Die on Mars

Maidong felt like he was going to die.

She forced herself to sleep six times in the past ten hours. This was the seventh time she was woken up by hunger. In the past two days, Maidong had only eaten two sandwiches, three compressed biscuits and two glasses of water. These were just A full lunch meal for an adult, but Ophiopogon japonicus had to divide them into six portions.

Her last compressed cookie had been eaten six hours ago.

Maidong searched all the cabins of the United Space Station, opened every cabinet, and took a bite of everything that looked suspiciously edible - she was a Guangzhou girl after all, but the supplies in the United Space Station were so scarce that even the Cantonese people They can all starve to death.

The girl huddled in her sleeping bag, staring straight at the bulkhead above her head with her eyes open. Her face was pale and as weak as a reed stalk.

Maidong's bedroom is a small cubicle, not much larger than the bathroom. The sleeping bag is tied vertically to the bulkhead with nylon straps, and the door of the cubicle can be closed with a curtain.

The United Space Station was filled with roaring noises all the time, as if there was a construction site next door. Maidong couldn't isolate herself even with earplugs. She could only tie foam plastic around her bedroom and surround it tightly, and then Tuck your head into your sleeping bag.

Maidong tried to close his eyes, but after a while, he opened them again.

She really couldn't sleep.

She is so hungry.

There had never been such a moment when Maidong felt that she was so close to death. She stared blankly at the ropes and stickers on the opposite bulkhead, as if she had already seen her own end. If nothing else happened, she would be so silent. The earth died alone, slowly turning into ashes and withered bones in a corner where no one could touch it.

This is hopelessly depressing, as if you are locked in a cage and sinking into deep water, and no one in the universe can hear your cry for help.

A small Shiba Inu plush doll floated into the girl's field of vision. Maidong took out his hand and grabbed the little toy.

She pinched the ugly dog's head, rubbed it around, and laughed silently.

"If only you were a real puppy..."

Maidong said softly.

"Then I can eat you."

The dazzling sunlight filtered through the gap in the bedroom door curtain, and the bright white light beam reflected on the dark lining of the living cabin. Maidong knew that the sun was rising again.

There is actually no difference between day and night in the Joint Space Station. The operating cycle of the space station is one hour and twenty minutes, which means that it can circle Mars in less than an hour and a half, and people who stay on the station can see the sun rise and set once. , in a twenty-four-hour Earth day, sixteen sunrises and sunsets can be seen from the Joint Space Station.

So Ophiopogon japonicus relies on time planning for her sleep. She sets an alarm clock for herself, goes to bed at the specified time, and gets up to work when the alarm clock rings... In fact, Ophiopogon japonicus doesn't have much work to do. Her job is to be a plant. A scientific expert is growing some potatoes, tomatoes and lettuce in a small experimental cabin on the space station to study the growth of edible plants under microgravity conditions.

Maidong got out of the sleeping bag, pushed the bulkhead gently, floated out of the bedroom backwards, and then passed through the hatches of the cabins, as if walking through a tunnel.

The Joint Space Station is obviously a claustrophobic and narrow place, but Maidong still feels empty when he is alone.

Ophiopogon japonicus's fixed route is to go to the experimental cabin to see the seeds in the petri dishes after getting up, and then walk around each functional cabin to check the functions of each module of the space station.

The Joint Space Station is similar to the ISS on Earth. It is a combined truss structure. The largest part of the space station is a 150-meter-long metal truss. All cabins and solar panels are attached to this frame. There are seven main cabins in the joint space station. Maidong will wander around these functional cabins to ensure that there are no problems with them.

These cabins have different functions and carry a variety of sophisticated scientific research equipment, but they are all closed now. Ophiopogon japonicus alone cannot use the magnetic spectrometer or X-ray analyzer, all power-consuming gadgets. are switched off to reduce energy consumption.

After walking around the entire joint space station, Maidong finally returned to the core module, where he tried to contact Kunlun Station.

During the period when contact with Kunlun Station was lost, Maidong was really frightened. She called Tang Yue every once in a while and even forgot to look for food.

Maidong glanced at the time, which was 3:16 a.m. on August 16, 2052 in the Earth calendar.

Today is the day the Eagle spacecraft is launched.

The girl curled up in the core cabin, floating in the cabin and slowly rotating. She was surrounded by dense instruments and buttons. The Crystal core cabin was the only cabin that could still maintain full functionality at this time, because the system computer of the space station was here, and communications The system is here too.

Through the porthole, Maidong could see the majestic surface of Mars outside. This huge brown-red planet almost filled her entire field of vision. The slightly curved horizon divided the entire universe into two halves, with the dark night sky on one side. , on the other side is the brown land, and the sun is gradually rising, illuminating the thin layer of atmosphere on the surface of Mars, like a bright diamond ring.

"This is the United Space Station. The 460th call is to Kunlun Station. Mr. Tang Yue, Mr. Cat...please answer when you receive it..."

There was no response on the communication channel. It seemed that the sandstorm had not abated yet.

In the communication a few hours ago, Lao Mao told her that the Kunlun Station below had encountered a sandstorm. The bad weather had interfered with communications. They were working hard to solve it. At the same time, he comforted her that the Eagle spacecraft was ready and could be launched at any time. Give yourself peace of mind while waiting for supplies.

I don’t know if they have solved it.

Maidong rested her chin on her knees, her short black hair slowly fluttering under the weightlessness, and various small things floating around her.

"This is the United Space Station. The 461st call is to Kunlun Station. Mr. Tang Yue, Mr. Cat, please answer when you receive it..."

"This is the United Space Station, the 462nd call to Kunlun Station..."

Maidong called mechanically over and over again. The United Space Station was like a small broadcasting station on an isolated island, surrounded by the boundless and uninhabited ocean. But it was still sending out messages tirelessly in the hope that someone would receive it. to these radio waves.

Just thinking about it makes me feel lonely.

This is probably the last radio station in the universe. Maidong thought that if the supply delivery plan failed, then she would set the radio system of the Joint Space Station to the maximum power, and after her death, she would have it broadcast to the entire universe. Jean's piano piece "Summer".

This is her favorite song.

The Joint Space Station doesn’t know how many more years it can remain in orbit. As long as it is still in orbit, let it continue to play and let this warm and cheerful tune become the background music of Mars and even the entire universe.

If Mr. Tang Yue and Mr. Cat on Mars turn on the radio, they might be able to receive this music from space, which may make their lives less boring.

very nice.

Maidong laughed.