Ryland Grace

### Occupation

8th Grade Science Teacher (Formerly) Astronaut aboard Hail Mary, Eridian school teacher

## Appearances

### Portrayed by

Ryan Gosling

Dr. Ryland Grace is a human and the main character of Project Hail Mary. Before becoming the science expert of the Hail Mary's crew, he was an 8th grade science teacher who had worked in academia with a doctorate in molecular biology.

### Appearance

Caucasian male, American. Maybe 80kg in weight. Beach-bid buff physique (due to muscle toning during coma). Ripped.

According to pre-coma measurements (clothes), Grace seems to be larger than both of his crewmates, as Yao's jumpsuit is a little tight for him.

Dr. Grace is likely in his mid-40s during the Hail Mary mission. He references Joe Montana and the Nintendo.

The info about height in the infobox displayed on the right are based on the actor that will play him in the upcoming movie. The novel does not contain this information.

### Personality

Dr. Grace is shown to be a calm and rational person. He does have a common American sense of humor, and can be self deprecating at times. He is naturally inquisitive and can become very surprised in response to new and unusual things, such as Astrophage and meeting an alien. He is also interested in learning new information, such as when he interacts with Rocky. Grace is loving towards his students and wants to stay with them instead of going abroad the Hail Mary. For this reason and more, Eva Stratt described him as a "coward".

### History

#### Pre-Launch

Grace was a junior high school science teacher for 8th Grade. He is a single man living alone in an apartment. Before becoming a teacher, he was a scientist who focused on possible life beyond the solar system, and he wrote a scientific paper which completely rejected theories that all life needed water and had to be in a certain habitable zone. It is for this reason that Stratt recruits him to be the first person to look at Astrophage, as it is highly unlikely that a creature that lives on or near the surface of a star will use water. However, by killing one, Ryland is able to determine that they do indeed use water. Stratt tells Grace he is no longer needed, but he insists on continuing to study Astrophage. Stratt lets him continue, and he goes on to figure out how to breed Astrophage. He unknowingly becomes Stratt's right-hand man and the tertiary science specialist backup for the crew of the Hail Mary, and helps with many aspects of the project. After Hail Mary science specialist DuBois and his backup Shapiro are killed in an Astrophage-caused explosion, Grace is selected to go on the Hail Mary. After refusing, Stratt tells him he will be drugged and therefore unconscious for the launch up to the boarding of the ship. Before waking up from an induced coma, the medical device in charge of taking care of the crew will administer a drug that will cause him to lose his memory. This is assumed to be successful, as Grace wakes up from his coma with no memories of his past.

#### Post-Launch

Grace awakes aboard the spacecraft Hail Mary with no memories of who, or where he is. His crewmates did not survive their comas, and he is being cared for by robotic arms. The arms give him tests before allowing more freedom, such as simple math, and stating his own name. He receives access to the Hail Mary’s lab, which leads him to falsely conclude he was inside a quarantine facility. However, he later discovers evidence that allowed him to realize he was, indeed, in space. After eventually unlocking enough memories to find his name, Grace unlocks the final hatch to discover the control room where his true work finally begins.