[Zope] External management of roles and permissions

How do I programmatically set the Security settings programmatically? Specifically, I have a collection of Zopes. I need to verify that each supports certain special security roles and, if they are not present, create them. Then I need to set the permissions for each security option/role programattically--the moral equivalent of going through and checking the boxes. In a few instances I'll also need to test/and or set a proxy programmatically. A quick browse of the API and code didn't point me in the right direction. How does one do this?