Topaz station has grown by attaching modules wherever they fit, leaving an eight-kilometer structure without a consistent overall plan. Its 12,000 personnel face cramped accommodation, with rank securing only a small private room while most people use sleeping pods and shared facilities. Older accommodation exposes pipes and cables, whereas the adjoining command areas have been modernized. Another accommodation module is planned for 10,000 additional personnel despite the existing crowding. Travel between quarters and the docking station takes about twenty minutes, adding an ordinary daily burden to service aboard the fictional station.
Chapter · 45:54-54:25
Topaz station's cramped accommodation and uneven modernization
A growing modular space station combines cramped living quarters, modernized command areas and a lengthy internal commute.