This site is dedicated to the research and solution of Kryptos, a sculpture located on the grounds of the CIA Headquarters in Langley, Virginia. I chose the name Realm of Twelve because for one, it's catchy, and some time ago I designed the site's ambigramic logo with nowhere to put it. Secondly, and more importantly, twelve is my favorite number because it's everywhere. I've always found it fascinating that the more we see something, the less we consciously acknowledge it's there. So much is hidden around us, intentionally or not, that we tend to overlook the obvious clues that are screaming a meaning if anyone dare to observe. To me, Kryptos is like that. Something hidden in that artwork is staring out at everyone who passes by. For a few of us, a pause and maybe a little unnatural brainpower will reveal its secrets.
Think for a moment. What is so special about twelve that we naturally use it in relational systems? The digits of the watch on your wrist, the jurors in a courtroom, the signs of the zodiac, the disciples of Christ, the months in a year, the biblical twelve spies of Canaan, Stravinsky's twelve-tone scale -- dozens of hints to the organization and symbolic recognition of the human mind are in our world trying to explain something... this site is my tribute to that concept.
So what bearing does twelve have on Kryptos? The theme I'm going for is what lies beneath the illusions. That's what Kryptos is all about. What does Da Vinci have to do with Kryptos? Perhaps nothing directly, but if it wasn't for Da Vinci and Dan Brown, there would be no Da Vinci Code alluding to this sculpture, which has drawn the attention of common folk like myself to it.
The quality I find in hiding information is the ability to preserve a perception without corruption. We need to be careful not to assume that all things hidden are truth; rather they are truthful perceptions. If history is written by the winners, they may inevitably become losers when the untouched skeletons of secrecy come to life -- sometimes millennia later. Package up a few secrets and a key with a nuance that people want to preserve. Someday someone will see that carefully crafted clue and decrypt the message that had silently been there all along.
|
> About: Researcher |