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Fermilab Calls For Code Crackers

Posted by kdawson on from the finding-patterns-where-none-may-exist dept.

atrocious cowpat passes along a call for help from symmetry magazine, the joint publication of Fermilab and SLAC, noting: "Could be just plain gibberish, it could be something like those wonderfully weird letters to the Mount Wilson observatory, or it could be a message from aliens who just happened to have gotten their hands (tentacles/exoskeleton) on a fax machine." "A little over a year ago, the Fermilab Office of Public Affairs received a curious letter in code (4.4-MB image here). It has been sitting in our files all that time and we haven't had much of a chance to look into breaking the code, nor are we particularly expert at this!"

38 of 392 comments (clear)

  1. Clearly.. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    It's Dr. Emma Russells formula for cold fusion.

  2. Well obviously... by clonan · · Score: 4, Funny

    The Roswel aliens that were stranded on earth brainwashed some NEC employees who planted the code in all fax machines to send the fax to fermilabs who then posts it on the internet (which would be invented in 40 years) and thereby transmitted to mars...

    Makes perfect sense!

  3. I'm not positive about my translation by Eevee · · Score: 5, Funny

    But it seems he's from Nigeria and wants help tranferring money out of the country.

    1. Re:I'm not positive about my translation by Hinhule · · Score: 4, Funny

      Really?
      I got an "ASCII" version of goatse :-/

  4. Well, obvious stuff: by morgan_greywolf · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Three "stanzas" maybe.

    Starting with the "middle" stanza, that appears to be some sort of "key" perhaps. Each of the different symbols correspond to a different hexadecimal digit.

    In the first stanza, each grouping of lines has 1, 2 or 3 lines.

    In the last stanza, each group of lines is only 1 or 2 lines.

    Maybe the last stanza is binary?

    And maybe the first stanza is base 3?

    Anyone else care to wager a guess?

    --
    My blog
    1. Re:Well, obvious stuff: by spydum · · Score: 4, Funny

      Agreed, first grouping is probably base-3, 2nd is key with the index being hex, and 3rd grouping is base-2.. and if I convert it out.. it ends up drawing an image of the goatse.cx guy... damnit!

    2. Re:Well, obvious stuff: by morgan_greywolf · · Score: 5, Informative

      Mirror here. I think Google's servers can probably handle the traffic. ;)

      --
      My blog
    3. Re:Well, obvious stuff: by azzuth · · Score: 5, Funny

      That's funny, when i converted it and then etch it onto a vinyl i got Rick Roll'd

    4. Re:Well, obvious stuff: by baffled · · Score: 5, Funny

      You're thinking waaay too deep.

      Turn the page 90 degrees clockwise.

      It says 'Hi'

    5. Re:Well, obvious stuff: by funaho · · Score: 4, Funny

      The world's first rickroll-by-fax?

  5. The dots by personalo · · Score: 4, Interesting

    My question is: Are the tiny dots in the background a dirty fax or photocopier artifact or are they, in fact, the code.

  6. Google recruiting? by spydum · · Score: 5, Interesting

    Perhaps Google is targeting Fermilab scientists for hiring.. Don't they have a history of using strange riddles and puzzles for hiring purposes?

    1. Re:Google recruiting? by BigJClark · · Score: 4, Interesting


      EA posted billboards all over Vancouver, BC awhile, that had char *msg[] = { "10", "43", "14" } (not real values) and essentially it was the ascii decimal equivilant of "Now Hiring".

      I thought that was pretty trick.

      --

      Hi, I Boris. Hear fix bear, yes?
    2. Re:Google recruiting? by snaFu07 · · Score: 4, Informative

      Picture here: http://images.fastcompany.com/blog/121503billboard.jpg

  7. Hmmm... by Omicron32 · · Score: 5, Funny

    4.4MB image link on the front page of Slashdot? I sense a great disturbance in the force...

    1. Re:Hmmm... by mapkinase · · Score: 4, Funny

      Well, right now I do not sense no nothing except "Loading..."

      --
      I do not believe in karma. "Funny"=-6. Do good and forbid evil. Yours, Oft-Offtopic Flamebaiting Troll.
  8. Interesting... by wile_e_wonka · · Score: 5, Funny
    Very odd indeed! I received this cryptic message (which it seems I've seen before):

    Error!
    Could not connect to remote server

    You tried to access the address http://www.symmetrymagazine.org/breaking/wp-content/uploads/2008/05/fnalcodeletter.jpg, which is currently unavailable. Please make sure that the Web address (URL) is correctly spelled and punctuated, then try reloading the page.
  9. Re:WTF slashdot? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

    I clicked on this article and a popup advertisement came up. What the hell?? Means you started Internet Explorer instead of your usual browser. WTF were you thinking?

  10. Mathamatically speaking.... by hengdi · · Score: 5, Funny

    There are 113 symbols, each of which is either 1, 2 or 3 strokes. So it is essentially a 113 digit base 3 number.

    This limits the amount of information that the message is trying to pass.

    For example, using base 26 - all the letters - means we could convey the same information in ??? digits.

    Oh damn it. I'm too drunk and Google ain't working for me. Perhaps someone could give a value for ???

    But I'm betting it won't be very many digits. I.e. this message is very short.

    1. Re:Mathamatically speaking.... by mr_mischief · · Score: 5, Funny

      Jose Cuervo Especial, 750 ml, 12-pack case.

      Mystery solved!

      Damn, Google has us spoiled.

  11. It's a trap! by Mortiss · · Score: 4, Funny

    Crackers do not fall for this trap. It is an obvious attempt to spread the Snow Crash!

  12. Strange... by BlueStrat · · Score: 4, Funny

    It seems to be some sort of construction/zoning notice. Something about a hyperspace-bypass being put in...

    Cheers!

    Strat

    --
    Progressivism (aka US 'Liberalism'): Ideas so good they need a police/surveillance-state to enforce.
  13. Okay, let's do this! by The+Insane+One · · Score: 5, Funny

    Just let me get a pencil and some paper.

    "All your base are belo"

    Oh crap.

  14. I've seen this before by Crash+McBang · · Score: 5, Funny

    The translation comes out as:

    My name is Kosh Naranek.

    I am writing this brief letter to bring to your attention a business offer which we believe you might find attractive.
    Mrs Maria Garibaldi; wife of one a wealthy Martian executive (Late Mr. Michael Garibaldi) seeks a business assistance from a reliable and reputable businessman to invest and manage funds to the tune of 15 Million Credits...

    --
    To put a witty saying into 120 characters, jst rmv ll th vwls.
  15. Source? by aleph42 · · Score: 4, Interesting

    Any hint on the source, or at least why they consider it important?

    Not to be harsh, but if I send some random code letter to some lab, I guess (hope) it won't make the news, even on slashdot.

    --
    Don't take my posts literally; it's just code to control my botnet.
  16. Mirrored Copy by LaptopZZ · · Score: 5, Informative

    I mirrored it on my server as well as made a scaled down version which is just as readable as the original (unless you're making a poster).

    http://www.pixabug.com/aliens/fnalcodeletter.jpg

    http://www.pixabug.com/aliens/fnalcodeletter_sanesize.jpg

    Happy Cracking

    --
    -=LaptopZZ=-
  17. I've managed to decipher the final section... by DirtySouthAfrican · · Score: 5, Funny

    It reads "Use only Genuine Interocitor Parts". Seems gibberish to me.

  18. I've seen this before.... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Funny

    It's obviously Woodstock. He's telling Snoopy about encryption.

  19. I think it says... by Uncle+Focker · · Score: 4, Funny

    'PC Load Letter'? What the fuck does that mean?

  20. B E S... by mcmonkey · · Score: 4, Funny

    U R E T O D R I N K Y O U R O V A L T I N E

    --
    "Lameness filter encountered. Post aborted!"

    Everyone's a critic.

  21. Re:The raw numbers by Iamthecheese · · Score: 4, Interesting

    If I change the 1s to 0 and the 2s to 1, I get some interesting bits.
    "J)IEQ)"""$curren;\QHquot;$)T

    --
    If video games influenced behavior the Pac Man generation would be eating pills and running away from their problems.
  22. DNA sequence? by fahrbot-bot · · Score: 5, Funny
    1. Four DNA characters: A, C, G, T
    2. Four character sequences: |, ||, |||, (space)
    3. Determine character mapping.
    4. ...
    5. Velociraptor.
    --
    It must have been something you assimilated. . . .
  23. Real problem solvers comment here by Jhan · · Score: 4, Informative
    (trying to move the interesting stuff to the top) The top and bottom part of the code code the same data. The little indentation at the beginning of the line is important and means that the previous line continues. The indentation in the bottom bottom part is of, perhaps because of writing conditions. The top part consists of five trinary numbers of lengths 29, 46, 14, 14, 8 digits. The bottom part consists of five binary numbers of lengths 75, 110, 37, 36, 8 digits. My best transcription, probably with errors:

    char trinary[8][40]={
    "323233331112132", // 15
    "33323132212331", // 14 29
    "2111331132312233", // 16
    "333212123213113", // 15
    "311333313331111", // 15 46
    "211333323232211", // 14 14
    "232313331121231", // 14 14
    "33231312"}; // 8 8
    char binary[8][40]={
    "111010110101010101101010101110101101", // 36
    "1101101101011101011011101011011101111", // 37 75
    "1111010101101101011101010101110111011", // 37
    "0111010110110111011101110111011101110", // 37
    "111011011101110101101110100011101011", // 36 110
    // Should have been more clearly to the left?
    "1010110111011101110110111010101110111", // 37 37
    // Should have been two steps to the left?
    "011011011101101110110111010110111010", // 36
    "110101011"};
    --

    I choose to remain celibate, like my father and his father before him.

    1. Re:Real problem solvers comment here by bodan · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Not a critique as such and only vaguely on topic: Does anyone else find it interesting that parent found it natural to represent ternary using 1-2-3 and binary using 0-1?

      That was actually my first instinct too when I was "reading" the thing...

      --
      "I think I am a fallen star. I should wish on myself."
  24. FRANK SHOEMAKER WOULD CALL THIS NOISE by wirelessbuzzers · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The first part is ternary, with 3 substituted for 0. It's somewhat miswrapped, but it appears to say "FRANK SHOEMAKER WOULD CALL THIS NOISE".

    --
    I hereby place the above post in the public domain.
    1. Re:FRANK SHOEMAKER WOULD CALL THIS NOISE by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Informative

      It's true:
      remove the linebreaks from the first block, interpret # of lines as trinary digits 0,1,2 (|->0, ||->1, |||->2) and you get

      212 122 220 001 021
      222 120 211 012 201
      000 220 021 201 122
      222 101 012 102 002
      200 222 202 220 002
      002 222 121 211 022
      120 222 001 012 022
      120 201

      Converting to alphabet by 000->a, 001->b, ... , 221->z, 222->' ', we get:

      xrybh pwftayhtr kflcs uycc qwip bfipt

      Write a script to check possible letter substituions against a dictionary, and you find that the substitution cipher
      abcdefghijklmnopqrstuvwxyz
      nl  o ki wu   strdec hfa

      converts this to "frank shoemaker would call this noise"; maybe a coincidence, but looking likely.

    2. Re:FRANK SHOEMAKER WOULD CALL THIS NOISE by femtobyte · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Last stanza:
      consider the || separators between trinary digits |, | |, | | |; decode as for first stanza, gives:
      tadcfmtt blaztr zyppt pioqttb ->
      "employee number basse sixteen"

      thus, the central numbers are probably the employee # of the prank letter writer. Someone at Fermilab could probably check this (maybe Frank Shoemaker?)

      I think we've solved it!

  25. Re:Context? by Garridan · · Score: 4, Funny

    All this reminds me of my algebra prof's (apparently) favorite poem: "One-one was a racehorse, and One-two was one too. One-one won one race, and One-two won one too."