I really like playing around with the time aspect of PHM because, if I can suspend my disbelief for just a little bit (and use a bit of time travel, maybe,) I can effectively have a crossover from my favorite three space-related movies.
Let's say that Grace and Rocky's plan went as expected; They arrive on Erid, and Grace starts his new life under the assumption that Earth has been saved. All is well in the universe.
That is, until a small ship finds its way onto Erid, and suddenly, Grace's entire worldview is changing again. They're telling him something landed nearby, and it seems to be carrying life. Is it human, alien, or something else entirely? Come to find out, it's human. Not humanoid. An actual living, breathing person, who's far, far from home. Grace can't exactly make sense of it, but he wants to know more. Why is he here? What does he want? What could this mean, having another human on Erid?
He first learns his name is Cooper. He's from Earth, clearly, but...not the same era. This causes a ripple effect to take place, stunning Grace with confusion. How...how long had he really been on Erid?
Never mind that- how is Earth?
Oh, but Earth...it's gone.
Grace is shattered. Gone? What do you mean by gone?
The blight, Cooper explains. It was killing off their crops. That's what they were told, anyway. But they were watching their fields progressively die out each year, and there just wasn't much to be done. He explains that humanity is living somewhere else now. Somewhere better. He says he only wound up here by accident on his journey to find a friend.
It takes a long time for Grace to accept this. Grief nearly consumes him: After all this time, his efforts simply weren't enough. He was sent to die all that time ago, and now...
He supposes he can only feel grateful that humanity survived one way or another, but that still doesn't answer the question of how.
How is Cooper here? How many years had it been since Grace had left?
Before he can get a chance to square away all the math, he's alerted once more to the arrival of another ship. Flabbergasted by the potential of running into two life forms, Grace gathers himself just as much as he can before rushing to find this other ship.
But it isn't a ship at all. It's...a coffin. A metal, rusted coffin. It reeks of iron and death when it's brought onto shore by the Eridians. When they crack it open, Grace feels utterly overwhelmed. It's another man. Drenched in thick blood, missing an arm, scarred and wounded, but another person.
He learns his name is Simon. He's angry and confused, but he comes around. He explains very little, but what he does explain sets Grace nearly over the edge. Somehow, most of the planets in their universe had disappeared, leaving the night sky virtually empty. The Quiet Rapture, he calls it.
How did that happen? Grace blinks- wouldn't they have noticed? Wouldn't he and the Eridians notice the giant gaps in the sky-?
Did he do this? Did his actions do this? Is this the result of a butterfly effect? How old are these men? Jesus, where did they come from?
Had he not done enough then?
(details shmetails, i love thinking abt all three of them existing tg no matter how unlikely it seems. i also love the trope of like, being damned from the start, that fate had written he'd never save Earth completely. idk tell me ur thoughts)
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