On some unix systems there is an amazing text editor named TECO.
TECO has a unique and interesting property, which is that any
sequence of printable characters whatsoever is a valid series of
TECO commands. TECO geeks make a game of figuring out what their
names, typed in as a command, would do to a file of text. Normal
TECO programs look like line noise.
Thinking about this, it occurs to me that there are a good many
applications that can use a long, apparently-random series of
bits.
Consider a hypothetical strategy game that uses a "line noise"
format for storing its game maps. In fact, it contains a
game map generator that accepts random files as input.
Say it's called "Crypt Opener" or something. It's got
infinite replayability -- just feed it the latest Metallica
MP3, or a digitized porn video, or whatever, and suddenly
you've got a whole new map, with new adversaries and new
tactical problems. If your dungeon file gets corrupted, it's
no problem -- just a different dungeon.
Now, you can take your competitor's financial statement (or
whatever), encrypt it, use the encrypted file as input to the
dungeon generator, inspect the resulting game map so you can
talk about it coherently, and send it off to your buddy
with an attached note that says "this sequence generates a
really cool game map for Crypt Opener. Check it out, I think
that Salthor, the mega-monster that lives in the Tannean Valley
(east by northeast on the old Empire Road sixteen marches
from your starting position), is one of the baddest creations
I've ever seen in this game. But good luck getting that far
unless you can defeat or evade Emporer Drago's assassins! "
Anyway, you'd have a reasonable excuse for sending large,
high-entropy files around, and to the extent that such a game
(or any other utility with a "line noise" file format) becomes
popular, lots of cover traffic to confuse anything on the
network that's looking for encrypted data.
Ray
