Project Hail Mary

by Andy Weir

“Hello!” Ilyukhina lunged forward and hugged Stratt. “I’m here to die for Earth! Pretty awesome, yes?!” I leaned to Dimitri. “Are all Russians crazy?” “Yes,” he said with a smile. “It is the only way to be Russian and happy at the same time.” “That’s…dark.” “That’s Russian!”

“Work fast.” “Yeah.” I point at the screen. “First I have to wait for my computer to wake up.” “Hurry.” “Okay, I’ll wait faster.” “Sarcasm.”