Tricia McMillan
"Trillian" · D.Phil. Astrophysics, M.Sc. Mathematics · Filing Seal ID: TMC-0042
"I plot the shortest path between two points. That some points have planets in the way is a property of the universe, not a decision of mine. I would appreciate it if the signage reflected that."
The Appointment
Effective Cycle 503, Ms. McMillan joins the Hyperspace Bypass Engineering division as its first-ever Chief Astrophysicist. She is charged with plotting the optimal routes for hyperspace bypass corridors — the highest-precision technical role in the division, and the first at Infinidim to require an actual scientific qualification rather than a clerical grade.
Her corridor optimizations determine which stellar bodies fall within a bypass clearance envelope, and therefore which are forwarded to the Demolition Division. She wishes it noted, repeatedly and in writing, that "determined by the geometry" and "chosen by her" are not the same sentence.
Marketing-Approved Job Description
"She decides which planets get demolished."
The Corporate Marketing Department condensed a 40-page peer-reviewed whitepaper into these seven words. The author has filed an objection. It is in the cellar.
Author endorsement: withheldCorridor Geodesic Solver
Demonstration Instrument · Selection is computed, not chosen
Education
D.Phil., Astrophysics
Thesis on gravitational geodesics in high-mass stellar fields. Completed on a small blue-green planet later cited as a worked example in her own whitepaper — a coincidence she describes as "professionally awkward."
M.Sc., Mathematics
Specialization in optimization over curved manifolds and constrained variational problems — the exact toolkit later required to route a bypass around nothing and through everything.
Experience Catalog
Chief Astrophysicist — Infinidim (HBE-01)
Sole authority on corridor route optimization. Computes the minimum-action geodesic for every commissioned bypass and publishes the resulting obstruction set. Reports to Deputy Director Gark; corrects Deputy Director Gark's arithmetic.
*Notable output:* First scientifically-derived route roster in division history.
Astrophysicist & Interstellar Traveller
Left the aforementioned blue-green planet at a party, shortly before it became a worked example. Extensive field experience aboard experimental improbability-driven craft. Fluent in six degrees of orbital mechanics and one very tired robot.
*Notable output:* Survived. Statistically improbable; documented separately.
Technical Publications
A Stochastic Gravitational-Geodesic Framework for the Deterministic Selection of Obstructing Planetary Bodies
J. Applied Hyperspatial Cartography, Vol. CDXCII · Full manuscript (unabridged)
The original, complete whitepaper — the one Marketing reduced to seven words. Requires an astrophysics degree to read; requires only a grievance to misquote.