Chapter 3

Summary

• The protagonist, a school science teacher, conducts a "lightning round" of quick science questions with his students despite the imminent apocalyptic event caused by an unknown alien life-form, indicating a sense of normalcy amidst crisis.
• The teacher has cultivated a reputation as the "cool" teacher, with a classroom decorated with scientific paraphernalia.
• During the lightning round, the teacher tosses beanbags to students for correct answers and engages with a competitive atmosphere, encouraging participation and demonstrating his caring nature.
• Eva Stratt, a member of the secretive Petrova Taskforce, approaches the teacher to discuss a scientific paper he wrote years ago advocating life that does not require liquid water.
• Stratt convinces the reluctant teacher that he must help investigate the alien organism, known as Astrophage, that might be responsible for the sun's dimming.
• The teacher is forcefully recruited and brought to a heavily equipped biology lab by federal agents without his consent.
• Eva Stratt, under immense authority, tasks the teacher with examining Astrophage samples returned from space to learn about their biology and behavior.
• Upon analysis, the teacher discovers that Astrophage are single-celled organisms capable of emitting light and using it for propulsion without direct reliance on water, using an advanced form of energy storage unlike anything found on Earth.
• The teacher hypothesizes that Astrophage's light emissions when moving are a method of self-propulsion and that they may use mitosis to reproduce.
• In a twist, the teacher, reflecting on the situation in a spaceship, realizes that he is not observing the sun with his ship's instruments but an entirely different star in another solar system.