Publius Enigma

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Biography

The Publius Enigma is a Unsolved problem|mystery involving a riddle proposed in connection with the 1994 in music|1994 Pink Floyd album The Division Bell . It originated on the Internet as a Web-based contest, implemented presumably as a promotion for the album and its tour. It remains unclear whether or not the enigma is a genuinely solvable puzzle, as certain details regarding the actual nature of the challenge have never been revealed. The consensus is that it was eventually abandoned by its creators, and the matter has not been brought to an official conclusion.

History

During the 1994 Division Bell Tour|Division Bell World Tour , Columbia Records flew a long zeppelin named The Division Belle between Pink Floyd concert locations. 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:

On 11 June 1994, a user of the anonymous Penet remailer service posted the following message to the Usenet newsgroup , :

>>>>>>>> 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 clarifies the challenge:

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 Pink Floyd live performances|concert in East Rutherford momentarily spelled out the words ENIGMA PUBLIUS..

A year after the tour, the Penet remailer service was shut down by its creator over legal threats posed to the guaranteed anonymity of its users. As a consequence, Publius was unable to further contact the newsgroup without having to once again prove his authenticity. Subsequent claims to the Publius mantle have been made since, but none have ever been officially confirmed. A substantial amount of confusion thus followed in the wake of Publius' absence, leading to confusion about whether or not the enigma was ever solved or if it even remains active.

Official statements

In April 2005, during a book signing of his biographical work Inside Out: A Personal History of Pink Floyd , Pink Floyd drummer Nick Mason acknowledged that the Publius Enigma did exist, that it had been instigated by the record company rather than the band, and that the prize was to have been something along the lines of a "crop of trees planted in a clear cut area of forest or something to that effect."

The comments made by Mason corroborate parts of a previous interview with Marc Brickman , the 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.

Brickman later brought the accuracy of his testimony into question when he denied having told the truth to Heisler and refused to take responsibility for a series of strange Usenet posts made in his name.

Uncle Custard

While it was still in print, the Pink Floyd resource, Brain Damage magazine, had a Q& A section reserved for a correspondent known only as "Uncle Custard". The name (phonetically similar to "Uncool Car Stud") was created by Glen Povey, apparently an allusion to Nick Mason's passion for auto racing .

Issue No.34 of the magazine contains the following:

Although the answers given by Uncle Custard over the years have all been written by several different people affiliated with the magazine, this particular answer has been attributed to former editor and final publisher of the printed version of Brain Damage , Jeff Jensen. The accuracy of the content of this answer and under what authority (if any) Jensen had to produce it remains unclear.

In the media

References to the Publius Enigma can be found in various Pink Floyd releases:

Pulse (1995 film)|P*U*L*S*E , a DVD of the 20 October 1994 televised concert at Earls Court Exhibition Centre|Earls Court , London, contains footage of the word ENIGMA being projected in large letters on to the backdrop of the stage during the song " Another Brick in the Wall|Another Brick in the Wall (Part II) ". The DVD's authoring company, Das Boot, uses an enigma machine as their logo, which can be seen at the end of the show.

In the artwork for the MiniDisc release of A Momentary Lapse of Reason , the word "PUBLIUS" has been inserted into the photo of the man in the rye field. The word "ENIGMA" appears in the lower corner of the picture of the man standing on the edge of the cliff.

The words "Publius Enigma" can be heard spoken just before the song " One of These Days (Pink Floyd song)|One of These Days " on the 2003 DVD release of Pink Floyd: Live at Pompeii .

Storm Thorgerson 's cover for John Harris (critic)|John Harris ' book The Dark Side of the Moon , published by HarperCollins in 2005 prominently includes the word "ENIGMA" alongside an ellipsis .

Page 13 of The Division Bell 's CD booklet contains an anagram of the word "enigma", hidden in third column from the right of the top verse of the lyrics to Wearing the Inside Out , perfectly aligned with the page number "jyusan". Anthony Moore , who wrote the lyrics to the song, has denied that the anagram was intentional on his part.

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