Publius Enigma
The Publius Enigma is an Internet phenomenon and an unsolved problem that began with cryptic messages posted by a user identifying only as "Publius" to the unmoderated Usenet newsgroup alt.music.pink-floyd through the Penet remailer, a now defunct anonymous information exchange service. The messenger proposed a riddle in connection with the 1994 Pink Floyd album The Division Bell, promising that the answer would lead to a reward.[1]
Guitarist David Gilmour denied any involvement.[2] According to drummer Nick Mason, EMI Records were responsible. It remains unclear if the enigma involves a genuinely solvable puzzle as part of an early Internet-based contest or was a convoluted hoax.[3]
History
[edit]During the 1994 Division Bell World Tour, Columbia Records flew a 194-foot-long (59 m) airship named The Division Belle between Pink Floyd concert locations.[4] The Columbia Electronic Press Kit was released to the media, along with the Promo Spots Video consisting of interviews with band members, footage of the airship in action, and a segment which contained the following:
"A spokesperson for Pink Floyd has issued the following statement: You have spotted the Pink Floyd Airship. Do not be alarmed. Pink Floyd have sent their airship to North America to deliver a message. The Pink Floyd Airship is headed towards a destination where all will be explained upon arrival. Pink Floyd will communicate."
On 11 June 1994, a user of the anonymous Penet remailer service posted the following message to the Usenet newsgroup "alt.music.pink-floyd"
>>>>>>>> T H E M E S S A G E <<<<<<<<
My friends,
You have heard the message Pink Floyd has delivered,
but have you listened?
Perhaps I can be your guide, but I will not solve the enigma for you.
All of you must open your minds and communicate with each other,
as this is the only way the answers can be revealed.
I may help you, but only if obstacles arise.
Listen.
Read.
Think.
Communicate.
If I don't promise you the answers would you go.
Publius
A follow-up clarified the challenge:[5]
AS SOME OF YOU HAVE SUSPECTED, "The Division Bell" is not like its
predecessors. Although all great music is subject to multiple
interpretations, in this case there is a central purpose and a
designed solution. For the ingenious person (or group of persons)
who recognizes this - and where this information points to - a
unique prize has been secreted.
How and Where?
The Division Bell
Listen again
Look again
As your thoughts will steer you
Leading the blind while I stared out the steel
in your eyes.
Lyrics, artwork and music will take you there
In order to refute the ensuing scepticism, Publius agreed to provide proof of his authenticity. On 16 July 1994 he delivered a prediction:
To validate the trust of those who believe, as well as to reconcile the doubt of others, I have gone to great lengths to plan the following display of communication: Monday, July 18 East Rutherford, New Jersey Approximately 10:30pm Flashing white lights. There is an enigma. Trust.
On the night of 18 July 1994, patterns in the lights on the front of the stage at the Pink Floyd concert in East Rutherford momentarily spelled out the words ENIGMA PUBLIUS.[6]
In September 1996, the Penet remailer service was shut down and posts to the newsgroup through the associated Publius account ceased.
Official statements
[edit]In 2002 webchat, guitarist David Gilmour said the puzzle was "some silly record company thing that they thought up to puzzle people with".[3] In April 2005, during a book signing of his biographical work Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd, drummer Nick Mason affirmed that it had been instigated by the record company:
That was a ploy done by EMI. They had a man working for them who adored puzzles. He used to work for the Reagan administration. His job then would be to be in meetings with the president and when Reagan would say "Let's bomb these people" he would say "That's not a good idea sir!". He was working for EMI and suggested that a puzzle be created that could be followed on the Web. The prize was never given out. To this day it remains unresolved. The prize was something like a crop of trees planted in a clear cut area of forest or something to that effect. It was not to be a prize of some tangible thing but rather a touchy-feely sort of gift that was more of a philanthropic thing than something you could hang on the wall.[3]
The comments made by Mason corroborate parts of a previous interview by Brain Damage Magazine with Marc Brickman, Pink Floyd's lighting and production designer and the man apparently responsible for putting the "ENIGMA PUBLIUS" message in the lights at the New Jersey concert.
...I think it really came and out of though - it came out of some guy of Washington DC, that used to be with the CIA or FBI or something that was in the encryption game. He decided he wanted to do some kind of album cover, and he started talking to Steve O'Rourke, and I think what happened was Steve O'Rourke had in his brilliant mind that he was going to try something on the internet because he had been listening to me. And he got this guy, cause if you notice a lot of this stuff can't be traced where it comes from. And I know that Dave for one thing didn't even know how to sign on.[7]
References
[edit]- ^ Strauss, Neil (February 16, 1995). "The Pop Life". The New York Times. Retrieved August 22, 2008.
- ^ "Brain Damage - January 2002 - Dotmusic webchat". braindamage.co.uk.
- ^ a b c Burton, Poppy. "'Pubulis Enigma': Pink Floyd's greatest marketing ploy". Far Out Magazine. Retrieved August 12, 2024.
- ^ staff (July 1995). "The Great Pink Floyd Airship Mystery". Brain Damage Magazine (36).
- ^ Amrich, Dan. "Saucerful of Secrets". Guitar World. 17 (1).
- ^ The Complete History of Guitar World. Backbeat Books. October 2010. ISBN 9781476855929.
- ^ Heisler, Sean (1995). "HAVE YOU GOT IT YET - THE PUBLIUS ENIGMA CONTINUED...". Brain Damage Magazine (38).
External links
[edit]- alt.music.pink-floyd @ Google Groups The original discussion forum
