Dead on Mars

Tang Yue kept silent the entire time.

He was leaning against the Mars Wanderer, passing a rope through its handle and stairs, firmly binding himself to it. Tang Yue no longer could stand firm. Just two hours ago, he had lost the feeling in his feet due to the cold. Now, he felt as though he was propped up on two wooden stakes. His knees could no longer bend, and the commands fired from his brain could no longer reach his leg muscles.

This made Tang Yue recall his time on Earth. Back then, he was thrown into the Daxing’anling Prefecture with Old Wang for training where they had suffered cold weather with temperatures reaching –30°C. The outdoor survival training was part of the program passed down by their ancestors. Everyone had to participate in it, and the astronaut center had a saying: “If you find yourself in an uninhabited zone, I hope you don’t end up as wolf feces!” Even though the re-entry module of the Mars mission would splash down at sea.

Old Wang was a formal professional astronaut. He was a mission specialist, while Tang Yue was just a dabbler—a payload specialist. The king of sappy phrases took good care of Tang Yue. Early one morning at three o’clock, they had been stuck in a snowstorm as they squeezed inside a thin tent and had lost communications with the outside world. Outside the tent was snow that reached knee-deep. Tang Yue’s limbs were frozen, and Old Wang helped him massage them until it was daybreak.

Back then, Old Wang had told him, “Tang Yue, I can tell that you are someone not to be messed with.”

Tang Yue asked him, “In what way?” He was the kind of person who wanted to be hospitalized for three days simply from slicing his finger while cutting vegetables.

Old Wang patted him on the shoulder.

“During the high-G training, you were the one cursing the director and his ancestors in the centrifuge, right?”

The Mars rover supported Tang Yue as he supported the antenna. This communications antenna was a rather bulky and heavy object that was even taller than Tang Yue himself.

No one knew how he managed. Old Wang might have been right. Deep down in his heart, Tang Yue was an extremely stubborn person. At times, he was like a mad dog, gripping tight on something without letting go even at the cost of his life. Just like back when he was participating in the high-G training in Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center, the centrifuge kept increasing the acceleration. The other payload specialist would tap out once they reached 6 Gs. Tang Yue was the only one holding onto the button as he went “f**************ck!”

He went “f*ck” all the way till he reached 8 Gs.

Tang Yue took a look at his wrist. It was fifteen minutes past three in the morning. The winds didn’t show any signs of letting up.

He heard Mai Dong apologizing to them over the channel.

The docking had failed, and the lander was out of orbit. Logically speaking, they were at the end of the rope. Even Tomcat had given up, but Tang Yue thought otherwise. A baffling sense of tenacity and fortitude surged from the bottom of his heart. He was like a mad dog who wouldn’t release its grip. Beethoven had once said to take fate by the throat, but who the f*ck was Beethoven? He wanted to bite down on fate’s throat!

He was a mad dog! He wanted to bite down on fate’s throat! And he wouldn’t release his grip even at the cost of his life.

“Mr. Cat, Mr. Tang Yue, both of you must live well…”

“Shut up.” Tang Yue said coldly.

Mai Dong was taken aback.

So was Tomcat.

“Mr. Tang Yue, I… I…” Mai Dong had no idea what she had said wrong to incur Tang Yue’s wrath.

“Shut up,” Tang Yue said again. “From this moment forth, stop speaking. Don’t say a word! I don’t want to hear any last words. It’s not time for that. I’m not dead yet. Wouldn’t it be disgraceful if you were to die?

“If I’m not dead, I won’t let you die. F*ck the cruel Universe.” It was unknown where Tang Yue had mustered that bit of strength from, as he roared, “Tomcat!”

“I’m here.”

“What’s the exact situation? What’s the exact situation? What’s the relative distance and speeds of the two? Let me think of a solution!” Tang Yue asked. “Give me the exact situation.”

Tomcat fell silent for a moment.

The blip on the screen was blinking regularly as the computer produced a predicted trajectory.

“The United Space Station and the lander are still sharing a coplanar orbit. However, the distance between the two is too great. The space station’s height is 403.5 kilometers, while the Eagle’s height is 322.1 kilometers. It’s short by 81.4 kilometers. The straight line distance between the two has increased to 157.5 kilometers,” Tomcat answered. “It won’t work, Tang Yue… It’s too far…”

81 kilometers… 81 kilometers… 81 kilometers… 81 kilometers… Tang Yue closed his eyes as he kept repeating the number. They were still short by 81 kilometers!

“Worst of all, the Eagle’s height is constantly dropping. The orbit it’s currently in has a periapsis of 113 kilometers. The lander will brush past the Martian atmosphere at the periapsis, and lose energy. It’s predicted that after one orbit, the lander’s height will reduce to 284 kilometers. When that happens, the height difference between the two will increase to 119.5 kilometers.

“Based on this trend, the lander will completely fall into the atmosphere after six orbits.”

“How much propellant is left in the Eagle?” Tang Yue asked.

“There’s 20% left,” Tomcat replied. “That bit of propellant isn’t enough to complete an orbital maneuver. It can only maintain its attitude.”

20%… 20%… 20%… 20%… 20%… Tang Yue shut his eyes tightly. There was only 20% of the propellant left.

“In such a situation, there’s no hope for any docking.” Tomcat sighed. “Tang Yue… I can understand your feelings. I’m very regretful as well, but we’ve already thrown everything we’ve got and have nothing left. There’s really nothing that can be done.”

“Shut up.”

“Mr. Tang Yue, don’t…” Mai Dong said fearfully.

“Shut up,” Tang Yue said fiercely. “Lady, we are saving your life. Do you get it? This is your life, not anyone else’s! If you get it, please shut up! If you can’t, please shut up as well! If you don’t wish to live, let me do the thinking for you!”

Tang Yue leaned onto the Mars rover as he closed his eyes. His limbs were already freezing cold, but his brain was surprisingly clear. The numbers reported to him by Tomcat churned through his head repeatedly as they meshed in and out of each other. The space station and the lander’s orbits began crossing before Tang Yue’s eyes.”

There’s still a chance… There must be one final chance! It’s buried in those numbers! Physics and mathematics were indeed ironclad laws, but Tang Yue was a one in a trillion miracle!

Tang Yue opened his eyes as the sand around him gradually distanced from him. He saw the damaged space station in the darkness as well as the distant Eagle which was tumbling out of control.

At that instant, something seemed to run through his mind.

“Tomcat, we still have a chance.”

“What?” Tomcat was taken aback. “What are you talking about?”

“Old Wang once said that I’m a dull-looking man of great wisdom that shouldn’t be messed with and that my mind works faster at critical moments. I didn’t believe it back then, but I believe it now.” Tang Yue stood in the sand as the howling winds around him gradually softened. He seemed to be standing in the middle of the Universe speaking to the void. “Tomcat, we still have a chance.”

“What chance?”

Tomcat was astonished.

“If the mountain will not come to Muhammad,” Tang Yue said softly, “then Muhammad must go to the mountain!”