Xiketic

I wanna see the unbridled joy on the faces of human schoolchildren who get to meet the first Eridians who come to visit Earth. I wanna see the Eridian ambassadors insisting to the humans that they get a chance to meet their schoolchildren, because they themselves were schoolchildren when a human teacher came to their planet and inspired them to become astronauts.

I wanna see humans getting permission to set up a small embassy somewhere in the Eridani System, possibly even giving a very elderly Grace a chance to see humans again. I wanna see how surprised the humans are that he doesnt want to come home to Earth, but also see them quickly realize just how amazing it is to live, study and teach on an alien world.

I wanna see Humans & Eridians joining forces and creating a massive space program with the goal of inoculating every star in the Milky Way that has been infected with the astrophage. I want to hear them say "the fact that there are three Systems with life this close to each other implies that the whole Galaxy is likely teeming with life- probably even whole civilizations. And none of them deserve to go through what we went through. Screw any ideas about a 'prime directive.' We CAN help, and we WILL help. Lets spend the next 1000 generations saving the galaxy, together."

I wanna see more of this world, generations after these two planets were saved by a pair of alien scientists who became best friends, and who each risked everything to make absolutely certain that the other's world was just as safe as their own. I wanna see these two great peoples coming out of this horrible generational trauma, coming together to celebrate the life that they all get to live with their newly-found cosmic neighbors.

It's like. Project Hail Mary is a big, popular movie. It has fucking Ryan Gosling in it. And there's not a hint of a romance plotline anywhere! It's all entirely focused on platonic relationships. The friendship between Grace and Rocky is the focus of the movie, and it's so important to the story. They both found someone to be brave for, someone they were willing to die for. Without their friendship and collaboration, neither of them would have been able to save their home planets. Their bond is so close and special and above all their best friends, and it's beautiful.

There's also Grace's relationship with Stratt. Stratt is the main female supporting character. In any other story -- any other story -- I can almost guarantee she would've been the love interest. But she isn't and it's fucking wonderful. Just. Just think about it for a moment. Project Hail Mary is this big blockbuster movie -- and it looked at Eva Stratt and said, we're not going to make her the love interest, because she wasn't in the book and she doesn't need to be. Their dynamic is just as fucked up and wonderful and traumatic when they're friends. That's such an amazing thing to see in such a mainstream movie.

And, of course, it means so much to me that Grace is aroace and that the film (and the book) continuously point this out. He leaves the party when he sees people getting together. He's only had one girlfriend. Half the time he's wearing the colors of the aroace flag. (In the book, he's incredibly confused when people think he and Stratt are sleeping together).

Stratt uses his lack of romantic relationships as a justification for sending him to die, which is heartbreaking, and it felt so real. Because society is constantly telling aroace people that we're worth less because we won't date or get married or have sex, because we don't fit into societal norms. What Stratt said to Grace -- that's something the world is constantly telling us.

And then the movie flips that on its head. It says that it doesn't matter that Grace never had any of that, because he loved living and he loved his students and he was so full of love for everything around him. And he met his best friend in space and their friendship was what made them able to save their homes and each other.

Eva Stratt played the Trolley Problem with Ryland Grace. Her choice was the obvious choice. The only choice. You don’t sacrifice the five people on the train track to save the one. You don’t sacrifice the world to save one man. Grace alone is not as important as the entire world. Eva knew that. It’s why she did what she did. It was the only choice.

Rocky also played the Trolley Problem with Grace. However, Rocky made the stupid choice. He chose to save Grace after Grace crashed into the ship’s computers, risking his ENTIRE WORLD in the process. Grace even asks in the book: “Why would he sacrifice his planet for me?” And it’s just…guys…the PARALLELS. Both Eva and Rocky played the Trolley Problem with this man. Both loved him in their own ways. Cared about him. But Rocky, that little, amazing space rock, was so loyal, so loving, so incredibly dumb, and so incredibly brave, he picked the one over the five. He picked Grace over his world.

And it’s like…guys…Grace went his whole life thinking he was expendable and unimportant, which hit the hardest when Eva (admittedly not so easily, but Grace didn’t realize that at the time) threw him to the endless stars to save the world.

And then here comes this little creature who loves Grace unconditionally, enough to give up his whole world to save him. Grace went his whole life thinking his life didn’t matter, and this one Eridian, his Rocky, said, “Bitch, please. You matter to me more than ANYTHING.” And was willing to give up his world for this stupid, brave human that was now his.