He was not alone…

The girl came out of her hiding place unaware of the terrible consequences that normally befall those who break the rules of the frontier. A decision had to be made. The pilot stood there in silence and full knowledge of the terrible situation that the girl had put him in. “What the hell are you doing here” exclaimed Mark Watney. The girl explained her situation, having no knowledge that the penalty of her actions should result in her untimely death. The pilot explained the current situation that both he and the girl are entrapped in, either the death of the girl or the death of 7 others. The girl stood silent; the knowledge of the penalty for her actions left her speechless. Mark called Commander Delhart to explain that a girl had sneaked aboard the ship that ultimately would crash and burn without the fuel to accommodate for the weight shift of 110 pounds. The Commander showed little sympathy. He was adamant that Mark follow through with the rules of the frontier. Mark cut the call before the Commander could finish. The girl feared for her life, turning to Mark and saying “I didn’t do anything to die for – I didn’t do anything.” The laws of science and physics were against them. The ship could not make it to its destination with the added 110 pounds of the girl that stowed away. Science decreed h amount of fuel will not power and EDS with a mass of m plus x safely to its destination. This was an equation that told a very cold truth. The girl had to die. All of this because of 110 pounds.

The sun rose on Woden. With the Stardust expected to arrive in the morning, the crew came out in order to greet their much expected visitor. The door opened and out came Mark Watney bursting out of the ship, completely naked. His body was freezing, all his hair completely shaved off, and his health deteriorating from the signs of hunger and dehydration. The crew caught completely off guard looked at the man they saw before them, when only a mere moment later a girl came out of the ship as well. A brief pause, and then Gerry screamed from the top of his lungs “What are you doing here?” Mark explained the situation. The girl had stowed away on the ship. Gerry processing the situation goes to the girl with some clothes and after comforting her asks Mark how he made it to Woden when he could not have had enough fuel for the full journey with the girl. Mark, after putting on some clothes, explained the predicament that he was caught in. He realized that the ship could not make it to Woden without dumping the 110 pounds that was added to the ship when the girl stowed away. So Mark took rationing and weight control to the extreme. He dumped off his clothes and the girls clothes and cut all the hair off his body. He threw out any food and water for the bare minimum needed for the two to survive and he decreased the temperature of the ship to conserve the fuel wasted going into producing heat. He cut open and threw out his pilot’s chair, the seat that the girl was sitting by and any other seats, the bench the girl wrote the letters on, all paper and writing utensils (and yes all this easily disposable and potentially heavy stuff was referenced to be on the ship), and anything not needed for survival or sanity. With the loss in weight, the ship had enough fuel to safely transport Mark and the girl to Woden where they could resupply. The crew after a brief period of confusion applauds Mark for his sacrifices in rescuing himself and the girl and bringing the 6 crew-mates the fever serum. Gerry’s crew-mate on Woden is especially impressed with Mark’s tenacity and resilience against all odds and is inspired to write a novel in his free time. The crew-mates’ name was Andy Weir.