How It All Goes Down
- We're now taken to Hermes, where Commander Lewis is chatting with her husband, Robert. As you can imagine, the old man isn't thrilled about her extended mission.
- Meanwhile, Venkat and Teddy have just arrived in China. They're given the VIP treatment, allowed to "bypass customs" as "official guests of the People's Republic of China" (18.33). Swanky!
- Back on Hermes, Vogel is having his own heart-to-heart with his significant other.
- After making it through the airport, Teddy sits down with Guo Ming and discusses how the "love of science is universal across all cultures" (18.58). We can only assume that they followed it up with a rousing rendition of "We Are the World."
- Beck is the next member of the Ares 3 crew to chat with his family. He tries to get real with his sister, but she can't think about anything except how cute Martinez is.
- Speaking of Martinez, that hunk is up next. This one's a bit of a bummer, as both his wife and young son would much prefer him to be safe at home.
- Finally, it's Johanssen's turn to talk to her dad. It's an odd conversation, mostly because Johanssen insists that she will not die.
- Oh, so that's why she's so confident. It turns out that the crew already "picked her to survive" if they failed to grab the resupply probe (19.165). Don't understand? Well, let's just say that she'd have four heaping servings of soylent green to keep her alive until she reaches the red planet.
- The day of the probe launch is finally here. Martinez uses his remote piloting to nail a five-star landing, saving Johanssen from having to eat her crewmates. Huzzah!