I loaded the Mysticism panel.

Chapter 165 The Essence of Encryption

Richard and Maggie were both taken aback for a moment.

"Wait a minute," Maggie said first.

"Sir, these inscriptions have existed for over two thousand years. Has no one ever deciphered them?"

That's a good question.

Mr. Hutton took a sip of tea.

"Maggie, let me give you an example."

He picked up a coin from the low table.

"Imagine this coin has the inscription: 'The sun shines on the earth.'"

He tossed the coin head up.

"A thousand years ago, a scholar read this sentence."

He wrote a note: "'The sun shines on the earth' means that the CD player dispels darkness, and order suppresses chaos."

The coin was flipped over.

Five hundred years later, another scholar read the same sentence.

He wrote a note: "The meaning of 'the sun shines on the earth' is that nothing can stay in the shadows forever."

"Three hundred years later, another scholar read this sentence."

Note: "The sun shines on the earth," but the sun's rays can also scorch the earth, killing it.

He stood the coin upright, holding it between his index finger and thumb, so that both sides faced the two young men at the same time.

"Three people read the same sentence, and none of the three annotations are wrong, yet the three annotations are not similar."

Richard pondered the meaning of those words.

"Sir, you mean... the 'previously undeciphered encrypted text' required for empirical evidence doesn't mean deciphering a ciphertext that has never been touched before?"

"Yes, it only requires you to write your own interpretation from your own perspective."

Mr. Hutton put the coin back on the table.

"The Latin word for 'positive' is Probatio (proof)."

Prove that you are capable of independently analyzing a piece of encrypted inscription, deconstructing it from beginning to end, understanding it, and restating it in your own words and with your own knowledge.

"Otherwise, over thousands of years, the total amount of encrypted text would be limited."

But every year scholars need to perform empirical tasks; we can't expect us old folks to manually encrypt the inscriptions for you, can we?

"So, the same inscription can be used as empirical evidence by different scholars?"

Maggie's eyebrows shot up: "Doesn't that mean we can just copy other people's answers?"

"Is what you copied your own?" Mr. Hutton retorted.

Maggie opened her mouth slightly, then closed it again.

"You can indeed go through the filing cabinets and find those old papers."

Mr. Hutton placed the teacup back on the saucer:

"But after you finish copying it, you stand in front of that inscription and use your spiritual vision to fixate on it. What the inscription gives you back is completely different from what it gives them back."

"Because times have changed, you have changed, and even the curtain itself has changed."

"The same inscription appears in vastly different ways to scholars of different eras, ranks, and traditions."

Five hundred years ago, a scholar read "peace" in the seventh set of inscriptions; you might read "binding." You're both right, and neither of you is entirely right.

"But as long as you can stand in front of the inscription and independently complete a full interpretation using your own knowledge and inspiration, and..."

He held up three fingers.

"First, the logical chain of interpretation is complete and traceable, without any skipped steps."

"Secondly, the conclusions drawn from the interpretation resonate with the etheric flow inherent in the inscription itself."

"Third, submit the interpretation draft to your mentor and at least one academic professional in the field for double confirmation. The confirmation criterion is whether your answer is logically sound."

Mr. Hutton withdrew his three fingers.

"If these three conditions are met, the empirical evidence is valid."

Richard leaned back in his chair and went through all the information he had just heard.

It turns out that empirical evidence is never about "finding a ciphertext that no one has ever touched and then translating it for the first time."

Each scholar, when faced with the same inscription, submits their own unique answer.

This answer was influenced by his knowledge base, his inspirational biases, the era he lived in, his breathing techniques, and even his life experiences.

An identical inscription, fed to a hundred scholars, produces a hundred different interpretations.

Each one can be considered valid empirical evidence.

"Therefore, these ancient inscriptions are actually a cyclical question bank."

Richard thought of the exam questions from his past life.

There are only a few textbooks, but with so many years of past exam papers and mock tests, there are always things to use for questions.

"You can understand it that way." Mr. Hutton was very satisfied with his analogy.

"There are thousands of seal inscriptions, tomb inscriptions, ritual fragments, etc. existing within the empire."

Each copy can be reused repeatedly; after one generation finishes using it, another continues to use it, and each generation interprets it differently.

His tone became a little more relaxed: "In fact, the fact that the same inscription is repeatedly interpreted by scholars from different eras is itself part of the continuation of tradition."

The annotations from a thousand years ago and those from today, stacked together, constitute the history of humankind's understanding of the veil.

"If one day your interpretation is almost identical to that of your predecessors, it actually shows that your thinking is outdated."

Mr. Hutton smiled:

"That's why we always talk about innovation. In our human tradition, only innovative ideas have value."

Richard silently memorized these words.

Maggie, who was next to her, was already writing something rapidly on the back of the rubbing with a charcoal pencil.

"Sir, this rubbing..." She finished writing the last stroke and looked up, "I also participated in the copying; could I keep a copy?"

"Of course, these are all shared resources, and anyone can interpret them."

"Sir," Richard spoke first.

"Um."

"When I was looking at those inscriptions down there today, something came to mind."

"you say."

"The twelve sets of inscriptions at the border stone circle are Celtic at the bottom, Romanized in the middle, and medieval Latin on the top."

"Um."

"The coexistence of three layers of text on the same carrier is very close to the definition of 'double copying'."

Mr. Hutton stopped holding his teacup.

Where did you learn the term "double copy"?

"Imperial Capital University Library." Richard had his answer ready.

"When I was browsing through documents on the east side of the second floor, I came across an old book about encryption methods."

The concept was mentioned earlier: two or more layers of text coexisting on the same medium, with information from the physical and ethereal levels overlapping.

"I hastily memorized the word at the time, without studying it in depth."

The old gentleman put the teacup back on the table.

"Since we're on this topic, I'll take this opportunity to tell you about it."

The research findings of our field also need to be published and circulated in society.

Scholars don't shut themselves away and talk to themselves; papers are meant to be read and discussed.

"But have you ever considered how these papers are written in a way that laypeople can't understand?"

Richard offered his own conjecture based on his experience deciphering Appendix C and other texts.

"...Using academic language to repeatedly package and artificially create barriers?"

"Yes." Mr. Hutton nodded. "This is the most commonly used layer."

"The academic journals published by the Imperial University Library contain a large number of articles that look like papers on physiology, geology, anthropology, or classics, but they are actually all about our field."

"Laymen will only find the tedious and boring papers that make them sleepy, and they will put them down after a couple of glances."

The old gentleman took a sip of tea.

"That's why our industry places a high value on intelligence. For ordinary people, getting a diploma and memorizing textbook knowledge is enough."

How can we be scholars if we can't even understand the papers published by our peers?

"So that's how it is." Richard digested this statement.

"As for the 'overwrite' technology you mentioned."

"Double copying, there is only one line of text at the physical level, but the second layer can be seen by processing it with a specific method."

Vision, specific light sources, chemical reagents, temperature changes... there are many methods.

Mr. Hutton placed the teacup on his lap.

"The content hidden beneath is completely different from the surface content."

"...What do you mean?"

"The surface level is 'safe knowledge,' such as a certain history or language."

"What's hidden below is the truly dangerous thing."

"How dangerous?" Maggie was also very interested; in fact, exploring the unknown is in a scholar's nature.

Mr. Hutton glanced at her.

"Within the academic system, all documents involving multiple copying or even more complex encryption techniques share a common characteristic."

"What characteristics?"

"Many of them are related to the traditions and taboo rituals of the Abyss."

Richard's fingers tightened on his knee.

Maggie, standing next to her, paused her charcoal pencil between her fingers, and her shoulders tensed slightly.

She was a child raised in the Gaelic Heights, and the word "Abyss" carried more weight in her ears than Richard's.

Mr. Hutton noticed her reaction but did not look away.

"The knowledge of the Abyss tradition has been regarded as the most dangerous thing by all the major traditions since its inception."

The old man placed his hands on top of the teacup.

"Scholars of the solar tradition believe that the abyss is a betrayal of order;"

Alchemists of the Hearthfire tradition believe that the Abyss is a distortion of the laws of transformation;

The hunters of the Moon Hunting tradition are more direct; they've seen too many individuals wipe out their entire teams because of their own madness, so they'd rather burn all related documents to ashes.

"But the Abyss tradition itself does contain things that cannot be found in other traditions."

Some knowledge can only be unearthed from the depths of the veil, and some techniques can only be practiced by studying the traditions of the abyss.

"So those scholars who had knowledge of the relevant dangers made a compromise."

They didn't destroy these documents, but instead repeatedly encrypted them using multiple copies or more complex methods.

Mr. Hutton raised his hand.

"When scholars encrypt text, they are setting up a progressively higher level of screening criteria."

"The plain text is encrypted, and it contains basic occult knowledge that can keep out ordinary people."

Double copying can block most newcomers;

More complex encryption methods beyond that...

He slowly lowered his hand.

"Our principle is that if you have the ability to break down the corresponding text, you already have enough judgment to decide whether or not to continue reading."

Mr. Hutton lowered his head and blew on the tea leaves in his cup.

Richard, I know you have a strong curiosity about all kinds of knowledge.

This is the most important quality of a scholar, and also the characteristic that most easily leads to trouble.

"But I'll tell you something in advance... try to avoid anything related to the traditions of the Abyss."

His gaze fell on Richard's face:

"Whether it's the sun, the fire in the hearth, weaving nets, or any other branch of tradition."

Although each of these paths carries its own risks, they all ultimately lead upwards.

Above, there is light, there are rules, and there are paths trodden by those who came before.

"The traditional direction in the abyss is downwards."

There is no light, no rules, and no path trodden by predecessors below.

Or, to put it another way, the paths trodden by predecessors will move on their own underneath.

You think you're walking, but actually the road is walking on you.