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<v Speaker 1>Imagine looking up at the sky, you know, not with

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<v Speaker 1>that usual sense of wonder, but with this creeping, really

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<v Speaker 1>cold dread.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, that's a terrifying thought.

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<v Speaker 1>Right. Like the sun, the literal engine of all life

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<v Speaker 1>on Earth, the thing that has been burning reliably for

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<v Speaker 1>billions of years, it's dying. It's just dimming. And as

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<v Speaker 1>you watch your breath mist in the freezing air of

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<v Speaker 1>this dying planet, you realize the fate of humanity doesn't

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<v Speaker 1>rest in the hands of some chiseled, highly trained, elite astronaut.

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<v Speaker 2>Right, It's not some action movie hero, exactly.

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<v Speaker 1>It rests on the shoulders of a middle school science teacher,

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<v Speaker 1>a guy who has never even been to space.

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<v Speaker 2>A guy who, let's be honest, probably doesn't even know

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<v Speaker 2>how to moon walk exactly.

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<v Speaker 1>So welcome to today's deep dive. Today we are dissecting

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<v Speaker 1>the incredible plot, the hardcore science, and the ending of

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<v Speaker 1>Project Hail Mary.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, and the mission for this deep dive is to

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<v Speaker 2>really unpack the mechanics of a cosmic doomsday, right right,

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<v Speaker 2>the fascinating science of survival, and the profound character study

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<v Speaker 2>of a reluctant hero who, well, who has to overcome

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<v Speaker 2>his own cowardice to save two worlds.

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<v Speaker 1>And I am just I'm so excited to get into

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<v Speaker 1>the massive stakes here because the steaks are literally everything.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh absolutely, And we are going to explore the why

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<v Speaker 2>and the how behind all these scientific and psychological twists

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<v Speaker 2>found in the source material because the premise itself is

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<v Speaker 2>it's the ultimate subversion of the typical hero's journey, you know, right, right,

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<v Speaker 2>We're conditioned to expect the savior of the world to

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<v Speaker 2>be a seasoned military commander with a perfectly calculated plan.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, someone with a square jaw and a laser gun exactly.

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<v Speaker 2>Instead, we're dealing with an ordinary educator thrust into the

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<v Speaker 2>most high stake situation imaginable.

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<v Speaker 1>And the science isn't just background noise here, is it.

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<v Speaker 2>No, not at all. Is the fundamental mechanism driving every

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<v Speaker 2>single decision, tragedy, and triumph in the narrative.

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<v Speaker 1>Okay, let's jump right into the catalyst for this cosmic doomsday.

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<v Speaker 1>Because humanity isn't facing extinction from an nuclear war or

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<v Speaker 1>a giant asteroid impact.

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<v Speaker 2>Or a hostile alien invasion fleet.

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<v Speaker 1>Right, we are being taken out by a microbe.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, just a tiny little cell.

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<v Speaker 1>It's called astrophoge literally translates to star eater, and it's

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<v Speaker 1>a single celled alien organism that acts as a biological capacitor.

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<v Speaker 2>Which is such a wild concept it really is.

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<v Speaker 1>It doesn't just like eat light in a metaphorical sense.

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<v Speaker 1>It absorbs photons and converts them into massive internal mass.

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<v Speaker 2>Right. It acts like a microscopic battery, charging up to

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<v Speaker 2>maximum capacity before it migrates.

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<v Speaker 1>So the sheer scale of this organism multiplying and absorbing

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<v Speaker 1>the electromagnetic radiation of stars all across the galaxy, that

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<v Speaker 1>is what's causing the dimming.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, and the cascade effect of that diming on Earth

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<v Speaker 2>is immediate and just.

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<v Speaker 1>Brutal, Like how bat are we talking?

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<v Speaker 2>Well, they project a ten to fifteen degree drop in

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<v Speaker 2>the average global temperature.

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<v Speaker 1>Wow.

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<v Speaker 2>And that doesn't just mean colder winters, you know, it

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<v Speaker 2>means the complete cessation of the global aggricl.

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<v Speaker 1>Cycle, so basically no more food exactly.

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<v Speaker 2>The climatic models indicate total crop failure worldwide within the

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<v Speaker 2>first decade.

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<v Speaker 1>That's terrifying.

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<v Speaker 2>It really is. The subsequent lack of sunlight and warmth

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<v Speaker 2>triggers unprecedented resource scarcity, and that inevitably leads to the

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<v Speaker 2>collapse of borders and massive wars over whatever remaining fertile

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<v Speaker 2>land exists.

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<v Speaker 1>Because people are going to fight to survive.

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<v Speaker 2>Right The starvation of a quarter of the world's population

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<v Speaker 2>within a thirty year window is actually a conservative estimate

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<v Speaker 2>of the societal breakdown.

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<v Speaker 1>A conservative estimate. Man. So it's like a swarm of

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<v Speaker 1>cosmic mosquitoes just draining the life blood of the solar system.

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<v Speaker 2>That's a really good analogy.

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<v Speaker 1>Actually, yeah, But knowing the apocalypse is coming is one thing.

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<v Speaker 1>Tracking the mechanism is where the astrophysics gets incredibly intense.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh totally. This is where doctor Rwena Petrova comes in.

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<v Speaker 2>She isolates this specific infrared trail, which gets named the

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<v Speaker 2>Petroval line right right, And isolating an infrared's signature against

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<v Speaker 2>the massive, overwhelming background radiation of the Sun is I mean,

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<v Speaker 2>it's a staggering feet of orbital astronomy.

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<v Speaker 1>Because the sun is so bright, how do you even

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<v Speaker 1>see anything else?

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<v Speaker 2>Exactly? It requires filtering out massive amounts of solar noise

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<v Speaker 2>to track the migration pattern of this organism. And this

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<v Speaker 2>line proves astrophage isn't just a static infection. It travels,

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<v Speaker 2>It travels it journeys from the Sun all the way

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<v Speaker 2>to Venus.

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<v Speaker 1>Okay, wait, let me push back on that for a second.

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<v Speaker 1>Why Venus, I mean Mercury is way closer to the Sun.

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<v Speaker 2>Right, Yeah, that's a very logical question.

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<v Speaker 1>If they just need energy, wouldn't they go to the

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<v Speaker 1>closest planet.

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<v Speaker 2>You'd think so. But this introduces a fundamental biological imperative

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<v Speaker 2>to the apocalypse. The astrophage requires an environment to reproduce.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh so it's not just about eating, right.

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<v Speaker 2>The source material provides a brilliant mechanism for why they

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<v Speaker 2>choose Venus instead of mercury. Astrophase specifically requires a carbon

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<v Speaker 2>dioxide rich environment to synthesize the materials.

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<v Speaker 1>Needed to breed, and mercury doesn't have a.

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<v Speaker 2>Exactly Mercury is basically just a barren rock with negligible atmosphere. Venus,

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<v Speaker 2>on the other hand, possesses an incredibly thick, heavy atmosphere

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<v Speaker 2>overwhelmingly composed of carbon dioxide.

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<v Speaker 1>So Venus acts as like a natural massive incubator.

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<v Speaker 2>You nailed it. The microbes absorb solar energy, travel along

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<v Speaker 2>the patroval line to reproduce in the Venusian CO two,

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<v Speaker 2>and then return to the Sun to recharge.

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<v Speaker 1>But the energy required to make that trend, I mean

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<v Speaker 1>that is mind boggling.

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<v Speaker 2>It defies standard biology.

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<v Speaker 1>Yeah, right, because to move from the Sun to Venus,

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<v Speaker 1>an organism has to overcome massive gravitational forces. If they

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<v Speaker 1>are storing energy via mass energy.

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<v Speaker 2>Equivalents, literally E equals mc square.

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<v Speaker 1>Ex ectly e equals mc squared, they are packing astronomical

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<v Speaker 1>amounts of jewels into a microscopic frame. So knowing this mechanism,

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<v Speaker 1>humanity realizes they need a localized cure. The dimming is

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<v Speaker 1>happening everywhere in our local galactic neighborhood except for one

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<v Speaker 1>faint glimmer of.

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<v Speaker 2>Hope Tao City.

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<v Speaker 1>Tao City. For some unknown reason, Tao Seti remains completely

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<v Speaker 1>unaffected by the astrophage plague.

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<v Speaker 2>Right, and if humanity can uncover the biological mechanism granting

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<v Speaker 2>Tao Seti immunity, they might replicate that defense to save

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<v Speaker 2>our own solar system. Which there's a catch, a huge catch.

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<v Speaker 2>Ta s Edi is almost twelve light years away eleven

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<v Speaker 2>point nine to.

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<v Speaker 1>Be exact, so not exactly a weekend road.

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<v Speaker 2>Trip, not at all. And to bridge that gap, humanity

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<v Speaker 2>requires the scientist completely unconstrained by earth centric biological assumptions.

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<v Speaker 1>They need someone who questions the foundational rules of life itself.

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<v Speaker 2>Exactly, which brings us to Ryland.

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<v Speaker 1>Grace right, and his entire academic career was destroyed because

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<v Speaker 1>he questioned those exact rules, wasn't it.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah. He published a paper challenging the universal solvent theory.

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<v Speaker 1>That's the idea that all life must contain water, right right.

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<v Speaker 2>He argued for waterless life, He suggested alternative solvents like

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<v Speaker 2>ammonia or methane could support biochemistry under the right atmosphere

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<v Speaker 2>pressures and polarities.

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<v Speaker 1>Which honestly sounds kind of reasonable for alien life.

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<v Speaker 2>You would think that the scientific establishment mocked him so

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<v Speaker 2>relentlessly for this theory that he just gave up. He

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<v Speaker 2>retreated teaching middle school, which is wild.

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<v Speaker 1>He just walks away from professional academia.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, and his academic exile left him utterly isolated.

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<v Speaker 1>But that isolation is exactly what makes him uniquely vulnerable

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<v Speaker 1>to the extreme utilitarianism of Ava Stratt.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh Strat, Yes.

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<v Speaker 1>Right, Because Stratt, as the head of the International Task Force,

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<v Speaker 1>she operates with unprecedented global authority.

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<v Speaker 2>Literally immune to any.

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<v Speaker 1>Loss exactly she doesn't care about peer reviewed popularity contests.

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<v Speaker 1>She recognizes that combating an alien microbe requires Grace's out

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<v Speaker 1>of the box thinking. But since we all know the

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<v Speaker 1>dark twist of Grace's involvement that he was forcefully drafted

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<v Speaker 1>and sent on this suicide run, which.

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<v Speaker 2>Is just such a crazy reveal.

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<v Speaker 1>Right, the real fascinating element to analyze here is Strat's

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<v Speaker 1>ethical framework.

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<v Speaker 2>Okay, let's unpack this because it is the ultimate Trolley

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<v Speaker 2>problem played out on a galactic scale.

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<v Speaker 1>One hundred percent.

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<v Speaker 2>So, the original mission scientist, Martin Dubois dies in a

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<v Speaker 2>catastrophic explosion days before launch.

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<v Speaker 1>Just a horrific accident.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, and there is zero time to train a backup.

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<v Speaker 2>Grace possesses the specific knowledge required to run the mission,

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<v Speaker 2>but he is terrified the outright refuses to go.

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<v Speaker 1>I mean, can you blame him? It's a one way trip,

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<v Speaker 1>not at all.

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<v Speaker 2>But Stratt she doesn't care. She has him physically apprehended,

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<v Speaker 2>forcefully induced into a medical coma, and literally loaded onto

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<v Speaker 2>the spacecraft like cargo.

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<v Speaker 1>Wait, really, she just kidnaps him.

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<v Speaker 2>Yes, she strips him of his basic human rights, his

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<v Speaker 2>bodily autonomy, entirely for the greater good of eight billion people.

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<v Speaker 1>Wow. So I have to ask you, the listener, to

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<v Speaker 1>ponder the morality of Avias Stratt. Is forcing a man

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<v Speaker 1>into a coma to draft him into an interstellar suicide

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<v Speaker 1>mission justifiable if the fate of Earth is at stake.

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<v Speaker 2>It's a tough question because the logical damage of waking

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<v Speaker 2>up with amnesia from that forced coma. It forces us

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<v Speaker 2>to ask whether the memory wipe was a biological accident

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<v Speaker 2>of the coma inducing drugs, or a necessary trauma response

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<v Speaker 2>to being essentially buried alive in a metal tube.

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<v Speaker 1>That is incredibly dark.

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<v Speaker 2>It is Grace lacked the courage to sacrifice himself as

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<v Speaker 2>the original pilot Yao noted quote sometimes you just need

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<v Speaker 2>to find someone to be brave for unquote.

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<v Speaker 1>And Grace didn't have that.

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<v Speaker 2>No. Grace had no family, no close friends, no societal

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<v Speaker 2>ties anchoring him to Earth or giving him the strength

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<v Speaker 2>to face death.

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<v Speaker 1>He was a coward, completely alone, waking up light years

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<v Speaker 1>from a home that betrayed him. Exactly, Okay, But the

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<v Speaker 1>mechanism that actually gets him those eleven point nine light

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<v Speaker 1>years is a masterclass in repurposed engineering.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh, the spin drive, Yes.

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<v Speaker 1>Right, Because humanity's only hope was powered by the exact

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<v Speaker 1>same organism causing their extinction. It's the ultimate cosmic judo.

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<v Speaker 2>That is a great way to put it. They realize

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<v Speaker 2>astrophage stores so much energy that it can be utilized

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<v Speaker 2>as a pulsion system.

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<v Speaker 1>By stimulating the astrophash to emit light, they generate thrust. Right,

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<v Speaker 1>But my understanding of the physics here requires massive specific impulse.

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<v Speaker 1>If they are shooting light out the back of the ship.

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<v Speaker 1>The mass to thrust ratio to achieve near light speed

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<v Speaker 1>travel requires handling unimaginable heat and radiation inside the combustion chamber. Oh.

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<v Speaker 2>Absolutely, The spin drive effectively harnesses that equals mc squared

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<v Speaker 2>mass energy conversion we talked about, and that provides a

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<v Speaker 2>specific impulse that completely dwarfs any chemical or ion propulsion

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<v Speaker 2>humanity has ever theorized.

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<v Speaker 1>But going that fast causes a whole new set of problems,

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<v Speaker 1>doesn't it.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah, Because achieving a significant fraction of the speed of

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<v Speaker 2>light slams the crew headfirst into the theory of relativity

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<v Speaker 2>time dilation. Time dilation becomes the governing law of the journey.

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<v Speaker 1>Okay, break that down for us, So you have.

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<v Speaker 2>The Lorenz factor. That's the mathematical multiplier that dictates how

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<v Speaker 2>time slows down as you approach the speed of light.

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<v Speaker 2>It means that while the journey feels like three years

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<v Speaker 2>and nine months for Grace, okay, thirteen years pass on Earth.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh wow, So the psychological weight of the Lorenz factor

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<v Speaker 1>is just devastating.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah. He is physically and temporarily isolated.

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<v Speaker 1>Because even if he found a cheer and turned the

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<v Speaker 1>ship around immediately, a total of twenty six earth years

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<v Speaker 1>would have elapsed by the time he returned exactly. Society

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<v Speaker 1>might have already collapsed into the ice age. Everyone he

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<v Speaker 1>knew would be older or dead.

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<v Speaker 2>It's the ultimate isolation. He is the sole survivor of

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<v Speaker 2>a one way trip, arriving in the orbit of Tausetti completely.

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<v Speaker 1>Alone, well alone, until he encounters an alien spacecraft.

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<v Speaker 2>Right first contact. It fundamentally changes the paradigm of the

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<v Speaker 2>entire mission.

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<v Speaker 1>Grace encounters an Iridian, a species from the planet Arid,

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<v Speaker 1>whom he names.

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<v Speaker 2>Rocky, which is such a funny human thing.

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<v Speaker 1>To do, right. He names him Rocky because of his

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<v Speaker 1>rocky exterior. In Grace's own affinity for the Sylvester Stallone movie.

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<v Speaker 1>He even names's mate back home, Adrian.

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<v Speaker 2>It's so endearing, But analyzing aridian biology requires looking closely

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<v Speaker 2>at convergent evolution in extreme environments.

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<v Speaker 1>Because air it is very different.

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<v Speaker 2>From Earth, very It's a high gravity world with an

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<v Speaker 2>incredibly thick ammonia rich atmosphere. Visual light doesn't penetrate to

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<v Speaker 2>the surface, so Rocky has.

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<v Speaker 1>No eyes wait, no eyes at all.

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<v Speaker 2>None. He perceives his environment entirely through echolocation.

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<v Speaker 1>That is so cool, and the physics of that echolocation

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<v Speaker 1>are fascinating when you consider the medium.

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<v Speaker 2>Oh yeah, the ammonia atmosphere.

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<v Speaker 1>Right. The speed of sound in a dense, high pressure

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<v Speaker 1>ammonia atmosphere is vastly different from Earth's atmosphere, So Rocky

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<v Speaker 1>communicates through complex musical chords rather than vocalized words.

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<v Speaker 2>Which presents a huge communication barrier.

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<v Speaker 1>Exactly to bridge this gap, Grace utilizes foia transforms right,

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<v Speaker 1>the mathematical algorithms that decompose waveforms into their constituent frequencies.

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<v Speaker 1>He builds software that maps Rocky's multitonal cores to in concepts,

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<v Speaker 1>constructing a linguistic bridge based entirely on universal scientific constants

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<v Speaker 1>like the periodic table. And mathematical ratios.

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<v Speaker 2>What's really fascinating here is that once that bridge is established,

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<v Speaker 2>the tragic backstory of Rocky's crew comes.

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<v Speaker 1>To like, oh man, this part is heartbreaking.

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<v Speaker 2>It really is. The Iridians launched their own massive ship,

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<v Speaker 2>crewed by twenty three individuals to find a cure for

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<v Speaker 2>the astrophage dimming their own star. It's like Earth did

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<v Speaker 2>right their own version of Project Tail Mary. But Arid's

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<v Speaker 2>thick atmosphere and phenomenally strong magnetic field meant virtually zero

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<v Speaker 2>cosmic radiation ever reached their planet's.

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<v Speaker 1>Surface, so they didn't even know it existed exactly.

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<v Speaker 2>They never experienced it, never measured it, and therefore didn't

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<v Speaker 2>build shielding against it.

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<v Speaker 1>Oh no, yea.

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<v Speaker 2>When their ship left the protective magnetosphere of Arid, twenty

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<v Speaker 2>two of the crew members died of lethal exposure to

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<v Speaker 2>cosmic rays.

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<v Speaker 1>It's just a brutal lesson in the inverse square law

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<v Speaker 1>regarding radiation and planetary shielding.

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<v Speaker 2>Truly, a civilization of brilliant engineers was decimated by an

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<v Speaker 2>invisible force they couldn't possibly conceptualize.

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<v Speaker 1>But Rocky survived.

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<v Speaker 2>Rocky survived solely because he was the engineer stationed deep

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<v Speaker 2>within the.

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<v Speaker 1>Engine room Aha, and the fuel right.

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<v Speaker 2>The astrophage fuel tanks surrounding him acted as a perfect

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<v Speaker 2>impenetrable radiation shield. His dedication to his engines inadvertently saved

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<v Speaker 2>his life.

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<v Speaker 1>That is incredible. So now you have these two isolated

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<v Speaker 1>survivors working together, and with their combined human ingenuity and

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00:14:28.879 --> 00:14:33.399
<v Speaker 1>iridian engineering, they locate the source of the astrophage's natural predator.

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<v Speaker 2>Yeah. They start observing the atmosphere dynamics of a nearby

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00:14:36.559 --> 00:14:38.480
<v Speaker 2>planet they name Adrian, and.

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<v Speaker 1>They deduce that a specific organism must be hunting the

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<v Speaker 1>astrophage there, maintaining a biological equilibrium that prevents the local

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<v Speaker 1>star from dimming.

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<v Speaker 2>Right, because tau Seti isn't dying, something must be eating

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00:14:50.200 --> 00:14:51.639
<v Speaker 2>the astrophage exactly.

301
00:14:51.759 --> 00:14:53.360
<v Speaker 1>But getting it is another story.

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00:14:53.480 --> 00:14:57.159
<v Speaker 2>Yeah. Retrieving a sample of this predator, which they named.

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00:14:56.919 --> 00:14:59.440
<v Speaker 1>Tammioba taw Seti plus amva huh.

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00:14:59.519 --> 00:15:05.000
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, retrieving it requires an orbital maneuver of terrifying complexity.

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00:15:04.440 --> 00:15:07.080
<v Speaker 1>Because Adrian's atmosphere is violent and really dense.

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<v Speaker 2>Extremely Yeah, they have to drop a five kilometer long

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00:15:10.639 --> 00:15:15.279
<v Speaker 2>chain down into the atmosphere at orbital philosophy steve kilometers.

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00:15:15.320 --> 00:15:19.960
<v Speaker 2>That's insane, it is, and doing that generates immense structural

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00:15:20.000 --> 00:15:24.279
<v Speaker 2>strain in atmospheric drag, the friction and heat dissipation required

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<v Speaker 2>to keep the chain from snapping while simultaneously preventing the

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00:15:27.519 --> 00:15:30.799
<v Speaker 2>ship from losing orbital velocity and burning up. I mean

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<v Speaker 2>it pushes the structural integrity of the hail Mary to

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00:15:33.600 --> 00:15:34.799
<v Speaker 2>its absolute limit.

314
00:15:34.600 --> 00:15:37.759
<v Speaker 1>And the physical toll on the ship mirrors the physical

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00:15:37.799 --> 00:15:39.360
<v Speaker 1>toll on the characters, doesn't.

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00:15:39.120 --> 00:15:42.639
<v Speaker 2>It oh completely. During this maneuver, Grace has to perform

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00:15:42.720 --> 00:15:45.159
<v Speaker 2>an extra vehicular activity to secure the sample.

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<v Speaker 1>He goes outside the ship right and.

319
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<v Speaker 2>He suffers severe trauma that knocks in completely unconscious. The

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00:15:50.559 --> 00:15:53.879
<v Speaker 2>hail Mary is thrown violently off course, just teetering on

321
00:15:53.919 --> 00:15:55.440
<v Speaker 2>the brink of atmospheric entry.

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00:15:55.519 --> 00:15:56.720
<v Speaker 1>So they're about to burn up.

323
00:15:57.039 --> 00:16:01.120
<v Speaker 2>Yes, and Rocky, observing this from inside, is pressurized quarantine

324
00:16:01.120 --> 00:16:05.120
<v Speaker 2>Shell makes a decision that starkly contrasts with Grace's initial

325
00:16:05.120 --> 00:16:06.240
<v Speaker 2>cowardice back on Earth.

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00:16:06.519 --> 00:16:09.679
<v Speaker 1>Here's where it gets really interesting, because Rocky knows the

327
00:16:09.720 --> 00:16:14.200
<v Speaker 1>oxygen rich atmosphere inside Grace's ship is toxic to his

328
00:16:14.399 --> 00:16:15.919
<v Speaker 1>ammonia based biology.

329
00:16:16.080 --> 00:16:17.639
<v Speaker 2>It's literally lethal to him.

330
00:16:17.799 --> 00:16:21.480
<v Speaker 1>Yet without hesitation, he breaks the structural seal of his

331
00:16:21.600 --> 00:16:22.679
<v Speaker 1>quarantine capsule.

332
00:16:22.840 --> 00:16:27.320
<v Speaker 2>He intentionally exposes himself to a toxic environment to manually

333
00:16:27.399 --> 00:16:31.320
<v Speaker 2>course correct the failing ship and drag Grace to safety. Wow,

334
00:16:31.759 --> 00:16:35.600
<v Speaker 2>Rocky suffers catastrophic burns in atmosphere, poisoning, hovering right on

335
00:16:35.639 --> 00:16:36.639
<v Speaker 2>the brink of death.

336
00:16:36.799 --> 00:16:40.679
<v Speaker 1>And through his sacrifice, Rocky inadvertently teaches Grace the true

337
00:16:40.759 --> 00:16:44.080
<v Speaker 1>mechanics of bravery, acting not out of a lack of fear,

338
00:16:44.200 --> 00:16:47.519
<v Speaker 1>but out of a profound commitment to another living being.

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00:16:47.759 --> 00:16:50.600
<v Speaker 1>It's such a sharp contrast to Grace refusing to save

340
00:16:50.679 --> 00:16:51.600
<v Speaker 1>humanity at the start.

341
00:16:51.840 --> 00:16:54.600
<v Speaker 2>It really is a beautiful character moment. And thankfully, with

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00:16:54.679 --> 00:16:58.879
<v Speaker 2>the shift stabilized and the Tommyobi secured, the underlying biological

343
00:16:58.919 --> 00:17:01.279
<v Speaker 2>reality of their solution begins to manifest.

344
00:17:01.320 --> 00:17:02.000
<v Speaker 1>They have the cure.

345
00:17:02.120 --> 00:17:04.960
<v Speaker 2>They do, They have the predator, and Rocky provides Grace

346
00:17:05.000 --> 00:17:07.839
<v Speaker 2>with excess astrophage fuel to make the return trip to

347
00:17:07.880 --> 00:17:08.519
<v Speaker 2>Earth possible.

348
00:17:08.599 --> 00:17:09.839
<v Speaker 1>So it seems like a happy ending.

349
00:17:09.960 --> 00:17:13.839
<v Speaker 2>It does, but you know biology is inherently volatile. One

350
00:17:13.920 --> 00:17:18.960
<v Speaker 2>month after parting ways, Grace realizes a terrifying biological truth.

351
00:17:20.160 --> 00:17:22.640
<v Speaker 2>The Tomioba haven't remained static.

352
00:17:22.559 --> 00:17:24.240
<v Speaker 1>They've evolved exactly.

353
00:17:24.279 --> 00:17:25.160
<v Speaker 2>They have evolved.

354
00:17:25.200 --> 00:17:28.240
<v Speaker 1>And this isn't just magic, right, it's forced microevolution.

355
00:17:28.519 --> 00:17:33.079
<v Speaker 2>Correct. Grace had been selectively breeding the Tomioba to survive

356
00:17:33.200 --> 00:17:37.279
<v Speaker 2>in different environments, okay, and in doing so, he inadvertently

357
00:17:37.319 --> 00:17:40.759
<v Speaker 2>subjected them to extreme Darwinian.

358
00:17:40.200 --> 00:17:43.880
<v Speaker 1>Pressures because he needed them to survive the trip, right, But.

359
00:17:43.880 --> 00:17:46.680
<v Speaker 2>To reach the astrophage stored in the ship's fuel tanks,

360
00:17:46.680 --> 00:17:50.119
<v Speaker 2>the Tomooba altered their cellular structure to pass through the

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00:17:50.119 --> 00:17:51.599
<v Speaker 2>molecular lattice of xenonite.

362
00:17:51.680 --> 00:17:55.960
<v Speaker 1>Wait, xenonite. That's the super strong material Rocky made, right, Yeah.

363
00:17:55.759 --> 00:17:59.279
<v Speaker 2>The incredibly strong alien engineered material Rocky used to build

364
00:17:59.279 --> 00:18:00.440
<v Speaker 2>their containment vessels.

365
00:18:00.519 --> 00:18:03.880
<v Speaker 1>Oh no, So the structural chemistry of xenonite relies on

366
00:18:03.920 --> 00:18:07.839
<v Speaker 1>these complex covalent bonds that provide immense tensile strength. But

367
00:18:07.920 --> 00:18:11.240
<v Speaker 1>the Tommioba adapts to squeeze right through the microscopic gaps

368
00:18:11.279 --> 00:18:14.240
<v Speaker 1>and that specific molecular structure exactly.

369
00:18:14.359 --> 00:18:17.559
<v Speaker 2>Grace manages to save his own ship by flooding his

370
00:18:17.599 --> 00:18:21.279
<v Speaker 2>compartments with nitrogen because nitrogen kills them, right, it starves

371
00:18:21.319 --> 00:18:24.640
<v Speaker 2>the escape Tommioba. Yeah, and then he relocates his remaining

372
00:18:24.680 --> 00:18:27.039
<v Speaker 2>samples into human made steel containers.

373
00:18:27.160 --> 00:18:30.839
<v Speaker 1>Okay, because the Tommioba haven't evolved to penetrate earth metals.

374
00:18:30.519 --> 00:18:33.920
<v Speaker 2>Exactly, so Grace is safe. But the realization of what

375
00:18:33.960 --> 00:18:38.279
<v Speaker 2>this evolution means for Rocky is just an absolute ethical nightmare.

376
00:18:38.400 --> 00:18:40.799
<v Speaker 1>Because Rocky has no earth metal none.

377
00:18:41.240 --> 00:18:45.440
<v Speaker 2>His entire ship, all his storage tanks, his very infrastructure

378
00:18:45.759 --> 00:18:46.960
<v Speaker 2>is built from xenonite.

379
00:18:47.079 --> 00:18:50.880
<v Speaker 1>So the Tommioba aboard Rocky's vessel will inevitably breach containment

380
00:18:50.960 --> 00:18:51.359
<v Speaker 1>mm hmm.

381
00:18:51.599 --> 00:18:54.920
<v Speaker 2>They will consume his astrophage fuel and leave him stranded

382
00:18:54.920 --> 00:18:57.319
<v Speaker 2>to starve in the dark space between stars.

383
00:18:57.000 --> 00:18:59.960
<v Speaker 1>And if Rocky dies, the planet Arid and its entire

384
00:19:00.039 --> 00:19:01.759
<v Speaker 1>higher civilization will freeze.

385
00:19:01.839 --> 00:19:04.240
<v Speaker 2>It creates the ultimate ethical crucible for Grace.

386
00:19:04.359 --> 00:19:07.039
<v Speaker 1>Right, he possesses the fuel and the containment vessels to

387
00:19:07.119 --> 00:19:09.720
<v Speaker 1>return to Earth, deliver the cure, and be remembered as

388
00:19:09.799 --> 00:19:11.079
<v Speaker 1>humanity's greatest savior.

389
00:19:11.559 --> 00:19:14.720
<v Speaker 2>But turning around to pursue rocky ship requires expanding so

390
00:19:14.839 --> 00:19:17.519
<v Speaker 2>much of his remaining fuel that a return trip to

391
00:19:17.559 --> 00:19:19.680
<v Speaker 2>Earth becomes mathematically impossible.

392
00:19:20.079 --> 00:19:22.799
<v Speaker 1>Wow, so what would you do? I mean, think about it.

393
00:19:23.039 --> 00:19:25.079
<v Speaker 1>You have a cure for your home, but saving your

394
00:19:25.079 --> 00:19:27.319
<v Speaker 1>best friend means you can never ever go back.

395
00:19:27.359 --> 00:19:29.960
<v Speaker 2>It's an impossible choice. He has to choose between the

396
00:19:30.000 --> 00:19:32.519
<v Speaker 2>survival of his own species and the life of the

397
00:19:32.559 --> 00:19:34.440
<v Speaker 2>being who sacrificed everything for him.

398
00:19:34.519 --> 00:19:36.839
<v Speaker 1>But this is where we see Grace's ultimate one hundred

399
00:19:36.839 --> 00:19:39.000
<v Speaker 1>and eighty degree shift. The man who had to be

400
00:19:39.079 --> 00:19:41.960
<v Speaker 1>drugged and kidnapped by Avis Strat to save the world,

401
00:19:42.480 --> 00:19:44.079
<v Speaker 1>he makes a profound choice.

402
00:19:44.160 --> 00:19:45.400
<v Speaker 2>He chooses to save his friend.

403
00:19:45.720 --> 00:19:49.839
<v Speaker 1>Yes, he secures the Tommyoba, samples, scientific data and the

404
00:19:49.880 --> 00:19:53.920
<v Speaker 1>communication logs into unmanned probes, launching them back toward Earth.

405
00:19:54.480 --> 00:19:58.759
<v Speaker 1>He effectively relinquishes his own future, his species adulation, and

406
00:19:58.839 --> 00:20:01.319
<v Speaker 1>any hope of seeing his home home again. To honor

407
00:20:01.359 --> 00:20:04.200
<v Speaker 1>the bond forged in the void of deep space, he

408
00:20:04.319 --> 00:20:05.400
<v Speaker 1>turns his ship around.

409
00:20:05.759 --> 00:20:08.960
<v Speaker 2>It gives me chills, and the aftermath of this massive,

410
00:20:09.119 --> 00:20:14.039
<v Speaker 2>universe altering decision plays out across two distinct timelines, governed

411
00:20:14.039 --> 00:20:16.279
<v Speaker 2>by the relentless cruelty of relativity.

412
00:20:16.359 --> 00:20:18.279
<v Speaker 1>Let's talk about those endings. First Earth.

413
00:20:18.680 --> 00:20:22.839
<v Speaker 2>Right on Earth, decades into the catastrophic dimming, the environment

414
00:20:22.880 --> 00:20:26.799
<v Speaker 2>has totally fractured, the oceans are heavily frozen, and human

415
00:20:26.839 --> 00:20:30.519
<v Speaker 2>civilization has undoubtedly endured horrific.

416
00:20:30.000 --> 00:20:31.559
<v Speaker 1>Attrition, but the probes arrive.

417
00:20:31.880 --> 00:20:35.359
<v Speaker 2>Yes, the arrival of Grace's unmanned probes provides the tommy

418
00:20:35.440 --> 00:20:39.640
<v Speaker 2>Oba avas. Strat's utilitarian gamble actually pays.

419
00:20:39.359 --> 00:20:42.559
<v Speaker 1>Off because she believed in Grace's potential even when he

420
00:20:42.680 --> 00:20:44.200
<v Speaker 1>was consumed by his own fear.

421
00:20:44.359 --> 00:20:48.920
<v Speaker 2>Exactly, humanity breeds the predator, seeds the Venusian atmosphere and

422
00:20:49.000 --> 00:20:52.359
<v Speaker 2>clears the astrophage, allowing the Sun to eventually return to

423
00:20:52.400 --> 00:20:53.160
<v Speaker 2>full luminance.

424
00:20:53.519 --> 00:20:56.920
<v Speaker 1>So Earth is saved. Meanwhile, light years away on Arid,

425
00:20:57.240 --> 00:20:58.240
<v Speaker 1>Grace survives too.

426
00:20:58.359 --> 00:21:01.279
<v Speaker 2>He gus he reaches Rocky, they deploy the Tomioba, and

427
00:21:01.319 --> 00:21:02.559
<v Speaker 2>the Iridian Star is saved.

428
00:21:02.640 --> 00:21:05.759
<v Speaker 1>But because Arid's gravity and atmosphere are lethal to humans,

429
00:21:05.880 --> 00:21:07.799
<v Speaker 1>Grace can't just walk around, right.

430
00:21:07.839 --> 00:21:12.559
<v Speaker 2>No, the Iridians construct a massive, pressurized biodome specifically tailored

431
00:21:12.599 --> 00:21:14.400
<v Speaker 2>to Grace's biological needs.

432
00:21:14.079 --> 00:21:15.839
<v Speaker 1>Which is pretty cozy all things considered.

433
00:21:16.000 --> 00:21:18.480
<v Speaker 2>Yeah, and what's beautiful is he doesn't assume a role

434
00:21:18.519 --> 00:21:22.160
<v Speaker 2>of planetary leadership or military command. He returns to his

435
00:21:22.240 --> 00:21:26.240
<v Speaker 2>fundamental nature. He teaches, He teaches, He runs a classroom

436
00:21:26.279 --> 00:21:29.359
<v Speaker 2>for young Aridian children, passing on knowledge, just as he

437
00:21:29.400 --> 00:21:30.079
<v Speaker 2>did on Earth.

438
00:21:30.440 --> 00:21:33.240
<v Speaker 1>So what does this all mean. I mean he had

439
00:21:33.319 --> 00:21:36.079
<v Speaker 1>the knowledge to potentially build a ship to return home,

440
00:21:36.519 --> 00:21:37.559
<v Speaker 1>but chose not to.

441
00:21:37.960 --> 00:21:41.279
<v Speaker 2>Well, the choice to remain on arid is practically cemented

442
00:21:41.319 --> 00:21:43.119
<v Speaker 2>by the physics of his situation.

443
00:21:43.359 --> 00:21:44.559
<v Speaker 1>The time dilation again.

444
00:21:44.799 --> 00:21:48.640
<v Speaker 2>Right, Even if the Iridians utilize their vast resources to

445
00:21:48.680 --> 00:21:51.240
<v Speaker 2>construct a new ship for him, the time dilation of

446
00:21:51.279 --> 00:21:54.519
<v Speaker 2>another eleven point nine light year journey means Earth would

447
00:21:54.519 --> 00:21:57.359
<v Speaker 2>have progressed nearly a century from the time he originally left.

448
00:21:57.559 --> 00:22:01.920
<v Speaker 1>Wow, So the civilization he knew, students, avastrat they are

449
00:22:01.960 --> 00:22:02.440
<v Speaker 1>all gone.

450
00:22:02.640 --> 00:22:05.240
<v Speaker 2>Yeah. The Earth he left no longer exists in a

451
00:22:05.279 --> 00:22:08.519
<v Speaker 2>temporal sense. His home is now irrevocably tied to the

452
00:22:08.519 --> 00:22:10.000
<v Speaker 2>friend he sacrificed everything for.

453
00:22:10.240 --> 00:22:13.000
<v Speaker 1>But he does get some closure. Right sixteen years later,

454
00:22:13.240 --> 00:22:17.000
<v Speaker 1>functioning within his biodome, Grace receives confirmation from the Iridian

455
00:22:17.039 --> 00:22:20.480
<v Speaker 1>Astronomy Hive. Through their telescopes, they observe that Earth's sun

456
00:22:20.559 --> 00:22:24.160
<v Speaker 1>has stabilized. He doesn't have the granular data on the

457
00:22:24.200 --> 00:22:28.319
<v Speaker 1>casualty counts, the societal fractures, or the political fallout, but

458
00:22:28.400 --> 00:22:32.400
<v Speaker 1>he has the empirical certainty that his mission was a success.

459
00:22:33.119 --> 00:22:34.319
<v Speaker 1>Humanity survived.

460
00:22:34.359 --> 00:22:38.160
<v Speaker 2>It's a perfect ending, the narrative arc closes on a

461
00:22:38.160 --> 00:22:42.519
<v Speaker 2>profoundly resonant theme. We observe a cynic paralyzed by the

462
00:22:42.519 --> 00:22:46.480
<v Speaker 2>fear of his own mortality transformed into an interstellar savior.

463
00:22:46.160 --> 00:22:48.640
<v Speaker 1>From a coward to hero exactly, and.

464
00:22:48.559 --> 00:22:53.319
<v Speaker 2>He bridges the seemingly insurmountable gap between two radically divergent species,

465
00:22:53.599 --> 00:22:57.359
<v Speaker 2>not through military supremacy or aggressive colonization, but through the

466
00:22:57.359 --> 00:23:00.599
<v Speaker 2>application of the scientific method and a willingness to embrace

467
00:23:00.680 --> 00:23:01.839
<v Speaker 2>shared vulnerabentity.

468
00:23:02.119 --> 00:23:06.599
<v Speaker 1>It totally redefines the concept of universal communication. When stripped

469
00:23:06.640 --> 00:23:10.720
<v Speaker 1>of cultural context, terrestrial biases, and even shared sensory inputs

470
00:23:10.759 --> 00:23:13.799
<v Speaker 1>like site, the language of mathematics, the principles of biology,

471
00:23:13.839 --> 00:23:17.319
<v Speaker 1>and the capacity for empathy remain constant. The deep space

472
00:23:17.400 --> 00:23:21.319
<v Speaker 1>environment didn't just test their structural engineering, know it tested

473
00:23:21.319 --> 00:23:23.920
<v Speaker 1>their capacity for mutual sacrifice, which.

474
00:23:23.720 --> 00:23:27.480
<v Speaker 2>Really leaves us contemplating the nature of first contact. Yeah,

475
00:23:27.799 --> 00:23:31.519
<v Speaker 2>Greece's trajectory ends in a classroom isolated in a dome,

476
00:23:31.960 --> 00:23:34.720
<v Speaker 2>acting as a simple educator for an alien civilization.

477
00:23:34.920 --> 00:23:36.279
<v Speaker 1>It's so poetic it is.

478
00:23:36.759 --> 00:23:39.920
<v Speaker 2>It posits a theory that if humanity ever reaches beyond

479
00:23:39.960 --> 00:23:44.039
<v Speaker 2>our solar system, the ultimate marker of our evolutionary success

480
00:23:44.599 --> 00:23:47.400
<v Speaker 2>won't be the power of our propulsion drives or the

481
00:23:47.519 --> 00:23:50.880
<v Speaker 2>yield of our weaponry. It will be our fundamental inclination

482
00:23:51.000 --> 00:23:53.599
<v Speaker 2>to share knowledge. To sit in a room with a

483
00:23:53.680 --> 00:23:57.039
<v Speaker 2>being we barely understand and attempt to explain the universe

484
00:23:57.079 --> 00:23:58.000
<v Speaker 2>to them, That.

485
00:23:57.960 --> 00:24:00.559
<v Speaker 1>Is just incredible. It makes you really think. You have

486
00:24:00.640 --> 00:24:03.119
<v Speaker 1>to ask yourself if you are in Ryland Grace's position,

487
00:24:03.359 --> 00:24:06.240
<v Speaker 1>sitting in a pressurized dome, light years from a world

488
00:24:06.240 --> 00:24:08.839
<v Speaker 1>you can never return to, looking out at a classroom

489
00:24:08.880 --> 00:24:11.720
<v Speaker 1>of students who navigate by sound and breathe ammonia, what

490
00:24:11.759 --> 00:24:14.640
<v Speaker 1>would be the very first concept of human existence you

491
00:24:14.640 --> 00:24:17.920
<v Speaker 1>would try to explain? What is the one defining piece

492
00:24:17.960 --> 00:24:19.920
<v Speaker 1>of our shared history you would want to teach to

493
00:24:19.960 --> 00:24:20.480
<v Speaker 1>the stars.

494
00:24:20.720 --> 00:24:21.799
<v Speaker 2>That is the big question.

495
00:24:22.039 --> 00:24:23.960
<v Speaker 1>Keep wondering about that. The next time you feel the

496
00:24:24.000 --> 00:24:26.759
<v Speaker 1>warmth of the sun on your face, stay curious and

497
00:24:26.799 --> 00:24:28.880
<v Speaker 1>we will catch you on the next deep dive.