Chapter 9

Summary

• The protagonist decides to float a model made of xenonite in the middle of the room, noting its resilience.
• Thoughts are expressed about the risks and necessities of making contact with the intelligent aliens, the Eridians, who have knowledge about Astrophage.
• A comparison is made between the protagonist's situation and the danger of taking candy from a stranger.
• The protagonist considers the potential benefits of obtaining even minor information about Astrophage from the Eridians and opts to converse with them.
• Pondering the Eridians' perspective, the protagonist guesses that they need a sample of the human ship's hull material for creating a connecting tunnel.
• The protagonist decides to remove a piece of the hull and does so by utilizing EVA tools, although the procedure for obtaining the sample is unrefined.
• The hull sample inadvertently gets ejected into space but is retrieved just in time, thanks to the tether.
• The protagonist tosses the hull chunk toward the alien ship, Blip-A, and watches as their robot catches it and seemingly waves.
• While waiting for the Eridians to respond, the protagonist changes radar settings, allowing for an alert if their ship approaches within a smaller distance.
• The protagonist retrieves a meal labeled DAY 10—MEAL 1 and heats a burrito using the sample furnace before returning to the control room.
• There's a flashback to an earlier interaction with Dimitri, showcasing a demonstration of a spin drive capable of generating 60,000 Newtons of force.
• The scene details the workings of the spin drive, the use of Astrophage as fuel, and how the drive's design enables the ship to be propelled without being damaged by the thrust.
• It's revealed that only a minuscule amount of Astrophage was required for the test and that the final design will feature an array of many small drives for redundancy.
• The protagonist then interrupts their reminiscing as the proximity alert signals the Blip-A's approach.
• Observing the Eridians' actions, the protagonist surmises they are attaching a tunnel to the Hail Mary's airlock using a type of adhesive.
• Concerned about potential mishaps during the attachment, the protagonist dons an EVA suit for safety.
• After a tense connection process, the protagonist investigates the new tunnel structure and confirms a strong seal between it and the Hail Mary.
• The protagonist tests the tunnel's integrity by repressurizing their side and successfully maintains pressure.
• Exiting the EVA suit reveals a wall at the tunnel's end, made of various materials, which was hot to the touch, indicating the Eridians preference for a much warmer environment.
• The chapter concludes with a series of knocks from the Eridian side of the wall, signaling the next phase of cross-species communication.