Systems and methods for encoding a message are disclosed. A message may be passed from a first node to a second node via a communication link using a multi-stage cryptography algorithm distributed between the first node and the second node and applied by circuitry within the first node and the second node in which the multi-stage cryptography algorithm includes instructions for transmitting at least two optical signal transmissions across the communication path and using a number of independent transformations of polarization state of the optical signal transmission by a combination of the first node and the second node at least equal to the number of optical signal transmissions across the communication link.