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“I figured out that I'm better off not explaining how and why I do the things that I do. If people can only read the surface of what you are, and that's all they want to see, let them see just what they need to see. Everything more is just something to keep and share only with the people that desire and are ready to receive that information. Words wasted on ears that do not listen and eyes that do not see are just seeds thrown on rocky ground. Prepare your ground first and then ask for the seeds.”
― Virgil Kalyana Mittata Iordache

“She's got gaps, I've got gaps, together we fill gaps.”
― Sylvester Stallone as Rocky

“I was only off by one percent,' I grumble.
'You talk to you, question?'
'Yes! I'm talking to me.'
'Humans are unusual.'
'Yes,' I say.”
― Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary

“Humans spent thousands of years looking up at the stars and wondering what was out there. You guys never saw stars at all but you still worked space travel. What an amazing people you Eridians must be. Scientific geniuses.'

The knot in the tape comes loose, recoils wildly, and smacks Rocky's hand. He shakes the affected hand in pain for a moment, then continues messing with the tape measure.

'Yeah, you're definitely a scientist.”
― Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary

“Your ship has more science that my ship. Better science. I bring my things in to your ship. Release tunnel. You make your ship spin for science. You and me science how to kill Astrophage together. Save Earth. Save Erid. This is good plan, question?”
― Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary

“Don't dream it. Be it.”
― Rocky Horror Picture Show

“The hex wall is gone- it's been replaced by a solid wall of clear material. And on the other side of that wall is Rocky.

He's a spider. A big-assed spider.

I turn to flee. But my rational brain takes over.

'Easy... easy... they're friendly.' I say to myself. I turn back and take in the scene.

Rocky is smaller than a human. He's about the size of a Labrador. He has five legs radiating out from a central carapace-looking thing. The carapace, which is roughly a pentagon, is 18 inches across and half as thick. I don't see eyes or a face anywhere.

Each leg has a joint in the middle- I'll call it an elbow. Each leg (or should I say arm?) ends in a hand. So he's got five hands. Each hand has those triangular fingers I got a good look at last time. Looks like all five hands are the same. I don't see any "front" or "back" to him. He appears to be pentagonally symmetrical.

He wears clothing. The legs are bare, showing the rocklike skin, but there's cloth on the carapace. Sort of like a shirt with five armholes. I don't know what the shirt is made of but it looks thicker than typical human clothing. It's a dull greenish-brown, and inconsistently shaded.

The top of the shirt has a large open hole. Like where the neck goes on a human's t-shirt. This hole is smaller than the carapace/ So he must have to put that shirt on by pulling it downward and sliding the arms through their respective holes. Again, like a human's shirt.

But there's no neck or head to go through that hole on top- just a hard-looking rocky pentagon that sticks up a little bit from the crusty skin.”
― Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary

“Suddenly, a rock hits the other side of the hex. It stays there. It's just a few inches away from me. It's roughly triangular, kind of a dark brown, and has rough, jagged edges. Like you might see on the tip of a spear from a caveman.

Have I met spacefaring cavemen?

Stop being stupid, Ryland.

Why did they put a rock there? And is it sticky? Are they trying to block my view? If so, they're doing a terrible job. The little triangle is only a couple of inches wide at the thickest point and the hex is a good 8 inches across.

And it gets sillier. Now the rock is bending at articulated joints, and there are two similar rocks that do the same thing, and there's a larger rock attached to them that-

That's not a rock. It's a claw! It's a claw with three fingers!
...
The alien's claw-er... I'll call it a hand. That's less scary. The alien's hand has three triangular fingers, each one with articulation points. Knuckles, I guess. They can close up in to a raindrop shape of widen out to a sort of three-legged starfish.

The skin is weird. It looks like brownish-black rock. It's irregular and bumpy, like someone carved the hand out of granite and hasn't gotten around to smoothing it out yet. Natural armour, maybe? Like a turtle shell, but less organised?

There's an arm, too. I can barely see it from this angle, no matter how hard I stupidly press my face in to the Hot Wall of Pain. But there's definitely an arm leading away from the hand. I mean, there'd have to be, right? Not just a magic floating hand.”
― Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary

“That's an alien. I just saw an alien. Not just an alien ship. An alien being. I mean- just his claw- er... hand. But yeah.

Well, I say "his hand", but maybe it's her hand. Or some other pronoun I don't have a word for. They might have seventeen biological sexes, for all I know. Or none. No one ever talks about the really hard parts of first contact with intelligent alien life: pronouns. I'm going to go with "he" for now, because it just seems rude to call a thinking being "it."

Also, until I hear otherwise, his name is Rocky.”
― Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary

“He waves to me with a free arm. He knows one human greeting and by golly he plans to use it.

I wave back. He waves again. I shake my head. No more waving.

He pivots his "shoulders" to rotate his carapace back and forth. He "shook his head" inasmuch as he could. I wonder how we're going to break out of this game of "Eridian See Eridian Do," but he takes care of that for me.”
― Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary

“You have a language!' I say. 'How do you have a language? You don't have a mouth!'
'”
― Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary

“You have a language!' I say. 'How do you have a language? You don't have a mouth!'

'♫♫�,' Rocky explains.

Thinking rationally, you can't make spaceships without a civilisation and you can't have civilisation without being able to communicate. So of course they have a language.”
― Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary

“I look to Rocky for approval. He had no face and thus no facial expressions. He just floats there, watching me. Well, not watching... no eyes. Actually, wait. How does he know what I'm doing? He clearly knows- he waved and stuff. He must have eyes somewhere. I probably just don't recognise them.”
― Andy Weir, Project Hail Mary

“You're gonna have to go through hell. Worse than any nightmare that you've ever dreamed. But in the end, you know you'll be the one standing. You know what you've gotta go. Do it. Do it!”
― Apollo Creed

“labels are for gifts under the tree, not for those who are sexually free”
― Rocky Flinstone

“The "Suicide Belt" is a name given to the high suicide rates around the high altitude “Rocky Mountainâ€� states. You can see the same thing in the highest islands in the Canary Islands and Hawaii.”
― Steven Magee