Aphelion

I thought their motivation was quasi-religious -- or human-centric, anyway. From a Fundamentalist Christian viewpoint, Earth and humanity are the center of the Universe -- proof of life elsewhere would contradict that view. (The protests regarding the use of the terminally-ill for One-Way missions could be unconnected -- or a red herring to conceal the real motives of the opposition to such missions.)

RM

Terminally ill individuals used for deep space exploration? Good idea. If they volunteer, and I believe in this story all were volunteers, then Jake’s world has a deep respect for individual rights.

Mt. Rainier put a damper on space exploration. It blew its top and caused a mini-ice age; Earth had more on its mind than space exploration after that out-burst.

The writing good, and the description of Titan very good, and of the lake, excellent.

Jake’s inner thoughts and feelings through-out the story helped set the mood.

A nice narrative: The story touches on many thoughts about life, families---it's interesting to note that Mia is Jake's sister and not his wife---science, man's free will, and the quest to explore the unknow.

No doubt that the symbolism in the story deserve much thought!!!