Definitely A Human

they knew that space was there because they can perceive it directly. it's literally right overhead all the time for their entire evolution. they know the faces of thousands, millions of stars, as soon as they tip their faces up. eridani is a name from two thousand years ago. all their stars have been named and known and watched and sung about for longer than any individual human civilization. they have always known the eridian star was there.

teenagers citing his videos and data as primary sources on their school projects (how do you make an mla citation for a home video filmed in space?)

grace's final goodbye to earth getting billions of views on youtube

sexy edits of grace ALL OVER tiktok and instagram

grace becomes a whole scientific field unto himself. teams of scientists dedicate their lives to the study of his research and his contributions. maybe some of those scientists were his students once upon a time.

grace x rocky ALL OVER ao3

books on eridian language and culture hit the shelves and sell out immediately

eridian culture reignites conversations about the construct of gender, eridians become nonbinary/agender symbols

space is suddenly back at the forefront of the public mind. space-travel units are introduced to grade school science curriculum worldwide. entire classes are taught solely on grace and his scientific discoveries. EVERYONE wants to be an astronaut

of course, hollywood makes a big-budget Dr. Ryland Grace biopic. it's a box office hit. a huge online movement results in ryan gosling playing grace, and everyone agrees the likeness is uncanny. stratt is the villain of the story.

a series of heartfelt videos from grace to stratt, in which he says hello and goodbye and i hate you and thank you and i miss you, are found in the database and reposted online. there's suddenly a massive outcry of support for her, which results in her release from prison. some youtuber makes a gritty but surprisingly touching short film about her story

people coming together to make earth better. trying to repair the damages from the sun's dimming, trying to repair the environment, trying to repair global relations. they want to be an earth worth saving, an earth that grace would be proud of

space travel becomes a huge global priority, the nations of the world pool resources and there are huge advances in technology (especially with scientists studying xenonite!)

the project hail mary launch date becomes a huge global holiday. there's a parade in almost every city all over the world in honor of the hail mary. people lay candles and flowers at memorials for yao, ilyukhina, annie, and dubois. murals of grace and rocky cover building sides. people gather in the streets and remember those who saved them, and banners that read "grace rocky save stars" flutter in the wind above the crowds.

coca cola airs a VERY insensitive commercial with some low quality eridian puppets. the commercial is slammed online and company stocks plummet

They search high and low for a sign of the mysterious man who was at Stratt's side for so long. They didn't focus on him back then, the paparazzi somehow failed to capture him properly whenever they got close enough to badger Stratt. Just another lackey, they all assumed.

He was never one for photos, he'd bat away Ilyukhina when she called him for a group shot. He'd make some joke about how he always looked awful in them, that his smile wasn't quite right, and she eventually gave up trying to convince him. Only a few shots remain, ones she snagged when he wasn't looking. Sleeping at his desk with a stack of coffee cups piled beside him, eating a packet of sour skittles with a look of pure bliss, working on a report with his tongue stuck out and a pen behind his ear, hair rumpled. Half forgotten memories.

The media is tearing itself apart looking for a sign. They find his disproved scientific paper, but after that he seems to drop off the map. No family, no known friends. Who was this man?

Then people come forward, finally. Not scientists, not relations, but parents. People who sat across the table from him at parents evenings, people who trusted him with their children, perhaps the highest form of trust. They have photos from sports days and school plays and barbecues, and more importantly, they have stories. He was an amazing teacher, a good colleague, a kind man. He was patient and clever and inquisitive.

He did a wonderful job, but as he was returning my plant to my custody, he explained "I watered her every other day, I gave her new dirt, moved her into the sunshine, prayed the rosary-"

"What?"

He looked at me, confused. "Isn't she a plant you pray with?"

"No," I said slowly. "She's a prayer plant. That's the... colloquial name of the plant."

Upon seeing his stricken face, I realized something went wrong. Turns out, this entire time, he's been including my plant in on his prayers and leaving her near icons.

I hereby present reasons for Eva Stratt to be named that

1. Andy Weir did his research bad (boooring)

2. Stratt has a German dad and a Dutch mom but lives in the Netherlands (plausible)