The Symbols Come in Pairs — Decoding Team Finds a New Pattern in Window 5's Message

The symbols, it turns out, come in pairs. At a regular meeting on the 31st, the team decoding the paper recovered from Window 5 — nicknamed "the Sword Country" — as this world's first object apparently sent on purpose, previously reported on the 20th, confirmed a new detail. Beyond the already-reported finding that symbols appear in clusters of two to four (reported on the 24th), researchers from the Hind mathematics team found that in all 17 clusters identified so far, the same single symbol appears at both the start and the end of each cluster. The one or two symbols in the middle differ from cluster to cluster, but the two ends always match. Team lead Anirudh Rao said, "This raises the likelihood that these aren't simply characters lined up in sequence, but some kind of arrangement meant to bracket or mark off something."

Hellenic historian Nikos Zafiras, who has studied ancient texts, said at the meeting that he knew of "similar notations used in old map legends, or for marking landmarks" — but immediately added, "That's an impression, not a scholarly claim." Kishiura Ushio, 74, a first-generation drifter, looked again at the arrangement of shapes on the paper and said, "There's a way of singing the Kishi lullaby where the same phrase repeats to mark a break between words. It feels similar, but I can't quite explain it." The decoding team noted her remark for the record without drawing any conclusion.

The Dimensional Survey Division said it will report this new finding as progress to the external advisory panel (chaired by Etsuko Kajiura) due to convene in early November. As previously reported, however, full decoding of the sent paper is still not expected to be finished this year, and an official said, "Every time we learn one thing, something else becomes unclear. Today was no different." What the paper depicts as a whole has still not been disclosed.

A week after the decoding team's first meeting on the 24th, the three teacups — made by Shuzo Sakakibara, the third-generation potter at a Tokoname kiln, as previously reported — are reportedly placed in the same spot at every session. Rao said, "We're coming to this room more often, but I have no intention of rushing to a conclusion," as he wrapped up the 31st's meeting.

As previously reported on September 26, it has long been noted that the symbols on Window 5's sent paper closely resemble the script on the "ceremonial" tokens used at Window 1, "the Lit City." At the 31st's meeting, the team discussed whether this "paired" arrangement also appears on Window 1's tokens, but Window 1's own records remain limited to observation reports, and with no physical token available for comparison, no conclusion was reached this time either. A Dimensional Survey Division official said, "We don't have enough material to say whether the two windows share a lineage, or simply arrived at a similar idea independently," adding that the division will look into whether comparable material can be obtained from the Window 1 side.

One of the night-shift staff at Window 5's window room said of the day's finding, "Honestly, I can't tell whether a day will come when the meaning is understood, or whether it'll end without ever being understood. But every time we learn there's some kind of 'rule' to the symbols on that paper, it makes me feel that the other side has something like our own conventions for writing." Kishiura, who takes part in the decoding sessions, cautioned reporters again after the meeting, "The lullaby comparison is just how it felt to me. I can't very well be asked for evidence the way the scholars can." Then she smiled: "But I feel like we got a little closer again today."