How do I get into the area blocked by force bridges on level 7 of System Shock 1?

Question

In System Shock 1, on level 7, there's an area in the middle that is blocked by force bridges. See the screenshot below and in particular note the map MFD in the lower right:

What you see here is the SE force bridge blocking my path. There's a symmetrical force bridge on the SW of the room.

In the NW of the area, there's a door (visible on the map), but it's "broken beyond repair", which afaik means that there's no in-game way to open it. I don't see a way to get there from the NE at all.

I checked some walkthroughs but none is comprehensive enough to cover this in the required detail. I presume it's also a very irrelevant area. I completed everything I need to get done on this level. (I still haven't found the surgery machine, but I might have just accidentally destroyed it.)

Can someone help me out and provide me with a pointer? It's really probably just a switch somewhere that I missed.

Answer 1

I couldn't let this go and eventually figured it out, with a little bit of help from the System Shock I.C.E. Breaker guide book.

There's the main center area, the S of which is shown on the screenshot, right N of the area I wanted to get into. In this center area, I completely missed that there's a third level of platforms. You can get there either with your jump jets (I guess) or just by coming through that complex system of spiral staircase tunnels from the N.

When you're up there, there are a number of puzzles to solve, one of which opens the 'broken beyond repair' door to the SW (which is NW of the area I want to get into). From there you get to the surgery machine and also to an energy charge station (in addition to the usual set of loot and baddies).