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In order to get a job in the Outlands, a person in Rod's time has to take a survival course. Rod chooses to take the course in high school. The course teaches him what he should do to survive in an unfamiliar environment with unknown dangers. At the end of the course, Rod is expected to take a test during which he will be delivered to an unknown planet and left to survive for anywhere from four to ten days. More than half the class decides to drop the course rather than tempt fate at this early juncture of their education. Rod, despite drama taking place in his family, decides to go forward with the test.