Dead on Mars

Chapter 208 - Sol Three Hundred and Twenty-Seven, World’s Richest Cat
Chapter 208: Sol Three Hundred and Twenty-Seven, World’s Richest Cat

“You’ve already done very well.” Tang Yue looked at the cat’s tiny back. “Tomcat.”

Tomcat shrugged and didn’t say another word. It crouched down to roll the foam in cardboard before tying it tightly to the steel rod. It had used the remaining scrap metal from dismantling the foldable bed to make a pair of crutches. Having been stranded on Mars for so long, Tang Yue and Tomcat were experts at recycling. They used the lander’s peeled-off fuselage skin and fairing to make tables, chairs, and stools. There were also boxes of varying sizes.

“Without you, Mai Dong and I wouldn’t have lived to this day.”

Tomcat had its back facing Tang Yue as its ears moved, but it didn’t stop its work.

“It’s part of my job,” it muttered.

As an in-name assistant on Kunlun Station, it was practically a Station Commander and was also responsible for the safety of the astronauts. It was in charge of helping them and protecting them. After Earth and Orion II had vanished, all that Tomcat needed to protect was Tang Yue and Mai Dong.

This cat was actually due for retirement. It was really an old cat, being a decorated astronaut from the first stage of the Mars Landing Project. After Tomcat retired, it would receive a hero’s treatment. All the space museums in the world would open up exhibitions about it, putting up a life-sized replica of it. There would be a plaque engraved with its great achievements.

As for Tomcat itself, it would lead a leisurely life of a retiree. It would sit in the alley in front of the yard’s entrance, languidly taking in the sun and playing chess with elderly men while giving some advice. It would have a lifetime supply of fish.

Such a life was indeed something to look forward to. Without a doubt, Tomcat was an aeronautical hero. Its place in history was no lesser than Opportunity or Cassini–Huygens, but it had never buried itself in cold space like its ancestors. It could have a good ending. It could return to the village where it started off after experiencing tribulations, watching its successors step onto their own paths in a carefree manner.

“My retiree life…” Tomcat sighed. “It has gone up in smoke with the Earth.”

“Your retirement was planned to be after the end of the next mission, right?” Tang Yue asked. “What did you plan on doing after retiring?”

“If the Earth hadn’t disappeared, I would have retired at the end of the next mission. I’d have returned to Earth on the newly commissioned Orion III,” Tomcat replied. “After retirement, my plan was to tour around, meeting the American President, Canadian Prime Minister, and German Chancellor to have drinks. Then, I’d live in my manor in New Zealand.”

“A manor in New Zealand?”

Tang Yue was taken aback. What kind of afterworld was this? Wasn’t it supposed to be playing chess with elderly men in an alley? Why did it suddenly become capitalistic?

Tomcat nodded. “The New Zealand government promised me early last year that they will give me a manor that’s fifteen hectares.”

“A fifteen-hectare manor?” Tang Yue was alarmed. At the same time, he recalled that the cat wasn’t a Chinese citizen, even if it spoke very fluent Chinese. “How much is that worth?”

“Perhaps fifty million pounds? Or sixty million?” Tomcat tried recalling. “I’m not too caught up with such numbers. If it’s converted to fish… Perhaps 15,000 tonnes?”

Tang Yue gasped in astonishment. “You are actually that rich?”

He had lived for twenty years, but at the end of the day, his total wealth didn’t even hit a percentage of the cat’s wealth. All those years were for nothing.

“That manor is not resaleable. I have the rights of usage, but not the right to transfer.” Tomcat waved its paw. “Actually, it’s not only New Zealand. A total of twenty-four countries in the world have expressed their desire to give me some property and residence. And they don’t mind me having multiple citizenships. At the latest count, I have a total of 46 fixed assets across the world. The biggest one is in Nauru. They gifted me an island. The most expensive one is a hundred-square-meter apartment in Beijing’s Tongzhou District.”

Only then did Tang Yue realize that he had been spending more than a year with the world’s richest cat. Although this cat usually appeared free and easy, without any worries about life, to his surprise, it was a billionaire. Even though they were strange creatures of unknown origin when on Mars, Tomcat’s wealth would be far greater than thousands of Tang Yue’s once they returned to Earth.

“Do you like houses?” Tomcat asked.

“Objectively speaking, young Chinese people, my age, love houses.”

“Unfortunately, Earth is gone. Otherwise, I could gift you one when I got back. I could gift you the most expensive one.” Tomcat found it difficult to understand Tang Yue’s thoughts. “The most worthless thing in this Universe is actually land. Now, the entire Mars is yours. Yet, you still can’t forget an apartment spanning a hundred square meters on Earth.”

“No, the most valuable thing in this Universe is land,” Tang Yue said. “Space that is suitable for living on is priceless.”

“But from the looks of that apartment in Beijing…” Tomcat mumbled, feeling perplexed. “It doesn’t seem like it’s a space suitable for living.”

…

After Tomcat finished with the crutches, it got Tang Yue to give them a try.

“After you retire, who will replace you?”

Tang Yue hobbled in the Hab on the crutches as he asked in passing.

“My replacement will be someone higher performant, stronger, and hardy.” Tomcat stood beside him. “Compared to the scientific research and observation required from the first stage, the second stage requires a lot more work to be done. There will be a bunch of construction workers coming. Orion III and IV will be twice the size of Orion I and II. They will bring plenty of materials. Kunlun Station will be expanded. There will be exploratory sampling for water and methane resources. There will also be tests for the technological viability of a farm and a self-sustaining ecosphere. There will be even more astronauts coming. Therefore, the Kunlun Station Commander will no longer be a cat.”

“If not a cat, what will it be?”

“A dog.” Tomcat suddenly seemed pissed. “A dumb dog. Perhaps an Eskimo Dog, a Samoyed, or even a Huskie.”

“Why will it be a dog?” Tang Yue imagined a dog walking on its hind legs as it wore an earpiece to guide a spacecraft’s landing.

Will this really not cause the spacecraft commander to not laugh to death at the cockpit?

“It’s because the Mars Project preparatory committee’s dog people finally beat the cat people.” Tomcat’s rage erupted. “Those dumbasses said at the meeting that ‘the first animal sent to space by humanity was a dog. How can we forget their great contributions? How many years has it been since they sacrificed themselves in space? Have you forgotten? That dog named Laika is watching you from behind!’ Hence, the next Kunlun Station Commander was determined to be a canine.”