@saviorsofstars continued from here
Out of all of the days of Dr. Ryland Grace's experiments, one of the more explosive reactions had to occur on the one day that Eva Stratt was required to entertain "guests". "Guests" as she thought of them, referred to government officials that wanted to stop by the facility to check on Project Hail Mary's progress and the Astrophage research progress.
Of course, as soon as she had taken the officials to Dr. Grace's area, to show how the Astrophage research was going, things exploded.
The government officials look at Stratt with a mixture of panic and worry. Alarms were going off and the laboratory was a mess. Without missing a beat, she responds with an unflappable calm to the diplomats in Mandarin Chinese to reassure them, before turning back to face Dr. Grace. After seeing Dr. Grace clamp metal tongs onto a glowing red metal bowl, she asked the very obvious question.
At Ryland's response, she sighs and pulls out the walkie-talkie at her waist. She radios some people in English and gives quick statements, her voice slightly clipped.
"We're fine. Dr. Grace is safe. The explosion was from an experiment. Please reset the alarms."
She took her finger off the talk button, but then quickly pressed it and spoke into the radio again. "I also need laboratory two prepped and ready."
Immediately, the alarms stop. Then, she takes stock of Ryland. As annoyed as she might be that this event happened while people were checking in on her, she wasn't angry. Not at him. She knows that the nature of science is trial and error.
What's more concerning to her is Ryland's demeanor. Ryland's response and expression seem to suggest that his experiment likely didn't go the way he wanted. The fluorescent lights in the laboratory allows her to see the light wisps of smoke at the ends of his hair where he got singed from the heat. In addition, knowing what happened the first time he examined Astrophage, she can't afford for him to be demoralized. Her actions are limited at the moment, since she still has "guests" to entertain. But she can still do something.
It was fortunate that second laboratory facility was finished earlier than expected, and already outfitted with the necessary laboratory equipment. This way, no time was wasted. Another operable laboratory while the first one was being cleaned up.
Eva Stratt takes a breath before she talks to Ryland. She shoots him a stern gaze, a reminder to exercise caution considering the importance of his work and to (hopefully) assure him that despite the earlier explosion, she's fine letting him continue... to a point.
She's fairly certain that Dr. Grace will learn from the earlier explosive reaction in order to craft his next experiment with a little more care. But just to be safe, she is considering whether Dr. Grace should take a break before he continues his experiments.
"Take a break, Dr. Grace. When you return, laboratory two will be open to continue your experiments. I'll have the Astrophage brought there."
Her authoritative tone clearly lays out how she expects him to conduct himself once she leaves. She will be back later to ask about what happened, and to meet with him. She's hoping that when she comes back, his experiments will yield new information.
She turns to look at the diplomats in tow behind her, speaks again in Mandarin Chinese, and gestures at them to leave with her, leading them away from Ryland's area.