Old Sport

there is more love ahead than behind

But I have seen basically no one talk about how it’s not just an educator who saves us, but a historian too. Stratt studied history and for all the amazing and impressive and terrifying things that woman was and did, she was at her core a historian. She loved humanity so much that knowing it as it was in her lifetime wasn’t enough, she wanted to know who we used to be and why. Part of that history background informed her actions- she knew how people respond in a crisis because she’s seen it before throughout human history- she knew that eventually alliances would break down, that collaboration only lasts so long. She knew what she was walking into when she headed up the project- both for herself and for humanity at large but it didn’t matter because she loved beyond consequences. She studied humanity at its lowest points and at its peaks. And in spite of and because of all that we have done, Stratt saw love and value and the need for a future.

She copied (technically stole) as much knowledge and art and music and human ingenuity as she could and gave it a home in the stars. And yes her basically stealing the internet and all copyrighted material is played off for a bit of comedic relief and shown as a bit of kindness for the crew of the Mary, but I see it as so much more than that. Stratt wanted to save as many lives on Earth as she could, but she also wanted to save humanity- our collective history, accomplishments, all of our triumphs and losses. She preserved as much as she could on that tiny little blip of aluminum and wires, so that in case this whole thing failed- in case she failed or the crew failed or the science of it all failed- a part of who we are would remain in the stars, waiting for someone as curious as we are to learn from it.