[Cryptography] Want to know what those last 97 characters of Kryptos mean?

[Jon Callas]

The WaPo link is very effectively paywalled. There's an NYT article at:

https://archive.is/vNuqB#selection-4759.332-4763.0

With a lot more details.

I found it interesting that the real details seem to be in the last few grafs, where either explicitly or implicitly we learn:

* He seems to have made the artistic decision that he doesn't want it to be an enigma for the ages. He really does want someone to solve it. So he's put a clue in his announcement, but then he's selling it off.

* He's tired of being the Keeper of Kryptos. Artistically he moved on ages ago.

* The mantle of being Keeper of Kryptos brings in a not-trivial amount of money, about $40K/year, but it's clerical work and increasingly annoying to do. The main job is really telling people who are slightly mad that they're wrong in a polite way. It has become especially irksome with people throwing AI crap at him. 

* His wife is totally uninterested in being Keeper of Kryptos. Likely other family and close people, too.

* Thus, what he really wants to sell is the Mantle of Keeper of Kryptos, but he knows that that isn't really possible because once it's sold, it's sold. And while he could put something in a contract, he wants someone to solve it.

	Jon