A very unique puzzle

[Smith]

I believe this puzzle will be a challenge, but then again I've seen some really challenging puzzles solved around here in "no time". This is a puzzle of my own creation. I will check in often to answer questions (Eastern time zone, and I have a job, so "often" is a relative concept). If there is no evidence of a solution on the horizon, I will post hints in 24-hour increments. This is a quotation followed by the author/speaker's name. The one clue I will give is

at the top.

s3(90)*w2*n3*s1(225)*w2*w1*s2w3 n2*s2e2 w4*n2e1*w3*s1e1 n1e3 e2*s2e2*w1 n1e1*s1w4 n2w3*e3*s1w3*n1e1*w2*s2w3. n2e1*s1e4*w2*n1*w1*s2w3 n2*s2e2 w4*n2e1*w3*s1e1 s1e3*n1w2*s1w2 n2e1*n1*s2(90)*e8 n1w3*s1w3*s1w2*n1e3 n3*s2(180) e1*e1*n1w3*s1e1 s1w3*n2e2*s2e2*n2w2*s2w3 n2*s2(180)*n1w2 w8*w3*w4. s1*n1*s1w1 n1w2*s2*n1w3*w8*w4*s1

[Morningstar]

Compass directions? north, south, east, west?

numbers in parentheses are degree measures?

[Smith]

Morningstar, you are correct on both counts.

[Guest]

Is my assumption correct?

That you start with the alphabet in a grid, each code segment gives a direction and number of steps to go from one letter to the next

[Guest]

that the numbers (90), (225), (90), (180) & (180) are the degrees through which to rotate the grid (ie paper) at that point? If so, the implication of having (225) so early, and the opening hint, together suggest that the starting orientation of grid is as a diamond?

[Smith]

thoughtfulfellow, you are correct. The asterisks are separators, the spaces are spaces, punctuation is what it is.

caliban, I will answer "no" to your assumption, though you are not far off. The numbers are indeed degrees though they are not used to "rotate the grid" so much as to determine what direction to move in when the direction given would otherwise be ambiguous.

Here is the next official clue. I could not wait 24 hours! Next clue in about 4 hours.

From North to South I'm A to Z

With 2 Pi R around me three

(Speaking, of course, latitudinally).

Edited December 30, 2011 by Smith

[Smith]

As promised (but really, this may make it TOO EASY...):

Lateral distance means nothing to me

yet roundabout 8 stops I see

(If moving East, alphabetically).

[Molly Mae]

As promised (but really, this may make it TOO EASY...):

Lateral distance means nothing to me

yet roundabout 8 stops I see

(If moving East, alphabetically).

Do your 8 steps begin with K and end with O?

[Smith]

Molly Mae ... no.

8 steps or 8 spots, if either Eastward or Westward, would take you from K to K (to cite your example).

Edited December 30, 2011 by Smith

[Molly Mae]

8 steps or 8 spots, if either Eastward or Westward, would take you from K to K (to cite your example).

That I figured, so 7 letters across. I just can't figure out the shape of the thing. I have some pretty bad ones here...

[Morningstar]

I assume 2 pi R means 2π radians, or 360 degrees. Something to do with circles...

[Morningstar]

Yay for math knowledge!

[Smith]

Yes, Morningstar. That is exactly right.

[curr3nt]

Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you fall into an open sewer and die.

Mel Brooks

After you gave the east/west 8 clue I went looking for quote authors with a name of 3 and 6 with double letters in the middle of the last name. Now to reverse engineer your code to figure out how it works...

[Smith]

Curr3nt, I believe solving a puzzle means going after any and every clue you can find. Congrats! I do want to see someone describe my coding object to me as part of the answer.

[Morningstar]

Tragedy is when I cut my finger. Comedy is when you fall into an open sewer and die.

Mel Brooks

After you gave the east/west 8 clue I went looking for quote authors with a name of 3 and 6 with double letters in the middle of the last name. Now to reverse engineer your code to figure out how it works...

How did you know it was a quote? Am I missing something here?

[Smith]

Curr3ent solved the puzzle, but does not know how it truly works (yet). Here then is the final clue:

Now one last clue for the puzzle I've built

You'll find that my world does not tilt,

So North means "up" and South means "down"

And East and West go straight around.

[Smith]

Morningstar, read the OP. I state that the text is a quote and that the Author/speaker's name is also given.

[Molly Mae]

Curr3nt, I believe solving a puzzle means going after any and every clue you can find. Congrats! I do want to see someone describe my coding object to me as part of the answer.

I think I got it in one of my methods, but I can't be too sure. I think I have the beginning wrong...I can't get to Tragedy from the top using this method.

    A							     

   B C								  

  D E F								   

 G H I J								    

K L M N O								     

 P Q R S

  T U V

   W X

    Y

    Z

I hope that shows up right.

Anyway, if you go from M and use the directions for MEL BROOKS, it seems to work. It's just not 8, so the shape is probably off.

EDIT: I also want to note that I and J are likely merged. Q is likewise skipped.

Edited December 30, 2011 by Molly Mae

[Guest]

edited - i forgot ot use spoiler

Edited December 30, 2011 by TYounghb

[Guest]

I believe the shape of the puzzle should be a sphere. i hope the grid below is descriptive enough. The columns dont line up but a letter would be under each degree column.

0 45 90 135 180 225 270 315

1 A

2 B C D E F G H I

3 J K L M N O P Q

4 R S T U V W X Y

5 Z

[Smith]

That is correct, TYounghb!

The quote was one attributed to Mel Brooks - See Curr3nt's solution on page 2.

The structure of the code key is a globe, or sphere, as discovered by TYounghb, with A at the "north pole" and Z at the "south pole".

Three rings of 8 letters each encircle the globe, one at the "equator" and one in each hemisphere at 45 degrees latitude. The letters on each of the three rings are spaced every 45 degrees longitude around the globe. This yields 3x8+2 letters, or 26.

Starting with A at the north pole, we drop south 45 degrees along the "prime meridian" (longitude 0) and place the B. Moving east in 45 degree increments we drop C, D, E, F, G, H, and I. Another 45 degrees east takes us back to B - this completes the first ring of letters at north 45 degrees LATITUDE, so we drop another 45 degrees SOUTH (to the equator) and begin dropping the letters J through Q. Down to the southern hemisphere for the letters R through Y, and the south pole gets the Z.

If laid out correctly, the 135 degree longitude reads EMU north-to-south, excluding the poles.

Movement from either pole requires a heading, given in degrees, the set of acceptable values being 0, 45, 90, 135, 180, 225, 270, and 315. Once arrived at either pole, you can no longer move in that direction.

If this does not give you a good picture of my "Smith Cypher Sphere" (or "Emu Stone"), ask for a better example and I'll see what I can conjure up.

[Smith]

Further comments on the solution...

I do not know if this type of Cipher has been created before, I made this up myself. It would be nice to think I was the first, but it's probably doubtful.

What I like about this globe is that a person could roll it over to any letter in the alphabet, call it the north pole, and pick a second letter from any one of the three longitudinal rings to call "longitude 0" (any time a letter sits directly on top, the remaining letters will form three rings of eight and one letter will be found on the bottom).

Using these two pieces of data as a starting point, the procession of letters in the message may then be written in the form of North/south and East/West distances.

With 26 possibilities for the north pole x 8 possible rotations, there are 208 possible variations from the "Smith Cipher Shere" (I love to name things after me).

To really liven things up, the initial key could consist of a single letter and three words with completely unique letters. The Cipher Sphere is then constructed using the single letter at the north pole and the first letter of each of the three words at longitude 0, latitude n45, equator, s45. Now fill in the remaining spots, in alphabetical order, moving east-to-west on the three rings (working north-to-south) with the remaining unused letters of the alphabet.

For example, B QUACK WELD FOX yields:

B

Q U A C K G H I

W E L D J M N P

F O X R S T V Y

Z

The possibilities are (practically) endless!