Hawking's stance took everyone by surprise, as his physical condition hardly seemed to allow for rocket travel.
Penrose, who was closest to him, instinctively wanted to speak out but was preempted by Ye Changsi.
Without revealing any hint of mockery or regret, the latter looked earnestly at Hawking in the wheelchair and asked,
"Mr. Stephen, how do you feel when taking off on an airplane?"
"Very good, even standard seating is no problem at all. I've watched Cloud Ascend's third space mission; you sent a philosopher who had never undergone any training into space."
Ye Changsi, "Yes, to be precise, we have already sent two untrained civilians into space using the Aero-Space Plane. I think your physical condition is not a big issue.
If you're willing to join, we can arrange a flight mission at the end of this month or within the next month, which is very convenient."
