In a recent article entitled Four and a Half Years of Me I came to the conclusion that the 13-character cipher was likely done in haste, and the Zodiac Killer jokingly provided his name as "ME ⊕" ("ME" followed by the Zodiac crosshairs), which I showed to be also present in the 408 cipher, Halloween card, Exorcist letter, and maybe was hinted at in the Eureka card. To achieve the "ME ⊕" identity, all we had to do was apply a "period 8" right shift to each circled 8 and cycle around the cipher, exactly the same methodology that was used in the 340 cipher five months earlier, where a "period 19" right shift was needed to decode his message. .
Many have speculated that the Zodiac Killer's opening wording in the April 20th 1970 letter of "This is the Zodiac speaking. By the way have you cracked the last cipher I sent you? My name is....", indicated that we needed to solve the 340 cipher to give us a clue to decoding the 13-symbol cipher. I have put forward that the Z13 may have revealed two forms of Zodiac identity in "ME ⊕", by using the three circled 8's in the cipher. But how can we prove that this was the Zodiac Killer's intention? How can we prove that this was the Zodiac Killer's key? Did the answer lie in the decoding of the 340 cipher?
If the 340 cipher had been solved before April 20th 1970, we would have known that the Zodiac Killer split his cipher into three parts of 9, 9, and 2 rows. These three parts were comprised of row 1 to row 9, followed by row 10 to row 18, and finally the last two rows up to the 20th line. The Zodiac Killer gave us the key to the 340 cipher by splitting it into a 9, 9, 2 configuration. We then had to apply the "period 19" right shift to make the message possible. This configuration of 9, 9, 2 went down the cipher, so let's apply the same methodology to the Z13 by going across the cipher.
If we travel from position 1 to 9, we land on the right circled 8. If we travel from position 10 to 18, we land on the left circled 8. If we travel from position 19 to 20, we land on the middle circled 8. The configuration employed in the 340 cipher gave us the key to its solving. Does the same configuration applied to the Z13 gives us a clue to its solving? It gives us the three 8's. Once the configuration (of three parts) was identified in the 340 cipher, the "period 19" right shift was applied. Once the configuration (of three parts) was identified in the Z13 cipher, the "period 8" right shift was applied to get the message. The "period 19" right shift in the 340 cipher was crucial in finding the message. The "period 8" right shift in the 13-symbol cipher was crucial to finding the message of "ME ⊕". A personal pronoun that is seen twice in the Halloween card, and clearly written as the Zodiac Killer's identity on January 29th 1974 in the Exorcist letter.
If the 340 cipher had been solved before April 20th 1970, we would have known that the Zodiac Killer split his cipher into three parts of 9, 9, and 2 rows. These three parts were comprised of row 1 to row 9, followed by row 10 to row 18, and finally the last two rows up to the 20th line. The Zodiac Killer gave us the key to the 340 cipher by splitting it into a 9, 9, 2 configuration. We then had to apply the "period 19" right shift to make the message possible. This configuration of 9, 9, 2 went down the cipher, so let's apply the same methodology to the Z13 by going across the cipher.
If we travel from position 1 to 9, we land on the right circled 8. If we travel from position 10 to 18, we land on the left circled 8. If we travel from position 19 to 20, we land on the middle circled 8. The configuration employed in the 340 cipher gave us the key to its solving. Does the same configuration applied to the Z13 gives us a clue to its solving? It gives us the three 8's. Once the configuration (of three parts) was identified in the 340 cipher, the "period 19" right shift was applied. Once the configuration (of three parts) was identified in the Z13 cipher, the "period 8" right shift was applied to get the message. The "period 19" right shift in the 340 cipher was crucial in finding the message. The "period 8" right shift in the 13-symbol cipher was crucial to finding the message of "ME ⊕". A personal pronoun that is seen twice in the Halloween card, and clearly written as the Zodiac Killer's identity on January 29th 1974 in the Exorcist letter.
The Zodiac Killer may also have highlighted these three circled 8 positions in his 13 punch holes in the October 6th 1970 "Pace" postcard.
ADDITIONAL READING: FOUR AND A HALF YEARS OF "ME"
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