thinking about how if grace HAD gone back to earth he would've been put in quarantine first thing. three years alone in space or whatever on the way back and the first thing humanity does is take him out of his lonely box and put him in another lonely box. and i know they would have to and it would make sense and be smart, and grace would know that also but still. still. and then they'd let him out and where would he go?? he was never supposed to come back. no one paid the rent on his apartment. if stratt kept his things she kept them in storage somewhere. no one is waiting for him to come home because he was never supposed to, and who would even wait anyways, and his students are all grown up now, and maybe stratt gets him a house somewhere out of gratitude for his service but how can he ever go back to teaching middle school?? there would be paparazzi swarming the school. it's unsustainable. it wouldn't be fair to the kids. because the whole world would know who ryland grace is--there was no reason for stratt not to reveal the identity of the astronauts once they were gone. every single person on earth would know his name, but no one would know him, because the one other soul who ever really did is lightyears away probably going through the same thing.
