VMs: Re: Some michiton oladabas notes...

[steve ekwall <ekwall2@xxxxxxxx>]

hi all :-)


 Date: Tue, 9 Jul 2002 19:41:10 -0300 (EST)
 From: Jorge Stolfi <stolfi@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
 Subject: VMs:  Re: Some michiton oladabas notes...

Jorge wrote 'snip'..... 

 
                          Ble qle qleqle qle      <--- Grove's "title"
 
 
   So our Scribe merrily copies each paragraph while reading it upside
   down and back-to-front. (Even if the the original didn't have the
   parag header lines assumed above, the Scribe would probably ignore
   the original line breaks, and fill the margins in Western manner; so
   the last line would end up shorter than the rest, in any case.)
 
   At the same time, the Scribe inserts the illustrations in the text,
   adds ornate capital letters at the start (originally end) of each
   page, and embellishes the ascenders (originally descenders) in the
   first line of each copied paragraph, as he was used to do.
 
   The glyphs get reversed too, so that what were ascenders become
   descenders, and vice-versa; and the Scribe naturally adjusts the
   character shapes and stroke directions so that they can be easily
   written with his quill pen.

....'snip' 


-=se=->



THUS, the FOLDings of the ES KEY! - one doesn't FLIP the paper
(vellum), just the KEY! ( and THAT'S NOT even necessary if one makes
HIS KEY with the MIRROR/Reversed (all UPrighted characters on the same
KEYpage in REVERSE"... one (scribe) would just hold a finger (point)
on the M.key (3 3 9) and goto - "point to" the next to be pointed at,
THAT (your) finger MOVING positioning ~CREATES~ which vms character it
is!!!  rem: EACH character (in vms(?)) has a receprical or MIRROR
Image!

3 3 9(total)

The scribe(s) "traces" / copies that finger _movement_ INTO the vms
character that it resembles!!!!!!   THUS a lack of entropy for any
known 'alphabet' !!  

Please reNOTE your first "impulse's?" on seeing the vms
was it SOME KIND of ~SCRIPTED~ Writing??.. (language unknown) 

But IT'S NOT !!  reNote: NOW, that Each character is a STAND.A.ALONE
BLOCK (pointing) character... c_c_c's are exceptions as \\\? are for
being on the SAME 33 KEY and just moving your finger etc..  The
LARGENESS (OVER sized) of the "scripted e" (eva l) will support this
if looked at by handwritting experts? It's never small and always
stand.a.lone "e" because IT'S pointing to the UPPER CENTER of the 339
FOLD KEY (where the scribes finger just arrived for its positioning
character). What character resides in the TTT area (and what language)
I haven't a clue - sorry :-/


BTW:
IT's NOT like positive/negative (Mirror), it's FOLDED 3 3 giving 9
TOTAL KEYS (less centers?) More like Tic.Tac TOE BUT, you can use BOTH
SIDES of the your TTT board (key) and you can have 4 of them. per
M.KEY! you just 'MIRROR' the 3 3 9.

I _never said_ it was EASY, IT's JUST "EASIER Than you Think" etc...

Simple as "Tic Tac Toe?", (almost) but play (decode) "IT" 3-D.


"embellishers, ascenders, descenders" are mere finger-pointers on a
KEY page - THAT GOES with the FLOW of "THAT CHARACTER" where it
resides! (keep your finger on the 3 3 9 M.Key) ~switch~ (mirror side)
when you see an "embillished character")

You CAN'T jump into the random of any vms page and START
this (folding/decoding) as your finger would be on one of (3x3)=9 
or 9 of 3x3 keys EACH!!! (you need THE embellished START character
as found out the TOP (embellished char) of the page to Start this
simple? key.

ALSO read TOP to Bottom . LEFT to RIGHT (on your KEY(s)) and with
finger movement of the next letter (pointer) noted.

PS .. I could be wrong, but I'm also almost SURE that all "Graphics"
or drawings" were put ON the vms BEFORE the coded script was added!

<-=se=- 


...snip
 
   However, when he gets to the note at the bottom (now top) of f116v,
   the Scribe can't make sense out of it either, because the Author's
   handwriting was too poor and/or the text was damaged and/or the
   Scribe doesn't understand L2 either; but he can tell that the
   letters are Roman cursive, except for the two words in (upside-down)
   L1 script. So he copies the text, making his best guess for each
   Roman letter; and copies the L1 words just as he did throughout the
   book.
 
 I can't say that I believe this theory myself; it has too many rough
 spots (especially the part about the illustrations).  However, it has
 the merit of being *one* explanation for *three* major VMS puzzles: the big
 red glyphs of f1r, the position of the "Grove titles", and the 
 peculiar character of the "michiton" text! 
 
     > (6) However, there are apparently numerous Voynichese characters
     > threaded through this whole sequence (and these are the opposite
     > way up), so I'm not too sure what's going on here at all. :-(
 
 See above. By that theory, this makes perfect sense since *all*
 Voynichese glyphs are upside down!
 
     > (7) I can't find the words "Roger" or "Bacon" anywhere. However,
     > if it's any help I can see "vigo" in the middle line, who (IIRC)
     > was the bad guy in "Ghostbusters". :-)
 
 I gather that "Viggo" is also the Finnish name of Gaston Lagaffe (q.v.). 
 So perhaps the VMS is simply M. de Mesmaeker's contracts? 8-)
 
 All the best,
 
 --stolfi
 
...end snip....
 
-=se=->

The "big red glyphs" of f1r.. are of course (to me) 'stand.a.lones'
too - Chinese? (I don't know) but, symbols to lead that paragraph.

as 

"G oOo D - (God)" let me write this book good and true........
etc...


The only "Real Page TURNER!" I have found are the "9 Rosettes".. This
when turned 1/4 wise counter clockwise (with copyFlow staples (hinge?)
how is this copyflow affixed/bookbound anyhow??) - anyway in this
ROTATED Position... the FOLDing SEQUENCE Fits in a biological SEQUENCE
of PLUS and MINUS / LIFE of a CELL - DEATH of A CELL (another
or the Folding sequence/coinciding!) and "another 10x+ MicroScope
needed." (sigh?)


The 8 embellishers (4 total with c_4_c'd four more (8 to key)), just
tells the "DE"-coder to go to it's mirror-image (SAME rules always
apply after that... That is why I was so surprized to see 2 Gallows
side by side, & when the decypher is finally known, I suspect I might
have found the 1st 2 ERRORS in vms by the original scribe(s) (like I
never TYP-O'd (sic: theMMyself) (ha.haaa)>

Anyway - just passing on the FOLD KEY (again) before you all forget
it. :-)


best to you & yours
-=se=-
steve (Folding: "IT FITS / IT FLOWS") ekwall 

-----------------------------------------------
<-=se=->

thanks for all the pen/quill/ink/nib info here - you guys are all
great !! :-)


p.s.s.
final thought:  ref: the page f116v (last vms page?) ... the Square'd 
characters of a circle and "sidewords" characters like the "script e"
(eva l)... reminds me of SOMEONE ELSE HAD THIS "Before WE got to see
IT" and tried his hand at decoding too.. like old grafitti etc.. 
Nothing on this page - is similar to anyother in the vms - but his/her 
female 'nymph' is about as good as I can draw (lol) .. THIS LAST
PAGE may be the 1st to be crack'd or 1st to TOSSED OUT as not being
original vms!

The (c_c_V_c's AND plus "+") CHARACTERS are not familiar anywhere in
the vms... thus it's short attempt/entry? Plus HER (nymph's)
Hat?/Crown?  LOOKS funny? - (ha.haaa)

I hereby dub tha LAST PAGE of the VMS "ANOTHER" failed attempt by
someone (else) to decode it....   back to page one here (sigh)