Dead on Mars

Chapter 238 - Sol Three Hundred and Thirty-Nine, If I Must Die in the Starry Night
“Can you see it?”

“Sand. Just endless sand and rock.” Tang Yue was tiptoeing on a seat, half his body outside the driving compartment. He was propping himself up on the frame like a lookout man on a ship. “I can see the wind blowing from the northwest. Do we need a hard left turn?”

“There’s no need.” Sitting inside the geolab, Tomcat was biting down on a screwdriver and repairing its broken paw. “I’ve already indicated the landmarks to you. Just let the Wanderer head in the direction I told you.”

Tang Yue sat down and held the steering wheel. The Mars Wanderer was moving slowly at a turtle’s leisurely pace. The landmark that Tomcat had pointed out to him was a huge half-buried basalt boulder in the distance. It was unknown how big it actually was, but the exposed part was at least two stories tall. It happened to be on the Wanderer’s route.

Just like the saying, “Mount Hope ran a dead horse, “Tang Yue felt as if he wasn’t getting closer, despite driving the Wanderer all day.

“Don’t tell me it’s a mirage?” Tang Yue mumbled.

On Earth, mirages were very common in the desert, but there was zero evidence that such phenomena happened on Mars.

However, the principle behind mirages was the refraction of light in the atmosphere. The requirements for it to happen were relatively simple, and as long as particular conditions were met, a mirage could take form regardless of the area. Therefore, Tang Yue believed that mirages weren’t exclusive to Earth.

“It’s not a mirage,” Tomcat said. “The Martian atmosphere is too thin and the temperatures are too low. The sunlight is also very weak, making it very difficult for such strong amounts of light refraction to occur. You feel like the distance isn’t shortening because your eyes and brain have erroneously underestimated the distance. In a desert without any reference points, it’s very difficult for you to determine the size of something. Likewise for distance.”

Tang Yue narrowed his eyes. He believed that his vision was rather good, having never suffered from myopia or astigmatism. Thinking back to the days when they were selecting candidates for the Orion crew, Tang Yue had overcome one obstacle after another, standing out among a bunch of young engineers that graduated from prestigious universities like Beihang University, Harbin Institute of Technology, and Northwestern Polytechnical University. One important reason was that he was the only one who had never worn glasses.

The Center’s eyesight test used the Landolt C test, also known as a Landolt ring chart. Tang Yue could see anything at a distance of five meters.

“You don’t believe me? What do you think the distance between you and the target is?” Tomcat asked.

“Hmm…” Tang Yue pondered for a moment. “Eight hundred… One kilometer probably?”

“Actually, that boulder is at least two kilometers away from you,” Tomcat said. “It’s farther than you can imagine, which is why you are mistaken about not being able to reach it despite all the traveling.”

Tomcat blew at its torn fur and placed it on the floor, frowning.

Breaking a paw wasn’t a big deal since it wouldn’t suffer death from hypovolemic shock. But this wasn’t a good omen.

Tomcat knew very well that its machinery was aging. Based on the original design, it was already towards the end of its lifespan. It was part of the first stage of the Mars Landing Project. And everything in the first stage was supposed to be decommissioned and abandoned, including Orion I and II, the Mars Wanderer, and Tomcat.

In the past year, it had burdened itself with excessive work.

Today was the sixth sol.

They were still ninety kilometers from the destination.

Although Tomcat’s limbs were removable and it hadn’t lied to Tang Yue, its paws weren’t hot-swappable like USB drives. Once it broke, the joint connection was no longer firm. From this day forth, it was unlikely it could use the arm to do any heavy-duty work.

Tomcat connected its broken limb and leaned against the window, plastering its face against the glass. Looking out, its expression was suddenly colored with languidness and exhaustion. It sat motionless as it watched the desert sweep past like a child looking out a car’s window.

“Tang Yue,” Tomcat mumbled.

“Huh? I’m here. What’s wrong?”

“Look to your left. There’s a rock underneath the hill. Do you see it?”

“Yes, why?”

“Do you think it looks like fish?”

…