u/CyborgFarmer

I used to have a strict routine, walked my dog at the park every day. Same park, same specific trail, same time. One day, I discovered a nice hardcover, illustrated copy of Harry Potter & the Sorcerer's Stone on a large rock, beside a bridge. Not exactly a spot for sitting and reading. Why would anyone leave such a nice book like that on a walking trail?

Tucked inside the book was a calling card. Nothing else, no attributions. I re-read the book after 20 years or so before calling the number. The woman said she might know who it belonged to, so I took it to her and thought that was all there was to it.

2-3 months later, in Oct 2025, James Ponti's City Spies showed up on a bench. Same time, same park and trail. This time, there was much more than a calling card. Odd scrawlings were tucked in certain areas of the book, which I dog-eared. Unfortunately, I don't remember which cards/envelopes were tucked in which pages.

The cipher is handwritten, with numerals that sometimes suggest symmetry or grid layout, but mostly letters in military phrasing, coordinates, addresses, what I believe is a portion in morse code, and a bit more in what appears to me to be shorthand. The cipher consists of 10 index cards, 10 letter-sized envelopes (3 glued together with code on only one of those 3), and 2 business envelopes. Some of the envelopes had Kroger receipts tucked inside.

The only correlation between the books I can see is that they have to do with children, specifically orphans with special abilities. I picked up a copy of Helen Gaines Fouche's Cryptanalysis and worked on it when I could over the past 8 months, unsuccessfully.

It may pertain to a legal case I'm involved in, related to a startup I launched that failed, due to business interference and other things. Or it may deal with probate-related issues, as the books appeared soon after a confrontation with my father and, later, my mother, over such issues.

I've worked through half of Gaines' book, but it's difficult to see, just glancing at the practice problems throughout the rest of her chapters, to see that the remaining strategies are relevant, only going by appearances. Meaning, the plaintext isn't randomized is my cipher. So, calculating variety of contact and such isn't needed.

I've worked through concealment devices and transposition types. I've tried anagramming (too much variety and probably too much personal projection), the nihilist transposition, turning grilles, columnar transposition, magic squares, knight's squares, multiple anagramming (thought it was maybe promising but couldn't make it work), simple substitution, aristocrats, and more recently, the consonant-line shortcut, simple substitutions with complexities, and The Gronsfeld, Porta, and Beaufort Ciphers.

I suspect the "Erikoz Kornello" and "Eric W. Light" cards are the entryway. Especially since they have the same format, even if Light contains morse, while Kornello has numerals. Part of my struggle was deciding grid sizes and which side of the card was the top (beginning) or bottom. It would also make sense that the book serves as the "code book," but I haven't pulled anything coherent from the numerals as page/line/word references.

I've mostly given up on figuring it out because I obsessed with it for months, at the expense of other projects. And I felt that perhaps it was intended to waste my time and keep me busy. It's my first cipher, and I maybe was too impatient at times (or clumsy) with certain methods. I did get interesting results with basic anagramming (the image with pink highlighter), but I don't trust them.

I'm more than happy to share notes, more background information, and other details with anyone interested in working on it. Even if you just want to point me toward better books, I appreciate it. Thank you in advance!

Index Cards:

U.M. Private Lt. Erikoz Kornello 600,000,000 72,342 814,896,421
Lt. Col. Eric W. Light U.M. Private Lt. (morse: T-I-E-I-N-T-I-E-E-F-U-E) (reverse: U.M. Private)
Jack Washington Commanding Officer Washington U.M. Private (symbols in corner)
John Washington Commanding Officer Washington U.M. Private (symbols in corner)
Enry Washington Commanding Officer Washington U.M. Private (symbols in corner)
Enzo Washington Commanding Officer Washington U.M. Private (symbols in corner)
(shorthand / see image) Washington Commanding Officer Washington U.M Private (symbols)
(similar as #7 but different shorthand / see image) Washington Commanding Officer Washington U.M Private (symbols)
Ashli Washington Pilot Air Force 1935 1939-Oklahoma U.S Army Cook U.M. Private (symbols in corner)
Bjorn Washington Born 807 A.D. M.C. 4th C. Lt. Pvt. Fourth Class Lieutenant Private Of The Marine Core U.M. Private 2025 Baum - 1960 (symbols in corner)

Letter Envelopes:

Austrian Employment Officer Erica Kinnitty Monroe 2021 Arkansas Lawyer
Missoula, Montana INTERPOL 130.26 Acres Una Divid Kora
Ulrich Lichtenstein Father - James Lichtenstein A Impersonated James Lichtenstein As James Flint. Cause: Brain Damage

Business Envelopes