Die on Mars

Tang Yue put on his clothes, crawled out of bed, and followed the old cat into the Kunlun Station lobby.

His mind was almost blank.

The workstation has already given prediction results. After several days of continuous observation and calculation, it has been able to reduce the impact point of Comet Tomcat-Tang-Mai to a circle of 600×600km, which is larger than the previous one that spanned 6,000 kilometers. Ellipses are much more precise.

Old Mao sat down on the chair and turned the monitor over. On the computer screen was still the map of Mars that Tang Yue was familiar with. A large red circle shrouded the northern hemisphere near the equator, looking like a nuclear strike warning.

But this is actually much more serious than a nuclear strike warning.

This circle represents the position where 520 billion nuclear bombs explode simultaneously.

Tang Yue's mouth was dry. He swallowed, turned around, poured himself a glass of water, and drank all the water in the glass in one breath.

In Tang Yue's eyes, this solid red circle was the stamp stamped on the map by the God of Death, which meant "You are dead."

"This is the latest prediction result of the computer. The crash site of Comet Tomcat is in this area. It is 800 kilometers away from Kunlun Station and more than 1,300 kilometers away at the farthest." Old Mao said, "Unfortunately... the circle of God's punishment has shrunk. On top of us.”

Tang Yue covered his forehead and was speechless.

They had a 1/2 chance of survival last time.

This probability is very high, really very high. It is much higher than the less than 5% chance of the Eagle spacecraft successfully docking, and it is much higher than the one thousandth or even one ten thousandth chance of the Orion 2 spacecraft landing safely. Much higher.

But Fate didn't roll another six.

According to Lao Mao's calculations, the comet's impact point must be 2,500 kilometers away for Kunlun Station to have a chance of surviving. However, the current prediction given by the computer is only 800 kilometers away - the last 800 kilometers. The maximum distance is 1,300 kilometers. At this distance, the disasters caused by comets are not only earthquakes. Comet Tomcat-Tang-Mai is a behemoth with a diameter of 30 kilometers. Its impact will completely change the Great Thertis Plateau and the surrounding area. The landscape of the Ixi Plain wiped these two places off the map.

It is meaningless to dismantle the Kunlun Station, break it into parts, and use softness to overcome strength. It is meaningless to lie on the ground and let others force themselves. This is like hiding behind a bunker and looking horizontally as described in the "Safety Education Manual for Primary and Secondary School Students". Lie down, put your legs together and cover your mouth and nose - but there is still a dead end, because the nuclear bomb explodes a hundred meters away from you.

At such a close distance, the huge energy of the impact would shatter everything.

"Probability of survival?" Tang Yue asked hoarsely.

"zero."

It was a rare occasion when the old cat was so sure and decisive, not "nearly zero", not "probably zero", just "zero".

"Is there no other way?"

"No." The old cat shook his head.

Even if the comet falls at the farthest point of the predicted range, more than 1,300 kilometers away from Kunlun Station, there is still nearly 1,200 kilometers to reach a safe distance.

Mingguang Kai's independent working time is only eight hours, the Martian stray dog ​​can only run thirty kilometers a day, and Tang Yue does not have the ability to leave Kunlun Station for a long distance.

"Then dig a bunker or something..." Tang Yue finally wanted to struggle.

The old cat shook his head silently.

Ordinary people can't imagine what kind of disaster will be caused when the Tomcat comet hits. In fact, any manpower is insignificant in the face of this kind of world-destroying natural disaster. The only thing that can possibly save their lives is distance. As long as the distance is far enough, the energy generated by the impact will be The loss will be offset by Mars itself. Outside a safe distance, Mars itself is the strongest barrier. Within a safe distance, all human efforts are a joke.

Tang Yue fell silent, inserted his hands into his hair, and pulled out the roots of his hair.

"That girl doesn't know, does she?"

"I don't know." Old Cat shook his head, "I will come to you as soon as the prediction results come out."

Tang Yue looked down at his hands and feet. His feet and fingers could move normally and he was not dreaming.

"Tang Yue..."

Tang Yue raised his hand to signal the old cat to stop talking.

"Leave me alone for a moment, I need to take it easy."

The old cat nodded. He sat on the chair and watched the young man in front of him bend down deeply, covering his head and taking a deep breath.

Tang Yue rubbed his temples with his thumbs, trying to restart his brain, which was too stiff to think.

"Tell her not to come down." Tang Yue said softly, "The landing plan is aborted."

"Okay." Old Cat nodded, "The landing plan is aborted."

"Is there any other way to save that girl's life?"

"When designing the landing control system, I also compiled a set of flight procedures to leave the Mars orbit, which can allow Orion 2 to leave the Mars orbit and enter an orbit around the sun." Lao Mao replied, "The Orion 2 spacecraft still has enough space. Propellant, this can avoid the impact of comet impact, but Miss Maidong rejected this method."

"It's me and I refuse." Tang Yue said. If she leaves the orbit of Mars and enters the vast solar system, Ophiopogon japonicus will become a lonely drifter from now on, and she may not encounter the next one again for the rest of her life. A planet that eventually died slowly in despair and endless void. Such a life would be worse than being hit by a comet.

"When are you going to tell Miss Maidong about this?"

"Tomorrow dawns." Tang Yue sighed and showed a bitter smile that was uglier than crying. "I didn't expect that human civilization, which has lasted for tens of thousands of years, would end here."

"For you, is death a relief?" the old cat asked.

"Once you accept it from the bottom of your heart and admit its existence, facing it is actually not that difficult." Tang Yue said, reaching out to the old cat, "Since the earth disappeared, I have not been dying all the time. Is it struggling on the edge? It is an old friend to me...Old man, our cooperation is coming to an end, thank you for your continued care."

Lao Mao stepped forward to shake hands with Tang Yue, and then hugged him tightly.

"I am honored to work with you, Tang Yue, and Miss Maidong. This was what I should have said when I returned to Earth... but now we are all going to die."

"No." Tang Yue touched the old cat's fluffy ears, "I am the only one who is going to die, not us."

The old cat was startled and didn't understand what this meant.

Tang Yue pressed its shoulders and pushed it away. He squatted down and looked directly into the old cat's eyes.

"Old cat, you have to get out of here! Take the solar panels, take everything you need, take the Martian stray dogs, and leave here immediately! The faster you run, the better, the further you run, the better, comets are still around It takes forty days to hit Mars. The rover can run thirty kilometers a day. Forty days are enough for you to stay away from the comet's impact point! You still have a chance to survive!"