Projekt Hail Mary

I don't want to look dumb in front of the aliens.

Maybe once I explain what's happening to Earth, they'll have a solution.

Or maybe they'll board my ship and lay eggs in my brain. You can never be sure.

When European mariners first came across Asian mariners, no one was surprised they both used sails.

There's a button on-screen that just says "Course." That seems reasonable to tap, right? Famous last words.

Okay, what's a Petrovascope? Best guess: a telescope and/or camera that looks specifically for the IR light that Astrophage emit. It looks for the Petrova line via the Petrova wavelength so it's a Petrovascope and we really need to stop putting "Petrova" in front of everything.

Light is a funny thing. Its wavelength defines what it can and can't interact with. Anything smaller than the wavelength is functionally nonexistent to that photon. That's why there's a mesh over the window of a microwave. The holes in the mesh are too small for microwaves to pass through. But visible light, with a much shorter wavelength, can go through freely. So you get to watch your food cook without melting your face off.

Kids are smarter than most people think.

So I'm a single man in my thirties, who lives alone in a small apartment, I don't have any kids, but I like kids a lot. I don't like where this is going...

Is this actually alien life? Am I really that lucky?! To be alive when humanity first discovers extraterrestrial life?!

I don't think there's ever a good time for the sun to get dimmer.

Thing is, nothing affects gravity. You can't increase or decrease it. Earth's gravity is 9.8 meters per second per second. Period. And I'm experiencing more than that. There's only one possible explanation.

I'm not on Earth.

No one cares about the right thing when they're hungry.

Soon, I'm sitting on my butt tube. Not the most comfortable sensation, but when is a tube up your butt ever comfortable?

— У тебя лицо протекает.

Пока наши начальники спорили, помощник Истона и я отошли в сторонку. Мы с ним переглянулись, недоуменно пожав плечами. Братство подчиненных, работающих на упрямых боссов.

Пора совершить прыжок веры.

— Да! Я точно умру! — Я победно вскидываю кулак вверх.