Mark Starman in the 21st Century

Ten-year-old Mark Starman fought space battles in the video arcade, but he never imagined himself fighting a real one. That changed on September 3, 1981, when he became trapped in a mysterious cave while looking for his younger brother in the woods and lost consciousness.

When Mark awakes, the year is 2081 A.D. Man has colonized all nine planets of the Solar System, along with other star systems, using starships that exceed the speed of light with warp drive. Governments no longer exist, and the Titans-the richest innovators and entrepreneurs-are revered as nearly divine. Child labor laws have been abolished, and children Mark's age work full-time in nearly every industry. Space pirates stalk major trade routes and prey on helpless civilian ships, while private naval companies fight day and night to protect their clients from this menace.

Looking for work, Mark enlists in the United Stellar Navy, "The Galaxy's #1 Space Defense Service," as a midshipman aboard the cruiser USS Iowa. Along with his shipmates including adventurous swordsman Steve Parker, overbearing karate girl Alice Smith, computer genius Dave Faraday, and clumsy amateur roboticist Frank Turing, Mark learns the art of space warfare, fights in many battles, and confronts an evil force that has returned after twenty-six years to seize control of the known galaxy. Will the world's only 110-year-old boy save mankind...or destroy it?