I Have A Super USB Drive

by <unknown>

  The man quickly hid the registration form and put the computer desktop on the display.

  As soon as he completed this stealthy maneuver, the door was rudely flung open. A woman dressed in pajamas and wielded a sullen expression on her face appeared behind the door.

  The moment the woman stepped into the room, her nose was invaded by the thick, musty smell of cigarettes. This only served to further sour her temper. "All you do is smoke and smoke. That's all you do every day, smoke and smoke, and smoke. When's the last time you got promoted? You bring home a measly several thousand each month. What can I do with this money? Bring your son with me to the corner store?"

  The man slowly turned around and slurred his sentences as he spoke, "I know, I..."

  Before he could finish, the sudden intruder stepped in front of the computer and took hold of the mouse. She promptly dragged it to the bottom bar on the desktop and selected the browser, which revealed the Blacklight Biotechnology official site.

  "What are you doing?"

  The man frowned unintentionally.

  "Hehe, you're looking at this news again, what happened to overtime at work?"

  She sneered. "God must've put a curse on me and made me end up with someone like you. You have as much money as you have ambition. I remember you bragging about staying in the same dormitory as the founder of Blacklight Biotechnology, that you two got along so well you were pretty much brothers. What happens now? He's got more money than some countries and can hardly remember someone like you ever existing. You have his number but you won't contact him. You could at least find some decent gig in Blacklight Biotechnology. At least your son and I would've something to show for, no?"

  "Are you done?"

  The man took a deep breath and did his best to suppress his boiling rage.

  "What, too sour to admit that what I said is true?"

  The woman pushed further with a heartless scoff. "You should be thankful that I'm sticking with you out of pity since your mother fell seriously ill last year and made you clean out your bank and fall into debt. You should be thankful I haven't asked for a divorce and here you are with the audacity to complain?"

  The burning rage in the man's heart immediately died out as soon as he heard this. The sheer mention of this subject was his weakness.

  "I even have to borrow money to buy money for powdered milk for our son!"

  The woman continued. "We have no idea how we're going to pay for his kindergarten next year but that's alright because you still get to buy your precious cigarettes! All you do is smoke and smoke your worries away!"

  After a barrage of verbal abuse, the woman finally had enough when she saw her husband had his head tapered to the ground at this point. She turned and left.

  When the man heard the winding footsteps down the hall, he lost his mind and chuckled like a mad man. The final ounce of hesitation had left him as he once again pulled to the bottom section of the page and hammered the "Submit" button!

  "Click!"

  With the soft click of the mouse, a pop-up immediately appeared on the screen with the message: "Your submission is successful".

  "Little Chen, I'm leaving my life in your capable hands from here on!"

  A heavy gloom swept over his eyes as he mumbled the sentence softly.

  ...

  Following the announcement issued by Blacklight Biotechnology, more than 10 million people had filled out the application form in just one day. Although the vast majority of them were regular office workers, there were a healthy number of high-value candidates as well. Even some well-known members of the scientific circles also filled out the registration forms and publicly declared their desire to become one among the first batch of colonists, and contribute to the progress of mankind while etching their mark in history.

  Besides, Blacklight Biotechnology had never stated that one could never return to Earth after becoming a colonist on Mars. Blacklight Biotechnology kept promises that the colonists would still retain the citizenship of their respective continents on Earth. After the colony was properly established, a proper flight route would be established between the two planets so that sometime in the future, travel between Earth and Mars would become as commonplace as taking a flight and traveling to some countries on Earth. The colonists could submit their resignation letter and return to Earth at any time.

  With the announcement of the Mars colonization project, the trading market of resources and land on Earth that had been getting increasingly tense for a while finally eased a little. Everything was slowly restoring to its natural state.

  After all, the space had unlimited resources and space. With the prospect of space travel announced, the four major continents no longer saw it fit to scramble over the very limited resources on Earth. Instead, they shifted their focus to further developing their nuclear fusion reactors and to the galaxies above and beyond.

  As the saying goes: Our goal is to the infinity and beyond!

  With an eager crowd beholding the procession, the spacecraft Ares officially took off into space on the first of August 2028. The symbol of the hope of mankind soared into the atmosphere, powered by the ignited dreams of mankind as it bound for the distant Mars.

  Each of the four major continents had three representatives each in the investigation team for the current expedition. The twelve of the representatives with another additional four members of Blacklight Biotechnology made up the crew of the investigation team.

  The Ares spacecraft also carried with it 200 tons of building materials, common supplies, a hundred XTN engineering robots of various types, 50 cyborgs, and several special-purpose drones.

  The air density on Mars was extremely low reaching up to one percent of that of Earth while its gravity was only two-fifths of Earth's. Based on scientists' calculations, a drone manufactured with modern material and powered with the latest battery technology should still manage to take flight.

  To obtain detailed data, the scientists of Blacklight Biotechnology specifically put together a testing device which was essentially a space simulator.

  To simulate an environment as close to the Martian environment as possible, scientists first created a vacuum space inside the device. After that, a small amount of carbon dioxide was injected to achieve the same air composition as the Martian atmosphere.

  Meanwhile, the scientists used a cable to direct upward directional force to "reduce weight" and simulate the appropriate gravity conditions.

  The Ares with nuclear fusion engines only took a week before they arrived in the proximity of Mars. By the seventh day, the outline of a giant amber-red colored planet appeared outside the cabin window. It was so large that it took up the entire view outside.

  The crew of scientists inside the cabin started to feel a faint gravitational force pulling them in. All objects inside the cabin were similarly affected by this faint thrusting force.

  As time went on, this gravitational pull started to grow stronger.

  As the group of scientists took in the view of the enormous planet before them, their breathing started to become erratic. If there was someone logging statistics for the Guinness World Record, this group would have shattered the record for longest distance traversed since they were more than a hundred million kilometers away from Earth.

  This was a completely foreign territory never before explored by humans...

  "Everyone, there's no need to worry. With the AI system, we'll be able to land effortlessly just like how it went when we departed Earth."

  The Captain of Ares who was also a scientist of Blacklight Biotechnology suddenly said jokingly, "Dear passengers, we'll now be landing in Ultimi Scopuli, the southern pole of Mars. The only difference is that it's much colder than the South Pole on Earth. The temperature hovers from negative 70 degrees to negative 139 degrees. Don't worry, nothing that several extra layers of clothing can't solve.

  "Sorry, that's not what we're concerned about."

  Another European scientist somewhere in his forties
shrugged. "Are you sure there's enough water on the South Pole of Mars for each of us to shower? I can't tell you how dirty I have got over the last seven days..."

  "Ha ha ha!"

  They laughed merrily.

  "Don't worry, the polar cap of Mars is composed of ice and solid carbon dioxide. Many previous observations have confirmed that there's a large amount of water under the ice cover. Even if there's no water, we can melt the ice for us to use."

  Although he knew it was a joke, the captain still addressed this brought up concern. "So, you don't need to worry about not getting to take a hot bath."

  As they mingled with one another, the voice of the spacecraft's artificial intelligence broadcast interrupted them. "All crew members are advised to begin preparations. Ares has entered the gravitational range of Mars and will be merging into Mars' low-Earth orbit over the next twelve hours. Our destination is the Ultimi Scopuli located in the South Pole.

  "To prevent any unwanted accidents, all crew members are advised to put on their spacesuits and enter the ejection capsule following the end of this announcement. Thank you for your cooperation!"

  After the Ares artificial intelligence broadcast ended, the crew bumped fists with each other one last time. "See you on Mars", they said as they left the main cabin and went to the ejection capsules.

  Chapter 506: Tardigrade Moss |

  Underneath the clear blue sky, a shimmering star gleamed so brightly that it was visible even in the daylight. Its arrival signaled the changes that were about to occur to this stagnant world.

  Perhaps it was a false impression, as time went on, the spot of light started to magnify in the sky above. It seemed to move in sporadic bursts to a rhythm of its own.

  After approximately an hour had passed, the spot of light was now the size of an instantly visible circle even with the clear blue sky cast behind it as background. It now stood out prominently against the blue canvas and was still growing larger with every passing minute.

  At last, a spacecraft descended from the skies above. The bottom part of its hull had bright white flames scalding its skin as it tumbled downward at extreme speed until it landed on a flat patch of ground.

  "Thump…"

  There was a thunderous rumble as it kissed the ground. The spaceship landing was a success. The two gigantic engine thrusters that were nearly the same size as the spaceship itself helped brace the landing and allowed for a relatively soft landing.

  After that, there was silence.

  "The Ares has landed successfully."

  The digitally synthesized female voice of the broadcast broke through the mist of silence. "The level one alert is now lifted. All personnel is now permitted to leave the ejection capsules."

  As soon as the broadcast finished, the lights on sixteen large pieces of equipment shaped like iron coffins positioned in the most fortified center hull of the spaceship flickered from red to green. The iron coffins opened with a distinct whistling of gas pressure.

  The group enclosed within the iron coffins stepped outside, all of them laughing and jesting with each other. They were vibrant and energetic as they stepped out of their respective ejection capsules. They began to jump up and down to feel the gravity force of this foreign land.

  "I haven't felt gravity for a week. It's weird to suddenly experience gravity again..."

  One of the members commented.

  "You'll get used to it soon enough."

  Another person added. "But the gravity on Mars is two-fifth that of the gravity on Earth. It may feel light and breezy to you now but wait till you get back to Earth. You'll probably need half a year of adjustment before you can climb out of bed without needing assistance."

  "Well, there's another way around it."

  A third person added. "And that's to become a proper Martian."

  "Hahahaha!"

  They laughed in unison. Some of them let out a deep, exhilarated sigh while others took off their spacesuit as fast as they could and started to bound for the canteen.

  "Where are you going?"

  "Whiskey time!"

  There were only a few who went to indulge themselves with alcohol. When the captain of the Ares, Zhou Xiong got out of the ejection capsule, he did not take off the spacesuit immediately and instead went straight for the bridge of the spaceship.

  "Captain Zhou!"

  Another group trailed after the captain immediately. They were all thinking the same thing.

  Zhou Xiong waved at them to signal that there was no need to rush things. When he arrived at the bridge, he finally saw the view outside through the clear windows.

  Behind the window was an endless stretch of ice that went as far as the eye could see.

  They rushed to the observation deck with quick wonder. However, they saw that the view here was not much different from the North Pole or the South Pole on Earth. There was nothing but a flat terrain made of ice that buried whatever landscape there was to be seen underneath it. Everywhere they looked, it was a blank sheet of white.

  There were no signs of falling snow nor were there any odd rock formations that rose from the ground.

  This was not too surprising for this group of scientists. There were several reasons they chose to land in the South Pole of Mars. One, to construct a base. Two, because the South Pole on Mars was the only location with water.

  With that said, they were well aware that only a small part of this was composed of real water. A majority of the ice formation was dry ice composed of carbon dioxide.

  "Ji Zhe, what do you think?"

  A young Chinese female scientist among the group suddenly asked one of her colleagues next to her.

  "Hmm, appearance-wise, it's not much different from Earth."

  A cynical-looking young scientist responded to this, "I'm more curious to head to the locations where the Mars rover has explored. Those places are a more accurate representation of Mars."

  "Unfortunately, that will have to wait at least several months."

  Another scientist that came from Northern America chimed in, "When the base is properly established, perhaps we'll get a chance to head over there for a quick lap, but now isn't the time yet."

  The group chanted murmured discussions among themselves as they heard this.

  "Alright, everyone, quiet down."

  Zhou Xiong suddenly silenced the excited crew with a commanding voice. After that, he looked above him at a rectangular-shaped camera installed at the ceiling. "Moss, dispatch the rovers and the drones. Show me what our surroundings look like and send the collected data to me."

  "Understood."

  The voice of the artificial intelligence named Moss came through the speakers. Immediately after that, a gigantic virtual display was presented before them. Framed inside the large display were four smaller panels of equal sizes. The images were pitch-black initially but quickly transitioned to a spontaneous burst of white noise taking over the screen. Shortly after that, what looked like black and white thermal imaging was fully formed on the display.

  The collection of panels on the display seemed to show an image of a small room. The camera angles of each display could be seen rotating in a 360-degree circle and soon, they saw a door slowly being slid open, allowing cracks of light from the outside world to slip through the opening.

  In an instant, the black and white thermal images transitioned into regular color footages. At the same time, two of the four cameras gradually shuffled out of the previously enclosed place while the remaining two cameras seemed to have taken flight and glided out at an elevated angle.

  The four displays were a combination of live feeds broadcasted from two land rovers and two drones.

  After that, the rovers and drones left the Ares one after another. The rovers were metal-framed vehicles fitted with solar panels. It left behind shallow tracks on the snowy terrain as it drove through the snow.

  The rovers drove in circles around the ice shelf with the Ares as the center point. They covered and scanned every inch
in the vicinity.

  The two drones gained altitude rapidly and proceeded to split up into two separate directions at a time. They set out to travel as far as possible to chart as much nearby terrain as possible.

  "The outside atmospheric pressure is 7.5 bar, the air composition consists of 95 percent carbon dioxide, 3 percent nitrogen, 1.6 percent hydrogen, 0.2 percent oxygen, 0.1 percent water vapor, carbon monoxide, neon, krypton, and xenon."

  The initial detection results were produced and described through the broadcast system, "The outside temperature is negative 85 degrees and the wind level is at level five."

  "Get the rovers to collect soil samples."

  Zhou Xiong ordered.

  "Sampling... Sampling complete, performing analysis..."

  "The surface consists of 95.7 percent dry ice, 2.2 percent regular ice, and there are also traces of iron oxide, silicon dioxide, and other elements. No trace of microbial activity detected for the time being."

  Everyone appeared enthused when they heard this piece of information narrated by Moss. Although there was enough evidence to prove the existence of water on Mars since a few days ago, it was different when they were witnessing it with their own eyes. The joy surfing through their minds could not be simply described with mere words.

  "Captain Zhou, let me head out there to investigate!"

  Some of them were starting to become impatient and eagerly volunteered to head out.

  "Let me go too!"

  "I'm going as well!"

  "Me, as well!"

  The group started to get excited.

  "Everyone please calm down!"

  Zhou Xiong halted their fervent demands with his palms held out. "Everyone, there's no need to rush. As long as the results of the environment analysis are optimistic, we'll be settling here within several months. There's no need for us to rush things just yet.

  "Still, manual investigation during this initial phase will still be necessary. In this case, each of the four continents can select one candidate to head out there. This is the best I can offer. After all, there are no guarantees as to what we'll run into out there, so I have to take the necessary precautions to ensure the expedition's success."