I Volunteered

[Excerpt from an interview with a TranStar Volunteer]

"I am not the same man I was two years ago." Alexi Petrov told me. "Talos I has a way of changing you. Rebuilding you into a better person."

Petrov, along with three other members of the Menshevik movement, were arrested and convicted of the 2029 Red Square attacks which killed 32 people. All four men were sentenced to death.

However, just two weeks from his execution, Petrov was approached by tech giant TranStar. The company offered him a second chance. As part of a new program called the TranStar Volunteer Initiative, Petrov was given the opportunity to work as a human test subject in exchange for a commuted sentence.

"They tell me, 'Come up to our space station. Work with us on top secret science projects. Give back to the world from which you have taken so much.' So I did," Petrov said. "I'm glad I did."

Petrov isn't allowed to talk about the work he did on Talos I, but there's no denying he's a changed man. The former secondary school dropout is now working on doctorate in astrophysics and says he hopes to work for TranStar one day.