Dead on Mars

Tomcat parked the Wanderer in the desert before moving the Chelomey probe. It switched off the probe’s computer and folded back the solar panels and legs. Then, it dragged it onto the Wanderer’s sled and secured it with rope.

The Chelomey’s lander was about 150 kilograms. It was considered small in size among all the Martian probes. Back then, the Chelomey project was limited in budget. It was an obscure project under Roscosmos. It was also given a mission for education purposes. It collected experiment proposals from students all over the country and finally, a middle school in St. Petersburg won. Their program was to get the probe to carry a culture dish that they had designed. This involved the need for a temperature control which was helmed by the Intel TCU1524M processor.

While designing the Chelomey, the experts had sought Tomcat’s advice. It had built up a good relationship with the engineers and had joined them in drinking vodka once. It was during that instance when one of the experts who had too much to drink divulged that all the Russian probes sent to Mars used the activation command, Katyusha.

Tomcat did a simple inspection of the Chelomey and found it extremely well preserved. Back then, the Chelomey’s landing was very successful. If not for the sandstorm, it could have completed its work until the end of its lifespan. If there had been enough funding, it could have even served far beyond that.

“Welcome aboard the Mars Wanderer, a non-stop service to Kunlun Station.” Tomcat pushed the probe with all its might and determined that it was secured. “All passengers, please make sure your seat belt is securely fastened as the tractor will be starting at any moment…”

Tomcat returned to the driving compartment and started the Wanderer’s engines.

It glanced at the battery indicator, it still had more than 90% left after the recharge. It could go on for about 30 kilometers.

Tomcat turned the wheel and the Wanderer began to turn. At this point, Tomcat had finished half its mission. It still needed at least three sols to return to Kunlun Station… It was best if Tang Yue didn’t cause any trouble during these three sols.

The Mars Wanderer proceeded between two dunes as it prevented the wheels from sinking into the sand. In the past, the Mars Wanderer would often get stuck in holes, forcing everyone on board to get off to push it. Now, with Tomcat the only one on the vehicle, it would be quite difficult for it to push the vehicle alone.

Tomcat would rather take a detour than attempt to cross steep dunes.

“High are the mountains; long are the rivers; harsh is the road to Heaven…”

Tomcat sat in the driver’s seat as it wobbled its head while humming the song, Riding the Train to Lhasa, just like a driver on a long haul trip to Lhasa, Tibet.

“Passing through the plains; crossing mountains, carrying dreams and fortune. Singing my way to Tanggula, I ride the train to Lhasa…”

Tomcat kept the beat as it belted out a high note like a poorly tuned gong.

“To see the mystical Potala; to see the prettiest Galsang flower…”

The Mars Wanderer proceeded amidst the singing, thrashing through the gravel and sand as it traversed the vast, desolate lands. The sled behind it also tossed back and forth, sending a cloud of dust in its wake.

…

“Tang Yue? Tang Yue?”

“Huh?” Tang Yue pinched his nose as he cracked open a tiny slit in the container filled with feces and soil, narrowing his eyes to take a peek on the fertilizer’s fermentation progress. “What’s up?”

Low temperatures were indeed unsuitable for microbes to proliferate. The fermentation of the fertilizer was happening extremely slowly.

“It’s time for us to communicate now, but Mr. Cat hasn’t sent an email today,” Mai Dong said. “Nothing has gone wrong, has it?”

“Don’t worry. What could go wrong? Based on the time, it should be making its way back.” Tang Yue stuck a metal rod into the container and began stirring the solidified feces. Beneath the black outer crust of the feces was a dark green color that resembled matcha. “Perhaps it overslept… Heavens, this shit nugget looks like a green bean paste.”

“Green bean paste?” Mai Dong’s ears pricked up as her eyes brightened. “Where did this green bean past come from?”

The ten tomato seeds in the box had finally shown signs of improvement. Three seeds had finally protruded out of the seed’s kernel, leaving Tang Yue extremely excited. Lady Luck had finally smiled at him, ensuring that the meticulous care he had put in all these days wasn’t for nothing. He made sure they were warm and hydrated, and these seeds had not let him down.

Since the seeds had begun germinating, it implied that his solution was workable. It was only a matter of time for the other seeds.

“Trudge on, Comrades! Strive for higher targets!” Tang Yue cheered on the yet-to-sprout seeds. “Whoever germinates the fastest gets a prize!”

“What prize are you giving them?” Mai Dong asked.

“I’ll give them a chance to be recorded in history! I’ll make them the greatest tomatoes in history!” Tang Yue said. “When we start chronicling history in the future, this will be written: In the past 15 billion years, and for the next 20 billion years, never has there been such great tomatoes born in this Universe. They survived against all odds by bearing fruit, perfectly accentuating the grit and courage that all life contains—life will find a way!”

Mai Dong looked at Tang Yue in silence before laughing.

“What are you laughing at?”

“I… I think you are talking about us,” Mai Dong said.

“I thought you would laugh at my English pronunciation,” Tang Yue shrugged. “My English high school teacher often said that my accent comes along with the smell of pickled vegetables.”

Looking at the white sprout, Tang Yue felt as though he could already see plump red tomatoes. He couldn’t remember how long it had been since he had tasted fresh vegetables. The last time he had fresh food felt like a lifetime ago, so distant that it felt like another life.

Tang Yue had once heard of some distant outposts at the borders that were high above the snow-line on mountains. Once winter sealed off passage to the mountains, all supplies were cut. The warriors at the outpost had to survive their days on canned food. For half a year, they wouldn’t have any fresh vegetables to the point of them wanting to have a bite of the green weeds on the ground. Tang Yue was in a similar state. The green feces in the container reminded him of green bean paste… Tang Yue hurriedly stopped himself from thinking further.

“Tang Yue, Mr. Cat hasn’t contacted me yet. It’s already past the scheduled time…” Mai Dong was a little worried. “Will it be alright?”

“What did it tell you?”

“It said it would contact me twice a sol, once during the day, and once at night,” Mai Dong replied. “When the time comes, it would contact me. If there’s no email thirty minutes after the scheduled time, that means that something has happened to it.”

“What time should it have contacted you today?” Tang Yue asked.

“Six in the afternoon.”

Tang Yue looked at the time. It was thirty-five minutes past six.

“Have you tried contacting it?”

“Yes. I’ve been constantly calling out to it for the past hour.” Mai Dong shook her head. “There hasn’t been any reply.”

While the Mars Wanderer was advancing, its communications antenna was put away, making it unable to receive any radio signals, so Tomcat had to be the one to contact the space station.

Tang Yue felt a little uneasy. Although Tomcat was quite a nag, it was rather reliable, and its plans were watertight. To not make contact after the scheduled time, meant that something had happened. It was impossible for it to be a mistake.

“Let’s wait a little longer, a little longer…” Tang Yue tried hard to keep calm as he tightly clasped the blanket over his body. “Nothing will happen to Tomcat. It must be busy with something, and can’t contact us in time. Just wait until it’s done… just wait until it’s done.”

“Tang Yue, why don’t you have some sleep first?” Mai Dong asked. “I’ll wait.”

“No! No… I’ll wait with you. I’ll wait with you.”

The two fell silent as Kunlun Station was filled with an uneasy silence as time slowly ticked away.

Seven in the evening.

“Has there been any news from Tomcat?”

“No.”

Half-past seven.

“Any news?”

“Not yet.”

Eight in the evening.

“News?”

Mai Dong shook her head.

Nine in the evening.

There was still no news. It felt as though Tomcat had vanished from the world. There was nothing from it.