Chapter 4

Summary

• The protagonist acknowledges they're stranded in an unfamiliar solar system and begins to panic.
• They try to calm down by breathing and counting but are overwhelmed by fear of impending death.
• They review information on the spaceship's monitors, which are overloaded with data on various ship functions.
• An important display about a substance called Astrophage catches their attention.
• A diagram reveals the ship's layout, aligning with the protagonist's experiences on the ship.
• They examine the fuel tanks and learn about the ship's Astrophage fuel supply, noting the option to jettison empty fuel bays.
• Through exploration, they consider the ship's design, including the mysterious "Cable Faring" and "Spin Drive" sections.
• The protagonist recalls a past conversation with Stratt about Astrophage, a microorganism that maintains an internal temperature of 96.415°C regardless of external conditions.
• The memory reveals their frustrations at being isolated in the lab and concerns about Astrophage safety, leading to a dispute with Stratt.
• A breakthrough in the lab allows the protagonist to study Astrophage's internal structure, discovering it is composed mostly of water.
• Back in the school, the protagonist teaches students about rocks but is interrupted with questions about Astrophage's effects on the sun.
• The protagonist explains to the students the potential dire consequences of Astrophage on Earth's climate and biosphere.
• Overcome with a sense of urgency, the protagonist rushes back to the lab to keep working on the Astrophage crisis.
• Stratt ultimately agrees to let the protagonist have three Astrophage samples for further study.
• The protagonist faces the reality that they are on a one-way suicide mission to gather data about Astrophage and must send the information back to Earth via probe ships named after the Beatles.
• With only a limited supply of Astrophage fuel remaining, there's no possibility for the protagonist to return to Earth.