In a sense he is wasting his time; the originals have long since gone off to Bletchley Park where they were probably deciphered within hours. But he’s not doing it for the war effort per se, just trying to keep his mind sharp and maybe add a few leaves to the next edition of the Cryptonomicon . When he arrives at Bletchley, which is his destination of the moment, he will have to ask around and find out what those messages actually said.