The Voynich Ninja

Regarding a recent posting on a technique of word alteration as a method of encryption, there seems to be some interesting further possibilities.

The basic system takes the first two letters in a word as valid, then shifts all other letters one space forward in the alpha-numeric sequence.

Then, there's a brief clerical 'arms race' when the shift changes to two, three or more spaces.

And if someone was serious about more complex methods, there is the potential for stepwise increase of the shift value according to some mathematical formula. This opens a variety of possibilities with differing, specific structures. Easy to use when the structure is known. Otherwise it's clearly more difficult.

So the basic example, besides its simple structure, was in the Latin script and Latin language - with a picture as well. So its fairly obvious when a simple solution yields an obvious result. The creative use of the clerical shift would create a lot more problems, even if it were restricted to the Latin script and language.

Now consider the VMs. We don't know the script or alphabetic sequence. We don't know the language. And we don't know the nature of the clerical shift, if there was one.

What level of complexity is required to create a virtually unbreakable encryption that can be easily used with a known key?

(27-10-2020, 07:09 PM)R. Sale Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.Regarding a recent posting on a technique of word alteration as a method of encryption, there seems to be some interesting further possibilities.

The basic system takes the first two letters in a word as valid, then shifts all other letters one space forward in the alpha-numeric sequence.

I think a system like this would be instantly recognizable. It's like a crossword puzzle, even if you only have two letters in a few words, it's often easy to guess the rest. Humans are pretty good at filling in information if some of the information is correct, especially if the recognizable info is in the same position in each word.


Shifted text follows natural language patterns even if the letters are different. The VMS is unique in the way certain glyphs appear in certain positions in the tokens. This is very un-natural-language like, something one would not achieve by the more common shifting patterns.

Anagram patterns are more likely to result in a VMS-like pattern, but then there have to be clues (marker or modifier glyphs, perhaps) as to how to reconstruct it, otherwise it's a one-way cipher. I'm not saying it's anagrammed, but given a choice between shifts and anagrams, it is more similar to anagrams, but only ones that follow a rigid structure for where the characters are positioned.

Grfgaftt,

Of course such a system is more easily discovered, when it is the simplest of its type. And it easily fits a pattern because with a few hints, we can see what the pattern is. *if* we already know the pattern.  In the example of the peony, Latin language and Latin script provide the patterns.

More complex variations of the system are possible depending of the mathematical formula.

There is nothing to indicated any such system applies to the VMs. However, using the Ms as an example, there is more to be considered than the system itself - both the script and the language are unknown.

If I chose a specific VMs glyph and asked what glyph came one, five or ten spaces after it - what is the answer? It takes an alphabetic sequence in order to try to discover the system. The "4 x 17" symbol sequence might be a possibility, but it has problems.  And not knowing the language means there is no pattern yet established. How can a correct word be confirmed in some obscure language and dialect?

Any system as a single device is not sufficient on its own to disguise a hidden textual communication. Therefore a combination of factors can be used to create a more sophisticated situation - a more secure communication for the potential correspondents, a text more difficult to understand without the key to decryption. And this is not about the development of some level on anachronistic complexity, as it is about a quirky, sophisticated interpretation of tradition. Somethings that have long gone unseen* - traditions long unknown and unrecognized. * Unseen in part because of the the use of intentional ambiguity and the use of combined images.

Whatever the method used, the best way to send a hidden message is to create something as close to a one-way cypher as possible, but which can be decrypted by a specific process. Then send those instructions in a code that is reversible, and which has been placed in an obscure but subtly significant location.