My Little Pony: My Little Pony The Martian

AMICITAS Mission Three – Mission Day 113

ARES 3 solar day 114

Starlight Glimmer poked her head out from the pile of formulas on the whiteboard and saw Mark pulling an unopened food packet from his supplies. "Mark, can I ask you a question?" she asked. "You haven't eaten a potato in two days. What's wrong?"

The look on Mark's face spoke for itself, but Starlight wasn't too sympathetic. You must know that during the recent period, she, Spitfire, and Berry had been eating only alfalfa for three meals a day, and occasionally some potatoes; in comparison, Mark's diet was much more liberal.

"Because I need to keep a certain amount of protein in my diet," Mark replied. "The potato skin does contain some protein, but it's not enough to meet the needs of the body. So I decided to save the potatoes for last."

Starlight couldn't help but have an expression on her face that said, "Stop talking nonsense." She asked angrily: "Are you serious?"

"Seriously, that's absolutely true," Mark responded. "Also I want to emphasize that this has nothing to do with my constant fear of running out of ketchup."

"If you don't eat any potatoes unless absolutely necessary," Starlight asked, "when will you run out of food?"

Mark reported the answer without thinking: "solar day 302."

"Then what if you only eat one food packet every day and rely on potatoes for the rest of your meals," Starlight began to suggest.

Mark couldn't blurt it out this time. Still with that expression on his face, he shrugged and put the unopened food package back in the cupboard. Then he thought for a while, then suddenly opened the cupboard door and started taking out all the food packages one by one.

Starlight shrugged and continued to immerse herself in the pile of formulas sent from Earth, but she couldn't guess what these things might be used for. What Mark's people wanted were the performance parameters of the Shiny engine, but that obviously shouldn't have anything to do with the Amicitas wreckage. Whether it is in new condition or disassembled into its current appearance, the quality of the Amicitas aircraft itself cannot match any of the seven different data.

There is no other spaceship around them that can carry the Shining Engine, and it is absolutely impossible to recreate one on Earth without magic; so what is the use of these data?

She shrugged silently in her mind again and continued to examine these annoying long hair extensions in front of her.

Mission Log – Solar Day 114

I just took inventory of those food packages I keep for myself. I didn’t know, but I was shocked: after counting the normal diet in the first few days, the unlimited rationing holidays that happened from time to time, and all kinds of loopholes to make fun of, the numbers on my account were not as expected. optimism.

I currently have three hundred and ninety-four food parcels left on hand. At first, I thought these food packets were enough to last me until solar day 302 without eating any potatoes. However, now based on the three-quarter ration, I estimate that I can only last until solar day 289 at most. On the one hand, it is not glorious that our mismanagement resulted in a full thirteen-day shortening of the food supply; but on the other hand, even if it is an afterthought, this is still a good opportunity to adjust the plan.

So why did I delay taking action until today? In fact, it was mainly because Xingguang's actions today triggered the hidden guilt in my heart. I now have hundreds of foods on hand, with more than sixty different flavors; in contrast, Fireball only has one kind of food, and the ponies only have two kinds. Yet even though our previous harvest had almost enough potatoes for me to last until the next harvest, I was still unwilling to save my food parcels simply because I was unwilling to sacrifice my personal preferences unless absolutely necessary. Just eat fifteen to twenty potatoes every day.

Yes, I can be a real coward sometimes. Starlight didn't say these words, but her attitude was already very clear. It's a no-brainer, and I can't argue with that.

But she also made a very interesting suggestion: If I only used one food packet a day, I would still get a lot of protein (and taste something other than potatoes). And if I eat potato skins, I can also get a certain amount of protein from potatoes. Although it is not as good as food packets, the nutritional value is still better than eating potatoes alone. In addition, it can slow down the loss of protein... and it can also prevent me from committing suicide on the spot after eating ketchup. I am serious.

Three hundred and ninety-four food packages, one package per day. This means I will eat my last food from Earth on solar day 508. After that, I still had to eat endless potatoes for about three months (maybe with some alfalfa leaves mixed in), but at least this was much better than eating potatoes for more than 508 days. Of course, I can't just keep going step by step until Sun Day ; just like what I did for the ponies before, I will also keep a small amount of food packs for myself in case something unexpected happens. And once the supply aircraft lands, I can forget about these complicated matters and start eating.

Yet here I was, eating my own late lunch...a serving of potatoes. Just potatoes. Not even salt was added. Because of guilt. It is also to help me eliminate one day in advance of the pure potato diet that will last for three to four months in the future.

After this enjoyable meal, I completed the interview using my pony radio. NASA said that the current situation is very funny. The only person who did not complete the interview was a pure native English speaker. So I'm going to answer the same set of questions as in the previous interview, hoping to get out of Hermes' voice signal range before they have time to add more questions.

Interview Transcript #6

What's your name? "Mark Watney."

What's your job on your ship? "I am the botanist for the Ares 3 Mars mission and also the spacecraft engineer for this mission."

Why did you first get involved in spaceflight? "When I was about to complete my master's degree in botany, NASA and SpaceX announced the Ares joint project. At that time, I thought that such a serious Mars exploration mission team would definitely need a botanist, and I was young and strong. He must be a good candidate. So I changed my original plan to pursue a Ph.D. and studied mechanical engineering as a second master's degree because I thought NASA would prefer a generalist. My intuition proved to be correct."

"However, by the time I graduated with my second master's degree, the candidate registration for Ares 1 had closed. So during this period, I spent several years conducting fieldwork to develop land reclamation systems for high-latitude desert areas. I understand that initially The two Mars exploration missions didn’t involve much botany research, so I didn’t mind sitting out. But when NASA started recruiting candidates, I immediately submitted my application.”

"I was one of the first twenty-four botanists invited by NASA to participate in physical and preparatory training, but in the end, only three of them, including me, stood out. To be honest, becoming an astronaut does not depend on luck, but on luck. Long and hard work. Must be focused.”

Who is waiting for you there? "My parents. They really wanted me to come home safe."

What is your impression of aliens? "You should have seen their pictures, right? And every morning I wake up and see these innocent and cute little faces. Of course there are fireballs, but even he has a hard time making me serious. Get up. Did you see that cute big nose? Please, the health tank is almost empty, okay!"

"But to be honest, these weirdos are a combination of bravery and stupidity. Some days I am like a nanny looking after children, and I have to be busy answering all kinds of strange questions for them all day; and other times I am like a nanny looking after children. It felt like I was part of a team again, and it felt like I was back in the old Ares 3 days. I think part of it was because they came from a magical world where everything was a lot simpler."

Are you looking forward to visiting Pony World after your rescue? "It sounds cowardly to say this, but once I was back in the Earth's atmosphere, I never planned to leave. Don't get me wrong - I'm so grateful that NASA selected me to be part of the Ares mission, and it's an experience I'll remember forever. Don’t forget. However, after being trapped on Mars for more than a hundred days, the malice of this land to living beings has been clearly seen, needless to say. The purpose of the Ares mission is to lay a solid foundation for long-term settlement in the future, but as far as it has been achieved so far We still have a long way to go in terms of our achievements.”

"If the pony rescue team reaches Mars first, I will be happy to go to their world with them. Yes, I am also very curious about the world on their side. But in comparison, I still miss myself more Home. And for ponies, I'm pretty sure they're all flocking to it too."

What will you do when you finally get home? "I had to get some pizza. A real, authentic Chicago deep dish pizza. Have you ever had it? The real kind? Fresh out of the oven, steaming hot and juicy. Move your index finger. Just take a look and you will understand that the taste of this thing will definitely make you want to die. Man, let’s get to know the authentic Chicago pizza; it can warm your whole body even on winter nights. Do you understand? By the end of the The next day, I just take out a slice of leftover pizza from the refrigerator and stuff it into the oven, and within a short time, it’s delicious again, and it tastes like it’s freshly baked. Hey, I’m almost going crazy trying to eat pizza.”

What's your favorite disco song? "'Celebration'. Yeah, I'm not kidding. I didn't even know it was a disco song until I pulled it out of Lewis's songbook. It was all over the place when I was a kid. Ponies too. I love it all, and the scene where Spitfire shakes her butt to the rhythm of this song is definitely worth seeing.”

If you could get one small item from your world (other than a spaceship), what would it be? "A 'One Thousand and One Pure Potato Cookbooks'? No kidding. Can you guess what I want? I want the bag of D&D dice I have at home. I haven't played D&D since college, But now that I had to deal with unicorns, pegasus, and dragons every day, my desire to play the game became stronger. I wanted my dice back. I longed to caress them with my hands again. , and I am also happy to introduce this kind of human entertainment to several of our guests. Stay in the basement of a good friend's house, only need a few pens and paper, supplemented by a sparse diet and water - you can enjoy a whole night of fun."

Do you have anything to say to people on Earth? "I do have something to say. NASA will not be happy to hear this because we don't want to mention to the public that astronauts are willing to risk their lives to explore space. I may die unfortunately, and we astronauts are all Unexpected things may happen at any time, after all, Mars is a restricted area for life. However, these sacrifices are not without rewards. We get the stars and the sea."

“The work I’m doing at this moment is paving the way for countless future generations. My children and grandchildren will witness the spacecraft flying to and from the Mars settlement, and I am one of the founders of it all. .So if I encounter an accident, please don’t stop eating because of choking. Never slow down the pace of exploration.”

"Even as crazy as those ponies can be sometimes, they understand it. Their space program was a race against time; it started out as a whimsical decision, 'Let's go to space!' "But from that day on, they invested everything they had - magic, science, courage and political will, no matter the cost. And for most of my life, we had science and courage, but lacked the intensity. will. Now we are finally on the right track. Don’t miss this opportunity.”