Lord British to "Ascend" into Orbit Aboard Russian Soyuz Spacecraft

Did you hear the one about the guy who once sold computer games in plastic Ziploc bags blasting off in a Russian spacecraft on October 12th for a multimillions orbital cruise? Game developer and NASA astronaut offspring Richard Garriott (aka "Lord British") is poised to reach for the stars in just a couple of days, literally. On October 12th, he'll climb onboard a Russian Soyuz-TMA spacecraft, thunder into high orbit, dock with the International Space Station, then loop around the Earth at 17,210 miles per hour for 10 days, just a winking blip to our naked eyes at about 217 miles up.

If you're in your mid-thirties or older and remember what it was like to play 5-1/4" games (real floppy disks!) on bulging green glow-lit monochrome screens, you've probably tried your hand at an Ultima or two. They're some of the best roleplaying games ever designed by my measure, and no one's since topped Quest of the Avatar in terms of its asymmetric, Eastern-influenced, morality-driven framework.

From roleplaying games to real-and-not-playing-around-even-a-little-bit space treks.

Garriott will participate in various experiments during the trip, like spaceflight's effect on the human immune system, his sleeping and waking patterns, and the impact of high and low pressure on human eyes.

"I am enthusiastic to participate in these experiments," said Garriott in a statement emailed to abc-cbnNews.com/Newsbreak. "As my father was a NASA astronaut, it seems fitting that I, as a private astronaut, also assist in their research as a continuation of my family's contribution to the space agency."

A humble entreaty for Lord British, from one of his loyal subjects: When you're back from gallivanting around the globe and doing experiments that, you know, further the cause of science and stuff, would you kindly wrestle the Ultima license back from EA, then see about creating something as metaphysically groundbreaking (relatively speaking) as "Quest of the Avatar"? The genre badly needs it.

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