An old systems architect scoffed. “No process? No audits?”

“The performance domains are interactive, interrelated, and interdependent.”

Elena smiled. “We still audit. But for outcomes, not compliance. The 7th Edition says: tailor everything to your environment. Our environment is a tin can full of angry people in space. Let’s act like it.”

Elena stared at the flashing red cursor on her server room monitor. "CRITICAL CORRUPTION – PRINCIPLES MODULE," it read.

She renamed the file: Our Way of Working.pdf .

She realized with a start: the 7th Edition wasn’t a rulebook. It was a compass.

On the final day, as the habitat’s engines fired for orbit, Elena opened the PDF one last time. She highlighted the final line: