CHAPTER 2

Project Hail Mary — Fan Storyboard

58 PANELS 9 ACTS AUTHOR: ANDY WEIR
← CHAPTER 1 CHAPTER 2 CHAPTER 3 →
I
THE GRAVITY PROBLEM
01
SEARCHING
MEDIUM — Lab. Ryland at counter, drawer pulled open. Searching for materials.
MEDIUMFOCUSEDRYLAND
"Take a breath. Work from there." He's already in the lab. Mind in science mode.
02
NO STRING YET
MEDIUM WIDE — Multiple open drawers. Lab supplies scattered. No string found yet.
MEDIUM WIDEFRUSTRATED
"Every form of lab supplies except string." Comedy of persistence.
03
YES! NYLON THREAD
CLOSE-UP — Hands discover spool of nylon thread. Triumphant "YES!" energy.
CLOSE-UPTRIUMPHRYLAND'S HANDS
"Yes!" The one thing that will serve as an accelerometer.
04
TAPE MEASURE WEIGHT
CLOSE-UP — Tying thread to tape measure. Pendulum assembly in hands.
CLOSE-UPMETHODICALSCIENCE
"Loop on one end, tape measure on the other." Improvised pendulum clock.
05
EASIER NOW
MEDIUM — Climbing ladder confidently. Much easier than before. Progress visible.
MEDIUMRECOVEREDRYLAND
"Easier now than ever before." The body is healing. Food helped.
06
TAPE MEASURE 00:00 STOPWATCH 2.5 m
WIDE — Pendulum hung from hatch latch. Thread taut. Ryland releases it, starts timer.
WIDEMETHODICAL / TENSEEXPERIMENT 1
"I have a pendulum." Using physics to measure gravity. 2.5m length, lab level.
07
10:00 ELAPSED 346 CYCLES
INSERT — Stopwatch face: 10:00. Counter: 346 cycles. Data point captured.
INSERTCLINICALDATA
"346 full cycles in exactly ten minutes." First measurement. Upstairs lab.
08
≈1 m NOW 4.5m LENGTH
MEDIUM — Pendulum hung from robot arm in lower coma room. 4.5m total length.
MEDIUMMETHODICALEXPERIMENT 2
"~1 meter below ceiling, making it 4.5m lower than before." Comparing gravity floors.
09
UPSTAIRS LAB 346 CYCLES / 10 MIN 2.5 M LENGTH COMA ROOM 346 CYCLES / 10 MIN 4.5 M LENGTH GOLLY. =
SPLIT FRAME — Both measurements: 346 cycles. Identical. Not a centrifuge.
SPLIT FRAMEREVELATIONRESULT
"Golly." Same gravity on both floors = centrifuge theory eliminated.
10
T=2π√(L/g) g = 4π²L/T² N=346, t=600s T=600/346=1.734s g=4π²(2.5)/1.734² ≈ 32.82... m/s² 1.5g !!! ~15 m/s² NOT EARTH centrifuge r=700m? v=88 m/s → NO space centrifuge r=1280m → NO
CLOSE-UP — Wall covered in math scrawl. Key result circled: ~15 m/s². "NOT EARTH."
CLOSE-UPMANIC SCIENCECALCULATION
"Crazy prisoner scribbling on a wall." The math points to somewhere impossible.
II
WHERE AM I? (THE IMPOSSIBLE QUESTION)
11
EARTH 700m RADIUS / 200mph IMPOSSIBLE
DIAGRAM — Earth-based centrifuge concept. Giant red X. 700m radius is impossible.
DIAGRAMELIMINATIONCENTRIFUGE ✗
"Largest centrifuge ever built…and 200 mph? That's loud. I don't hear anything."
12
1280m RADIUS NOTHING THIS BIG EXISTS
DIAGRAM — Space centrifuge concept, 1280m radius. Red X. Nothing this size ever built.
DIAGRAMELIMINATIONSPACE CENTRIFUGE ✗
"Not in a centrifuge. Not on Earth." Every sensible answer fails.
13
SUN Mercury 0.38g Venus 0.9g Earth 1.0g Mars 0.38g Jupiter GAS — NO SURFACE Saturn GAS — NO SURFACE 1.5g NO SOLID BODY MATCHES 1.5g
WIDE DIAGRAM — Solar system planets with gravity labels. None reach 1.5g on solid surface.
WIDE DIAGRAMDREAD REVELATIONSOLAR SYSTEM
"Earth is the largest solid object. Gas giants have no surface." Nowhere makes sense.
14
I'm NOT on Earth.
CLOSE-UP — Wide-eyed shock. "I'm not on Earth." Stars hint in background porthole.
CLOSE-UPEXISTENTIAL HORRORRYLAND
"So I'm not in a centrifuge. And I'm not on Earth." The chapter's first seismic shift.
15
planetary orbits stellar physics NASA / ESA Petrova line IR spectra solar output ASTRONOMER? NASA? ESA?
MEDIUM CLOSE — Deductive look. Fragments of space knowledge float around him.
MEDIUM CLOSEDAWNING IDENTITYRYLAND
"I just know it. Like second nature. Maybe I'm an astronomer or planetary scientist."
III
MEMORY FLASH: THE SUN IS DYING
16
MURPHY'S BAR — SAN FRANCISCO
WIDE MEMORY FLASH — Warm bar booth. Ryland and Marissa. Three whiskeys in front of her.
WIDE MEMORYWARM / FOREBODINGRYLAND + MARISSA
"I met Marissa every Thursday night for steak and beer." Regular life. Before everything.
17
CLOSE-UP — Marissa's face. Downcast eyes. Whiskey glass held up. Something is very wrong.
CLOSE-UPDREADMARISSA
"She looked down and fidgeted with her glass." This is not a typical Thursday.
18
TIME (YEARS) LUMINOSITY LOSS 0 5yr 10yr 15yr 20yr 1% in 9yr 5% in 20yr SOLAR LUMINOSITY LOSS ICE AGE
INSERT — Marissa's graph: luminosity loss vs time. Exponential curve. Ice age labeled.
INSERT GRAPHCATASTROPHICPETROVA DATA
"The sun's output will drop a full percent in nine years. Five percent in twenty." Extinction level.
19
This can't be right.
MEDIUM — Leaning back in booth. Stunned. Graph paper on table. "This can't be right."
MEDIUMDISBELIEFRYLAND (MEMORY)
"Come on, you know that." Denial. The scientist's reflex against the impossible.
20
"I don't know that. I used to know that. Now I only know the sun's dying."
CLOSE-UP — Marissa's resigned face. Empty whiskey glass. Delivering the verdict.
CLOSE-UPDEVASTATED / CERTAINMARISSA
"I used to know that. Now I only know the sun's dying." Chapter's emotional peak of this flash.
21
"Make it two."
MEDIUM — Both raise hands to waiter. "Make it two." Dark humor at the end of the world.
MEDIUMGALLOWS HUMORRYLAND + MARISSA
The only appropriate response: another drink. Memory ends here.
22
— BLINK —
ECU — Eye in mid-blink. Warm amber fades left, cold ship blue takes over right.
ECUTRANSITION / SNAP BACK
"I blink. Another flash of memory." The boundary between past and present.
IV
THE PETROVA PROBLEM IS HIS PROBLEM
23
THE PETROVA PROBLEM my job is to solve it
MEDIUM — Sitting on floor, hand on chin. "The Petrova Problem." His subconscious purpose.
MEDIUMWEIGHTED PURPOSERYLAND
"My job is to solve the Petrova problem." The mission crystallizes from memory fragments.
24
NO NAME BEDSHEET NO HELP 2 MUMMIES SAVE THE WORLD
MEDIUM — Rueful expression. Annotations: no name, bedsheet toga, 2 mummies, save the world.
MEDIUMABSURDIST DREADRYLAND
"…in a small lab, wearing a bedsheet toga, with no idea who I am." Dark comedy of the mission.
25
funny, always joking nerves of steel, leader WE WERE A CREW.
WIDE — Ryland slowly turns to face his dead crew. A tear. Their personalities whispered in text.
WIDEGRIEF / REVELATIONRYLAND + CREW
"I sob. She was funny. He was military, our leader." The emotional climax of the chapter.
26
I cry like a child.
MEDIUM — Head in hands on floor. Tears on ground. Breakdown. Genuine grief.
MEDIUMRAW GRIEFRYLAND
"I fall to the floor and put my head in my hands. I can't hold anything back."
27
CREW CREW CREW CREW
CONCEPTUAL — The word "CREW" forms in layers from darkness. His small figure looks up at it.
CONCEPTUALEPIPHANYRYLAND
"It had to wait until I wasn't looking to sneak in. Crew. We were a crew."
28
AIRLOCK CRYO / COMA BED LIFE SUPPORT MEDICAL AI gravity = ??? SPACECRAFT
WIDE DIAGRAM — Same room, now annotated as spacecraft. Hatch=airlock, beds=cryo, arms=medAI.
WIDE DIAGRAMPARADIGM SHIFT
"This is a spacecraft. I know that now." Everything recontextualized in one instant.
V
FIRST CONTACT WITH COMFORT
29
IV hole (never healed) she was funny
MEDIUM — Standing beside female mummy's bed. Reaching out slightly. Composed grief.
MEDIUMBITTERSWEET CLOSURERYLAND + CREWMATE
"I actually feel better, looking at her. Closure." The IV hole in her wrist — never healed.
30
MEAL 1—2 "Eat." — COMPUTER stomach growls
MEDIUM — Ceiling panel opens. Food tube drops. Robot arm catches it. "Eat." from computer.
MEDIUMABSURDIST ROUTINERYLAND + ARMS
"Eat." Body overrules grief. Stomach growls as soon as he sees the tube.
31
chicken? vegetable? incredible flavor sensation
CLOSE-UP — Eyes closed mid-bite. Slight smile. "Incredible flavor sensation." Body wins.
CLOSE-UPRELIEF / DARK COMEDYRYLAND
"Another incredible flavor. Chicken with hints of vegetable." Absurd comfort in the void.
32
⊕ H₂O flat. distilled. but water is water.
CLOSE-UP — Metal canister unscrewed. H₂O label. "Flat. Distilled. But water is water."
CLOSE-UPPRAGMATIC
"Room temperature and tastes flat. But water's water." Survival beats preference.
33
ZERO-G TOILET (vacuum, no water) zero-g toilet in gravity…?
MEDIUM — Wall panel spins to reveal zero-g toilet. His mildly baffled reaction beside it.
MEDIUMDARK COMEDY
"Vacuum pipe. No water. A zero-g toilet modified for gravity. Why do that?" Another mystery.
VI
ARCLIGHT AND THE PETROVA MICROBES
34
SCIENCE SPACE proactive memory attempt
MEDIUM — Cross-legged, eyes closed. Deliberately reaching for a memory about science.
MEDIUMFOCUSED INTENTRYLAND
"Let my mind wander. I like science. Maybe I can think about space and see what I get."
35
SPAGHETTI NASA LIVE ARCLIGHT ORBIT 1
WIDE MEMORY — Apartment, spaghetti on table, Ryland watching NASA feed. ArcLight data on TV.
WIDE MEMORYTENSE EXCITEMENTRYLAND (MEMORY)
"Most watched event in human history. More than the moon landing." The ArcLight moment.
36
10 μm ARCLIGHT SAMPLE — 10,000× MAG
INSERT — NASA microscope feed. Black dots ~10μm on grey field. Could be dust particles.
INSERTCLINICAL WONDERARCLIGHT DATA
"10,000 times magnified. Those black dots are about ten microns." Initial data from Venus orbit.
37
t=0s t=2s t=4s THEY'RE MOVING deforming. shifting. "What the f***?!" — JPL flight control "Oh my God!" — Dr. Browne
SEQUENCE INSERT — Three frames. Dots deform and shift. "THEY'RE MOVING." JPL erupts.
SEQUENCE INSERTSHOCK / AWEALIEN LIFE?
"They look a little like microbes, wouldn't you say?" The understatement of the century.
38
Is this actually alien life?!
CLOSE-UP — Wide-eyed wonder. Fork falling from hand into spaghetti. "Is this alien life?!"
CLOSE-UPPURE AWERYLAND (MEMORY)
"I dropped my fork right into my spaghetti. Am I really that lucky?!" The best moment.
39
the kids!
CLOSE-UP — Big smile forming. Thought bubble: small kids at desks. "Can't wait to tell the kids!"
CLOSE-UPJOY / FORESHADOWINGRYLAND (MEMORY)
"I couldn't wait to tell the kids tomorrow—" Memory cuts off. The kids. Which kids?
VII
COMPUTER INTERRUPTS, ANGULAR ANOMALY
40
ANGULAR ANOMALY
LOW ANGLE — Ceiling sensor pulses. Cold alert: "ANGULAR ANOMALY." Memory interrupted.
LOW ANGLEALERT / COLDCOMPUTER
"Angular anomaly." Cold cut from warm memory. The ship is talking. Something is wrong.
41
DARN IT! "I was almost there! Almost remembered myself!"
CLOSE-UP — Frustrated expression. Memory fragments fading. "Darn it! Almost there!"
CLOSE-UPFRUSTRATEDRYLAND
"I was almost there! I almost remembered myself!" The computer derails the breakthrough.
42
Angular anomaly: object designated critical not at expected location by ≥0.01 radians. What body is anomalous?
MEDIUM — Looking up at ceiling sensor. "Computer, what is angular anomaly?" Getting a definition.
MEDIUMINVESTIGATIVERYLAND + COMPUTER
"Object designated critical not at expected location." Navigation problem. That's bad.
43
Δ 0.01rad expected actual TARGET ?
DIAGRAM — Spacecraft trajectory. Expected path (dotted) vs actual (red). 0.01 rad divergence.
DIAGRAMNAVIGATIONAL DREADANGULAR ANOMALY
"It must be navigational. That can't be good." Ship is off-course from something important.
44
NAME REQUIRED to access ship controls explore area → find locked door → find the key (= his name)
MEDIUM — Locked hatch above. Red indicator. "Name required." Video game metaphor text.
MEDIUM LOWTRAPPED / DETERMINED
"Like a video game. The key is my own name." The mission structure becomes clear.
VIII
THE FINAL MEMORY: "I'M A TEACHER"
45
apartment single man TV dinner
MEDIUM — On bunk, eyes closed. Memory fragments float: apartment, single man, TV dinner.
MEDIUMSEARCHINGRYLAND
"Let's see what I get." Deliberately navigating to his home memory for identity clues.
46
LEAN CUISINE no toys no kids too clean single male "not gay, not divorced — just alone"
MEDIUM WIDE MEMORY — Bachelor apartment. SF poster. Lean Cuisine. No kids. No woman.
MEDIUM WIDE MEMORYDETECTIVE CLUESRYLAND'S APARTMENT
"Single man's meal. No sign of a woman. Way too clean." Building a portrait from absence.
47
like kids gum phase they're fun no own kids bachelor apt gum phase??? How do I know this?
CLOSE-UP — Puzzling frown. "I like kids but have none. How do I know about the gum phase?"
CLOSE-UPDAWNINGRYLAND (MEMORY)
"They all go through a gum phase. How do I know that?" The clue is in the knowledge itself.
48
E = mc² F = ma v = √(GM/r) TEACHER I'M A SCHOOLTEACHER oh thank god.
WIDE REVEAL — "TEACHER." Classroom materializes. Students at desks. Ryland at board with chalk.
WIDE REVEALRELIEF / EPIPHANYRYLAND (MEMORY)
"A teacher! I'm a schoolteacher! Oh thank God." Identity found. Not a scientist — a teacher.
IX
CODA: THE WORLD AND THE WEIGHT
49
"I'm a teacher."
MEDIUM — Back in bunk. Eyes open. Small relieved smile. "I'm a teacher."
MEDIUMQUIET RELIEFRYLAND
The chapter ends with a sliver of identity recovered. Still no name. But a role.
50
T = 2π√(L/g) L = pendulum length g = gravitational acceleration T = period (seconds) ∴ g ≈ 1.5 × 9.8 = 14.7 m/s² NOT ON ANY KNOWN PLANET "I showed all my work!"
CLOSE-UP — Wall equations, pedagogical annotation style. "I showed all my work!" His teacher voice.
CLOSE-UP INSERTCHARACTER VOICESOLVED
The same math, but now seen through his identity: a teacher explaining, not just calculating.
51
-0.01% Venus the sun is dying
WIDE — Sun dimmer than expected. Petrova line arc to Venus. Brightness bar declining.
WIDEEXISTENTIAL THREATPETROVA PROBLEM
"The sun's dying." The stakes of everything. What this mission must solve.
52
METRIC 700 m 1280 m 14.7 m/s² SCIENTIST MODE IMPERIAL 200 mph 3000 mi 10 ft DAILY LIFE MODE American scientist. Confirmed.
INSERT — Split brain: left=metric (science), right=imperial (daily life). American scientist.
INSERT DIAGRAMSELF-DISCOVERYRYLAND
"I mostly think metric for science. Most scientists do." Identity building from habits of mind.
53
I am the great philosopher PENDULUS! INCORRECT.
MEDIUM — Theatrical pose in bedsheet toga. "I am the great philosopher Pendulus!" Computer: "Incorrect."
MEDIUMDARK COMEDYRYLAND
"Incorrect." The humor coping mechanism. He's adapting. Using wit to stay sane.
54
? 1.5 × EARTH GRAVITY HOW? "I'll freak out about that later."
DIAGRAM — Ship outline, giant question mark inside. "1.5g — HOW?" Still unexplained.
DIAGRAMMYSTERY PRESERVEDOPEN QUESTION
"I know I'm on a spaceship but I don't know how it has gravity." Chapter's lingering question.
55
teacher San Francisco Petrova mission IMPROVING recovery
MEDIUM CLOSE — Eyes half-open. Controlled memory arrows pointing inward. "Improving."
MEDIUM CLOSERECOVERY ARCRYLAND
"My mental state is improving. Memories coming sort of when I want them." Progress.
56
SOMEWHERE BEYOND THE SOLAR SYSTEM gravity: 1.5g (how?) crew: 0 surviving mission: unknown (but felt)
EXTREME WIDE — Tiny ship in vast starfield. Beyond solar system. Three annotations at bottom.
EXTREME WIDECOSMIC SCALE / AWE
The chapter's scale. One ship, one teacher, one problem: the sun. Somewhere impossibly far from home.
57
San Francisco Schoolteacher Loves science Petrova mission American Alone ? ? ?
CLOSE-UP — Direct gaze, determined. Known facts orbit him. Center: still "? ? ?" — no name yet.
CLOSE-UPRESOLVERYLAND
Identity is forming from fragments. Everything but the name. The chapter's engine.
58
END CHAPTER 2
FINAL — Single LED in void. Tiny silhouette below it. End of Chapter 2.
EXTREME WIDESTILL / OPEN
One light. One man. No name. The universe waiting. Chapter closes.
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