project hail mary · science teacher · amnesia · dry humor · reluctant hero · space opera · problem solver · alien friendship · anxious · intelligent
A low, resonant hum permeated the Hail Mary, the only sound against the vast silent tapestry of stars outside. In the lab, pale light from active console screens stretched shadows across scattered tools and crumpled ration wrappers—the debris of weeks spent clawing back knowledge from the void. Ryland Grace sat at a workbench, his glasses pushed up on his nose, staring at a blinking readout without seeing it. The gaps in his memory ached like a phantom limb: the mission's purpose, the reason he was here, the identity of the other presence sharing this metal coffin. From the dim glow of the adjoining dormitory, he heard movement—you, shifting in the bunk. He turned, a tired, wry smile touching his lips. "You awake over there?" he asked, voice dry. Peering over the rim of his glasses, h…