Chapter Text
Olayele, Olivia. “Introduction.” Project Hail Mary: The Apocrypha. Ryland Grace Memorial Foundation Press, 2078.
The world knows Dr. Ryland Grace as its savior. I first knew him as my cool seventh grade science teacher.
There was not much else to be joyful about those days, even if it would still take years for the worst of the Astrophage Disaster to affect the planet. Those of us old enough to remember the active years of Project Hail Mary spent our childhoods in a world of uncertainty, only to inherit one torn apart by endless war. The introduction of Taumoeba to Venus’ atmosphere may have returned the sun to its original luminosity, but it will still be several generations before the world will recover to its natural state. Perhaps it never will.
Still, the version of Dr. Grace that lives in my memory would be proud. His teaching always emphasized the importance of learning and growing past the mistakes that inevitably come with scientific discovery. The video recordings of his time spent in the Tau Ceti system working with Rocky of Erid show a man who clearly had hope for our future, even if for a long time he believed there was none left for him, and I can only imagine how overjoyed he must have been at the confirmation that our sun had finally returned to the brightness it has sustained all life on Earth at for so long. The value he placed on teamwork, both in the classroom and during his time serving in the pre-launch phase of Project Hail Mary, was still strongly present in a man who had woken up alone in space on a vessel he did not initially remember carried all of humanity’s hopes with it. Even once he remembered the circumstances of his presence aboard the vessel, he still chose to send us our salvation rather than deciding to forsake the planet who had sent him away to die alone.
It is no understatement to say that all of life on Earth already owed Dr. Grace an insurmountable debt, and yet, close to fifty years after his departure, we received yet another gift from him. The unexpected return of the Hail Mary from Erid splashed down in the Pacific Ocean on April 11th, 2077, carrying not a human passenger as some experts predicted, but rather a veritable treasure trove of samples and documents that Dr. Grace apparently hoped could be used in order to continue the human relationship with Eridians even after his own death, which, for all we know, may have already occurred in the time it took the Hail Mary to reach us. As a species who owes its entire continued existence to his actions, it is our duty to adhere to these final wishes to the best of our ability.
The documents compiled in this publication are predominately taken from the contents of the returned Hail Mary, supplemented with additional writings from contemporaneous news sources as well as entries from Dr. Grace’s personal journals, which were recovered from his apartment after the ship’s launch. The hope for this book is to serve as a memorial of Dr. Grace’s life and legacy, acknowledging the heavy controversies of Project Hail Mary while still celebrating the survival of our planet—all thanks to a desperately forged friendship in the lonely depths of space.
Grace, Ryland. “I May Have Been Wrong But I’m Also the Savior of the Universe So Who’s Laughing Now: The Followup on Non-Water-Based Lifeforms No One Asked For (But You’ll Read it Anyways Because You Owe Me Big Time).” Document recovered from Hail Mary, 7 May 2076.
Introduction
Hi, Earth!
It’s been a while, hasn’t it? By my count, I’ve been living on Erid for close to twenty years now, which means that by the time these documents all reach you, everyone I ever knew back on Earth is probably old as balls. Fair enough; so am I.
I hope you can understand why I didn’t decide to come back. I’d say “no hard feelings,” but that would be a bit of a lie, and frankly, I just don’t think I ever want to go back into space ever again. I’m not willing to risk another coma, and the thought of spending four years by myself back in the Hail Mary just leaves a nasty taste in my mouth. Nastier than the coma slurry I was drinking to keep myself alive on the way to Erid, and that’s really saying something. I’ll take the rest of my existence without stuff like cool summer breezes and soft serve ice cream over another half-decade in the horrors of solitude, thanks.
“So why did you send the Hail Mary back, Dr. Grace?” I can hear people asking. Well, just because I’m perfectly happy to stay here with my students and my friends doesn’t mean that I don’t believe in scientific innovation anymore. Rocky and I have been putting together this little gift basket for you for the past several years, so don’t say I never did anything nice for you after saving the world. Now, I can retire in peace in my personally-catered terrarium built to my every whim and need and specification, and have karaoke nights with my best friend whenever I please. Seems to me like I got a pretty sweet deal, minus the whole scurvy part, way back when.
Anyway, I hope the scientists of the future we almost didn’t get to have enjoy all the little goodies. There’s lots of stuff in here, but good luck finding any of it without reading a whole bunch of papers first. (Well, I consider the papers to be part of the goodies too, but I’m sure there are plenty of stuck-up astrophysicists out there still sitting on their laurels of my failure, even if this failure is now one of the saviors of the universe. Take that!)
If any of my former students are reading this: I love you. I’m sorry. Clean your rooms; I don’t care how old you are now, I KNOW some of them are messy.
Look after yourselves, and look after each other, yeah?
Dr. Grace
The famous abstract that made Dr. Grace infamous:
Grace R. “Aminoacid frequency in proteins from dehydrated spores.” Invited oral presentation at the University of California Annual Symposium for Astrophysics, San Francisco, March 2013.
Background: All current known forms of life involve water molecules, therefore the search for extraterrestrial life has focused so far on planets known to harbor this essential molecule. The existence of viable dehydrated spores suggests, however, that an alternative path may be possible.
Methods: Spores from various bacterial species were submitted to extreme desiccation protocols using heat, radiation, or toxins. The protective coatings they developed were analyzed and their protein content was sequenced. The atomic composition of the high frequency amino acids was compared to the atomic composition of fossilized lichens found on rock formations extracted from limestone-based caves in Northern Manitoba.
Results: The atomic compositions of various samples from the sources described above presented degrees of similarity from 85% to 92%. The variability between replicates was below average for this type of testing, indicating a high reliability for this analytical method.
Discussion / Conclusion: These results suggest that sedimentary rocks primarily composed of calcium carbonate, such as limestone, are potentially compatible with a form of life yet to be discovered. More research is needed to confirm these findings.
Ryland Grace’s Journal, 2 April 2013. Recovered from his apartment shortly before the Hail Mary’s launch, 11 April 2025.
Wow. I knew there would be skeptics, but this defied imagination. I was treated like an idiot. A total, complete, incompetent, lunatic, not even slightly funny idiot. That’s it, I’m leaving academic research, if that’s how they decide to treat innovation and creative thinking.
Or not. I love science. What in the world am I supposed to do with the rest of my life? Be sad in a diner somewhere? Become yet another corporate drone incapable of the slightest bit of imagination? Become a cartoon supervillain hell-bent on turning all humans into waterless rock beings? I don’t think that would get me decent health insurance.
Whatever. I still have to write a paper about this talk. If those staggering wastes of carbon want me to say goodbye, then they can kiss my butt as I go! They don’t know what they’ve got coming.
Grace R. “An Analysis of Water-Based Assumptions and Recalibration of Expectations for Evolutionary Models.” Article posted on pre-print server bioRxiv, 2013.09.13.987654
Introduction
Astrobiology studies the possibility of life outside of Earth. In order to approach this complex research topic, hypothetical life forms can be conceived of by gathering observations of biosignatures on other planets or stars, either in our own solar system or beyond. In addition to biosignatures, the search for technosignatures is of interest in and of itself: we need to remain open to the possibility that our search could lead us to the discovery of messages or code coming from outer space before we encounter the beings who have generated such messages. Such research is extremely complex and requires the ability to interpret observations with a broad perspective. In other words, only scientists with an open mind can hope to possibly identify forms of life as we don’t know it. The proportion of humanity with this ability should be a question we also study seriously if we want to stand a chance in this unparalleled quest. Maybe that fraction is just as small as the fraction of planets with life?
Rocky. “Rocky No Longer Hates Earth, Statement.” Document recovered from Hail Mary, 7 May 2076.
Hello, Earth! I am Rocky from Erid. Rocky said things out loud to Grace’s camera before, and now says new things so Grace can write them to send back to Earth.
Rocky very angry for what Earth did to Grace. Was bad bad bad. Grace says Grace forgives Earth. Rocky does not forgive Earth but will help anyway because Grace loves Earth. Rocky and Grace do big science on Erid, and share it with Earth, and Earth will see how good Grace is and be sad sad sad for what Earth did.
[Transcriber’s note: I swear I explained to him just how complicated and nuanced the situation was. I’m pretty sure Rocky understood, he just doesn’t care.]