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Letting Earth know was important to Rocky. He was the one to first notice when the drum-like heart at the center of Grace’s biology begun to beat a fast, irregular rhythm.
Erid’s scientists had learned about human medical practice from the Hail Mary’s computers. They were well-prepared for Grace’s ailments and had repeatedly navigated complicated treatments. Most medicines and surgical interventions could be provided by the supplies already aboard the human spaceship. Other medicines were created through careful research and engineering of Eridian elements.
However, in what felt to Rocky like nothing longer than the melody of a beautiful name, the scientists were confident that Grace was at the end of his lifetime. The duration of their friendship had been equivalent to approximately forty rotations of Earth around its sun. Grace said that was a long time. It hadn’t felt like a long time to Rocky.
Consideration was given to returning Grace’s body to Earth. The Erid diplomatic mission had room on their spaceship to transport it. Rocky was strongly against this and he leveraged his status as planet savior to end all discussions of it. Grace’s body was buried in the terraformed dirt of the habitat where Rocky could still watch him. Adrian had promised to watch him while Rocky visited Earth.
——
Earth was much like Grace himself: loud, chaotic, watery, good. Rocky liked the planet. He and the rest of the Eridians received an enthusiastic welcome from the human governments. Rocky’s part in saving Earth’s sun was common knowledge among Grace’s species.
Grace had predicted that if he ever returned to earth there would be an endless parade of “foofaraw” and “shindigs.” He had usually cited avoiding the two things as a motivator for staying on Erid. It was through their conversations that Rocky knew what to expect and coached the rest of the diplomatic party about human niceties.
The other Eridians had missions of their own which mainly focused on the exchange of knowledge and creation of an Erid-Earth system of contact. Their goals aligned with the humans. Everyone spoke of travel routes, space relays, and rare minerals.
Rocky was interested in these things, but it was not why he came to earth. He came to tell the earthlings that his friend was dead, because he wanted them to know Grace had lived a full life after Tau Ceti. He wanted earth to have Grace’s video records, his research, his memory.
——
Rocky asked to speak with anyone who had known Grace, but his request was met with fumbling regret from his human liaison. Everyone who worked with Grace on the Hail Mary project was also dead. Time had passed on earth and human lives were short. Grace had no mate, no descendants for Rocky to meet.
All that remained of Grace on earth seemed to be monuments. He was remembered not for who he was but for what he did. This made Rocky sad in a way that was difficult to explain to his human liaison.
He did try but she only stared blank and helpless at him as the computer translated his thoughts. “Who will miss Grace, question?”
“All of us,” she said. “We owe him our lives.”
Rocky thunked the ground hard through his suit. “No. Grace. Who will miss Grace, question?”
“I’m sorry. It just is what it is,” she said.
Rocky didn’t ask her again. He tried to focus on the diplomatic mission.
Several boring meetings later, Rocky’s human liaison rushed over to him. She was waving a small communication device excitedly. A squeaky recording of tiny human voices echoed from it.
“I have a message for you, Rocky. It’s from Ryland Grace Middle. They’ve invited you to visit!” Her excitement wavered for a second. “I..uh…already accepted on your behalf. It’s the school Dr. Grace taught at. I thought—“
Rocky interrupted her. “—Grace’s school is Grover Cleveland Middle. Named for mugwump, country, leader, old. This is what Grace said. Rocky not completely understand. Or care.”
His liaison was tapping a nervous rhythm with her foot. “They renamed it. Humans, we do that sometimes when we want to remember someone.”
——
The flight to visit Grace’s school was terrifying. Rocky found the noise and fluctuating pressure of the airplane’s interior extremely disorienting. Eventually, he resorted to curling into a ball and humming to himself. It was a relief when they landed.
Ryland Grace Middle was just sounding the morning bell when Rocky and his human liaison arrived. A few students who were running late, stopped on their way to class to chant “ERID! ERID! ERID!”
It was the first time Rocky had met young humans. He understood why Grace liked them. Rocky gave the students a thumbs down, which was greeted by happy hollering and thumbs down in return.
The principal greeted Rocky, taking him to an area at the back of the school. There was a preservation dome separating an antique outbuilding from the rest of the school’s modern architecture.
“It’s like a museum,” the principal explained. “It’s mostly how he left it when he was teaching. NASA keeps suggesting, we let them move it to a proper museum.”
“Will you let move question?” Rocky asked.
“Never.”
——
Rocky’s could see Grace in the improvised models and displays left in a disorderly scatter across the room. It reminded Rocky of when he’d first rolled onto the Hail Mary.
A teacher was already in the room, setting up for a lecture and carefully reattaching a strip of faded tape to a model of the solar system.
“Rocky!” the teacher greeted, tripping over his own equipment. “We’re so honored to have you visiting us. We’re going to bring the kids in one class at a time. I have a quick lesson plan but I was thinking it would mostly be a Q and A. Is that okay? The kids have been working on their questions for days.”
All the humans stared at Rocky. “Lesson plan is okay for Rocky. Questions are good,” he said.
Rocky felt the rhythm of the students’ heavy steps before they filed into the room. There were gasps and whispers when they spotted Rocky, but the kids sat at the desks without any prompting. They listened attentively as the teacher gave a quick history of the astrophage problem and Project Hail Mary. Then, he opened the floor to questions.
Every student’s hand shot up. Rocky acknowledged a girl in the front row. “You have a question, yes?”
The girl lowered her arm, asking, “How did you and Dr. Grace establish communication?”
“Good question,” said Rocky. He gestured for his human liaison to bring his canister of models. “Rocky will show you. Grace had to do a spacewalk. He did not live up to his name. Not graceful.”
The students laughed as Rocky began his puppet show. He thought this was probably what Grace meant when he said “earth” not really a planet or a gravitational accumulation of matter. Not even a home, at least not for Grace by the end. Earth was a classroom to Grace.
Rocky missed him.