Documents / FOIA release

Key to the Extraterrestrial Messages by H. Campaigne

National Security Agency · 11 pages · text by GLM-OCR

This unclassified article by H. Campaigne, published in the NSA Technical Journal, Vol. XIV, No. 1, gives a key to a series of 31 hypothetical radio messages from outer space that Campaigne had presented earlier. Step by step it decodes symbols for numbers, arithmetic, logic, set theory, octal notation, the rational and real numbers, limits, and finally the periodic table of the elements. The article concludes that any civilization able to send messages across space would share basic concepts of number, sets and physical constants.

Read from the scan by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word.

## APPENDIX

Recently a series of radio messages was heard coming from outer space. The transmission was not continuous, but cut by pauses into pieces which could be taken as units, for they were repeated over and over again. The pauses show here as punctuation. The various combinations have been represented by letters of the alphabet, so that the messages can, be written down. Each message except the first is given here only once. The serial number of the message has been supplied for each reference.

1 ABCDEF GHIJKLMNOPQRSTUV

ABCDEF GHIJKLMNOPQRSTUV

ABCDEF GHIJKLMNOPQR etc

3 LAA. LBB. LCC. LDD. LEE. LFF. LGG

4 LBKAA. LCKBA. LCKAB. LDKCA. LDKBB. LDKAC; LEKDA. LEKCB. LEKBC. LEKAD. LFKEA. LFKDB. LFKCC. LFKBD. LFKAE.

5 LFKAKBC LFKCKBA, LGKAKBD, LGKCKAC, LKAKBCKKABC

6 LAMBA. LBMCA. LAMCB. LCMDA. LBMDB. LAMDC. LDMEA.

LCMEB. LBMEC. LAMED

7 LNMAA. LNMBB. LNMCG. LNMDD. LNMEE. LNMFF. LNMCG

H LAOAA. LNONA. LBOAB. LBOBA. LNONB. LNOBN. LDOBB.

LDOAD. LFOAF. LFOBC

9 LFOA0BC. LFCOBA. LFBOBUCA; LODOEF0ODEF

10 LDRBB LDRBA. LARBN. LCRCA. LARCN

11 LRBCKDD, LRBCKAG, LRBCOBD, LRBBD

12 LRCRKDE. LRCBOCC

1. 3 LIKRC. LIKAG. LKJAOCC. LKJARCB

14 LBPJD. LDPJB. LAPCC. LCPFB

15 UAB, UBC; UCD; UEJ; UFJ; UGJ; URBCRB.

16 QLNA: QLAC; QLAKAA; QLNOAA; QLRBBB; QUBB; QHLAALAB;

QQLCC: QUJG.

17 SLAA; SUAB; SLBKAA; SLAOAA; SLNMAA; SHLF0AFLAPFF; SHLAALBB

18 LATA, LBTKATA; LETKBTCT; LFTOCTBT; LGTG; LANTJ.

19 LABCTKOARJBKOBRJAC;

LCBATKOCRJBKOBRJAOARJN;

LDEFGTKKODRJCDERJBKOFRJAOGRJN;

20 HLIKAAVILGAV. SLQAVTVOPVAV.

HLAATHLAVLBAV. SLKAVKPVTVNKAVPVTV.

HLCAVLAATHAVB SLQAVOPVSVOAVPVSV.

HLKAVLPKAAV HQLAVBVQLNAVBVNBVAV.

HLKAGOVLHCOV. HQLAVBVQLRAVBVRBVAV

HLFORSOVLCSOV 21 HLNKMNDDDVBOEQDVCUVLADKDVLBLDDV

HLCTDVLAATHDOVB HUVLADVLMINADVLAROVB

SLKAVFKPVAV HUVLABVLMBVLMBVRBV.

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About this file

FOIA release, from the nsa collection. The PDF is mirrored here; the original link is above. The text was read from the page images by GLM-OCR; expect the odd misread word. 11 pages are in the text index: search them above, or from the library's search.