Fifty-FourOn the day D’Abro sought him out, The Chairman arrived at the main building to be greeted in the lobby by Rodin’s Gates of Hell. Disturbing, Garrett wrinkles his nose at the famous sculpture, or its replica. Christmas tree lights twine festively around the portals, which frame the calendar, and the small replica of The Thinker above is plastered with Balustradi’s face. The Chairman cannot fathom any of this, but as he passes through the gates no one needs to remind him of the descent.
Below he finds a filthy, littered control room, crew members sacked out on cots, crashed out at their stations, surrounded by coffee cups and Red Bull empties. For the past few days ITER has stood ahead and, though they have narrowed the gap, the Prometheus team has been unable to close it. Surveyi
