Work Text:
Containment Procedures
The OX/519 system must be stored in a room containing no other computational equipment. Walls, floor, ceiling and door must be capable of withstanding the extreme limits of human strength.
The safety termination bolt system must be connected to the door, allowing it to test that the door is closed, and engage the door lock when needed. (See below.) An emergency halon system must be installed, tested regularly, and also connected to the safety termination bolt system.
An armed guard of at least two must be posted at all times. Personnel requesting access to OX/519 must undergo Level 2 ID checks including including the Wisselstein blood durability test.
Only personnel with the OX-OP authorization are allowed to operate the machine. Only personnel with the OX-M authorization are allowed to perform maintenance. Under no circumstances must any individual that has ever been granted OX-OP be granted OX-M, or vice versa.
Description
In 1959, IBM engineers discovered that certain True Names, when stored using any character encoding with a contiguous alphabet, would create catastrophic numerical resonances in semantic space. At the time, IBM had just received a large US DoD contract to develop a nationwide computerized occult missile defence network. To overcome the resonance problem, IBM hence created the 8-bit OXNIC encoding, which balanced resonant safety with usability.
Development of a new system architecture and operating system for the network then proceeded apace, and the first OX/519 nodes were installed in 1961. A number of custom-made machines with additional memory capacity were also delivered to DoD occult defense working groups. However, the project was abruptly cancelled in 1963, when the new administration opted to standardise on non-occult missile defense using BOMARC B.
Seeking to recoup their development costs, IBM petitioned the DoD to allow for the sale of a simplified civilian version of the system, which was granted, as it was seen in the interests of national security to prevent accidental resonances occurring in business computing environments. The resulting systems were shorn of certain restricted op-codes and used a simplified encoding called BCDIC with a reduced bit depth of 6, eliminating the three occult lingual planes.
The one known remaining OX/519 node is currently installed in Secure Server Room 3, Site 98. It contains a number of custom software packages for the relatively safe processing of True Names.
Operating Procedures
Before entering the room, relinquish any computing devices such as laptops and smartphones, as well as any means of taking notes or photographs or other ways of creating a durable record of information displayed by OX/519.
The system will remain dormant with the display screen and keyboard inactivated until the door is closed and the termination bolt system is placed on your head. Opening the door will reset the system to a known safe state.
Before placing the termination bolt system on your head, use the check/reset buttons to test proper operation of the bolts. Then use the straps to secure the system to your head, adjusting them to make sure that the bolts rest directly against your temples.
At this point, the OX/519 will cease dormancy and you can begin using software packages from the approved list. Do not use software packages that are not on the list, or for which you have not undergone training.
In the unlikely event of cognitively unsafe information being displayed on the screen, the door will lock and the safety termination bolts will immediately engage. The halon system will activate and the termination alarm will begin ringing. The system will then reset to a known safe state. After twenty minutes, the halon will be cycled out, the bolt will release, the door will unlock and the termination alarm will sound three short bursts.
Operator remains must be immediately cremated. Under no circumstances should an autopsy be performed.
Note: Yes, of course you can trick the contact check electrodes on the termination bolt system. Dr. Henry liked to use wiener sausages acquired from the canteen. Yes, the termination bolts are intended to kill you, but you'll die either way, and the bolts ensure it's only you who ends up dead. What happened with Henry should make it clear that the alternative is worse. -JM
Note: D-class personnel can no longer be assigned OX-OP or OX-M authorization. Do not instruct D-class personnel to operate OX/519 and intentionally trigger the termination bolt system. The system is decades old and there is a small but non-zero - and rising - chance of failure every time it has to engage. -JM