Hello. I’m James.

I was a Navy SEAL until a crash left me paralyzed. But you don’t want to hear about that; you want the details of the summer of 2063. And yeah, I was there. A front row seat thanks to this wheelchair.

I clearly remember the day I first saw the Martian text file. That morning, my girlfriend and I had  a huge fight. It seemed important, like all fights do in the moment, but that was before I saw the file. In it was a cry for help from someone named K-8. Weird name, I know.

Ever have an instant connection with someone you just met? That this-is-my-kinda-person moment? It was like that for me. In hindsight I realized it was because K-8 reminded me of my sister. Yeah… the one that died. My family won’t forgive me; won’t even talk to me and rightfully so. I was the one that screwed up. It’s just that being hated by one’s mom and dad is a lot to carry, you know?

Anyway, it got into this thick head of mine that saving K-8 was something I could do to help balance the scales. Besides, it was the right thing to do. The only problem: K-8 was on a different planet.

Let that sink in a sec.

Not a different country, not a different continent. A different freaking planet! And I didn’t have the million bucks for the MarsX flight. Hell, I was late on rent. Even if I could get to Mars, what good was a lone guy in a wheelchair?

But here’s the thing: I’m not one for dwelling on inconvenient facts like these. They’re just obstacles to get past. Most people get tripped up by obstacles or take the long way around.

Not me.

I’m a crash right into them sort of guy. My friends use the word reckless and yeah, sometimes it gets ugly. It’s something I’m working on. But why not judge for yourself? Get comfortable. I’ll tell you the whole story.