Dead on Mars

Chapter 87 - Sol Hundred and Three, A Murder Caused by a Particle
Tang Yue dragged the emergency oxygenator out.

Unlike the OGS equipment cabinet, which used molecular sieving and electrolysis to obtain oxygen, the emergency oxygenator used non-renewable chemical oxygen sources. It relied on the catalytic decomposition of solid perchlorate salts to produce oxygen. This system was very old and simple, but it was very reliable. It didn’t have any complicated machinery or circuitry. This meant that it would rarely malfunction.

As something that would be used in an emergency, the system was stored in an emergency box. Once the OGS malfunctioned, the occupants of the station would rely on it for oxygen. The emergency oxygenator could produce enough oxygen for six people to breathe for twelve hours. It could also replenish the oxygen for the Radiant Armor’s life support system. Under normal circumstances, it was enough for the research team to evacuate Kunlun Station.

However, Kunlun Station’s OGS had always been reliable. After so many years, nothing serious had ever happened to it. Therefore, the backups were held in storage, unused.

The emergency oxygenator was an integrated product. It was usually stored in a box, and when taken out, it was a rectangular object about sixty centimeters long and the thickness of a human arm. It weighed about ten kilograms. With a white plastic outer shell, its interior was a mixture of grain, of alkali metal perchlorate salts, as well as an electric lighter, and a gas filter. As long as it was switched on, the grain inside would begin to react due to the catalyst and release oxygen.

The object even had a sling. If one so wished, they could sling it across their backs.

A rectangular oxygenator could provide a total of 1,500 liters of oxygen, and there were a total of six of these on Kunlun Station.

Tomcat switched off the OGS as the green indicator light on the equipment cabinet slowly extinguished.

Once the computer detected the shutdown of the OGS equipment cabinet, it immediately sounded an alarm.

“Shut up,” Tomcat said coldly.

The computer shut up.

Tang Yue wore a breathing mask as Kunlun Station’s Hab still had a certain amount of oxygen left. He wasn’t in a hurry to switch on the emergency oxygenator, as it was nonrenewable. It was expendable, and if possible, he wished to save it for another time.

Tomcat and Tang Yue opened up the equipment cabinet as they carefully moved out the temperature control’s control motherboard. Tang Yue caught a faint whiff of burnt smells.

“Something burnt,” Tang Yue whispered.

Tomcat slowly nodded as it reached out with the pliers in its paws. It pried away the messy lines one by one.

“Which spot short-circuited?” Tang Yue held an electric pen in its hand as he narrowed his eyes. He scanned everything; after all, he was skilled in fixing such things.

“It might be a chip. It might be a Single Event Effect by a single, energetic particle that caused its control logic to malfunction.”

A so-called Single Event Effect was when an energetic particle affected semiconductors and integrated circuits. In the eyes of a commoner, a computer’s internal information was a binary sequence of 0s and 1s. But in hardware, this logic was basically the changes in electric charge. Integrated circuits would undergo electron identification to produce logical calculations, and the Universe carried high-energy basic particles that could interfere with the circuitry’s operations and lead to logic errors. Certain errors were harmless, but certain errors could lead to logic flips or even burn the hardware.

The higher the frequency and the more precise a computer, the easier it was for such problems to occur.

This was also why the computers sent for the Mars project were relatively outdated. Earth’s VR systems had long become mainstream, but the space station and Kunlun Station were still using primitive display screens and buttons. It was for safety reasons.

“However, the OGS temperature control system is similar to a Gree Electric air-conditioner. Such a bulky, crude design is also affected by Single Event Effects?” Tang Yue frowned.

“It’s hard to say. The problems of high-energetic radiation are a purely random calamity. The chances are very low, but it’s impossible to estimate or stop them.” Tomcat shook its head. “It’s just that they typically wouldn’t cause any overly serious outcomes. At most, it would BSOD the computer, with a restart fixing it.”

Tang Yue unscrewed the screws of the protective plating on the motherboard with a screwdriver then threw them into the metal tray. Tomcat pulled over the computer data wires and connected them directly to the test ports on the motherboard.

Superficially, it was very difficult to find the source of the malfunction. This was because the motherboard didn’t have any obvious signs of damage. There were only a few welding points that had charred bottoms. If the chip was malfunctioning, they needed software to carry out a test.

Tomcat sat in front of the computer as it began to test the motherboard’s functions.

“According to my many years of experience and sharp intuition,” Tang Yue carefully observed the motherboard’s components, “I think it’s most likely No. 2…”

“No. 3 control unit is damaged.” Tomcat finished the testing as it looked up.

“That’s right. It’s No. 3!” Tang Yue said, “I was just about to say Unit No. 3!”

He gently removed Unit No. 3’s processor and studied it carefully against the light. The chip itself was about the size of a fingernail, and its internal structure was completely sealed shut. All that could be seen were the dense metallic pins on both sides and the striking Intel logo.

He couldn’t find any problems from the surface. The structure of a semiconductor chip was completely sealed in a tiny black square, and without a doubt, this processor must have produced an error somehow. Furthermore, it was a very serious error. Due to the limited conditions, Tomcat had no way of conducting an in-depth analysis of the fault. The semiconductor itself was a precise piece of work to begin with. To probe the interior of a chip needed the surface to be ground away, and that needed professional equipment and personnel to do it. In the entire world, only Intel and Huaqiangbei 1 could do it. Tomcat wasn’t able to do it.

Tomcat and Tang Yue reseated the chip and tested it several times before finally having to admit that the chip was completely damaged.

“D*mn it. There’s no way to use it again.” Tomcat smacked the keyboard. “Its interior must have suffered some hardware damage, or in other words, physical damage. There’s no way to fix it with software.”

“If the motherboard cannot be fixed, what will happen to the temperature control system?” Tang Yue asked. “Am I going to have to live my days as an Eskimo?”

“Without the temperature control system, Kunlun Station’s room temperature will eventually drop to –50°C. Even an Eskimo would freeze to death… Where’s the backup?” Tomcat asked. “If we really can’t fix it, we have to swap it with the backup.”

Tang Yue pointed at the chip on the tray. “This is the backup.”

Tomcat frowned. “What?”

“Back when Old Wang and the rest were here, they had checked the OGS cabinet once. They switched out all the parts for new ones.” Tang Yue picked up a chip in the tray and shook it. “This is the last processor for the OGS temperature control system in Kunlun Station… The next batch of replacement chips should have been sent a year later. Now, they will never be sent.”

This time, it was Tomcat’s turn to stare blankly.

“You mean there are no more spare parts?”

Tang Yue nodded.

Tomcat pinched the screwdriver in its paw and fell silent.

“Holy… sh*t!”