An idea that I MIGHT at least write as a drabble, but for now I’ll just outline it!
Project: Hail Mary “For After Death”
The idea is to show the world from the perspective of the people, after the sun’s salvation.
Why the title “For After Death”? Because the idea is that this takes place 140–150 years after the start of the overall mission (from the day Grace was launched into the Tau Ceti system, the time Grace spent on Eris, his death, and several years after Grace’s death. In total, about 150 years).
The idea is that the Eridians might have wanted to make direct contact with Earth. But instead of the great civilizations, intellect, and cities that Grace had told them about (which were still new to them) in the recent past—they see a world that has regressed into the past.
It’s a kind of post-apocalyptic scenario where systems created in the past continue to function to this day.
Humanity has dwindled significantly; history has been erased, as have borders. People managed to survive—but at the cost of losing everything they once knew. Or practically everything.
The “Ice Age”—the first 30–40 years—reminds me of frostpunk, while the following 60 years were a time when everything kept getting better and better and better. There’s also the idea that humanity created “ecological preservation” systems before everything froze over. Systems that started running on their own, allowing life to return slowly but surely.
And the people? People are living. They know what electricity is, and they even know how to build and operate mechanisms. But this is based on outdated knowledge and worn-out materials from the past. Humanity doesn’t remember how to do it, or what’s needed to make it happen.
The Earth has become green and wild, and the former NASA bases have become a kind of reminder to people of their past knowledge. This gives me a very strong sense of melancholy when everything is fine—there are no real problems as such. Humanity lives. It truly lives! They’re gradually getting back on their feet. But they’ll never regain their lost history.
And imagine the Eridians seeing this.
People know about them—they’re practically myths or legends among the people—and people will both fear and idolize those who came from the stars. Those who once helped them save their planet.
And Rocky? He would be the one who wanted to visit the planet where his friend lived. He wanted to see it. But instead, he has to face the remnants of a civilization—great, powerful, and truly intelligent. People who have lost the knowledge they once possessed.
And a melancholic state of mind (in my character’s head) filled with some strange fascination and beliefs that seem utterly absurd in the face of technology. A girl who looks back at the past and says, “I don’t know what I’ve lost. I only know where I live.” Or something like that
IN SHORT, SOMETHING LIKE THAT
Rocky’s strange, sweet relationship with a new person on Earth itself and exploring humanity from a completely different perspective (mostly still about the melancholy in my head, but who knows what you might come up with on this topic)