Project Hail Mary

by Andy Weir

The silence that followed was unlike anything I’d ever experienced. Even Stratt was taken aback. Lokken and I looked to each other. I don’t know why but we did. Dimitri’s mouth fell agape. “Half?” Stratt said. “Three point five billion people? Dead?” “Yes,” he said. “Is that tangible enough for you?” “How can you possibly know that?” she said. He pursed his lips. “And just like that another climate denier is born. See how easy it is? All I have to do is tell you something you don’t want to hear.” “Don’t patronize me, Dr. Leclerc. Just answer my questions.” He crossed his arms. “We’re already seeing major weather-pattern disruptions.” Lokken cleared her throat. “I heard there were tornadoes in Europe?” “Yes,” he said. “And they’re happening more and more often. European languages didn’t even have a word for tornado until Spanish conquistadors saw them in North America. Now they’re happening in Italy, Spain, and Greece.”