Dead on Mars

“Eh? It will hit?”

Tomcat wore a very heavy expression as it slowly nodded.

Tang Yue sat on the chair, grabbing his hair in silence. He needed some alone time.

Mai Dong was taken aback. “How much longer? How much longer will it take for the comet to hit?”

“Comet Tomcat-Tang-Mai I has already moved past Jupiter’s orbit. It’s about 2 AU from Mars,” Tomcat answered. “At its present seed, it will arrive in forty-seven sols.”

“If it hits… the outcome will be disastrous, right?”

“It will be equivalent to having 52 trillion nuclear bombs explode at the same time. The force generated is ten times more powerful than the meteorite that wiped out the dinosaurs 65 million years ago,” Tomcat said in a heavy tone. “It will rip off half the Martian surface.”

Mai Dong held her breath.

She looked petrified, unsure how she was to face the situation placed before her. She had never received any training on what to do during a comet hit.

“Will Kunlun Station survive?”

Tomcat shook its head. “We aren’t sure yet. If we are lucky, perhaps; otherwise, it will be a terrible death.”

“Then… what about the United Space Station?”

Tomcat didn’t say a word as it fell silent for two minutes, shaking its head.

Mai Dong knew that Tomcat’s actions meant that Kunlun Station might still survive, but there was no hope for the space station.

The United Space Station was just too weak. It had zero mobility, defense, or survivability. Before this terrifying disaster of apocalyptic proportions, it had no chance of being lucky.

Once Comet Tomcat-Tang-Mai I hit the Martian surface, it would produce debris weighing a trillion tonnes in near-Mars orbit. Being hit by any of this debris was enough to destroy the space station.

The United Space Station would lose its attitude. The modules would lose pressure from puncturing. The spacecraft’s fuel would leak. The frame and solar panels would be snapped into pieces.

“That also means… I still have forty-seven sols left?”

Mai Dong floated in front of the camera in her usual attire—a blue work suit with rolled-up sleeves and a cap. Her collar’s zip was pulled up high, revealing only a portion of her fair neck. According to her, she often didn’t wear clothes underneath to save on water.

Tomcat’s and Tang Yue’s silence was an answer.

Mai Dong lowered her head as she looked at Ah Q which was floating beside her.

“Then I need to make every second count.”

“Make every second count?” Tang Yue and Tomcat exchanged looks before looking back at Mai Dong.

“That’s right. Don’t we still have plenty of work unfinished? Mai Dong nodded. “Since I only have forty-seven sols left, I should make every second count and finish all the missions I have in hand… I haven’t finished the history of philosophy. Likewise for the history of science. There’s also the first and second Industrial Revolution. Let’s see how much I can finish.”

Tang Yue and Tomcat were shocked. This was actually the first thought she had when stepping at the boundary of life and death. Before everything came to an end, she wanted to leave behind more human legacies for the Universe.

“No… No, no, no, no. That’s absolutely not the case. It shouldn’t be like that.” Tomcat stood up as it frantically circled the Hab. “I said that the interactions between the celestial bodies in the Solar System are very complicated. Any minor disturbance can lead to completely different outcomes. It’s a chaos system. There’s no way of precisely predicting it. It’s still too early to speak of doom!”

Tang Yue looked up. “There’s still a chance?”

“I’m not sure about that,” Tomcat said. “But it’s still indeterminable! Are we so certain that the goddamn comet will hit Mars once it enters the Solar System? Of course not. Its trajectory is a result of thousands of conditions. A mechanical fate was thrown into the dumpster more than a century ago… Does God play dice? Do you think It will roll a die?”

Tomcat looked at Tang Yue before looking at Mai Dong.

Tang Yue and Mai Dong were taken aback.

“I believe It will,” Tomcat said.

“Why?”

“It’s because if It doesn’t play dice,” Tomcat pointed at its head, “I wouldn’t be born.

“Since It plays dice, there’s no way for It to always roll one. As long as It keeps rolling, a six will eventually appear!” Tomcat’s voice reached a crescendo. “Life is born out of indeterminism. Then perhaps survival is born out of indeterminism as well.”

Kunlun Station was silent.

Mai Dong smiled. “Mr. Cat.”

“Wait, wait, wait. Why were you referring to God with It, and not He?” Tang Yue frowned with puzzlement. He often paid attention to the oddest matters. “Are you discriminating against a religion’s god?”

“Of course not. He is the god of you humans,” Tomcat explained. “It is the god of us cats.”

“Listen up… Tang Yue, and Miss Mai Dong.” Tomcat stood in front of the airlock, turned around and surveyed the area. Its eyes emitted a shocking glow. “As long as I’m still alive, I’ll guarantee your safety.”

…

A series of actions to save themselves began.

Comet Tomcat-Tang-Mai I still had about forty-seven sols before hitting Mars, which meant about 1,128 hours.

Tang Yue and company were like ants before an impending disaster. They were trying hard to find a small area of refuge in the face of an apocalyptic disaster.

For the time being, Tomcat was unable to estimate where the comet would hit. It did a careful calculation of the impact force and comparing it to Kunlun Station’s ability to withstand shocks, it finally determined that Comet Tomcat-Tang-Mai I would destroy everything within a thousand kilometers of its impact point. The high temperatures and pressure would melt the desert into glass.

And the powerful shockwave would spread outwards 2,500 kilometers. Beyond this range, the shockwave would reduce drastically.

As long as Kunlun Station was beyond this range, there was the basic guarantee that it would remain structurally sound.

It was impossible to completely avoid the shockwave as the impact would create a super-earthquake that ran through the entire globe.

Thankfully, Kunlun Station’s earthquake-proof properties had been considered during its design. It had a firm frame with a dome structure. It was born to have good anti-earthquake characteristics.

As for the outer material and walls, Tomcat and Tang Yue didn’t dare to have any extravagant hopes. They could thank their lucky stars if they survived the apocalyptic disaster. As long as the frame didn’t collapse, the roof could be fixed with plastic film and tape if it tore away.

As for whether Kunlun Station would be destroyed, that depended on luck.

After all, Kunlun Station couldn’t be taken away in a pocket.

You can run but you can’t hide.

In this desert, without the station, running didn’t mean survival.

Mars had a total surface area of 1.441 × 10⁸ square kilometers.

The entire northern hemisphere was approximately 7.2 × 10⁷ square kilometers while Comet Tomcat-Tang-Mai I could completely destroy an area of 19,625,000 square kilometers.

This also meant that it would destroy about 27% of the northern hemisphere.

The remaining was the chance of Kunlun Station’s survival.

As long as they weren’t directly embroiled in the region spanning 19,625,000 square kilometers, Kunlun Station had a chance of surviving the disaster thanks to its sound structure.

In addition, the two humans and cat began racking their brains for ideas to save the United Space Station.

Under the present situation, Tang Yue and Mai Dong didn’t hold hopes that they could survive the disaster safely. They would save whatever they could, be it Kunlun Station or the space station.

Likewise for whoever who could survive.

At the very least, they didn’t wish for the goddamn comet to wipe out the last of the humans.