I’ve done very well for myself financially. I won’t say what I do; it doesn’t seem to matter now. But it was by these means that I was able to afford such an extraordinary trip. My family and friends told me that I had gone crazy, that I had to be mad to even consider such an idea, and I have to admit that I wondered myself at times. I was as frightened as I was curious. But boredom can be a stronger motivation than fear sometimes, and besides all that, it was exciting! Here was a chance to do something that very few humans could say they had done, to go where only an elite group had been. If you had asked me then, I would have said it was definitely worth it. Twenty million dollars worth it. But I know what I would say now.

The preparation would be intense; two weeks filled...

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