Project Hail Mary

“Hey. What’s is 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?”

When you’re stupid tired, accept that you’re stupid tired. Don’t try to solve things right then.

“Are all Russians crazy?”
“Yes,” he said with a smile. “It is the only way to be Russian and happy at the same time.”
“That’s…dark.”
“That’s Russian!”

doesn’t have a magnetic field, but positively charged particles might be drawn there because it’s electrically neutral

“You’re my friend. Heck, you’re my best friend. And pretty soon we’re going to say goodbye forever.”

We are team. We fix this. No be sad.

“Fist me!”
I push my knuckles against the xenonite. “It’s ‘fist-bump,’ but yeah.”

“Be careful,” says Rocky. “You are friend now.”
“Thanks,” I say. “You are friend also.”
“Thank.”

“Fist-bump!”
“What, question?”

“No?” I ask
“No,” he says in Eridian.
“So, ‘yes’?”
“No, yes.”
“Yes?”
“No. No.”
“Yes, yes?”
“No!” He balls a fist at me, clearly frustrated