Running key from the K1-K3 plaintexts + width-8 columnar transposition

15 running-key sources built from the K1, K2 and K3 plaintexts, with a width-8 columnar step. The configuration count, best score and date shown on this page come from a summary file of the original 2026-02 run that does not match that script's own output, so treat them as unverified. The complete 2026-09-18 re-run checked 1,770 distinct key streams in 12 cipher modes against every width-8 column order and found no setting that matches all 24 known letters.

In plain English: A running key is a long passage of text used as the key. A complete re-run on 2026-09-18 tried 15 passages built from the K1, K2 and K3 plaintexts, at every starting point, with every width-8 column shuffle, in both layer orders, on the standard and KRYPTOS alphabets, and found no setting that matches all 24 known letters. This record is negative within the tested scope.

NOISE Tier 2

How to read this record

Verdict – ELIMINATED (ruled out within the tested scope), NOISE (nothing beyond what chance produces for a search of this size; also shown when a record stored no verdict of its own), INCONCLUSIVE (the test left candidates or options standing, or could not decide, so it does not rule the method out), INTERESTING (slightly above random, almost certainly coincidence), SIGNAL (statistically unusual, warrants investigation), or FULL MATCH (all 24 known letters correct).
Confidence Tier – Tier 1 = mathematical proof, valid while its stated assumptions hold. Tier 2 = every possibility within the stated scope tested. Tier 3 = partially tested or sampled. Tier 4 = not yet properly tested.
Configs Tested – How many different key/parameter combinations were tried.
Best Score – How many of the 24 known plaintext letters the best attempt matched (out of 24). N/A means no such score could be read from this record.
Keystream Consistency (Bean) – Whether the key values at different positions are mathematically consistent with each other. The check only holds when the known letters stay in their carved positions (no letters rearranged or removed), and the full set used here assumes the standard A to Z alphabet.
Scope Limitations – What this elimination does not rule out.

Configs Tested: 52,000,000
Best Score: 7 / 24 known letters matched · low, no sign of a solution
Confidence: Tier 2: Exhaustive search under stated assumptions. Does not eliminate multi-layer variants.
Date Tested: 2026-02-20
Script: scripts/running_key/e_chart_01_running_key.py

Scope Limitations

This elimination does not rule out:

The original 2026-02 run tried the columnar step only on its 10 best-scoring settings and used altered copies of the K1-K3 texts, so it could have missed a true solution. A complete re-run on 2026-09-18 (15 source versions built from the verified K1-K3 texts, every source offset, every width-8 column order, the key step before or after the columnar step, standard and KRYPTOS alphabets) found no setting matching all 24 known letters. Its K2 text used the carved IDBYROWS ending, an error Sanborn acknowledged. The corrected XLAYERTWO ending, other source texts and other widths are not covered.

Assumptions

Running key taken from the K1, K2 and K3 plaintexts
Vigenere, Beaufort and Variant Beaufort arithmetic
Width-8 columnar transposition only

Reproduce

PYTHONPATH=src python3 -u scripts/running_key/e_chart_01_running_key.py --input scripts/running_key/fixtures/chart01_complete_request_20260918.json --output /tmp/chart01_replay_new.json

Requires the kryptos repo, Python 3.11+, PYTHONPATH=src. Some recent scripts may not be in the public repository yet.

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