The Martian (28 page)

“Mm,” said Teddy, rubbing his eyes.

“At least we don't have to go to Jiuquan till tomorrow,” Venkat moaned. “14½ hours of flying is enough for one day.”

“Don't get too comfortable,” Teddy said. “We still have to go through customs and we'll probably have to fill out a bunch of forms because we're U.S. Government officials... it's gonna be hours before we sleep.”

“Craaaap.”

Gathering their carry-on luggage, they trudged off the plane with the rest of the weary travellers.

Beijing Capital International Airport's Terminal 3 echoed with the cacophony common to huge air terminals. Venkat and Teddy continued forward as the Chinese citizens from their flight split off to go to a simpler point-of-entry process.

As Venkat took his place in line, Teddy filed in behind him and scanned the terminal for a convenience store. Any form of caffeine would be welcome.

“Excuse me, gentlemen,” came a voice from beside them.

They turned to see a young Chinese man wearing casual attire. “My name is Su Bin Bao,” he said in perfect English. “I am an employee of the China National Space Administration. I will be your guide and translator during your stay in the People's Republic of China.”

“Nice to meet you, Mr. Su,” Teddy said. “I'm Teddy Sanders, and this is Dr. Venkat Kapoor.”

“We need sleep,” Venkat said immediately. “Just as soon as we get through customs, please take us to a hotel to sleep.”

“I can do better than that, Dr. Kapoor,” Su smiled. “You are official guests of the People's Republic of China. You have been pre-authorized to bypass customs. I can take you to your hotel immediately.”

“I love you,” Venkat said.

“Tell the People's Republic of China we said thanks,” Teddy added.

“I'll pass that along,” Su Bin smiled.

“
Helena, my love,
” Vogel said to his wife. “
I trust you are well?
”

“
Yes,
” she said. “
I'm fine. But I do miss you.
”

“
Sorry.
”

“
Can't be helped,
” she shrugged.

“
How are our monkeys?
”

“
The children are fine,
” she smiled. “
Eliza is adjusting to life in junior high, and Victor is goalkeeper for his high school's team.
”

“
Excellent!
” Vogel said. “
I hear you are at Mission Control. Was NASA unable to pipe the signal to Bremen?
”

“
They could have,
” she said. “
But it was easier for them to bring me to Houston. A free vacation to the United States. Who am I to turn that down?
”

“
Well played. And how is my mother?
”

“
As well as can be expected,
” Helena said. “
She has her good days and bad days. My last few visits, she didn't recognize me. In a way, it's a blessing. She doesn't have to worry about you like I do.
”

“S
he hasn't worsened?
” He asked.

“
No, she's about the same as when you left. The doctors are sure she'll still be here when you return.
”

“
Good,
” he said. “
I was worried I'd seen her for the last time.
”

“
Alex,
” Helena said, “
Will you be safe?
”

“
As safe as we can be,
” he said. “
The ship is in perfect condition, and after receiving the Taiyang Shen, we will have all the supplies we need for the remainder of the journey.
”

“
Be careful,
” She said.

“
I will, my love,
” Vogel promised.

“
Welcome to Jiuquan
,” Guo Ming said. “
I hope your flight was smooth?
”

Su Bin translated Guo Ming's words as Teddy took the second-best seat in the observation room.

“Yes, thank you,” Teddy said. “The hospitality of your people has been wonderful. The private jet you arranged to bring us here was a nice touch.”

“
My people have enjoyed working with your advance team
,” Guo Ming said. “
The last month has been very interesting. Attaching an American probe to a Chinese booster. I believe this is the first time it's ever been done
.”

“It just goes to show,” Teddy said. “Love of science is universal across all cultures.”

Guo Ming nodded. “
My people have especially commented on the work ethic of your man Mitch Henderson. He is very dedicated
.”

“He's a pain in the ass,” Teddy said.

Su Bin paused before translating, but pressed on.

Guo Ming laughed. “
You can say that
,” he said. “
I cannot
.”

“So explain it again,” Beck's sister Amy said. “Why do you have to do an EVA?”

“I probably don't,” Beck explained. “I just need to be ready to.”

“Why?”

“In case the probe can't dock with us. If something goes wrong, it'll be my job to go out and grab it
.
”

“Can't you just move Hermes to dock with it?”

“No way,” Beck said. “Hermes is
huge.
It's not made for fine maneuvering control.”

“Why does it have to be you?”

“Cause I'm the EVA specialist.”

“But I thought you were the Doctor.”

“I am,” Beck said. “Everyone has multiple roles. I'm the doctor, the biologist, and the EVA specialist. Commander Lewis is our geologist. Johanssen is the sysop and reactor tech. And so on.”

“How about that good looking guy... Martinez?” Amy asked. “What does he do?”

“He pilots the MDV and MAV.” Beck said. “He's also married with a kid, you lecherous homewrecker.”

“Ah well. How about Watney? What did he do?”

“He's our botanist and engineer. And don't talk about him in the past tense.”

“Engineer? Like Scotty?”

“Kind of,” Beck said. “He fixes stuff.”

“I bet that's coming in handy now.”

“Yeah, no shit.”

“They're a weird bunch, these Chinese nerds,” Mitch said. “But they make a good booster.”

“Good.” Venkat said. “How's the linkage between the booster and our probe?”

“It all checks out,” Mitch said. “JPL followed the specs perfectly. It fits like a glove.”

“Any concerns or reservations?” Venkat asked.

“Yeah. I'm concerned about what I ate last night. I think it had an eyeball in it.”

“I'm sure there wasn't an eyeball.”

“The engineers here made it for me special,” Mitch said.

“There may have been an eyeball,” Venkat said. “They hate you.”

“Why?”

“Cause you're a dick, Mitch,” Venkat said. “A total dick. To everyone.”

“Fair enough. So long as the probe gets to Hermes, they can burn me in fucking effigy for all I care.”

“Wave to Daddy!” Marissa said, waving David's hand at the camera. “Wave to Daddy!”

“He's too young to know what's going on,” Martinez said.

“Just think of the playground cred he'll have later in life,” she said. “'My dad went to Mars. What's your dad do?'”

“Yes, I'm pretty awesome,” he agreed.

Marissa continued to wave David's hand at the camera. David was more interested in his other hand, which was actively engaged in picking his nose.

“So,” Martinez said. “You're pissed.”

“You can tell?” Marissa asked. “I tried to hide it.”

“We've been together since we were 15. I know when you're pissed.”

“You volunteered to extend the mission 533 days,” she said. “Asshole.”

“Yeah,” Martinez said. “I figured that'd be the reason.”

“Your son will be in kindergarten when you get back. He won't have any memories of you.”

“I know,” Martinez said.

“I have to wait another 533 days to get laid!”

“So do I,” he said defensively.

“I have to worry about you that whole time,” she added.

“Yeah,” he said. “Sorry.”

She took a deep breath. “We'll get past it.”

“We'll get past it,” he agreed.

“Welcome to CNN's Mark Watney Report. Today we have the Director of Mars Operations Venkat Kapoor. He's speaking to us live via satellite from China. Dr. Kapoor, thank you for joining us.”

“Happy to do it,” Venkat said.

“So Dr. Kapoor, tell us about the
Taiyang Shen.
Why go to China to launch a probe? Why not launch it from the US?”

“Hermes isn't going to orbit Earth,” Venkat said. “It's just passing by on its way to Mars. And its velocity is
huge
. We need a booster capable of not only escaping Earth's gravity, but matching Hermes's current velocity. Only the
Taiyang Shen
has enough power to do that.”

“Tell us about the probe itself.”

“It was a rush job,” Venkat said. “JPL only had 30 days to put it together. They had to be as safe and efficient as they could. It's basically a shell full of food and other supplies. It has a standard satellite thruster package for maneuvering, but that's it.”

“And that's enough to fly to Hermes?”

“The
Taiyang Shen
will send it to Hermes. The thrusters are for fine control and docking. And JPL didn't have time to make a guidance system. So it'll be remote-controlled by a human pilot.”

“Who will be controlling it?” Cathy asked.

“The Ares 3 pilot, Major Rick Martinez. As the probe approaches Hermes, he'll take over and guide it to the docking port.”

“And what if there's a problem?”

“Hermes will have their EVA specialist, Dr. Chris Beck, suited up and ready the whole time. If necessary he will literally grab the probe with his hands and drag it to the docking port.”

“Sounds kind of unscientific,” Cathy laughed.

“You want unscientific?” Venkat smiled. “If the probe can't attach to the docking port for some reason, Beck will open the probe and carry its contents to the airlock.”

“Like bringing in the groceries?” Cathy asked.

“Exactly like that,” Venkat said. “And we estimate it would take 4 trips back and forth. But that's all an edge case. We don't anticipate any problems with the docking process.”

“Sounds like you're covering all your bases,” Cathy smiled.

“We have to,” Venkat said. “If they don't get those supplies... well, they need those supplies.”

“Thanks for taking the time to answer our questions,” Cathy said.

“Always a pleasure, Cathy.”

He fidgeted in the chair, unsure what to say. After a moment, he pulled a handkerchief from his pocket and mopped sweat from his balding head.

“What if the probe doesn't get to you?” He asked.

“Try not to think about that,” Johanssen said.

“Your mother is so worried she couldn't even come.”

“I'm sorry,” Johanssen mumbled, looking down.

“She can't eat, she can't sleep, she feels sick all the time. I'm not much better. How can they make you do this?”

“They're not 'making' me do it, Dad. I volunteered.”

“Why would you do that to your mother?” He demanded.

“Sorry,” Johanssen mumbled. “Watney's my crewmate. I can't just let him die.”

He sighed. “I wish we'd raised you to be more selfish.”

She chuckled quietly.

“How did I end up in this situation?” He lamented. “I'm the district sales manager of a napkin factory. Why is my daughter in space?”

Johanssen shrugged.

“You were always scientifically minded,” he said. “It was great! Straight-A student. Hanging around nerdy guys too scared to try anything. No wild side at all. You're every father's dream daughter.”

“Thanks, Dad, I-”

“But then you got on a giant bomb that blasted you to Mars. And I mean that literally.”

“Technically,” she corrected, “the booster only took me in to orbit. It was the nuclear powered ion engine that took me to Mars.”

“Oh, much better!” He said.

“Dad, I'll be all right. Tell Mom I'll be all right.”

“What good will that do?” He said. “She's going to be tied up in knots until you're back home.”

“I know,” Johanssen mumbled. “But...”

“What?” He said. “But what?”

“I won't die. I really won't. Even if everything goes wrong.”

“What do you mean?”

Johanssen furrowed her brow. “Just tell Mom I won't die.”

“How? I don't understand.”

“I don't want to get in to the how,” Johanssen said.

“Look,” he said, leaning toward the camera. “I've always respected your privacy and independence. I never tried to pry in to your life, never tried to control you. I've been really good about that, right?”

“Yeah,” she said.

“So in exchange for a lifetime of staying out of your business, let me nose in just this once. What are you not telling me?”

She fell silent for several seconds. Finally, she said “They have a plan.”

“Who?”

“There's always have a plan,” she said. “They work out everything in advance.”

“What plan?”

“They picked me to survive. I'm youngest. I have the skills necessary to get home alive. And I'm the smallest and need the least food.”

“What happens if the probe fails, Beth,” her father asked. This time, he was uncharacteristically firm.

“Everyone would die but me,” she said. “They'd all take pills and die. They'll do it right away so they don't use up any food. Commander Lewis picked me to be the survivor. She told me about it yesterday. I don't think NASA knows about it.”

“And the supplies would last until you got back to Earth?”

“No,” she said. “We have enough food left to feed six people for a month. If I was the only one, it would last 6 months. With a reduced diet I could stretch it to 9. But it'll be 17 months before I get back.”

“So how would you survive?”

“The supplies wouldn't be the only source of food.” she said.

He widened his eyes. “Oh... oh my god...”

“Just tell Mom the supplies would last, ok?”

Taiyang Shen
's con-trail wafted in the chilly Gobi sky. The ship, no longer visible to the naked eye, pressed onward toward orbit. Its deafening roar dwindled to a distant rumbling thunder.