Vigenère-family substitution before or after columnar transposition (two-layer test)

Tested a Vigenère-family substitution followed by a columnar transposition, and the reverse order, using keys worked out from the known letters and a list of keywords. The original record called one order 'the K3 method', but K3 was not made that way: K3 is a pure transposition (two grid rotations, with no key and no substitution).

In plain English: Tested a Vigenère-family substitution followed by a columnar transposition, and the reverse order, using keys worked out from the known letters and a list of keywords, using a combined approach: scramble the letter order AND replace each letter. 109.9 million key/parameter combinations were tested. This record is negative within the tested scope.

NOISE

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: 109,899,094
Best Score: 9 / 24 known letters matched · low, no sign of a solution
Confidence: Not classified.
Script: scripts/k3_continuity/e_hybrid_04_reverse_k3.py

Reproduce

PYTHONPATH=src python3 -u scripts/k3_continuity/e_hybrid_04_reverse_k3.py

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

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