Clues to the Universe

The science of living is a combination of scientific principles and discoveries that make up one’s life. Ro is a scientist by nature, as her father was before her, and she is particularly curious about space and the possibilities that exist out there. She loves to explore the unknown, ask difficult questions, and methodically plan out her life. After Ro’s father died, she was left trying to reconfigure her life and her perception of the world, knowing now that not everything goes the way she plans. She finds there is no guide or rulebook for how to deal with grief and loss, noting:

I knew what all the details were, but this time the details weren’t enough for me. It didn’t explain why an average person lived to be sixty-seven years old and Dad didn’t get twenty-two of them. The police never told me how to finish sixth grade or spend a summer with a black hole growing in my chest (51). 

Her analytical approach to grief is representative of her personality, as she is trying to view death and change through the lens of research and data. Because Ro is a scientist in everything she does, she is constantly considering what makes a good scientist and how she can be one.