Publius Enigma

File:Pink floyd the division bell front.jpg

The Division Bell album cover

The Publius Enigma is a puzzle connected with Pink Floyd's 1994 album The Division Bell. It was perhaps the first Internet-based promotion for a major band, coming at a time before most artists or record labels had any kind of official Internet presence.

Publius

File:Enigma Concert.jpg

The word "ENIGMA" projected onto the backdrop of a Pink Floyd concert, as seen on the P*U*L*S*E VHS.

The Publius Enigma is named after a messenger calling himself Publius who posted clues on a Pink Floyd internet newsgroup, [1], soon after the launch of The Division Bell world tour. These cryptic posts claimed that there was an enigma hidden within the album, and that an unspecified reward awaited the person or persons to solve the puzzle.

"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." [2]

Many Pink Floyd fans were skeptical, so Publius agreed to provide proof of his authenticity. On 16 July 1994 he delivered a prediction:

"Monday, July 18, East Rutherford, New Jersey. Approximately 10:30pm. Flashing white lights. There is an enigma." [3]

On the night in question, at approximately 10:30 p.m., during the concert, white lights in front of the stage spelled out the words "PUBLIUS" and "ENIGMA" while the band performed, as predicted. Video of the Giants Stadium event can now be seen on YouTube Confirmation of the Enigma was again given nearing the end of the tour, this time to a much larger audience. On 20 October 1994, during a televised concert at Earl's Court, London, the word "ENIGMA" was projected in large letters on to the backdrop of the stage. The projection can be seen on the P*U*L*S*E concert video (during the song "Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)").

The "ENIGMA" that appeared projected on the stage during "Another Brick in the Wall (Part II)" was originally the word, with no embellishments. On the P*U*L*S*E video, embellishments were added so that it could still be seen, but was less obvious. On the P*U*L*S*E DVD, however, there is no "ENIGMA", only "E = mc²" (Enigma can be seen for a brief moment in the intro to Another Brick in the Wall, Part II, right before the burst of light on the DVD). However, at the end of the concert, the logo for the DVD authoring company Das Boot uses an Enigma machine as their logo, a very subtle reminder that the Enigma is still unsolved.

Genesis

After the last Publius message, another anonymous messenger calling himself Genesis appeared, claiming to be Publius' successor, although he gave no conclusive proof of any connection to Pink Floyd. From 1997 to 2005, "Genesis" delivered upwards of sixty cryptic messages to the newsgroup [4]. "Genesis" states over and over to combine both the Publius messages and the messages from him(her)self to break a rather difficult code that will provide the solution to the Enigma. "Genesis" also states that the music, artwork and public media will provide the same solution. Some die-hard Enigma hunters have invested years of hard work to find the solution that both Publius and "Genesis" say exist.

Current status of the Enigma

In April 2005, Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason stated that the Publius Enigma did exist, and that it had been instigated by the record company, rather than the band:

"That was a ploy done by EMI. They had a man working for them who adored puzzles. ... 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 unsolved." [5]

Apparent clues to the existence and validity of the Enigma have appeared in releases of Pink Floyd related media up to 2005, including some releases not connected to EMI:

• The artwork for the MiniDisc release of A Momentary Lapse of Reason contains the words PUBLIUS and ENIGMA.
• The words "Publius Enigma" can be heard spoken just before the song "One of These Days" on the 2003 DVD release of Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii (Universal).
• Storm Thorgerson's cover for John Harris' book The Dark Side of the Moon, published by HarperCollins in 2005 prominently includes the word ENIGMA alongside an ellipsis (a regular feature of Genesis' clues).

But perhaps the most intriguing clue to surface suggesting that the enigma is authentic came on June 11, 2005 when the band agreed to reunite for Live 8. Though sources did not report the agreement until June 12, according to the press the actual reconciliation happened on June 11. It is widely known among the PubliusEnigma community that Publius made his debut post on June 11, 1994, exactly 11 years to the day earlier. Some have suggested that this is directly related to the clue found on the inside of The Division Bell booklet which reads ELF-ELF which is German for 11:11. Interestingly enough, Pink Floyd were scheduled to play at Live 8, in Hyde Park, London around 9-10 p.m. For some unknown reason their set was delayed and they didn't take the stage until shortly after 11 p.m. London time. At 11:11 p.m., Roger Waters and David Gilmour were playing their first show together in over 20 years.

There is also a movie currently in production entitled 11:11 which features Pink Floyd's "High Hopes" as its title track. The theme of the movie seems to mirror the theme of the song which is loosely based on the split from childhood to adulthood.

External links

Discussion

• PubliusEnigma.com Discussion forum for the Publius Enigma

Analysis

• A Guide to the Publius Enigma An overview of the clues
• Publius Enigma A comprehensive history and analysis
• Pink Floyd & Co A brief history of the Publius Enigma
• The Division Bell Concept Analysis based on cybernetics

Resources

• The Publius posts
• The Genesis posts