Time Traveler
I try to enter the building but a marine stops me and demands identification. I tell him I am an American cryptographer. He can tell from my accent that I am telling the truth about being American and figures I couldn't be on the base unless I was authorized. He allows me entry. I know I am here under false pretenses. I look around and see one corner of the building has a sign indicating it is Signals Branch. I figure that's a logical place for a cryptographer to go, so I go there. I see a radioman with a headset listening to Morse Code. He is copying the text out in letters on a pad. I look at it over his shoulder. It reads:
KX WZ SL OU TL NP ZW WG EW PM HQ ZQ ZD HZ LE QN TL TG FY NE WM OF NE FP TG SG TL MQ FN EL RY PA EL PZ RF ED DW BG WU NU ZW BT AH WE PM PS NT CS NY GQ AO QS QL WF DN FZ PY GN HW RY
He notices me for the first time. "We don't get many civilians here," he says. "What's your story, Mac?"
"I'm a cryptographer. I think I may have been sent here by mistake. If you can get someone to escort me off the base, I'll leave."
"No, don't leave. You're just what we need right now. I just got this message. I recognize the hand. Morse operators all have a unique cadence and style. It's like handwriting. This one is from one of the coastwatchers. Someone needs to decrypt this. It could be important."
KX WZ SL OU TL NP ZW WG EW PM HQ ZQ ZD HZ LE QN TL TG FY NE WM OF NE FP TG SG TL MQ FN EL RY PA EL PZ RF ED DW BG WU NU ZW BT AH WE PM PS NT CS NY GQ AO QS QL WF DN FZ PY GN HW RY
He notices me for the first time. "We don't get many civilians here," he says. "What's your story, Mac?"
"I'm a cryptographer. I think I may have been sent here by mistake. If you can get someone to escort me off the base, I'll leave."
"No, don't leave. You're just what we need right now. I just got this message. I recognize the hand. Morse operators all have a unique cadence and style. It's like handwriting. This one is from one of the coastwatchers. Someone needs to decrypt this. It could be important."