Project Hail Mary

by Andy Weir

So I’m a single man in my thirties, who lives alone in a small apartment, I don’t have any kids, but I like kids a lot. I don’t like where this is going … A teacher! I’m a schoolteacher! I remember it now!

So it was that with the apocalypse looming—possibly caused by an alien life-form—I stood in front of a bunch of kids and taught them basic science. Because what’s the point of even having a world if you’re not going to pass it on to the next generation?

Human suffering is often an abstract concept to kids. But animal suffering is something else entirely.

Thirty years. I looked out at their little faces. In thirty years they’d all be in their early forties. They would bear the brunt of it all. And it wouldn’t be easy. These kids were going to grow up in an idyllic world and be thrown into an apocalyptic nightmare. They were the generation that would experience the Sixth Extinction Event.

I’m on a suicide mission. John, Paul, George, and Ringo get to go home, but my long and winding road ends here.

When you get going near the speed of light, you experience time dilation. More time will have gone by on Earth than I have experienced since I left Earth.

while I slept, Earth experienced at least thirteen years.

In any event, the trip took at least three years (from my point of view).

Can't comprehend this...

“Yeah. Six people of astronaut caliber, who have the scientific skills necessary to work out what’s going on with Astrophage at Tau Ceti, and who are willing to go on a suicide mission.”

Human brains are amazing things. We can get used to just about anything.

The slight reduction of fear has a feedback effect. I know I will get less afraid now. And knowing that makes the fear subside even faster.

Humanity isn’t alone in the universe. And I’ve just met our neighbors. “Holy fucking shit!”

“Okay, guys,” I say. “The enemy of my enemy is my friend. If Astrophage is your enemy, I’m your friend.”

Their move is taking a long time and I’m getting bored. Wow. I’m sitting here in a spaceship in the Tau Ceti system waiting for the intelligent aliens I just met to continue our conversation … and I’m bored. Human beings have a remarkable ability to accept the abnormal and make it normal.

Whales sound like they do because they move air back and forth across their vocal cords without expelling it. Rocky may be doing the same thing.

Oh thank God. I can’t imagine explaining “sleep” to someone who had never heard of it. Hey, I’m going to fall unconscious and hallucinate for a while. By the way, I spend a third of my time doing this. And if I can’t do it for a while, I go insane and eventually die. No need for concern

“Well, you’re not alone anymore, buddy,” I say. “Neither of us are.”

Sometimes, the stuff we all hate ends up being the only way to do things.

It’ll take thirteen years for the Hail Mary to get to Tau Ceti, and another thirteen for any results or data to come back.

“Has to be, or you and I would not meet,” Rocky says. “If planet has less science, it no can make spaceship. If planet has more science it can understand and destroy Astrophage without leaving their system. Eridian and human science both in special range: Can make ship, but can’t solve Astrophage problem

He shook his head. “I wish to God this wasn’t on my shoulders.” He fiddled with his tablet. “You know, Dr. Grace, I have spent my entire life as an unapologetic hippie. From my childhood in Lyon to my university days in Paris. I am a tree-hugging antiwar throwback to a bygone era of protest politics.” I didn’t say anything. He was having the worst day of his life. If I could help by just listening, I’d do it.

Never in human history had so much raw authority and power been invested into so few people. These two people—just these two—were going to literally change the face of the world.

Right now, we’re cruising along at 162 kilometers per second. It’s just ridiculous. If you left Earth at that speed, you’d get to the moon in forty minutes.

“Sorry! Sorry! I had to pee. Like … so bad,” said the world’s smartest and most accomplished microbiologist.

He turned back to face me. “Fan? Oh, yes. I don’t want to exaggerate, but Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band is the greatest musical accomplishment in the history of mankind. I know, I know. Many would disagree. But they’re wrong.”

Working with Rocky is like having the world’s best engineer from 1950 on the ship with me.

It’s a dark and depressing feeling to have all your closest colleagues get together and decide you should die.

You don’t have a romantic partner in your life because that would mean you might suffer heartbreak. You avoid risk like the plague.”

Sheesh—you almost ruin a mission one time and all of a sudden you have an alien-enforced bedtime.

I spend a lot of time un-suiciding this suicide mission.

He curls the claws of one hand into a ball and presses it against the xenonite. “Fist me!” I push my knuckles against the xenonite. “It’s ‘fist-bump,’ but yeah.”

“You will miss me, question? I will miss you. You are friend.” “Yeah. I’m going to miss you.” I take another swig of vodka. “You’re my friend. Heck, you’re my best friend. And pretty soon we’re going to say goodbye forever.”

People nowadays … they have no idea how good they have it. The past was unrelenting misery for most people. And the further back in time you go, the worse it was.”

Still, our “conversation” would be slow. 40 Eridani is sixteen light-years away from Earth. So if we sent a message like “Hey, how ya doin’?” it would be thirty-two years before we got their reply.