Hail Mary原来有“无成功希望的计划”这层意思，简中版译成《挽救计划》实属乏味。
台译本翻译成《绝地救援》，明显带感许多。
《火星救援》作者Andy Weir最新作品。
（有剧透）
对生命终极演化的思考
2014年的时候我还没有看过[[2001, A Space Odyssey]]，但在某一天的dayone日记中，写下了对生物演化的最终路径猜想，也就是变成光(能量生物)。当时写的内容：
光其实是一种有生命有意识的高智慧生物
生命从最开始进化
本质是对能量利用效率增加
人类从单细胞生命进化到现在
对外物的能量利用率越来越高
假设1：宇宙中的生命进化的最终趋势都是对能量的完美利用
一种几万年几亿年前就在宇宙中存在的生命体
经历和人类类似的发展
但人类当前对自身的能量转化还低的可怜
人类交流时需要发声，做肢体动作
靠摄取食物获得能量
还会排泄出一大堆不需要的东西（屎）
要费力去思考，去欺骗，去进步
都需要能量
毫无效率
而在进化中，一种生命体慢慢摆脱了这些
首先交流变为心灵交流，脑电波交流
食物出现自给自足，社会资源变的无限充足
无欲无求
乌托邦
进食方式也慢慢（很缓慢的过程，可能要几千万年）变为吸收恒星的能量
眼睛，耳朵，声带这些也没了因为不需要
也不用劳动了，整个肉体也没了
慢慢就形而上了
就朝存粹的星灵力量进化了
就变成纯粹的能量生命了
就变成永恒的存在了
就向整个宇宙蔓延
以这个速度在宇宙中扩张
我们身边其实全都是外星人
我们只是没意识到
后来看完2001太空冒险，对这个过程有了一个更加系统的认知，首先是现在这样的有机生命体，征服银河系的过程中，需要外骨骼来适应异星环境，人类逐渐机械化，最终除了自我意识之外全部机械化，直接上传意识到机械中。又过几万年至几百万年，最终的演化方向是纯粹的能量，或许就是上文中提到的，光。
这次看Project Hail Mary，最开始剧情展开的时候讲到astrophage，一种能够将物质和能量以$$E=mc^2$$公式转化的微生物，我的第一反应就是这和之前自己的假想非常相似，可惜随着剧情推进，Astrophage终究只是一种微生物，本身从来没有产生过智慧，只不过是在更恶劣的星际环境中演化出了惊人的生存方式。不算是纯粹的能量生命，本身还是由基础的氧碳元素组成。
单位转换
随着故事深入，发现一些从前有过的思考，在书中竟然非常出现了非常细致的描述。首先是单位，我之前写到：
如果人类能侥幸迈入星级文明的话，万有引力常数，光速，哈珀常数这些宇宙级单位，都需要转变为基础单位，而不再基于米，秒，牛顿米这些人造单位。
这些单位的转化，都必须根据整个宇宙的最基础的物理属性来制定，这也代表着一个文明对宇宙的深度认知。后来看了一篇科普，在过去的十几年间，许多基础单位，比如千克，秒，安培，米，摩尔，和开尔文，其定义全部进行了修订，所依据的是全宇宙都适用的7个精准常数：
就像普朗克说的：
借助基本常数，我们有可能建立起长度、时间、质量、温度的单位，它们必定对所有文化都能保持有效性，甚至包括外星或者非人类文明。
从前我对这一套基础单位转化的说法非常痴迷，认为这是人类进入高等文明的必经之路。这种观点理论上没有错，但看完书后有了新的想法，因为主角和Rocky之间的科学互动起初也是转换单位，事实上如果仅仅是为了简单交流，只要一方确定一个基础单位，比如一个基础时间单位的长度，那么另一方按照自己基础时间单位测量，就可以直接得出换算公式。类似的长度和重量都是如此。完全不需要通过那几个宇宙最基本的基础单位进行中间转换。
我现在理解，人类文明将自己的基础单位进行宇宙常数性质的定义转换，也许更多是出于虚荣心的考量，可以朴素的理解为不想被未来的外星生命看不起，说不定可以在对方的文明层次划分表中分到一个高一点的位置。《乡村教师》里就有这样的桥段，外星生命通过研究地球人对物理参数的认知来划分行星文明，当然那篇小说里的描述实属粗糙。
但《乡村教师》和《Project Hail Mary》都提到了太阳系年这个概念，PHM中主角和Rocky也对彼此的时间单位进行了转换。这些文明之间第一次接触的细节让本单位换算爱好者非常满足。当然为了方便描述书中赋予Rocky种族超快的运算力和记忆力，所以后期的交流都是以换算人类单位来描述数据，这其中不知道黑了英制单位多少次，如果说米和摄氏度还算是有点科学依据，那么英里和华氏度简直就是无比任性的落后文明遗毒。
One Eridian second is 2.366 Earth seconds.
语言转换
关于第一次接触，另外一个重点便是语言的转换，人类历史上东西方文明第一次接触最开始大家是如何学习语言的？据我了解更多是靠长期的生活和互动，沉浸在环境中，加上愿意学习和教授的意愿，很容易就能够掌握基础，但需要的是一个较长的时间。PHM中主角和Rocky需要尽可能快的学习，毕竟各自星球都出现了危机。所以作者还是很好心了让两人都拥有以字母作为基础单位的语言，所以只要各自学习少量的字母，就可以组成一个基础的框架认知。两人作为科学家，都有着强烈的学习意愿和能力，更重要的是，同为碳基生命，甚至有可能都是astrophage在亿万年全宇宙播种时形成的生命后代，在基础的认知上还是有相似性，这些基础认知就包括都需要数数，记录，有抽象认知，等等。于是从最基础的数字开始，借助电脑录音，就可以快速制作出一个双向对应音频词典，Rocky甚至更方便，直接就被设定成记忆力超强过脑不忘的无情语言学习工具，于是当双方彼此掌握了基础语言后，接下来就是对一些特定文化产生的现象用于有一个更细致的学习，比如讽刺，比如颜色。但此时基础的科学合作已经完全没有障碍。
You have a language!” I say. “How do you have a language?! You don’t have a mouth!” “♫♫♩,” Rocky explains. Thinking rationally, you can’t make spaceships without a civilization and you can’t have civilization without being able to communicate. So of course they have language. It’s interesting that communication is done with sound, like humans do. Coincidence? Maybe not. Maybe that’s just the easiest way to evolve that trait.
So his clock is intuitive for me to read. And it works like an odometer. “ℓ” is clearly their 0. From that, I know that “I” is 1, “V” is 2, “λ” is 3, “+” is 4, and “V” is 5. What about 6 through 9? They don’t exist. After “V” we go back to “ℓ.” Eridians use base six.
For the next several hours, we expand our shared vocabulary to several thousand words. Language is kind of an exponential system. The more words you know, the easier it is to describe new ones.
Erid is extremely close to its star—about one-fifth as far as Earth is from our sun. Their “year” is a little over forty-two Earth days long. It’s what we call a “super-Earth,” weighing in at eight and a half times Earth’s mass. It’s about twice Earth’s diameter, and a little over double the surface gravity. Also, it spins very fast. Absurdly fast. Their day is only 5.1 hours long.
进化出超高级的广谱听觉，没有视觉，导致没有颜色概念。
Yes, and that part is ‘green.’ ” “I not have word for this.” Of course the Eridian language has no words for colors. Why would it? I never thought of colors as a mysterious thing. But if you’ve never heard of them before, I guess they’re pretty weird. We have names for frequency ranges in the electromagnetic spectrum
叙事结构
这本书的叙事结构非常巧妙，试想一下想来之后发现自己在一艘宇宙飞船上，全身上下都是机器手臂维持基础的生命活动，丧失了一切记忆，身边有两具尸体，短暂清醒后得出结论这艘飞船已经不处在太阳系中，整个人会是何等的崩溃。这样一个极其有悬念的开头，能够迅速吸引读者，也看得出作者写书的时候就已经在计划电影剧本了，全篇双线叙事的电影感非常强，甚至感觉双场景切换的时候电影能够以更自然的方法进行过度，相比于书中生硬的换章节切换。很期待在荧幕上看见Rocky的设计，希望还是弱化可怕蜘蛛(Sacry Space Monsters lol)的形象，尽可能往萌蠢可爱的方向去设计。这种倒叙手法的优点是开篇就引人入胜，但缺点是交代了太多后期主线剧情，而人物描写极度缺失，尤其是主角设定上前后相差太大，导致阅读前几章时我一直在心里吐槽人物设定的模板化和光环化，一个失意科学家转行中学教师是何德何能在几年之内成为了拯救世界的宇航员，未免也过于扮猪吃虎和开主角金手指。同时这样一个开头失忆缓慢回忆的剧情发展，在前期阅读的时候我也一直在吐槽，觉得作者也太偷懒，想出这样一个可以随时自然的补充角色设定和双线插入。没想到最后作者竟然把这些设定一个个都圆上了，挖坑填坑如此自然，也如此黑暗，曲折感拉满，到最后竟然前期的槽点都得到解决，前期的差劲体验到后面都成了惊叹。
另外第一人称叙事，基本上也注定主角不会死，即使主角不断的视死如归，接受将死的事实。也算的上是另一种意义上的剧透了。
Consciousness detected,” the computer says. “What’s your name?” “I still don’t know that.” “Incorrect. Attempt number two: What’s your name?” I’m Caucasian, I’m male, and I speak English. Let’s play the odds. “J–John?” “Incorrect. Attempt number three: What’s your name?”
I think in imperial units. That’s a clue. I’m probably an American. Or English. Or maybe Canadian. Canadians use feet and inches for short distances. I ask myself: How far is it from L.A. to New York? My gut answer: 3,000 miles. A Canadian would have used kilometers. So I’m English or American. Or I’m from Liberia.
Eat. Who am I to question a creepy robot-armed computer overlord? I cautiously lick the substance. Oh my God it’s good! It’s so good! It’s like thick gravy but not too rich. I squeeze more straight into my mouth and savor it. I swear it’s better than sex. I know what’s going on here. They say hunger is the greatest seasoning. When you’re starving, your brain rewards you handsomely for finally eating. Good job, it says, we get to not die for a while!
I pull the sheet off the bed and wrap it around my torso a couple of times. I pull one corner over my shoulder from behind my back and tie it to another from the front. Instant toga. “Self-ambulation detected,” says the computer. “What’s your name?” “I am Emperor Comatose. Kneel before me.” “Incorrect.”
I run the numbers and come up with an answer I don’t like. The gravity in this room is too high. It’s 15 meters per second per second when it should be 9.8. That’s why things falling “feel” wrong to me. They’re falling too fast. And that’s why I’m so weak despite these muscles. Everything weighs one and a half times as much as it should. Thing is, nothing affects gravity. You can’t increase or decrease it. Earth’s gravity is 9.8 meters per second per second. Period. And I’m experiencing more than that. There’s only one possible explanation.
I’m not on Earth.
What’s your name?” the computer asks. I look down at my sheet toga. “I am the great philosopher Pendulus!” “Incorrect.”
飞船发射前这一段惊天转折太黑暗了！！看得我目瞪口呆。
“Try me!” I screamed. “Go on! Try me! See what happens!” “But I can’t rely on ninety-nine percent, can I?” She glanced at her paper again. “I always assumed the American CIA would have the best interrogation drugs. But did you know it’s actually the French? It’s true. Their DGSE has perfected a drug that causes retrograde amnesia that lasts for long periods of time. Not just hours or days, but weeks. They used it during various anti-terror operations. It can be handy for a suspect to forget he was ever interrogated.” I stared at her in horror. My throat hurt from yelling. “Your med bed will give you a nice dose of it before you wake up. You and your crewmates will just assume it’s a side effect of the coma. Yáo and Ilyukhina will explain the mission to you and you’ll roll right into getting to work. The French assure me the drug doesn’t erase trained skills, language, or anything like that. By the time your amnesia wears off, you guys might have already sent the beetles back. And if not, my guess is you’ll be too far invested in the project to give up.”
另外唯一一个我觉得不太行的剧情推进，是最开始离开研究基地，看见孩子们，为了孩子们的未来，坚定的要求回去，Ms Strat那么理性一人，竟然就被主角光环所打动了。
有声书
开头说到这本书电影感非常强，其实有声版本的演绎就已经非常棒。记得前几年Audible开头介绍朗读者用的动词是narrate，现在已经改成了perform。的确如此，本书的有声书朗读者极其优秀，主角的各类情绪，各类生理状态下的语气都传递的很到位，另外俄罗斯大舌头口音，非洲口音，黑人口音，BBC英音和女性声调，朗读者模仿的都非常像，唯一失败的口音是thick Chinese accent，其实我也不知道中国人的英语口音到底是啥，感觉也没形成自己的独特风格，朗读者没办法，能听得出借鉴了一些日语口音。然后是rocky的音符语言，有声书里直接通过电子音生成，效果比纯粹文字阅读好太多。
最近有声书听的非常多，虽然说是听，但其实大部分时候是边听变看，真的手头在做事反而舍不得听，因为有很多想做记录的文字。音频成了一种引导，1.5倍数播放，让我在日常的通勤过程中不至于分心。以此延伸出来的思考是，宁愿坐公共交通，也不想自己开车，开车的时候可能只能听更加随意的音频，比如播客或者TE，长期以往不知道会丢失多少读书的时间啊！
从最开始的莫斯科绅士，becoming，born a crime，到哈利波特七部曲，到近期的being mortal和Steve Jobs，基本上我对每一本听完的书都是赞不绝口，如果是小说的话真的能够传递出很强的电影感。更加神奇的一点是，听书的时候多多少少自己还是可能再做其他的事，某些书中的场景往往会和彼时听书时在做的事情形成独特的记忆组合，比如记得becoming里听到Michelle描述父亲的轿车像是一艘飞船时自己正在游泳池进行最后的100米冲刺，born a crime里关于拉屎的思考自己一个人走在去餐厅的路上，周围刚下完雪，笑的走不动路。莫斯科绅士Count最后终于走出Metropol，自己正坐在大巴上，看着窗外无比晴朗的蓝天。这些独特的记忆组合，真的是只属于自己的珍贵回忆。
唯一需要警惕的一点是，也不能因此冷落了kindle，单纯听书的话说不定会造成阅读能力的退化。而且目前听书只听英语，后期说不定能看看中文有声书目前发展到一个什么程度，除了网文外那些经典书籍是否也有人开始读了呢。
于是下了个懒人听书在上面找了一圈中文有声书，不容易，还是有一二十本名著经典的，不过非虚构经典好像就只就卡耐基一本。中文有声书市场变成这样也算是迎合大众需求吧，毕竟还是言情，冒险，修真，赘婿，扮猪吃老虎这些，听起来更爽一些。
其他
Where is the anomaly?” I ask. “Angular anomaly.” HAL 9000 this computer is not.
HAL9000, I got this reference! 来自2001 Space Odyssey：
“我是哈尔9000计算机，制造编号三。1997年1月12日，我在伊利诺伊州厄巴纳的哈尔制造厂里开始运作。敏捷的褐毛狐狸跳过那只懒狗身上。西班牙的雨都下在平原上。戴维，你还在吗？你知不知道十的平方根是三点一六二二七七六六○一六八三七九？e之以十为底的对数函数值是零点四三四二九四四八一九○三二五二……更正，是十之以e为底之对数函数值。三的倒数是零点三三三三三三三三三三三三三三三三三三三三三……二乘二是……二乘二是……近乎四点一○一○一○一○一○一○一○一○一○……我好像有点不行了……我第一个指导老师是钱德拉博士，他教我唱了一首歌，是这样的一首歌：‘黛西，黛西，说出你的答案，告诉我。为了你的爱情我已半狂。’”
Astrophage的命名，由astro宇宙和phage吞噬组成，中文译成“噬星体”，译的很妙！
She pinched her chin. “What would you call an organism that exists on a diet of stars?” I struggled to remember my Greek and Latin root words. “I think you’d call it ‘Astrophage.’ ”
Erid行星距离恒星更近，压力巨大，转速也很快，星核是铁，形成了非常强大磁场，直接屏蔽了所有的宇宙辐射，导致Erid行人根本就不知道辐射的存在，仓促之间星际旅行，伤亡惨重。
radiation—and its effects on biology—to Rocky. “Thank,” he says in unusually low tones. Sad tones. “Now I know how my friends died.” “Bad bad bad,” I say.
Erid is extremely close to its star—about one-fifth as far as Earth is from our sun. Their “year” is a little over forty-two Earth days long. It’s what we call a “super-Earth,” weighing in at eight and a half times Earth’s mass. It’s about twice Earth’s diameter, and a little over double the surface gravity. Also, it spins very fast. Absurdly fast. Their day is only 5.1 hours long.
Planets get magnetic fields if the conditions are right. You have to have a molten-iron core, you have to be in the magnetic field of a star, and you have to be spinning. If all three of these things are true, you get a magnetic field. Earth has one—that’s why compasses work.
You know what strong magnetic fields and thick atmospheres are really good at? Radiation protection. All life on Earth evolved to deal with radiation. Our DNA has error-correction built in because we’re constantly bombarded with radiation from the sun and from space in general. Our magnetic field and atmosphere protect us somewhat, but not 100 percent. For Erid, it’s 100 percent. Radiation just doesn’t get to the ground. Light doesn’t even get to the ground—that’s why they never evolved eyes. The surface is pitch-dark.
Erid天然的极高大气压使其能够制造出极其坚硬的材料，能够轻易承受星际航行的种种恶劣环境。但Erid星人还没有认识到相对论的存在，所以大大高估的近似光速航行的过程中需要的时间，也因此给主角提供了额外的资源。回到地球上有一段对话：当飞船达到光速的93%，地球上时间流逝12年，而在旅途中的宇航员只会经历20个月。这样一对比就像是冥冥之中有神灵在邀请着人类去探索宇宙，为此制定了这样的物理规则，速度越快，所经历的时间反而越少。
They accelerate at five hundred g’s until they reach a cruising speed of 0.93 c. It’ll take over twelve years to get back to Earth, but all told the little guys will only experience about twenty months. Do you believe in God? I know it’s a personal question. I do. And I think He was pretty awesome to make relativity a thing, don’t you? The faster you go, the less time you experience. It’s like He’s inviting us to explore the universe, you know?”
为什么Erid和地球科技水平如此类似，也就处于伯仲之间？其实一切都是注定的，如果两颗星球文明水平太低，根本就不能飞出星系，如果远远高于，则轻易就能化解危机，只有刚刚掌握太空技术的，才能勉强来到这里，是以技术水平类似。 文明相遇，感动到流泪。宇宙的残酷与浪漫。
Has to be, or you and I would not meet,” Rocky says. “If planet has less science, it no can make spaceship. If planet has more science it can understand and destroy Astrophage without leaving their system. Eridian and human science both in special range: Can make ship, but can’t solve Astrophage problem.”
I hadn’t thought of that. But it’s obvious now that Rocky says it. If this happened when Earth was in the Stone Age, we would have just died. And if it happened a thousand years from now, we’d probably work out how to deal with Astrophage without breaking a sweat. There is a fairly narrow band of technological advancement that would cause a species to send a ship to Tau Ceti to look for answers. Eridians and humans both fall into that band.
地球上人类为了缓解危机，主动加剧全球变暖，炸融了南极冰川。彼时在骑车，听的泪流满面。
He looked at his tablet. “The nukes have detonated. The shockwave should be here in ten minutes or so. It’ll just sound like distant thunder, though.” He looked down at the carrier deck. Stratt put her hand on his shoulder. “You did what you had to do. We’re all doing what we have to do.” He buried his face in his hands and cried.
星球顶点的智力水平是由其重力所决定的。非常新颖的观点。首先演化是偷懒取巧的，星球顶点生物一旦演化到能够凌驾于其他所有生命，也就进入停滞。所以下限是由其他生命的智识决定的，其他动物的智力主要是为了躲避危险和获取食物，重力越大，行动越迟缓，所需要克服的也就越多，所以也会相对的更聪明。重力越小的星球生命相对来说越笨。所以如果两颗星球重力类似，那么其星球顶点生物的智识也就差不多。
这个概念其实还是有很多瑕疵的，重力大的星球生物一样要生存，缓慢行动，但为了活下来一样会想出各种高级法子，并不觉得智力受重力影响。而是更有可能由生态的多样复杂性决定，什么样的环境会有复杂生态链，什么样的环境下的生物就更聪明。
Well…I have a theory for why we’re about the same intelligence. Maybe.” “Explain.” “Intelligence evolves to gives us an advantage over the other animals on our planet. But evolution is lazy. Once a problem is solved, the trait stops evolving. So you and me, we’re both just intelligent enough to be smarter than our planet’s other animals.” “We are much much smarter than animals.” “We’re as smart as evolution made us. So we’re the minimum intelligence needed to ensure we can dominate our planets.”
He thinks it over. “I accept this. Still not explain why Earth intelligence evolve same level as Erid intelligence.” “Our intelligence is based on the animals’ intelligences. So what is animal intelligence based on? How smart do animals have to be?” “Smart enough to identify threat or prey in time to act.” “Yes, exactly!” I say. “But how long is that time? How long does an animal have to react? How long will the threat or prey take to kill the animal or escape? I think it’s based on gravity.” “Gravity, question?” He sets the device down entirely. I’ve got his undivided attention. “Yeah! Think about it. Gravity is what determines how fast an animal can run. Higher gravity, more time spent in contact with the ground. Faster movement. I think animal intelligence, ultimately, has to be faster than gravity.”
来到astrophage的母星，还充满其他各种原始细菌，一整个星球大小的培养皿。既然这里的astrophage无法影响到其恒星的亮度，肯定是因为星球上有着一套生态系统制约着astrophage，也就是专门吃astrophage的生命。两人(?)千辛万苦捉到了捕食菌。主角又开始科普进化论，怎么说，辐射和相对论没发现也就算了，进化论都没是不是太过于方便的设定，为了顺便给读者科普思路。(又，我记得听这一段的时候自己在回家的路上找共享单车骑，找了一整条街才找到！）虽然目前的捕食菌无法在彼此最理想的环境下生存，但是只要通过代际培养，最后就能够像细菌对抗生素产生抗药性一样培养出能够在各自星球存活的捕食菌。我不确定这里的培养过程是否真的这么方便，如果真的就这么容易的演化出来了，其实完全也可以直接送回地球让地球科学家自行培养。
He pauses, then raises his carapace back to its proper location. “Understand! Make environment barely deadly. Breed Taumoeba that survive. Make more deadly. Breed survivors. Repeat, repeat, repeat!”
“Yes,” I say. “We don’t need to understand why or how nitrogen kills Taumoeba. We just need to breed nitrogen-resistant Taumoeba.”
Yes! And some on my ship too!”
“Yes. The more backups the better.”
He bounces back and forth some more. “Erid will live! Earth will live! Everyone live!” He curls the claws of one hand into a ball and presses it against the xenonite. “Fist me!”
I push my knuckles against the xenonite. “It’s ‘fist-bump,’ but yeah.”
培养出理想的捕食菌后两人就此星际告别，此生无再会，隐隐难过。
We’re both quiet for a while.
“I guess this is it,” I say.
“It is time,” he says. “We go save homeworlds now.”
“Yeah.”
“You face is leaking.”
I wipe my eyes. “Human thing. Don’t worry about it.”
“Understand.” He pushes himself along to his airlock door. He opens it and pauses there. “Goodbye, friend Grace.”
I wave meekly. “Goodbye, friend Rocky.”
He disappears into his ship and closes the airlock door behind him. I return to the Hail Mary. After a few minutes, the Blip-A’s hull robot detaches the tunnel.
We fly our ships nearly parallel but with a few degrees’ difference in course. This ensures neither of us vaporizes the other with the back blast from our Astrophage engines. Once we have a few thousand kilometers of separation, we can aim in any direction we want.
Hours later, I sit in the cockpit with my spin drives offline. I just want one last look. I watch the point of IR light with the Petrovascope. That’s Rocky, headed back to Erid.
“Godspeed, buddy,” I say.
结果万万没想到路上又出幺蛾子，演化出来的捕食菌不仅能够存活新的环境，还演化出隐藏渗透其存储容器的特性，毕竟都是为了生存。主角知道如果自己的储存器有问题，那么Rocky一定也。在发射载满信息和捕食菌的几个小型发射器后，主角决定返回，因为没有足够多的食物，也就意味着此行一去无反。在浩瀚的宇宙中主角发动了astrophage发动机让整个飞船成为最耀眼的信号灯，最终两人星际重逢，看的时候感动流泪。
最后和rocky一起来到了Erid我是没想到的，生活了十几年，竟然还吃上了汉堡包，而且肉饼是人工培育出来的自己的肉！诡异而奇妙。结尾可以说很巧妙了避免了大段落对地球劫后余生的描写，虽然我很想看，但必须承认任何一种描写都不免带着浓重政治色彩，估计也不是作者的强项，不如留白到太阳恢复了正常就好。但还是意难平。不知道电影结尾会如何，期待。
关于删节
这年头关于星际探索的题材基本上少不了中国的出现，也算是对国力和科研技术的肯定。一方面中国提供庞大的资源和人力，另方面中国在载人航天，空间站和星系探索上都对文明的前进做出了自己的贡献。作者上一本[[The Martian]]里中国提供的航天设备以一种人工降神的形式推动故事前进。PHM里中国军方提供的航空母舰，中国航天员队长以及研究Astrophage时展现的科研技术，都是极其正面的存在。
可惜还是免不了删节，出现点在回望历史对太平天国的描写上：食物匮乏->爆发战争->食物进一步减少->大面积饥荒->保守估计2000万人死亡。
一声叹息，可能任何和中国有关的饥荒都不应该出现吧。
原文：
But the fun doesn’t stop there,” she said. “Because once the desperate, starving countries start invading each other for food, the food production will go down. Ever heard of the Tai Ping rebellion? It was a civil war in China during the nineteenth century. Four hundred thousand soldiers died in combat. And twenty million people died from the resulting famine. The war disrupted agriculture, see? That’s how massive in scale these things are.”
译文
“然而恶果还不止这些，”她说，“因为一旦陷入绝望和饥饿的国家开始为了食物互相侵占，食物生产就会减少。” （后面全删）
