Closing words from "The Martian" by Andy Weir

[BaalChatzaf]

Here are the closing words of the protagonist Mark Watney  rescued  653 sols (Martian days)  after nearly dying on sol 6

"I think of the sheer number of people who pulled together to save my sorry ass, and I can barely comprehend it. My crewmates sacrificed a year of their lives to come back for me. Countless people at NASA  worked day an night to make rover and MAV (Mars Ascent Vehicle) modifications.  All of JPL busted their asses to make a probe that was destroyed on launch.  Then instead of giving up  they made another probe to resupply Hermes (the vehicle that carries the crew from earth to Mars and back). The China National Space Agency  abandoned a project the worked for years on just to provide a booster.  

The cost for my survival  must have been hundreds of millions of dollars. All to save one dorky botanist . (Mark the protagonist).  Why bother?

Well okay, I know the answer to that.  Part of it might have been what I represent:  progress, science and the interplanetary future we've dreamed of for centuries. But really, they did it because every human being has a basic instinct to help each other out.  It might not seem that way sometimes, but it's true.

If a hiker gets lost in the mountains people will organize a search.  If a train crashes people will line up to give blood. If an earthquake levels a city, people all over the world will send emergency supplies.  This is so fundamentally human that it is found in every culture without exception. Yes, there are assholes who just don't care, but they are massively outnumbered by the people who do. I had billions of people on my side.  Pretty cool, huh?"

Here is an outline of the novel from Wiki:  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Martian_(Weir_novel)