Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir – Problems and Solutions
Project Hail Mary is a science fiction novel by Andy Weir, shortlisted for the 2022 Hugo Award.
A bloom of space algae called astrophage, invades the solar system. Using sunlight for energy, astrophage causes the sun to start cooling, threatening disaster for Earth. A high school science teacher, and former hotshot scientist, Ryland Grace, is recruited to address this crisis. He is sent off in a space ship to investigate a nearby star that shows signs of astrophage infestation, but for some reason has not dimmed. Maybe an answer to the Sun’s problem lies with this star.
The main thing I enjoyed about Project Hail Mary was the relationship between Grace and an alien he meets on his travels. Their working together was fun, moving and interesting, in the sense of exploring the truths that might form the common ground for communication between humanity and alien life.
The main ‘truth’ in the book does not really involve the periodic table or scientific concepts, although there is plenty of all that. The truth that comes up repeatedly is the idea that problems contain their own solutions. Astrophage is both a really big problem and an equally big opportunity. This life form has evolved to store huge amounts of energy. Grace’s space ship actually uses astrophage for fuel, allowing him to get to the star where the answer to controlling astrophage might lie. This book really is one problem after another. The sequence was – problem, anxiety, solution, the answer typically deriving from the difficulty.
Did the idea that problems contain their own solutions come over as a universal truth, or as trite cliche? Maybe something can be a cliche because it is true. People are always looking for answers, but don’t find satisfaction with the same ones over and over again, even if they are correct. One way or another people want to keep moving on, and their favourite solutions are the ones that contain interesting new problems. So yes, I did feel the book explored something with a wide relevance. Maybe the repeated pattern of problem, anxiety, solution did get a little monotonous at times, but this was certainly an interesting story.
