My Little Pony: My Little Pony The Martian

Still, Teddy wasn't late. Even though he had flown back to Houston overnight from Washington less than two hours earlier, he could still sit at the table calmly and alertly. Venkat looked him up and down carefully, but couldn't find a single messy hair, and there wasn't a single wrinkle in his suit.

The last one was Annie. While she opened the office door, she was still staring at the screen of her mobile phone, flipping through it with both hands. “There are so many self-proclaimed trolls on the Internet now, it’s unbelievable,” she said. Apparently she didn’t feel anything wrong with the way she appeared. “A group of self-righteous idiots think they are so great. They go online every day to gain a sense of presence and make accusations openly. We want to kill the astronauts on Mars and Hermes. One thing is that if we had announced the Rich Purnell plan and decided not to implement it, the people who made a fuss on the Internet might be the same group of people."

"Now that this matter has been mentioned," Teddy said quietly, "I now have a few words to say to a colleague who sent the 'April 1970' email to Commander Lewis." The email she received marked its sender as Lewis's husband on Earth, who shared her interest in studying various things in the s. However, the content of the email actually included a complete description of Rich Purnell's rescue plan and the discussions held by NASA's top brass around the matter - things that Robert Lewis had no way of knowing.

Teddy crossed his hands on the table and continued to say calmly: "It is true that the successive failures of the Sleipnir project and the various obstructions of some members of Congress have affected the risk factors to a great extent, but Rich Pne The decision on the merits of our plan and Ares 3B is a foregone conclusion and cannot be changed at will. I don’t want to name names here, but someone who sent the email has deliberately undermined the decision-making process within NASA. Of course, NASA is not a militarized organization. , Disobeying orders is not intolerable to a certain extent, but I still want to emphasize here that this behavior puts the entire crew in an extremely dangerous situation when we are far from sure whether we can provide supplies to Hermes in time. , unacceptable. It won’t happen in the future.”

Teddy suddenly stood up from behind the table again, "This time we are fortunate to be able to get the Sun God provided by China at such a critical moment, which has given us a chance to survive from a desperate situation; at the same time, thanks to Rich Purnell's rescue plan Enough pressure has been put on Congress to allow SpaceX to resume work and continue to build other thrusters we need. However, the good results this time do not justify blind risk-taking, nor do they condone someone's lawlessness. The person who sent this email Once the person behind the scenes is found out, this person's career at NASA will end immediately. I have to make this clear again." He finished this last sentence while staring at Mitchell, who was slumped on the sofa in the office as usual.

At this moment, Miche's heart was open and frank, and his mood was naturally unwavering. "That's right," he continued without changing his expression, "but we have more important tasks to deal with now, such as the supply of Hermes, and how to modify the MAV and rendezvous with Hermes when it arrives on Mars."

Teddy nodded at this, "Yes, the supply mission is our top priority now." He then asked, "Bruce, how is the progress on your side?"

"Time is indeed very tight, but it seems there should be hope now." Bruce's voice came from the loudspeaker, "If we can now be completely sure that the Shining engine and the Hermes body are compatible, one supply will be enough; but if we If it is determined that Mark can only return by the slowest method, it will take two times. The payload of these two supply missions will only be food, propellers and fuel, as well as an outer shell. In addition to a limited amount of cleaning supplies, We can't send them any spare parts, new clothes, etc. Nothing but food."

"We are now putting together the food packs on hand." Venkat added, "The supplies will also include a small amount of semi-rare gems for Fireball to use as a nutritional supplement to supplement his daily meals. This is basically the same as the food the ponies originally made for him. The packaging method is basically the same.”

"There is also good news," Bruce continued, "Abandoning the originally designed airbag landing buffer system not only freed up extra space for food supplies, but also saved a lot of manpower resources at JPL; we finally have enough manpower to start building the second This is a supply aircraft. Since we have to rebuild the thrusters from the original Sleipnir IV, this is crucial for us. If we work hard day and night, we should be able to finish loading the supply payload in fifteen days. preparation."

"Not bad," Venkat said, "The supply aircraft will be launched in twenty-five days, otherwise it will not be able to make it in time for the docking after Hermes flies by the earth. In twenty-one days, Sleipnir 4 and Sleipnir 5 will be in position at KSC and Jiuquan Center respectively for thruster docking and brief inspection. This arrangement cannot be postponed any longer."

"Understood," Bruce replied, "We'll be ready."

"Mitch, next you have to go to Jiuquan and dock directly with the Chinese launch team," Teddy then ordered, "make sure their thrusters can communicate with the upper stage of the Sleipnir 5 aircraft. Compatible. Make every effort to ensure the pre-launch preparations of the Helios to ensure that the Helios can take off immediately when the time comes."

"No problem." Michie nodded after hearing this.

"But replenishing Hermes is only the first step," Teddy continued. "In addition, we also need to modify the MAV to have the ability to rendezvous and dock with Hermes in orbit. And before that we We must first consider how to transport Mark, the aliens, and all the equipment needed to modify the MAV to Schiaparelli."

"Why can't the MAV fly directly to Watney?" Annie suddenly joined the discussion.

"The only landing structure is on the descent stage." Venkat said, "The MAV will generate fuel autonomously, but the range is limited to the ascending stage - the descent stage is not included. And since the heat shield and deceleration parachute have been detached , MAV is unable to perform a second atmospheric re-entry with its current configuration; that is to say, we must find a way to slowly levitate the MAV with only a little fuel remaining in the descent stage, and then completely rely on propeller power to land." Wen. Carter shook his head, "Sorry Annie, we can't do this anyway."

"Agreed," Teddy said, "The risk of moving Mark and his friends is much smaller than moving the MAV. No matter what accidents happen to them on the way, as long as the MAV is intact, at least one of them will be there They can find a way to leave Mars; if the MAV is damaged, none of them will be able to escape."

"We at the JSC will be responsible for formulating a specific plan to move from the residential area to Schiaparelli." Venkat replied, "As for the transformation of the MAV, it is Bruce's job, but they have to wait for the JPL to move from Sreipni We’ll talk about it after the project has calmed down.”

"Don't expect us to produce any results soon." Bruce on the other end of the network replied, "We still need many specific parameters about the alien thruster before we can officially start working - mass, thrust, and so on. In other words, we Mark needs to do more relevant experiments.”

"Understood." Teddy responded, "Bruce, your recent work achievements are very amazing, and we appreciate it very much. We hope you will continue to do so." Then he turned his attention to Anne, "Remember all the things that were not part of our original plan for this incident." All traces have been dealt with." He said, "Previously we only used direct supply as a stop-loss method in the event that Rich Purnell's maneuver failed, but Rich Purnell's plan has always been our priority. We Now it’s just a matter of taking another step forward.”

"I understand," Annie said absently while looking at her phone, "Then I'd better follow Xiao Wen's idea last night?"

"That's right. The safest thing we have at hand is to get Mark and his friends out of Mars as soon as possible. This has been our goal since we contacted them. The current decision is just a further extension of the original logic. .”

"No problem." Anne said, "To be honest, I think the current situation is much better than us hiding the Purnell plan and then letting the news leak out. I don't know how much trouble it will save."

"We can do it." Teddy leaned on the table and pondered for a moment, and then added, "By the way, Bruce, there is one more thing. Hermes will carry eleven crew members on its return trip, which will give the onboard life support system It brings a lot of pressure. Is there still room in the supply aircraft to bring some filters or other spare parts? At least some lightweight consumables must be brought to ease the system load."

"I'll do my best." Bruce's words didn't sound very hopeful.

"Well," Teddy concluded, "there's a lot of work ahead of each of us. Let's get started."

Venkat and Mitch walked out of the office together. Venkat spoke first: "On the surface, I really don't know who sent that email."

"I don't care," Mitch replied.

"But privately speaking, why would you do this?"

"It's not me." Mitch's reply was straightforward, "I really wanted to do this, but I don't know who got ahead of me."

"Mitch, we are just chatting privately now, there will be no impact." Venkat obviously did not believe this statement, "We all know that you want to leave the final decision to the astronauts."

"If it was really me who did it, I would definitely not cover it up on purpose." Mitch replied, "Of course I would deny it. After all, I still like my current job. But if you really want to know who it is, If so, I bet it was Sanders."

"Teddy did it?" Venkat couldn't help but glance at the door of the administrative director's office behind them. "This is a complete fantasy."

"If you think about it carefully," Mitchell began to analyze, "Is the Sun God really just a coincidence? It's nonsense. He only sent the email after getting the news from China. He has lost interest in the Sleipnir project. We are confident, not only is the material for the landing buffer airbag not on schedule, but Lockheed is also trying its best to delay the report on the construction progress of the new MAV. But Congress is still the same, suddenly jumping out to hinder us. In this way, Rich Purnell's plan essentially gives him an opportunity to put pressure on Congress..."

"Mitch, you can't say that." Venkat shook his head, "I still can't buy it. Teddy can't let five more people risk their lives for a small gain."

"What if he can save 8 billion by doing this?" Mitchell asked suddenly.

Venkat and Mitch looked at each other for a while and said, "How do you say this?"

"Every action happening on Mars now is opening a new chapter in human history." Mitchell replied, "These are aliens from another universe! Physics will undergo earth-shaking changes. We are in a critical period that even we ourselves cannot imagine its significance, marching on the cusp of the historical tide. But Xiaowen, have you ever thought about what would happen if the five aliens who were with Watney died? What will happen? It is very likely that we will not encounter any aliens for the duration of our civilization until the end of the world. And you know how rare such an event is."

Venkat nodded listening.

"So maybe Teddy had second thoughts about his initial decision." Mitchell went on to explain, "Later, he received this big gift from China. Now the threshold for implementing Purnell's maneuver plan has been lowered a lot. Watching those disgusting bastards on the House Space Exploration Subcommittee do whatever they want, talking about safety responsibilities while trampling on Watney and his friends' precious chance of survival..." Mitch raised his hands and started gesticulating. "So the balance of risk in Teddy's mind shifted to the other side. All in all, Hermes' arrival on Mars eight months earlier would be more conducive to the maintenance of long-term, stable and productive diplomatic relations between eight billion humans and ponies."

"Mitch, I still feel it's a bit far-fetched."

"Don't worry, the next step is the key. Teddy will never scold anyone in public. It's absolutely impossible. If Teddy hadn't done it, he would have found me alone and scolded me, and maybe even threatened I, forced me to resign voluntarily. In this case, everyone will understand that I leaked the news to Hermes, right? But he chose to make such a statement to the few of us who knew about this decision. The conclusion is still 'behind the scenes' Once the black hand is verified, it will be eliminated immediately'; it is not 'discovered by me', but 'once verified'." After speaking, Michie pressed the elevator button and smiled at Venkat, "This is what I believe is Tai Dee’s reasons.”

Venkat thought about it and finally said: "The reason is still not sufficient."

"I don't care much about other things now." Mitch replied, "To be honest, even the email sent by the Archangel Gabriel has nothing to do with me. I can't explain anything else, just treat it as magic. Let's go." The elevator door opened, "The only thing I care about now is that the decision-making power has finally returned to the hands of the Hermes crew, and we have to pick up Watney eight months early. All we can do at this moment is create miracles .”

The elevator door closed, leaving Venkat alone on the administrative office floor and the myriad of thoughts in his mind.