Aphelion Incident

Totally black. The cubicle had no light and would appear opaquely black to anyone inside.

A small hiss and a door quickly slid open. A single figure, indistinguishable from the unlit background, stood upon two legs at the threshold with a totally dark corridor behind. After a brief hesitation, the slightly bulky figure strode into the cubicle. The door slid closed behind.  The figure paced in 15 steps and stopped. In the darkness an arm reached out and tapped something. A pale-yellow light above lit up in a semicircular band.

The dim light barely showed the walls at most 30 paces wide. The console occupied space at the opposite side of the door. The figure scanned the console and the dim lit room, assessing. There was a set expression on the otherwise passive face. A hand reached out and snapped fingers at waist height. A beam of pale light was the response from the console. Then screen lit up in a pale backlight with the words: ENTER CODE. The figure recited, 0010400430010GNAK10103AP10005.

The console  responded" "Confirmed. Do you want to continue?"

"Affirmative"

PROCEED WITH CODING. ENTER CODEX, the console displayed.

The figure leaned forward and tapped on a smooth portion of the console, 000150000000034AXAXVVAP+10XV.

The screen shimmered then displayed: APHELION-10XV@KOSMOSPOST.

The screen displayed beneath: HIGH SECURITY CLEARANCE REQUIRED. ENTER CODE. MUST BE NONVERBAL.

The figure leaned forward and tapped, >AP005+AP<5001GNAK.

The console blinked back: ACCESS DENIED.

Then the console blinked three times: PROCEED WITH CAUTION.

The clearance code was tapped in again, instantly a pale blue light emitted from the console bathed the upright figure for fifteen seconds.

The console responded: ACCESS DENIED. PROCEED WITH CAUTION.

The console next displayed: OPENING PROGRAM-APHELION. PROCEED WITH CAUTION.

Flecks of blue light flickered on the screen. Then it went black. Then the letters in yellow displayed: APHELION. The word constricted and shifted to the upper left corner of the display and then contracted to just AP. The screen below that remained black.

The figure leaned forward and tapped: 10XV@KOSMOSPOTAP+1.

The console replied: ACCESS DENIED. PROCEED WITH CAUTION. SENSITIVE MATERIAL WITHIN. DO YOU WISH TO DISENGAGE?

The figure verbalized, "Not disengage."

DO YOU WISH TO CONTINUE?

The figure verbalized, "Continue."

The console displayed: ENTER CODE. MUST BE NONVERBAL

The figure tapped, 10XV@KOSMOSPOSTAP+1<

The console displayed: SENSITIVE MATERIAL. CAUTION CAUTION. PROGRAM OPENING. PROCEED WITH UTMOST CAUTION.

A disembodied voice broke over the voice relay, "What are you doing!"

The figure at the console clenched hand but ignored the voice. On the console the program calmly opened: FULL ACCESS AVAILABLE

The letters AP continued to show in the upper left and at the upper right was placed the code: AP+1<

The figure verbalized, "Open AP+1<"

The screen displayed: PROCEED WITH CAUTION. OPENING. STATUS DATA WILL ALSO BE DISPLAYED. PLIABLE SENSITIVE MATERIAL

The figure in the dim lit room raised a wrist to eye level and punch a button on a multibuttoned bracelet, then said, "Open signal for transmission to AEON."