The Old Cat turned around and continued to guide the work. The predicted area of more than 28 million square kilometers was meaningless to it.
Tang Yue stared at the map on the screen.
For the past few days, Tang Yue's heart had been hanging in the air. The comet Tomcat-Tang-Mai I was hanging over his head like the sword of Damocles. He felt that he was a criminal waiting to be judged. The court might pardon him, but it might also give him a death sentence. Therefore, Tang Yue was anxious.
Now, the verdict had finally come.
But the verdict said, "Let's roll the dice. If it's even, you'll be released from prison. If it's odd, you'll have to eat peanuts."
On the map of Mars, the Isidis Planum was a small plain near the equator with a radius of 700 kilometers. The northern and southern hemispheres of Mars were very different. The northern hemisphere was mainly smooth and low-lying plains, but the northern and southern hemispheres were bumpy highlands full of countless craters and pockmarked faces. The Isidis Planum was a small protruding piece of the northern hemisphere's plains to the south.
To the west of the Isidis Planum was the famous Syrtis Major Planum. It appeared pink on the map because it was more than 1,000 meters above sea level. But in the field photos, it was actually a large area of dark land. This color appeared because of the exposed basalt.
To the west of the Syrtis Major plateau was the vast Saba Terra. It was one of the largest plateaus on Mars, with a diameter of 4,700 kilometers from east to west. It was covered with densely packed meteorite craters.
To the west of the Saba Terra was the equally vast Arabia Terra.
According to the prediction of the Kunlun Station's computer, the possible impact point of Comet Tomcat-Tang-Mai I would be here … a huge ellipse with a semi-major axis of more than 3,000 kilometers, spanning the entire Saba Terra, west to the Arabia Terra and east to the Isidis Planum.
"Life to the left, death to the right."
Tang Yue clasped his hands together.
"God of Fate, you have to be more reliable!
You have to give me a six. "
"Has the comet's impact location been predicted?" Mai Dong's voice sounded.
"The prediction is out, but the computer gave us a prediction range of 28 million square kilometers." Old Cat shrugged. "It's not useful at all."
"Mr. Cat, what if … I mean what if, Kunlun Station is destroyed by the comet? What should we do then?"
Old Cat paused for a few seconds.
"The decision is in your hands, Miss Mai Dong. Now that there are only the three of us left in the world, no one can force you to do anything. I respect and follow any decision you and Tang Yue make. If the comet really hits us in the end, you won't be able to survive even if you land."
"You can give up on the landing plan. I will always have Plan B to choose from," Old Cat continued.
"Plan B?" Mai Dong asked. "Are there any other options?"
"Leave the orbit of Mars."
Old Cat said, "The Orion II spacecraft still has enough propellant to send you out of the low-Earth orbit of Mars, into the orbit around the sun, and away from this deadly comet."
"Mr. Cat, you want me to escape alone?"
"That's not escaping."
Old Cat's face was expressionless as he said word by word, "In the face of an irresistible natural disaster, I have the obligation and responsibility to do everything I can to protect your lives. Miss Mai Dong, you also have the obligation and responsibility to do everything you can to protect your lives."
"Then I refuse."
Mai Dong didn't dare to imagine how lonely and desperate her life would be if she really abandoned Tang Yue and Old Cat on Mars and drifted in the universe forever.
Compared to the dark and silent rest of her life, death was easier to accept.
"I will never abandon you and escape alone. I won't go, Mr. Cat. At worst, we will die together. I am not afraid of death."
"I know you are not afraid of death, Miss Mai Dong." Old Cat smiled. "In this situation, it takes courage to survive."
Mai Dong floated silently in the service module. There were no portholes in the service module, and the surrounding walls were soft white lining. She dimmed the lights and held a "Mars United Space Station System Maintenance Manual" in her hand. This was one of the few paper books in the space station.
If she really left the low-Earth orbit of Mars, then the Orion II spacecraft would become a satellite orbiting the sun, flying aimlessly forever. Mai Dong would become a person who had no place to come from and no place to return to. Then, she would gradually die without anyone knowing.
The girl shivered.
This was the worst outcome. Kunlun Station would be destroyed by the comet, and Orion would disappear in the vast deep space.
"Mr. Cat."
Mai Dong's tone suddenly became serious. "You said you would respect and follow all my decisions."
Old Cat was stunned. "Yes, as an assistant of Kunlun Station, my job and responsibility is to assist the crew in their normal work and ensure their safety when necessary."
"Then I ask you, no matter what, at any time and under any conditions, you are not allowed to tamper with the flight control program of the Orion II spacecraft without my knowledge and make it leave the low-Earth orbit of Mars."
Mai Dong enunciated each word clearly and tried not to leave any loopholes. It was the first time she spoke to Old Cat in such a tone as if she was giving instructions. "You are also not allowed to bypass my authority and directly control the spacecraft to leave the low-Earth orbit of Mars without my knowledge."
After Mai Dong finished speaking, she carefully thought back to see if there were any loopholes in her words.
"Moreover, Tang Yue has no right to ask you to violate my above requirements. You are absolutely not allowed to control the Orion II spacecraft to leave the low-Earth orbit of Mars without permission …"
"Okay, okay, okay. I understand, I understand. Miss Mai Dong, you don't have to repeatedly emphasize this."
Tomcat was taken aback when it heard that. "I respect your opinion. If you don't wish to leave, no one will force you to leave. All you need to do is be responsible for yourselves. I won't control Orion over you."
Mai Dong breathed a sigh of relief.
She was very worried that Old Cat and Tang Yue would control the Orion II spacecraft without permission in order to protect her life. She might wake up one day and not see Mars outside the window.
"Silly girl." Old Cat sighed secretly. "Miss Mai Dong, don't you trust me?"
"Of course I trust you."
Old Cat smiled. "Since you trust me, why do you need to explain so formally?"
"I'm sorry, Mr. Cat."
"The comet might not hit us on top of our heads. The probability of Kunlun Station surviving is very high. We have been unlucky all this time, so we should at least get lucky for once, right?
As long as Lady Luck isn't expressionless, she should smile at us for once! "
Tang Yue said loudly from the other side of the table. "As long as we keep rolling this die, then one day, there will be a six!"
"Did you hear that?"
"Yes."
Mai Dong nodded. "Mr. Cat, let's hurry up and modify Orion. We need to get this done as soon as possible."
"Okay, okay, but this matter can't be rushed … We have to do it step by step."
Old Cat nodded and placed the Orion model in his hand on the table. "Landing with the Orion II spacecraft is a high-risk matter. Accidents can happen if you're not careful. Tang Yue and I both hope that you can come down safely … Do you need to rest for a while?
Next, it's EVA work again. "