Cadet Schweitzer tugged nervously at his uniform as he stood outside the Admiral’s office, even though he knew it fit perfectly. His mother had insisted on getting it custom-tailored before he took the transport ship from San Francisco. He knew that a posting to Challenger as a young cadet was a rare honor, but no one in his family seemed surprised. His mother said, “Of course they chose you, you’re a Schweitzer!” He could not escape the shadow of his 15 times great-grandfather, who struck out as a young man to Earth’s then frontier of Africa to establish a missionary hospital for which he would become iconic in the annals of medicine and philosophy. Albert never really wanted to escape his legacy, though. Even as a boy, he knew that he would become a doctor and the explore humanity’s last frontier—deep space.

He pushed the doorbell, and tried to maintain a confident bearing as he strode toward the Admiral’s desk. “Good evening, ma’am. Cadet Schweitzer reporting as ordered.” His “crowded hour” of life on a starship had begun.

Cadet Albert Schweitzer