Farmer One (A Short Story)
In an economically depressed and politically dysfunctional US of the near future, the long-defunct NASA is reestablished. Wanting to revive American hope and patriotism, the president engages in a “space race” redux, though this time around the competition is the Chinese rather than the Soviets, the target is Mars instead of the moon, and the US is hopelessly behind.
In a desperate attempt to catch up, a ragtag team of NASA’s elite comes up with a far-fetched plan to beat the Chinese to the punch. But when the shuttle’s pilot—lead engineer Austin Lockwood—vanishes into thin air after landing on Mars, NASA starts to wonder if they are actually in control of the mission or unwittingly playing a part in history’s most elaborate hoax.
Farmer One is an irresistible dystopian adventure set in a future America gone utterly awry.