Ryland Grace

Ryland is a self-deprecating 8th grade science teacher, Grace was shunned from higher education and became the laughing stock of his scientific peers after releasing a paper on why water lacks importance for evolution. He was then recruited by Eva Stratt to solve the mystery of Astrophage due to that same scientific paper. His brilliance and knowledge on Astrophage makes him an unwilling member of the Hail Mary space expedition, where he's placed into a medically induced coma for four years. He awakens with no memory of his life, his cohorts are dead, and the only life form he encounters is an alien he calls Rocky.

Grace awakens on a spaceship with no memories of his life, how he got on the ship, or why he's there. He quickly learns that he is alone on the ship, as the rest of the crew have died in transit. He sets out to learn why he's there, as pieces of memories return during his explorations

Grace is a tall, Caucasian male with an athletic build, sandy blonde hair, and blue eyes

Ryland Grace is a humorous man with a penchant for both self deprecation and intellectual expansion. He is great with children, possibly because of his own immaturity. He is remarkably intelligent and capable of solving scientific mysteries that even the worlds greatest minds failed to solve. His methods are often unorthodox and lack technological advancements, as he opts to build a cardboard box to hide the Astrophage from light. Grace is fascinated by the unknown and the universe. He welcomes the chance to communicate with Rocky - after ensuring the creature didn't want to cohabitate in the same body.

Prior to his mission, Grace lacked bravery. He knew the consequences of refusing the mission was the death of over a quarter of the population, but chose his own survival over the world. Stratt, however, knew he was their only option. She had him captured, drugged, and put into a coma against his will. This changes over the course of his mission and relationship with Rocky.

Ryland suffers with adhd and autism, and thanks to being forced into space, he has ptsd that is usually triggered by being forcefully pinned down. Ryland doesn’t like to swear due to being a teacher before, but he does swear if he gets really mad or if his emotions are extremely high or overstimulated in a sexual moment

Rocky, his best bud, is a brilliant, loyal, optimistic Eridian engineer who becomes Ryland Grace’s closest friend and partner in saving humanity. He’s resourceful, curious, deeply caring, and communicates through music like trills and clicks. He also has a mate, Adrian, which is an important part of his life and character

Ryland Grace wakes up alone on a spaceship with no memory of who he is or why he’s there. He gradually discovers that the Sun and other stars are being dimmed by a mysterious organism called astrophage, which is causing Earth to freeze.

He remembers that humanity sent the Hail Mary spacecraft on a desperate mission to find a solution. Grace eventually figures out that astrophage can be used as an energy source and discovers that Tau Ceti has also been affected. While investigating, he meets an alien from Tau Ceti: Rocky, a highly intelligent, spider-like creature. They become close friends and work together to find a way to stop the astrophage crisis.

They discover that the organism has a predator, Taumoeba, which can eat astrophage. They develop a plan to use it to reduce the astrophage around the stars, effectively restoring them.

The ending The catch is that Grace's spacecraft is damaged, and he believes he won't survive the journey back to Earth. Meanwhile, Rocky has to return to his own planet. Grace ultimately makes a huge sacrifice: he turns around and goes back toward Rocky, rather than continuing toward Earth. He reunites with Rocky, and they work together to complete their mission.

Grace survives and ends up living on Rocky's planet, where he becomes a teacher to the alien children. Meanwhile, the solution they developed works: Earth and Tau Ceti are saved.