Rachel Outward Bound

Harry Fejoa answered an ad offering the adventure of a lifetime. He decided he'd have to be nuts to sign up but did it anyway. Living in a sim for a year and pioneering stasis-tanks for a voyage to the stars kept him busy. So did Rachel-the love of his life.

Rachel and Harry are planning for the adventure of a lifetime. They are young and in love, and one day they'll be part of the greatest journey ever undertaken. Until then, they're busy with all the preparations, tests and technicalities necessary before they go on board the starship Elysian Dawn.

Seventeen elite adventurers, as their employers dub them, enter the simulation. Harry finds them a mixed bunch indeed. He is a physician, but the others range from a teenage acrobat and a midwife to a geologist, and from a vet and a game developer to an expert in ancient history. The one who intrigues Harry is Rachel Traveller, a nutritionist with a peculiar ability she calls clearsight.

As the group work through the challenges of simulation, isolation, and spending time in a stasis-tank, their numbers dwindle until just two of them are left. Now Harry and Rachel prepare for the final challenge, after which they'll be ready to board the starship.

Meanwhile, the Outward Bound company faces changing times and goalpost challenges, and some of these might have alarming consequences for Harry and his plans.