Mark Watney finds the recordings of Grace's logs uploaded online, and watching the whole world being swept up by the incredible actions of one man.
Mark Watney hearing the world praise the name Ryland Grace as humanity's savior, and the life story of him becoming a modern epic journey, immortalized.
Mark Watney hearing the people who sent him to the executioner's block give a memorial "to the bravest man they ever met", and all he thinks about is what was the last thing Grace ever saw on earth before they caught him.
Mark Watney reminiscing, dreaming, and reliving his martian life, every moment caught in an echo of a voice that made all of humanity listen.
Mark Watney being sent to his knees, at the news of a miracle being made real, and seeing a picture on the screen surrounded by rocks on stony arachnid legs, his breath coming in like there was a leak in his helmet.
Mark Watney learning of an initiative, sending one last drone back out into space, a repurposed Beetle, being marked "Return to Sender" to Erid.
Mark Watney deciding on wasting no time, gathering every autobiographical evidence he had built over the years; notes, logs, USB sticks full of rewatched shows and terrible disco music, photos printed into books, even pieces of his own personal "Welcome Home - Post Return" collection. Paintings of earth, classical books, pressed leaves and flowers, the skin of a fox, his memoir of mars, and one vacuumed sealed box with a letter taped on it.
Mark Watney filling that box with soil, collected from a number of National Parks from all over the world (some separated in a special case of the eridians desire to study it), as well as a small selection of roots of something that helped see him through the worst time of his life: potatoes; a bit ironic, him vowing to never eat one again, but placing the starter roots in with a smile, whispering "Have a nice trip, little ones."
Mark Watney choosing to handwrite his message, instead of a line on a computer, needing to make his sincerity shown, that someone took time to write a letter of 12 pages, even including a charcoal drawing of the man himself, with one message: someone back home still missed him.
Mark Watney feeling an ache in his chest, watching the special package he donated to the cargo of the ship being driven away, and on live television being sealed inside, jettisoned into the atmosphere, and disappeared into deep space.
Mark Watney falling asleep later that night, nodding off while watching the stars in a telescope, wondering if one day Erid could be seen in the night sky.
[BONUS BC I MADE MYSELF SAD]
Ryland Grace waking up in the morning, stretching his arms, the painting on the wall opposite his bed showing a kaleidoscopic beauty of a planet that he has no chance of seeing again, rising to look out the window at the greenhouse being built out of metal and glass, green sprouts being kept under artificial sunlight beneath the window, smelling earth and feeling warmed within, a framed portrait of himself meeting his eyes across the room in detailed and delicate lines of black, a beautiful use of carbon if he said so himself.
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