One of the big blockbuster hits this month has been Project Hail Mary, based on the book by Andy Weir, who also wrote The Martian. Like The Martian, Project Hail Mary is a sci-fi story that follows a funny, likeable narrator (played by Ryan Gosling in the movie) who finds himself far away from Earth. Also like The Martian, it has been praised for its attention to detail and accuracy when incorporating scientific concepts into the narrative. But what about its political accuracy?
The story of Project Hail Mary is centered around an existential threat to humanity that is leading to drastic changes in climate and the deaths of millions within the next few decades. Sound familiar? Granted, in this story the threat comes in the form of an alien microbe eating the energy of the Sun and reducing the output to Earth. While our real-life situation is less sensational than an alien life form stealing our solar energy, we are facing climate change that could similarly make huge swathes of the earth uninhabitable within many of our lifetimes. The real divide between fiction and reality is in the actions taken to address the issue. In Project Hail Mary, the governments of the world immediately come together to authorize nearly unlimited power for one person who is tasked with solving the climate crisis, whatever it takes. She has the world’s scientists, armies, and funding at her disposal, and her only priority is the survival of the human race.
We’d all like to believe that in a true crisis, this is how the world would respond, dropping all conflicting interests to help our species pull through. But we are in a crisis now. Intensifying heat waves, natural disasters, and pollution threaten lives all over the world, and our ecosystems are constantly at risk. Yet year after year, our governments have proven themselves incapable of taking measures consistent with the gravity of the situation. The reality is that in global policy making, the need of powerful countries and corporations to stay on top through militarization and growth using fossil fuel products supersedes the needs of regular people to live in a sustainable world. No one is coming with the power of government to save us and put things right. Nor will the solution be found by uniquely brave and clever astronauts in a star system light years away. We need to look to each other, unite in our shared interests, and fight here and now for a sustainable world for future generations. If we can take one thing away from Project Hail Mary, let it be that humanity, with all its faults, is still worth giving our all to save.
