Raven on Ice

The news anchor goes over the crew explaining their backgrounds and motivation. Most of the kids only listen with one ear, too caught up in their own conversations, theories, fears and hopes.

But then some of the kids gasp when a photo of their beloved teacher shows up on the projection. All their heads snap to it immediately, starring at it in disbelief. Even the teachers hold up hands to their mouths in shock, turning to eachother looking for guidance on what to say or do now.

"And lastly the scientist for this noble mission, a last minute addition after the original crew unfortunately passed in an accident."

"Yes Dr. Ryland Grace, the very person who first studied Astrophage, making him the first person to make contact with extraterrestrial life. He overall made the most notable and significant contributions to the field and is now completing the crew of the Hail Mary on this noble mission."

"Unfortunately we do not have a video message from him due to him stepping up so very last minute, but Eva Stratt told us that he wanted to join the mission for 'the children'".

"Dear viewers you should know that before being recruited for the project, Dr. Grace taught science at a middle school."

"Really an exceptional promotion..."

The voices on the broadcast are drowned out by the students loud and confused chatter.

"MR GRACE IS GOING TO SPACE?!"

"My dad told me the astronauts will DIE!"

"Is Mr Grace going to die???"

"MR GRACE CAN'T GO TO SPACE!!! HE HYPERVENTILATED IN THE ELEVATOR AT THE SPACE MUSEUM!!! HE'LL DIE IN SPACE!!!"

"THAT'S WHAT I'M SAYING!!!"

"HE'S GOING TO GET EATEN BY AN ALIEN!!!!"

"HE THREW UP THINKING ABOUT GOING ON THE ROLLERCOASTER ON OUR FIELD TRIP"

The 26 year anniversary of the hail mary launch comes and passes. There is no sight of the beatles.

The earth and it's people are struggling but trying to be held together by this faint hope. Maybe it just took them longer to solve the issue? So they hold on just a little longer as the world around them turns colder in more than one way...

Eva Stratt eventually, after several additional years have passed, has to be dragged before the press and be forced to admit that the Hail Mary Mission has failed. Tears roll down her cheeks as the questions hail down on her, not because of overwhelm or because the reality of human extinction starts to fully settle in... but because all the pain of every sacrifice she had ever made in the name of saving earth starts to hit her at once...

Antarctica. The Sahara. Entire ecosystems eradicated too soon. Countless people robbed of their intellectual property. People ripped away from their lives and families to work on this project.

And not to forget...the People who had died for it. Martin DuBois. Annie Shapiro. Yáo Li-Jie. Olesya Ilyukhina. Ryland Grace.

For some reason the last one hits the hardest. He hadn't chosen this. He hadn't volunteered to try. Hell for all it's worth he could be the very reason nothing has come back! Maybe the amnesia drug hadn't worked...maybe he had refused to collaborate...No. He wouldn't have. Stratt shakes her head, lowering it allowing the tears to drop to the floor.

Dr. Ryland Grace had had even that: Grace. A fitting name for the man, really. And he hadn't wanted to die. He had wanted to stay behind and teach, or maybe study the astrophage further. Maybe keeping him here and safe maybe would've done more for humanity than forcing him on that ship kicking and screaming had done.... because it had done nothing but send him to die.

Stratt excuses herself with a shaky voice, pushing past the security men at the door, the reporters behind her screaming, demanding louder for the answers she won't give... because she doesn't have them.

She will never know what went wrong. She doesn't know what to do now. But what she knows is that people she sent out to safe the world, willingly or not, are dead. No matter what. Even if a Beatle shows up in several years when humanity has already been eradicated. It all ends the same way. Always was supposed to.

It was a hail mary. She had known from the beginning. She had just hoped it would work.

Making these decisions had been easy, or at least she had told herself so. It had been for the greater good of humanity but now that she couldn't justify it anymore and no matter how much she tells herself that they likely would've died anyway... they're just dead people.

Still, the eridians notice that in conversation with Rocky when he's speaking English, he's using his own combination of sounds for his name. They quickly catch on that just like they're using a different sound for Grace, he is for Rocky. But Rocky's name has no meaning in eridian?

When asked Grace explains that when he had no way to produce eridian, he had to use a substitute for Rocky's name and because there was no meaning he just...stuck with the first impression he got of him.

It quickly turns into, especially the pebbles, wanting to know their "earth names". Grace, overwhelmed with the pressure, says he'll need time to figure something out.

Grace would feel bad for just slapping random names on them without much thought. Though he has never been great at naming things (despite having to name so many...) he wants to make an effort to actually give fitting meaningful names, kind of as a token of respect for how much resources, time and care is being put into simply keeping him alive.

But every now and then, the perfect name strikes him like lightning and when told the eridians get super excited, some even trying to replicate the melody of the word. Grace always makes sure to give the translation or explanation. The eridians then go around telling everyone who'll listen that Grace gave them an earth name. To them it feels like an high honour.

At some point, Rocky gets jealous though.... because Grace didn't give his name this much thought. Rationally he knows that back then it was a simple necessity. But still. Rocky wants to know what Grace would name him now that he knows him.

Grace is a bit taken back by the unexpected question. He hadn't thought that what he was doing could possibly hurt Rocky in some way... but he also can't think of any other name he'd want to replace it with.

Rocky slumps in disappointment, ready to leave...but then Grace says: "Hey! Hold up! It's not that I can't think of anything to describe you with. There's probably a thousand names I could give you! But to me you are Rocky and will always be because that's simply the name I associate my best friend with and all the sacrifices you made for me. It's not just a random word for me anymore that kind of fit... it's been filled with meaning. And you mean everything to me. I couldn't replace it with anything because there is no word to describe it all."

Whitaker: oh I'm sorry no. I would but Robby specifically said no babies. Sorry.