Deciphering Quicksilver

When the Baroque Cycle was first announced there was a cryptic message on the front page of the site. I recognised the code but I figured cracking Finnish was enough for the time being. Someone deciphered the message and has a a nice translation of it along with an explanation of how he deciphered it. Stephenson also mentions this in a letter on the Baroque Cycle website. I was hoping for a more clever and witty message but now I'm sorry I didn't bother with it and get the autographed copy of the book. :)

There is a mention of, but no link to, the seminal book on this philosophical language that Wilkins created which this cipher is based upon. I went looking and found An Essay Toward a Real Character and a Philosophical Language in whole on-line complete with translation and original pages scanned in. Worthy of a look if you enjoy historical crypto.

Quicksilver is a terrific read if you enjoy history and if you're patient enough to read through 900 pages while knowing that there are 1800 more pages still to come. :) I don't know if Neal is one of those authors who googles for mentions and reviews but if he is and finds this page I'd like to say thanks for such an engaging book and that I'm eagerly awaiting the next installment.