#definition of cryptography

[programmersshield]

Definition of cryptography

Cryptography can be defined as the science or art of writing or solving codes to secure communications and protect information. It involves the use of mathematical algorithms and techniques to convert plaintext (the original readable form) into ciphertext (the encrypted form) using encryption, and vice versa using decryption......... Read More

[these-godforsaken-halls]

so my computer science education is nice and all and i wrote an absolutely gorgeous recursive backtracking program for this cipher (it's so organized!!) but i've been a bit silly, and cryptography nerds are definitely laughing their asses off at me already.

fun little puzzle (i am better at this now than i was in my second year of uni) but it's not going to do me much (any) good with the hgcz cipher, considering it's just a fancy way to brute force every possible permutation— let me remind you there are 26 factorial of those permutations— how big is 26 factorial? well. let's assume that my computer is incredibly powerful and can compute, like, 1 billion of these permutations per second (it can't) and now how long would it take to get through them all? in years?

sorry, how many years?

ah!

that is... almost the current age of the universe! give or take a few hundred million.

so uh. that was fun but i will be moving on to frequency analysis. i am sure someone smarter has definitely solved this by now, but i am determined...

[anime-potato-san]

SAFEHOUSE CREW WEEK: DAY 2 (The Rook)

Although I believe in Cold War supremacy, bo6 is a good game and I do enjoy the story. Here’s a look into Bell being a part of the Rook crew, mostly daily life and not any specific mission or endgame stuff.

I’m sorry this is a day late-

- Now I personally see Bell coming as an ally of Adler’s, similar to Sev. Either Adler had left a clue about Bell or Bell found out and showed up like the menace that they are.

- It took time for the rest of the crew to get used to Bell. For Woods, he was shocked. For all he knew, Bell was dead. Depending on how Bell arrived, it was the same reaction. Sev, Felix, Case, and Marshall don’t have as strong of a reaction to Bell’s first appearance, more or less curious and cautious.

- Marshall doesn’t exactly trust Bell, at least at first. He’s willing to give her a chance, but still. Marshall is just looking out for his team, after all. He does eventually warm up to her though after a week or so.

- Bell and Adler definitely have tension between them, and it’s noticeable for the rest of the group. Do they get into major fights with each other? Not really. If they did, it wouldn’t be in front of anyone in the group. More just… Bickering. Snarky comments. Bell hasn’t forgotten what Adler did to her, after all.

Yet, though Adler absolutely hates to admit it, they both do get along. Bell often hangs out with him when it’s not with Case or Woods, not that she doesn’t spend time with the others.

Bell is still trying to work on how she feels about Adler…

- Bell and Case get along extremely well. Brainwashed protagonists have to stick together, right? Bell gives Case advice, Case shows her his killing tactics, both train together some days, and they discuss other things as well.

- Bell actually can relate to Felix’s mindset and doesn’t give him slack for not wanting to kill and sometimes tells Sev off despite getting along with her mostly. Free Being regretful of your past and being haunted by guilt is something she knows all to well.

- Despite the lovely scenery of The Rook, Bell can’t help but have her mind venture off to that day on the cliff, facing down Adler. Unfortunately, not much she can do about that, so Bell takes her mind off it by working on cryptography or read something.

- Bell still takes photographs, often insisting to Marshall that they’re critical. It has nothing to do with the fact she loves photography and reminds her of the Safe house back in West Berlin and Lazar. None at all.

- She has her own theories about Pathenon, but nothing concrete. A part of Bell wants to believe that they were the ones responsibility for what happened to her, but she knows it’s just a theory. A GAME THEORY-

- Everyone, yes even Adler due to Marshall’s insistence on making sure everyone is on the same page, is more truthful to Bell than compared to her time at the Safe house in Berlin. She feels more… Included, which honestly makes her feel happy.

[itadoraki]

The Mysteriously Brilliant Student.

—————————————————————————

Night Raven Colle Leaders x R.femele

—————————————————————————

Everyone thought you were just an adorable girl, kind of flying, who kept forgetting the books and making silly jokes. Until, by accident (or loving curiosity), they see your school record.

Not only are your grades absurdly high (A++ in everything), but your works have deep analysis, elegant writing and you still volunteer, cultural events and help the school administration in secret.

And that's when they run out of ground.

—————————————————————————

.

.

Riddle Rosehearts (Heartslabyul)

Riddle always gave you little affectionate scolding for forgetting the time or missing a quote from the rules.

Until, reviewing the bulletins for the next ceremony, he comes across your name... at the top of the overall ranking.

"What?! The first place?!”

He turns pale.

"But she... confused Plato with Pokémon last week!"

When he finds you, you're blowing soap bubbles in the garden.

"Have you... fooled me all this time?"

You smile innocently:

"Uhé, you never asked how good I was writing 20-page essays on political philosophy."

Riddle shes deeply.

"So... do you mean you're perfect? ...Damn, now I feel doubly in love."

⸻ ————————————

Leona Kingscholar (Savanaclaw)

Leona always thought you were cute, but lazy. Like someone who took C+ and forgot he had proof.

Until he saw his history and crashed.

"This girl... takes A++ in everything?!"

He frowns.

"Is this some kind of provocation? So brilliant and acts as if he doesn't know how to do the head?"

He stares at you later, arms crossed.

"How many years have you been hiding behind this innocent little way, huh?"

You:

"Since I realized that it's fun to see the pride of others dismount when they find out."

Leona laughs, pulls you to her lap:

"You are the definition of camouflaged danger... my favorite type."

⸻ ————————————

Ashengrotto Blue (Octavinelle)

Azul thought you were distracted and terrible for business, until he found a report you wrote about applied magical economics. With unprecedented theories.

"This... this analysis... did she even understand the concept of temporal compound interest?! And why are you here... with little stars drawn in the corner?!”

He stares at you, disconcerted:

"Are you a genius disguised as a cheerful fool?"

You, chewing a cupcake:

"It's just that if I look very smart, no one gives me candy."

Blue chokes.

"Wedding. Now."

⸻ ————————————

Vil Schoenheit (Pomefiore)

Vil thought you were dedicated to aesthetics, but a little disconnected from the academic part. Until seeing his dissertation on philosophical aesthetics in classical literature.

He holds the paper as if it were a jewel.

"Did you write that?"

"Uhum. I finished while waiting for my hair tonic to dry."

Vil blinks slowly, as if he were facing a miracle.

"You... are you smart, beautiful, kind and still do volunteer work? Why isn't it reigning in a palace?"

You:

"Because I prefer to stay here... with my king of beauty."

Vil smiles, enchanted:

"You are my hidden masterpiece."

⸻ ————————————

Idia Shroud (Ignihyde)

Idia thought you were the type to confuse USB with a cookie. Until you saw that you are a medalist in logic, cryptography olympiads and still write essays about AI.

"E-She is an S+ in mathematics, literature, psychology... and helps in magical literacy programs! Is this a bug in reality?! An NPC with cheat codes?!”

You appear soon after, offering a cookie decorated with emoji faces.

"Look, I made this one thinking of you!"

Idia is shaking.

"You're like... the secret protagonist of the anime. I'm just the lucky NPC who became the boyfriend."

You laugh and kiss him on the forehead.

"My favorite NPC."

⸻ ————————————

Malleus Draconia (Diasomnia)

Malleus already thought you were mysterious and intriguing... but when he saw that you give lectures in smaller magical schools, write essays on draconic history and lead social actions in remote villages...

"She... is a queen hidden among plebeians?"

He finds you looking at the clouds, making drawings with the wand in the air.

"My dear, why didn't you ever tell me?"

"I like to be just 'your distracted girl' when I'm with you. But the world needs my other version too."

He smiles, touching his hand.

"So I'll be proud to share you with the world... but your heart, that's only mine."

⸻ ————————————

Kalim Al-Asim (Scarabia)

Kalim always loved you - she thought you were fun, funny and full of energy, but she never took you very seriously in class. Once you confused "elementary physics" with "elementary party", and he thought it was hilarious.

But then, one day, he accidentally picks up one of his jobs in the hallway... and freezes. It's a perfect essay about ancestral magic, with historical references, impeccable writing and... signed by you.

"WHAT?! Did she write that?!”

He runs to Jamil with the paper in his hand.

"Look at this! She's a genius!! A real genius!!!”

Later, he finds you in the garden, singing alone with birds and trying to balance an apple on his head.

"You're too amazing! Why didn't you ever tell me you were so smart?"

You smile, shrugging your shoulders:

"I thought it was more fun to let you find out like that."

He hugs you tight, spinning in the air with you.

"You're brilliant, funny, sweet, beautiful... Are you sure you want to be with a guy like me?"

You kiss his cheek:

"Of course. You are my sun... and even geniuses need warmth."

He laughs, drened and in love:

"So let's conquer the world together! But first... let's have a party in his honor!"

—————————————————————————

[spencerneedscoffee]

How would you like it if I bought you a coffee sometime? And I let you talk about whatever niche topic you'd want to? And I tried to keep up as much as I could, and asked appropriate questions?

Now what if it wasn't platonic? :)

That sounds really, really nice. Almost suspiciously nice. I mean, coffee, niche topics, and someone willingly listening without trying to flee the café halfway through an infodump about 19th century cryptography? That’s a rare kind of patience.

As for the not platonic part…well. That definitely complicates things in the most intriguing way. I just wish I knew who you were. I feel like I’m being gently haunted by a very flirty ghost.

-SR

[tomialtooth]

Misc facts about my Bell so far:

- He was born in the Kazakh SSR, his parents were there for work.

- By the time of CW, his mother is still alive

- Perseus was not his father but definitely fulfilled a paternal role for him

- His father died when he was young from a pancreatic infection that went septic

- Perseus and his dad were war buddies and after Bell's father died Perseus stepped in to help

- He studied linguistics and mathematics at University

- Loved puzzles, Chess and other sorts of intellectually stimulating games. He originally got into cryptography as a hobby which was then used first by the kgb and then by Perseus

- Polyglot, he can speak multiple languages in varying degrees of fluency

- Used his knowledge of languages in his cyphers to make them harder to crack

- He may be a bit of a nerd but he's a ripped nerd. Both the military and Perseus made sure of that.

- He's taller than Adler.

- If his life wasn't co-opted first by the military and then by Perseus he would've gone on to become a linguist. Rest in piss Bell you should've been in the ass end of Siberia studying a Yeneisian dialect spoken by like 30 people instead of getting brainwashed by Robert Redford

[night90210]

Idk fucking now

know*

The Zodiac Killer is one of the most infamous unidentified serial killers in American history, active in Northern California during the late 1960s and early 1970s. The name "Zodiac" was self-assigned by the killer in letters sent to newspapers, in which he taunted police and claimed responsibility for multiple murders. His cryptic ciphers, eerie messages, and violent crimes have fascinated true crime enthusiasts and investigators for decades. Despite extensive investigations, the Zodiac Killer's true identity remains a mystery.

The first confirmed Zodiac killings occurred on December 20, 1968, when high school students Betty Lou Jensen and David Faraday were shot and killed near Vallejo, California. The attack seemed random and without motive, but it marked the beginning of a reign of terror that would haunt the Bay Area. Several months later, on July 4, 1969, another young couple, Darlene Ferrin and Michael Mageau, were shot in their car at Blue Rock Springs Park. Mageau survived and provided a description of the attacker, but the case remained unsolved.

Shortly after the second attack, the Zodiac Killer began his infamous letter-writing campaign. On August 1, 1969, three nearly identical letters were sent to the Vallejo Times-Herald, the San Francisco Chronicle, and the San Francisco Examiner. Each letter included a portion of a cryptogram that the killer claimed would reveal his identity. He demanded the newspapers publish them or else he would commit further murders. The cryptograms, consisting of strange symbols and letters, became one of the most perplexing aspects of the case.

A breakthrough came when a California schoolteacher and his wife deciphered the first 408-symbol cryptogram. It did not contain the killer’s name but instead a chilling message expressing his enjoyment of killing. The Zodiac's obsession with cryptography, astrology, and his ability to evade capture only added to the legend. Over time, he sent more letters, with some containing additional ciphers, threats, and bizarre references to movies and pop culture.

One of the most infamous Zodiac attacks occurred on September 27, 1969, at Lake Berryessa. Bryan Hartnell and Cecelia Shepard were relaxing by the lake when a masked man approached them. He tied them up before brutally stabbing them multiple times. The killer then left a message on Hartnell’s car door, including the dates of his previous attacks and his signature symbol—a circle with a cross through it. Shepard later died from her injuries, but Hartnell survived and gave police a description of the attacker.

On October 11, 1969, the Zodiac Killer struck again in San Francisco, murdering taxi driver Paul Stine in the city’s Presidio Heights neighborhood. Unlike previous attacks, this killing appeared more calculated, as the killer took Stine’s wallet, keys, and a piece of his bloodied shirt, which he later mailed to a newspaper. Despite witnesses and a police patrol that unknowingly encountered the killer, he managed to escape once again.

As the years went by, the Zodiac continued to send letters, though they became less frequent. His later messages included more cryptograms, claims of additional murders, and even threats to attack school buses. However, many of his boasts could not be confirmed, leading some to question whether he exaggerated his body count or if he had imitators.

Several suspects have been proposed over the years, but none have been definitively proven to be the Zodiac. One of the most well-known suspects was Arthur Leigh Allen, a convicted child molester who was investigated extensively by police. However, DNA testing on letters attributed to the Zodiac did not match Allen, and no direct evidence linked him to the crimes.

The Zodiac case remains one of the most famous unsolved mysteries in American criminal history. The killer’s use of coded messages, taunting letters, and brutal attacks have inspired countless books, documentaries, and films, including the critically acclaimed movie Zodiac (2007). Amateur sleuths and law enforcement officials continue to analyze old evidence in hopes of unmasking the murderer.

Despite advancements in forensic technology, the identity of the Zodiac Killer remains elusive. New theories and potential leads occasionally emerge, but none have led to a definitive answer. Whether he was one man or multiple individuals, the Zodiac's reign of terror left an indelible mark on crime history, ensuring his place as one of America’s most notorious and enigmatic killers.

[playstationvii]

Jest: A Concept for a New Programming Language

Summary: "Jest" could be envisioned as a novel computer programming language with a focus on humor, playfulness, or efficiency in a specific domain. Its design might embrace creativity in syntax, a unique philosophy, or a purpose-driven ecosystem for developers. It could potentially bridge accessibility with functionality, making coding intuitive and enjoyable.

Definition: Jest: A hypothetical computer language designed with a balance of simplicity, expressiveness, and potentially humor. The name suggests it might include unconventional features, playful interactions, or focus on lightweight scripting with a minimalist approach to problem-solving.

Expansion: If Jest were to exist, it might embody these features:

Playful Syntax: Commands and expressions that use conversational, quirky, or approachable language. Example:

joke "Why did the loop break? It couldn't handle the pressure!"; if (laughs > 0) { clap(); }

Efficiency-Focused: Ideal for scripting, rapid prototyping, or teaching, with shortcuts that reduce boilerplate code.

Modular Philosophy: Encourages user-created modules or libraries, reflecting its playful tone with practical use cases.

Integrated Humor or Personality: Built-in error messages or prompts might be witty or personalized.

Flexibility: Multi-paradigm support, including functional, procedural, and object-oriented programming.

Transcription: An example code snippet for a Jest-like language:

// Hello World in Jest greet = "Hello, World!"; print(greet); laugh();

A Jest program that calculates Fibonacci numbers might look like this:

// Fibonacci in Jest fib = (n) => n < 2 ? n : fib(n-1) + fib(n-2);

joke "What's the Fibonacci sequence? You'll love it, it grows on you!"; n = 10; print("The Fibonacci number at", n, "is:", fib(n));

Potential Domains:

Gamified education

Creative industries

AI-driven storytelling

Interactive debugging

Would you like me to refine or explore additional aspects?

Certainly! If we were to imagine Jest as the brainchild of a creative coder or team, their portfolio would likely include other innovative or experimental programming languages. Let’s expand on this concept and invent some plausible complementary languages the same inventor might have designed.

Related Languages by the Inventor of Jest

Pantomime

Description: A visual programming language inspired by gesture and movement, where users "drag and drop" symbols or create flowcharts to express logic. Designed for non-coders or children to learn programming through interaction.

Key Features:

Icon-based syntax: Conditional loops, variables, and functions represented visually.

Works seamlessly with Jest for creating visual representations of Jest scripts.

Sample Code (Visual Representation): Flowchart blocks: Input → Decision → Output.

Facet

Description: A declarative programming language focusing on creativity and modularity, aimed at artists, designers, and 3D modelers. Facet could integrate well with game engines and creative suites like Blender or Unity.

Key Features:

Embedded visual tools for shaders, animations, and simulations.

Simplified expressions for creative coding (e.g., animations and generative art).

Sample Code:

shape = circle(radius: 10, color: "blue"); animation = wave(shape, amplitude: 5, frequency: 2); render(animation, duration: 10s);

Quip

Description: A lightweight scripting language built for humor, similar to Jest, but more focused on natural language processing, chatbots, and interactive storytelling.

Key Features:

Syntax mirrors conversational English.

Designed for AI integration, especially in storytelling apps.

Sample Code:

character "Alice" says "Hello! What's your name?"; user_input -> name; character "Alice" says "Nice to meet you, {name}!";

Cryptic

Description: A language for designing cryptography algorithms and secure communications. Aimed at developers interested in blockchain, encryption, or cybersecurity.

Key Features:

High-level abstractions for cryptographic primitives.

Secure-by-design philosophy.

Sample Code:

key = generate_key(algorithm: "AES", length: 256); encrypted_message = encrypt("Hello, World!", key); print(encrypted_message);

Harmony

Description: A reactive programming language for building interactive user interfaces, designed to be highly interoperable with Jest and other tools in the suite. Perfect for web developers and app creators.

Key Features:

Two-way data binding with minimal boilerplate.

Component-based architecture.

Sample Code:

component Button { state: clicked = false; onClick() { clicked = !clicked; alert("Button clicked!"); } } render(Button);

Inventor’s Vision

The coder or team behind Jest and these complementary languages would likely be passionate about:

Accessibility: Making programming intuitive and fun for people of all skill levels.

Playfulness: Infusing coding with creativity, humor, and expressiveness.

Interoperability: Ensuring all their languages work well together for larger projects.

Would you like me to dive deeper into one of these languages, conceptualize others, or expand Jest further?

Expanded Concepts and Bridge Languages

Pantomime

Expansion: Adds support for AR/VR interfaces where users use gestures to program logic in 3D space. For example, drawing a loop physically creates a repetitive cycle.

Bridge Language: GestureScript: Converts AR/VR gestures from Pantomime into traditional code for broader applications.

Facet

Expansion: Enhanced for generative AI tools, allowing users to define complex artistic styles and AI-driven procedural designs.

Bridge Language: PixelForge: Focused on exporting Facet code into game engines, enabling real-time rendering pipelines for interactive environments.

Quip

Expansion: Includes pre-trained AI models for dynamic storytelling, allowing Quip scripts to evolve based on user interaction.

Bridge Language: Narrate: Combines Quip scripts with voice-to-text technologies for live storytelling in games or educational tools.

Cryptic

Expansion: Introduces quantum-safe cryptography primitives and allows simulation of blockchain-like ecosystems for testing purposes.

Bridge Language: CipherBridge: Translates Cryptic code into various blockchain frameworks like Ethereum or Solana.

Harmony

Expansion: Gains support for cross-platform development, allowing users to write code for web, mobile, and IoT devices simultaneously.

Bridge Language: Symphony: Converts Harmony components into platform-native scripts for seamless integration.

Additional Bridge Languages

Echo: Bridges Quip and Jest, enabling storytelling code to trigger functional scripts for immersive experiences.

Morph: A universal language that compiles any Jest family code into executable binaries for specific operating systems.

Thread: Integrates Cryptic and Harmony to build secure, reactive user interfaces for fintech applications.

Canvas: Bridges Facet and Pantomime to create interactive art in AR/VR, blending visual coding with gesture inputs.

Let me know if you'd like a deeper dive into any specific language or bridge concept!

Here's a detailed exploration of Echo, Morph, Thread, Canvas, and all previously mentioned languages, emphasizing their unique applications and advanced functionalities.

Expanded Bridge Languages

Echo

Purpose: Links storytelling elements in Quip with functional programming in Jest, enabling dynamic, immersive interactions between narrative and logic.

Key Features:

Story-driven logic triggers: e.g., a character’s dialogue prompts a database query or API call.

Integration with AI tools for real-time responses.

Use Case: AI-driven chatbots that incorporate both storytelling and complex backend workflows.

Sample Code:

story_event "hero_arrives" triggers fetch_data("weather"); response = "The hero enters amidst a storm: {weather}.";

Morph

Purpose: Acts as a meta-compiler, translating any language in the Jest ecosystem into optimized, platform-specific binaries.

Key Features:

Universal compatibility across operating systems and architectures.

Performance tuning during compilation.

Use Case: Porting a Jest-based application to embedded systems or gaming consoles.

Sample Code:

input: Facet script; target_platform: "PS7"; compile_to_binary();

Thread

Purpose: Combines Cryptic's security features with Harmony's reactive architecture to create secure, interactive user interfaces.

Key Features:

Secure data binding for fintech or healthcare applications.

Integration with blockchain for smart contracts.

Use Case: Decentralized finance (DeFi) apps with intuitive, safe user interfaces.

Sample Code:

bind secure_input("account_number") to blockchain_check("balance"); render UI_component(balance_display);

Canvas

Purpose: Fuses Facet's generative design tools with Pantomime's gesture-based coding for AR/VR art creation.

Key Features:

Real-time 3D design with hand gestures.

Multi-modal export to AR/VR platforms or 3D printers.

Use Case: Collaborative VR environments for designers and architects.

Sample Code:

gesture: "draw_circle" → create_3D_shape("sphere"); gesture: "scale_up" → modify_shape("sphere", scale: 2x); render(scene);

Deep Dive into Main Languages

Jest

Philosophy: A playful, expressive scripting language with versatile syntax tailored for humor, experimentation, and creativity.

Core Application: Writing scripts that blend functional programming with a whimsical, human-readable style.

Pantomime

Expanded Features: Includes AI-driven gesture recognition for predictive modeling and natural motion capture.

Advanced Use: Developing AR apps for rehabilitation therapy where exercises are coded as gestures.

Facet

Advanced Use: Procedural generation in games, defining terrains, weather systems, and NPC behaviors with artistic flair.

Quip

Advanced Features: Integrates pre-trained language models for nuanced, character-driven dialogue trees.

Advanced Use: Creating adaptive narratives in games where user decisions alter the story arc.

Cryptic

Advanced Features: Quantum-safe algorithms and AI-enhanced key generation for unbreakable security.

Advanced Use: Designing multi-layered blockchain ecosystems with Cryptic’s high-level abstractions.

Harmony

Advanced Features: Adaptive UIs that respond to user emotion, tracked via AI-enhanced cameras.

Advanced Use: Apps for mental health, where interfaces adjust to user stress levels.

Proposed New Bridge Languages

Chord

Bridges Harmony and Facet for designing interactive music-based visual art.

Use Case: Music videos where the visuals respond to real-time sound input.

Path

Links Cryptic and Canvas for secure AR/VR environments.

Use Case: Virtual meetings in secure, customized 3D spaces.

Fable

Connects Quip and Pantomime for storytelling via interactive gestures.

Use Case: VR education apps where lessons are taught through immersive narratives.

Would you like a specific implementation plan for any of these languages or applications?

[pyrovverse]

THE MILITARY MAN .

Brian Thomas was something of a social butterfly, a mans man. He raised by his father, Robert Thomas, in Auburn, Alabama. In his early years Brian was a friendly, outgoing boy who took on a lot of Roberts ideals and values.

Robert was a veteran who served 10 long years in the military. He had a wide range of knowledge on topics such as weaponry, cryptography, and was a rather disciplined man. As an excitable young boy, Brian would sit by the elders side as stories of war, brotherhood and triumph encompassed his developing mind. The strict, yet good man his father was paved a clear road of friendliness, assertiveness, and firm handshakes for the boy. Cryptology was an interest that Brian picked up from Robert, learning morse code and phonetic alphabet by heart.

In high school, he would begin to develop a keen interest in psychology, interested in how the mind works and how to guide patients through hard times. Deep empathy for others came natural as he would stay true to his fathers teachings of respect, kindness, and maturity in all situations. Brian was an outgoing, charismatic boy with a witty sense of humour. He was the type to light up a room with a clever one-liner or a bright smile. The boy had a good head on his shoulders, and his good grades proved he had a remarkable grasp on the world and his place in it.

After graduation, Brian moved to Tuscaloosa, Alabama where he began working towards a bachelors degree in psychology, and minoring in video production. It was at the University of Alabama where he met Tim Wright, and later an ambitious man named Alex Kralie. During the summer of ‘96, when Brian was 18 years old and in his first year of university, he and his friend Tim joined a cast for a student film called Marble Hornets, filmed and directed by Kralie himself.

Brian would spend 7 long, torturous years falling into the hands of a deep, unshakable sickness from that point on. It started out with a boy blinded with innocence, such a hopeful view on the world, a future to strive towards. His memorable grin would soon fade as he fell victim to a series of gruesome and violent incidents between the unfortunate cast; the main perpetrator being an entity far beyond the groups comprehension. It strung Brian and his peers up and forced their bloody hands like a parasitic puppeteer.

At the end of those seven torturous years, Brian was left alone with a horribly bruised spine from a fall, two dead friends, and blood on his hands. Life would never be the same, and now he was nothing more but a conduit for the strange entities motives, if it had any to begin with. As far as anyone, including his father, was concerned, Brian Thomas was dead. And while he still walked the earth as nothing but a shell of a man, he certainly felt that way.

His optimism and boyish enthusiasm faded through years of torment and harsh lessons from unreality, to be replaced with a much colder, vengeful side. Brian would dance with criminals, tango with killers. He would put on a face, the Hooded Man, or Hoodie, to protect his real identity and possibly to make the cruel persona a bit more real. He did what needed to be done, and a good, friendly person he was no longer.

Brian Thomas continued his life holding the values of his father close to his nearly unbeating heart. And while now he was a monster by any definition, he stayed true to his word, and his handshakes were always firm. This is the life the man would make for himself, carrying the weight of the sickness and the underground on his sore back. This was all that was left after the war, if he ever had gotten out of it.

[thecluehunt]

welcome to the clue hunt!

how does this thing work?

to join the search for the 39 clues you will need to concoct a serum that will make you(r branch) all-powerful and set for world domination. follow this blog and/or like this post to register:)

this is an online clue hunt based on tumblr inspired by the 39 clues series. you do not have to have read the series to participate, although it might be more fun if you have!

a list of 39 elements, each with an associated number to account for its quantity in the final serum, has been determined and will soon be circulated across the threads of the interwebs. the goal of this clue hunt will be to collect all of these clues for your branch!

there will be four branches the participants will be loosely divided into based on their interests (will elaborate on this in a bit). the lucians (red, the cunning branch, think codes and logic and conniving), the ekaterinas (yellow, the stem branch), the tomas (blue, the athletic branch, which in the context of this clue hunt translates to gamers/shit that requires good motor skills) and the janus (green, the artistic branch)

each participant will be given a few clues at the start of the game. you will randomly be alloted into branches UNLESS you send an ask to this blog with a preferred branch. to make sure each branch has more or less equal numbers, asking for a specific branch will mean you will be given less clues than other participants at the start of the game (i.e. there is an advantage to random branch assignment).

you will be told your final branch privately and will not be revealed the branches of any other participants.

you will be required to hide the few clues given to you across the interwebs (there won't be many clues don't worry) in internet trails, using codes, links, metaphors, required tasks you need to complete to attain the clue, etc etc. this will largely be up to you and you will be allowed to use your creative license - but you will have to send your trail to this blog to make sure it is workable and not too vague lol. i will edit/fine tune everything and if you can't think of anything i will make a trail for you

if you pick your own branch, you will be required to incorporate the core values of your branch into your trails. so for the janus this means hiding clues in art, for lucians this means codes and cryptography related things maybe, etc etc.

write your tumblr url somewhere near where you leave the clue so people know you left it there!

a map will be provided with the location of each clue around the world, colour coded. so for example, myrrh, a clue from the original series, is an ekaterina clue native to north africa. so, a yellow dot representing myrrh will be marked in this region. this can be used to find out what branches other members are in. for example, if you find out a fellow participant hid the clue myrrh, you can deduce they are from the ekaterina branch because there is a yellow dot in the region it's from. if you are also an ekat, this means you can trust them with your clues because you're on the same team:)

a certain number of clues will not be given to any participants and will be withheld as madrigal clues. these will be hidden by me:)

you can recruit members who haven't registered to help you with your hunt well into the game! however, you need to have registered at the beginning (i.e. be following this blog and like this post) to receive your own clues

any/all forms of cheating and backstabbing will be allowed (for everyone except me/the madrigals that is):D

to help with organizing if you don't want to participate, you can join the madrigals! we are a neutral team who cannot by definition win and are just having fun organizing all this lol

more details including duration, prizes, etc will be shared/updated later!

happy hunting!

tagging people who interacted with my post about this: @the39cluesian @iankabra @yakalll @angelkat-x @icamebackfromnarnia @39addict101 @manicpixiess @bilhert @mediodedios @toiletpotato @39starrygurl @gaslighting69 @nimonaaaa @dinatela @amianislovely @fandom-oracle @sarasanddollar @carpe-astrae @ghost-in-a-cup @cosmo-babe @kadalakari

[bronzemettle]

FireSt4rters

Human Torch of the Fantastic Four started a dating app in 2016 called "FireSt4rters", exclusively for superpowered or nonhuman people of any origin. Mutants, aliens, Atlanteans, gods, science experiments gone wrong... All are welcome, mask-wearing heroes or otherwise (as long as they're not just ordinary humans using body-external tech bc that's really not the same social experience and the app is supposed to be built on solidarity to the experience of being irreversibly different). (Also, if you have a legal human identity, you have to be over 21, he's not taking chances about any grooming allegations.)

He has Baxter Building geeks designing the cryptography to maintain the anonymity/secret identities of its users, so that it can safely cater to not only the publicly liked, but also some "villains", or the severely marginalized/legally discriminated.

Considering how common polyamory is among superheroes and aliens, it's built more like a full social media site where you can make posts to your own profile (think something between the site we're on now and old-timey Facebook in 2008-2010), but also has a matching feature. People have Friends lists, Romantic Partners lists, FwBs lists, Family lists, Recurring Casual Hookups lists, Allies lists, Comrades lists, Domestic Partners lists, Crushes lists, Best Enemies lists, Lovers lists, etc. all managed separately from each other and each one able to search for new matches separately too.

(I had already had this concept when I wrote this other post about which social media superheroes use for their group chats, but I forgot to include it. A lot of chatting on all sides of the aisle, Avengers, X-Men, Justice League, definitely happens on FireSt4rters)

[nimuetheseawitch]

director’s commentary: experts in a dying field

Alright, time to dig in. I saw this ask and set the scene for myself by brewing a cup of (decaf) English breakfast, pulling up my laptop, and putting on Glenn Gould's recording of Bach's Well-Tempered Clavier, Books I & II. To add to the academic vibes, there's even a fireplace and ivy in this room.

I'm going to start with my notes doc and then reread the fic and write anything that comes to mind, so it's probably gonna be long, and I'm putting it all under a cut.

I just opened my notes doc for this fic/series, and of course, the first thing I see is copy-pasted notes from conversations with you. This is how it all began:

nimuetheseawitch: I want a Jake as a math professor AU  A little OOC, but I want him to not be aware of how attractive he is  He wanted to be a naval aviator, but something uncontrollable stopped him (like him being colorblind or something), and he was a scrawny kid in high school, then a math major, and he never got over thinking of himself as a nerd  hero-in-waiting: Ooooo. Maybe he had some bad teenage years and went into math and never really realized he grew up well.  nimuetheseawitch: He is cocky about his math though  Very Jeff Goldblum in Jurassic Park and Independence Day kind of cocky  

I managed to hash out all the broad strokes in that conversation. My favorite thing that didn't make it into the fic was your suggestion that Bradley does a spot on NPR. It is my headcanon for the fic, but it never made sense to mention.

Alright, reread time!

First thing I want to talk about is imagining Jake with glasses. Vests, rolled up shirt sleeves, occasional sweaters, glasses! Indiana Jones when he's teaching style. He does not realize how many of his students are hopelessly in love with him. I imagine half of why his whole thing with Bradley stirs up the rumor mill is that students are desperate to know more about both of them.

I just love them as ex-husbands.

I had planned on saying something about Wells being eccentric to explain why he used "Merlin," but I never did.

I definitely tried to set up Jake as ridiculously competitive and a little bit petty where Bradley is concerned because neither of them is really handling the whole being at the same university thing in the most mature manner. And also because I love for them to be asshole4asshole.

Amelia! I'm so glad I aged her up and threw her into the middle of this. I didn't want to make any of the Daggers Jake's TA, and I wanted someone to bridge between the college rumor mill and Jake's relative isolation in his department, and I think I fit her quite well into the small amount of space available in Jake and Javy's codependent friendship. Also, I always need Javy to have someone to commiserate with.

Man, so much of this story is pulling from my own academic experiences. I don't know if it resonates with anyone else, but the pub scene takes me back every time I read it. Cheese curds, beer, and the faint smell of wet wool from the snow melting on everyone's discarded outerwear.

I love the conspiracy board.

I also love Amelia roasting Jake. He needs it.

This is possibly my favorite line I have ever written (even though I love the 'stache): “All he would tell me is that you have a quote ‘mysterious and tragic history’ with him. When I asked him to elaborate, he followed up with ‘have you seen Bradshaw’s mustache? The mystery is why anyone would allow that kind of tragedy within 10 feet of them.’ He was absolutely no help.”

I didn't get into it too much, but Jake really tries to avoid thinking about how much he misses being married to Bradley. Because when it was good, it was really good. Even though it's been about 2 years, he still feels the ghost of his wedding band on his ring finger. He learned how to be Bradley's husband, and it's hard to unlearn that.

I would love to explore Bob more. Bob POV on wtf is going on between Bradshaw and Seresin. Bob, who has a background in cryptography and knows all the gossip, and who Jake is definitely actually going to become friends with once he stops spending all his energy on avoiding Bradley and proving himself (so, basically after he gets approved for tenure).

Amelia should, in every universe, think Bradley's flirting is dumb.

Jake is all thrown off by Bradley and tries to set boundaries (calling him Dr. Bradshaw, communicating via official email and office phone) and then goes and recommends a restaurant he knows Bradley will like. He just isn't capable of forgetting how well he knows Bradley. And Bradley is over here desperately grasping at any possible opening while also pretending he's Totally Normal about Ice visiting. Pierogi are a step too far.

Chana masala is always good.

Bradley and Jake are really, really bad at keeping the personal and the professional separate. Absolutely hopeless.

I have such a soft spot for both Jewish!Jake and Jewish!Ice. And I'm so soft for Bradley connecting with Jake about something that reminds him so much of the familly he's pushed away.

I feel like Javy coming over to take care of Jake is part of a pattern that defines their friendship - they each will drop everything to be there for each other.

Bradley may not have his shit together, but Jake, hon, your shit is also not together. I would love to write a follow-up where Jake figures his shit out and makes things work with Bradley.

Also, part of Bradley getting his shit together is also backing off a little on trying to get back together with Jake. The hot and cold thing really wan't working for either of them.

To finish things off, here are some of the random bits I have floating around in my notes doc that may, someday, become something more:

Early relationship: Bradley whispering into the dark, "I feel like I can tell you anything."  Falling apart: Jake breaking down a bit and saying "I feel like you never tell me anything."  

I really like this line, and I have nowhere to put it yet:

But you were so stuck in the past that you never let us have a future. 

Possible follow up fic ideas:

5 times they kissed goodbye and the time they didn't - prequel that explores how their relationship changed from dating to marriage to long distance to divorce

5 times Jake started things all wrong and the time he got it right - getting back together (Bradley won't settle for just a hookup) 

Thanks for the ask - it was a lovely way to spend my evening. I wrote way, way more than I expected to. This AU makes me really happy.

[welldonekhushi]

Y’know, Khushi, I bet Vasili is popular with the ladies within the Perseus/Warsaw Pact faction.

- Freya “Wraith” Helvig

- Kaori “Kitsune” Tanaka

- Yirina Portnova (she actually graduated in Applied Mathematics and two years later, she was awarded a PhD in Cryptography, so-)

Besides, what are his relationships with the rest of the gang within Perseus? 👀

Okay, first of all.. if Vasili/Bell was a Black Ops Operator, he'd definitely be a part of the Warsaw Pact faction. But to be clear, he's pretty cautious yet selective when it comes to forming relationships with the team, since his only aim is to work with those who do align with his mindset and ideology respectively.

Now that you've mentioned him being popular among the ladies.. I did some research on these three characters, and I can say Yirina and Kaori, both of them have Vasili's full attention. At times, Sokolov has to deal with their constant flirting and pick-up lines, but is able to bear them as long as they don't be a nuisance. Vasili and Yirina, both have worked for the KGB and are absolutely loyal to their service, and I believe they two might grow closure because of their similar field. On the other hand, Vasili gets to know about Kaori's status in the yakuza, something which he diligently listens to when she talks about her younger days.

Now, about Wraith. Why do I think they could be best as rivals? Not like enemies, but constantly trying to prove who's the better one among the two. Through strength and intelligence, one is always trying to be ahead of one. But, they do have each other's backs when they're in trouble, or the team requires them. Otherwise, their relationship with each other is.. not very exactly clear.

Hope that answers your question, Sheena! Thanks for asking! ♡

[stemandleafdiagram]

Modern Cryptography

(stemandleafdiagram long-form post!)

~ 2900 words

As you may have guessed, I love cryptography and ciphers even though I still don’t know much about them. I think classical ciphers are super interesting stuff and I love breaking them but I realised I knew nothing cipher-y after the end of World War 2, so I sought to rectify that!

(This is SO long - I got quite carried away (I do apologise), and as I wanted to cover so much here there are some concepts I don’t explain very thoroughly, but there are so many resources online if you want to learn more! When explaining how different forms of encryption work, I will often use the names commonly used by other cryptographers in my examples. Alice and Bob are two people trying to communicate, while Eve (an eavesdropper) is trying to intercept their messages.)

Symmetric Encryption

The start of modern cryptography is not a definite thing (obviously so, as the “eras” of cryptography are just labels people use to refer to them generally) but I decided to start my timeline for modern cryptography in the 1960s, as during this time, research projects at the American company IBM (International Business Machines) led to the creation of a cipher called the Lucifer cipher. 

This cipher was one of the first block ciphers to be made. A block cipher is a cipher that operates on blocks of 128 bits at a time. This is in contrast to a stream cipher, which encrypts 1 bit of data at a time. (In a way, you could consider classical ciphers stream ciphers) If the plaintext (un-encrypted data) is smaller than 128, padding schemes will add random data to it to make it up to 128. Modes of operation define how large amounts of data are encrypted. For example, the blocks of data can be encoded separately, or maybe the encryption of one block is affected by the previous encoded block of data.

The Lucifer cipher underwent a lot of alterations, and eventually the National Bureau of Standards adopted this altered version of Lucifer as the Data Encryption Standard, or DES, in 1977. Some of the alterations made that led to DES were actually quite controversial! For example, the key size in Lucifer was 128 bits, but only 56 in DES, which worried people who thought it would have been easier to brute force as it was shorter. It’s actually rumoured that the NSA (National Security Agency) did this so that the DES wasn’t too strong for them to break. Another change they added was the inclusion of something called S-boxes, which are effective at protecting against a form of attack called differential cryptanalysis. What I found really cool was that its effectiveness wasn’t talked about until much after, which suggests that the NSA knew about differential cryptanalysis 13 years before this information went public!

The DES is no longer secure enough for modern use, and in 2001 was replaced by the AES, or the Advanced Encryption Standard, which is its direct successor and is still used today. The reason that AES is more secure than DES is that the algorithm itself is more complex, but more importantly it uses longer key lengths. Using keys that are 128, 192, or 256-bit long means that the encryption is much stronger than using the 56-bit DES.

Lucifer, DES, and AES are all symmetric ciphers as well as being block ciphers. This means that the key used to encrypt the plaintext is the same key that is used to decrypt the data. Only some block ciphers are known publicly. DES and AES are the most famous of the lot, but other ones such as IDEA, Twofish, and Serpent exist too. 

As a whole, encrypting with block ciphers is slower as the entire block must be captured to encrypt or decrypt, and if just 1 mistake is made the whole block can be altered. But, they are stronger than other ciphers. Each mode of operation also has its own pros and cons. If each block is encoded by itself then they can be encrypted in parallel (which is faster), but it’s prone to cryptoanalysis as two identical blocks of plaintext would produce two identical blocks of ciphertext, therefore revealing patterns. The other ways are much more complex and take more time to encrypt but are more secure. 

For symmetric encryption to be used, both parties need to agree on the same key for the message to be shared secretly, which is a massive problem. How can the key be transferred securely?

Key Exchange

A year before the implementation of DES, in 1976, another massive breakthrough was made. Researchers Whitfield Hellman and Martin Diffie created the Diffie-Hellman key exchange, which was a method to share encryption and decryption keys safely across an unsecured network. The way it works depends on one-way functions. Typically in maths, most functions are two-way, as using a function on a number is pretty easy to undo. However, Hellman and Diffie found out that while multiplying two prime numbers was very easy, factorising the product down to its primes again was excruciatingly difficult, and the difficulty only increases as the numbers get bigger.

Say Alice and Bob are trying to share a key using the Diffie-Hellman exchange. Firstly, both of them need to execute a function in the form G^a mod P. P must be prime, and G and P are shared publicly so Alice and Bob can agree on them. The numbers are massive (usually 2048 bits) to make it harder to brute force, and they are generated randomly. Alice and Bob each choose different numbers for a, and run their functions. They will get different answers and they share their answers with each other publicly. (This is the public key) Then, Alice and Bob run another function in the form G^a mod P, but G is set to the other person’s answer. The value of a and P stay the same, and Alice and Bob arrive at the same secret answer. The secret answer can then be used to encrypt the message! (This is the private key)

Now, let’s say Eve wanted to find out what the key was. She intercepts their messages, but even though she has the exact information Alice and Bob shared with each other, she doesn’t know what the secret key is unless she solved the original equation, making this key exchange very secure! Modular arithmetic (the mod P part of the equation) is notoriously hard to reverse. If 2048-bit numbers are used, then brute forcing it requires 2^2048 numbers.

Asymmetric Encryption

The Diffie-Hellman key exchange was huge - I mean, any technology created 50 years ago that’s still in use must be pretty good, but it really only shone for sharing keys, not for encryption. For example, the issue with sending communication such as emails using Diffie-Hellman was that both parties needed to be online for a key to be generated as information needs to be mutually shared in the process, so you couldn’t just send an email using it whenever you wanted, which was a shame. However, one particular thing it did lead to was the invention of asymmetric encryption.

In 1977, the idea of public key cryptography (also invented by Diffie) came to fruition in the form of RSA. Named after its creators (Ron Rivest, Adi Shamir, and Leonard Adleman), the RSA works by all users having a public key, which is accessible by everyone, so anyone wanting to send that user a message just needed to search for it. The sender encrypts the message with the recipient’s public key, and then when the recipient comes online they are able to decrypt it with their own private key that’s not shared with anyone. It also uses an one-way function like the Diffie-Hellman exchange, albeit a more complex one. RSA is still used today for things like sending messages or visiting secure websites, and the keys tend to be 2048 or 4096 bits long so that they are hard to break. 1024-bit RSA was disallowed in 2013.

Encrypting via public key and decrypting via private key is great for keeping sensitive information safe, but what if you encrypted with your private key and the message was decrypted with your public key? The purpose of this encryption is to prove the sender is who they say they are - if the public key can’t decrypt the message then either the wrong key was used or the message has been meddled with in transit. To keep the message secure the sender could encrypt with their private key and also the recipient’s public key so only they could decrypt and read it. If the message is particularly long, the digital signature can be applied to a hash of the original message, rather than the whole thing. The RSA was the first to have this dual functionality.

So, there we go - the two main encryption types used today: symmetric and asymmetric. Symmetric encryption is useful for large amounts of data in particular, while asymmetric is more secure, but is slower and requires more resources and therefore can be more expensive. In practice, many secure systems will use both symmetric and asymmetric ciphers. Although, the actual security of a message comes down to the length of the key used - the longer or more complex it is, the more secure the encryption is. As the number of bits increases, the total number of arrangements for these bits increases exponentially. The IBM website states that a 56-bit key could be brute forced in around 400 seconds, a 128-bit key would take 1.872 x10^37 years, while a 256-bit key would take 3.31 x10^56 years.

Going Quantum

It goes without mention as to how important modern cryptography is. These encryption methods are used to keep confidential information such as credit card details, messages, and passwords safe for users like you and me, but also maintains government security on a national level. It’s also vital for cryptocurrency and digital signatures (as mentioned before), as well as browsing secure websites.

A big threat to current cryptographic standards is the development of quantum computing, which are computers based on principles of quantum mechanics. I won’t go into detail on how quantum computers work, but using quantum mechanics they are able to do massive numbers of calculations simultaneously. Although quantum computers already exist, they aren’t powerful or capable enough to threaten our current encryption algorithms yet. But, researchers suggest that they could be able to within a decade. People could use a technique called “store now, decrypt later”, where they keep currently encrypted messages so that they can decrypt them when quantum computers are available. This could cause many problems in the future, particularly if they involve secrets on an international level.

Quantum mechanics can also be used in cryptography as well! Quantum cryptography, originally theorised in 1984 by Charles Bennett and Gilles Brassard, can be used to exchange keys even more securely than Diffie-Hellman, and is called QKD, or Quantum Key Distribution. The reason it’s so incredible is that data that’s secured using it is immune to traditional cryptographic attacks. Now, I’m no quantum physicist (or any type of physicist!) but I will try my best to explain how it works. It works by sending photons, which are light particles, from the sender (eg. Alice) to the receiver (eg. Bob). These photons are sent at different orientations and Bob can measure the photon’s polarisation when he gets them.

Let’s say that photons can be in a vertical, horizontal, or one of the two diagonal orientations. We can pass them through a polarised filter to find out what orientation they are in. The filters are also specifically oriented. A vertical filter would let the vertical photons through, block the horizontal ones, and let the diagonal ones in 50% of the time but at the cost of the ones that pass through being reoriented. Therefore, when a particular photon successfully passes through, it’s impossible to know whether it was originally diagonal or vertical. This is important as it means that it’s possible to detect if someone else has been eavesdropping as the polarisations would have been changed.

Bob can use two measurement bases to receive the photons Alice sent. One will capture vertical and horizontal orientations, and one will capture diagonal ones. Bob has no idea what orientation Alice used for each photon, so he switches between his bases randomly, and will get it wrong some of the time. This is fine, as Alice and Bob then compare to see which ones Bob got right, and the ones he correctly guessed are used as a key (each photon representing 1 bit). The key can then be used for other encryption methods, such as AES.

The reason this works is that if Eve wanted to pry, she has to guess which base to use as well when she intercepts the photons (so she will also make mistakes), but she has no way of checking whether her records are correct or not, unlike Bob. It’s impossible for her to obtain the key as well. What’s more, when she guesses wrong she will change the photon polarisation, so Alice and Bob know that she’s eavesdropping.

Quantum cryptography would have huge security benefits if implemented on a wide scale due to its ability to prevent eavesdroppers, and the fact that it would be resistant to quantum computers. However, it is still in development. One key drawback is the specific infrastructure that is needed, and fiber optic cables have a limited range. This means that the number of destinations the data could be sent to is limited, and the signal cannot be sent to more than 1 recipient at any time.

As well as quantum cryptography, the NIST (The National Institute of Standards and Technology) and other cryptographers are working on other cryptographic algorithms that would stay secure even in the face of quantum computers. Ideas include lattice-based cryptography, hash-based cryptography, and code-based cryptography among others but none of them are at a point where they can actually be implemented yet.

However, one new idea that isn’t post-quantum but is gaining traction is Elliptic Curve Cryptography. Elliptic curve cryptography (ECC) is a form of asymmetric encryption that uses different points on an elliptic curve graph to generate keys in a more efficient manner than traditional methods. It creates shorter encryption keys, which means that less resources are needed while making the keys harder to break simultaneously. Improving the security of current systems just involves lengthening the keys, which slows down the encryption/decryption process, so the fact that ECC doesn’t need to do this gives it a big advantage. It is already used by the US government, iMessage, and Bitcoin, among others. 

Sidenotes

With the maths of these encryption methods being so strong, one key vulnerability is the people that utilise these methods, which is no surprise. Side channel attacks are a way to break cryptography by using information physically leaked from it. One attack, called a TEMPEST attack, is a technique that can pick up electromagnetic transmissions from a device as far as 300m away. These are often done by the FBI, but honestly can be done quite easily by some nerd who has some money to spare and can sit in a car outside your window. By monitoring the radiation emitted from your computer screen, the attacker can spy on you and your data. Another thing that can be monitored is your power consumption. Cryptography is energy intensive, and this attack has been able to recover RSA private keys in testing. Other forms of attacks include measuring amount of time required to encrypt data, which can perhaps be used to find factors or exponents. To combat this, encryption methods can add timing noise as a countermeasure. Or, an attacker can listen to someone type to find out their passwords, but to distinguish different key presses a sophisticated machine learning model is needed. Side channel attacks have actually been around for ages but its use has been severely limited in that the attacker needs to be physically close to the victim. They could get easier with time, however, as smartphones and drones can act as microphones remotely.

Another cool thing I haven’t covered yet are hash functions, which can take in an input and map it to a string of characters that’s random but unique to the original data. The output is called a hash digest or hash value. A good hash function will mean that no two different inputs will have the same hash value, and all outputs are the same length, making it hard to guess original text length. It’s vital for digital signatures and storing passwords securely.

Finally, if anyone managed to get to the end, then thank you! I really love cryptography and I find it astounding that we’ve been able to develop it into such a complex yet intrinsic part of daily life. Honestly, I had so much fun researching for this post! Encryption and cybersecurity and the future of computing is so interesting and I’m really glad I decided to write this :)

Final final note you should totally go and read the Code Book by Simon Singh! Trust me trust me it’s so good...

[snakes-kin]

Okay, curiosity got the better of me, and now I want to know.

For plural, plural-aligned, etcetera, basically if you have anyone else you can speak to in your brain:

(Definitions will be below if you don't know these terms)

Conlang: short for "constructed language", these are languages which have been created purposefully instead of developing naturally in this world like English, French, Spanish, etcetera. They are not based off of an already existing natural language (like in a cryptograph), and may only take some inspiration from them (such as to make a language that theoretically sounds and acts like it could be a natural language).

Cryptographs: (mostly speaking about early cryptography) includes cryptograms, substitution cyphers, etcetera. It is purposefully obscuring your message in a way where only the other party you're talking to can understand it. Unlike conlangs, cryptographs are entirely based on a preexisting language, like in substitution cybers where you only swap the letters around. Some cryptographs can become more complex (like changing certain grammar rules) but usually keep a lot of the parts of the original language.

(Also I am using "WIP conlang" a bit loosely here, since, if this an actual language you and the other members are using, it is likely to change with time. So let's pretend the "finished conlang" is just one where you can use/communicate in it, and a "WIP conlang" is one that is missing grammar rules or isn't quite in that usable state.)

[nalyra-dreaming]

I think a big reason why the Alice theory is even a possibility for me is because of the name itself. Let's not forget about a very important blonde child in literature and what she's inspired. I'm guessing that is why it's a stand in name in cryptography. Follow the white rabbit and where do you end up? If she was a Maggie I bet there would be less of a following. A=A sounds better than M=A.

I swear if this ends up being false the writers would be having the biggest laugh. The fact that they over corrected the archival stuff means they are capable of deviousness.

Oh they definitely are capable of deviousness *laughs*

But yeah... the Alice in Wonderland has to be considered as well, true^^.

We'll see. Personally I'm leaning towards the mix, as said.