If at First You Don't...

An administrative official overseeing cislunar navigation confronts an escalating public and political dispute over a long-orbiting satellite that some insist must be preserved as a historic relic while others demand its removal. The narrative moves from a weary office discussion into an absurdly grandiose Senate hearing where sentiment, theatrical testimony, and procedural rules collide with celestial mechanics and bureaucratic practicality. Themes include the clash between technical expertise and public mythmaking, the spectacle of political posturing, and the difficulty of making rational policy amid symbolic passions.