The Zodiac Killer mailed the Button letter on June 26th 1970 promising us that the "The Map coupled with this code will tell you where the bomb is set". Thirty days later, on July 26th 1970, he would give us the near-full answer to the 32-Symbol code, which only required the number 5 added to it (Radians and 5 inches along the radians). He also drew the dark, black circle around the circumference of a second set of crosshairs to provide the exact angle we had to travel away from Mount Diablo. However, when he constructed the Button letter, he was of the opinion that he had provided us with enough information to solve the conundrum of where the bomb was set. This in itself was a massive clue when you consider the code had only three repeating characters. The introduction to the Button letter stated "I have become very upset with the people of San Fran Bay Area. They have not complied with my wishes for them to wear some nice Zodiac buttons. I promised to punish them by anilating a full School Buss. But now school is out for the summer, so I punished them in another way. I shot a man sitting in a parked car with a .38". It is clear that this introduction has nothing to do with the code, and in no way can be manufactured to explain the meaning behind the 29 unique characters contained with the 32-Symbol code. Therefore, the solution to the 32-Symbol code was expected of us (by Zodiac) using only what he added to the Phillips 66 map. This appears impossible - but it is not.
Obviously, the following has only been worked out in hindsight of knowing the answer to the Mount Diablo code. This is why the Zodiac Killer gave us the two crosshairs with the answers in the Little List letter a month later - he knew that the clues he gave us on the Phillips 66 map were scarce to say the least. The Zodiac Killer gave us very little when he drew the crosshairs on the Phillips 66 map, yet he still expected us to use this to solve the 32-Symbol code. This should have been the biggest clue of them all. There is absolutely no way anybody can individually decode 29 unique characters in the 32-Symbol code by using what the Zodiac Killer drew on the map, but the crosshairs on the Mount Diablo map can be used to identify where particular words began on the 32-Symbol code, from which we can then start filling in the blanks - much like the Harden's identified the double symbols on the 408 cipher to identify "kill", therefore beginning the process of decoding. Once you get your foot in the door, eventually the whole cipher starts peeling open like an orange. This exact same process had to be adopted to unravel the 32-Symbol code using the crosshairs on the Phillips 66 map. The key was devilishly simple, but extremely unlikely to have been unearthed without the benefit of hindsight.
To unearth the position of the bomb we have to travel a certain distance around the circumference of the circle of the crosshairs, set to Magnetic North (17 degrees in 1970). Then we had to travel a certain distance away from the summit of Mount Diablo (marked as position X by the Zodiac) from that degree point. The first thing we had to discover was his likely target area. The map was of San Francisco & Vicinity, with all the Zodiac Killer's previous letters and bomb threats focused towards San Francisco and the police. Therefore, the Zodiac Killer likely expected us to explore this avenue first. But before we do that, let's explore the limited characters contained by the crosshairs above.
To find the angle around the crosshairs we have to consider that any number of degrees could fall over San Francisco from its north to south border, with no way of determining this figure from the information supplied. So, we have to look for a way of measuring an angle around the circumference of the crosshairs where only one figure is possible for the answer. This lay in the radian, because only 4 radians and magnetic north could fall inside San Francisco (beginning from his arrow pointer, set to magnetic north and traveling around the clock face he provided). No other radian value could land inside San Francisco. We now have to focus on the diagram above. Radians would travel around the circumference of the crosshairs, so let us take a punt that the repeating C in the 32-Symbol code was representative of crosshairs/circumference, and therefore the radians that traveled around them. These would be the first two words inserted into the 32-Symbol code below.
To find the angle around the crosshairs we have to consider that any number of degrees could fall over San Francisco from its north to south border, with no way of determining this figure from the information supplied. So, we have to look for a way of measuring an angle around the circumference of the crosshairs where only one figure is possible for the answer. This lay in the radian, because only 4 radians and magnetic north could fall inside San Francisco (beginning from his arrow pointer, set to magnetic north and traveling around the clock face he provided). No other radian value could land inside San Francisco. We now have to focus on the diagram above. Radians would travel around the circumference of the crosshairs, so let us take a punt that the repeating C in the 32-Symbol code was representative of crosshairs/circumference, and therefore the radians that traveled around them. These would be the first two words inserted into the 32-Symbol code below.
There are two other symbols or characters inside the crosshairs on the Phillips 66 map. The first one is the X symbol, deliberately accommodated by the Zodiac Killer by not fully completing the intersecting lines of his crosshairs. He could easily have just drawn normal crosshairs over Mount Diablo and everybody would have known this was his beginning point, yet he carefully left this area free to insert the letter X. This alphabetic letter can be found in the 32-Symbol code, so let us again assume that this is the starting point for another word. The only other character visible inside the crosshairs on the Phillips 66 map is the (in part) filled-in red triangle. We will take the same approach we did with the X symbol, and assume that the filled-in red triangle is represented on the 32-Symbol code by the filled-in black triangle (again beginning a word). The black triangle is often used to depict a mountain. We now have the C, X and black triangle in the 32-Symbol code, all of which should be the beginning of words.
Just like the degrees argument above, we know that by using miles as a measurement, any number of miles from Mount Diablo to San Francisco can fall within its eastern and western borders. Therefore, the answer cannot be in miles. But using the map code of 6.4 miles to the inch only one figure of inches can fall inside the land mass of San Francisco - and that figure is five. We also know that if the black triangle in the 32-Symbol code begins a word, then that word can only be 6 letters in length before the next word kicks in with the X character. Miles doesn't fit this criteria, but inches does. We now have effectively inserted three words into our 32-Symbol code (shown below).
Just like the degrees argument above, we know that by using miles as a measurement, any number of miles from Mount Diablo to San Francisco can fall within its eastern and western borders. Therefore, the answer cannot be in miles. But using the map code of 6.4 miles to the inch only one figure of inches can fall inside the land mass of San Francisco - and that figure is five. We also know that if the black triangle in the 32-Symbol code begins a word, then that word can only be 6 letters in length before the next word kicks in with the X character. Miles doesn't fit this criteria, but inches does. We now have effectively inserted three words into our 32-Symbol code (shown below).
We know that only 5 inches from Mount Diablo lands in San Francisco, so it's now easy to insert the figure 5 before inches. We cannot insert the word "five" because "radians five radians" doesn't read fluently. Once we have added the figure 5 before inches, it's easy to add "and" into the sentence to read "radians and 5 inches". Whether the reversed letter F represented 5 is impossible to tell. The rest of the solution is now pretty easy to guess. We are left with Radians and 5 inches _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ radians. Once a line is drawn radiating away from Mount Diablo at 4 radians and magnetic north, we then have to travel 5 inches along the 4th radian value. This gives us the final two words of the 32-Symbol code of "along the".
We now have the full answer of Radians and 5 inches along the radians. If this reasoning had been used between June 26th 1970 and July 26th 1970 and given to the police prior to the arrival of the Little List letter, the suggested solution to the 32-Symbol code would probably have been accepted when the Zodiac Killer wrote "PS. The Mt. Diablo Code concerns Radians and # inches along the radians" at the foot of the July 26th letter. Unfortunately it wasn't.
The Zodiac Killer used exactly the same concept in his 13-Symbol code by highlighting three 8's by circling them (representative of Jesus Christ, resurrection, infinity and a new beginning). These again were found to begin each element of the solution "Fk, I'm crackproof", which when inserted into the code was infinite and circular in nature. The first 8 began FK, the second 8 began IM, and the third 8 began CRACKPROOF. The letters K and M were already present in the code as an aid. Just like the 32-Symbol code, the Zodiac Killer gave us the answer to the 13-Symbol code on October 5th 1970, seemingly frustrated, or had become aware that his clues were too difficult and scarce in nature. In both the 13-Symbol and 32-Symbol codes, the Zodiac Killer created anchor points where each word was to begin. Once the month of October 1970 had rolled on by, the Zodiac Killer would never elaborate on the workings of his ciphers ever again.
We now have the full answer of Radians and 5 inches along the radians. If this reasoning had been used between June 26th 1970 and July 26th 1970 and given to the police prior to the arrival of the Little List letter, the suggested solution to the 32-Symbol code would probably have been accepted when the Zodiac Killer wrote "PS. The Mt. Diablo Code concerns Radians and # inches along the radians" at the foot of the July 26th letter. Unfortunately it wasn't.
The Zodiac Killer used exactly the same concept in his 13-Symbol code by highlighting three 8's by circling them (representative of Jesus Christ, resurrection, infinity and a new beginning). These again were found to begin each element of the solution "Fk, I'm crackproof", which when inserted into the code was infinite and circular in nature. The first 8 began FK, the second 8 began IM, and the third 8 began CRACKPROOF. The letters K and M were already present in the code as an aid. Just like the 32-Symbol code, the Zodiac Killer gave us the answer to the 13-Symbol code on October 5th 1970, seemingly frustrated, or had become aware that his clues were too difficult and scarce in nature. In both the 13-Symbol and 32-Symbol codes, the Zodiac Killer created anchor points where each word was to begin. Once the month of October 1970 had rolled on by, the Zodiac Killer would never elaborate on the workings of his ciphers ever again.
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