<pre>
When I was a graduate student at Caltech, Professor Feynman showed me three
samples of code that he had been challenged with by a fellow scientist at
Los Alamos and which he had not been able to crack.  I also was unable to
crack them.  I posted them to Usenet and Jack C. Morrison of JPL cracked
the first one.  It is a simple transposition cipher: split the text into
5-column pieces, then read from lower right upward.  What results are the
opening lines of Chaucer's Canterbury Tales in Middle English.

1. Easier
<pre>
 MEOTAIHSIBRTEWDGLGKNLANEA
 INOEEPEYSTNPEUOOEHRONLTIR
 OSDHEOTNPHGAAETOHSZOTTENT
 KEPADLYPHEODOWCFORRRNLCUE
 EEEOPGMRLHNNDFTOENEALKEHH
 EATTHNMESCNSHIRAETDAHLHEM
 TETRFSWEDOEOENEGFHETAEDGH
 RLNNGOAAEOCMTURRSLTDIDORE
 HNHEHNAYVTIERHEENECTRNVIO
 UOEHOTRNWSAYIFSNSHOEMRTRR
 EUAUUHOHOOHCDCHTEEISEVRLS
 KLIHIIAPCHRHSIHPSNWTOIISI
 SHHNWEMTIEYAFELNRENLEERYI
 PHBEROTEVPHNTYATIERTIHEEA
 WTWVHTASETHHSDNGEIEAYNHHH
 NNHTW
</pre>

2. Harder
<pre>
 XUKEXWSLZJUAXUNKIGWFSOZRAWURO
 RKXAOSLHROBXBTKCMUWDVPTFBLMKE
 FVWMUXTVTWUIDDJVZKBRMCWOIWYDX
 MLUFPVSHAGSVWUFWORCWUIDUJCNVT
 TBERTUNOJUZHVTWKORSVRZSVVFSQX
 OCMUWPYTRLGBMCYPOJCLRIYTVFCCM
 UWUFPOXCNMCIWMSKPXEDLYIQKDJWI
 WCJUMVRCJUMVRKXWURKPSEEIWZVXU
 LEIOETOOFWKBIUXPXUGOWLFPWUSCH
</pre>

3. New Message
<pre>
 WURVFXGJYTHEIZXSQXOBGSV
 RUDOOJXATBKTARVIXPYTMYA
 BMVUFXPXKUJVPLSDVTGNGOS
 IGLWURPKFCVGELLRNNGLPYT
 FVTPXAJOSCWRODORWNWSICL
 FKEMOTGJYCRRAOJVNTODVMN
 SQIVICRBICRUDCSKXYPDMDR
 OJUZICRVFWXIFPXIVVIEPYT
 DOIAVRBOOXWRAKPSZXTZKVR
 OSWCRCFVEESOLWKTOBXAUXV
 B
</pre>

Chris Cole
</pre>
