“Yes, that would be a problem.” Lokken pointed to the diagram. The cables didn’t attach directly to the crew compartment. They attached to two large discs on either side. “The cabling attaches to these big hinges. The whole front half of the ship can rotate 180 degrees. So when they’re in centrifuge mode, the nose will face inward toward the other half of the ship. Inside the crew compartment, the force of gravity will be away from the nose—same as when the engines are thrusting.”

Stratt took it in. “This is a fairly complicated piece of machinery and you’ll be breaking the ship into two parts. You honestly think this is less of a risk?”

“Less risk than using brand-new, insufficiently tested equipment. Trust me, I’ve used sensitive equipment most of my career,” I said. “It’s finicky and delicate even in ideal conditions.”

Stratt picked up her pen and tapped it on the table several times. “Okay. We’ll do it.”

Lokken smiled. “Excellent. I’ll write up a paper and send it along to the UN. We can form a committee—”

“No, I said we’ll do it.” Stratt stood up. “You’re with us now, Dr.Lokken. Pack a bag and meet us at Genève Aéroport. Terminal 3, private plane called Stratt.”

“What? I work for ESA. I can’t just—”

“Yeah, don’t bother,” I said. “She’s going to call your boss or your boss’s boss or whatever and have you assigned to her. You just got drafted.”

“I… I wasn’t volunteering to design it personally,” Lokken protested. “I only meant to point out—”

“I never said you volunteered,” Stratt said. “It’s not voluntary at all.”

“You can’t just force me to work for you.”

But Stratt was already walking out of the room. “Meet us at the airport in one hour or I’ll have the Swiss Gendarmerie drag you there in two hours. Your call.”

Lokken stared at the door, flabbergasted, then back to me.

“You get used to it,” I said.

The ship is a centrifuge! I remember it all now!

That’s why there’s a mysterious area called “Cable Faring.” That’s where the spools and Zylon cables are. The ship can break in half, turn the crew compartment around, and spin.

That turning-around part—that’s the weird ring I saw on the hull during my EVA! I remember the design now. It has two big hinges on it, allowing the crew compartment to turn around before the centrifuge is activated.

It’s strangely reminiscent of Apollo spacecraft. The lunar lander was attached below the command module at launch, but they’d separate, turn the command module around, and reconnect with the lander during their trip to the moon. It’s one of those things that looks ridiculous but ends up being the most effective way to solve a problem.