Nothing is as compelling as a secret. Throughout history individuals have invented new forms of communication populated by different combinations of sounds, shapes, colors, and symbols, designed to disguise the intended message. Obscured by one such form of communication, the Caesar cipher, this puzzle presents an encrypted passage from someone in the midst of an existential struggle—tormented by the idea that this is all nothing.
Named after Julius Caesar, the Caesar cipher (also known as Caesar’s cipher, the shift cipher, Caesar’s code, and Caesar shift) is a method of encryption where units of plaintext (the original message) are replaced with a ciphertext. The Caesar cipher is based on a cipher alphabet that is shifted a certain number of spaces relative to the plain alphabet. For example, with a shift of 3, A would be replaced by D, B would become E, and C would be F.
Having used this cipher to communicate important messages with his generals during military campaigns over two thousand years ago, it’s unknown just how effective this method of encryption actually was for Caesar. But, it’s likely to have been reasonably secure considering most of his enemies would not have spoken Latin, the language his messages would have been written in. They also would have found it difficult to decode without the specific techniques for doing so, which were not developed until the 9th century.
For help solving this cryptogram, the cipher alphabet can be revealed by shifting the number of letters in the seventh word, from the first sentence, in the first paragraph of this column. As you shift, and you reach the end of the alphabet, continue by wrapping the remaining letters back towards the beginning. And, good luck! I hope you enjoy this first installment of The Organized Mind.
