Publius Enigma - Official Statements

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."

"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 unresolved."

The comments made by Mason corroborate parts of a previous interview by Sean Heisler 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.

"...I think it really came and out of though - it came out of some guy of Washington DC, that used to be with the CIA or FBI or something that was in the encryption game. He decided he wanted to do some kind of album cover, and he started talking to Steve O'Rourke, and I think what happened was Steve O'Rourke had in his brilliant mind that he was going to try something on the internet because he had been listening to me. And he got this guy, cause if you notice a lot of this stuff can't be traced where it comes from. And I know that Dave for one thing didn't even know how to sign on."

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.