Project Hail Mary

In a flashback, Grace accompanies Stratt to a maximum-security prison in New Zealand to meet with Dr. Robert Redell, an incarcerated engineer with an idea for generating the amount of energy that must be loaded into the Astrophage to power the trip to Tau Ceti. After a stand-off with the prison guards over Stratt’s refusal to be searched or surrender her weapons, they are taken to Dr. Redell, who is serving time ostensibly for an accident at a solar farm he designed that killed seven people, but also for embezzling millions of dollars from the New Zealand government during the construction of the solar farm in Africa.

Redell has designed a “blackpanel” solar energy conductor made of glass and anodized metal to breed Astrophage and enrich them with heat energy. To get enough energy, one quarter of the Sahara Desert, about 2 trillion square meters, will need to be paved with black panel. Stratt agrees to transfer Redell out of prison to design the blackpanel farm.

Grace wakes up in the tunnel, where he now sleeps every night while Rocky watches him. Grace, in return, watches Rocky when he sleeps, although Rocky sleeps much less frequently. Rocky has also set up a workshop on his side of the tunnel.