Die on Mars

Two years later.

Beihang University.

New main building conference room.

"Well, Mr. Tang Yue... we all know that you are the engineer on board the thirteenth landing mission. You and Miss Maidong are the youngest payload experts of the Mars landing plan so far. Now that the first phase of the Mars landing has ended, Orion Orion 1 and 2 have been retired." The female host sat beside her, "Orion 3 and 4 have been put into use. In the future, there will be people younger than you who will land on Mars, maybe at this moment, right here. In this conference room, these students sitting at the bottom—someone among them will land on that planet in the future. Do you have anything to say to them?"

Tang Yue sat on the chair and looked at the young man sitting in the darkness below. He held the microphone in his hand and thought for a few seconds.

"Do you also want to go to Mars?"

"think--!"

"Then I'll tell you the secret."

There was sudden silence in the bright conference room, and the clear sound of birds chirping outside the window.

"Study hard and exercise." Tang Yue smiled.

"In the future, more and younger people will land on Mars. The second phase has kicked off. The scale of Kunlun Station is expanding. They have already begun to build vegetable growing greenhouses on Mars... In the next ten or even twenty years, Mars will The world needs more talents, and the spring of the four major tiankeng is here." Tang Yue continued, "Relevant universities will also jointly carry out talent training with the preparatory committee, recommending outstanding graduates to go to Jiuquan Center for training, and the first batch will be included in the list. Those planning it include Beihang University and Harbin Institute of Technology, so if you want to go to Mars, then study hard."

The conference room suddenly became noisy. Young people were whispering underneath. Tang Yue sat on the podium. He saw hope in the eyes of these energetic young people. The youngest among them had just entered school and the oldest was about to graduate with a master's degree. , it is foreseeable that among these young people, some will set foot on the land 100 million kilometers away in ten or even twenty years.

"The next step is the question and answer session. If you have any questions, you can ask them here."

The female host motioned for everyone to be quiet.

"Teacher Tang, I have a question!"

"I have a question!"

"I have a problem too!"

The students rushed to raise their hands.

"You don't have to call me teacher, I look so young? I'm not much older than you, just call me brother." Tang Yue smiled and waved his hand.

"Brother Tang! I have a question to ask you..." the questioner stood up and took the microphone, "I am studying psychology at Beijing Normal University, and I came here specifically to attend the lecture today. I want to ask you what you think about this problem - that is We all know the impact of being in an isolated and closed environment for a long time on people's psychological state. We all know that it takes a few months at the fastest from the earth to Mars. If in the future, we go to more distant planets, such as Jupiter and Saturn, it will take a long time to go back and forth. The time is undoubtedly longer. How can an astronaut endure this long loneliness? Will he be alienated by the environment? Or more broadly...are humans who have been separated from the earth for a long time still human beings?"

"Well..." Tang Yue pondered for a moment, "In fact, this is not only a psychological problem, but also an engineering problem. It will take a few months at the fastest from the earth to Mars, so we need to upgrade our spacecraft and Rocket, shorten the time as much as possible. As for what you said at the end, humans who have been away from the earth for a long time, I think of course they are still humans. Could they still be monkeys?"

There was laughter below.

"I am personally optimistic. I believe that only humans who have truly stepped out of the earth will become a complete race, understand themselves more clearly, and be true humans." Tang Yue said, "One day in the future, You get on a manned spacecraft, fly into space, and take in the earth completely. Then you will feel... It turns out that so many disputes that humans have had in the past were small, insignificant, and insignificant. A piece of land that people are fighting for is no bigger than a fingernail in your eyes."

"Brother Tang, I would like to ask you if you encountered any difficulties during the Mars mission? And how did you solve them?"

Tang Yue turned to look out the window. The sunlight filtered through the green leaves, and mottled shadows fell on the windowsill. A sparrow flew down from the branch and stopped here, hopping around.

"It's difficult..." Tang Yue suddenly smiled, "Of course I have encountered difficulties, and there are many unknown difficulties. I even fell into despair at one point and felt that I couldn't hold on anymore."

"Then what keeps you going?"

"It's the beautiful things in this world and in human nature." Tang Yue replied, "In your heart, there are always some things and people worth holding on to at all costs."

"Brother Tang, may I ask how you got the scars on your body?"

"Well...it was just an accidental fall."

"Based on the current technical level, going to Mars is still a very dangerous thing. Mr. Tang Yue, have you not thought about the possibility of accidents?"

"Of course I have thought about it." Tang Yue shrugged, "If we die unfortunately, I hope people can accept this. If something unexpected happens to us, I hope we won't delay the project. The conquest of space is worth the risk of life. .”

"Brother Tang...do you believe in the existence of aliens?"

Tang Yue held the microphone and smiled.

"believe."

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Tang Yue hurriedly walked through the corridor, passing passers-by sideways, and rushed downstairs. He was really dizzy and lost track of time. Because there were too many people asking questions, the lecture was longer than expected. More than half an hour later, he realized that he was already late when the bell rang.

Tang Yue rushed out of the foyer of the building and saw the slender girl standing under the street tree on the roadside from a distance. She was wearing a white shirt, blue jeans, and a thin hooded sweatshirt. Her hair was combed into a refreshing ponytail, her hands With her back behind her back, her eyes looking at the building in the distance, she hummed a song and her soft ponytail swayed to the rhythm.

It's over.

Tang Yue's heart skipped a beat and he covered his face silently.

The girl turned her head and spotted Tang Yue who was walking down the steps. Her eyes lit up and then she raised her brows.

She agreed to wait at the subway station at the entrance of Tongluogu Lane at 10:30 in the morning, but she waited around until 11 o'clock, but no one was there, and no one answered the phone, so the girl looked for her on her own. I came here and walked around the Beihang campus, asking around. Finally I saw the posters and notices posted on the wall and found out where Tang Yue was.

As far as being late and letting go of pigeons go, Tang Yue is a habitual offender, and Maidong knows this better than anyone else.

"I am guilty and I admit my mistake. It is my fault. I am ashamed of the people. I am late again..."

Tang Yue first admitted his mistake as strength.

"Are there too many people asking questions again?"

Tang Yue nodded.

"The activity time has been extended again?"

Tang Yue nodded.

"You always say the same thing, can't you make up an excuse that sounds more like that? For example, there's a traffic jam, you missed the subway..."

"But this is a fact. Next time there is such an event, I will push Lao Wang out and I will never participate again." Tang Yue was helpless, "How about the defense?"

Maidong walked in front of him, turned around and walked backward step by step, tilted his head and showed a bright smile, with his ponytail hanging down.

"What do you think?"

"Passed."

"Of course, it passed unanimously. This girl is a genius. From today on, you will call me Dr. Mai!"

"Okay girl."

"It's Doctor!" the girl corrected.

"Okay, Dr. Girl."

Tang Yue was walking on the sidewalk. Young people were coming and going on campus. He was plainly dressed and didn't attract much attention. Although he was a crew member of the Mars landing mission, he was not really the kind of person who was popular among the public. People who can also become famous. May is the season for flowers to bloom. The magnolia grandiflora planted on both sides of the road are in full bloom, and even the wind carries a strong floral fragrance. Ophiopogon japonicus is walking in front of him, with his ponytail dangling leisurely.

The girl's steps suddenly stagnated. She was about to take a step forward, her feet hanging in the air.

"What's wrong?"

"I almost stepped on it." Maidong pointed to the bottom of his feet.

A small pale yellow flower emerged from the cracks in the sidewalk bricks.

For hundreds of days and nights alone on the space station, Ophiopogon japonicus and the plants in the incubator lived together day and night, which made her develop a deep affection for all animals and plants. This girl always followed Tang Yue She said that if she did not participate in the Mars landing mission, she would definitely devote herself to environmental protection and the protection of endangered animals and plants.

Probably everyone who has been to space will be deeply aware of the beauty and fragility of the earth.

The girl walked around it carefully, "Has Mr. Cat contacted you?"

"It?" Tang Yue grinned, "It's not just to contact me?"

The old cat became more and more talkative. It used the public mailbox of the Mars landing mission to send Tang Yue a steady stream of various spam emails, most of which were worthless content like this - "Tang Yue, married Miss Maidong." No?" "Tang Yue, why haven't you married Miss Maidong yet?" "Tang Yue, I've thought of a good name for your future child, and it's called Tang Mai." "What do you think of Tang Mai?" "Has Little Tang Mai been born?" "Why hasn't he been born yet?" "What? You haven't gotten married yet?"

"Is Mr. Cat coming back to Earth soon?"

Tang Yue nodded, "At the end of this mission, it will officially retire, return to Earth aboard the Orion 3 spacecraft, and then live the long-awaited life of a retired veteran."

"Will it come to China when it retires?"

Tang Yue pondered for a long time and rubbed his chin, "It's hard to say this. His house in Tongzhou District was given to me. Where will he live?"

The midday news was being broadcast on a large screen on the side of the road. The female reporter was wrapped tightly, with only her two eyes exposed. Behind her was the dust-free workshop of China Aerospace Science and Technology, where the white Tianzhou 40 cargo spacecraft was being assembled. This is a brand-new of the second-generation Mars cargo spacecraft.

"The selection for the fifteenth landing mission has begun. Tang Yue, are you still ready to participate?"

"Of course I will participate," Tang Yue said. "The moment I left Mars, I made up my mind that one day I would go back again."

Maidong held his hand, and she saw the faint scars on Tang Yue's hand. No one knew what Tang Yue had experienced. People on the earth didn't know, Maidong didn't know, and even the old cat didn't know. There was only one thing. It was confirmed that he finally won the battle alone.

Every time Maidong asks, what happened after the space station crashed? What happened after he left Mars?

Tang Yue passed him by in a few vague words.

What past events are too painful to look back on, what memories are too painful, please don’t ask in such detail, okay? If you ask me again, I will have a nervous breakdown.

"Even though so much has happened?" The girl hugged him gently and rested her head on Tang Yue's arms.

Tang Yue scratched her hair, kissed the girl's forehead, and said softly: "Don't be bound by the past, so that we can go further. This is what you taught me."

Maidong lowered his head and was silent for a few seconds, then took a step back and looked up at him.

"What about you, girl? Will you still go?" Tang Yue asked.

Maidong and him looked at each other for a long time, the breeze blowing the slender hair, the girl suddenly smiled, jumped over and held Tang Yue's arm tightly.

"Wherever you go, I will go."

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(End)