Dead on Mars

In the past, Tang Yue definitely wouldn’t have had such a ridiculous idea. Tomcat was, in name, an assistant on Kunlun Station, but, in reality, it was the Station Commander. It could also be described as an ambassador stationed at the embassy of Earth’s civilization on Mars. It had worked conscientiously on Kunlun Station for years. It had a wealth of experience, had made great contributions, and had built a strong friendship with the astronauts from every landing mission.

On Earth, Tomcat had joined the team members from the USA, UK, Russia, and China in drinking brandy, whiskey, vodka, and Beijing Red Star erguotou as they engaged in all kinds of chatter. Tomcat was considered by everyone as great company. After all, Tomcat couldn’t absorb alcohol, so it drank alcohol like it was water. It drank with everyone, and the young members of the team who didn’t know better would end up succumbing to the alcohol as they collapsed under the table.

Tomcat and the Mars Wanderer had eloped? But where could they go? Were they really living by the lyrics of the classic Chinese song: You are wind and I am the sand; sentimentally we go around the ends of the world? However, the Mars Wanderer was only a tractor, who in their right mind would elope with a tractor? Even with Earth gone, it was true that the tractor was now priceless, monopolizing the Mars Wanderer didn’t benefit it in any way. Property had already lost its meaning now. If one so wished, they could declare the entire Universe as theirs.

Tang Yue absolutely refused to believe that Tomcat had betrayed him. It was meaningless for it to drive off with the Mars Wanderer. Mars was a dead planet, with deserts wherever one went. It was still a little livelier on Kunlun Station. Furthermore, Tomcat was a talkative robot. It wasn’t as though the Mars Wanderer could participate in its conversations.

But based on the present situation, Tang Yue couldn’t help but have such a thought. Tomcat didn’t need oxygen or supplies. All it needed was electricity, and it had already taken away a number of solar panels. This meant that it could completely abandon Kunlun Station and live alone on Mars. The idea that the cat had left for some unknown reason wasn’t an illogical conclusion.

“If I had known this would happen, I would have gone with it.”

Tang Yue wrapped himself in a blanket as he stared blankly at the computer’s desktop. The hall was only lit by a dim light and the mist that he breathed out from his mouth and nose swirled under the light.

The computer desktop was filled with folders. Each folder contained thousands of satellite images, but Tang Yue no longer searched through them. He was exhausted.

Back when Tomcat rejected Tang Yue’s offer to join it, it was because modifying the Mars Wanderer to have the life support system installed in it was too complicated. Tang Yue needed to eat, sleep, and breathe. If he left with Tomcat, they needed to take plenty of supplies. This would severely slow down any progress, so Tomcat had culled all burden, and had chosen to head out alone.

Heading out alone also meant being without help.

“If I had known this would happen, I would have gone with it.”

Tang Yue muttered as he picked up a pen on the table. There was some paper underneath the pen, and it was filled with numbers and equations. The handwriting looked like chicken scratches, and they were clearly the work of Tomcat. These were the calculations Tomcat had written during the Eagle’s launch. Tang Yue had tidied them and put them away. After all, on this godforsaken planet, paper pulp was a precious, nonrenewable resource. Even though it wasn’t of any use at present, it was unknown when it could be put to use.

Tang Yue flipped through the pieces of paper that were filled with calculations he couldn’t understand. Back then, Tomcat’s explanations were like playing the lute to a cow.

Tang Yue suddenly found the world ridiculous. The massive Earth had vanished overnight, and he was stuck in a tiny shack more than a hundred million kilometers away while wondering where a cat was. It was truly a magical realism.

“If I had known this would happen, I would have gone with it.”

“Tang Yue!”

“If I had known…”

“Tang Yue! Stop repeating yourself!” Mai Dong cut him off. “It’s too late for regrets. We… We should spend our time searching for Mr. Cat.”

“So what if we find it?”

“We can think of ways to bring it back once we find it!”

“Bring it back?” Tang Yue sneered as he pointed at the Radiant Armor that was hanging on the wall. “See that? Without that thing, I’ll be dead once I’m outside. It can only work for eight hours. Without the Mars Wanderer, how far can I walk in eight hours?”

Mai Dong fell silent. They had been burying themselves in the image recognition work the past few days, deliberately avoiding this question… Even if they had found Tomcat, there was no way for Tang Yue to rescue him. The Radiant Armor only allowed extravehicular activity for eight hours. In the bulky EVA suit, Tang Yue’s speed was as slow as an eighty-year-old. With each leg of a return trip taking four hours, there was no way Tang Yue could go beyond eight kilometers.

Tang Yue had no way of resolving the problem of lacking oxygen and power on a long-distance trek. There was no way for him to sort his food and water either. He could carry compressed biscuits on him, but he couldn’t open his visor on the Martian desert to eat them.

They had lost communication with Tomcat who had the Mars Wanderer and some solar panels. If it didn’t return in time, the temperature control wouldn’t be fixed. The temperature inside Kunlun Station would forever fluctuate below zero degrees Celsius. There was no way for the tomatoes to be grown, and Tang Yue’s physical condition would only worsen.

Life was difficult as it was, yet when he was at the end of his rope, fate had bared its teeth at him.

The so-called Matthew effect says that the rich get richer and the poor get poorer; likewise, the unlucky got unluckier.

“Unless we have the ability to drag the entire Kunlun Station there, there’s no way we can rescue Tomcat.”

“Is there a solution?” Mai Dong asked. “Drag Kunlun Station along?”

“Give me a tractor powerful enough, and a sled on which to place it, and I shall move Kunlun Station.” Tang Yue gestured. “Just like a nomad, setting up tents on a truck, and dragging them along with a tractor… Of course, a crane would be needed.”

This answer was meaningless. If they had a tractor, sled, and crane, the situation wouldn’t have been this bleak.

Tang Yue silently sat in the chair as the dim lights on the wall projected irregular shadows. The Radiant Armor was hanging beside a cabinet, and the indistinct shadows made it appear like a silent warrior. There was a low hum in the air, likely a result of the OGS’s ventilation fan. It was rare for Kunlun Station to be this quiet. The tiny shack of about eighty square meters was a cramped space usually with things strewn everywhere, making it easy to bump them. But now, it seemed empty.

Speaking of which, Kunlun Station only had a man and a cat. That was less than half the regulated six members, and the reason why it hadn’t seemed so dreary was because of Tomcat’s talkativeness. It alone could play the role of five people.

“I’m now like an orphan,” Tang Yue said gloomily as he stood up with his back hunched. “From this day forth, I might have to live my days alone.”

“You… you still have me.”

“That’s right. I still have you.” Tang Yue sighed without turning his head. He trembled as he entered his sleeping quarters. As Mai Dong looked at his back, she realized that there was frost on his hair and it looked like he had aged considerably with a head of white hair.