You joke, but I've actually encountered many people this standoffish about their designs in my career.

And Kirk was/is outside of time in the Nexus, able to jump back to any moment.

To add to that list: Soylent Green

Everybody knows the twist at the very end now, and it's pretty much what the movie is known for. Spoils the whole thing.

Of course, The Martian would be the next step if you haven't read that too.

But also, I found it similar to The Andromeda Strain or multiple novels by Frederik Pohl.