So I tend to like crazy authors that do strange things in their books, like insert crypto. The problem comes down to is it really crypto?

Example: In Preston and Child's ThunderHead (one of their best), they include a block cypher text, supposed a substitution cypher. After a fter hours of frequency analysis, I'm nowhere fast Based on how close the frequencies were, it could be random junk. I email the authors if there is anything in there to look for. They replied back originally they were going to have a contest hidden in the cypher text but didn't have time. Its just junk. Oh Well

But know, cut to Dan Brown's Digital Fortress.I really didn't like this book. While the story involving David tracking down the ring was interesting, the rest was too over the top or simply incorrect. The 8 story tall code cracker. The plush prvate offices. 64 bit keys means 64 characters. How the "Tracking" bug worked through an anonymous remailer. Character motivations, etc.

Regardless, the end of the book had a nifty code:
128-10-93-85-10-128-98-112-6-6-25-126-39-1-68-78

Immediately I resist the urge to type it into Google. I know I can solve this. First thing I did was count the number of characters. 16. 16 * 8 = 128 bits. Could this be used to access an HTTPS page on a website? Dan Brown could have a personal page, maybe the book publisher. I check the copyright date: 1996. I doubt he had a page back then. Next, Its not an ASCII string (too many control characters, and even by adding 64 to bring the smallest number up to Letter range, then 128+64 is in the line drawing characters of 8 bit ascii.) Nothing higher than 128. What if it is 7 bit ascii, alined on 8 bit boundries? Well 128 bits doesn't /7 evenly, so no. Maybe there are page numbers? Nope, I dimiss that because that would change from hardback to softback. Besides its a 400+ page book, and the code would use less than half of it. That 128 is bugging me. 10000000 ... hmmm ... Wait a sec, there are 128 chapters, not including epilogue and prologue... (I remember because I hate small chapter books). I immediately notice that there are two 128s, 6s and 10s. I look at the first letter of these chapters, and think I'm chasing nothing until I see Chaper 10 starts with E. That makes 2 E's and 2 A's. So we have at least 4 vowels over 16 letters. Sounds good.

So I write down all the first letters of each chapter and I get this:

W E C G E W H Y A A I O R T N U

Well 4 vowels in a row is wrong. I look at the code for several more minutes, and then remember how they used Caeser squares alot in the book. In fact 2 seperate times, including once in the last few pages. Furthermore caeser squares were the only simply form of crypto they talked about in the book. Well I have 16 letters...

W E C G
E W H Y
A A I O
R T N U

We Are Watching You. Not Kryptos, but certainly made my morning.