iancaldwell&dustinthomason.theruleoffour-第30节

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　I　gave　a　lazy　smile；　thinking　I　didn't　have　to　flex　much　muscle　to　charm　a　sophomore。
　Then　she　spoke。　And　like　a　fly　in　a　pitcher　plant；　expecting　nectar　and　finding　death；　I　realized　who　was　hunting　who。
　〃So　you're　Tom；〃　she　said；　as　if　I　met　the　description　of　a　convict　from　a　post　office　wall。　〃Charlie　told　me　about　you。〃
　The　best　part　about　being　described　to　someone　by　Charlie　is　that　things　can　only　get　better　from　there。　Apparently　he'd　met　Katie　at　Ivy　several　nights　earlier；　and　when　he　realized　that　Gil　intended　to　make　the　match；　he　eagerly　chipped　in　with　details。
　〃What　did　he　tell　you？〃　I　asked；　trying　not　to　look　concerned。
　She　thought　for　a　second；　searching　for　his　exact　words。
　〃Something　about　astronomy。　About　stars。〃
　〃White　dwarf；〃　I　told　her。　〃It's　a　science　joke。〃
　Katie　frowned。
　〃I　don't　get　it　either；〃　I　admitted；　trying　to　undo　my　first　impression。　〃I'm　not　much　for　that　kind　of　stuff。〃
　〃English　major？〃　she　asked；　as　if　she　could　tell。
　I　nodded。　Gil　had　told　me　she　was　into　philosophy。
　She　eyed　me　suspiciously。　〃Who's　your　favorite　author？〃
　〃Impossible　question。　Who's　your　favorite　philosopher？〃
　〃Camus；〃　she　said；　even　though　I　meant　it　rhetorically。　〃And　my　favorite　author　is　H。　A。　Rey。〃
　The　words　came　out　like　a　test。　I'd　never　heard　of　Rey；　he　sounded　like　a　modernist；　a　more　obscure　T。　S。　Eliot；　an　uppercase　e。　e。　cummings。
　〃He　wrote　poetry？〃　I　ventured；　because　I　could　imagine　her　reading　Frenchmen　by　firelight。
　Katie　blinked。　Then　for　the　first　time　since　we'd　met；　she　smiled。
　〃He　wrote　Curious　George；〃　she　said；　and　laughed　out　loud　when　I　tried　not　to　blush。
　That　was　the　recipe　of　our　relationship；　I　think。　We　gave　each　other　what　we　never　expected　to　find。　In　my　earliest　days　at　Princeton　I　had　learned　never　to　talk　shop　with　my　girlfriends；　even　poetry　will　kill　romance；　Gil　had　taught　me；　if　you　mistake　it　for　conversation。　But　Katie　had　learned　the　same　lesson；　and　neither　of　us　liked　it。　Freshman　year　she　dated　a　lacrosse　player　I'd　met　in　one　of　my　literature　seminars。　He　was　smart；　taking　to　Pynchon　and　DeLillo　in　a　way　I　never　did；　but　he　refused　to　speak　a　word　about　them　outside　of　class。　It　drove　her　crazy；　the　lines　he　drew　through　his　life；　the　walls　he　put　up　between　work　and　play。　In　twenty　minutes　of　conversation　that　night　at　Ivy；　we　both　saw　something　we　liked；　a　willingness　to　have　no　walls；　or　maybe　just　an　unwillingness　to　keep　them　standing。　It　pleased　Gil　that　he'd　made　such　a　good　match。　Before　long　I　found　myself　waiting　for　the　weekends；　hoping　to　run　into　her　between　classes；　thinking　of　her　before　bed；　in　the　shower；　in　the　middle　of　tests。　Within　a　month；　we　were　dating。
　As　the　senior　in　our　relationship；　I　imagined　for　a　while　that　it　was　my　job　to　apply　the　wisdom　of　my　experience　to　everything　we　did。　I　made　sure　we　kept　to　familiar　places　and　friendly　crowds；　having　learned　from　past　girlfriends　that　familiarity　always　arrives　in　the　wake　of　infatuation：　two　people　who　think　they're　in　love　can　find　out；　when　left　alone；　exactly　how　little　they　know　about　each　other。　So　I　insisted　on　public　places…weekends　at　eating　clubs；　weeknights　at　the　student　center…and　agreed　to　meet　at　bedrooms　and　library　nooks　only　when　I　thought　I　detected　something　more　in　Katie's　voice；　the　e…hither　registers　I　flattered　myself　I　could　hear。
　As　usual；　it　was　Katie　who　had　to　straighten　me　out。
　〃e　on；〃　she　told　me　one　night。　〃We're　going　to　dinner　together。〃
　〃Whose　club？〃　I　asked。
　〃A　restaurant。　Your　choice。〃
　We'd　been　together　for　less　than　two　weeks；　there　were　still　too　many　parts　of　her　I　didn't　know。　A　long　dinner　alone　sounded　risky。
　〃Did　you　want　to　ask　Karen　or　Trish　to　e　along？〃　I　asked。　Her　two　roommates　in　Holder　had　been　fail…safe　pany。　Trish；　in　particular；　who　never　seemed　to　eat；　dependably　talked　through　any　meal。
　Katie's　back　was　turned　to　me。　〃We　could　ask　Gil　to　e　too；〃　she　said。
　〃Sure。〃　It　struck　me　as　an　odd　bination；　but　there　was　safety　in　numbers。
　〃What　about　Charlie？〃　she　asked。　〃He's　always　hungry。〃
　Finally　I　realized　she　was　being　sarcastic。
　〃What's　the　problem；　Tom？〃　she　said；　turning　back　to　me。　〃You're　afraid　other　people　will　see　us　alone？〃
　〃No。〃
　〃I　bore　you？〃
　〃Of　course　not。〃
　〃Then　what？　You　think　we'll　find　out　we　don't　know　each　other　very　well？〃
　I　hesitated。　〃Yes。〃
　Katie　seemed　amazed　that　I　meant　it。
　〃What's　my　sister's　name？〃　she　said　finally。
　〃I　don't　know。〃
　〃Am　I　religious？〃
　〃I'm　not　sure。〃
　〃Do　I　steal　money　from　the　tip　jar　at　the　coffee　shop　when　I'm　short　on　change？〃
　〃Probably。〃
　Katie　leaned　in；　smiling。　〃There。　You　survived。〃
　I'd　never　been　with　someone　who　was　so　confident　about　getting　to　know　me。　She　never　seemed　to　doubt　the　pieces　would　fit。
　〃Now　let's　go　to　dinner；〃　she　said；　pulling　me　by　the　hand。
　We　never　looked　back。
　　
　Eight　days　after　my　dream　about　the　satyr；　Paul　came　to　me　with　news。　〃I　was　right；〃　he　said　proudly。　〃Parts　of　the　book　are　written　in　cipher。〃
　〃How'd　you　figure　it　out？〃
　〃Cornuta…the　word　Jerome　used　to　give　Moses　horns…is　the　answer　Francesco　wanted。　But　most　of　the　normal　techniques　for　using　a　word　as　a　cipher　don't　work　in　the　Hypnerotomachia。　Look　。　。　。〃
　He　showed　me　a　sheet　of　paper　he'd　prepared；　with　two　lines　of　letters　running　parallel　to　each　other。
　
　〃Here's　a　very　basic　cipher　alphabet；〃　he　said。　〃The　top　row　is　what　you　call　the　plaintext；　the　bottom　row　is　the　ciphertext。　Notice　how　the　ciphertext　begins　with　our　keyword；　cornuta？　After　that；　it's　just　a　regular　alphabet；　with　the　letters　from　cornuta　removed　so　they　don't　get　duplicated。〃
　〃How　does　it　work？〃
　Paul　picked　up　a　pencil　from　his　desk　and　began　circling　letters。　〃Say　you　wanted　to　write　'hello'　using　this　cornuta　cipher。　You　would　start　with　the　plaintext　alphabet　on　top　and　find　'H；'　then　look　at　its　equivalent　in　ciphertext　below　it。　In　this　case；　'H'　corresponds　to　'B。'　You　do　that　with　the　rest　of　the　letters；　and　'hello'　bees　'buggj。'　〃
　〃That's　how　Colonna　used　cornuta？〃
　〃No。　By　the　fifteenth　and　sixteenth　centuries；　Italian　courts　had　much　more　sophisticated　systems。　Alberti；　who　wrote　the　architecture　treatise　I　showed　you　last　week；　also　invented　polyalphabetic　cryptography。　The　cipher　alphabet　changes　every　few　letters。　It's　much　harder。〃
　I　point　to　his　sheet　of　paper。　〃But　Colonna　couldn't　have　used　anything　like　that。　It　just　makes　gibberish。　The　whole　book　would　be　full　of　words　like　'buggj。'　〃
　Paul's　eyes　lit　up。　〃Exactly。　plex　encipherment　methods　don't　produce　readable　text。　But　the　Hypnerotomachia　is　different。　Its　ciphertext　still　reads　like　a　book。〃
　〃So　Colonna　used　the　riddles　instead　of　a　cipher。〃
　He　nodded。　〃It's　called　steganography。　Like　writing　a　message　in　invisible　ink：　the　idea　is　that　nobody　knows　it's　there。　Francesco　bined　cryptography　and　steganography。　He　hid　riddles　inside　a　normal…sounding　story；　where　they　wouldn't　stand　out。　Then　he　used　the　riddles　to　create　deciphering　techniques；　to　make　it　harder　to　understand　his　message。　In　this　case；　all　you　have　to　do　is　count　the　number　of　letters　in　cornuta；　which　is　seven；　then　string　together　every　seventh　letter　in　the　text。　It's　not　that　different　from　using　the　first　word　of　every　chapter。　Just　a　matter　of　knowing　the　right　intervals。〃
　〃That　worked？　Every　seventh　letter　in　the　book？〃
　Paul　shook　his　head。　〃Not　the　whole　book。　Just　a　part。　And　no；　it　didn't　work　at　first。　I　kept　ing　up　with　nonsense。　The　problem　is　figuring　out　where　to　start。　If　you　choose　every　seventh　letter　beginning　with　the　first　one；　you　get　a　pletely　different　result　than　if　you　choose　every　seventh　letter　beginning　with　the　second　one。　That's　where　the　riddle's　answer　plays　a　role　again。〃
　He　pulled　another　page　from　his　pile；　this　one　a　photocopy　of　an　original　page　from　the　Hypnerotomachia。
　〃Right　here；　in　the　middle　of　this　chapter；　is　the　word　cornuta；　spelled　out　in　the　text　of　the　book　itself。　If　you　begin　with　the　'C'　in　cornuta；　and　write　down　every　seventh　letter　for　the　next　three　chapters；　that's　how　you　find　Francesco's　plaintext。　The　original　was　in　Latin；　but　I　translated　it。〃　He　handed　me　another　sheet。　〃Look。〃
　
　Good　reader；　this　past　year　has　been　the　most　trying　I　have　endured。　Separated　from　my　family；　I　have　had　only　the　good　of　mankind　to　fort　me；　and　while　traveling　the　waters　I　have　seen　how　flawed　that　good　can　be。　If　it　is　true；　what　Pico　said；　that　man　is　pregnant　with　all　possibilities；　that　he　is　a　great　miracle；　as　Hermes　Trismegistus　claimed；　then　where　is　the　proof？　I　am　surrounded　on　one　side　by　the　greedy　and　the　ignorant；　who　hope　to　profit　by　following　me；　and　on　the　other　side　by　the　jealous　and　the　falsely　pious；　who　hope　to　profit　by　my　destruction。
　But　you；　reader；　are　faithful　to　what　I　believe；　or　you　could　not　have　found　what　I　have　hidden　here。　You　are　not　among　those　who　destroy　in　God's　name；　for　my　text　is　their　foe；　and　they　are　my　enemy。　I　have　traveled　broadly　in　search　of　a　vessel　for　my　secret；　a　way　to　preserve　it　against　time。　A　Roman　by　birth；　I　was　raised　in　a　city　built　for　all　ages。　The　walls　and　bridges　of　the　emperors　stand　after　a　thou