My Wednesday Blog.

When most people think of a science fiction hero, I suspect they picture someone with all the answers. A flawless genius who always knows what to do. A born leader with unshakable confidence. And sure, that kind of character can be fun to watch. But for me, they’ve never been the ones I remember.

The characters who stay with me are the ones who don’t have it all figured out. They hesitate. They make mistakes. They second guess themselves. But they keep going anyway.

That’s why, when I created Philip Anders, I didn’t want someone who starts out as the best pilot, or the smartest scientist, or the natural choice for the mission. I wanted someone human.

Philip is deeply intelligent. He’s talented in his own right. But he’s also unsure of himself. He’s grieving. He’s questioning his place in the world. And most of the time, he’s just trying to hold it together. He’s not the kind of person to chase the spotlight. But when it counts, he listens to something many of us ignore: his instinct.

And that, in a way, is his superpower.

Not flashy tech. Not perfect leadership. Just a gut feeling that maybe, just maybe, he sees something others don’t. That kind of trait doesn’t announce itself. It builds quietly, over time. And when it finally takes shape, you realize it was there all along.

That’s the kind of protagonist I connect with. And I think I’m not alone in that.

Science fiction fans are some of the sharpest readers I’ve ever met. They can spot a cardboard character in an instant. They’ve seen enough stories to know when something rings true, and when something’s just there to move the plot forward. That’s why I worked hard to make sure that Philip never feels like a placeholder. He’s not just there to deliver exposition or solve every problem. He’s there to grow, and sometimes, to stumble.

He’s the kind of person who might not want to be a hero but ends up becoming one anyway.

I’m doing my best not to give too much away here, because Philip’s journey isn’t something I want to spoil. It’s something I hope readers will feel as they move through the story. And by the time they get to the final pages, I hope they’ll look back at where he started and think, “Yeah… I get it now.”

Because for me, that’s what makes a great sci-fi protagonist. Not someone who begins larger than life. But someone who earns every step they take toward becoming something more.