There is potential for confusion on this point. To avoid it, we must separate co-linearity from transposition. By that I mean there is the question as to whether the letters NYPVTT are co-linear with BERLIN. There is a second, unrelated question, regarding whether transposition is required during decryption.
The answer to the co-linearity question has already been answered in this forum (and the answer is yes, the letters of NYPVTT correspond directly to BERLIN)
Here is the verbatim excerpt from this forum that answers this- (sorry I couldn’t get a direct link but maybe KryptosFan can edit to add it)-
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Kryptos Notes From the ACA Convention
Filed under: Uncategorized — 6 Comments
October 28, 2013
It was asked if N decodes to B, Y decodes to E, etc, etc. and Jim confirmed it does. Emphatically.
Jim Sanborn rattled through the entire crib:
N = B,
Y = E,
P = R,
V = L,
T = I,
T = N
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The second question, as to whether transposition forms part of the deciphering is not answered. The absence of any identifiable key containing the required continuous segment ELYOIE needed to decipher NYPVTT to BERLIN suggests transposition to be a likely component.
In case the distinction between the co-linearity and transposition questions is not clear, I can give you an example:
I can transpose K4 in such a way that many key words can decipher the NYPVTT individual letters to BERLIN (specifically N to B, Y to E, P to R, V to L, T to I and T to N). The letters at this point are no longer contiguous but a second transposition restores them to read BERLIN. I have around 500 words that contain the letters ELYOIE (out of the required order) and potentially any of them can decode NYPVTT to BERLIN with suitable transpositions either side of the Vigenere step (HIEROGLYPH/S/IC/ICS being the more attractive given the theme of K3).
To summarise, don’t give up on transpostion, it is most likely required. If the report of the ACA convention on this forum is accurate however, we can safely assume that N maps to B and so on for the NYPVTT-BERLIN crib. The co-linearity of NYPVTT to BERLIN does not imply transposition is not required during decryption.
