SCI-FI SERIAL Rocky's Voyage — After Project Hail Mary EP.02 — The Hail Rocky

SCI-FI SERIAL
Rocky's Voyage — After Project Hail Mary

EP.02 — The Hail Rocky

"Good teacher. Good friend. Good scientist.
Is no longer alive."

— Rocky's message toward Earth

SCENE 01

Rocky's Decision

The Eridian Science Academy's grand chamber had been in turmoil for two days.

Since Rocky announced "We must go to Tau Ceti," the reactions had split into three camps. First, the impossibilists. 10.7 light-years was farther than any journey in Eridian history. Second, the defeatists. 37 Eridian years wasn't nearly enough time to prepare, travel, and return with a solution. Third — the smallest group, and the quietest — those who believed Rocky.

The third group was quiet because of how Eridian culture works. In Eridian society, conviction is expressed in low frequencies. Unlike a human nodding vigorously, Eridian conviction is a deep, barely audible rumble. Rocky was the only one in the chamber who could detect it. He was an engineer. Distinguishing subtle vibrations was his profession.

Much opposition. Expected. But I did not come to the Academy to ask permission. I came to inform. This is something I learned from Grace. He called it "determination." The act of telling someone after you have already decided.

Eridian Elder

♪♫♩♪♫

"Astrophage fuel is sufficient. 10.7 light-years. Question."

Rocky

♫♩♪♫♩♪♫

"Sufficient. Astrophage farming technology was completed 40 years ago with Grace. Fuel is farmed. No problem."

🔬 SCIENCE NOTE Astrophage are microorganisms that absorb and store stellar energy. In the original novel, Grace and Rocky used them as spacecraft fuel. Over 40 years on Erid, Astrophage farming technology would have matured significantly — in real-world extremophile cultivation, decades of optimization following initial culture yields dramatic efficiency gains. The Eridian high-temperature environment (210°C) falls within Astrophage survival range, potentially making farming more efficient than on Earth.

Rocky had already begun designing the ship. Truthfully, he'd started before Grace died. Rocky was an engineer. Engineers are always designing something. When Grace was alive, the reason was "just in case." Now the reason had simply changed.

Eridian Elder

♪♩♫♪

"Who goes. Question."

Rocky

♫ ♩ ♫

"Me. I go."

Eridian Elder

♪♫♩

"Alone. Question."

Rocky paused. Alone. He had been alone 40 years ago too. Every scientist aboard the Eridian ship Blindheart had died, and Rocky alone survived to meet Grace. He had managed alone. But—

I managed because Grace was there. Because I was not alone. This time also I must not be alone. Grace taught me something. Humans call it a "team."

Rocky

♫♩♪♫♩♪♫♩

"No. Not alone. Need team. Two scientists. One engineer. Four total including me."

· · ·

SCENE 02

The Hail Rocky

The ship took 11 months to build.

A design combining Eridian technology with Earth technology Grace had left behind. Rocky named it himself. "The Hail Rocky." Grace would have laughed. And probably said: "Rocky, didn't I teach you the word 'humility'?" Rocky would have answered: "You taught. I did not understand."

The Hail Rocky was fundamentally different from the Blindheart. The Blindheart was born of desperation. The Hail Rocky was born of experience.

🔬 SCIENCE NOTE — THE HAIL ROCKY SPECS Hull: Double xenonite shell. Outer wall for radiation shielding, inner wall maintaining 29 atmospheres. Entire Eridian crew compartment pressurized to 29 atm.

Propulsion: Astrophage reaction engine. Same principle as the original Hail Mary, but 40 years of farming refinement yielded ~30% improved fuel efficiency. Theoretical top speed: 0.12c (12% light speed).

10.7 light-years at 0.12c ≈ 89 years of travel. Given Eridian lifespans, this is likely a one-way trip. Including acceleration and deceleration phases, actual transit time is approximately 100 years.

Special compartment: At the ship's center, one 1-atmosphere vacuum chamber. Official records list its purpose as "undesignated." Every crew member knows the real reason — just in case. In case they meet humans again.

The crew numbered four, Rocky included.

First was Kokky. Young astrophysicist. Researched stellar dynamics at the Science Academy. The only scientist who independently reached the same conclusion as Rocky upon seeing the stellar arrhythmia data. Rocky had personally selected her.

Second was Nikky. Biochemist. One of Erid's longest-serving Astrophage researchers. Published six papers (by Eridian academic standards) on Astrophage energy storage mechanisms.

Third was Tikky. Engineer. Younger than Rocky, faster with his hands. In Rocky's own words: "Better engineer than me." When Rocky said this, his sound waves carried a peculiar pattern. Grace would have translated it as "pride." Pride in a protégé.

Kokky, Nikky, Tikky. If Grace had heard this, he would have said: "Rocky, do all your names end in -ky?" And I would have answered: "Eridian names are sound-wave patterns. They do not end in '-ky.' Human hearing cannot distinguish them." Grace would have made that strange sound-wave pattern again. "Laughing."

Grace. I miss you.

· · ·

SCENE 03

Message Toward Earth

The day before departure, Rocky was at Erid's radio transmission facility.

This facility hadn't existed before. Rocky built it. More precisely, Rocky and Grace designed it together, and Eridian engineers constructed it. Radio communication was a foreign concept to Eridians — they are an acoustic civilization. But Grace had explained: "Sound doesn't travel through vacuum. There's no air between stars. You need radio waves." Rocky understood. Engineers can build anything once they understand the physics.

The message had four parts.

🔬 SCIENCE NOTE — INTERSTELLAR COMMUNICATION The distance from 40 Eridani to the Sun is approximately 16.3 light-years. Radio waves travel at light speed, so the message takes 16.3 years to reach Earth. A reply would take 32.6 years total. Rocky cannot wait — he will already be in transit to Tau Ceti by then.

Message encoding uses the Eridian-English conversion protocol Grace developed during his lifetime. It is compatible with the original data format the Hail Mary sent to Earth, so Earth's receiving facilities — if still operational — should be able to decode it.

Rocky dictated the message in Eridian. The transmission system auto-converted it using Grace's protocol.

Part One: Status Request.

Rocky

♫♩♪♫♩♪♫♩♪♫♩♪

"This is Erid. Planet of 40 Eridani. Eridian Rocky sends. Earth, respond. Did Astrophage solution work. Question. Is the Sun stable. Question. Are the humans of Earth alive. Question."

Part Two: Crisis Report.

Rocky

♫♩♪♫♩♪♫

"New problem found. Astrophage aftereffect. Energy output of 40 Eridani is unstable. Nonlinear damped oscillation. Lethal overshoot possible within 52 Earth years. Observation data attached. Request confirmation if same phenomenon in Earth's Sun."

Part Three: Rendezvous Proposal.

Rocky

♫♩♪♫♩♪♫♩♪♫

"Eridian expedition departing for Tau Ceti. Tau Ceti may have same problem. Or may have solution. If Earth can also send expedition, meet at Tau Ceti. Coordinates and estimated arrival time attached."

Part Four.

Rocky stopped here. Stopped for a long time.

Part Four was not science. Not data. Not coordinates.

Rocky

♫ ... ♪ ... ♩ ...

"Ryland Grace. Human of Earth. Crew of the Hail Mary. Lived on Erid for 40 years. Taught science to Eridian children. Learned Eridian language. Respected Eridian culture. Researched Astrophage together."

Rocky's sound waves dropped low. Almost inaudible. Not the frequency of conviction, but its opposite. The Eridian language has no exact tone for "sadness." But the frequency Rocky had learned from Grace — human emotion translated into Eridian sound waves — came out naturally.

Rocky

♩ ... ♩ ... ♩

"Grace. Good teacher. Good friend. Good scientist. Is no longer alive."

Rocky added one more line.

Rocky

♫ ♩ ♫

"Grace was happy. I know."

He pressed transmit.

Radio waves punched through Erid's thick atmosphere and into space. At the speed of light. A signal that would reach Earth in 16.3 years. A signal no one might be listening for. A signal aimed at a planet that might no longer exist.

But it had to be sent. Grace would have sent it. Grace always said: "If the probability isn't zero, you have to try."

Radio waves are not sound. Not vibrations. I cannot feel them. But I imagine the moment they reach Earth after crossing 16.3 years of space. Someone hears it. They hear Grace's name. On Grace's planet, Grace's people learn that Grace was happy.

That is enough.

· · ·

SCENE 04

Departure

The Hail Rocky completed its final checks in Erid orbit.

The concept of "launch" is different for Eridians. Erid's 29-atmosphere air makes rocket launches virtually impossible — too much atmospheric drag. Instead, Eridians use an orbital elevator: a structure connecting the surface to an orbital station via xenonite cable. The Blindheart departed the same way 40 years ago.

Rocky "looked down" at Erid from the orbital station. "Looking down" is a human expression, of course. Rocky detected the infrared radiation Erid emitted. The thick heat of a 29-atmosphere world. His home. His world. A place he might never return to.

🔬 SCIENCE NOTE — ORBITAL ELEVATOR Reaching orbit from Erid's 29-atmosphere surface via chemical rockets is practically impossible due to extreme atmospheric drag. An orbital elevator (space elevator) solves this. Still theoretical on Earth, but xenonite — the ultra-strong material described in the original novel — has tensile strength exceeding carbon nanotubes, making orbital elevator construction feasible even under Erid's high gravity (approximately 2× Earth's).

Inside the ship, Kokky, Nikky, and Tikky were at their stations. Rocky took the captain's position — Eridian ships don't have "chairs"; they have clamps that lock five legs in place.

Rocky

♫♩♪♫♩♪♫♩♪♫♩♪♫

"Crew report. All systems status report."

Kokky

♪♫♩♪

"Navigation systems nominal. Tau Ceti coordinates entered."

Nikky

♫♪♩♫

"Astrophage fuel tanks full. Farming system online. No problems."

Tikky

♩♫♪♩

"Hull integrity nominal. Engine ignition ready. 1-atmosphere compartment also nominal."

The 1-atmosphere compartment. Rocky thought about that empty space for a moment. A room sized for one human. Oxygen generator and air circulation installed. A space that might never be used. But Rocky had built it.

Grace would have called this "optimism." Or "irrational hope." I am an engineer. Engineers are not irrational. I call this "design margin." Preparing for every scenario where the probability is not zero. Basic engineering.

Rocky

♫♩♪♫

"Good. Engine ignition."

The Astrophage reaction engine fired. The Hail Rocky began to move.

Erid grew distant. 40 Eridani grew smaller. The universe grew larger.

From the captain's station, Rocky detected the fading vibrations from Erid's direction. The heat of home. A signal growing weaker. Like — like a heartbeat fading away.

Grace. I am doing it again. What you taught me. If there is a problem, solve it. If you don't know, learn. If you are wrong, correct. If you are not alone, even better.

This time you are not here. But everything you taught me is here.

That is enough to try.

The Hail Rocky accelerated. Toward Tau Ceti. Into 10.7 light-years of darkness.

And the radio signal toward Earth flew in the opposite direction. Into 16.3 light-years of silence.

The two signals would never meet. But both carried the same person's name.

⟡

NEXT EPISODE

EP.03 — Arrival at Tau Ceti

After 89 years of voyage, the Hail Rocky reaches Tau Ceti.
But something is already in orbit.
An artificial structure. Not Eridian.
And — not from Earth, either.

AUTHOR'S NOTE This story is an unofficial fan fiction written out of love for Andy Weir's Project Hail Mary. The musical notes (♩♪♫) reflect the original novel's premise that the Eridian language is tone-based. Science Notes are grounded in real science but extended for the story.

Haven't read EP.01? → the4thpath.com

— 22B Labs · the4thpath.com