I knew about bridges – there was one at the Depot, connecting two gangways – and the large, white compartment on A deck didn’t resemble one at all. Only later, after studying Earth history for a while, did I begin to understand. A bridge was originally a narrow, elevated platform from which the captain of a sailing ship issued orders and surveyed the horizon. Even when this platform became an enclosed room, and the captain’s orders were transmitted rather than shouted, the word ‘bridge’ still remained. On board Plexus, we didn’t have a captain. Nor did we have any windows to look out of. (With artificial gravity in place, windows weren’t really an option.) But we did have a Navigation department, and that department was centred around the Bridge. The Bridge was a highly specialised location. It contained an outstanding Interface Array, which included special functions available nowhere else. The Mimexis Chamber was also attached to the Bridge. Like the Depot and the pump stations, the Bridge was one of the few places on Plexus rated ‘First Level’.
