Die on Mars

How to judge whether the earth has really disappeared? Regarding this issue, Tang Yue consulted Lao Mao.

Lao Mao is the resident robot at Kunlun Station. He has worked here for several years and has rich experience. He is a senior astronaut with the level of commander of multiple expedition missions. He is not comparable to a rookie like Tang Yue.

The only ones on Mars who are older than Lao Cat are the Curiosity and Opportunity rover, which landed decades ago.

Laomao’s advice is to contact and observe.

Obviously, this is bullshit.

Scientific research stations on the surface of Mars rely on signal relay satellites to communicate with the earth. Three relay satellites operate in synchronous orbits 17,000 kilometers above the earth, basically covering the entire planet of Mars.

The omnidirectional UHF antenna carried on the relay satellite can achieve a transmission rate of 200KB per second. If a directional high-gain antenna is used, the data transmission rate can be increased to 2M per second.

These three satellites are quite reliable. They have never been disconnected in the past ten years and can maintain smooth communication despite solar storms.

Tang Yue has used all available means to contact the earth. The closest distance between the earth and Mars is 0.5 astronomical units, which is about 4 light minutes.

In other words, it takes four minutes for electromagnetic waves to travel the entire distance at the speed of light, so the communication delay is eight minutes.

The furthest distance is 2.6 astronomical units, which is about 20 light minutes, which means the communication delay is forty minutes.

Even if the Earth and Mars are located at opposite ends of the solar system, separated by a sun, Tang Yue can call the Jiuquan Center from Kunlun Station and receive an answer 40 minutes later.

But today Tang Yue has been waiting all day, and Jiuquan Center has not responded.

Another method is observation.

Lao Mao called all the telescopes on the Mars Joint Space Station to conduct observations in various wavebands from far-infrared to visible light. Finally, it was confirmed that the earth was no longer visible in any waveband. There was only an empty area where the earth was originally. vacuum.

It cannot be observed, cannot be contacted, and cannot be interfered with.

This can be judged as not existing physically.

"Ms. Maidong, was there any impact on the space station?" Tang Yue asked, "Is everything okay there?"

"It's okay." The girl sniffed, "I just woke up and my computer alerted me that it lost contact with the earth and couldn't contact Orion 1."

According to the original plan, Tang Yue was the last person to leave Mars.

Before leaving, Lao Wang patted Tang Yue on the shoulder and said that Lao Tang and I both had missions and could not stay with you. Brother, thank you for your hard work and you went back alone. It will only take a few months. It won't be long after you take a nap. Once that passes, it will be treated as administrative detention.

Who would have thought that as soon as I squint, the earth will disappear.

It's worse than administrative detention.

There are currently two spacecrafts for transfer between Earth and Fire, Orion 1 and Orion 2. Neither spacecraft has the ability to enter the atmosphere and is only a shuttle bus between the Mars Joint Space Station and the Earth ISS.

The same batch of astronauts had already returned to Earth on the Orion 1 spacecraft. Maidong was supposed to have left with the team two days ago, but before departure, there was a problem with the supplies stored on the Orion 1 spacecraft. There was not enough. After supporting the return journey of all personnel, the commander decided to let Maidong stay and wait for a few days after communicating with the ground.

After Tang Yue finished his work, Maidong took the Orion 2 spacecraft back together.

"Mr. Tang Yue, is the earth really missing?" the girl asked cautiously.

Tang Yue was silent for a few seconds, thinking about how to formulate words to reveal this terrifying fact to this young girl in her twenties.

"According to Lao Mao and I's observations, the earth has indeed disappeared."

Tang Yue finally chose to answer with straightforward words. With such a big planet disappearing, anyone with a discerning eye can see the problem. Paper cannot cover fire, let alone the earth.

Maidong nodded silently.

This girl's calmness was beyond Tang Yue's expectations.

She neither cried nor fussed, but the light in her eyes suddenly dimmed, like a candle extinguished and losing all vitality.

Tang Yue felt a little distressed. Ophiopogon japonicus was the youngest girl in the scientific expedition team. Not long after graduating from her master's degree, she went to the Kunlun Station as a botanist and agricultural technician on board the ship to conduct research on the adaptability of Mars soil and vegetation.

Getting to Mars is a chore, and everything is just getting started.

There is nothing on this barren and barren planet except a small United Space Station and an even smaller Kunlun Station. There is a delay of tens of minutes for Tang Yue to send an email, and 90% of the time is spent in a few seconds. It takes at least two years to move around in a ten-square-meter closed space.

Without the selfless spirit of dedicating youth to scientific research, most young people would really not want to come here.

Now that the earth has disappeared inexplicably, Tang Yue, an old loser, is single, and it would be a shame to die. However, this girl still had a great life, and it has also evaporated like this. (Author's note: Regarding the professional quality of the protagonist, please refer to "A Few Gossips" in the related works)

The ancients always said that things are impermanent.

Tang Yue thought about it. This sentence is true. Even if you are the president of the United States and the richest man in the world, so what? In this huge and ethereal universe, you are still just a speck of dust?

If you say no, it’s gone.

Even the earth is gone.

Now you throw 10,000 yuan in front of me, and I don't even bother to bend down to pick it up.

Tang Yue was suddenly surprised by the thought he had.

Ever since he knew that the earth had disappeared, his state of mind has risen to a higher level. His mind has become clear and his brain has gone blank, and he has achieved the unity between man and nature that the ancients pursued all their lives. It can be said that he loves whoever he loves, and a dead pig is not afraid of being scalded by boiling water. It can be said that he has looked down upon life and death, seen through the world of mortals, and seen through the secular world.

This is probably what Zen Buddhism calls enlightenment.

Tang Yue felt that he was about to become a Buddha.

"What a fart!" Old Cat slapped him, "Why don't you quickly check the remaining supplies and think about what to do next!"

"Cold salad."

"Do you still want to live?" Old Mao grabbed Tang Yue's collar and pointed out of the cabin with one hand. "If you want to die, then open the cabin door and jump out."

Tang Yue slowly sat down, looked up at the old cat, and then at Ophiopogon japonicus on the screen.

A man, a girl, and a robot, these are all the relics of the earth's civilization. Ophiopogon japonicus now has no owner, and Tang Yue must become the backbone.

"Mr. Tang Yue, what should we do next?" Maidong asked.

Tang Yue was silent for a few seconds.

"What else can we do? Let's survive first."