Project Hail Mary

Use this activity to engage all types of learners, while requiring that they refer to and incorporate details from the text over the course of the activity.

“Causality”

In this activity, students will write a brief chapter of the novel in which one major decision is different, and in an epilogue, briefly outline how the rest of the story might play out as a result.

Causality is the study of cause and effect: how things influence one another, and how an event, process, decision, or action may be responsible for the outcome. Examples of causality exist throughout Project Hail Mary.

Write a chapter of the novel in which an alternative decision dramatically affects the outcome of the story. In your chapter, allude to characters’ voices and Weir’s writing style while composing original content. Incorporate at least one of the themes:

• Survival, Sacrifice, and the Utilitarian Good
• The Justifiable Use of Advanced Science for Morally Complex Purposes
• The Role of Speculation in Discovery and the Danger of Assumptions
• The Importance of Cultural Relativism in Collaboration.

After the chapter is complete, write an epilogue that briefly outlines how the rest of the story would play out as a result.

Part A: Outline and Cause/Effect Timeline

• Note which key decision will change and a theme your chapter will highlight.
• Sketch out a timeline of events, being sure to clearly mark the point of change and the potential alternative plot branch that would result.

Part B: Writing the Chapter and Epilogue

• Write the chapter, keeping in mind guidelines for dialogue, imagery, and verb tense.
• Write a 1-2 page epilogue that reveals the consequences of the decision made in your chapter.

Part C: Present Your Alternative Ending

• Present your chapter and epilogue ideas to your peers.
• Close by explaining the novel’s theme connection.

After presenting your alternative ending and hearing those of your peers, reflect on the chain of events in Project Hail Mary. How reliant is the novel’s positive outcome on the sequence and progression of events? How realistic is the ending of the story? Write a 1-2 paragraph reflection that explores these questions.

Teaching Suggestion: To begin the activity, small groups might work together to list points of causality in the novel; individuals can then use the list to select a chapter to rewrite.

Differentiation Suggestion: For students with processing differences or English learners, it may be beneficial to introduce the activity with a scaffolded example of cause and effect from daily life (e.g., you spill coffee and have to change, but it means you avoid a car accident). In another approach, students might choose from a few pre-approved scenarios:

• What if Dr. Shapiro had decided to stay back and hadn’t died in the explosion?
• What if Stratt had lost the copyright lawsuit?
• What if Grace had decided to return to Earth after he fixed his own Taumoeba problem?

Paired Text Extension:

With Ted Chiang’s “Story of Your Life,” students have another opportunity to focus on a cause/effect timeline. Instead of composing a new chapter, students might craft the premise of a potential chapter to share instead.