Charlie sat behind his desk, in a full three-piece suit, ignoring the man who sat before him as he wrote.
Teddy Sanders had been shown into the Oval Office. He stood just inside the door until he was invited to sit down and introduced to the two senators. Then he sat and just waited. He assumed this was a meeting for updates on the Watney situation.
"Mr. Sanders," the president said, standing behind his desk.
"Yes sir. Do you have further questions about the current situation? I thought Ms. Astor had filled you in. Was there something she couldn't tell you?"
"Yes, there was."
"Certainly sir," Teddy said, "Anything I can answer I will, and if I can't I'll get the answer as soon as possible and get back to you."
Charlie considered and took a deep breath before speaking again. "I have only one question, and I'm sure you can answer it. As a matter of fact, you are the only person who can answer it."
Teddy tried not to let the bewilderment show on his face. "Sir?"
"Explain to me why you didn't approve Dr. Kapoor's requests to take images of the Ares III mission site, images that would have told us nearly a year ago that Mark Watney was still alive. What possible reason could you have had?"
Teddy straightened up, fighting not to show his shock that the president was aware of the requests, or his concern as to how the president knew. He kept his eyes trained on the man, unwilling to look away and show any weakness.
"I rejected those requests for several reasons, sir-" He began.
"Public relations being the top priority, naturally," Charlie interrupted.
"Mr. President, sir," Teddy said haltingly. "I was concerned about what the Watneys would think if they saw a picture of their dead son on the front page of the newspaper."
Charlie pursed his lips and resisted the urge to sigh or roll his eyes at the blatant lie. He believed that it was something Sanders had considered, but he in no way believed it was the man's first thought or concern. He caught the eyebrow lift from Sam and could see Will biting his tongue, reassured he wasn't the only one who saw it for what it was, an attempt to pacify him.
"Did you not consider that you could have warned the Watneys? Perhaps contacted President Schneider to ask her to issue a statement that this one set of images would be held for some time and released at a date to be specified later. I understand the concern that Congress would have reacted badly. They did then, and they are now. However, I am telling you, yes, telling not requesting, to have your resignation letter on my desk within the hour. If you speak to my administrative assistant they will direct you to a space where you can type it up and print it. Bring it back and we'll discuss your future career options. I believe both Boeing and Northrop Grumman have board positions available."
Teddy opened his mouth to object or defend himself. He wasn't sure, but the president had already turned away and that was as good as a dismissal. He looked to the two senators, but their looks were ones of dismissal and disgust. Perhaps he'd been fooling himself by thinking he could ride this out to the end. He had been lucky enough that President Young hadn't fired him when they thought Mark had been killed. He finally stood and left the Oval Office.
Erin Sheffheld, the White House press secretary, stood at the podium in the briefing room.
"On the heels of the announcement from NASA yesterday that Mark Watney was alive when the Ares 3 crew evacuated from Mars and has at some point in the past year retrieved Pathfinder, Theodore Sanders has resigned from his position as director of NASA. President Young has asked Melody Astor, the current assistant director, to take over as interim until such time as Congress can complete confirmation hearings to make her appointment to director permanent. A new interim assistant director will be named tomorrow."
"Something's coming in...yes...yes! It's Pathfinder!"
The crowded room burst into applause and cheers. Venkat slapped an unknown technician on the back while Bruce pumped his fist in the air. Beth put her hands to her mouth and grinned. The past week and a half had seen the team working round the clock to piece together antiquated computers, repair broken components, network everything, and install hastily made software that allowed the old systems to interact with the modern Deep Space Network. Everyone was tired but still stood crowded around the room waiting for a response. The room itself now seemed to hum with their excitement.
"Mark, we see you. We see what you did, now come outside so we can see you and know you're okay," Beth whispered, taking out her phone to message her team and share the good news.
"He did it. He got it working again."
"Well, of course, he is the mission's primary engineer as well as the botanist," Bruce snapped.
"Ok so now what?"
Tim spoke while he typed, "We sent the return telemetry automatically. It'll get there in just over seventeen minutes. Once it does Pathfinder will start high-gain transmissions. So it'll be twenty-four minutes till we hear from it again."
"Venkat's got a doctorate in physics, Tim," Bruce said. "You don't need to explain transmission time to him."
Tim shrugged, "You never can tell with managers."
"What was in the transmission we got?" Venkat asked.
"Just the bare bones. A hardware self-check. It's got a lot of nonfunctional systems."
"He brought almost the whole lander back from what the pictures show. The panels are all there? Why would there be nonfunctional systems?"
"He's not a computer systems operator and his only goal was to establish communication. It's also possible the cold and dust have ruined some of the systems."
"What about the camera?"
"It says the imager's working. We'll have it take a panorama as soon as we can."
"We still haven't seen Mark on any of the satellites, and the gap is down to only four minutes," Venkat said, trying not to be negative and pointing out the obvious that they might have established contact with Pathfinder too late.
"There hasn't been a storm lately though and the solar cells are clear, so there's no need for him to come out and use up CO2 filters on his EVA suit. We had 1500 hours total and he has to make them last four years," Beth explained. "And if he's eating smaller rations, he's probably also conserving energy. Meteorology is tracking a storm that may hit him tomorrow. We'll know better after that. He'll have to come out to clean off the solar farm. We just have to be patient."
Log entry Sol 387
Another damned storm came through yesterday and stuck around throughout the night and morning. Every time the wind starts pinging sand up against the Hab, I clench up just waiting for something to go wrong. It's over ten times older than its expected life expectancy. I have no way of knowing if the winds were as bad or worse than sol 6, but they sounded bad. I should try to develop a wind speed monitor. It could be as simple as tying a piece of fabric to a pole. Of course, I'd have to do testing to determine how much wind it takes to move the fabric. Maybe a few different types of fabric, different weights. It would all be a guess at actual wind speed but it would be something.
For a while, as the winds blew sand against the Hab, I sat in my EVA suit with the helmet open, ready to drop it if necessary, but that just felt ridiculous. I tried to distract myself by playing chess with Lewis's music turned up super loud, but it wasn't doing it either. I ended up huddled in my bunk trying to sleep. I know I eventually passed out but I have no idea how long I slept. I could have taken a sleeping pill, but I don't want to do that again, so I just suffered.
It's still blowing but it seems to have eased off. Time to do something to take my mind off of it.
Log entry Sol 388
The damn storm finally stopped. I'm exhausted but I have to go out and clean off the solar cells. Idiotic planet can't have a windstorm that blows off the dust. No, it just drops it off, and I have to go clean it and use up more of my CO2 filters. It's so damned repetitive and I just want to stop doing it. There are days I've thought about not doing it but allowing the Hab to lose power would be stupid if I want to live. Though living is debatable some days. Another three years alone on this desert world, sure why not, the time will pass in a flash right? Though if I go by Mars time as I suppose I should as the only Martian it would only be a year and a half since years here are so much longer. I'm giving up on keeping track of what day it is back home. What's the point? It just depresses me more with each holiday I miss. Anyway, off to go clean the solar cells.
Log entry Sol 388 (2)
I'm in the rover trying to decide if I'm seeing things. I cleaned off the cells and was headed back inside when I happened to glance at Pathfinder. I don't normally look at it anymore. Most of the time I don't even notice it anymore, it just sits there. Now and then I think again about demolishing it or moving it, but I just don't have the energy so I leave it. Maybe there's also been a buried hope that it actually works and someone would finally notice it.
And that's why I'm sitting here in the rover where I can stare at it. It's moved. The top of it has moved. It's realigned with Earth, at least I think it has. I never took a picture of it after I set it up and got no response. I should have, then I could compare the picture with the way it's sitting now. I'm pretty sure it's moved. I think it's moved. Am I seeing things?
Have I finally lost my mind or is Pathfinder sending and receiving now? How do I find out? Do I dare try? I could put out a sign and see if anything changes but if not… if not, nothing. It's not like I'm any worse off than I was before so no reason not to except I don't want to get my hopes up only to be seeing things. Hell, who am I kidding? My hopes are already up. Ok, I'm going back in and making some signs. I'm pretty sure I still have some sample cards left even after making the deck of playing cards.
"Ok, we're getting a picture," Tim called out to the room. "It's the panoramic."
Sighs of relief and muted conversation replaced tense silence as the image began coming through. It filled out from left to right at a snail's pace due to the bandwidth limitations of the antique probe sending it.
"Martian surface, edge of the Hab, more Hab, more Hab, how big is that thing anyway?"
"Is that a message?" Beth pointed to the screen
"That's a message," Bruce confirmed.
"He's alive!" Beth's face nearly split in two with a grin and she whipped out her cell phone to let her crew know.
"It says 'are you receiving?'" Venkat read.
"And there's another one that says point here for yes," Bruce added. "Tim, make it point to yes."
"I'm on it."
"And keep taking pictures at ten-minute intervals until he puts up another question," Venkat instructed.
"Obviously," Tim said.
"Tim," Bruce scolded.
Tim shrugged, not caring what the others thought, even if they were levels and levels about him. He was good at his job. They wouldn't suddenly fire him without warning.
"There's also a no, why would he put out a no?" he asked as he typed.
"Prepping for the next question, I'd guess," Bruce replied.
"Ok, the command is sent to point to what I think is yes," Tim said. "We should set up signs here to test and be sure it's going the right way though."
"Why? You think you could point to no?" Venkat asked.
Beth rolled her eyes and sighed, "Really like it matters for this, if it moves at all he knows, but yes getting the signs up for any future questions he might ask would be good."
Venkat turned to Beth. "I'm going to go call Melody. Would you have Melissa let Annie and Mitch know?"
She held up her phone, "Already on it. And tell Melody to stay in Houston, Rick is on his way to the airfield to go to Chicago. He'll call Karen on the way."
"Much better idea since she doesn't know them at all," Venkat replied.
"We know."
Log entry Sol 388 (4)
I'm in the rover again waiting. I have no idea how long it might take for Pathfinder to send a message, image, or anything, and for a response to come back. I've completely lost track of the time distance. I could probably look it up. Well, maybe. That might not be in our files. It's not like we needed to know how long it would take to contact Earth months after we lifted off from Mars.
Anyway, I went back to the Hab, got a sheet of sample cards, and wrote a note on one. Then wrote a second and third and hung them up on sample corers that I stuck in the ground facing Pathfinder. I put the sign asking if they were receiving directly in front of where the camera was pointing, then spread the other two off to each side by a few feet so I can easily tell if it moves.
Now I wait at least twenty-four minutes, or I think that's how long it will be for them to take a picture, look at it, and send the command to Pathfinder. That is if anyone truly is receiving now.
Log entry Sol 388 (5)
OMG it moved, it moved. I saw it happen, but even then I wasn't sure until I went out and stood behind the sign. I'd have waited outside but I'm still trying to minimize the use of the CO2 filters for EVAs. I nearly cried. Now I have to make another sign and figure out how we can have conversations that are more than yes or no questions. I don't have an endless supply of things to write on. Eventually, I'll run out, sooner rather than later actually. So I have to find another solution, or I'll be back to being alone with a useless piece of communications equipment sitting in my Martian front yard.
"Another picture is coming in," Tim called out.
Beth moved to stand directly behind him. Venkat and Bruce stood to either side of her.
"Tell crew not their fault, biomonitor dead, no way to know alive. Have food but need more. Ares IV still coming on time?" Venkat read. He tapped Tim on the shoulder. "Yes."
Beth sniffled and pulled out her phone again.
Bruce patted her on the back.
Log entry Sol 388 (6)
Ok, so no more messages tonight because the sun has gone down but now I know they know I'm alive and Ares IV will be here on schedule. This yes or no thing is gonna get old fast. Not to mention that whole running out of cards to write messages with, so I'm going to go check everyone's laptops and see if I can find a better way. They need to be able to talk to me. I nearly cried earlier today when the camera first moved. When I finally came inside, I went through all my normal evening tasks. I had dinner, checked the plants, and sat down to make this log. Then I broke down and cried. Contact with society… it took so damn long and now that I finally have it again and my emotions are a mess. I'm sure that's natural and I could confirm that from Beck's books, but I'm just going to go with it.
"Rick?" Grace said as she opened the door. "What are you doing here? Is Mark alright? Have they seen him?"
"They haven't seen him, but he is alive," he replied.
"Oh," she immediately began to tear up. "Timothy!"
Rick stood, uncertain of what to do with the now crying woman in front of him. Karen walked up behind him, took in the situation, shook her head, stepped around Martinez, wrapped her arm around Grace, and led her to the living room where they were met by Tim.
"He's alive," Grace said, smiling through her tears.
"He's alive?"
"Yes, sir," Rick said. "Beth sent us a message as soon as they knew."
"But how?"
Rick and Karen took turns explaining what had happened with Pathfinder. He showed them the picture Beth had sent of the message Mark had posted.
Log entry Sol 389
I had a hard time going to sleep last night. They know I'm alive. I wanted to scream and dance and run in circles around the Hab but I didn't want to disturb the plants. I may have jumped up and down a few times though when I couldn't get to sleep.
I did finally settle and sleep, but I was up early this morning trying to figure out how to better communicate with NASA.
I went through everyone's laptops, kinda felt bad doing it but I wasn't looking for anything personal, though it left me wondering if anyone had any music, television shows, or movies that aren't from the seventies. I'll look for that later.
No shock, Johanssen, or Super Nerd, had all kinds of alphabets on her computer. The standard English alphabet is too long, they'd be so close together. I'd struggle to see which one Pathfinder is pointing to. I'm going to attach a sample corer to the camera to help but still, twenty-six letters would be too many.
I considered binary. Being only ones and zeroes it would be easy except every letter is six freaking numbers so messages would take forever.
Then I thought maybe Morse code. Same thing as binary with only two cards needed, well maybe three because it would help to have a space card for between words. The longest letter in morse code is four dashes or dots, so easier to track than binary but I still might miss something.
Also, both binary and morse code might require moving the camera away and back to the same card. Altogether much more movement and a much longer transmission time. I think anyway.
I finally settled on hexadecimals. Only 16 cards and each letter is only two characters. I thought about adding a question mark card but if I can't tell they're asking a question we've got a problem. So I spent time this morning making up signs and locating enough stakes to hang them on. Thank goodness we were supposed to create a grid for sampling, it means I have lots of stakes and even though they aren't very tall, they'll work. Now to go out, and set them up.
Venkat rolled his head and shoulders as they waited for the first picture of the day to be received.
He laughed and called Beth when it appeared.
"I think you need to come to see this," He said when she answered.
"You're calling me with a 'come look at this cliche'?" She groused.
"Wow! You do wake up grouchy."
She didn't answer, just hung up. When she walked in ten minutes later, a huge cup of coffee in her hand, her eyes were still barely open.
"Ok, what is it?"
"Right here, Super Nerd," Tim said, completely deadpan.
"What did you just call me?" She snapped.
"Just following Mark's lead," Tim commented, pointing to the screen.
She turned to look at it and groaned. "We're gonna come get you then I'm gonna kill you!" She muttered.
Tell Beth "Super Nerd" Johanssen thanks for the communication strategy. Keep taking pics every 10 min."
"And here's the next picture."
"Hexadecimals!" Beth nearly shouted. "He's been on my computer."
"Well you did leave him alone on a deserted planet," Tim said.
Bruce sighed and shook his head.
"And it's been a year so of course, he's probably been on all of our computers. I would too if I were trying to survive. I'm not mad; I'm excited. It was a really smart move. Now how do we set up the way he is so we can start sending him messages?"
Log entry Sol 389 (2)
Ok so now I'm just waiting. My signs are all up and ready. I have a section of land nearby cleared and flat so I can scratch in the letters/numbers to transfer later. I'm going to take a picture when they're done sending, then I'll go back to the Hab, pull the picture up on my laptop, and transcribe it there.
I have pencils and paper I could take outside but I want to save the paper for responses.
People are always surprised when we tell them we use pencils in space. Anything liquid won't work on an EVA, it would just boil off. Pencils are just easier. Yes, they're boring, but you go with what works.
I don't know how long it will be until they're ready, so for now I wait in the rover. When I see the camera move to the first letter I know they're going to message me the next time. I asked them to give me ten minutes to be ready after they move the camera that way so I wait and I watch.
H-O-W-A-L-I-V-E
Biomonitor speared by antenna. Blood sealed hole in suit. Made it back to Hab. Sewed up hole in me. Grew potatoes and green beans. Really tired of potatoes.
"The man is a genius," Alex said as he read the message. Beth had called him in when they had sent the first hexadecimal code.
"I just want to know how the hell he even thought to grow them," she commented.
Venkat stood shaking his head, "I don't even know what to say. At least now we know how he's not dead."
"So, I should ask about the potatoes?" Tim asked.
Bruce sighed and bumped him on the shoulder.
W-O-R-K-I-N-G-O-N-S-U-P-P-L-Y-P-R-O-B-E-M-O-R-E-A-B-O-U-T-P-O-T-A-T-O-E-S
There were potatoes, peas, and green beans in supplies for the big meal. Used Earth soil and fertilizer to make Mars soil grow potatoes. Then planted green beans too. How's crew?
Melissa opened up the text message from Beth and smiled, then set off to locate Chris.
When she found him, he was conferring with Dr. Keller, NASA's chief flight surgeon.
"So you've seen the message?" she asked them.
"Yes, we're calculating his nutritional needs for a supply probe," Dr. Keller responded.
"He's fine on calories," Chris said. "Well, not fine, they are probably low. We won't know for sure until we can get more information from him about how much he's eating a day. Still, he has vitamins to last him quite a while, the only concern is protein."
"I'll leave you to your planning then."
C-R-E-W-H-A-P-P-Y-Y-O-U-R-E-A-L-I-V-E-B-J-M-A-D-B-O-U-T-S-N-N-A-M-E
UM ok got it
Sorry, Beth but you are a super nerd. Talking this way is exhausting, time-consuming, and uses up CO2 filters. Need new way. Someone smart come up with one plz.
Grace nearly fell off the couch laughing.
"He hated green beans as a kid. He'll tell everyone differently I'm sure, but we had to bribe him to eat them when he was little. It was college before he finally would eat them without complaining. And now… not only is he eating them he's eating their leaves," Timothy explained.
"I'm glad he's the one that got left behind," Rick said then smacked himself in the forehead. "Oh my, I'm so sorry Mr. and Mrs. Watney. I didn't mean it that way. I just…I would never have thought to plant the potatoes they sent with us. Me and my big mouth."
"Rick," Grace said.
"Yes?"
"Shut up dear. Quit while you're ahead.."
"Yes ma'am."
Log entry Sol 391
So they've come up with another way for us to communicate, but it's going to be a lot of work for me. In the end, it will be worth it but I'll be trying to keep up with scratching out more hexadecimals than all of the other messages combined. They'll be sending them a bit slower because I can't miss any characters or this won't work.
Someone back home has figured out how I can hack the rover computer so it can talk to Pathfinder. Maybe after that, if I can get the dish working again they can get it to talk to the HAB.
In the meantime, I get to be an interplanetary hacker. This has to be Johanssen's idea. I have to buy that woman a beer if I get back.
I just realized I asked how the crew was and didn't ask about my parents. I'm a horrible son. Well as soon as we get this hack job done, once I hack the rover, the NASA and the JPL people send instructions to patch it, anyway, once that's done I'm writing a big long message to my parents apologizing about a million times for putting them through this. I can work on that while I wait for NASA. Ok, time to go get the hack code.
Venkat sat at his temporary desk at JPL, a cheap folding table that had been discovered in a warehouse somewhere and shoved in the back of a break room. He didn't mind the tight fit. He appreciated that they'd accommodated him at all but the people trailing in and out all day long for snacks and asking about when the fridge would be refilled with Diet Coke while he was working was about to drive him crazy. The nearby coffee pot would have been a plus if the coffee had been even halfway decent but it wasn't.
He was groaning after telling yet another person that he didn't know when Site Services refills the fridge as his phone rang. Seeing that it was Annie, he groaned again.
"Hello?" he answered as cheerfully as he could.
"I need a picture of Watney."
"Hi, Annie. Nice to hear from you, too. How are things back in Houston?"
"Cut the crap, Venkat. I don't have time for it. I need a picture."
"It's not that simple," he explained.
"You're talking to him with a camera. How hard can it be?"
"We spell out our message, wait twenty minutes, and then take a picture. Watney's back in the Hab by then."
"So tell him to be around when you take the next picture," Annie demanded.
"We can only send one message per hour, and only when Acidalia Planitia is facing Earth," Venkat said. "We're not going to waste a message just to tell him to pose for a photo. Besides, he'll be in his EVA suit. You won't even be able to see his face."
"I need something, Venkat," Annie said. "You've been in contact with him for days now and the media is going insane. They want an image for the story. It'll be on every news site in the world."
"You have the satellite photos when we saw him outside, and you have the pictures of his notes. Make do with that."
"Not enough," Annie said. "The press is crawling down my throat for this. The satellite pics are old at this point and you can barely see him even with magnification. They just don't cut it."
"I'll have to wait a few days. We're going to try and link Pathfinder to the rover computer-"
"A few days?" Annie shrieked. "This is all anyone can talk about right now. In the world."
"Really? The leak and Sanders sacking isn't-"
"Old news," she snapped. "Weeks old. This is the biggest space story since Apollo 13, and both shuttle break-ups combined. Give me a picture!"
Venkat sighed. "I'll try to get it tomorrow."
"Great!" she said. "Looking forward to it."
Log Entry sol 391 (2)
That took way longer than I'd planned. Thank goodness they were so slow sending the code because it took nearly two hours just to scratch out all of the hexadecimals. Then it took me another hour to translate it and that had to be done in the Hab. So after I finished, I had to suit back up again and go back out to the rover. Except for some reason they want me to hang around for the next pic, so I won't be going to the rover right away. Not sure why. You can't see any part of me when I'm in the suit. Even the faceplate would reflect too much light and I can't raise it right now because I'm facing the sun. Still, it's what they want.
I went back in and copied down the message for future reference. Then I wrote a short note and came back out. Usually, I'd pin up the note and go back in. But this time I had to hang around for a photo op.
I gave more thought to that photo than I probably should have to try to decide just what pose I should strike. I'm sure Annie just wants a pic of me standing and waving or maybe a thumbs up but that's boring. The thumbs-up idea gave me a better one though.
I gave the camera a double thumbs up to go along with my note that said, Ayyyyyy!
Blame a year of nothing to watch but seventies TV. Yep, it's all Lewis's fault, her and her crappy taste in entertainment that is.
"I ask for a picture, and I get the Fonz?" Annie asked, admonishing Venkat.
"You got your picture, quit griping," he said, cradling the phone on his shoulder. He paid more attention to the schematics in front of him than to the conversation.
"Ayyyyyy!" Annie mocked. "Why would he do that?"
Venkat laughed, "I know it's been over a year since you've spoken to the man, but have you completely forgotten who he is?"
"Fine, fine," Annie said. "But I want a pic of his face ASAP."
"Can't do that."
"Why not?"
"Because if he takes off his helmet, he'll die."
"What about raising his faceplate?"
"Not anytime soon. When we line up so that we can send messages right now the sun would be in his face. He needs that layer of protection. You know the press and people everywhere are going to love that picture. It shows he's in good spirits. Besides, if you can see his face you could see his physical condition, and as you recall Dr. Keller is worried it's not going to be a pretty sight."
She sighed, "Damn it, I hate it when you're right."
"I know," he said, only slightly gloating.
Log entry Sol 391 (3)
The code is finally all entered and I'm going back to the Hab to eat (I really really hate potatoes) and then go to bed. Hopefully, when I get up in the morning there will be a message waiting for me.
[9:23] JPL: Mark, this is Venkat Kapoor. I'm not sure where to start. Amazing job getting Pathfinder. We're working on plans to redirect an Ares IV supply probe to you. JPL is also working on adjusting the Ares IV's MDV to do a short overland flight. They're hoping to land near you on Acidalia Planitia, and make some quick adjustments to lighten the load. You'd hop in with them and then fly on over together to Schiaparelli. There are also plans to add additional supply probes to keep you fed until they arrive.
[8:37] WATNEY: Glad to hear it. Really looking forward to not dying. I want to make it as clear as I can that the crew was not at fault. They had no way of knowing I was alive. How are my parents? Love you, Mom and Dad. And why did it take you all so long to pick up the signal from Pathfinder?
[8:52] JPL: Your parents are doing well. Rick is with them right now. We didn't get a signal from Pathfinder because we weren't listening for one.
[9:06] WATNEY: Martinez is with my parents? Why are you punishing my parents? ;) Tell Rick thanks for me. Didn't figure you would be listening for a signal from Pathfinder, so how did you hear it now?
[9:20] JPL: They finally took satellite pictures of the area again. Someone was worried about seeing your dead body plastered on all the newspapers across the country. Just texted Martinez and he says no problem man, you'd do the same for him, any of us would, and I would but so help me if you call me Super Nerd again you're going to regret it when we get your happy butt back to Earth.
[9:34] WATNEY: Johannssen? I thought I was talking to Kapoor. You are a nerd. Why would you deny it, nerds are cool. Unless things have changed drastically in the last year nerd chic was the height of being cool, or at least owning your nerdom is cool. How are you guys?
[9:36] WATNEY: Even though it pisses me off because it means no one knew I was alive until now and hello I could have used assistance before now, I can't say I blame them for not wanting my corpse splashed all over the news. My parents did not need to possibly see that, even though they wouldn't have. Sure that wasn't the reason though. It had to be all about funding, which tells me exactly about who the someone was.
[9:51] JPL: We're good, better knowing you are alive, determined to get you back to Earth with us. Beck and Lewis are blaming themselves so just keep sending messages that it's not our fault ok. Kapoor was messaging you but he stepped out and I was here so I took over. Yeah, yeah, yeah being a nerd is cool. You say that to get yourself out of trouble because we both know that you called me that as a jab, friendly though it may be.
[9:53] JPL: I'm sure the powers that be will appreciate that you understand why they didn't take images of our Hab. It's a unique position. And no worries, that "someone" is gone. Long story- I'll tell you when you get back when we aren't on a non secure, 'has to be shared with the public' communications network.
[10:06] WATNEY: More like a brotherly jab. ;) Question you may or may not be able to answer, but someone at JPL hopefully can. I found the communications dish that tried to do me in a while back. The antenna is still broken but I think I can fix it. If I reinstall it, would it be possible to get these messages and my emails sent to the Hab instead of the rover? I'd like to continue to conserve my CO2 filters until you all can get some new ones to me.
[10:19] JPL: I sent Bruce to ask the comms guys if they can make that work. While I know how the system works, I hesitate to say it would work. So you're living on potatoes? You're the most adventurous eater of any of us. I still gag thinking of some of the things you tried when we did our survival training. You have to be going out of your mind. Alex says the next Ares IV probe that can get to you is about six weeks out. It does have some food supplies but not many. The way he explained it, the probe is one of those redundant ones, the other already landed at Schiaparelli.
[10:34] WATNEY: and you were the pickiest eater in the group. You ate the same thing almost every day on the trip to Mars, and I still think you'd get tired of eating potatoes, day in and day out. That's why I planted the green beans. I had to have something else to eat. I planned on planting the peas next but I think I'll wait now and see what's in the probe. I assume you'll send me a message when it lands with the coordinates.
[10:47] JPL: Yes, when we know where it is, we'll send the coordinates. It may not land close. You might have to drive for more than a day to get it. The Ares IV support team is trying to calculate exactly how much they can change the trajectory but you know how it goes when things land and bounce.
[11:00] WATNEY: Wonderful more time living in the rover. I wasn't planning on doing that until I had to go to Schiaparelli, then I got excited two hours ago when Kapoor said Ares IV was gonna land here and pick me up, and now I'm back to dreading the thought. I know it's worth it for the supplies but my back is still hurting from the last time.
[11:13] JPL: What do you mean your back is hurting? How long has it been hurting? When did you get Pathfinder? Are you taking anything for the pain?
[11:25] WATNEY: So did Beck suddenly take the keyboard? I'm fine. I got back with Pathfinder on Sol 94. I spent 22 sols in that damn rover. My back still hurts occasionally but not every day, not even every week. It all depends on how much and what kind of physical exertion I do. I'm not taking anything for it, but I did use the RTG to make a bathtub to soak when it bothers me. I didn't bring any potatoes to the rover with me so I'm going back in to eat. I'll check back in after. Hopefully, you'll have an answer from comms by then.
[11:39] JPL: THE RTG? Watney have you lost your mind? You're taking baths with the RTG? What the hell is wrong with you?
[11:42] JPL: Kapoor back, and I am giving a direct order to take the RTG back out and bury it at the recommended distance from the Hab. Medical has been consulted and will provide you with recommendations for physical therapy and pain management with the medicines on hand and those in the supply probes that will land near you.
[11:43] JPL: communications have been consulted and they believe that it would be possible to transmit to the Hab.
[13:27] WATNEY: Good to hear. I'll start looking for a replacement antenna.
[13:39] JPL: Keep us updated on the search. Don't forget to let us know when the RTG is back in the ground.
[13:51] WATNEY: will do
[14:03] JPL: That means go do it now Watney.
[14:16] WATNEY: no
[14:28] JPL: SOP is for it to be buried.
[14:52] JPL: Mark? Acknowledge, please.
[15:04] WATNEY: Oh I acknowledge the decision but seeing as it's a stupid ass decision, I've decided to ignore it. I'd rather not risk getting addicted to painkillers on a planet where I could run out and then have to go through withdrawal alone. I've already been exposed to more radiation from surface time work than from the RTG. At this point, my cancer risk is already probably astronomical. I'm hardly worried about any additional risk that comes from the RTG that is still perfectly sealed and in an additional container as well. In the meantime, I'll keep using the tub as needed. Don't agree with me, fine, leave me here. You already did and couldn't be bothered to even check to see if I were dead.
[15:07] WATNEY: That last message is solely for NASA administration, NOT my crew who had no way of checking to see if I were alive. The rest of you, on the other hand, the less said the better. If it makes you nanny types feel better I have made plans to move it outside the Hab and run water lines in and out to it for my bath.
[15:16] JPL: Did you just quote Nick Fury? Damn Watney, I think you're the nerd.
[15:21] JPL: Plans to move the RTG outside the Hab are approved.
[15:28] WATNEY: I'm a geek, not a nerd, and if you don't know the difference, I'm not going to explain it. Guessing it's you again, Super Nerd?
[15:41] JPL: WATNEY!
[15:53] WATNEY: Well if it wasn't you before, it is now. You know you don't have to tell the Commander about the RTG baths, and Beck doesn't need to know either.
[16:05] JPL: Too late. Besides, you know this will all be public anyway, all NASA communications with astronauts in space blah, blah, blah.
[16:18] WATNEY: my mom is gonna kill me
[16:31] JPL: Not if Lewis or Beck get to you first.
[16:43] WATNEY: Probably about time to stop talking for the day, I'm sure I'll be out of range or whatever soon so I'll talk to you tomorrow.
[17:02] JPL: Chicken
Log entry Sol 392
So after talking to Beth… I'm still processing that I talked to Beth, not just another human, not just someone at NASA, but my crewmate, one of my best friends, and my little sister. I'm not alone anymore, not alone anyway. I cried again, serious tears of joy. Then of course I felt ridiculous but screw it, anyone that would judge me for it can try living my life for the past year.
So tomorrow, I think the first thing I'm going to do is look for the comm supplies. There has to be a backup antenna, which would be so much easier than trying to repair the broken one. No way would NASA send us to Mars and risk the communications array not working. Now to just figure out where that would be. The manifest for all of the supplies is on the computer. I just need to pull it up and look for the storage list. Commander Lewis was very strict about putting everything in its place, rightfully so as we all needed to be able to find whatever we were looking for quickly and easily. There's no time to waste on a thirty-day mission as crazy as that sounds.
So I'll find the extra antenna, replace the broken one on the dish, and then set the dish back up in place. Even if we can't use Pathfinder and the rover to get a signal to the Hab, maybe they can do something when they send me more supplies.