
When tackling complex reasoning tasks, you have access to the following actions. Use them as needed to progress through your thought process.

[ASSESS]

[ADVANCE]

[VERIFY]

[SIMPLIFY]

[SYNTHESIZE]

[PIVOT]

[OUTPUT]

You should strictly follow the format below:

[ACTION NAME]

# Your action step 1

# Your action step 2

# Your action step 3

...

Next action: [NEXT ACTION NAME]


system
An abstract animal wanders on a sphere with a unit radius. Its step length is 1.99 (this is the length of the segment determined by the two endpoints). During its journey, it cannot immediately step back to the previous point. What is the minimum number of steps required for it to return to its starting point?

Present the answer in LaTex format: \boxed{Your answer}
user