This read-only object reports the current state of the Radio Slave's TEK finite-state machine, such as operational(4) when actively encrypting traffic or rekeyWait(5) while awaiting a new key, with start(1) meaning the FSM's initial state. An admin uses this to see the real-time status of the encryption key lifecycle distinct from the higher-level authorization FSM. For example, a slave radio stuck in rekeyWait for a long period would tell the admin the periodic key renewal process is stalled even though initial authorization succeeded.