Langdon finds on the unfinished stone pyramid in SBB13 a four-by-four set of sixteen symbols (164). The symbols are illustrated twice more for a total of three times until he provides the Freemason Cipher that helps him decode it (197). The Freemason Cipher, sometimes called the Pigpen Cipher, locates the twenty-six letters of the English alphabet onto two three-by-three squares and two blocks of four. Each letter then corresponds to a single spot of the larger diagram. The cipher has been in use since the eighteenth century to keep the secrets of Masonry safe. But little is safe or secret on the Internet that offers several versions of the cipher. Be careful, some of these ciphers are off just a little to keep away the uninitiated! Langdon provides the key to decoding the message, but anyone can obtain it today on Wikipedia (197).
Using the corresponding table the message on the pyramid reads:
S O E U
A T U N
C S A S
V U N J
The result, however, is meaningless without further decoding that requires using the assistance of 1514 AD.
If you have not yet found and solved the Freemason Cipher in the lower left-hand corner on the back cover, now is the time to do so. For those without the American cover who wish to try their hand at deciphering I have constructed my own secret message. Can you solve it?
THE FREEMASON OR PIGPEN CIPHER
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pigpen_cipher
BACK OF THE LOST SYMBOL DUSTCOVER IMAGE
dailygrail.com/share/lostsymbolcovers/bookback.jpg
MAKE YOUR OWN ENCIPHERED MESSAGE
www.civilwarsignals.org/cipher/pigpencipher.html
THE LOST SYMBOL TRB