Dead on Mars

“Good morning, Mr. Cat, Tang… What’s wrong?”

Mai Dong was shocked.

She saw Tang Yue sitting on the ground like a wrapped bun. He was wearing a hat and face mask, and he had nearly every inch of his body covered.

“Something went wrong with the temperature control. The control chip was damaged, and now, the Hab’s temperature has dropped below freezing point.” Tomcat sat on a chair, looking as spirited as usual. As a robot, Tomcat relied on batteries to provide it with power for movement. It was a body of steel, so its ability to withstand low temperatures was far greater than any human. At even lower temperatures, it would symbolically tremble a little, as a sign of respect for nature.

Therefore, whether the temperature control functioned, or not, didn’t affect it. At worst, it would simply switch off and enter hibernation.

“What about the backup part?” Mai Dong asked.

“The backup part was the one that spoiled,” Tang Yue mumbled. “Old Wang and the rest swapped the older processor with the backup before leaving. And it’s this backup that broke.”

“What about the other backup parts? Aren’t there any more?”

“Who would hoard a pile of those on Kunlun Station? Miss Mai Dong, would you install composite armor on your rooftop at home?” Tomcat threw up its arms.

Mai Dong was taken aback, completely confused as to what it meant.

“Aren’t you afraid of letting a meteorite slam through your roof if you don’t cover your rooftop with composite armor?” Tomcat shrugged. It waved the chip in its paw. “By the same logic, the complete damage to the temperature control’s processor is a low probability event. The design lifetime of this tiny gizmo is more than ten years. It’s an extremely reliable component.”

“But preparing another two wouldn’t do any harm…”

“Miss Mai Dong, do you think backups are a dime a dozen that they can be stashed away in a cellar?” Tomcat shook its head. “In a high-radiation environment, a semiconductor chip would have its lifespan shortened even when not in use. Therefore, stashing away a pile of backup processors would be meaningless. By the time the processor in the equipment cabinet dies, the backup parts you hoarded would have died as well.”

“I’ve already met the lowest of probabilities,” Tang Yue said sulkily. “I’m the guy that got hit by a meteorite.”

“In a high-radiation environment, the probability of having problems in the circuitry isn’t that low. It’s quite common, in fact. It’s just that a specially optimized chip usually wouldn’t have such serious malfunctions,” Tomcat said. “But a thousand tiny problems can develop into one huge problem.”

“Without this processor, can the temperature control be fixed?” Mai Dong asked. “For example, do something manually? Or let Kunlun Station’s computer manage it?”

“We’ve tried all means.” Tang Yue shook its head. “Nothing worked.”

He and Tomcat had spent the entire night trying out all possible means. Even though the temperature control was at the standards of a Gree Electric air-conditioner, the main problem was that it was coupled to the OGS. While Tang Yue was attempting to fix the temperature control, he had to be very careful about ensuring that the molecular sieve and electrolysis module, carbon dioxide filtering and absorption module, and water recycling module wasn’t damaged. The complexity of these parts far exceeded that of an air-conditioner, and they were precise equipment.

Tang Yue and Tomcat didn’t dare go overboard to use tricks that worked on Earth when fixing electronics for if the OGS malfunctioned, Tang Yue would have his oxygen source terminated. The severity of that far exceeded that of the temperature control.

Tang Yue wrapped himself tightly in his clothes as a cold draft blew through the Hab. He missed the spring days of the South on Earth, the days filled with cherry blossoms.

If Earth hadn’t disappeared, he would have long led Tomcat and Mai Dong back to Earth. Since Kunlun Station was about to be shut down, the OGS and temperature control would also be shut down. In that case, it didn’t matter if the darn processor was damaged. He had nothing to do with it once he left.

The next team that came to Mars would bring brand new backup parts, so a swap would resolve the problem.

Tang Yue had an RTG beside him. He had gone to the garage to bring it over. The RTG relied on Plutonium-238 to emit heat and didn’t need any external power source. During such times, Tang Yue could only rely on it to gain some warmth… He couldn’t even light a fire for everything on Kunlun Station was made of fire-retardant material.

However, Plutonium-238 was a radioactive element that left a harrowing experience. Even though the RTG’s radiation was shielded by a thick case, and was, in fact, very safe, Tang Yue still held a Geiger counter in his hand.

By moving the RTG into the Hab, it meant that the garage lost its heat source. Therefore, all the fermenting sh*t probably had hard days ahead of it.

However, Tang Yue could only save himself for the time being. The feces would have to make do with it.

“What do we do?” Mai Dong turned anxious. “Aren’t there any other emergency measures? If the temperature keeps dropping, how are you to live?”

Tang Yue clung close to the RTG, ignoring if it was emitting radiation. In times like this, he wouldn’t even mind hugging an atom bomb and let out a long, comfortable sigh. He might even snort like a sow, saying, “An RTG is still the best. I’ve decided, I’m never leaving the RTG. Don’t even think of separating the two of us.”

“See that?” Tomcat turned to glance at Mai Dong as it kicked Tang Yue in the ass. It shrugged and said, “This fellow’s life is tougher than a cockroach’s. His ability to linger on during his last days is unparalleled. Why are you worried if he won’t be able to live on?”

“… But we can’t just leave it at that, right? The temperature control needs to be fixed.”

The heat produced by the RTG was extremely limited and was simply a stopgap measure. If the temperature continued dropping, the RTG wouldn’t be able to turn the tide. Tang Yue could sleep hugging it, but he had no way of carrying it with him while working.

“The temperature control needs to be fixed, and we still have one last solution…” Tomcat nodded. “However, I’ll need the help of the United Space Station.”

…

Three hours ago.

“There’s still one last solution? What is it?”

Tomcat threw the processor at Tang Yue who caught it. “Take a careful look.”

“At what?”

“The processor,” Tomcat said.

Tang Yue carefully observed the processor, it was a very ordinary chip. It was the size of a fingernail and sealed in black. Its boundary was filled with tiny golden pins and printed on it was the Intel logo, as well as two product numbers—TCU1524M/2051120914. It didn’t look odd in anyway, for there were many of its kind all across Earth. It could even be found in tiny gaming consoles.

“What’s wrong with this?” Tang Yue frowned. What could come out of staring at it?

“I’ve seen this chip before. The TCU1524M temperature control processor. It’s a customized edition for the Mars missions.” Tomcat pointed at the processor in Tang Yue’s hand.

“Obviously.” Tang Yue rolled his eyes. “I’ve seen it before too. We maintain the OGS equipment cabinet daily, so we see each other every day, be it the previous one or this one.”

“No… I’m not talking about those two.” Tomcat shook its head. It raised three claws. “I’m talking about a third processor.”