This challenge closed on 03/11/2021. See below for the correct answers.
Practice Mission Briefing 3A: Double trouble?
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FPHET.
Top Secret: For your eyes only
Harry, thanks for your email, I forgot you had spent time here in the Archaeologists and it was good to be reminded that it can lead somewhere. In this case I think the best we can hope for is that we will have a new bunch of recruits trained and ready to tackle more serious challenges, but I have to admit that I am getting more excited about this case, even if it is just a training exercise. The attached memo from ABC reinforces what we learned from the last one. The Lighthouse Conspiracy seems to be a group of influential Victorians who are aiming to use their newfound technological prowess to profit from war, famine, pestilence, and any other disturbance in the Force. I don’t like to jump to conclusions, but I can’t help noticing that the initials coincide with people of interest to BOSS. I checked Faraday’s intelligence file and as you say, it was empty. It is hard to believe that a scientist of his eminence had escaped notice, so it seems more likely that the real file has either been deleted or stored somewhere more secure. Perhaps you can make enquiries? B must surely be Babbage. All the talk in the attached letter is about a device that sounds like a computer, and that would mean that AL is Ada Lovelace, who died some years before this letter was written. I can’t be sure who W or N are, but my guess is that this N is the same person as FN in the previous letter. As for ABC, I have a guess, but it all seems rather fantastical. AL and B appear in some of the earliest BOSS files, and I always assumed they were on the side of the angels. Could they have been double agents working for BOSS inside the conspiracy? Given that it is their work that seems to be driving it on, it seems more likely that the reverse is true. But that means BOSS was riddled with domestic insurgents from the start. I don’t think this has the same urgency as your discovery of Soviet agents at the heart of British intelligence, but it is still rather alarming. As is the increasing sophistication of our protagonists’ communications. They are still only relying on substitution ciphers, but their head of security, W, is clearly smart enough to know that this is too weak for serious use, and I suspect that future letters will be protected by something more professional. I wonder if he will push them to think about using polyalphabetic ciphers, or if he will just introduce simple changes like blocking the ciphertext. I think it might pay for me to make a trip to London to carry out some enquiries, so I may be off grid for a couple of weeks. Let me know if you hear anything useful. All the best, Jodie.Mission Intercept 3B: Prussia
ZPERB HZVII CNUVY RJURD LJAHR BXDSJ URBLI JHDFH LIIVB CNBHU BIEVI ZBPRE ZBCPD SJURK UBJJR HVCTK YBIIR IVUBM RSDLC ELJJR HERYV TUJVC JURSB KJJUB JNRNR HRBAY RJDSD HRKBI JJUVI ERMRY DFZRC JJURS BKJJU BJNRN RHRBA YRJDE DIDCD JEBPI DHNRR XIALJ ZDCJU IVCBE MBCKR VIJUR FHDDS JUBJN RUBMR ARRCI RRXVC TJUBJ DLHZR JUDEI KDZAV CRENV JUJUR FDNRH DSFHD SRIID HAICR NERMV KRKBC ERYVM RHJUR XCDNY RETRN RCRRE JDIUB FRDLH ERIJV CPJUR CRNIJ BJVIJ VKBYJ DDYIJ UBJPD LUBMR FVDCR RHREK BCVAR YVRMR BIIVI JLIVC ZDERY YVCTS LHJUR HDLJA HRBXI DSMVD YRCKR BCELC HRIJV SPDLN VYYBY YDNZR JDZVO ZRJBF UDHIN UVYRN RNVYY CDJBY NBPIA RBAYR JDFHR EVKJJ URDCI RJDSE VIRBI RNRKB CUDFR JDFHR EVKJV JIKDL HIRBC EJURH RAPFH DSVJJ URERM VKRBJ JHVCV JPNUB HSVIC DNNDH XVCTB JSLYY KBFBK VJPBC EDLHK DYYRB TLRIJ RYYZR JUBJV JKBCK DZFLJ RBCPJ UVCTN RBIXD SVJTV MRCRC DLTUJ VZRBC EIFBK RVCNU VKUJD HRKDH EJURB CINRH IDSKD LHIRJ URIRF HBKJV KBYZR CEVEC DJJUV CXJDB IXUDN ZLKUJ VZRBC PFBHJ VKLYB HGLRI JVDCZ VTUJJ BXRAR SDHRN RKBCH RKRVM RVJIB CINRH ALJVJ UVCXJ UVIVI BKBYK LYBJV DCJUB JVKBC YRBMR JDPDL ARSDH RIURN BIJBX RCSHD ZLIBY NHDJR ROJRC IVMRC DJRID CJURF DJRCJ VBYDS JURER MVKRB CEVIL IFRKJ PDLNV YYSVC EJURB CINRH IJURH RVCVC JURKL HHRCJ KDCJR OJJUR ZBKUV CRFHD MVERE NVJUE VFYDZ BJVKV CJRYY VTRCK RAPDL HCRJN DHXDS BTRCJ IVCRL HDFRJ DDXSV MRNRR XIJDK BYKLY BJRJU RYVXR YVUDD EJUBJ AVIZB HKXND LYEYB LCKUU VIDSS RCIVM RBCEJ DLIRJ URNRB JURHE BJBTB JURHR EAPNI JRYRT HBFUV KCRJN DHXJD ILTTR IJNUR CJURB JJBKX NDLYE ARYBL CKURE NRUBE YVJJY RBTRC KPVCJ URKDC SYVKJ VJIRY SALJN RNRHR BAYRJ DBEMV IRDLH IPZFB JUVIR HIVCT DMRHC ZRCJB CEJUR HRAPJ DROFB CEDLH VCSYL RCKRD LHVCJ RYYVT RCKRB CBYPI JIBHR CDNND HXVCT JDERJ RHZVC RJURY VXRYP FHDTH RIIVD CDSJU RKDCS YVKJV CJURU DFRDS SVCEV CTCRN NBPIJ DFHDS VJSHD ZVJVC ZRCJV DCVCT NVHRB YVIRJ UBJVS DHTDJ JDFBI IDCUV IBEMV KRKDC KRHCV CTIRK LHVJP URUBI KDCMV CKREZ RJUBJ DLHKL HHRCJ FDYVK PDSKD ZZLCV KBJVC TMVBI LAIJV JLJVD CKVFU RHIHR BYYPV ICDJI LSSVK VRCJJ DKDCK RBYDL HVCJR CJVDC IBIDL HCRJN DHXRO FBCEI JURHV IXDSY RBXIV CKHRB IRIUR VINDH XVCTD CBCRN BCEKD CIVER HBAYP ZDHRS VRCEV IUKVF URHJD ARLIR ESDHD LHZDI JERYV KBJRI RKHRJ IBCEV UDFRJ DURBH ZDHRB ADLJU VIFHD THRII DCJUB JNURC VZRRJ UVZCR OJZDC JUZBO NRYYN VYYAR ERYVM RHVCT JURAB XRHVB CYRKJ LHRBC EURVI UDFVC TJDBJ JRCEV EVEND CERHV SZNDL YEARB ZRCBA YRJDW DVCVC TDLHK DCIFV HBKPA LJFRH UBFIV IUDLY EEVIK LIIJU BJNVJ UJURH RIJDS JURKL HVBVY DDXSD HNBHE JDURB HVCTP DLHER YVARH BJVDC IDCJU RRSSV KVRCK PDSJU RERMV KRBCE BCPJU DLTUJ IPDLZ VTUJU BMRDC VJIER MRYDF ZRCJA RIJNV IURIB AK
Top Secret: For your eyes only
My dear Miss N, While the outbreak of the Austro-Prussian war has dismayed many of the chattering classes, I have found utter delight in the fact that we were able to forecast this development. The fact that we were able to do so, not days, or weeks, but months in advance is the proof that we have been seeking that our methods combined with the power of Professor B’s new device can deliver the knowledge we need to shape our destiny. The new statistical tools that you have pioneered can, I believe, assist us in modelling further outbreaks of violence and unrest. If you will allow me to mix metaphors, while we will not always be able to predict the onset of disease, we can hope to predict its course and thereby profit. The device at Trinity Wharf is now working at full capacity and our colleagues tell me that it can compute anything we ask of it, given enough time and space in which to record the answers. Of course, these practical men did not think to ask how much time any particular question might take before we can receive its answer, but I think this is a calculation that I can leave to you. Before she was taken from us AL wrote extensive notes on the potential of the device, and I suspect you will find the answers therein. In the current context the machine, provided with diplomatic intelligence by our network of agents in Europe, took five weeks to calculate the likelihood that Bismarck would launch his offensive, and to use the weather data gathered by W’s telegraphic network to suggest when the attack would be launched. We had little agency in the conflict itself, but we were able to advise our sympathisers in government and thereby to expand our influence. Our intelligence analysts are now working to determine the likely progression of the conflict in the hope of finding new ways to profit from it. In mentioning W, I realise that I forgot to pass on his advice concerning security. He has convinced me that our current policy of communicating via substitution ciphers really is not sufficient to conceal our intentions. As our network expands the risk of leaks increases. He is working on a new and considerably more fiendish cipher, to be used for our most delicate secrets, and I hope to hear more about his progress on that when I meet him next month. Maxwell will be delivering the Bakerian Lecture and he is hoping to attend. I did wonder if M would be amenable to joining our conspiracy, but perhaps I should discuss that with the rest of the Curia. I look forward to hearing your deliberations on the efficiency of the device and any thoughts you might have on its development. Best wishes, ABCRULE REMINDER: Rapid fire multiple submissions put an unreasonable load on the servers and make it difficult for others to submit. Anyone who makes an unreasonable number of submissions will be open to disqualification. In the first instance this will mean that anyone who submits more than 20 times in 10 minutes will be disqualified.