Sentry Antechamber

A Sentry Antechamber is a special type of automated security checkpoint used in the security architecture of Raven facilities such as Black Mountain, to guard access to the highest security areas such as the Sigma Unit. It prevents contamination of the higher security area it guards by vetting any entities that pass through for anomalous or infohazardous contamination, and protects against espionage by scanning for hidden electronic devices. They also prevent sensitive information and electronic devices from being taken out of higher security areas.

Design

An Antechamber is a circular room protected by a forcefield. It contains two blast doors on opposite sides of the room, which are configured in an airlock configuration so it is impossible to open both at once. One is connected to the lower security side of the checkpoint, and the other to the higher security side. These doors are themselves shielded by forcefields when shut so they do not act as weak points, and form a full atmospheric seal. For this reason, an antechamber will always have its own life support system, and so will the area it is protecting.

In the centre of the room is a GRID Sentinel, a stationary robotic weapon system that is responsible for scanning entities requesting access to the room. It is armed with neutron beam weapons mounted on a rotating central drum that can sweep the room and terminate all lifeforms inside in a matter of seconds. The Sentinel is shielded in its own forcefield that prevents tampering with its data collection systems, and is positioned in the centre of the room to allow 360° coverage with no blind spots. The walls of the room are shielded in forcefields both to prevent any escape from the chamber and to protect the walls from neutron activation from the radiation emitted by the Sentinel.

Process

First, personnel must remove all items of clothing and then step into the antechamber. The blast door closes behind them, and the forcefield is sealed. They are then instructed to stand still as the scanning process is initiated by the Sentinel, which can take up to a minute, as well as the checking of the individual's clearance level.

All information gathered by the Sentinel is then sent to a data analysis system inside the perimeter of the higher security side, which then makes a decision whether to permit or deny. It is a strictly one at a time protocol; multiple individuals are never allowed through a checkpoint at once.

Positive

If the decision is to permit, the physical security supervision system of the higher security side disengages the force field and opens the door. The person walks through; door is then closed, the forcefield is resealed, and the Sentinel sweeps the room with its weapon systems to ensure the room is not contaminated. Then the entry-side door is reopened for the next person.

Negative

If the decision is to deny, the Sentinel sounds an alarm in the security control room on the lower security side. The low side door remains sealed until released by RFPD officers, at which point the individual is detained for questioning as to why they were denied entry. Once the individual has left the chamber, the Sentinel locks the doors and re-sweeps the room for the next person. If any hostile attempt is made to force access either in or out at any point, the Sentinel powers up its weapons and sweeps the room. For this reason personnel are instructed in very explicit terms not to move if a denial has been issued.

Often, it is not possible to know the reason why an individual is rejected by a Sentinel, even internally to the lower security components of Raven as the information is only available in the higher security side data analysis system, reinforcing the extreme paranoia of compartmentalisation within the organisation. In these cases, individuals are usually reassigned to lower classification areas.