Open Research Questions

RQ-1: What is the cipher TYPE?

Unknown. It is non-periodic (proven under direct correspondence), and NOT a simple linear recurrence keystream (orders 1-8 eliminated). [HYPOTHESIS] It may be position-dependent (not state-dependent) based on the K5 shared-positions inference (see `docs/kryptos_ground_truth.md` C5), but this inference is unproven.

RQ-2: What is the key source / generation method?

The known keystream at crib positions is: - Vigenere: `BLZCDCYYGCKAZ` (pos 21-33), `MUYKLGKORNA` (pos 63-73) - These are NOT readable English, NOT a simple pattern, NOT linear recurrence

RQ-3: Is there a transposition layer, and what type?

Mengenlehreuhr (480 perms) and Weltzeituhr permutations have been tested with all thematic keyword alphabets. No breakthrough.

RQ-4: What is the role of "the point"?

RQ-5: How do the 1986 Egypt trip and 1989 Berlin Wall connect?

RQ-6: What does "delivering a message" mean?

RQ-7: What does the pre-ENE segment (positions 0-20) encode?

RQ-8: Is the "change in methodology" from K3→K4 a specific technique?

RQ-10: Is there a connection to the sculpture's physical properties?

RQ-9: What is K5 and how does it relate to K4?

RQ-11: Is there meaningful structure in the known keystream?

RQ-12: Could the cipher use a non-standard alphabet (IJ merge, etc.)?

RQ-13: Is the reading direction standard (left-to-right, top-to-bottom)?