Die on Mars

"Probability?"

"No, there is no probability. This is not a matter of probability of throwing dice." Old Cat shook his head, "We cannot accurately estimate the crash time of the space station, just because we do not know its detailed orbital parameters. If the system on the space station does not collapse, I can pinpoint its crash time to the minute... Tang Yue, this is not gambling, life and death were determined at the moment of the accident, it’s just that we don’t know."

Tang Yue was startled for a moment, and then he understood what the old cat meant. What they were facing was not a dice still spinning at the bottom of the cup, but a result that had already been determined.

They don't know just because they are blind.

Inexplicably, Tang Yue thought of Schrödinger's cat.

If you don't observe, then you don't know whether the cat is alive or dead.

But the United Space Station is different from the cat in a superposition state. According to the Copenhagen explanation, the cat in the black box is actually both dead and alive. Only the observer can make its state collapse to one of the two outcomes. The life and death of the space station have long been determined. No matter whether there is anyone observing or not, even if Tang Yue covers his own eyes and the old cat's eyes, it will crash at a certain point in time.

Lao Mao watched SPT276's working medium slowly running out, pushed the table hard, and moved the seat back away from the computer monitor.

"From now on, we have lost all means of interference with the United Space Station, and we can't do anything." Old Cat shook his head, "In the true sense, we are helpless and beyond our reach. Even if it crashes tomorrow, we can only watch helplessly. Look...it's late at night, let's all go and rest."

"Received." Maidong replied, "Mr. Cat."

The old cat drooped its ears and walked step by step towards the charging socket in the corner. Tang Yue grabbed it.

"No way at all?"

"It's gone." The old cat glanced at him, "It's really gone this time. No matter how fast your brain spins, it's useless, little clever guy."

From a certain point of view, both Tang Yue and Lao Mao can calm down. There is no need to be nervous, anxious, panic, or even need to make any efforts anymore, because there is no point in struggling, there is always hope. There is anxiety and there is struggle only when there is a possibility of success, and the ground has lost all means of interfering with the United Space Station. Now the only thing that can contact the space station is radio waves.

The old cat broke free from Tang Yue's hand, walked to the corner and plugged in the plug silently.

"Is there really nothing we can do?" Tang Yue asked loudly, "There is always something we can do? We can always do something!"

"Eat sleep play Peas."

The old cat turned his head and looked at Tang Yue. The former's indifferent and cold eyes made Tang Yue feel cold in his heart.

Those cat eyes seem to be saying: Why do you believe that hope will always exist?

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"Ophiopogon japonicus."

"Um?"

"Don't listen to the old cat's nonsense. It is a complete collection of negative thoughts and a defeatist. You can calmly wait for rescue on it. Tianzhou 37 will arrive in ten days. The space station will definitely be able to survive until then." Tang Yue said, "It's only ten days. The United Space Station has been operating safely in orbit for more than ten years, and it's not less than the last ten days."

"But Mr. Cat said the space station can last up to seven days."

"It's seven to eleven days." Tang Yue corrected word by word, "It's not seven days at most. The meaning of these two sentences is very different..."

"I know." Maidong said, "But I think what Mr. Cat said is reasonable. Not all problems have solutions. There are not so many miracles in this world, and the goddess of fate will not favor you over and over again. "

"How did the damn goddess of luck ever favor us?" Tang Yue took off his shoes, shrank his feet on the chair, and hugged his knees, "What are you referring to? The launch and docking of the Eagle lander? That was destined in three days. Seven points depends on hard work, okay? It has nothing to do with Lady Luck. If I hadn't been carrying the antenna outdoors in the storm, the Eagle spacecraft would have flown to nowhere.

As for the Tomcat-Tang-Mai comet... it would never have landed on Mars in the first place. We were so nervous simply because we miscalculated the orbit of Deimos. The culprit was Old Cat and its workstation. In fact, That star is out of reach of us. No matter what time we roll the dice, it will never fall. "

Tang Yue muttered, he really felt that he was unlucky, the ghost of the god of bad luck was still lingering and would not be driven away, but he immediately understood why the average life span of humans in the Stone Age was only twenty years.

In the extremely harsh living environment and extreme lack of resources, any inconspicuous minor problem will develop into a big problem. In modern times, the most you can do if you are scratched by a knife is to go to the hospital for two stitches, but in ancient times, it may lead to tetanus. Or a fatal infection.

Tang Yue's living conditions were worse than those of cavemen in the Stone Age.

Although the chance of internal and external trauma and infection at Kunlun Station is low, if Tang Yue unfortunately fell and fractured his body, he would basically be dead.

"We are really using our lives to verify and practice Murphy's Law." Tang Yue smiled bitterly.

"Murphy's Law?"

"Yes, it's the famous, or infamous, 'As long as there is a chance of a problem happening, no matter how small the chance is, it will definitely happen.' In the field of aerospace technology, it means 'Any technical risk can be determined by possibility. Transform into an unexpected accident'." Tang Yue explained, "If anything can go wrong, it will... the crow's mouth law known to engineers all over the world."

"I think there is another law." Maidong added.

"What law?"

"Mr. Cat...isn't here?"

"Old cat?" Tang Yue turned around and took a look. The old cat had curled up into a ball and entered charging sleep. His face was buried in his front paws and his ears were drooped. "It's asleep."

"Mr. Cat's FLAG law." Maidong said, "As long as Mr. Cat establishes FLAG, it will definitely come true in the end."

"It makes sense." Tang Yue slapped his forehead, "I know why the earth disappeared!"

Maidong was startled, "Why?"

"Because the old cat said before that his service life has expired and he is about to retire. One day when we were chatting, he told us, 'After completing this Mars scientific research mission, I will return to my hometown on Earth to get married.'" Tang Yue explained. , "So FLAG comes true and reverses the law of cause and effect. It's fine, but the earth is gone."

Maidong burst out laughing.

"Isn't it okay if we say bad things about Mr. Cat?"

"Don't worry." Tang Yue said, "Once the old cat starts charging, he will sleep harder than anyone else."

He turned around and glanced at the old cat again. The white and fat cat had turned into a big fluffy ball, and even had a tendency to flow to the floor. Cats are indeed liquid. They can be round or flat. Just flat.

"Mai Dong, how are you going to sleep tonight?"

"How else can I sleep?" The girl breathed a sigh of relief, "I just sleep in the spacesuit. I don't dare to take off the spacesuit."

Only the Crystal module is still working on the United Space Station. This is not a place to rest, but Maidong can only make do with it.

Tang Yue stood up, turned off the lights in the hall, and entered the crew cabin to rest. He was also very tired.

"Well...Tang Yue."

"Um?"

"It's so uncomfortable to sleep like this." Maidong closed his eyes and opened them again after a few minutes. "I can't fall asleep at all. Can you talk to me?"

"Okay." Tang Yue fell down on the bed, hugged the soft pillow, and closed his eyes, "What do you want to talk about? I will accompany you..."

Tang Yue's voice slowly lowered, and soon the sound of even and deep breathing came over. It was obvious that Tang Yue fell asleep as soon as he touched the bed. He was extremely tired, and his mental and physical strength had reached the limit.

Maidong listened to the breathing on the channel and stopped talking. The sun was setting on the horizon, and there would be a short night, but she didn't know if she could see the sun rising again after the night passed.

The girl let out a breath, moisture condensing on her mask.

In the silence, she heard her own heartbeat.