25th March
In the Pentagon, a government officer sat at a computer.
It was midnight, and the offices were deserted.
The officer entered the final password and looked at the Permissive Action Link code in the memory of the missile system computer.
The officer encrypted the code and added it to a message within a birthday card.
The card was subsequently sealed in an envelope that bore a Nevada address. It was then placed in the post tray.
The government officer then removed the latex gloves being used to mask fingerprints.