Dead on Mars

Chapter 231 - Sol Three Hundred and Thirty-Five, Gandalf Standing Above the Dunes
Chapter 231: Sol Three Hundred and Thirty-Five, Gandalf Standing Above the Dunes

Tomcat suddenly laughed.

“Indeed, a passerby who is preparing to unclog the toilet is suddenly given a decision to save the world. What can he do?”

“If you gave me a howitzer, I might still be able to blast them to kingdom come,” Tang Yue said. “Unfortunately, all I have is a toilet plunger.”

“Then plunge them to kingdom come.”

“What if it doesn’t work?” Tang Yue asked.

“Then use it on yourself.”

…

On the evening of the second sol, the Mars Wanderer suffered its first malfunction.

This damaged and decorated old dog finally couldn’t hold on. Its entire life had been dedicated to the Mars Landing Project. For more than ten years, the Mars Wanderer had been the most able assistant to the expedition team. It had contributed much, but it was already nearing its retirement age.

Its replacement had already been designed. It was a bigger, faster, more advanced, and higher endurance vehicle. It was said that a single charge could allow the vehicle to travel at 45 km/h for two hours. It was far greater than what the Mars Wanderer was capable of. Once the new vehicle arrived, the old vehicle was bound to be abandoned. It was common for people to abandon the old for the new.

Tang Yue had once stroked the Wanderer’s wheels and said poignantly that the pioneers were ultimately buried by history. Who would remember this lonely old dog years into the future?

However, Tom said that it was a good thing.

If people from the future kept remembering them, it meant that they had nothing to look forward to.

We risked our lives to pave the path for future generations, not for them to stand there remembering us.

Tomcat sat in the driver’s compartment as it peeked its head out and asked, “How is it?”

Tang Yue was the one who found the malfunction. It was almost evening and Tang Yue wished to move the Mars Wanderer to somewhere a little more elevated, but when the accelerator was pressed down, a strange, soft sound was heard. It alerted the man and cat as they stopped all their attempts to start it and began doing an inspection.

Tang Yue was crouched beside the Wanderer’s wheel. He had a maintenance panel open in front of him and an open toolbox beside him. “It’s a slight malfunction. The driveshaft is a little loose. Just tightening it will do. It’s not a serious problem. Be it man or machine, problems arise once you grow old…”

Tang Yue used a wrench to hit the Mars Wanderer’s hull and moved away the power cables underneath to glance inside. As a mechanical engineer, repairing the Mars Wanderer was part of his job. He knew the old dog better than anyone.

“Can you fix it before we set off tomorrow morning?” Tomcat sked.

“No problem. I’ve done the checks. There shouldn’t be any malfunctions any time soon.” Tang Yue nodded. “However, we still have a long distance ahead. Let’s hope it can last until we reach our destination… Wanderer o’ Wanderer, we’ll be relying on you to walk out of this desert alive. You must stay reliable. If you want to die, die after you complete the mission.”

Unfortunately, the vehicle couldn’t open its mouth.

Otherwise, it would definitely snap the man’s throat apart.

“We have to avoid complicated terrain, especially steep slopes and cliffs. From the present situation… The transmission drive is very worn out. The Wanderer no longer has the ability to climb up slopes. It’s best we don’t meet that ancient long wall you encountered the last time.” Tang Yue sat on the ground. “Otherwise, we’ll definitely have to get out and push it.”

“Don’t worry. The wall is west of Kunlun Station,” Tomcat said. “We have been heading northeast. It’s impossible we will meet it.”

“Who knows?” Tang Yue shrugged. “What if the wall, built by a bunch of super-ancient Martians, was built as a circular enclosure? It circles the entire Isidis Planitia to withstand against any invasion from gigantic enemies.”

“Cut the nonsense,” Tomcat said. “The wall was naturally formed.”

Tang Yue was stunned.

“It wasn’t built by super-ancient Martians?”

“Of course not. Mars has probably never had any intelligent civilization in the past. It might have had life in the very distant past, but they didn’t produce advanced intelligence. The ancient wall I encountered might seem fascinating, but it’s, in fact, a work of nature,” Tomcat explained. “After I returned to Kunlun Station, I spent a long time analyzing the reason for its formation. I also used the workstation to run simulations. The calculations told me that the greatest possibility is due to geological activity and weathering.”

“Just that?”

“Just that.” Tomcat nodded. “Most of the things in this world aren’t as fascinating as you imagine. Some things might appear unbelievable, but there’s a rather simple reason behind them.

“I compared the remote sensing data from past years and discovered that the two sides of the wall are geologically different. It’s actually the demarcating line of two huge rock layers. They will shatter under weathering and gravity, just like the relationship of icecaps and ice mountains. And the region that’s geologically low has water gathered in it. At low temperatures, water will freeze into ice that will reduce friction. This causes the rock to easily move and stack up. This process is extremely slow, but after tens of millions of years, enough rock will be stacked up high. After being weathered, they become city walls.

Tang Yue was somewhat disappointed.

Tomcat was often this way. It clearly explained the reasons behind a question without leaving any room for doubt.

Without a doubt, one naturally couldn’t have wild imaginations.

Tang Yue once imagined that Mars was the massive ruins of a civilization—a very romantic fantasy. Every inch of land he walked on had once been walked on by intelligent lifeforms millions of years ago. They had built grand walls that went as far as the eyes could go. There were also massive and flourishing cities with streets running across them and extending into every corner of the world. This great civilization might have been lost to time, but just a glimpse of their remains was enough to stir one’s heart and fill it with respect.

However, Tomcat’s analysis quickly pulled him back to reality.

There had never been any Martians.

Nor were there any high walls or cities.

Much less a grand civilization.

There were only rocks and sand.

“Can’t you leave me some room for imagination?”

“I did,” Tomcat said. “The simulation results are 99.7% identical to the actual situation. You still have a 0.3% chance that Martian civilization exists.”

“That’s enough,” Tang Yue said. “Do you believe that with such a high probability is enough to give birth to a Middle Earth?”

“Gandalf the Grey?”

“Yes, Gandalf the Grey?”

Tang Yue casually pointed at a distant sand dune.

“150 million years ago, in the distant Third Age, Gandalf the Grey stood on that dune raising his staff high up and looking west. He discovered Sauron’s army. From that moment, it drew the curtains of a grand and circuitous epic.”