PUZZLING

The simplest kind of code is an inverse alphabet substitution cipher. One may be generated by using a keyword (of any length) and then writing out the remaining unused letters of the alphabet so as to end with two rows of thirteen letters each. For example, suppose the keyword were Oglesby. The cipher would then look like this:



OG LESBYACDFHI =

JKMNPQRTUVWXZ =

The cipher equivalent of any letter is the letter lying directly above or beneath it. So in this case Texas would be encoded ANHTP. One help in solving an inverse cipher is that a cipher letter and the letter it represents are reciprocal. That is, if you know that P stands for S, then also each S must represent a P. If the keyword has repeated letters, the extra ones must be eliminated, so that Merry as a keyword would be MERY and Christmas would be CHRISTMA.



The puzzle this month consists of quotations in five different ciphers. Your job? To decode the quotations. Use length and spelling peculiarities of words, their placement, punctuation, etc. to help you break each code. Once you have decoded a quotation, you can by deduction set up the cipher like the example above to discover what the keyword was. The five keywords will make an intelligible sentence, and this sentence is the solution to the puzzle.



For those who like extra hints: if your intuition fails you, brute force will sometimes work. The most common letter in English is E (12.3% frequency) followed by T,A,O,N,I,S,R,H in that order. The most common two-letter words, in order of frequency, are of, to, in, it, is, be, as, at, so. The most common three-letter words, in order: the, and, for, was, his, not, but, you, are. Four letter words: that, with, have, this, will, your, from. For the truly despairing, Z in the five quotations stands respectively for K,J,L,M, and P.



Send your solution with name and address to Puzzling, D Magazine, 2902 Carlisle, Dallas 75204. All correct solutions will be held for one week after receipt of the first entry, at which time a drawing will take place to determine the winners. First winner will receive a $25 cash prize. Runner-up will receive a free one-year subscription to D. Winners and completed puzzle will appear in the November issue.