This is techno sci-fi at a level even Arthur Clarke never achieved. It's also a celebration of human ingenuity. And going back to sci-fi history once more, it's an answer to Tom Godwin's old story "The Cold Equations," which caused lasting controversy by saying—just like Richard Feynman famously dipping the space-shuttle gasket in his ice water—that no PR, no bureaucratic maneuvering, can annul hard facts and figures.