Walter pushed the button. Two LEDs started blinking, and the robot gave a quick jerk. Walter laid the diagnostic device on the ground and lifted the probe up enough so that Silver Rabbit could free himself. As if the robot had been waiting for precisely this moment, it rolled far enough to the side to clear the entangling spike. Walter set Nozomi 2 back down. He groaned as he did so, because even under Mars’s gravitational pull, the probe was still quite heavy.
Silver Rabbit hesitated and Walter wondered what was making him hesitate. The robot rolled a little farther to the east and stopped again. What was wrong with him? Walter sighed as he picked up the diagnostic device and followed the robot. He hooked it up. Of course! The battery was still nearly empty. Before he was completely drained, the robot had decided to replenish its battery with solar energy. Very wise. He ought to have thought of that.
But what did it mean for him? Could he now resign? He observed Silver Rabbit. Everything seemed to function, but he could only be certain of that once he saw the machine roll away. It meant he had to stay alive for one more day. Walter caressed the robot. Then he turned around, walked back to the rover, and unpacked the tent.
Sol 334, Mars City
Theo entered the fitness room. Who would he encounter here today? The network of people unhappy with the work of the administrator seemed incredibly large. Chad, whose last name he didn’t know, seemed to actually have access to the bridge. Also, there appeared to be open resistance among the researchers. Their biggest grievance was that the administrator was hell-bent on pushing through his ludicrous notion of causing one of Mars’s moons to crash into one of the planet’s poles, which would release the carbon dioxide stored there into the atmosphere with that one single blow. As though that would bring them even one significant step further!
“Come in,” Jean called.
The former commander stood next to the free weights, working her upper arms. She was obviously over 40 and didn’t have a single ounce of excess fat on her. Theo admired the poise with which she served out her punishment. It didn’t seem to bother her that she had been reduced to carrying out menial jobs. Maybe that was also normal for a person who had spent most of her life at the top. On the other hand, she must have had her reasons for devoting herself to this covert undertaking against the administrator.
Theo greeted her. “Are we alone?” he asked.
Jean nodded. “It’s less conspicuous. I’m happy you’re here.”
Over the past few days, they had met in varying groups, usually of threes.
Theo went over and sat on the stationary bike and began to pedal. “Is anyone watching the door?” he asked.
“Not today, but there is an infrared sensor on the wall in the corridor that will warn us if someone’s coming. It’s nice to have access to the science lab.”
Theo nodded. He needed to be careful not to bang his knees against the handlebars. The bike wasn’t exactly the right size for his long legs.
“Any news from your guys’ side?” asked Jean.
“I sent the photo. The idea with the portrait of the administrator was good.”
“It wasn’t mine,” said Jean. “And how do you know that it worked?”
“Rebecca emailed me a picture, a selfie with Ellen. But Ellen definitely had Gabriella’s features. They did a good job with that.
“Clever. I just hope they can do something with the information.”
“It won’t be easy,” said Theo. “They can’t let on that they know anything.”
“I have an exciting new development to report from the bridge,” said Jean.
“Oh, yeah?”
“The Chinese. You knew about the Chinese spaceship that was on its way here, right?”
Theo remembered. The ship had been christened Long Journey 2. It made contact around Sol 99, with six people on board. Since then, they had been silent. Everyone had assumed that something had happened to the ship.
“That was more than 200 Sols ago,” he said. “Have they made contact again?”
“They haven’t contacted us, but one of the survey telescopes on the Mars satellite discovered it.”
“Is it confirmed as Long Journey 2?”
“From its course, it’s unmistakable,” Jean explained. “It is using a Hohmann transfer orbit from the direction of the Earth and heading directly for Mars. The ship weighs the same as Long Journey 1, and its hull is also made of metal, so what else could it be?”
“Understood. That really is a surprise. But, could a death ship be headed our way?”
“Death ship? Well... Since it was intended to stay on Mars for a few months, they would have more than enough resources on board to survive the long flight. Perhaps they’ve run out of fuel, or one of their engines has failed. At any rate, they were certainly traveling slower than they should’ve been.”
“We’ll soon find out if it’s the engines.”
“You mean because then they’ll fly past Mars?”
“Yes, Jean.”
“In that case, there certainly are alternatives. They could attempt to use the atmosphere to slow themselves down. But I also don’t know what their ship can accommodate.”
“That’s true. The Chinese don’t like to give out much information, do they?”
“That’s how it is,” said Jean. “We only know that the ship is an enhanced version of Long Journey 1 and was supposed to land here shortly after NASA did.”
Long Journey 1 was the Mars spaceship with which China had intended to win the race to Mars. However, the ship had broken apart as it left the Earth’s atmosphere. At the time, the Chinese had claimed sabotage, but the rest of the world viewed that as a mere excuse.
Theo thought about what had happened to the Santa Maria around that time as well. Had they also been sabotaged? Was everything somehow connected? Perhaps the rest of the world should have believed the Chinese instead and aided them in investigating the cause. Except that the other nations were somewhat relieved that China had suffered a setback. For many of them, the Asian superpower had already become something of an overly domineering presence. Everyone was relieved to see NASA succeed instead.
“Has anyone tried to contact the ship?” asked Theo.
“According to our information, multiple times. Unsuccessfully.”
“So, they’re all dead?”
“Hard to say, Theo. Their communications system may have failed, or they might need to conserve energy. We will only know whether anyone’s still alive once they attempt to enter into orbit and land.”
“But that could also be done by the autopilot,” said Theo.
“You’re correct, but as long as they’re not communicating with us, we’ll have to wait and see once the hatch opens on their landing capsule and someone comes out—or not.”
“I imagine the administrator will be very interested in the newcomers,” said Theo.
“No doubt about that. He will do everything he can to be the first person there when they land,” Jean declared.
“Then one of us needs to definitely be there as part of the welcoming committee.”
“We will be.”
Sol 334, Syrtis Major
The sun warmed his wrist where it was touching the tent’s outermost layer. Walter opened his eyes. The position of the sun told him it must be late. He felt very well rested, better than he had for a long time. Even his pain seemed to have subsided, but he wasn’t going to give in to any illusions. There were no miracles.
Walter peeled himself out of his sleeping bag, peed into a urine bottle, and then ate some crackers for breakfast. Why hadn’t he brought along two cans of cherries? He then pulled on his LCVG and his spacesuit on top of it. His skin hurt all over. He didn’t count all the places where the scabs had ripped open. Or should he just put a quick end to it? All he would need to do was open the tent, and the suffering would be over shortly.
No, there was still some work waiting for him. He sealed his spacesuit, attached his helmet, and left the tent. After he stepped ou
tside, he noticed the steam clouds that had formed outside the entrance. The breathable air inside the tent was obviously more humid. He walked to the east, where he had last seen the robot the day before, but it wasn’t there anymore. Walter was disappointed, although he should have been happy. The robot had simply rolled away without saying goodbye. He was being foolish. Of course, it was good that Silver Rabbit was now on his way to the MfE base.
The rover was still where he had left it. He wouldn’t be needing it anymore either. He stood next to the control panel and switched on the autonomous mode. Its destination was the MfE base. The rover could travel almost around the clock in autonomous mode and would reach the base by Sol 339. All he needed to do was press the start button—but Walter hesitated. Shouldn’t he first pack up the tent and stow it in the storage compartment? And what about his suit? Couldn’t his colleagues still use it after he died? He could strap himself into the rover and then open his helmet.
But what would he be doing to his friends with that? He should keep the suit. And he wouldn’t send the tent back either. He rummaged through the rover’s storage compartments and took out all the foodstuffs he thought he could carry along with the tent. He decided to slightly change his plans. There would be plenty of time to die later. He pressed the start button, and the rover set off on its trip back to the MfE base. Walter watched as it pulled farther and farther away. The vehicle quickly disappeared. It didn’t leave so much as a cloud of dust behind it on the high plain.
Now he really was alone. It felt good. Would the mood last? And how would he feel when he ran out of air? Walter checked his universal device. Without the rover’s fuel cells, which continuously produced oxygen, he was left to his suit’s reserves. And that would last for approximately the next 48 hours.
He was going to make the best of them, he decided. He had no more goals he needed to achieve. Instead, he would casually stroll through the magnificent Mars landscape and take a break whenever he wanted. He would still have one, maybe two more nights inside his tent. Perhaps he could return to the garden in his dreams, to the Morello cherry tree behind the barn.
Walter bent over and packed up the tent before attaching it to his backpack, then he swung it all onto his back. The MfE base lay to the east. He had headed west long enough. He now set off to the south, toward the equator. It supposedly got up to 20 degrees there during the day. As long as he held his breath, he could take his suit off. It would be the last time he felt the warm sun on his face and naked body, and then he would die.
Sol 334, Hellas Chaos
A valley spanning east to west stretched out before them. Ewa stopped the rover at the edge of the cliff. It was an image of otherworldliness. The valley below her seemed to have been sliced by a powerful water current. She could even make out the river’s arms. In the middle were a few smaller islands, which may have been made of some harder material resistant to the water’s erosion. What was most fascinating, though, was the fog rising above it. The sun was just beginning to shine in the valley. Its warm rays melted the carbon dioxide snow, which in turn caused the mist. It looked like something straight out of a fairy tale.
The show was over 15 minutes later. Ewa flew down the cliff in the rover while Friday protested. They reached the river valley. Ewa was tempted to drive a few kilometers inside it. She was having fun imagining she was on a ship. Then they came to one of the islands they had seen from above. It was not made of solid rock, but rather a pile of smaller rocks. Perhaps a group of giants once took a vacation here and made these little rock towers for fun.
Ewa laughed. The towers were proof that first impressions of Mars were often misleading. The valley had obviously been formed over many millions of years by the wind, not by running water. That was the only way those rock towers could have survived.
Clouds rolled in later that afternoon. They were not the sort of mountainous clouds Ewa knew from Earth, but somewhat flatter, gray entities of lighter and darker gray stripes. Actually, she wasn’t anywhere near the southern polar region, where such weather was to be expected, but the Hellas Basin was so deep that an area of low pressure always hung above it. Ewa leaned forward and put her forehead against the windshield to get a better view of the sky.
It began to snow about two hours after sunset. Ewa barely noticed it at first, but then, in the beam of the rover’s headlights, she saw a strange, thin mist slowly moving toward the ground. The flakes were tiny, and they didn’t leave behind any wet marks on the glass. It was the same as when a snowflake landed on a hot stove. The crystals made of frozen carbon dioxide immediately transformed into their invisible gaseous state.
The snowfall increased. Ewa could see it, especially in the higher reflectivity of the headlights on the ground. She stopped the rover. She had to experience it for herself! She pulled on her spacesuit and skipped the usual quick round of aerobics before exiting, because she was afraid the snow might stop falling before she got outside. She discharged the air from the airlock and went through the hatch.
The short ladder on the outside of the rover was covered by a very thin layer of snow, but it wasn’t slippery, which was the reason why crystallized carbon dioxide was also called dry snow. Ewa checked the temperature with her universal device. It was an icy, minus 125 degrees. She had never experienced such a cold night on Mars before. How much colder would it be once she reached the South Pole?
Ewa stepped down onto the Mars surface. The snow crunched under the soles of her boots. She couldn’t hear the sound transmitting through her external microphone. It was carried through the suit as impact sound. Ewa was taken aback. She wasn’t afraid of the darkness, although she was far away from any other living soul. In the dark, Mars lost its character. Around her she could only see 10 or 15 meters of the desert. The sky was black, not one star could be seen. She could just as easily have been on Earth.
Slowly, she took a few steps into the desert, moving over a thin layer of fresh snow. She had expected it to crunch when she stepped on it, but it made no sound. The carbon dioxide sublimated instantaneously and left no trace. She looked around. Her boots had left clear footprints. If she used her flashlight much longer, the crystals would disappear, and the dark brown nighttime dust would be revealed. She looked at the display on her universal device. Minus 126. And winter was just beginning.
Sol 336, Utopia Planitia
Silver Rabbit was able to orient himself from all sides simultaneously. He didn’t know his own name, didn’t call himself anything, and couldn’t have shared it with anyone if he had. When he reached his destination, someone would give him a new name, but that didn’t make any difference. He was a robot that was taking on its mission to explore the planet, many years behind schedule. Even now, he wasn’t out and about as a free explorer as his AI had intended, but rather as a sort of messenger.
But none of that mattered to him. The robot had no emotional connection to his task. He felt neither joy nor excitement, just curiosity. He wanted to collect data; he was hungry for information. Maybe his programmers had wanted it like that. Or he’d been automatically ‘born’ that way. Humans and animals were born to live, and they fought for survival to the death. Silver Rabbit had been created to collect information, and that was his primary motivation.
The pattern of the terrain before him felt familiar. His pattern recognition had compared it with his master data and came to a strange result. Honeycomb. In front of him lay an area consisting of hexagonal craters, but instead of wax, his laser scanner revealed, they were filled with a mixture of dust and dry ice. If bees indeed lived inside, they would have to be many meters in length. Silver Rabbit simulated the flight of such bees in his processors. It was impossible. To take flight in the thin atmosphere here, one of these meters-large bees would have to have wings that were very light and as large as a hectare. Or the entire bee itself would need to exist of an altogether-unknown, incredibly lightweight material.
Silver Rabbit knew from the outset that musings of this kind were sense
less. But since his reserves had the capacity for it, he could afford to devote some of them to such far-fetched notions. His programmers probably would have agreed that it wouldn’t hurt anything, and sometimes even the most far-fetched of ideas resulted in practical solutions.
No, the honeycomb structures in front of him couldn’t have been created by Martian bees. The planet’s thin atmosphere had formed them. Scientists called it ‘polygonal patterned ground,’ and it resulted when dry ice and dust settled together and the dry ice then sublimated into its gaseous form during the summer. Occasionally, water ice could also be found in the mixture.
Silver Rabbit knew all this. If he wanted to successfully traverse Mars, he needed to know every possible structure he might run into. In this case, he also knew that the honeycombs didn’t pose a threat to him. Their surfaces were sunken, as though the honey that used to be there had dried up. He rolled over the edge of one of the cells and let gravity pull him down, his own momentum swinging him partway up the other side. When he slowed, he had to engage his motor to reach the rim between this cell and the next one.
Once he was out of the cell, Silver Rabbit reoriented himself. The sun had fallen below the horizon, but his star finder enabled him to quickly find both Mars moons. He was on a good trajectory. The data he possessed wasn’t the most current anymore—it was based on the time period when he was initially supposed to have fulfilled his mission on Mars, but he had used it to calculate a forecast for the coming days. The accuracy of these prognoses was typically close to 100 percent. He estimated that he would just barely miss his destination, and would have to cover the last part through visual analysis. That meant, as soon as he got close to his destination, he would have to switch from nighttime travel to day mode. Otherwise, he would just roll right past his destination during the hours of darkness.
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