Dead on Mars

Half-past eleven in the morning. While Tang Yue and Tomcat were on tenterhooks, the chance finally appeared.

The wind speed indicator first measured that there was a drop in the hurricane’s strength. Following that, the wind speeds began to fall. It fell from 43 m/s at a discernible pace as the number on the indicator changed every two seconds.

43.13 m/s.

43.02 m/s.

42.77 m/s.

42.54 m/s.

42.35 m/s.

42.07 m/s.

41.86 m/s.

41.42 m/s.

41.21 m/s.

40.69 m/s.

40.25 m/s.

39.44 m/s.

The wind speeds quickly broke below 40 m/s as the computer system began to issue alerts. From the speed at which the wind speeds were dropping, it could reach the safety threshold in the coming ten minutes. This might very well be the only suitable launch window. As for Tang Yue and Tomcat, they had already jumped off their seats. There wasn’t a need for the computer alert; they had noticed the first change in the wind speeds…

Tomcat pulled over a chair and sat in front of the work desk to wake the computer. In that short interval, the wind speeds had dropped from 38.12 m/s to 37.91 m/s.

Right on the heels of that, it went from 37.91 m/s to 37.22 m/s.

“Tang Yue, connect that data cable. Plug the red into red, white into white. Don’t mess up,” Tomcat said in a heavy voice. The computer screen in front of it had lit up.

“Got it!” Tang Yue’s nerves were tense. He cleared the messy cables in a frenzy and took a glance at the wind speed indicator. It was already at 36.08 m/s.

Tang Yue was delighted. The heavens have opened up to flood me with blessing?

Tomcat swiftly tapped the “Enter” key as the progress bar on the screen filled up in seconds, completing the connection with the lander’s computer system. A dialog window appeared on the screen: “Welcome to Eagle Lander.” It then entered the launch program of the Eagle.

“Tomcat, what’s happening?” Tang Yue asked. “Why is the wind speed dropping all of a sudden? Did the heavens hear my prayers?”

“This has nothing to do with heaven, much less anything to do with your prayers. We might be in a low-pressure zone of the hurricane,” Tomcat replied. “Do you know about hurricanes?”

Tang Yue nodded.

“A typhoon’s wind speed can exceed tens of meters a second, but its eye has zero wind speed. There wouldn’t be any wind there. This is because the eye only has strong updrafts. This phenomenon is determined by the laws of physics and mathematics. Therefore, all the hurricanes in the Solar System are the same.” Tomcat spoke quickly, but its paws were moving even faster. “The hurricane above us should be a huge cyclone. It has been moving slowly across the surface of Mars, and we might have entered its low-pressure zone. That’s why the wind speeds are dropping so rapidly.”

The wind speed had dropped to 35.11 m/s.

“Does that mean that the wind speed might fall beneath the safety threshold?”

Tomcat nodded. “It’s our only chance. The low-pressure zone in the middle of a cyclone covers a very tiny area. However, the hurricane moves at rapid speeds. We have no idea how long these wind speeds will last. It might be a few minutes, so we have to seize this window of opportunity. Once we leave the low-pressure zone, the wind speeds will rise again.”

The wind speed had dropped to 34.07 m/s.

Kunlun Station’s computer system quickly provided the prediction trend of the wind speed. The green curve trended down with random fluctuations and was predicted to reach a red line five minutes later—the safety threshold of 30 m/s. Although this prediction was only for reference, nothing worth mentioning, Tang Yue was still delighted.

“Lander’s launch initiated.” A gentle female voice sounded from the computer. Tomcat made every second count as it inspected the lander’s computer system. This was necessary before the launch.

“Computer system checks complete!” Tomcat muttered anxiously.

“Navigation systems checks complete!

“Engine checks complete!

“Propellant checks complete!

“Preflight checks completed. Ascent Vehicle exhaust area cleared. Engine systems nominal.” The computer indicated: “Lander clear for take-off.”

The wind speed had dropped to 33.79 m/s.

“Ten!” Tomcat and Tang Yue stared at the wind speed indicator as they began counting down.

“Nine!”

“Eight!”

The wind speed had dropped to 33.45 m/s.

“Seven!”

“Six!”

The wind speed had dropped to 32.17 m/s.

“Five!”

“Four!”

The wind speed had dropped to 31.88 m/s.

“Three!”

“Two!”

The wind speed had dropped to 30.97 m/s.

Drop further! Drop further! Tang Yue muttered anxiously under his breath as his forehead’s veins protruded. His clothes were already drenched as drops of sweat rolled down his back. Tang Yue had never been so nervous in his entire life. Just one more change in those four red digits meant reaching the safety threshold. They were just short of that final step to launch the Eagle. Tomcat stood beside him, its eyes widened. Its whiskers trembled slightly as its paw hovered above the keyboard, awaiting the final change of those numbers.

The man and cat nearly had their faces peeled to the wind speed indicator as the black LCD screen reflected the two twisted faces. It was as though the duo would skin the wind speed indicator if the number didn’t drop below the safety threshold.

The countdown had reached two, but the wind speeds didn’t fall further. Tomcat held its paw in midair, hesitant to press it down.

30.97.

30.97.

30.97.

It was still 30.97 m/s.

F*ck… Come on, drop! Tang Yue roared inwardly as he slapped the wind speed indicator. This was what he did in his youth when dealing with disobedient old televisions. If they didn’t work, keep slamming it! The indicator shook as it fell backward. Perhaps thanks to Tang Yue’s slap, the numbers changed at the instant it fell to the ground with a clank.

29.98.

“One!” Tang Yue and Tomcat roared as the latter’s paw struck the keyboard. “Away you go—!”

Time seemed to freeze that very moment. Immediately following that, a slight tremor reached their soles before the land began to shake violently. Tomcat and Tang Yue turned their heads and looked out of the window. In the darkness, a distance away, a white light suddenly exploded. It was as though someone had ignited an incendiary bomb underwater. It blazed bright like a sword cutting through the darkness. Even the sandstorm failed to completely stop its brilliance.

Following that, there was a loud rumbling sound. Sound was slower than light as it drowned out all the noises in Kunlun Station. There was a loud boom echoing everywhere as though a billion people were striking a drum in unison! Tang Yue widened his eyes in a daze as he watched the sun-like blob of light rise up slowly. Tang Yue could imagine the Eagle’s engine spewing out fiery flames that reached several stories high, releasing a hundred tons of thrust. This was the strongest might humans wielded. It roared as it stubbornly escaped Mars’s gravity. All forms of power around it appeared minute.

The Eagle had successfully launched!