Chapter 52 - Sol Five, Eternal Increase in Entropy (2/2)

“Do we still have any chances?”

“It’s impossible to have any.”

Tomcat’s voice sounded emotionless other than the immense fatigue.

According to the Kunlun Station’s telemetry data, the United Space Station was presently at a height of 400 kilometers. However, the height of the Eagle’s orbit was only 320 kilometers. The straight line distance between them exceeded a hundred kilometers.

The lander lacked the power to accelerate in another orbital maneuver. As a robot, Tomcat could empathize with the feeling of despair. This was a despair rooted in physics and numbers, an irreversible and imperturbable outcome. The Eagle’s orbit was 80 kilometers lower than the space station, and this distance was constantly widening. RD-0172’s engine no longer had the capability of another orbital maneuver. No one could raise its orbit by another 80 kilometers, and the only force exerted on it was gravity… It would be pulled down by gravity, constantly lowering its height until it plunged into the atmosphere.

There were another six more rounds before the Eagle would plummet and be destroyed.

Its orbit took an average of about fifty minutes. Six rounds meant three hundred minutes.

The Eagle only had five hours left.

Tomcat focused on the predicted orbit on the screen. The space station would continue operating as per normal, but the lander’s trajectory no longer had any intersection with the space station. They had missed the only encounter, and what lay ahead was an ever increasing-distance.

The Eagle’s signal was intermittent. It periodically flashed as a result of its spinning. Every spin it did, its antenna would reach the relay satellite.

Tomcat looked at the blip gradually widen the gap and hope dwindled.

…

Tang Yue was leaning against the Mars Wanderer. He had been continuously working for more than ten hours that day and hadn’t had a single drop of water. The reason Tang Yue had persisted without collapsing was solely because of his firm will and belief. But towards the end, even his mind went into a blur. Tang Yue could only rely on his weight.

At present, Tang Yue’s seventy-kilogram body couldn’t hold on. He was blacking out and had no choice but to fasten himself to the Mars rover with rope to force himself to find his footing.

A strong feeling of powerlessness overwhelmed him. Just minutes ago, Tomcat had told him that everything was going great and success was imminent, but with a blink of an eye, everything had changed.

Tang Yue patted his visor, wiping away the sand on it. He suspected that he was hearing things due to extreme fatigue. Can such a thing actually happen in this world? With success just inches away, how was it suddenly thrown into despair?

It’s nonsense.

It’s truly nonsense.

Tang Yue’s mind froze as he couldn’t understand anything that had happened.

“Tang Yue, I know you find it unacceptable,” Tomcat said softly, “but this is reality…”

The entropy in the Universe would forever increase, and the arrow of time was only pointed in one direction. The harshness of reality was that no one had a chance to redo things. Even if you missed time at the Planck scale, the outcome was forged in reality.

You would have no choice but to face the cruel outcome’s aftermath, as well as endless regret.

“We’ve failed. It was an utter failure.” Tomcat continued, “Whether Miss Mai Dong is alive doesn’t matter. No one can save her now.”

Tang Yue thought for a long time as his stiffened brain began to whir before he thought of a word.

“Cruel.”

“That’s right… The Universe is very cruel.” Tomcat leaned back into the chair as it looked up at the ceiling. It had a blank look in its eyes. “It’s far crueler than we imagined.”

At that moment, Tang Yue thought that he would prefer that Mai Dong had passed away in the accident than face the despairing situation of being alone and with no help provided to her. The Eagle’s docking had failed and the space station was out of food. If the girl was still alive, she would have no choice but to wait for a slow death. Tang Yue didn’t dare imagine what kind of torture that would be.

“Mr… Mr. Cat? Mr… Mr. Tang Yue? Can… you hear me?”

A weak but clear female voice suddenly sounded over the channel.

Tomcat and Tang Yue were taken aback.

“I… I’m Mai Dong. What exactly happened… Did the docking succeed? Mr. Cat?”