Dead on Mars

Chapter 115 - Sol Hundred and Thirteen, Martian Agriculture
While holding his toolbox and carrying a huge roll of electric cables, Tang Yue returned to Kunlun Station.

Mai Dong had finally finished singing the song.

“How was my singing?” the girl asked.

“That’s not a question you should ask me.” Tang Yue closed the hatch to the airlock, turned around and waved his fingers. “You should ask Voyager 1 about that.”

Mai Dong was taken aback, completely confused as to what he meant. “Why?”

“It’s because you were so out of tune that tone has gone all the way to the Kuiper belt.” Tang Yue shrugged as he detached the life support system on his back and got out of the Radiant Armor. “Congratulations Miss Mai Dong, your singing has crossed a distance of 30 AU in two minutes. It’s 114 times faster than light. It’s definitely the fastest in the Milky Way.”

Mai Dong’s face flushed red as her embarrassment turned to anger. With a slam, she switched off the camera, and the communications system instantly turned black.

“Mai Dong?”

There weren’t any replies in the earpiece.

“Mai Dong? Mai Dong?”

Tang Yue cut a portion of the electric cables in Kunlun Station, before dismantling the electric control panel. He needed to modify the circuitry in Kunlun Station, and bring the high-pressure sodium lamps inside. Their system operating voltage was incompatible with the Kunlun Station’s power system, preventing him from directly plugging them in. Thankfully, the required modifications were exactly what Tang Yue was trained in. He was a very skilled electrician.

Tang Yue was not going to touch anything else, especially the OGS or the computer systems.

“Mai Dong? Mai Dong, say something.”

From the looks of it, Mai Dong was determined to ignore him for some time, but Tang Yue knew that this lass was around because he could hear her breathing over the comms. She was probably waiting for his apology.

“Mai Dong? Say something? It was my bad. I apologize. I shouldn’t have said that your tone went so off-tune that it went to the Kuiper belt. In fact, you didn’t go that far off-tune. It probably only reached Uranus’s orbit… Mai Dong? Mai Dong? Mai Dong?”

Tang Yue unscrewed the front of the control panel, revealing the complicated circuitry inside. Faced with the plethora of colors, he shook his head, turned around, and took out the Kunlun Station’s maintenance manual from a drawer.

The girl was still ignoring him.

Tang Yue scratched his head. Coaxing a girl was truly a centurial problem.

“Comrade Mai Dong. How’s the search with the satellite photos? Please report your progress immediately. Have you found Tomcat? I repeat, please report your progress immediately! Have you found Tomcat?”

“… No.” Mai Dong finally spoke, sounding infuriated. “Isn’t this cheating? Using official matters to get me to speak is really unfair and just abusing your power!”

…

Tang Yue coiled the electric cables on the antenna frame before leaving the lamps hanging from the top.

The high-pressure sodium lamps could provide sufficient illumination, aiding the plants in photosynthesis and providing them heat to maintain the ambient temperature.

“Hey, Tang Yue,” Mai Dong asked. “Was… my singing really that bad?”

“It’s actually not bad. Your voice is nice, just that the tone wasn’t precise.” Tang Yue knelt on the ground, adjusting the height of the lampstand. After confirming that the tomatoes got most of the light, he said, “You have a good foundation. Your voice is very clear, so you just need is to practice on your tone.”

“That sounds more reasonable.” The girl grunted. “Don’t install the illumination lamps too close to the plants, or the heat might just bake the sprouts. A distance of a meter to a meter and a half is more suitable.”

Tang Yue turned the knob, raising the antenna frame high as he gently placed a bulb into its socket.

With that, the greenhouse was basically done. The high-pressure sodium lamps hung at the tent’s apex, and beneath it were two water troughs with the tomato sprouts. In a while, Tang Yue would connect the power source to verify that the bulb worked properly. He would be finished if the bulb lit up, and there weren’t any problems with the circuitry.

“Can this keep the temperatures warm?” Mai Dong asked. “Even if it’s okay in the day, will it last through the night? Especially in the middle of the night when the temperature plunges.”

“With the RTG and the light bulbs, the source of the heat should be guaranteed. In a while, I’ll also add a few layers of clothes to keep it warm.” Tang Yue crawled out of the greenhouse, draped the blanket over him, and circled around the fruits of his labor. He had set up a tiny plastic tent in the middle of the Hab. It was a traditional agriculture technique used on Earth. It was very primitive, but also very effective. The plastic sheet could be used for heat insulation, and the high-pressure sodium lamps could provide enough light. The RTG would emit heat to maintain the temperatures.

To plant tomatoes, Tang Yue had mobilized every possible resource.

“Next, let’s see how it all works. I hope the bulb doesn’t explode.” He walked to the side of the wall and switched on all the power.

At the instant the electrical circuit was closed, the high-pressure sodium light bulb under the plastic sheet flickered before emitting a blinding white light.

Everything was working normally. The bulb was working normally, and the electrical cables didn’t burn out. The Kunlun Station’s power system didn’t break, and all indicators remained in an ordinary range.

“Nice!” Tang Yue clapped as he walked into the tomato greenhouse in excitement. “God said, ‘Let there be light: and there was light!’ Look at this resplendent light…”

Tang Yue suddenly fell silent. His body began to tremble violently as his facial muscles writhed. He kept repeating the same word in an indistinct manner, “Power… Power… Power…”

“Tang Yue?”

Mai Dong was alarmed seeing Tang Yue convulsing as if he was having a fit. He had been fine just a moment ago.

The girl immediately imagined that Tang Yue had been electrocuted because of a mistake. He had been modifying the circuits in Kunlun Station, throwing all kinds of electric cables around. These electric cables might have reached all kinds of places with thousands of voltage running through them. If Tang Yue hadn’t cleared them up in time, he might have stepped on them. And one of them might have exposed.

But why didn’t Kunlun Station’s circuit breaker trip? Could it be that Tang Yue’s modifications had caused the safety switch to be ineffective?

Mai Dong didn’t have the time to consider the reasons. Tang Yue’s limbs were shaking violently as he was unable to move away. Clearly, the electric current had numbed his muscles and nerves. Tang Yue rolled his eyes as his mouth couldn’t even close.

“Tang Yue—! Tang Yue—!”

Mai Dong lunged towards the screen as she screamed. Tears immediately welled in her eyes.

Tang Yue suddenly lifted his leg. His mouth wasn’t twisted anymore; neither were his eyes rolled back nor his limbs trembling.

“Tang…”

The girl was stunned.

“I was pulling your leg.” Tang Yue stuck his tongue out at her. “How was my acting? Great, wasn’t it?”

“Tang… You… You… You f**king…” Before Mai Dong came to her senses, she paused for a few seconds before realizing that the b*stard had pulled a prank on her. She immediately burst out into laughter, feeling both surprised and angry. She had even used vulgarities.

“How can a girl use vulgarities?” Tang Yue waved his hand. “It’s too uncivilized. You are now representing all the females on the globe.”

Mai Dong reached her hand out to switch off the video.

“Wait—!” Tang Yue took one big stride forward, reaching out as though he was trying to stop her. He bellowed, “My fair lady, we can always talk. Don’t switch off the camera!”

Mai Dong’s hand paused.

There were a few seconds of stillness as both parties locked their gazes as they fell silent.

Mai Dong was the first one who burst out laughing. Her eyes were red from crying. Tang Yue also laughed out loud as the laughter was contagious. Finally, the two of them were laughing while holding their bellies.

“Hahaha… Tang Yue, you *sshole… Why didn’t you get electrocuted to death? Hahahaha…”

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Tang Yue snapped awake in the middle of the night as he reached his hand out to get an idea of the ambient temperature.

He got up and dressed, drew the curtains to his quarters as a biting cold rushed at him. Tang Yue trembled.

Kunlun Station was dim and silent. The communications system was still online, but Mai Dong wasn’t in the Crystal module. She was likely sleeping.

The plastic tent was propped up in the middle of the Hab. Over the plastic sheet were blankets and cloth, and the light from the blinding high-pressure sodium lamps was seeping out of the cracks in the blanket covering.

The computer monitor on the desk was black. The clock was flickering a red light every second.

Tang Yue walked over, crouched beside the greenhouse and through the plastic sheet, which was covered in dew, he could see the water troughs on the floor.

Inside the water troughs were the tomato sprouts. Their white kernels were buried in the soil as a light green tender leaf tenaciously stood out.

Tang Yue lost himself looking at the tomato sprout and he suddenly realized why Mai Dong gave names to the plants.

For the longest time, he believed that he was an advanced creature with intelligence. He had already left the primal world and was nothing comparable to lowly plants. But in fact, it was just humans putting themselves on a pedestal.

Only now that he was on the Martian desert and facing the Universe alone did Tang Yue realize that he was no different from the tiny tomato sprout.

If the Universe had supreme intelligence, would it believe that Tang Yue was more advanced than a tomato?

In the eyes of nature, perhaps there wasn’t any difference.

“According to usual practice, I should give you a name,” Tang Yue said to the tomato. “What should I name you? Washington? Roosevelt? Kennedy? Or Nixon?”

“Got it!” Tang Yue thought for a moment as he slapped his thigh. “From today, you’ll be named Zhang Wuji 1 !”

The tomato sprout didn’t respond, its thoughts were unknown.

The other sprout that had revealed itself was named Yang Dingtian 1 by Tang Yue.

Tang Yue crawled into the greenhouse and hugged the two water troughs tightly. He used his body temperature to warm these tomato sprouts, worried that the heat produced by the RTG and high-pressure sodium lamps was insufficient for the plants to withstand the cold Martian night.

Tang Yue sat on the floor, hugging them as he began droning on. “Wuji… Quickly grow up… Be strong, bloom, and have fruit. Your master, Golden Haired Lion King 1 , is still in the hands of those darn monks at Shaolin Temple and awaiting your rescue…”

The high-pressure sodium lamps cast a shadow of the man onto the plastic sheet as he hugged the water troughs as though he was hugging his children. This was the only beacon in the pitch-black Martian desert, tiny but bright.

…

“This is United Space Station. Mr. Cat, please answer if you copy… This is United Space Station. Mr. Cat, please answer if you copy.”

The Mars United Space Station was sweeping across the Isidis Planitia at an average speed of 3,500 m/s. The high-gain antenna was directed to the surface, and the girl’s voice was captured by an electret’s carbon membrane. This converted into a digital signal before being amplified and sent into an electromagnetic signal that the antenna broadcast onto the Martian surface.

A vacuum didn’t allow the transmission of voice, but electromagnetic waves didn’t need a medium. They were able to carry the information to pass through the void and reach distant spots.

Mai Dong pressed down on her earpiece.

“This is United Space Station. Kunlun Station, please answer if you copy.”

“This is Kunlun Station. I copy you five-on-five.”

“Tang Yue, the satellite image recognition has reached Number 7,750. We have already scoured an area of 1,550,000 square meters to no avail. Do we continue the search?” Mai Dong asked. “I can’t find Mr. Cat or contact the Chelomey.”

“There’s no way you can contact the Chelomey. That’s because it needs to be shut down while transporting it over. Therefore, Tomcat had switched it off from the very beginning. It wouldn’t be able to receive any commands.”

Tang Yue sighed.

“That cat must have eloped with the Mars Wanderer. Who knows, it might have had a litter of kittens by now… However, we still need to find it. If that cat doesn’t return, I’ll have to get used to living alone.”

Today was the sixth sol since Tomcat’s disappearance.

To be honest, it was possible for Tang Yue to live on alone. He had food, water, and power. He even had two containers of tomatoes. In time to come, when Zhang Wuji, Yang Dingtian, and the other Seven Heroes of Wudang 1 matured, Tang Yue’s scurvy would be treated, and he would be able to live for at least a year.

Tang Yue and Mai Dong wished to find Tomcat, even if they couldn’t do a thing after succeeding. They were still bent on seeing the cat, dead or alive.

“Tang Yue, how are the tomatoes?” Mai Dong asked. “Are you providing them with enough warmth and light?”

“They seem to be growing well.” Tang Yue shut down the sanitation system, opened the airlock’s latch, and stepped into the Hab. “Do you want to take a look? You are the agriculture expert. Why don’t you give some advice and guidance?”

Tang Yue took off the Radiant Armor and rubbed his hands in glee. It was as though he was about to look at his son in swaddling clothes.

“Be quick. The temperatures outside are too low. They won’t be able to last long.”

He raised the plastic sheet, took out the water trough, and with an insulation blanket wrapped around it, carried it to the camera.

Mai Dong leaned over and she saw the five green sprouts emerging from the brownish soil. It wasn’t easy to determine their growth through the screen, but from the lush green colors, the sprouts appeared to be filled with vitality.

“Let me introduce you to them. This big one that grew the fastest is the eldest brother. His name is Zhang Wuji… Look at its leaf.”

Tang Yue pointed out each one of them to Mai Dong.

“This is Song Yuanqiao. This slightly whiter one is Yu Lianzhou. By the side is Yu Daiyan, and finally, this one is Zhang Songxi… There’s also Zhang Cuishan and Yin Liting, but they are in the other trough.”

Mai Dong slowly nodded.

She originally imagined that Tang Yue would be better at names than she was.

From the looks of it, he also sucked at it.

“How long will these little rascals take to grow?”

“If you can guarantee the warmth and light, they will bear fruit within two months,” Mai Dong replied. “The tomato species you have is an excellent breed. It’s the same as the one I have planted on the space station.”

Tang Yue hugged the water trough and spun around, raising the sprouts high. It was as if he could already see the lush green leaves and bright red fruits.

Tang Yue had never imagined that he would be this excited over planting tomatoes. For the first time, he understood the feelings of the farmers when it was time for the harvest.

“Zhang Wuji appears a little slanted. You can help to correct it a little.” Mai Dong pointed at the water trough. “It’s to prevent the roots from developing improperly in the future.”

“OK.”

Tang Yue reached out his finger and gently nudged Zhang Wuji.

With a slight tremble and a cracking sound, Zhang Wuji’s most striking and delightful green leaf snapped and fell to the soil.

Tang Yue and Mai Dong were astonished.

“What happened?” Mai Dong asked. “Did you use too much strength?”

Tang Yue’s expression turned heavy as he gestured for the girl to keep silent.

He immediately moved the water trough back to the greenhouse, anxiously checking on Zhang Wuji’s condition. He kneeled on the ground, using his finger to gently prod the young tomato sprout.

It didn’t feel right to the touch.

Tang Yue exerted a bit more strength and pinched the stem. He soon realized that the tomato sprout was hard and brittle. It didn’t feel normal.

Tang Yue held his breath as he tried to use his finger to peel off the sprout’s outer layer.

When he did that, his heart sank… The mouth was rough, and he could even see tiny ice particles. The water in its body had frozen, and although the sprout looked green and luxuriant, it wasn’t because of its brimming vitality, but because it had frozen at its prime, literally.

It was just like a fruit placed in the freezer.

Tang Yue hurriedly checked the other sprouts in the water troughs. All of them were like Zhang Wuji—none of them survived.

It was to be expected. The sprouts were just centimeters away from each other. If one froze to death, it was likely that the others would share a similar fate.

Tang Yue dug them out of the soil and placed them in his palm. Zhang Wuji, Yang Dingtian, and the Seven Heroes of Wudang had cold corpses. They were long dead, and perhaps had frozen to death several hours ago or even the previous night.

The ultra-low temperatures could freeze the moisture in them in short spans of time. The burgeoning ice crystals would damage all cell structures, so the plants couldn’t be any deader!

Tang Yue lowered the water trough in panic as he looked at the other water trough, wondering if Yin Liting and Zhang Cuishan were still alive.

“Tang Yue? Tang Yue… How is it?”

Mai Dong saw the man suddenly collapse onto the ground as though he had lost all his strength.

Tang Yue held all the dead sprouts in his hand, his eyes glazed over. He didn’t understand what had gone wrong; he had prepared a complete set of heat preservation measures. He didn’t know how these tiny lives had frozen to death. How did it happen? How?

“Tang Yue?”

Tang Yue turned his head and didn’t say a word. He gave her a faint smile, making her heart contract sharply.

There was a complicated look in Tang Yue’s eyes, seemingly filled with sorrow and helplessness. It also seemed as though all his hopes had been dashed to pieces.

That gaze seemed to say: Look, lass… I’ve really tried my best this time