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Thread: NTAE PC - Branches/Bones Page: BlockCode?

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    NTAE PC - Branches/Bones Page: BlockCode?

    I searched my NTAE physical component for possible clues and found a strange block-code on the branches/bones page. The text is scrambled with tiny blocks. So far it seems those block-characters are 3-blocks wide and up to 5 blocks in height. If you have ideas how to work from here, you're welcome to chime in. Here's my progress: http://imgur.com/a/PdX6d

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    Holy crap - I think you're onto something!

    EDIT

    Is it braille?

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    Doesn't seem to be braille..

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    Possibly a Polybius Square? Would be a nice coincidence. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polybius_square

    Edit: Eh, upon further reflection that doesn't quite fit, but maybe an offshoot.
    Last edited by Graceless; 07-20-2017 at 12:19 PM. Reason: Wishful thinking

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    Quote Originally Posted by Graceless View Post
    Possibly a Polybius Square? Would be a nice coincidence. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Polybius_square
    Could be, but that dots more like 3x3, not 5x5...

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    Quote Originally Posted by laz001 View Post
    Holy crap - I think you're onto something!

    EDIT

    Is it braille?
    Checking; I work at a Center for Independent Living, both of my bosses are blind. This *might* be contracted braille, I'm going to see if I can get their insight on this. Back shortly with an answer...

    *UPDATE: So **some** of this is Braille. There are a lot of A's, B's, and then parts that aren't Braille at all. The parts that could be seen as Braille don't make much sense.
    Last edited by Edani; 07-20-2017 at 12:26 PM.

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    A braille cipher appears to be two columns of 3. Doesn't seem to be the case here.

    http://www.dcode.fr/braille-alphabet

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    anyone is familiar with those punched cards? (see history of computer storage)

    Note that the font is the same used in the PC.
    Well done @madpew


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    Shit, I still haven't gotten my PC -- how does the original page look? How did you extract the blocks visually from the rest?

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    Those sequences do look familiar:

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    Oop hey folks I cleaned this sucker up back when the PCs first came out, least to the best of my abilities. Had to go digging for the file but still had it.



    https://68.media.tumblr.com/d7a0573113233e744e9e8a171c9d9149/tumblr_otegodCMI31r2xnn8o1_1280.jpg
    https://68.media.tumblr.com/7c6b932f...nn8o2_1280.jpg

    edit: madpew my bad only saw the first img previewed on my phone, on desktop now checking out the rest-excellent stuff!
    Last edited by klang; 07-20-2017 at 12:37 PM.

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    Now let me preface this by saying I don't know shit about shit when it comes to cryptology but I was looking at some of the more complex characters to see if there was a pattern or pair that appears more than once, see red and blue boxes.
    http://imgur.com/a/xeMsg
    Also, the red arrows highlight a character that breaks the 3x3 matrix.

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    Doesn't look like punched card, imho.
    But.
    There's 25 letters in a row and 35 in column.
    Last edited by Xvostya; 07-20-2017 at 12:37 PM. Reason: *count updated*

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    Quote Originally Posted by niggo View Post
    Shit, I still haven't gotten my PC -- how does the original page look? How did you extract the blocks visually from the rest?
    This is how the full page looks like http://apocalyptech.com/ntae/01_bran...hite_fr_03.jpg
    I scanned it at 1200 dpi with my potatoe scanner and edited out the letters to make the blocks more visible.
    Those punchcards might be a very hot guess. It also fits the style and age of the depicted machine.

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    Is there any hi-res of that scan somewhere?

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    Has anyone hit that page with the blacklight? Someone mentioned Halo 29 being visible under blacklight...or was that bullshit?

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    Quote Originally Posted by madpew View Post
    This is how the full page looks like http://apocalyptech.com/ntae/01_bran...hite_fr_03.jpg
    Thanks man! Is that your website? There are quite a few uploads of the Branches/Bones page (some have better resolutions).

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    Quote Originally Posted by niggo View Post
    Thanks man! Is that your website? There are quite a few uploads of the Branches/Bones page (some have better resolutions).
    That's mine, actually! Glad it's of use. I'm eagerly awaiting finding out if I'll need to do something similar for ADD VIOLENCE!

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    So the lyrics underneath. Some of them are not covered up by this block code? May they spell out something? I'm at work and don't really have time to check this out myself.

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    Quote Originally Posted by mr9inchnail View Post
    So the lyrics underneath. Some of them are not covered up by this block code? May they spell out something? I'm at work and don't really have time to check this out myself.
    Hold the transparent sheet over the block code sheet maybe? Worth a shot.

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    Quote Originally Posted by mr9inchnail View Post
    So the lyrics underneath. Some of them are not covered up by this block code? May they spell out something? I'm at work and don't really have time to check this out myself.
    Could've missed a few.

    L L / C U T I / O / D / / / T / I / P I L I T / L / / / L U L / Y / Y / / I I ' / L I / T / T / / / / / L U / / T / U / / / T T F ' T / ' / I / / / ' C I Z / Y / / / / / ' C / '

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    Quote Originally Posted by Xvostya View Post
    Is there any hi-res of that scan somewhere?
    sadly I can't upload my full scan (too big) but it's not that pretty anyways. Someone else can probably deliver a better version to base work on.

    That link is also not my site, just my reference looking for other clues.

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    Quote Originally Posted by klang View Post
    Oop hey folks I cleaned this sucker up back when the PCs first came out, least to the best of my abilities. Had to go digging for the file but still had it.



    https://68.media.tumblr.com/d7a0573113233e744e9e8a171c9d9149/tumblr_otegodCMI31r2xnn8o1_1280.jpg
    https://68.media.tumblr.com/7c6b932f...nn8o2_1280.jpg

    edit: madpew my bad only saw the first img previewed on my phone, on desktop now checking out the rest-excellent stuff!
    Your dots and madpew's don't match exactly. Is one actually different or is it a scan issue? Note top right, for example over the E in PIECES.

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    It looks like blocks of 5. Could it be a variant of this: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Baudot_code#Murray_code

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    Hmmm. My idea, all that dots somehow *could* fit 3x5 matrix...


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    Quote Originally Posted by fuchal View Post
    Your dots and madpew's don't match exactly. Is one actually different or is it a scan issue? Note top right, for example over the E in PIECES.
    At the time I pulled from the site the has a bunch catalogued (this one specifically: http://apocalyptech.com/ntae/01_bran...hite_fr_02.jpg), mainly chose it because it was such a good close up, it was easier to decipher the blocks apart from the letters but the smudge marks could be clouding stuff for sure.

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    Quote Originally Posted by niggo View Post
    Could've missed a few.
    Well if it means anything I'm not sure what. LOL

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    It seems to be arranged in 8 columns with single-pixel separators.


    Helps if you view the second image - back and white with letters removed - and tilt your phone away from you - as flat as you can while still seeing the screen

    Arrangement seems to be :


    || x|x|x|x|x|x|x|x
    || x|x|x|x|x|x|x|x
    || x|x|x|x|x|x|x|x
    || x|x|x|x|x|x|x|x
    || x|x|x|x|x|x|x|x
    || x|x|x|x|x|x|x|x


    Etc. Haven't counted the rows to see if there's a similar layout
    Last edited by d-signet; 07-20-2017 at 01:20 PM.

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    Quote Originally Posted by fuchal View Post
    Your dots and madpew's don't match exactly. Is one actually different or is it a scan issue? Note top right, for example over the E in PIECES.
    Seeing his scan with the background there is a huge mess on that sheet so he might have missed some maybe?
    Would be interesting to see differences if there are any but I fear we'll need a good scan of a clean page to move forward if we're gonna check that.

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    The thing is, the patterns are pretty simple and most importantly there are very few varieties. I don't know, maybe they just placed those blocks there because it's visually interesting. :/

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