001 ⚙ a lucid light

[clockgears]

[ The connection through the Murmur is clear and focused. Maybe not entirely steady at first, but intentional and to the point. ]

I reached out to the one calling herself Espera. She shared several pieces of information that I believe may be of interest to our little community.

[ There's some wry amusement in the way he says 'community', but he moves on without further comment. ]

She advised us to 'worship', referred to us as those who were once dreaming and are now awakened, and called both herself and us 'Vessels'. Much like the voice in the orchard did, for those who heard it.

And then...

[ An image comes through the Murmur, and lingers for a few moments before Ozpin continues. ]

A cipher, though one with scant information thus far. If anyone else discovers additional messages written using this 'alphabet', I'd appreciate if you would share with me. With more keys to reference, we should be able to decipher it.

Comments

[clockgears]

[ Oh, a lead already? There's no hiding the flicker of interest that Viktor's question sparks in Ozpin. ]

No one else, thus far. You're the only one that's even recognized it, in fact.

[ar_cane]

"Recognize" may not be the best word choice when I've never seen it before in my life.

[ Humming as he focuses on the symbols, he reaches blindly for the notebook and pencil he'd scavenged during one of his trips out to explore the city. As he transcribes the message onto paper, another symbol clicks into place in his mind and he quickly scribbles down a note to document it. ]

It will take some time to crack without a key and without any idea what the grammar structure is. There isn't even a clear indicator if—

[ He was going to say that he couldn't tell if the text should be read top to bottom or side to side, but the layout of the letters pretty quickly indicates the latter. ]

Actually, it must be a vertical writing system. And based on the final letter of the first string, assuming the sentence structure is similar to ours, it might be translated as "the".

[clockgears]

[ He can read them but not recognize them...?

Interesting. Ozpin will ask about it later. For now it seems Viktor has already made some progress in decoding it, which is exciting. ]

Assuming it's a simple replacement cipher—and that it's a cipher at all, admittedly—the first would being 'the' seems logical, since the fourth word could easily be 'to'.

Though if you can't read any other letters, the first word could be 'are' while the forth word is 'at' or 'as'. Or even 'ire' and 'is'. But that might be a needless complication to consider before we've ruled 'the' out.

[ar_cane]

It's definitely an alphabet. I know each symbol is a sound, even though I can't explain how I know it. [ It just feels like a puzzle piece slotting into place in the back of his mind, the euphoric feeling of getting something right the first time around. There's a vague tingling in the tips of his fingers, too, and he itches to write something down.

Giving in to that urge, he pauses his communication to jot a few things down, the silence filled with the faint scratching of pencil on paper. ]

The first character is a "t" sound, which supports the assumption of "the" and "to" as you said. It's also curious that there are letters that are rotated versions of one another rather than being completely unique. Very efficient, especially given the geometric nature of the letter structure. The use of those notches to help indicate orientation is also beautifully simple.

[ He pauses his rambling with a chagrined clearing of his throat. ] If other messages come forward, I would love to get my hands on them as well.

[clockgears]

[ 'Definitely and alphabet' might not seem like much, but it sets of a spark of eager curiosity in Ozpin. If it's an alphabet, it's a pattern; and if it's a pattern, it can be broken.

Viktor's point about the rotated-and-reused symbols is an interesting one, and it's something Ozpin had missed. But before he can reply in more detail he's distracted by something else. ]

Ah, actually. Someone else just contacted me with a message he discovered. If you've both amenable to the idea, we could arrange a meeting to discuss this in person.

[ar_cane]

[ Most of the enthusiasm drains from the connection at the mention of meeting in person. Viktor has been relying on this network for communication and answers, but also hidden behind it rather than trying to form alliances in his current form. What would the reaction be to someone—something—like him emerging from the shadows for an academic converging of the minds? However, he recognizes that speaking in person is going to be important for this endeavor, given that its primary focus is linguistic. ]

Um, yes. [ The hesitation is thick in his voice as it drawls over extended drawn-out vowels. ] I must warn you that my appearance may be... off-putting.