Die on Mars

six

There are still 15 days left in the countdown, and the twenty astronauts on the moon have completed setting up the space laboratory.

This space program named "Prometheus" has high hopes from mankind. People hope that it can bring back hope of saving the earth, just like the god who stole fire in Greek mythology.

This project has exhausted almost all the technological reserves of mankind. Someone once joked that after the completion of this project, the aerospace technology level of all major countries in the world will remain at the same level.

Twelve lunar modules landed in the same crater to facilitate multi-person collaboration. The landing point error was required not to exceed 0.5 meters. This was a great challenge for both ground personnel and astronauts. Fortunately, with the superb skills of the astronauts , the landing was very smooth. The crater is close to the top of the huge number "1" on the moon, and people can carefully explore this bottomless ravine at close range.

The command module and service module remaining in the near-lunar orbit are responsible for observing the numerical changes on the lunar surface. The observation data are directly sent to the earth. Several giant radio telescopes in China are responsible for receiving the signals.

Chen Xin is one of the astronauts responsible for the moon landing mission. He is the commander of the Prometheus 7 spacecraft.

As the first Chinese to land on the moon, he had neither the lofty ambitions nor the heroic words of Neil Armstrong. On the contrary, Chen Xin was very frustrated. Under such circumstances, landing on the moon was indeed not an exciting thing. , the astronauts on the lunar mission were generally in a low mood, and they didn't even know if they could go back alive.

In fact, it doesn't make any difference whether you can go back alive or not.

The astronauts brought enough fresh water and food. These survival necessities were enough for them to sustain their lives on the moon for fifteen days, so that they could persist until the last moment in the worst case scenario. Chen Xin looked up at the light blue star. Like a crystal planet, he didn't know whether this was luck or misfortune. If this was really the end of the world, those of them on the moon would not have to witness the last moments of human beings and avoid inner suffering, but it also meant that They can no longer reunite with their loved ones, and the most basic right to die together has been deprived of them.

Chen Xin still remembers saying goodbye to his wife and family before setting off. They were all silent and looked at him as if they were at a funeral. The chief engineer once said to himself, Xiao Chen... I know this is unfair to you, but there is nothing we can do.

Yes, there is no way, humans have no way.

The moon was desolate and desolate, and the sunlight was strong. Chen Xin was alone on the silver-white plain. The extreme loneliness of isolation from the world surged up like a tide. He felt that he had been abandoned by the world, or that he had abandoned the world.

"Moonquake! Oh my god...Chen! There's a moonquake!" Someone yelled in the earphones, and Chen Xin recognized the voice of John Young, commander of the Prometheus 6 spacecraft. Yang is an experienced American astronaut. , has a calm personality and is calm in situations. Chen Xin has never seen him so panicked.

Before Chen Xin had time to react, the ground beneath his feet suddenly shook. The shaking was felt from far to near, and finally it was so strong that the ground felt like a trampoline, and Chen Xin could hardly stand still. He is like a piece of paper on a drum, and now suddenly someone starts beating the drum so hard that the vibration is enough to make the paper fly into the air. The gravity on the moon is only one-sixth that of the earth, and the friction of the lunar soil is very small. Chen Xin turned around and wanted to return to the lunar module, but he slipped and fell to the ground. Through the gold-plated mask, Chen Xin saw himself landing The lunar module's landing gear collapsed.

The atmosphere in the operation control hall of the Beijing headquarters is very tense. Everyone is staring at the screen on the wall. Tonight they will observe the digital changes on the moon surface in real time and up close.

"Moonquake detected!" People started to commotion, "The amplitude of the earthquake continues to increase!"

"Quiet!" The director calmed the panicked crowd. He stood under the screen and shouted angrily at everyone, "Everyone sit down!"

Worry about the safety of the astronauts on the moon gradually came to mind. The old director looked up at the noisy, flickering and blurry images on the screen, and felt sorry for the young people who were isolated and helpless 380,000 kilometers away. sweat.

"Oh - look, look, this is incredible." Komarov shook his head. He took off his mask, but still wore a bulky spacesuit. The Russian gestured with his hands and tried to describe his brain to the others. The association in, "This looks like..."

"Like Tangram or Huarong Road." Chen Xin said.

"Tangram... Huarong Road?" McInliffe repeated these two strange words in a Western accent.

"It is an ancient Chinese game." Chen Xin explained, "It relies on movable boards embedded in a wooden frame to piece together different patterns."

"That's right...it's a movable board." Komarov nodded, "Just like the plates of the earth."

The astronauts squeezed into the small living cabin to observe the images from the command module in near-lunar orbit. For the first time, they could clearly see the process of digital changes. This was indeed like the movement of the earth's plates. The rocks on the moon's surface seemed to be moving. It turned into the world's largest jigsaw puzzle overnight. These moving rock plates were staggered and exchanged positions with each other, leaving gaps to form numbers. It seemed as if there was an extremely huge machine in the center of the moon driving this change. The engine's Its operation is enough to cause a moonquake of magnitude 12.

The moon turned into a machine overnight. This is an even more absurd fantasy than the moon being a prehistoric bomb. It is an idea that even the most arrogant mental patients would not dare to have, but it is a fact.

When reality is more outrageous, crazy, and hysterical than fantasy, human beings can only watch the world go crazy, but they don't know whether they should go crazy with it.

With 15 days left in the countdown, the whole world fell silent. The universe posed a question to mankind. Human beings racked their brains and finally concluded that this question has no solution.

This is true despair, as if people fleeing a fire struggled to find a way out, but only to find that the exit they had hoped for had been blocked when they arrived at the door.

Now that the fire is getting closer and closer, all escape routes are blocked. People trapped in the fire scene have only two choices...either to stay where they are and wait, which will be an extremely painful and torturous process, seeing death approaching step by step, or to commit suicide.

Some people choose to wait, but they still don't give up hope. They place their hope in a miracle, hoping to see someone rush in to save them at the last moment. Some people choose to commit suicide because they dare not face the long ordeal.

Massive mass suicides didn't really spread until the countdown entered the first digit. Seeing Zero approaching the government step by step but unable to do anything, the last hope in people's hearts was finally shattered.

The government is shaky and barely manages to maintain its management of the country, but the only person who can still stick to their posts at this time is the old gatekeeper.

Most people suffer from lunatophobia, and they no longer dare to look up at the moon. People are digging cellars frantically, as if the few meters of rock and soil above their heads can guarantee their safety. What's more, some people dare not set foot on the ground all day long. People linger underground to avoid the moon for psychological comfort.

seven

There are three days left in the countdown.

The president prayed in the church, and the priest stood silently by.

"God..." The president raised his head and stared at Jesus crucified for a long time. "Where is our road?"

He has just signed the "White Paper on National Emergency Response", which stipulates that all acts of flight will no longer be considered treason. As long as they have the ability, citizens can go wherever they want without any cumbersome procedures. In fact, this The order came too late. The fuel transportation system of the transportation network has completely collapsed. The only means of transportation that people can rely on are bicycles and their own legs.

NORAD is probably the last government agency in the country that can still function normally. It miraculously maintains the calm and seriousness that a military agency should have. Not only because the president and other senior dignitaries are here, this is located in the Cheyenne Mountain nuclear bunker. The internal military department is also responsible for monitoring infrared signals emitted by missiles around the world.

Although the world has come to an end, the military's rigor and sense of mission are still allowing these people to protect national security.

In a sense, the nuclear balance during this period was more unstable than during the Cuban Missile Crisis of the Cold War. In a depressive atmosphere that could drive people crazy, people did not know what ridiculous things they could do.

Even if there are only three days left, it is the task of these people to maintain the security of the country for three days.

Black-clad security suddenly burst into the church, interrupted the prayers, and took the president away.

"Let me go!" the president struggled and yelled, "I order you to let me go!" In this dark underground bunker, the church may be the only place where you can get some comfort. Looking up at the man nailed to the cross Jesus acted as if his sufferings were not worth mentioning.

The security guard lowered his head and whispered in the president's ear. The president's angry expression froze on his face, and the words stuck in his throat. He waved his hands in the air as if he wanted to grab something, but finally gave up resistance. His hands and feet Hanging down weakly, he allowed the big men to take him away, like a condemned prisoner being dragged to the execution ground, with an expression of relief and heartbreak on his face.

Alarms sounded repeatedly in the corridor outside the door, dark red lights flashed in front of the eyes, and people passed by in a hurry without saying a word.

The devil in the bottle was finally released, and the Sword of Damocles fell from the sky and nailed the struggling man to the ground.

No one knows who launched the nuclear bomb first. Several nuclear-armed countries accuse each other but can't agree. This may be an act of national revenge, or it may just be the madness in some people's hearts, but all reasons are no longer important.

When humans cross this red line that once made them tremble in fear at a glance, destroying each other is the only thing to do next.

As Oppenheimer said when he looked at the nuclear bomb explosion in the distance, the sky was full of strange lights, like the Holy Spirit showing off his power. Only a thousand suns can compete with it. I am the god of death, the destroyer of the world.

A thousand suns exploded on the earth, and their dazzling light could be seen on the moon.

Mankind is his own death.

"Oh my God! Oh my God...no...no!" Chen Xin covered his eyes in pain. He watched helplessly as the humans on the earth were heading toward destruction step by step but could do nothing. They had just lost all contact with the ground.

There were only fifteen astronauts left on the moon. Collins, the commander of Prometheus 3, took off his spacesuit and walked out of the living module when the first nuclear bomb exploded in San Francisco. The hypothermia killed him instantly.

Collins' entire family is in San Francisco.

The aerospace engineer of Prometheus 4 went crazy. He turned off the life support system of the living cabin while others were sleeping. By the time others noticed this, there was no living person in the living cabin of spacecraft 4.

"Crazy, fucking crazy!" Komarov threw the engineering manual in his hand to the ground, "We have been completely abandoned!"

"Haha, they are all waiting to die. They are waiting to die on the earth, and we are waiting to die on the moon." John Yang was in a daze. He chuckled and patted Chen Xin on the shoulder, "Chen, what kind of thing are you talking about?" What’s a good way to die? Being killed by a nuclear bomb probably won’t be painful, right?”

Chen Xin was desperate. He buried his hands deeply in his hair, and the roots of his hair were painfully pulled out.

It no longer makes any sense to go back or not. The environment in some places on the earth is probably as desolate as on the moon. Chen Xin can only pray that those places do not include his hometown.

"I don't care!" Komarov stood up, "Our mission is over, I want to go back to Earth! I want to go back to Moscow!"

Several other people sat aside indifferently.

"Hey!" Komarov picked up a man by his collar and shouted in his ear, "I want to go back, do you hear me?"

The man opened his eyes blankly, and his light-colored pupils were so dim and turbid that they couldn't even reflect the stubble-covered face of Komarov who was so close at hand.

"Tsk... you're all a fucking coward." Komarov threw him to the ground and spat, "I'll go back alone!"

"You can't go back." Chen Xin whispered, "Without the ground system, you will be burned in the atmosphere."

"Then I would rather die on earth than wait for death in this hellish place!" Komarov cursed, "Just watch, I will scatter my ashes on the vast land of Russia!"

Chen Xin huddled in the corner with his head buried and muttered, "Then you have a good trip."

Komarov put on his spacesuit and stepped out of the living cabin without looking back. Chen Xin admired this brave and fearless Russian who never changed his decision. Chen Xin watched his back disappear into the airlock cabin. When the door opened again, there was no one there.

He really didn't come back.

Chen Xin was a little sleepy. He heard that climbers or polar expeditions died in their sleep when they died of hypothermia. That was actually not bad, as they were unaware and did not suffer any pain.

His vision became increasingly blurry... Chen Xin vaguely saw his wife and children waving to him in the light.

(To be continued)