Chapter 146 - Sol Two Hundred and Seventy-Six, Booby Trap (2/2)

“I obviously know what that is.”

“You silly cat,” Tang Yue said. “Come, repeat after me! Booby—Trap—! Booby—! Get it?”

Tomcat suddenly shut up as its expression turned solemn before pointing to the table.

Tang Yue turned his head over.

Mai Dong had a cold expression. Perv!

…

“The divination says that it will be dangerous.” Tang Yue sighed. “The external forces are plenty and difficult to overcome.”

“That’s quite an accurate divination. Isn’t that exactly what we are facing? We are pushed into a corner with despair everywhere.” Tomcat placed its chin on the table as the workstation’s monitor flickered. It blue-screened once again as the case fans suddenly went silent. Tomcat kicked the table leg. “Damn it, there’s a segmentation fault again.

“It’s an ominous portent that says success won’t be obtained. I hope no problems happen during the landing.

“Metaphysics aren’t useful on Mars. Our ancestors tweaked such things for Earth. After all, the gods there aren’t the same gods here.” Tomcat restarted the workstation and switched the monitor off and on. “Let’s depend on science. Mathematics and physics are universal… Miss Mai Dong, are you ready?”

“OK, Mr. Cat,” Mai Dong replied. “I’ve given you full authority.”

“Good job.” Tomcat connected to the United Space Station’s computer, gaining full control over its systems. This was requested by Tomcat as it made Mai Dong follow the steps to expose the low-level code of the control system.

Thus, Tomcat could freely change the space station’s routines. If it so wished, it could even circumvent the astronaut’s commands and directly switch off the life support system. If it really did so, all living beings in the space station would cease living in five minutes.

“Miss Mai Dong, I’ve already connected to the United Space Station,” Tomcat alerted her. “From this moment forth, you shouldn’t randomly change the computer’s operational mode.”

“Got it.”

This was a necessary procedure. To allow Orion II to enter the atmosphere, Tomcat needed to completely change Orion’s flight program. This was equivalent to re-writing the low-level software for the spacecraft. During the design stage of Orion II, the engineers had never imagined letting it enter the atmosphere; therefore, the computer system lacked the necessary software to do so. Thankfully, there was sufficient redundancy in the hardware. Orion’s structure and engines allowed for Tomcat to write a new program.

To Tomcat, machine language was its mother tongue.

It needed to design a safe descent trajectory. In the past, such work was done by an entire group formed by many specialized teams. Due to the massive amount of work, the entire EDL process could be split into three segments—Entry, Descent, and Landing. Each segment was a topic worth researching. The problems involved were multifarious and complicated. It involved every piece of hardware on the spacecraft.

In addition to the software was the equally troublesome GNC system—Guidance, Navigation, and Control. These were the missions of the computer and sensors, and this also produced huge problems and theses.

The EDL system was responsible for a safe landing, while the GNC system was responsible for navigation. By working together, they would allow for a safe landing for Mai Dong.

In the past, this was probably a project collectively done by more than ten universities and research institutes, ranging from hardware to software. However, all of this was now placed on the shoulders of Tomcat alone.

After all, Tomcat was the Universe’s most impressive crosstalk master and programmer. Among crosstalkers, it was the best at programming, and in programming, it was the best at crosstalking.

It could drone on and on while typing out control code that allowed for a four-hundred-ton spacecraft to land on Mars.