Dead on Mars

“Mr. Cat, the straight-line distance between you and the Chelomey probe is 32.78 kilometers.” Mai Dong observed the number on the screen. “You are still right on target.”

“Straight-line distance of 32.78 kilometers? But the actual distance is probably far greater than 30 kilometers. I believe a detour is needed next.”

Mai Dong and Tang Yue were stunned.

“Detour?” Tang Yue got up and typed on the keyboard, and send an inquiry by email. “Is something blocking your path?”

Mai Dong asked as well: “A sand dune?”

“It’s a sand dune, one that just extends endlessly. I’ve parked the Mars Wanderer at the bottom of it to charge. The sand dune’s slopes are too steep, and they are about one- to two-stories tall. I don’t think the Wanderer can climb over it, so a detour is needed.”

“How far would the detour be?”

“I’ve no idea. I’m attempting to climb the sand dune. I’ll stand from a high vantage point to see the surroundings and find a passageway… It’s truly shocking. This isn’t sand, but rock.”

“Rock?”

“Underneath the sand is buried rock, huge slabs of rock. Just one of them will weigh tens or hundreds of tonnes. I think it’s basalt. They might be the result of volcanic activity billions of years ago. They were later eroded to their present state,” Tomcat explained. “I’ve already climbed onto it. Let me see how I should proceed next… Damn it, it’s not a sand dune, but a wall!”

The two humans over the comms were alarmed.

“Wall?”

“This is basically a wall formed by stacked pieces of rock. It has been completely covered in sand, making it look like a sand dune. But when digging away the sand, you’ll see the rock beneath. It’s layer upon layer, just like stacked bricks.” Tomcat was astonished. “Standing here, I can see it extending far into the distance until it disappears by the horizon. There’s no way of estimating its length… It’s shocking.”

“Just like the Great Wall?” Mai Dong asked.

Tomcat nodded. “Just like the Great Wall of China. Can you imagine a great wall on Mars?”

“Is it artificially made?”

“Not necessarily. Even though it looks like the work of some intelligent lifeform, it could be a result of glacier movements. In ancient times, the glaciers would move the rock over; therefore the boulders would stack upon each other at the boundaries of the glaciers. The forces of nature can at times far exceed that of human hands.” Tomcat shook its head. “Do you know of Northern Ireland’s Giant’s Causeway?”

“What’s that?” Tang Yue asked.

“A very special landscape. It’s located on the coast of the Atlantic Ocean in Northern Ireland. Thirty thousand stone columns of different sizes from a long series of steps that extend for thousands of meters. Each stone column is hexagonal in shape, making them look like they were man-made,” Tomcat explained. “But they were, in fact, naturally formed. The Giant’s Causeway is made of basalt. It’s the result of molten basalt from volcanic activity meeting seawater. The reason they are hexagonal is because of the crystalline structure of basalt… That’s why the wall I’m seeing on Mars might be a natural landscape as well.”

Tang Yue found it true after some thought. It was highly likely that it was naturally formed. At times, weathering and water erosion led to amazing wonders. How could Mars have any artificial landscapes?

“I’m walking along the wall. Its highest spot exceeds nine meters and is about three-stories tall. Do you know what this reminds me of?” Since Tomcat was waiting for the Wanderer to be charged, it began to share what it saw with Mai Dong and Tang Yue.

“What?”

“A beacon tower,” Tomcat replied. “If this wall is viewed as the product of a civilization, then this wall has all the necessary features…”

Tomcat leisurely searched for clues on the ancient wall. The marks had already been blurred by time, but Tomcat used its extraordinary imagination to depict a scene.

“I see beacon towers, each placed at a set distance from each other. It would be perfect for setting fire to pop smoke to indicate war. There are also the steep slopes of the city wall, the narrow ones for people, and the broad ones for offensive machinery… Oh, there’s also the signs of watchtowers. I see a very regular square-shaped platform, and very clearly, it was used to station troops. If any enemy were to attack, the soldiers living in them could charge out to face the enemy…” As Tomcat spoke, its voice lowered until there was silence.

Mai Dong and Tang Yue were already silent.

“F*ck…” Tomcat reeled in shock for a very long period of time. “It’s really naturally formed?”

The force of nature was like an artisan. It had the ability to chisel a six-sided stone column into a passageway and could carve rock into a wall. However, it was not great enough to build beacon towers and watchtowers.

Tomcat was alarmed.

“Mr… Mr. Cat…” Mai Dong whispered. “You… might be standing on the ruins of an ancient civilization?”

“No! No! No! No! Impossible! That’s impossible!” Tomcat shook its head. “Mars has never had any intelligent life form, much less any civilization! Don’t be misled by what I just said. What I meant was that certain things can be produced under natural conditions… Holy sh*t, what’s this?”

“What have you discovered this time?”

“A ravine, a long ravine. On the other end of the wall is a ditch. It goes along the wall, forming a very deep ravine.” Tomcat frowned. “Does that remind you of anything?”

“A moat?” Tang Yue had an idea.

“It does resemble a moat. However, who would build a moat for a great wall? The ravine has already been filled with sand. Let me try to dig into it…” Tomcat said. “This ravine is about four to five meters wide, but I’m not sure of its depth. However, it’s at least a meter. This ravine’s length is similar to the wall’s. I can’t see its end.”

Tang Yue and Mai Dong were astonished.

A wall that extended endlessly would have been a massive project known to all on Earth. Yet, someone had dug out a moat for this wall?

“This ravine is also a natural phenomenon?” Tang Yue asked. “Perhaps formed by glaciers?”

“Possible, of course it’s possible! After glaciers melt, they leave behind traces. Together with erosion from flowing water…” Tomcat racked its mind to find a reason. It was wondering if any preceding examples on Earth would naturally form a moat.

But it failed to find one.

When all assumptions were eliminated, then no matter how inconceivable the remaining explanation was, it was the truth.

Tomcat sat on the sand dune and looked at the wall meandering into the distance as far as its sight could go. It didn’t know if it was a work of the natural world or the remains of an ancient civilization. If it was truly the work of intelligent lifeforms, then it would no doubt be an extremely illustrious civilization.

What kind of civilization would build up a tall wall that tore through its planet?

Tomcat looked at the ruins, and couldn’t help but imagine how it would have appeared like a miracle when such a tall wall was built.

Tomcat had no way of knowing the truth. Its database didn’t have any relevant information, but it could determine that in the dark back when Earth’s humans hadn’t been born, the civilization on this planet might have already built up such astonishing wonders. Although their civilization was destroyed with time, these miraculous works remained standing steadfast.

“What a pity…” Tomcat sighed.

“A pity that this ancient civilization has vanished?” Tang Yue asked.

“No, it’s a pity that Earth is gone, and the Mars mission has been terminated,” Tomcat said. “Otherwise, I could set up a tourism business. Wouldn’t that earn me loads of money?”