PURPLE alert is the special NS alert status which can only be ordered by the NS Commander in situations where the NS is in danger of destruction. As per PURPLE alert NS facilities and forces will disperse or lock down as per pre-arranged (and secret) orders.
However the NS Politburo has recently discussed PURPLE alert and its fundamental issue. If the NS Commander is killed then the ability to raise the alert is lost, Director of Operations Caratore pointed out that a surprise attack that destroyed NS GHQ and killed the commander and much of the top brass may be just the situation where PURPLE alert is needed but no one would be able to raise it!
NS Commander Knobhead has decided that his deputy will also be able to raise the alert, currently Director of Technology Sea Urchin. However as they often are in the same place (and thus vulnerable to the same attack) if this is the case then Sea Urchin can temporarily assign the ability to another Politburo member in another location. This is likely to be either the heads of NS North and South - so ironically Torus could receive this privileged power.
Another revision has been made to allow for the alert status to be changed from PURPLE. Under the old rules PURPLE could not be changed as NS would be considered to have been destroyed. In case of accidental or erroneous raising of the alert there is now a protocol to reset the NS alert system. The changes are said to have already in place. Much of the detail is naturally top secret.
