Register crossing — not spacetime curvature
Earth-based observers operate in the G1 register. Mercury orbits in the G2 register. The 90.15 ppm offset between registers, accumulated over ~415 Mercury orbits per century, produces the 43 arcsec/century apparent precession.
Helix ratio r = 5⁶/(2⁶×3⁵) = 15,625/15,552
Key Results
T-field equalization renders register boundaries invisible from within. The node crossing is real; it is undetectable because equalization presents an identical face on both sides.
Mercury's perihelion precession = G1/G2 cross-register artifact. The 90.15 ppm offset accumulated over ~415 orbits/century produces the apparent 43 arcsec advance. Not relativistic.
Helix ratio r = 5⁶/(2⁶×3⁵) = 15,625/15,552 is the mathematical consequence of the G1/G2 register crossing.
Atmospheric invisibility and Mercury's perihelion precession are the same phenomenon: equalization hides the register from within; crossing reveals the locked-in offset.