Stellar Cafe

But what really gets me is the idea of them memorialising each other's dead.

There are sculptures of Yao and Ilyukhina on Erid, made with reference to pictures from the Hail Mary database. Their names are added at the end of the public memorials. They are given Eridian names (the second and third humans to ever be granted such an honour) so that they can be properly mentioned in the songs that are written about the mission.

Grace has his own memorials. Ilyukhina's bear, some medals from Yao's time in the PLAAF, an unopened letter addressed to “Martin” in Shapiro's handwriting. They've got their little shrine in a corner of his house, and he's extracted a promise from the science team that, whatever happens to the biodome after he dies, those items are going to be preserved.

Every statue, drawing or other representation of an Eridian on Earth looks like Rocky. After all, he's the only Eridian they've ever seen.

Most are actually meant to be him. With Grace, in commemoration of Dr Ryland Grace's First Contact with intelligent aliens. On his own, with body parts labelled, as an educational tool. And in his hamster ball, or next to smaller models of the Hail Mary and the Blip A, in thanks for his contribution to saving their planet.

But the humans try their best with what limited information they have. There are statues that show multiple Rockys working together, sometimes the full twenty-two. There are more abstract representations, including a very famous one with twenty-three Eridian claw prints next to three human handprints.

“And twenty-two brave Eridians” is a phrase that gets added to the end of memorials, speeches, prayers of remembrance.

Do you think Stratt tried to look away, but Yao caught and held her gaze? Do you think the two of them had a stare down, Ilyukhina's eyes flitting back and forth between them as she tried to figure out what was going on, neither one of them willing to budge? Yao challenging her silently, his look saying plainly "do you think I'm that stupid? Do you think for a second I don't know who you are or what you're capable of? I told you I would lay down my life, but I wouldn't lay down my principles. Are you asking me not only to die, but to kill someone as well?" And as the seconds ticked by, Stratt's face perfectly neutral, refusing to budge, to give any hint of acknowledgement that there might be anything wrong at all with what they were doing, that the slow creeping realization dawned on him that not only is that exactly what she's asking of him, but that he's not going to refuse.

Because what could he do, realistically, against Eva Stratt? Someone as ruthless as her, who has the power of the whole world at her fingertips, who will sacrifice anything and anyone to save the Earth? And even if he could back out, what would that do? Would that save Grace? Would that just endanger the mission? He's the most qualified pilot they have, there isn't time to train anybody else. And affecting the mission's chances of success only means putting more risk on his loved ones, the ones he is being brave for to begin with. Do you think for a split second, he wonders if Grace or any of his own principles are worth a world without his family? Do you think he breaks eye contact first?

Do you think after Stratt turns and walks away, Yao is trying to reassure himself that no, he's wrong, Grace volunteered for this. He was just scared and neurotic, this is the best course, it's just to keep him safe. Do you think quietly in his own mind he's whispering that even if he's right, it's just the price to pay to save the world. That it's tragic but worth it in the end.

Do you think he notices Ilyukhina looking to him for reassurance, and he remembers that he's the commander, the captain, the one in charge, the one with the most wisdom and experience. He needs to be brave and strong, not just for Earth but for his crew. So between one breath and the next he schools his features into something warmer and more confident than he feels, and puts a hand on Ilyukhina's shoulder to assuage her anxiety. Do you think he reassures her that it's better this way and they'll have plenty of time to talk to him after they wake up? Do you think she nods and tries to believe his words, just as much as he's trying to?

Do you think 3 days later, as Yao and Ilyukhina are standing over Grace's limp body settling him into his medical bed, starting the process of hooking him up to all his tubes and machines, their eyes catch for a moment, their look sharing all the things they know but cannot say? Do you think for a brief instant they cannot help but feel the weight of devastation unfathomable to anyone outside their small room? Do you think privately they each resolve to make it up to him in the small inadequate ways they can? That they'll make sure to guide him every step of the way and have patience if he's scared and unsure and he'll never have to be alone because they'll be right alongside him, their own tragic, hopeful band of three, the only of its kind in the whole universe.

Like, Grace thinking that all Eridians are very physically busy because of their brain structure driving them to engage with multiple different lines of thought or even conversation at once only to find out when they get to Erid that Rocky is just the most tightly wound ball of nerves anyone has ever met and if he doesn't have something to do with his hands he gets anxious.

Rocky thinking it's very normal for humans to have large gaps in their memory and/or occasionally dissociate for several minutes at a time and come back crying, then hearing the nannybot mention 'potential amnestic side effects' one day and falling down a WebMd rabbit hole that ends with a very high pitched scolding.

Grace finding out that for all his badgering, Rocky actually sleeps and eats as little as physically possible for a functional Eridian, a habit he picked up out of mingled fear and practicality as the only remaining crew aboard in case of emergency.

like the regular kid enthusiasm of yeah that Grace guy met an alien, cleaned the sun blah blah blah. Eridians are regular visitors on Earth and it's boooooooooring.

and then the kid opens Wikipedia and that asshole is all over the thing. no easy essay of important person invented important thing that is so important that I have to write some bullshit on it. nope.

guy pops up all over the history section. yeah sure. diplomacy? wait wasn't he an astronaut. biology? what? oh he had PhD in something biology. oh he named astophage "astophage"! is that the end of an essay? oh no it continues. xenobiology, xenolinguistics, all the space exploration and, oh, a first contact! are we done yet? no. fuck. wait, metallurgy???? wtf is this dude doing in the metallurgy section. wasn't he a biologist?

and then some kids would get a little bit into it and read through early life section to find oh he got kicked out of his field for being a weirdo alien guy. oh that's a great story! with the hard work and the incredible strength of the will he proved everybody wrong!

no wait

he was just some scrungly guy that got dragged kicking and screaming into this whole bs just to pull the most lock tf in in the history of locking tf in

wtf?!

and then they dig deep enough to find the video logs

I’m not even 7 minutes into the movie and I hear Rocky’s voice talking about the Petrova line while I’m feeding my cats. (Felt like a meerkat popping my head up to look at my phone on the counter lol)

I did not realize that the NASA news anchor they had in the first flashback was Ortiz!! That’s such a cute Easter egg.

The first human voice Grace remembers is still Rocky somehow ✨

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wanted to actually try and design zira's magical girl oc/self insert LOL. i did it before but within a time limit in dis video!