Cryptonomicon cypher FAQ

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Cryptonomicon cypher-FAQ

("Frequently Anticipated Questions")

by Neal Stephenson

Purpose of this document

It is likely that cypherpunks and other persons interested in crypto will feel some curiosity about my

novel CRYPTONOMICON. If so, they will probably find the available information, which is aimed

mostly at non-specialists, to be annoyingly long on sales pitch and frustratingly short on technical

detail. The purpose of this document is to make available the sort of information that is lacking in

sites and PR documents aimed at the general public.

Note

One of the peculiarities of being a novelist is that there is an irremediable numerical imbalance

between outgoing and incoming bandwidth. In other words, a novelist writes a single document and

sends it out into the world, which is a fairly low-bandwidth procedure. But if the novel is read by

many people who try to send communications back the other way, the novelist is quickly

overwhelmed and becomes unable to function. There is nothing that can be done about this

imbalance, and so I apologize in advance if I do not respond to incoming e-mails. I will not take

offense if e-mail is sent to me, but in return I ask that you not take offense if I fail to answer.

1. Overview of the Project

For several years I have been working on a series of novels on the general subject of cryptology.

Since cryptology is mathematics, which most people do not consider interesting reading, I have

broadened my scope a little bit to include related fields such as Money (e.g. digital currency), War

(e.g. the Enigma), and Power (e.g. crypto export controls) which can provide the basis for a more

engaging yarn.

The series, when it is finished, will cover a long span of history, however the first novel to be

actually published (CRYPTONOMICON, May 1999) is set in the 20th Century. It has two timelines,

one set during World War 2 and the other in the present day. Other volumes, set farther in the past or

in the future, will follow as soon as I can get them written.

The series will incorporate many characters and stories, tied together by a few common threads. For

example, certain family names keep popping up. Crypto, money, and computers seem to find their

way into all of the storylines.

The ongoing presence of crypto as an important force in the characters' lives is symbolized by a

fictitious book called the Cryptonomicon which, according to the story, is originally published in the

1600s as a compendium of cryptographic lore. As new generations of cryptologists come and go,

they add new information to this original document until it develops into a kind of Talmudic

compilation of whatever has been written about crypto in the last few centuries.

2. Contributions by Others

One of the noteworthy features of the novel CRYPTONOMICON is that it contains a new

cryptosystem invented by Bruce Schneier, called Solitaire (though in the actual text of the novel it

goes by a different name for a while). Bruce has written a technical appendix, printed in the back of

the book, giving a full description of Solitaire. Not only that, but Ian Goldberg has written a perl

script that encrypts and decrypts messages using the solitaire algorithm. The full text of Ian's perl

script appears in the body of the novel. Since Solitaire is strong enough to be export-controlled, this

means that when the text of the novel is rendered in electronic form it becomes an export-controlled

munition.

As Bruce explains in the appendix, Solitaire is specifically designed to offer security against

high-tech cryptanalysis, but it is implemented on a low-tech system: an ordinary deck of playing

cards. In other words, it is intended for use by people who are living under political regimes where

the possession of crypto tools (computers, crypto software, etc.) is itself grounds for confiscation,

punishment, etc.

What is a new cryptosystem like Solitaire doing in a novel? It is a mutually beneficial relationship. I

needed such a system to play a certain role in the book. But by including Bruce's full description of

the algorithm, and Ian's perl script, in the actual text of the novel, we can hopefully leverage the wide

publicity and distribution of the book to get this cryptosystem out to places it might not otherwise

reach.

3. What is up with the title?

It has been pointed out that the word "Cryptonomicon" bears obvious similarities to

"Cyphernomicon," which is the title of a cypherpunk FAQ document by Tim May. This leads to the

question of am I committing some form of plagiarism, or rendering homage, or what? The answer,

strangely enough, is neither. I was completely unaware of the existence of Tim May's

Cyphernomicon at the time I came up with "Cryptonomicon." According to the fictional storyline

that I have been writing, the original Cryptonomicon was written by an English scholar with a

Classical education (for those of you who are crypto history buffs, it is modeled after John Wilkins's

1641 book entitled Mercury). Accordingly, I wanted to give it a Latin-sounding title, and

"Cryptonomicon" is what I came up with. It is the sort of title that would blend in pretty well with

any 17th-Century English book list. According to all of the library and Web searches I have done

since then, the term "Cryptonomicon" has never appeared anywhere else.

Since becoming aware of the existence of Tim May's "Cyphernomicon" I have been in touch with

him about this near-collision in namespace. Of course I am not authorized to speak on his behalf, but

having had an exchange of messages with him, I am now going forward with the understanding that

he has no problems or complaints.

4. Does it mention Cypherpunks?

To write a novel about the modern-day crypto world without showing any awareness of the

Cypherpunk phenomenon would suggest carelessness or even dishonesty on the part of the author.

However, if I were a Cypherpunk, I would view this kind of attention as a double-edged sword.

Making members of some group into characters in a novel could be interpreted as a way of honoring

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