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PETER
JENNINGS
Finally here this evening, the embarrassing secret of the CIA. Over the years
the Central Intelligence Agency has studied and broken some of the toughest
codes ever created. Tonight it's top code breakers are stumped by a puzzle that
is quite literally staring them in the face every day. Here's ABC's John Martin.
JOHN
MARTIN
(CU LETTER) It is called cryptos, Greek for hidden. It is a curved copper screen
of letters in secret code. (MONUMENT) It was dedicated five months ago at CIA
headquarters. So far apparently the agency's code breakers can't figure out
what it says.
JIM
SANBORN
Once the plate is deciphered I'm not convinced the true meaning will be clear
even then. There's another deeper mystery.
JOHN
MARTIN
Sculptor Sanborn created the mystery after he won a 250,000 dollar commission
three years ago. He says he decided to create a work that touches the hidden
nature of the CIA. (JIM SCULPTING) He refuses to say what the message is. Could
it have perhaps a subversive quality?
JIM
SANBORN
It could corrupt somehow. It might cause...that people at the agency to perhaps
think of things a little bit more, less seriously.
JOHN
MARTIN
(STUDIO EXT/INT) Somebody, perhaps from the CIA, took the sculpture very seriously.
(CIA BROCHURE)
JIM
SANBORN
A lot of strange things happened while I was doing the piece. There were people
caught on ladders trying to look in my window and photograph the piece through
my windows and they were run off by the police.
JOHN
MARTIN
To code his secret, Sanborn turned to a retired CIA cryptographer. Today, the
CIA refuses to discuss the code in public. It insisted that Sanborn hand CIA
Director William Webster an envelope containing the code and the message. At
its dedication Webster praised the sculpture and called the code a test. So
far nobody has passed it.
JIM
SANBORN
Sure sombeody will figure it out eventually and then personalities will change,
you know. Ten years will go by, 15 years will go by and they'll forget what
it says again.
JOHN
MARTIN
(SU) So an agency often synonymous with secrecy in the world has collected one
more secret message to go along with the billions already here, confident that
it can decipher it and if necessary keep it from the outside world. John Martin,
ABC News, Langley, Virginia.
PETER
JENNINGS
That is our report on World News Tonight. I'm Peter Jennings. Have a good evening,
we'll see you tomorrow, good night.
Return to Elonka's Kryptos page
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