Phoenix Dreams

In Greek myth, the phoenix is a bird that rises from its own ashes. Growing up in the city named for it, Toni knew the story well, and being a gamer made her used to death being negotiable. During a visit to her grandfather's ranch, she discovered a cache of books and videos from the lost golden age of space travel. Entranced by the enthusiasm of Roger Chaffee for his upcoming spaceflight, she was shocked and angered to learn the disaster that happened only days after his interview. When she expressed her desire to get him his spaceflight, her family's anger came as an even bigger shock. But she refused to forget, no matter how hard her parents tried to distract her, to prevent her from researching online. Her determination would lead her along strange paths that would end in a desperate cross-country chase and the realization of a dream decades deferred.