5

eN5 encryption (the name refers to the substitution value of the letter N) is the standard text encryption mechanism utilised by RAVEN. It uses a 30-bit substitution code translated into a non-standard base carrying an additional chromatic data layer. Further encryption is generally applied to the resulting code using an assymetric peer key process.

The 30 bits are:

a (8) b (chroma O) c (chroma R) d (chroma I) e (chroma G) f (9) g (2) h (6) i (17) j (7) k (18) l (1) m (chroma B) n (5) o (chroma Y)

p (3) q (Ø) r (13) s (X) t (19) u (4) v (15) w (14) x (O) y (chroma V) z (16) case indicator ($)  spacer (chroma K) alt toggle (§) clear (chroma W)

The precise details of the non-standard base formation are not made public but can to a large extent be deduced. The table below shows a typical encryption into a chromatic figure (colouring is illustrative and approximate; chromatic information is in reality encoded as a separate number string). Where appropriate, words are traditionally broken into units of five characters or less.

The

quick

brown

fox

jumps

over

the

lazy

dog

$the

quick

brown

fox

jumps

over

the

lazy

dog

72249 G

K

124962 R 16

K

O 11 Y 109

K

9 Y 18

K

69 B 35

K

Y 13 G 11

K

159 G

K

1319 V

K

I Y 2

72249

12496216

11109

918

6935

1311

159

1319

2

SXFHe

QULJcK

bRoWN

FoX

JUmPS

oVeR

THe

KZy

doG

Superficially, the encryption is marginally lossy. The final line of the above table shows the result of a standard decryption of the chromatic figure (chromatic deductions are presented in lower case). Such aberrations are a deliberate layer of the encryption, and a simple demonstration of the process of loss can be seen with the example "lazy", where the letters L and A (encoded as 1 and 8) are reduced to K (encoded as 18). A reversal of this principle is found in "quick", where I (encoded as 17) is expanded to L and J (1 and 7). It should be understood that the precise mechanism by which such characters become expanded or reduced is governed by certain rules, and that not all such transformations are as straightforward. The exact process is governed by the base translation, but information about the input is required to generate an accurate output. To this end, alt toggles may be employed to convey further data packets for disambiguation, but in some eN5 encryptions these are deliberately withheld or may be sent separately. Likewise, the chromatic layer of the code may be separated from the main body. Without the chromatic layer, the permutations for decryption are immense. A popular but extremely basic encryption format uses a two-colour layer (chroma K and chroma W); such a decryption of the above figure would read SXFH QULJK RWN FX JUPS VR TH KZ G. Other variants of the two-colour model exchange word spacing for uniform character periods to further obscure the original text.

Assymetric peer key encryption of eN5 generally takes the form of a mathematical translation of one or both of the translation figure and/or the chromatic layer. eN5 alone is not an appropriate format for the transmission of sensitive data, unless used in conjunction with some form of assymetric cryptography.

613.7999

Staff identification number (SIN)

For the purposes of record keeping within Xenon, all staff are issued with an identification number. An individual's SIN also doubles as their user ID login for most online systems.

The process for generating this number is automated, and uses a simplified, achromatic iteration of a partial eN5 encryption. Owing to the nature of eN5 encryption, SIN length is variable, but generally falls within five to seven numbers.

The seed for the SIN uses the first letter of the preferred forename, the first two letters of the surname, and the final letter of the surname, plus an ascending ordinal for deduplication purposes. Where letters map chromatically, adjacent letters are employed.

While the SIN bears no direct relationship with a staff member's name, the prospect of partial (or in some cases whole) decryption means that we are willing to reassign SIN numbers for a change of name. Please note that such a reassignment is not conducted as a matter of course and must be specifically requested.

Principle of the SIN

Many staff-members are intrigued as to how their number relates to their name. While the finer details of the eN5 encryption must necessarily be withheld in the interests of security, the following thumbnail offers a basic summary:

J o h n    S m i t h    A

The seed letters for John Smith should be J, S, M and H, but M is a chromatic character in eN5, so is replaced by the neighbouring letter I. A denotes that this is the first J-S-I-H seed to be issued. The corresponding output for this seed is therefore 445979.