Die on Mars

The old cat was silent, then smiled.

"There is no need to say such words, Miss Maidong."

It is unwilling to talk about the topic of death, especially at this juncture. It turns out that every flag the old cat inserts will eventually come true, so before every major action begins, the old cat should shut up.

Compared with Ophiopogon japonicus's decisiveness and determination, the old cat seems a little timid and hesitant, but this is its duty. As the assistant of Kunlun Station, it has the obligation to protect the safety of the crew.

Maidong naturally has the right to do whatever she wants with her life, and no one has the right to interfere.

The re-entry of the Orion 2 spacecraft into the atmosphere is definitely the most dangerous landing plan in the history of human spaceflight. Lao Mao’s anxiety and uneasiness are justified. If the landing fails, then it and Tang Yue single-handedly ruined the Maidong and Orion spacecraft. It will No matter what happened, Tang Yue was probably going to have a mental breakdown.

For Tang Yue, the best solution would be to let Maidong stay on the space station with peace of mind, but for some reason, Tang Yue actually supported Maidong's decision.

"Tang Yue, what if the landing fails? Aren't you afraid?"

"Afraid."

"Then you still insist on letting Miss Maidong land?" asked the old cat.

Tang Yue was silent for a few seconds.

"I support whatever decision she makes."

"Even a decision like this that could lead to serious consequences?"

Tang Yue tilted his head, his eyes fell on the model of Orion, and he suddenly showed an expression that the old cat couldn't understand.

He took a deep breath.

"One night after it was confirmed that the Tomcat comet would hit Mars, I chatted with Maidong...I asked her what we are living for now? Is it the instinct to survive? Is it the inertia of survival? Or is it responsibility and Obligation?" Tang Yue said slowly, "Day after day, we live like zombies in a remote and small corner. I think if we continue like this, one day we will lose our qualifications as human beings and become like mice. thing."

"Survival is a means, not an end. Survival is not the meaning of survival." Tang Yue continued, "So Maidong and I agreed that the Tomcat-Tang-Mai comet will be the end of everything, and the responsibilities and obligations of me and her will end. All our identities will be completely destroyed in the comet impact, and the successors of human civilization, the watchmen, and the gravediggers Tang Yue and Maidong will die here."

"Then what?"

"Then...if we can escape from the comet impact and survive, we will no longer pursue the length of life for the continuation of human civilization and let life return to life itself. From now on, I am just an ordinary person. , Maidong is just an ordinary person, but he lives in a different place from other people."

Tang Yue smiled, gradually stopped smiling, and changed his tone, "Maidong told me that she is in pain."

The old cat was startled.

"She wanted to get out of this life, one way or another."

"So you don't care how much time is left?"

"No, it's just how to live first and how long to live second." Tang Yue replied, "We are very worried that we will become a person who will do whatever it takes to survive. We will count our remaining time bit by bit for a minute. He was calculating every second, greedily and crazily grabbing all the resources that could extend his life... until finally he turned around, looked in the mirror, and realized that he was no longer a human being."

Maidong completed his work and returned to the core module of the space station.

Laomao conducted a test run of the SPT276 ion engine. The maintenance work was successful. The high-speed xenon ions ejected by the engine showed a light blue color in space.

This giant electric rocket can provide the space station with seven kilograms of thrust. For a space station with a total mass of more than 400 tons, this thrust is undoubtedly a small thing that shakes a tree. But in a weightless orbit, a small ant can also push a whale, as long as there is enough time. Long, even the smallest acceleration can bring about a large enough velocity variable.

After the Orion spacecraft breaks away from the Mars space station, the SPT276 engine is the only power source of the space station, which can greatly extend the life of the space station. It can be seen that the old cat feels very sorry for Orion and the space station. There is nothing that can be done if Orion crashes, and the space station can be maintained as long as it can.

"I have no right to interfere with your choices. I only have the obligation to remind you." Old Mao said, "As long as you make a decision after fully understanding the risks of action in a clear mind, with a normal state of mind, and with no impediment in judgment, Then I will do my best to support you.”

"Mr. Cat, can I turn it on now?"

"Okay." Old Cat nodded, "The Orion spacecraft and Kunlun Station are ready. You can turn it on at any time."

Maidong opened his laptop in the core cabin and entered the control system of the Orion spacecraft. It was still the familiar interface.

A red button and a green button.

The girl raised her head and looked at Lao Mao and Tang Yue with inquiring eyes.

"You can press the red button." The old cat said, "Miss Maidong."

Tang Yue stared into the girl's eyes and nodded.

Maidong took a deep breath, stretched out his finger, and tapped on the screen.

The pressure causes subtle changes in the current under the screen. At the moment when the skin of Ophiopogon japonicus' index finger comes into contact with the computer screen, the electrical signal enters the system computer of the joint space station and Orion spacecraft along the cable. Silently, Orion's flight program is completely changed. , huge data flows between integrated circuits, tens of thousands of sensors on the spacecraft from top to bottom receive new control instructions, all mission clocks are reset to zero, and the computer enters landing mode.

It will be the largest lander ever built.

Maidong looked around. After she pressed the button, there was no change in the space station and the spacecraft... This was different from what she thought.

The girl wanted to poke the screen a few more times.

"Okay, Miss Maidong." A pop-up window popped up on the monitor in front of the old cat, and a large amount of data was being updated. "Orion has entered landing mode. It will start working in twenty hours. It will adjust its posture three times in total, and finally enter Atmospheric…the estimated entry time is 3:20 PM coordinated Mars time tomorrow.”

"Thirty-twenty tomorrow afternoon?"

"Yes." Old Mao nodded, "Before the landing officially begins, you still have twenty-eight hours to have a good rest... and Tang Yue, you should also have a good rest."

Tang Yue didn't move. He turned his head and smiled, his eyes silently saying: It's okay.

The old cat's eyes did not smile: I am not only worried about the girl. If the landing fails, what should you do?

·

·

·

It's quiet at night.

Tang Yue went back to rest. The old cat was sleeping, and the computer at Kunlun station had no tasks and was also sleeping.

Maidong will land tomorrow. Tang Yue wants to force himself to sleep, but the tension and anxiety make him insomniac. As long as he closes his eyes, the burning and falling Orion spacecraft will appear in front of him - this is a scene in a nightmare, but this This scene was so terrifying and impressive that Tang Yue memorized it in his brain and replayed it over and over again tonight.

In the end, Tang Yue could only stare at the dark roof with his eyes open.

"Are you asleep? Tang Yue?" Maidong's voice sounded in the headphones.

"No." Tang Yue replied, "Can't sleep."

"I can't sleep either." Maidong said leisurely, "Shall we chat? If the landing fails tomorrow, then tonight will be our last night chat..."

"What nonsense are you talking about?" Tang Yue frowned and interrupted Maidong in a very stern tone, "It won't be the last time. We can chat face to face tomorrow night!"