Six
There were 15 days left in the countdown, and the 20 astronauts on the moon had already completed the space laboratory.
This space program, named "Prometheus," was highly anticipated by mankind. People hoped that it would bring back the hope of saving the earth, just like the gods in Greek mythology who stole the fire seed.
This project almost exhausted all of mankind's technological reserves. Some people once joked that after this project, the aerospace technology of all the major countries in the world would be maintained at the same level.
The 12 lunar modules landed in the same crater so that more people could work together. The landing point was required to have an error of no more than 0.5 meters. This was a great challenge for both the ground crew and the astronauts. Fortunately, the astronauts' exquisite skills made the landing very smooth.
The crater was close to the top of the huge number "1" on the moon's surface, and people could carefully examine the bottomless ravine at close range.
The command module and service module left in lunar orbit were responsible for observing the changes in the number on the moon's surface. The observation data was directly sent to Earth, and several giant radio telescopes in China were responsible for receiving the signal.
Chen Xin was one of the astronauts responsible for the moon landing mission. He was the commander of the Prometheus 7 spacecraft.
As the first Chinese to land on the moon, he had neither the lofty aspirations nor the bold words of Neil Armstrong. On the contrary, Chen Xin was depressed. Under such circumstances, landing on the moon was not something to be excited about. The astronauts on the moon were generally depressed, and they did not even know if they could return alive.
In fact, it made no difference whether they could return alive or not.
The astronauts had brought plenty of fresh water and food. These necessities were enough to last them fifteen days on the moon, so that they could survive until the very last moment in the worst case scenario. Chen Xin looked up at the pale blue, crystal-like planet. He did not know whether this was a good thing or a bad thing. If this was really the end of the world, the people on the moon would not have to witness the last moments of mankind, sparing them the torment of their hearts. However, this also meant that they could no longer be reunited with their loved ones. The most basic right to die together had been taken away.
Chen Xin still remembered that when he said goodbye to his wife and family before he left, they were silent and looked at him as if they were watching a funeral.
The chief engineer once said to himself, "Little Chen... I know this is unfair to you, but we have no choice."
Yes, there was no other way. Humans had no other way.
The moon was barren and bleak, and the sunlight was strong. Chen Xin was alone on the silver-white plains, and the extreme loneliness of being isolated from the rest of the world surged up like a tide. He felt that he had been abandoned by the world, or that he had abandoned the world.
"Moonquake!
Oh my god … Chen!
There's Moonquake! "
Chen Xin could tell that it was the voice of Prometheus 6's commander, John Young. Young was an experienced American astronaut with a calm personality. Chen Xin had never seen him so panicked before.
Before Chen Xin could react, the ground beneath his feet began to shake violently. The tremor grew closer and closer until it was so strong that the ground felt like a trampoline. Chen Xin could barely stand still.
He was like a piece of paper on a drum. Now that someone had started to hit the drum vigorously, the vibrations were enough to make the paper fly into the air.
The gravity on the moon was only one-sixth of that on Earth, so the friction on the lunar soil was very weak. Chen Xin turned around and wanted to return to the lunar module, but he slipped and fell to the ground. Through the gold-plated mask, Chen Xin saw that the landing frame of his lunar module had collapsed.
In the operation control hall of the Beijing headquarters, the atmosphere was very tense. Everyone stared at the screen on the wall. Tonight, they would be observing the changes of the moon's digital signal in real time.
"Detected Moonquake!" The crowd became restless. "The magnitude of the tremors is still increasing!"
"Quiet!"
The director calmed the panicking crowd. He stood under the screen and yelled at everyone, "Sit down!"
Concern for the safety of the astronauts on the moon gradually crept into the old director's mind. He looked up at the blurry image on the screen and broke out in a cold sweat for the young people who were 380,000 kilometers away, isolated and helpless.
"Oh … Look, look, this is incredible."
Komarov shook his head. He took off his mask, but he was still wearing the bulky spacesuit. The Russian gestured with his hands as he tried to describe the association in his mind to the others. "This looks like …"
"Like Tangram or Huarong Dao," Chen Xin said.
"Tangram … Huarong Dao?" McKinliffe repeated the two strange words with a western accent.
"It's an ancient Chinese game," Chen Xin explained. "Different patterns are pieced together by movable boards embedded in wooden frames."
"Yes, yes … Movable boards." Komarov nodded. "Just like the plates on Earth."
The astronauts squeezed into the small living quarters to observe the images sent from the command module in lunar orbit. For the first time, they could see the digital signal so clearly. It was indeed like the plate movement on Earth. The rocks on the moon's surface seemed to have turned into the world's largest tangram overnight. These moving rock plates staggered and swapped positions with each other, leaving gaps to form the digital signal. It looked like there was an extremely large machine at the center of the moon providing the driving force for these changes. The operation of the engine was enough to cause a magnitude 12 moonquake.
The moon had turned into a machine overnight. This was more absurd than the moon being a prehistoric bomb. It was a thought that even the most arrogant mental patient would not dare to entertain, but it was the truth.
When reality was crazier, crazier, and more hysterical than fantasy, humans could only watch the world go crazy. They did not know if they should go crazy with it.
There were 15 days left in the countdown. The whole world was silent. The universe had given humans a problem. Humans racked their brains and finally came to the conclusion that this problem was unsolvable.
This was true despair. It was like the people escaping from a fire trying their best to find a way out, but the exit that they had pinned their hopes on was already blocked when they reached the door.
Now that the fire was getting closer and closer, all escape routes were sealed. The people trapped in the fire only had two choices … Either stay where they were and wait, which would be an extremely painful and torturous process as they watched death close in on them, or commit suicide.
Some people chose to wait. They did not give up hope. They hoped for a miracle, hoping to see someone rush in to save them at the last moment.
Some people chose to commit suicide. They did not dare to face the long torment.
The large-scale mass suicides only really spread when the countdown entered the last digit. Seeing zero approaching, the government could not do anything. The last hope in people's hearts was finally shattered.
The government was on the verge of collapse. It barely maintained the management of the country, but at this time, the only people who could still hold on to their posts were the old gatekeepers.
Most people suffered from moon phobia. They no longer dared to look up at the moon.
People dug cellars crazily, as if the several meters of rock and soil above their heads could guarantee their safety. There were even some who did not dare to step foot on the ground all day long. People were struggling to survive underground to avoid the moon for psychological comfort.
Seven
There were three days left in the countdown.
The president prayed in the church, and the priest stood silently by.
"God …" The president looked up at Jesus nailed to the cross for a long time. "Where is our way?"
He had just signed the "National Emergency White Paper," which stipulated that all acts of escape were no longer regarded as treason. As long as they had the ability, citizens could go wherever they wanted without any cumbersome procedures. In fact, this decree came too late. The transportation network and fuel transportation system had already collapsed. The only means of transportation people could rely on were bicycles and their own legs.
The North American Air Defense Command was probably the last government agency in the country that could still function normally. It miraculously maintained the calm and seriousness that a military agency should have. Not only because the president and other senior politicians were here, but this military department located in the Cheyenne Mountain nuclear bunker was also responsible for monitoring the infrared signals of missile launches around the world.
Although the world had come to an end, the rigor and sense of mission of the military still made this group of people protect the national security.
In a sense, the nuclear balance during this period was more unstable than during the Cold War and the Cuban Missile Crisis. In this oppressive atmosphere that was enough to drive people crazy, no one knew what ridiculous things they would do.
Even if there were only three days left, it was their mission to protect the country for three days.
The security guards in black suddenly broke into the church, interrupted the prayer, and grabbed the president.
"Let me go!" The president struggled and yelled. "I order you to let me go!"
In this dark underground bunker, the church was perhaps the only place where one could find a little comfort. Looking up at Jesus nailed to the cross, it was as if the suffering he had suffered was not worth mentioning.
The security guard lowered his head and whispered in the president's ear. The president's angry expression froze on his face, and the words that were about to come out of his mouth were stuck in his throat. He waved his hands in the air as if he wanted to grab something, but in the end, he gave up resistance and let his hands and feet hang down weakly. He let the big men take him away like a death row criminal being dragged to the execution ground. His face had an expression of relief and despair.
Alarms sounded in the corridor outside the door, and dark red lights flashed in front of people's eyes. People hurried to and fro without saying a word.
The devil locked in the bottle was finally released. The Sword of Damocles fell from the sky and nailed the struggling people to the ground.
No one knew who launched the nuclear bomb first. Several countries with nuclear weapons blamed each other, but they could not come to a conclusion. This might be an act of national revenge, or it might just be the madness in some people's hearts. But all the reasons were no longer important.
When humans stepped on this red line that once made people tremble in fear from a distance, mutual destruction was the only thing left to do.
Just like what the father of the atomic bomb, Oppenheimer, said when he saw the nuclear bomb explode. The sky was filled with strange lights, like a holy spirit showing off its might. Only a thousand suns could compete with its brilliance. I am the god of death, the destroyer of the world.
A thousand suns exploded on Earth, and the dazzling light could be seen from the moon.
Humans were their own gods of death.
"Oh my god!
No … no! "
Chen Xin painfully covered his eyes. He watched the humans on Earth walk step by step towards destruction, but there was nothing he could do. They had just lost all contact with the ground.
There were only 15 astronauts left on the moon. The commander of Prometheus 3, Collins, had taken off his spacesuit and walked out of the living quarters when the first nuclear bomb exploded in San Francisco. The low temperature instantly killed him.
Collins' family was in San Francisco.
The aerospace engineer of Prometheus 4 had gone crazy. He turned off the life support system of the living quarters while the others were asleep. By the time the others realized it, there was no one alive in the living quarters of Prometheus 4.
"Crazy, they're all f * cking crazy!" Komarov threw the engineering manual in his hand to the ground. "We've been completely abandoned!"
"Haha, we're all waiting for death. They're waiting for death on Earth, we're waiting for death on the moon."
John Young was a little dazed. He laughed and patted Chen Xin's shoulder. "Chen, what do you think is the best way to die?
Being killed by a nuclear bomb probably won't hurt, right? "
Chen Xin was in despair. He buried his hands deep into his hair, the roots of his hair hurting.
It no longer mattered whether they went back or not. Some places on Earth were probably as barren as the moon. Chen Xin could only pray that those places did not include his hometown.
"I don't care!" Komarov stood up. "Our mission is over. I'm going back to Earth!
I'm going back to Moscow! "
The others sat coldly at the side, unmoved.
"Hey!"
Komarov lifted someone up by the collar and yelled into his ear, "I'm going back, do you hear me?"
The man opened his eyes in a daze, his pale pupils so dim and turbid that even Komarov's stubbly face, which was so close at hand, could not be reflected in them.
"Tsk … You're all f * cking cowards." Komarov threw him to the ground and spat. "I'm going back alone!"
"You can't go back," Chen Xin whispered. "Without the ground system, you'll burn up in the atmosphere."
"Then I'd rather die on Earth than wait for death in this godforsaken place!"
Komarov cursed. "Just you wait, I'll scatter my ashes across the vast land of Russia!"
Chen Xin buried his head and curled up in the corner, mumbling, "Then have a safe trip."
Komarov put on his spacesuit and stepped out of the living quarters without looking back. Chen Xin admired this brave and fearless Russian. He never changed his mind.
Chen Xin watched his back disappear into the airlock. When the hatch opened again, there was no one there.
He really did not come back.
Chen Xin was a little sleepy. He had heard that climbers and polar explorers all died in their sleep due to hypothermia. That was actually not bad. There was no pain in being unconscious.
His vision was getting blurry … Vaguely, Chen Xin saw his wife and child waving at him in the light.
(To be continued)