One of the compelling things about Project Hail Mary is that you can't fix it.
"What if Stratt didn't force Grace to go?" Then the Earth dies.
"What if Yao and Ilyukhina had survived?" Then they all would have died in space, not enough food to get to Earth or Erid
If the Taomoeba hadn't escaped then Grace would have never seen his best friend again. Returning to a world he loves but no longer recognizes.
If the stars weren't dying then Grace never would have met his best friend at all. Living content but alone.
Project Hail Mary is a hopeful story. It is a story of friendship and what it means to be brave. It's a story about saving the world.
But you can't remove the tragedy of the story without making it unrecognizable. It's written into the bones.
