Three months locked in a ship the size of a living room was tough. But Max ultimately survived.

Of course, throughout history, thousands of other astronauts have experienced long periods in space. Hundreds of people have lived aboard the International Space Station since it was in operation or subsequent space stations orbiting Earth. However, knowing that it had been done before did not adequately prepare Max for the three months he experienced in the void of space so far or the years that were likely to come ahead of him before he could emerge from the ship.

In fact, at this point, he couldn't even fathom how he would ever leave this ship without returning to Earth since he had no spacesuit or method to survive outside of it.

After three months, the ship, which he had named Odyssey, dropped out of folded space, and Max found himself again staring out the window into nothing—the blackness of space with distant stars all around.

As usual, Max spent several hours with Lexi analyzing their position in space, collecting sensory data from around them, and finally sending a message back to Earth to ensure his World Record had been accurately updated.

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Max knew he had to engage the drive again and continue his journey. There was no real point or benefit to traveling for any time at a sub-light speed. It did not make the trip any easier or shorter. He had to get going.

So he repeated the three-month trip through void space again and again. Each time, he'd drop out of space, examine his surroundings, and update his position for Earth. He was unsure if anyone was listening, but sending a message somehow made him feel connected with humanity.

His 23rd three-month trip, however, ended differently.

"Standby for System installation... System installed... Booting up..."

"Welcome to The System. Please say 'Ready to Begin, Activate The System' to begin setup."

Max Martino emerged from his latest space jump with an alarming message blocking most of his vision.

He could not get it to go away. He turned his head left and right, and the message followed. Like a pop-up window inside of his eyes.

When he closed his eyes, it went away. But opening them again brought the message back.

"Close window," Max said. And the messages disappeared.

"Open window," Max said. And the messages returned.

Was he imagining it? Did he finally go insane? Max wasn't sure how to tell. Well, perhaps there was one way to tell.

Max uttered the phrase, "Ready to Begin, Activate the System," and sat back in his comfortable chair.