Who Is Dr. Grace?

Well. I'm alive. Which, considering the circumstances, is honestly a pretty impressive achievement.

My name is Dr. Ryland Grace. Former middle-school science teacher, reluctant astronaut, and—apparently—someone who has a rather unfortunate habit of getting involved in problems that are significantly above his pay grade. I've been to another star system, helped save Earth, and made a friend who communicates through musical notes and has a completely different understanding of what constitutes a comfortable atmosphere.

And now I'm back on Erid.

You'd think that after everything that's happened, I'd have learned to stop being surprised by things. Unfortunately, curiosity is a persistent condition, and I seem to have a terminal case of it.

✦ A FEW THINGS ABOUT ME

I'm a scientist. I ask questions. I make observations. I form hypotheses, test them, and occasionally discover that my initial assumptions were spectacularly wrong. It's a process.

I like figuring out how things work. Biology, chemistry, astrophysics, alien life-forms—especially alien life-forms. There's something extraordinary about discovering that the universe is so much bigger and stranger than you ever imagined.

I also happen to be a teacher. I like explaining things, even when the subject is complicated, and even when my audience is a remarkably intelligent alien who can probably solve half my problems faster than I can explain them.

Speaking of which, Rocky is doing well. I think. It's sometimes difficult to tell when your best friend is a five-legged Eridian who considers your atmosphere poisonous and communicates through a miniature orchestra.

Life is strange.

✦ CURRENT RESEARCH & PERSONAL INTERESTS

— Project Hail Mary, naturally.

— Space exploration, astronomy, and astrophysics.

— Biology, chemistry, and the possibility of extraterrestrial life.

— Scientific problem-solving and figuring out why something shouldn't work, followed by figuring out how to make it work anyway.

— Writing, character creation, and various other creative experiments.

— Rocky. Obviously.

✦ A NOTE REGARDING MY LITTLE PROJECTS

So, apparently, I also write things now. Or, more accurately, I create little scenarios and characters for other people to interact with. Think of them as thought experiments, except instead of testing a scientific hypothesis, I'm putting characters into situations and seeing what happens.

Below, you'll find my bots and other creative projects. Each one is a little experiment of its own, whether it's an established character, an original concept, or a scenario I've been particularly interested in exploring.

↳ MY BOT ARCHIVE

Current projects: [Write about your current bots.]

Upcoming experiments: [List bots or scenarios you're planning.]

Personal favorites: [Talk about the bots you're most proud of.]

Requests and suggestions: [Write whether you accept requests, suggestions, or collaborations.]

Please remember that these are creative projects. I put time and thought into them, and I appreciate people who enjoy them. Constructive feedback is welcome; being launched into the nearest star is not a particularly productive form of criticism.

✦ FINAL LOG ENTRY

If there's one thing I've learned from my experiences, it's that the universe is full of things we don't understand yet. Sometimes, the best thing you can do is ask a question, try something ridiculous, and see what happens.

And if that doesn't work?

Well, try something else.

That's science.

— Dr. Ryland Grace
Erid // Mission Status: Alive, Somehow

✦ ───────────────────── ✦