Work Text:
SPOILERS FOR ‘ERID SAVIOUR, BRAVE SPECIAL FRIEND GRACE’ AHEAD!
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SPOILERS! YE BE WARNED!!!
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******* F I N A L S P O I L E R W A R N I N G ***********
Timeline of Important Moments:
(a quick note: most of you will know this but in Weir's book, it is explained that due to relativity and time dilation, when travelling at near-light speeds in the Astrophage-powered ships such as the Hail Mary and the Blip-2 less time passes from their perspective than it does for the rest of the universe. this is why Grace isn't 80 years old despite turning up to Earth in 2070).
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EARTH TIME |
GRACE’S AGE |
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2021- Grace is recruited to the Petrova Taskforce |
30 |
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2022- Astrophage starts being mass produced |
31 |
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2024- Grace goes to space |
33 |
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2037- Hail Mary arrives at Tau Ceti + Grace wakes up in space |
37 |
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2048- Hail Mary Arrives at Erid |
41 |
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2049- Beetles arrive on Earth |
- |
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2054- Blip-2 leaves Erid |
47 |
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2070- Blip-2 arrives at Earth |
51 |
A Note on Titles
Eridian Official Titles are exceedingly rare, with only nine hundred and sixty three instances of official titles ever recorded since the tradition started five hundred thousand years before. They are bestowed upon their recipient as a great honour, usually to mark an exceptionally notable achievement or as the highest form of gratitude Erid can give. It is considered good etiquette to call these individuals by their full official title as a mark of respect unless permission is granted to use an informal title or drop the titles completely. The entire crew of the Blip-A were given posthumous official titles to mark their sacrifice.
Informal titles are more common, but still only a small fraction of the population carries them (they mostly consist of shortened forms of the long official title eg. ‘Friend Grace’, or as descriptors of important jobs eg. ‘Engineer Rocky’). Doctors House and Wilson (as expert human doctors) as well as the crew of the Blip-2 have jobs considered special enough for an informal title to be granted. Mayor Rivers, as Hive Mayor, has one. Other than that, informal titles are pretty rare.
PEOPLE OF ERID
Dr Ryland Grace, he/him:
Official title: ‘Erid Saviour, Brave Special Friend Grace’.
Informal title: Friend Grace or Teacher Grace (Dr Grace on Earth).
Appearance: Leaky space blob.
Extra stuff: Erid’s favourite human. Maybe dying of heart failure (i’m sure it’s nothing to worry about!!!). Either excellent or dreadful at naming stuff, depending on the day. Perpetually tired.
Rocky, he/him:
Official Title: ‘Erid Saviour, Brave Special Friend Rocky’
Informal title: Friend Rocky or Engineer Rocky. Later known as Captain Rocky.
Appearance: Small-ish, brown with teal patches, rough carapace, notable long silver scar.
Extra stuff: Mate of Adrian. Grace’s Best Friend In Entire Universe, statement. Drama queen. Has never moved on from anything in his entire life. Adorable in all things (will yell at you if you tell him that). Author’s favourite.
Adrian, they/them:
Appearance: Tall, elegant, notable blue-green carapace, fond of jewellery.
Extra stuff: Mate of Rocky. 100 years older than Rocky. Worked as an architect on Erid. A catch, if you will. Very accepting considering the chaos of their beloved Rocky and beloved Grace’s lives. Nonbinary icon. QPR enthusiast.
Doctor House, she/her:
Official title: None originally, but becomes ‘Esteemed Doctor House, Saviour of the Saviour’.
Informal title: Doctor House
Appearance: Midsize, dusty pink carapace with some greyish-white mottling.
Extra stuff: One of Grace’s personal doctors since he came to Erid. Constantly horrified to discover how breakable humans are. Eventual mate of Wilson.
Doctor Wilson, he/him:
Official title: None originally, but becomes ‘Esteemed Doctor Wilson, Saviour of the Saviour’.
Informal title: Doctor Wilson
Appearance: Dark grey carapace with lighter grey scuff marks. Slightly larger than House. Impressive spikey outcroppings by his vents.
Extra stuff: One of Grace’s personal doctors since he came to Erid. Very, very fond of cuddles. Pacemaker expert. Eventual mate of House.
Eva, they/them:
Appearance: Silver, with darker mottling at their claws, and white scratches. Fond of overalls.
Extra stuff: Seven hundred years old. Chosen leader of the ‘How Grace Not Die’ project. Very good at their job.
Ashley, she/her:
Appearance: Mid-size, pale grey with light blue scuffs.
Extra stuff: Single parent to Riley. Friend Grace fangirl.
Riley, she/her:
Appearance: vivid magenta, very small.
Extra stuff: a thirty year old pebble, one of Grace’s students on Erid. Going through a jewellery phase. Wants to be either a scientist like Grace or a popstar when she grows up.
Rivers, he/him:
Informal title: Mayor Rivers
Appearance: brown and grey with a deep blue mate mark. Slightly smaller than average.
Extra stuff: Mayor of the largest science hive on Erid for nearly a century. Checks his approval rating seventeen times a day. Secret Friend Grace fangirl (deeply embarrassed about this). Mate to Waters and parent of seven total pebbles.
Entity Seven, it/its:
Official title: ‘The Seventh Entity of the Great Entity Council’
Informal title: Entity Seven
Appearance: 35ft tall Eldritch-void-creature. Its carapace is so deep black that its features cannot be discerned. Mostly legs. Wobbles a little when it walks (it’s hard being that tall).
Extra stuff: It is forty-thousand years old. It has six current mates, but has had many, many more over its lifespan. It took a strong liking to Grace when they met. A Big Friend. Kind of over all the politics. Will nuke Earth (but only if Grace wants it to).
OTHER NAMED ERIDIAN OCs:
Waters - Mate of Mayor Rivers
Ruben - Grace’s tailor
Gus - The Radio Guy
Albert - he does Grace’s laundry (very important)
The Honda Civic - Grace’s transporter on Erid.
Samiyaah and Gemma- some of Grace’s many Eridian friends
Dennis and Jabari- some of Grace’s Eridian students.
THE CREW OF THE BLIP-2
Mike, he/him:
Role: First Officer Mike, pilot and interim Captain when Rocky is indisposed or asleep.
Appearance: Charcoal-coloured carapace, small (similar in size to Rocky).
Extra stuff: Longtime colleague of Rocky since he was a member of the backup crew for the Blip-A. Chilled out. Diligent worker. Loves romance media, both from Earth and Erid.
Xiao, she/her:
Role: Second Officer Xiao, navigator and third-in-command.
Appearance: Slightly larger than Mike. White carapace with gold streaks
Extra stuff: the first ever self-identified Eridian lesbian. Her wives are called Marigold and Valentina. Doesn’t really care that she’s never met a woman, she has decided she is a lesbian anyway (and we all say good for her).
Lightning McQueen, he/him:
Role: Engineer Lightning McQueen, engine and Astrophage fuel specialist but also widely competent in most of Erid’s engineering knowledge.
Appearance: Small, with a carapace streaked with yellow and red mineral deposits.
Extra stuff: The youngest Eridian crew member. Super enthusiastic about all things Friend Grace. Knows they have the coolest name on the entire ship (Friend Grace said so!). Very into the Cars franchise.
Pikachu, they/them:
Role: Engineer Pikachu, responsible for general ship maintenance
Appearance: Also small, with a deep forest-green carapace.
Extra stuff: Lightning McQueen’s best friend. Jack-of-all-trades when it comes to maintaining the ship’s systems. Received Grace’s eternal gratitude when they installed hot running water in his bathroom.
Lavender, she/her:
Role: Specialist Lavender, materials expert.
Appearance: Midsize, with a lilac carapace that is exceptionally sparkly in the light. Fond of clothes with a large amount of pockets (where else should she put her tools, question?)
Extra stuff: obsessed with Xenonite and an expert on every single formula and application of it. Loves to make models, especially for Grace and Rocky to use in puppet shows.
Geodude, he/him:
Role: He’s a specialist. That's all you need to know. Specialist in what? I’m not telling you. Why are you asking? B-bodyguard?! How did you- I mean, of course not, what do you mean-
Appearance: Extremely large for a non-Entity Eridian. Five-by-five-by-five feet, roughly spherical, with limbs as thick as tree trunks. His claws are the size of Grace’s head. Grey with streaks of dullish brown. Likes large sweaters.
Extra stuff: Famous Eridian weightlifting champion. Takes his mysterious job very seriously. Very protective of Grace. Big Friend. Probably aroace.
Rocky, Adrian, House and Wilson are also on the crew.
PEOPLE OF EARTH
Fiona De Luca, she/her:
Role: Director of NASA, later volunteers to lead the Lazarus Project.
Extra stuff: Driven and focused but easily stressed out. Volunteered for this role as she was horrified at the other candidates. Has a hotshot lawyer ex-wife, Elena Valdez. Exceptionally good at her job (although she is low-key in love with her PA).
Kelly Heller, she/her:
Role: Fiona’s long-term PA, later recruited to the Lazarus Project by Fiona. Although still technically a PA, she becomes indispensable to the Taskforce.
Extra stuff: Fond of red lipstick. Exceptionally good at her job (although she is low-key in love with her boss).
Dr Pradeep Gupta, he/him:
Role: Researcher and radiotelescope operator for the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) at the ViSTA (the Vikram Sarabhi Telescope Array). Is later recruited to the Lazarus Project by Fiona.
Extra stuff: New dad to one-year-old twin boys. Loving husband to Priya. Also a Grace fanboy. Founded SmETI (the Search for More Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence) as a teenager on Reddit. One of the first to learn of the Blip-2’s existence.
Dr Charvi Singh, she/her:
Role: Researcher and radiotelescope operator for the ISRO at the ViSTA. Is later recruited to the Lazarus Project by Fiona.
Extra stuff: Notable for her clumsiness and inability to be on time for anything. Kind of in shock that she is allowed to be there, honestly. One of the first to learn of the Blip-2’s existence.
(^these four are the main Earth gang. Everyone else is less important)
Dr Choi Min-jun, he/him:
Role: The current director of SmETI. Is later recruited to the Lazarus Project by Fiona.
Extra stuff: Helped grow SmETI from an online satirical group to an internationally recognised organisation. One of the foremost experts in Eridian technology and culture.
Anton Yurkolvich, he/him:
Role: The Secretary-General (leader) of the United Nations. Later agrees to join the Lazarus Project in an advisory role.
Extra stuff: A big proponent of nuclear disarmament and international co-operation. Has faith in Fiona’s ability to lead the Taskforce. Is very busy all of the time.
Director Kaur, he/him:
Role: Head of the Indian Space Research Organisation. Is later recruited to the Lazarus Taskforce by Fiona.
Extra stuff: A little stressed. Mostly here to keep an eye on Charvi and Pradeep. (this man is a vehicle for author exposition. He doesn’t even have a first name.)
Dr Elizabeth Adebayo, she/her:
Role: Medical officer on the International Space Station
Extra stuff: Trained as a doctor, then worked as field medic during the aftermath of World War Three, then trained as an astronaut with the African Space Alliance (ASA). Super excited to meet Grace and the Eridians.
Eva Stratt, she/her
Role: prisoner :(
Extra stuff: c'mon you all know who she is
OTHER LESS PROMINENT NAMED EARTH CHARACTERS:
Priya Gupta- Pradeep’s wife. New mum to twins.
Sam Weller- Deputy director of NASA (now Acting Director in Fiona’s absence).
Elena Valdez- Fiona's ex-wife and prominent lawyer.
Julian Buckley- Current commander of the ISS.
Dave Nicholls- Aerospace engineer aboard the ISS.
Oksana Dubrova- Aerospace engineer aboard the ISS.
Mr Jupp- Anton's hapless PA.
Director Grant- the head of the tiny Scottish-Icelandic Space Coalition.
There are also various unnamed politicians and directors, including the President and Vice President, the CIA director, the (now fired) UN Armed Forces General, the directors of the African Space Alliance, Roscosmos and the Chinese Space Agency, etc. etc. but I didn't name them because the volume of characters was getting wayyy too much. Basically, if a character is remotely important they will be included in the sections titled 'People of Erid' and 'People of Earth'. If they don't appear there, they are not important (yet)