Time Traveler
Another very quick trip. It is still 1902. Around me is a graveyard. From the names and inscriptions on the headstones, I must still be in France. I see a rather large headstone directly before me. There is a small ceramic vase on the grave. Instead of the usual flowers, however, this vase contains some rolled up papers. I pull them out and read them. There is a newspaper article and a personal note. The note is a dedication to a brilliant cryptographer from "an American student." The article is an obituary with the photograph of a man. I look at the headstone. It reads "Félix-Marie Delastelle 2 Jan. 1840 – 2 Avr. 1902".
The obituary says Delastelle was a warehouse owner, an amateur cryptographer, and the inventor of three ciphers: Bifid, Trifid, and Foursquare. He must have died very recently. The dedication from the student contains three different ciphertexts. Apparently the student has enciphered his messages in each of Delastelle's three ciphers, but I can't tell which of the three is which. Since the note is written in English, I assume the plaintexts are in English. I will have to tackle them. History has sent me here for a reason.
The obituary says Delastelle was a warehouse owner, an amateur cryptographer, and the inventor of three ciphers: Bifid, Trifid, and Foursquare. He must have died very recently. The dedication from the student contains three different ciphertexts. Apparently the student has enciphered his messages in each of Delastelle's three ciphers, but I can't tell which of the three is which. Since the note is written in English, I assume the plaintexts are in English. I will have to tackle them. History has sent me here for a reason.