Dead on Mars

Chapter 230 - Sol Three Hundred and Thirty-Five, Greatest Sinner in Human History
Chapter 230: Sol Three Hundred and Thirty-Five, Greatest Sinner in Human History

“Let’s paddle together and the boat will push away the waves—”

The Mars Wanderer was driving across the desert as Tomcat belted out its high notes. Even the thin Martian atmosphere could hardly stop Tomcat’s demonic voice from drilling into one’s head.

“Shut up!” Tang Yue roared angrily.

Tomcat shot a glance at him and continued looking ahead. “If you don’t wish to be disturbed by anything, the best way is to become part of it. Sing with me. You know the lyrics, right? All Chinese can sing this… The beautiful white tower is reflected on the sea, green trees, and red walls all around—! The boat floats on the water, and a cool wind blows against our face—!”

Tang Yue made his contempt obvious, adamant about not lowering himself to be on Tomcat’s level.

“Get lost, I won’t sing along with you!”

…

Ten minutes later.

“Even if fate wanders!

“Even if fate is full of twists and turns!

“Even if fate makes life bland from threats!

“Don’t cry or abandon yourself. I will be with you forever—!”

Tang Yue stood on the front passenger seat, waving his arms like a conductor of an orchestra. He was bellowing out at the world with his crazy-like voice. “Ahh—ohhhhhhh—” He sang Hacken Lee’s Red Sun with gusto as though he was a superstar on tour. He crossed the desert with the Mars Wanderer and although there wasn’t a single soul, Tang Yue seemed to see crowds of people standing to the sides as they roared with excitement.

“Fell I did, tears hidden by the rainy night!

“I’ve survived all the twists and turns of life!”

Tang Yue sang loudly, but it wasn’t obvious whether he was singing Cantonese or Japanese.

As Tomcat shook its leg and sang as an accompaniment, their voices were a perfect match. The man seemed to be scratching a blackboard while the cat seemed to be hitting a gong. They were reveling in high spirits.

Finally, Tang Yue finished the last line with his croaking voice as Tomcat gave a loud round of applause.

“I told you that you had talent.”

It was the second sol since they had left Kunlun Station. Based on Tomcat’s estimation of distance, the straight line between them and Kunlun Station was about fifty kilometers. Early in the morning, Tang Yue and Tomcat had woken up to pack up. They recharged the Radiant Armor and Tomcat before moving the solar panels onto the Mars Wanderer. The path they drove on was uneven and bumpy. With the Wanderer lacking any suspension, Tang Yue suffered intense vibrations while sitting in the front.

Tang Yue took out the map from a compartment and unfolded it. No matter which angle he looked at it from, he couldn’t understand a thing.

The map drawn by Tomcat was something only it could understand.

“Is this a map of the Isidis Planitia?” Tang Yue pointed at the distorted lines on the map. “What are these lines? Contours?”

“No,” Tomcat said. “You are holding it upside down.”

Tang Yue turned it around.

He still couldn’t make it out.

“You should at least label a direction and have a legend and scale. A usable map also needs a coordinate grid and numbers used for orientation,” Tang Yue frowned as he grumbled. He surveyed his surroundings, hoping to find some noticeable landmark. “But what the hell did you draw…”

Tomcat took a side glance.

“Oh, you got the wrong thing. That’s not a map. That’s the outcome of a simulation result.”

“Simulation? What does it simulate?”

“The distribution of the United Space Station’s fragments after it crashed,” Tomcat said softly.

Tang Yue’s hand trembled.

“A massive object like the United Space Station wouldn’t be completely vaporized in the atmosphere. There will be large amounts of fragments that fall to the ground. I’ve thought of gathering the remains and at least give it a home,” Tomcat added. “But unfortunately, the spot it crashed is just too far from us. We have no way of finding it.”

“When… did you draw this?”

“Second sol after the space station’s crash.”

Tang Yue stared blankly into the distance. On the horizon beyond his sights, the space station’s charred remains were scattered across the desert.

“If I can win the lawsuit… Will the United Space Station return?”

“I don’t know.” Tomcat shook its head.

“That letter said that they will compensate me for all my losses if I were to win. The United Space Station is definitely counted as well? Every living and non-living object in the United Space Station is counted, right?” Tang Yue asked. “That godlike higher-dimensional intelligent beings can extract the United Space Station the moment before it crashes and rewrite history, am I right, Tomcat?”

“I don’t know, Tang Yue… Don’t ask me. I know nothing.”

Tomcat was clearly feeling down.

Tang Yue was somewhat disappointed. He knew that Tomcat couldn’t give him an answer to his question, but he still hoped for one.

However, Tomcat could only be honest.

“I’m very sorry, Tang Yue. I’m unable to give you any answers. You are Estragon and I’m Vladimir. We have been waiting for Godot, but none of us knows what Godot is.”

“Isn’t Godot in Waiting for Godot hope?”

“No,” Tomcat said. “It was never hope.”

Tang Yue leaned back into his seat and stared blankly ahead. All he saw was rocks and sand that repeated endlessly. They were inching closer to their destination, but what lay waiting at the destination of the Mars Wanderer’s journey?

Tomcat was unable to give him an answer. Even if the contents of the letter were authentic, Tang Yue had to face a godlike intelligent civilization and defeat it.

The former sounded incredulous while the latter sounded like fool’s talk.

What could Tang Yue rely on to defeat a powerful intelligence that had the ability to interfere and even control time?

This was probably a trip destined to failure—Tang Yue was mentally prepared for that. He believed it was the same with Tomcat, but neither one of them said it out loud.

“If I fail, will I be the greatest sinner in human history?”

Tomcat fell silent for a few seconds.

“Yes.”

“You could vindicate me a little at such times.”

“I don’t have to,” Tomcat said. “It’s because there’s no one to blame you. There’s no need for you to be responsible to anyone. With regard to this question, unless you can successfully save the Earth, anything you do makes you a sinner. You could have ignored the letter and lived your days. By burning that ridiculous letter, the world would immediately be restored to normal. Have you heard of the trolley problem?”

Tang Yue nodded. “The one with a trolley barreling down tracks and on the tracks there’s an innocent person tied to it, and on the other track are five brats. And it happens that you have a plunger to switch the set of tracks?”

“Yes.” Tomcat nodded. “Unless you are Superman, capable of lifting the trolley and throwing it away; otherwise, anything you do is wrong. Inaction is also wrong. When that happens, what should you do?”

“What can I do…”

Tang Yue sighed.

“I’d probably return home to unclog my toilet.”