Iron Lung, Project Hail Mary and the significance of a name
With the COI and in the SM-13, the only one who knew Simon's name was himself. Simon had to tell them halfway into his defacto suicide trip. People forgot he was a person and didn't try to remember.
People just referred to Simon as the butcher. Rendering his entire identity as this one moment, one mistake. One bad moment with bad timing with Simon in the wrong place. And everything else about him became negatable.
Simon is a scapegoat. And scapegoats dont need a name. They just need to do their job.
But when they- Ava, realizes the name of the man she's sending to his death isn't even known to her. She asks. Then her view of Simon starts to change.
Ava herself is referred to as 'Captain' a lot. Her role defines her. Individuality is sacrificed in a crisis. One must give up the self to support the collective.
When the worst happens, when darkness takes over, we lose ourselves too.
On the Hail Mary, The ship herself, Ilyukhina, and Yao knew who Grace was. Grace was probably regarded as a hero back on Earth like Stratt said he would. His name was probably being said all over the globe. Grace, however, didn't know his name and needed the Ship to say it to remember (in the book, it's his name being said by Stratt in a memory that helps him remember). The ones who would have known died long ago. He doesn't have any inkling of self. Even when he remembers he doesn't call himself Ryland. So detached from his own identity.
And yet the first thing he does when he met Carl was ask his name. He is quick to come up with a name for Rocky, never dwelling on 'the alien' for long. He sees importance in knowing others. He sees value in the identity of others.
The beetles are named too. A humourous refrence to The Beatles. So much love put into this mission. Rocky puts so must gusto into singing his Adrian's name, no matter how many times he has to say it. But grace himself is exempt from this pattern.
Grace probably didn't feel like he was real, or connected to the world at time.
And then, Rocky came along. They worked together. They celebrated together. They risked their lives for the other. Grace finds another creature in this universe that would say his name with love.
They develop a silly but massively important rituals around naming. Tau Ceti E/Adrian. Tauomeba. Xenonite. Love is the motivator behind the naming of the planet Adrian. The other times, it is the passion for science. Which is a type of love on it's own.
This makes me think of a poem by ee cummings. It's titled, 'Maggie and Milly and Molly And May'. Two lines are especially relevant.
For whatever we lose (like a you or a me)
it's always ourselves we find in the sea.
It's ourselves we find in the environment around us. We leave our mark on things. We leave our mark on people around us. And a name is one of the most important marks of all. That is how we gain recognition. That is how we become real.
To experience love is what allows us to find ourselves.
And sometimes I wonder what would it be like for Simon and Grace to meet each other.
One is abandoned by his universe. Forgotten. Yet, he still harbours a white hot passion to live. With freedom. To live, for himself. As himself.
The other is let go. Pushed into space unwillingly on both sides. Before that he was cast adrift in his life. He had virtually no ties with anyone. But he is loved so intensely by the people around him. He is remembered by everyone but himself.
I wonder, will they learn of the significance of a name.
