“Chapter 1. “What’s two plus two?” Something about the question irritates me. I’m tired. I drift back to sleep. A few minutes pass, then I hear it again. ‘What’s two plus two?’ The soft, feminine voice lacks emotion and the pronunciation is identical to the previous time she said it. It’s a computer. A computer is hassling me. I’m even more irritated now.”
That’s the opening to Andy Weir’s science fiction novel Project Hail Mary. Ryland Grace is waking up on a spaceship from a multi-year's long sleep, which explains his disorientation. There were two others on the ship, but they didn’t survive the long sleep. So, Grace is alone and slowly remembers where the ship is going and the crucial mission it is on.
Something has been stealing energy from the Earth’s sun, enough that in only decades it will cause the earth and its inhabitants to die. Grace is the lead scientist on the project who was forced to go on the mission from which he is not expected to return. As he comes to terms with the fact that he is all alone, he detects another spaceship.
He makes contact only to discover that it is also powered by one entity, a very different creature from a very different world but also trying to save its planet.
I saw the movie first and loved it. The 478-page book is a little difficult to get through unless you love science. The book jacket says that the author is a “lifelong space nerd and a devoted hobbyist of such subjects as relativistic physics, orbital mechanics and the history of manned spaceflight.” No kidding!
So, if you’re of a similar persuasion, then you must read Project Hail Mary by Andy Weir. And if you’re not…then just watch the movie!
