for me on the table. Why yes, that is indeed my Christmas present wrapped to look like a burger and beverage. I appreciated the effort and creativity.

Then I started opening it. The lettue, tomato and cheese (wrapped in plastic party table cloths) each contained a volume of Avatar the Last Airbender comic. The buns held cushions, which felt odd because we’d never been the types to give cushions and pretty things like that, but whatever. I shrugged it off and moved on to the meat patty. Inside of which was the vivisected and zippered pillow pet pig-owl. With a new addition to it’s zips: a padlock. 

“Oooookay?” I said, looking from the padlock to INTP and back quizzically.

“Open the drink,” replied INTP, an evil grin on her face. 

I should have run right then, but I have this innate curiosity where I have to know what’s inside of things. Now. Right now. So I opened it, and inside was a cryptext capsule, and modified lyrics to “What’s this?” from Nightmare Before Christmas, essentially telling me that my BIRTHDAY present was inside the pig/owl and the keys to the padlock were inside the cryptex.

Yay.... (o_o)

So basically, I now have my birthday present a month early. IF ONLY I COULD GET INTO IT! On the plus side, I was informed that if I could get into the crpytex early, I could have my present early. YAY MOTIVATION! It was just what my Instant Gratification Issues needed.

As it happens, it only took me about a week to get into the cryptex and I was able to unlock my present to reveal the beautiful, handmade Appa and Momo (Avatar the Last Airbender) cushion covers she’d made for me. (Now the cushions made sense).

On that day, I vowed to give back to her just as bad as she had given me. And with the added bonus of having five months between INTP’s birthday and Christmas. 

Helpfully, INTP set some ground rules to guide us.

Rules of the Gift War Pact: 1) Both Christmas and B'day presents will be presented on the same day (ie, INFP gets a Christmas/B'day present on Christmas and INTP gets a B'Day/ Christmas present on her B'day) 2) There will some obstacle in opening the second present. 3) If the receiver of the gift can solve the obstacle they may open the second present prior to B'Day/ Christmas and a replacement present will be given at that time. 4) If the Receiver does NOT solve the obstacle before their b'day/ Christmas, a hint will be given at that time. 5) The Receiver of the present may not open any 'wrapped' parts of the present without the other party present. 6) Preferably the present will be wrapped to look like something else.

Masonic codes are fun to play with and easy to memorize. If you learn the pattern used to create it, a cipher written with this can be translated in seconds.