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lock. Our traveler
grew worried as the apparent malfunction threatened to leave him
perhaps stranded afloat in the middle of a churning sea. As time
wore on it became evident he would have to manually remove the
door himself and take his chances. There in the packet he found a
matching set of wrenches specifically designed for this maneuver.
With great relief he began the laborious task of removing the
twenty-nine bolts that held the transparent door in place. As he
labored he began to feel the full effects of the suns golden rays
beating down through the composite glass.
    As the seal finally broke he could smell the salt air rushing in
through the gaps and could hear what he imagined were the welcome sounds of sea going birds wrangling in the air above him.
With the last bolt removed he pushed the hatch open slightly. He
rose up exposing himself to the full light of day glancing to his
left and right he would discover that his craft as had drifted for
some time. He found himself floating in shallow water perhaps
four feet of depth and mere feet from the spreading boughs of the
mangrove tree. He would discover that it was but one of a cluster
that formed a crown around a small abandoned island. He lay
there for a moment and breathed deeply the salty air. Pushing
back the heavy door into its full upright position, he sat up
straight. The sun was high in the sky now and he averted his still
sensitive eyes from its glare. He tentatively rose to a standing
position. Though his body shook he still was able to support his
own weight as he stepped carefully from the capsule. He made it
to his feet to discover that his body had been well preserved. He
estimated that there was very little muscular atrophy that could
not be countered by physical exercise. The water was surprisingly warm to the touch. After a few moments he rose from the
water only to fall onto the beach in exhaustion. As he lay there
he pondered his situation his mind however was still in recovery
mode.
    The circumstances of his current misfortune were, at least for
now, lost to him. However slowly, over the course of hours and
days the details of his ordeal would begin to become clearer to
him as the effects of the chemicals that kept him long in suspension wore off. These unavoidable byproducts of his long endured slumber though acutely uncomfortable were temporary
though many of these facts would in the short term remain forgotten. However in the course events, no one had ever slumbered as long as he. Only with time then would the facts of his
unlikely journey be perhaps revealed to him.
    So after a short rest despite his exhaustion he stood up and
brushed the sand from his body. He thought it best he should
begin to exercise and shake the rust from his joints. Walking
then would do him some good and he was eager to explore this
new world. He thought it best he should move now. Though
weary from the ages spent in hibernation he spent the better part
of that day then wandering about exploring the island. In the
matter of forty minutes he had encircled the whole of the island.
Then he trudged with some difficulty into the islands interior.
He managed during his wandering to find some helpful things.
Caught among the rocks at the sea's edge, there he found many
examples of rope, and netting. These he thought could make
good use of. And from the forest there were palm and other native fruits enough where he would starve later rather than sooner. He also managed to find a natural fresh water seep high in
the hills. Into a bottle he had found along the beach he collected
the murky water. He had not realized until that moment the degree to which thirst was affecting him. He raised the bottle to his
lips and drank down the water until he was full. Once satisfied he
looked out from his vantage there onto the sea. From his observations he could infer that there were no large land masses nearby.
This made finding his current location all the more critical. After
gathering