Lord British in Star City

Wired has a great article up following gaming's favorite fruity Ren Fairer, Richard Garriott aka "Lord British" as he trains to be launched into space as "an effete space tourist, or monkey" at Russia's Zvyozdny Gorodok, aka Star City.

They live in cramped dormitories in the Prophylactory Building, or Prophy, which looks more YMCA than Star Trek. They slip and slide down frozen walkways past dilapidated Soviet structures. They subsist on cafeteria food slathered in mayo. They bury themselves in textbooks or ride "vomit comets" and centrifuges.
"Everybody knows you can go to space if you are a perfect physical specimen and incredibly smart," Simonyi says. "But what if you are kind of normal?"

The whole thing is incredible... from Garriott's dashed dreams of following his astronaut father into space. to the loss of his first chance at a flight into space when the tech bubble burst, to his training at Star City and eventual acceptance among the vodka-swigging Russian cosmonauts. An absolute must read.

Going to Space? First Stop: Eight Months of Grueling Training in Russia [Wired]