Project Hail Mary Quotes

“Oh thank God. I can't imagine explaining "sleep" to someone who has never heard of it. Hey, I'm going to fall unconscious and hallucinate for a while. By the way, I spend a third of my time doing this. And if I can't do it for a while, I go insane and eventually die. No need for concern.”
― Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary

“Hey. What's your ship's name, anyway?'

'Blip-A.'

'No, I mean. What do you call it?'

'Ship.'

'Your ship has no name?'

'Why would ship have name, question?'

'I shrugged. 'Ships have names.'

He points to my pilot's seat. 'What is name of you chair, question?'

'It doesn't have a name.'

'Why does ship have name but chair no have name, question?'

'Never mind. Your ship is the Blip-A.'

'That is what I said. Flash in ten seconds.'

'Copy.”
― Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary

“Rocky!'

A crackle. My ears perk up.

'Rocky?!'

'Grace, question?'

'Yes!' I've never been so happy to hear a few musical notes! 'Yeah, buddy! It's me!'

'You are here, question?!' his voice is so high-pitched I can barely understand him. But I understand Eridian pretty well now.

'Yes! I'm here!'

'You are...' he squeaks. 'You...' he squeaks again. 'You are here!'

'Yes! Set up the airlock tunnel!'

'Warning! Taumoeba-82.5 is-'

'I know! I know. It can get through xeonite. That's why I'm here. I knew you'd be in trouble.'

'You save me!'

'Yes. I caught the Taumoeba in time. I still have fuel. Set up the tunnel. I'm taking you to Erid.'

'You save me and you save Erid!' he squeaks.

'Set up the damn tunnel!'

'Get back in you ship! Unless you want to look at tunnel from outside!'

'Oh, right!”
― Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary

“What? Would I do a ridiculous amount of relativistic math to calculate our relative velocity at any given moment as perceived by my inertial reference frame and then do Lorentz transformations to figure out when the light from his engines will drop out of the Petrovascope’s perception range? Just so I know how much longer I can see my friend in the distance? Wouldn’t that be kind of pathetic? Yeah.”
― Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary

“Modifying an alien life-form. What could possibly go wrong?”
― Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary

“At least it’s not the middle one that’s pointed up.”
― Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary

“Hours later, I sit in the cockpit with my spin drives offline. I just want one last look. I watch the point of IR light with the Petrovascope. That’s Rocky, headed back to Erid.

“Godspeed, buddy,” I say.”
― Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary

“Because what’s the point of even having a world if you’re not going to pass it on to the next generation?”
― Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary

“The situation was dire and deadly, but it was also the norm. Londoners during the Blitz in World War II went about their day as normal, with the understanding that occasionally buildings get blown up. However desperate things were, someone still had to deliver milk. And if Mrs. McCreedy’s house got bombed in the night, well, you crossed it off the delivery list.”
― Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary

“Enlighten us, then,” I said. “If the deaths at your solar farm weren’t your fault, why are you here?”
“Because the government thinks I embezzled millions of dollars.”
“And why do they think that?” I asked.
“Because I embezzled millions of dollars.” He adjusted his shackled wrists into a more comfortable position.”
― Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary

“We do not have time to develop a complicated neural network. This is a strictly procedural algorithm. Very complex, but not AI at all. We have to be able to test it in thousands of ways and know exactly how it responds and why. We can’t do that with a neural network.”
― Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary

“Humanity isn’t alone in the universe. And I’ve just met our neighbors. “Holy fucking shit!”
― Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary

“I'm on a suicide mission. John, Paul, George, and Ringo get to go home, but my long and winding road ends here. I must have known all this when I volunteered. But to my amnesia-riddled brain this is new information. I'm going to die out here. And I'm going to die alone.”
― Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary

“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… A teacher! I’m a schoolteacher! I remember it now! Oh, thank God. I’m a teacher.”
― Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary

“nothing affects gravity. You can’t increase or decrease it. Earth’s gravity is 9.8 meters per second per second. Period.”
― Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary

“Rocky is smaller than a human. He’s about the size of a Labrador. He has five legs radiating out from a central carapace-looking thing. The carapace, which is roughly a pentagon, is 18 inches across and half as thick. I don’t see eyes or a face anywhere.”
― Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary

“I have to assume friendly intent at this point. I mean, they're going out of their way to say hi and be accommodating. Besides, if there is hostile intent, what would I do about it? Die, that’s what I would do.”
― Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary

“There is an object blocking my view of the Petrova line. It’s right next to my ship. Maybe a few hundred meters away. It’s roughly triangle-shaped and it has gable-like protrusions along its hull.

Yes. I said hull. It's not an asteroid- the lines are too smooth; too straight. This object was made. Fabricated. Constructed. Shapes like that don't occur in nature.

It's a ship.

Another ship.

There's another ship in this system with me. Those flashes of light- those were its engines. It's Astrophage-powered. Just like the Hail Mary. But the design, the shape- it's nothing like any spacecraft I've ever seen. The whole thing is made of huge, flat surfaces- the worst possible way to make a pressure vessel. No one in their right mind would make a ship that shape.

No one on Earth would, anyway.

I blink a few times at what I'm seeing. I gulp.

This... this is an alien spacecraft. Made by aliens. Aliens intelligent enough to make a spacecraft.

Humanity isn't alone in the universe. And I've just met our neighbours.

'Holy fucking shit!”
― Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary

“I don't have time for this. I have an alien thingy to catch.”
― Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary

“Got to get that sweet, sweet energy if you’re going to be a life-form.”
― Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary

“Okay,” he finally says. “Name is ♫♩♪ ♫.”
“What does it mean?”
“It is name of my mate.”
I widen my eyes. That little devil! He never told me he had a mate! I guess Eridians don’t kiss and tell.”
― Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary

“The arms dutifully hand me a cup of coffee. It’s kind of cool that the arms will hand me a cup when there’s gravity, but a pouch when there isn’t. I’ll remember this when writing up the Hail Mary’s Yelp review.”
― Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary

“I’m the first human to explore another star system! And I’m here! I launch off the floor toward the hatchway…and miss. I crash into the ceiling. At least I get my arms up in time to protect my face. I bounce off the ceiling and back to the floor.”
― Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary

“I'm Canadian, by the way. But don’t worry! I'm not one of those anti-American Canadians. I think you guys are alright.”
― Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary

“Or maybe they'll board my ship and lay eggs in my brain. You can never be sure.”
― Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary

“I'm not the right guy for this job. I’m a last-second replacement because the actually qualified people blew up. But I'm here. I may not have all the answers, but I'm here.”
― Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary

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

Because they're surely watching me right now. Probably counting my limbs, noting my size, figuring out what part they should eat first. Whatever.”
― Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary

“And then, I swear to God, it waves at me! One of its little arms waves at me!

I wave back.

It waves again.

Okay, this could go on all day. I head back toward the airlock.

Your move, guys.

...

Their move is taking a long time and I'm getting bored.

Wow, I'm sitting here in a spaceship in the Tau Ceti system waiting for the intelligent aliens I just met to continue our conversation... and I'm bored. Humans being have a remarkable ability to accept the abnormal and make it normal.”
― Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary

“Mechanical suffocation, it’s called. It’s how boa constrictors kill their prey. What an odd thing to think as my last thought.”
― Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary

“Um…” I say. “Rocky, you can make screws, right?” “Yes. Easy. Why, question?” “I dropped one.” “Hold screws better.” “How?” “Use hand.” “My hand’s busy with the wrench.” “Use second hand.” “My other hand’s on the hull to keep me steady.” “Use third han—hmm. Get beetles. I make new screws.” “Okay.”
― Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary