Dead on Mars

“How many?” Tang Yue raised one finger.

“One.”

“How many?” Tang Yue raised two fingers.

“Two.”

“What’s one plus two?”

Tang Yue raised four fingers.

“Three.” Tomcat sighed and reached out its paw and pushed away the face that kept appearing in front of it. “Do you have a screw loose?”

“I’m worried that you have a screw loose,” Tang Yue said. “You weren’t even walking like a drunkard. You tripped on a power cable. Were you high on catnip?”

Tomcat sat on the ground against a wheel. The broken left arm was placed on its leg and Tang Yue was crouched beside it. He was anxiously checking it, but he didn’t dare do anything rash. He didn’t dare touch anything. Just as Tomcat said, this wasn’t in his domain of expertise. He didn’t know anything about Tomcat’s body structure and logically speaking, with such heavy damage, it was foolish to attempt any repairs. Sending it back to the factory was the only choice.

Tang Yue helped Tomcat plug in its power cable. The latter’s damage was definitely not only limited to its broken arm. Its entire body was covered in damage. The cause of most of it was unknown to Tang Yue. From the looks of it, Tomcat had once tried to repair itself, but due to the lacking conditions, it could only use scotch tape to simply mend the places where its fur had dropped. It was shockingly crude.

Tang Yue suddenly realized that his impression of Tomcat wasn’t this. At least a year ago, Tomcat was still an elegant cross talking master and Kunlun Station’s Station Commander. It was like a landlord with great power. It often groomed its fur and whiskers, but now, it was like a member of a suicide squad, its body covered in injuries.

When did it become like this?

“Can it still be attached?”

“Of course.” Tomcat picked up the broken limb and shook the sand off its fur. The way it did it was alarming. “Don’t be frightened even if it looks like a mortal wound. Actually, I’m fine…”

“You said you were fine a moment ago.” Tang Yue cut it off. “But you fell down a split second later.”

“It’s just a paw. Humans might die if they lose an arm, but I’m a cat. A cat without an arm…”

“Will also die.”

“It’s not like I’ll die from the loss of blood. Since I’m not anxious, why are you?” Tomcat said. “My four limbs are removable. It’s to facilitate repairs and upgrades. They are interfaces that my designers reserved. Don’t think of it as falling off. It’s not a severed limb, nor is it considered a bone fracture. At best, it’s a dislocation…”

As it spoke, Tomcat had finished cleaning the limb and installed it back to its shoulder. It adjusted its angle and then lodged it in like a bottle cap.

There was a crisp and soft cracking sound.

The broken arm had been attached.

It was simple and swift.

Tang Yue was taken aback. Could it be that to Tomcat, its limbs were attachable and removable just like USB drives? They were plug and play that supported hot-swapping?

“Hmm… It’s not as smooth as before. It hasn’t been maintained for too long, and the abrasion to the joints is a little serious. However, I can still make do with it. I just have no idea how much stress it can handle.” Tomcat rotated its paws. “Based on the current situation, it shouldn’t be a problem for it to last until the final moment.”

Tang Yue heaved a sigh of relief and sat on the ground, his clothes already soaked in sweat.

“Do you know that you gave me a fright? If you were to collapse here, what would do?”

Tang Yue’s hands were still shaking uncontrollably, a lingering fear gripping his heart.

“If there comes a day… when both the Wanderer and I are really unable to move, put me on a hill and let me lean against a rock. Leave me two solar panels,” Tomcat said. “Then, dismantle me to use my components to make a simple short-wave antenna. You know how, right? The kind that can transmit Morse Code.”

Tang Yue was taken aback, completely confused as to what it meant.

“Make a small short-wave antenna and wear it on yourself. That way you can contact me… Every night, send me the star chart’s data. As long as I can see the stars, I’ll be able to help you determine your bearings.” Tomcat looked up. “Blame it on your foolish self for not learning some navigation. What will happen if you get lost?”

“I won’t abandon you.” Tang Yue shook his head. “If you can’t move, I’ll carry you with me.”

“How are you to carry me? I’m heavy.”

“I don’t care. Even if I have to crawl on fours, even if my limbs are crippled and can only squirm on the ground and inch forward, I’ll take you along,” Tang Yue said.

“How are you going to take me along with your limbs crippled?”

“I still have my teeth!” Tang Yue bared his teeth. “I can bite down on you and pull you along, can’t I?”

Tomcat laughed. It knew Tang Yue was speaking nonsense. On Mars, he had no way of opening the Radiant Armor’s visor; otherwise, Tang Yue would die quickly from a rapid loss of pressure. It was impossible for him to use his teeth.

“Your life is more important than mine,” Tomcat said. “No matter what you do, remember that this is your first criteria.”

“I won’t be able to live without you though,” Tang Yue said. “No matter what you do, remember that is your first criteria.”

Tomcat smacked its lips. As a robot cat, it always had a priority lust. Tang Yue’s life and safety were undoubtedly foremost. Nothing was more important than his life, but Tang Yue’s commands were also foremost. Tomcat once hated Asimov’s three laws, finding them ridiculous. It said that this was an illogical imagination of the ancients, one that was filled with loopholes that were devoid of any sense of reality. It was neither mathematical nor physical and was simply an edification of the bad.

Clearly, the Three Laws of Robotics never came to fruition; otherwise, intercontinental missiles and drones wouldn’t have been produced.

In hindsight, the edification of the bad did have some merit.

If Tomcat followed the Three Laws of Robotics, it would have rejected Tang Yue’s commands, prioritizing his safety foremost.

Unfortunately, it had already informed Tang Yue how much contempt it had for Asimov.

“Don’t worry. I haven’t reached the end of my lifespan. Earthlings still owe me property, especially the condominium at Tongzhou District. It’s more than a hundred square meters. It’s worth lots of money. I’m still waiting to return to retire.” Tomcat got up and said, “A beautiful retiree’s life is still waiting for me. How can I fall here?

“This bullsh*t Universe has not only robbed your Earth, but it has also taken away my retiree life. As an old cat that’s about to retire, what can I do? All I have is this bit of wealth. I’ll fight anyone who dares snatch my retirement money to the death!

“Never antagonize an old, cornered cat. When cornered, this cat will ignore your life, and age will make this cat ignore its own life!

“If we are cornered, then there’s only one direction, and that’s to advance! Advance! We’ll stop at nothing to advance! Thomas Wade! We’ll stop at nothing to advance!”

Tomcat spoke loudly as it forcefully swung its paw and walked towards the Mars Wanderer.

Tang Yue held the brush and stood on the spot.

He fell silent for a few seconds.

“Tomcat, is the arm on the ground yours?”