I have a message for the members of the SDMB. However, to find the message one must first solve a cryptogram-esque puzzle. The puzzle is encoded using “26-Letter Key Coding.” Here’s the deal with a 26LKC puzzle:
A key phrase of 26 letters is selected. This phrase is then used to encode related text. Letters in the text to be encoded are replaced with corresponding letters from the key phrase. An “A” in the text to be encoded is replaced with the first letter from the key phrase. A “B” is replaced with the second letter of the key phrase…and so on. If a letter occurs more than once in the key phrase, a number is given to differentiate these additional occurences.
Example:
26-Letter Key Phrase: Straight Dope’s Message Boards
Set-up for Encoding: STRAIGH(T2)DOPE(S2)M(E2)(S3)(S4)(A2)(G2)(E3)B(O2)(A3)(R2)(D2)(S5)
Text to be Encoded/ Encoding:
MPSIMS/ (S2)(S3)(G2)D(S2)(G2)
General Questions/ HIMI(A2)SE/ (S4)BI(G2)(E3)D(E2)M(G2)
Great Debates/ H(A2)IS(E3)/ AITS(E3)I(G2)
The puzzle below consists of familiar text that has been encoded using 26LKC. To complicate matters, however, there are two distinct passages from two distinct sources, and each is encoded using a different 26-letter key phrase. The word order in each passage is correct, but the two texts are intertwined so that the solver must determine which word belongs with which text.
Once a solver discovers the texts and the two key phrases, the message (just coincidentally a 26-letter message) may be decoded using cipher from the puzzle. Some of the message code letters are from one of the key phrases, and some are from the other. Solvers must determine which to use.
Finally, in a Scroogelike manner totally at odds with the spirit of the season, I have removed the three helpful apostrophes from the texts. Ho! Ho! Ho!
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(N2)T/ (E4)TLN/ (O2)NL/ D(I2)I/ P(O2)HH(E6)/ (N3)IWKE(L2)/ (L2)I/ DT(D3)(H2)(R3)(E4)(D2)R(R3)/ LWT/ L(N2)L/ (R3)RN(E4)R/ A(E2)(N2)(I3)K/ W/ DR(D2)L/ (N4)TE(L2)(N3)WT/ D(I2)IT/ (E4)(O2)/ (R3)R(E6)/ ROIDITK/ D(I2)WD/ (I2)I/ (D3)IO(O2)(E2)ST/ (N2)(N4)/ RWO(N4)ET/ AOE(L2)T/ (D4)(H2)(E4)T/ (I2)I(I3)(I3)/ (E6)(O2)I(D3)/ N(O2)(R3)L/ (N4)W(N5)/ (R3)(O2)/ WOI/ U(D3)(H2)HT(E4)/ (N5)E(E2)/ (N3)WOO(N2)IK/ (L2)I(I3)(I3)/ (D4)(O2)N(E4)/ (N4)W(N5)/ TE/ (E6)(O2)I/ HI(H2)OL/ (N3)WT/ A(E2)D/ (D2)(E6)/ (N5)E(E2)/ LWT/ KE/ (R3)(E2)L(H2)HT/ D(I2)I/ (A2)EA/ (L2)(I2)IT/ (N5)E(E2)OI/ (E4)(O2)N(H2)HT(E4)/ (N2)T/ DE(L2)T
Message to the SDMB:
(N3)I(D3)O(N5)D(I2)(D3)(H2)(N4)(E4)(D2)W(R3)(I2)RRS(E6)TL(D4)(N5)IRO