Binary code: Mystery number one - стр. 56
After passing through the guarded secret library, in front of which Zero's security zone was thoughtfully located (the guards wore FSO uniforms), they silently began to descend by elevator. Both of them were thinking, pondering.
The first to break the silence was the chief:
– Now, after all this information flows into our center that no one can know about. Center Zero. Why is it located in Russia? Because it is easier to create a center closed from the public in Russia than in any other civilized country.
***
A general meeting was scheduled for Monday morning. Yuri Vasilievich gave the speech.
– The reason I've gathered you here is the Perimeter system, or rather, a malfunction that was miraculously eliminated. It's lucky that we identified it at all, although, frankly speaking, there have been rumors about the system's "waywardness" for a long time. All right, esteemed employees. This is a very important part of our work, but it should not be to the detriment of other duties. That's the first thing. Second: Rutre Tigrovic is in charge of the investigation. He will do the main work. You'll gather material for him. Third: I'll introduce you to the system in general terms, the rest you'll learn on your own.
Everyone listened to the announcement in silence, glancing around, though some showed no reaction.
– So, what are we dealing with, what is the problem: the Perimeter system is known in Europe and the United States as the "dead hand". It is a complex of automatic control of a massive retaliatory nuclear strike, created in the USSR at the height of the Cold War. It is designed for guaranteed delivery of combat orders from higher levels of control to command centers and individual launchers of strategic missiles on alert, in case of emergency, when communication lines may be damaged. The Perimeter system is an alternative command system for all branches of the armed forces with nuclear weapons. It was created as a backup communications system in case key nodes of the Kazbek command system and communications lines are destroyed by a first strike in accordance with the U.S. concept of "limited nuclear warfare." Let me tell you about the Kazbek system right away. It is known to the general public thanks to the Cheget subscriber complex, or nuclear suitcase. The Cheget subscriber complex is a retaliatory strike tool. It is activated only after receiving a signal of a missile attack on Russia. First, a signal is received from the early warning system about a missile attack. It is checked by the duty general of the command center in Solnechnogorsk. Only then is the Kazbek system put into combat mode. The suitcase contains communication equipment with the General Staff and the command of the Strategic Missile Forces. Hereinafter I will use the abbreviation RVSN. Roughly speaking, it is a telephone, but the information is transmitted not by voice, but by encrypted symbols. It is impossible to block communication. There are three Chegetas on permanent duty: the Head of State, the Minister of Defense and the Chief of the General Staff. There are also duplicate ones. "The main button" in the suitcases is there – it transmits to the command centers of the Strategic Missile Forces a code authorizing the use of nuclear weapons. But missiles will be launched only if commands to do so are received from all three consoles. As I said, the total number of suitcases is more than three, the system is duplicated, but only a very narrow circle of people know about it. In addition, they are changed, checked, repaired. How many of them there are, only Department "C" knows.