the reader who writes

account announcements log:

sorry for the late post y'all, was busy i had to compile these two chapters together cuz chapter 7 ended on a cliffhanger >:C

anyway- THE ALIENS WANTS TO MEET OUR DOCTOR

I found Chapter 8 cute cuz it featured Ryland going "first time?" to a fellow researcher.

also Eridians :D Ryland's way of giving things a name will a cherry on top.

we also have to talk about their cute way of communication here too. cuz wdym the large alien ship basically sent Ryland a replica of the star system with their solar system highlighted like "we're from here :D" THEY ARE SO CUTE OH MY GODDDD

plot stuff under the fold

WE HAVE CONTACT. AN ALIEN SHIP HAS LANDED ON THE HAIL MARY

gosh, where do i even start.

turns out Grace and the crew was supposed to be in a coma in the first place. and it was the better choice too. either have them murder each other or themselves or just make them go eepy for four years.

Grace has a fear of heights. same. I can't imagine the sensation of falling for multiple minutes, much less an HOUR.

there's also this thing called the Petrovascope. It allows you to see a Petrova line. And now that the ship has stopped accelerating, Tau Centi is confirmed to have a Petrova line :D

but before he could see which planet has the perfect carbon dioxide wavelength, something latches onto the ship. uh oh.

plot stuff: - more stuff for the Hail Mary ship, we have a Petrovascope to see a Petrova line but you can only use it when the ship stops moving... in a few days. a numbered one. - Grace finds out he's been in a coma for potentially months, even years. 4 digits for days. 3 years minimum. - The chapter's only flashback reveals that it was either keeping the crew awake the entire 4 years and risk them murdering each other or themselves, OR put them in a coma and hope for the best. - Only a few select people can be put into a coma and Not Die(tm). We can assume that Grace is one of those people and ended up in the Hail Mary and his two other crewmates probably had complications hence their deaths. - Days later, the ship stops and Grace experiences the sensation of falling. Very relatable events. - He uses the Petrovascope and, finally, TAU CENTI HAS A THIN RED LINE!! - But he also finds something else. Something unrelated to his mission. It's latched onto the ship. Oh no.

went for a bathroom break and everything was BLURRY

ok i LOVED this chapter holy cow, the amount of media references in this book is amazing

Grace figures out what the Sun and Venus is to the Astrophages and figures out how to breed them.

His wild goose chase travel around the world is hilarious and his sudden importance to the aircraft is so fun to read!

i love his dynamic with Dimitri and Stratt was basically like a leader in a high school research project.

god i love this chapter. and i'm loving this book.

plot stuff: - Grace finally gets his hands on the Astrophages and NAMES THEM AFTER THE THREE STOOGES - He finally figures out that they react to Venus because of the planet's carbon dioxide frequencies (am i getting that right??) - Basically, Astrophages go to the sun to collect energy. Then go to Venus to reproduce. Child and parent return to sun to collect energy and then the process repeats. - They also just do this until the sun dims for 10% less its original energy. But Earth cannot live with the sun's energy that low. - We also find out that Astrophages can't go beyond 8 light years away (possible foreshadowing??) - There is a star cluster that is in reach of the phages but remains healthy. Why? That's where Project Hail Mary comes in (the title!) - Grace is in charge of making a breeding ground for the phages and he is now officially stuck in the aircraft instead of Stratt's lab. amazing.

:(

he's doing it for his kids, y'all. also quick correction for my last post, IT WAS RYLAND GRACE, NOT GRACE RYLAND.

i have misjudged you, doctor.

i love this guy. he is so passionate in his craft it's beautiful to see him act out in compassion and watch him deliver what he can.

there's also potential foreshadowings here like: the airlock. the beetles.

this chapter got me staring at the last sentence and i am near tears cuz wdym he's so selfless it hurts

the fact that he runs back to the lab to try and figure out a way to save the sun because he saw his students--no sorry i mean his KIDS are going to live in a catastrophic generation is so genuinely horrifying that even i had to pause and think about it.

plot stuff: - The ship runs on Astrophages. Cool. - Our doctor poked one with a stick and it died. - Astrophages also radically keep their body temp to a specific degree. Their biological make-up means that they're made up of (mostly) water. Yup. - Grace finally buries his friends. - New flashback, Astrophages become an official name. - Grace is back to his class, explains what Astrophages are and why the sun is dying. - He realizes these kids will be experiencing an extinction event if he doesn't do anything. - Runs to Stratt and begs to continue his research.

OH MY GOD THERE'S SO MUCH TO SAY

WE FINALLY LEARN HIS NAME!! Dr. GRACE RYLAND!!

HE IS SO NERDY I LOVE HIMMM

the way he explains Astrophages is so easy to follow, his teacher skills is paying off

so now we finally talk about the plot: - His name is Grace Ryland. - He is happy as a Junior High Teacher - Eva Stratt comes over and recruits him - Grace Ryland is a microbiologist omg - He believes that life don't necessarily need water - He gets to be the first one to look into the sample taken from the Petrova line - THEY ARE ALIVEEEE and HE NAMED THEM ASTROPHAGES!! - A bit of Astrophages info: they are tiny lil creatures the same size as the Petrova line and they basically eat the energy output of the sun and use it as rocket propelers. adorable!! invasive, but adorable!! - back in the spaceship, our Emperor Comatose tries to measure the sunspots of the sun only to realize it's moving faster than what is common knowledge.

mfw he is in a different solar system.

ok so he's a teacher now. Emperor "i like kids" Comatose.

kidding aside, poor guy. he remembers (sort of) who the people were in the triangle room and cried. the computer must have seen this and gave him food and water to cheer him up. (good job, computer!)

i also love the way flashbacks are written here, i've never thought of it like that

ok so here's a few things to note:

the thin red line? they call it the Petrova line now. and from what i learned, is that the line goes really wide near (or in) venus. apparently the line is killing the sun at an exponential rate, which means that the star DIES in 9 years. obviously bad news, instant ice age afaik.

flashback, one year later, we finally get a visual of the Petrova line. EXTRATERRESTRIAL LIFE. WE HAVE ALIENS!!

our dude is excited to tell the kids!! but he doesn't have kids. but he remembers he's a teacher!!

quote of the day:

first of all, OUCH!?? i will also be marking spoilers when i reach ch3 cuz i feel like all major developments happen there

mr emperor "thin red line" comatose here peed out an inflated catheter and hid under a bed.

two dead coworkers i presume, and i have the same feelings as mr thin red line cuz i fear if he remembers them i will suffer from angst.

he also had an email a while back where some doctor found a thin red line was found in the solar system (ours) where it starts from the north pole of the sun, going up and starts heading straight for venus. my english is also bad enough that idk what they meant by "cross-section is as wide as the planet itself" cuz they just said the line is just about microns wide. or maybe they're maybe talking about the distance covered idk :(

OK FINE I'LL READ THE BOOK!!

I'm gonna start reading Project Hail Mary and then I'll watch the movie afterwards.