– I'm starting from the most extreme assumption, – I said. – Something happened that made even a man like Titov forget himself.
Titov was still the ship's commander, and according to the instructions, he could disobey Vasiliev if the latter demanded, say, unreasonable actions from him. On the other hand, Titov, if he had undertaken something beyond the usual limits, would certainly have informed the ship cruising on the surface of his decision in advance. There is only one conclusion: he did not have time to do this. Something happened suddenly that immediately put Titov out of action. – For example, the Medusa ran into an underwater rock due to a radar error?