sipped his coffee and frowned at his computer. A month ago it would have been unthinkable to drink coffee at 9pm. Now it was necessary fuel. Shift schedules, fund allocations, project juggling, out and out looting of other projects… he’d never pulled so many stunts in his life.
“ NASA’s a large organization ,” he typed. “ It doesn’t deal with sudden change well. The only reason we’re getting away with it is the desperate circumstances. Everyone’s pulling together to save Mark Watney, with no interdepartmental squabbling. I can’t tell you how rare that is. Even then, this is going to cost tens of millions, maybe hundreds of millions of dollars. The MDV modifications alone are an entire project that’s being staffed up. Hopefully, the public interest will make your job easier. We appreciate your continued support, Congressman, and hope you can sway the Committee toward granting us the emergency funding we need. ”
He was interrupted by a knock at his door. Looking up, he saw Mindy.
“Sorry to bother you,” Mindy said.
“No bother,” Venkat said. “I could use a break. What’s up?”
“He’s on the move,” she said.
Venkat slouched in his chair. “Any chance it’s a test drive?”
She shook her head. “He drove straight away from the Hab for almost two hours, did a short EVA, then drove for another two. We think the EVA was to change batteries.”
Venkat sighed heavily. “Maybe it’s just a longer test? An overnight trip, kind of thing?”
“He’s 76km from the Hab,” Mindy said. “For an overnight test, wouldn’t he stay within walking distance?”
“Yes he would,” Venkat said. “Damn it. We’ve had teams run every conceivable scenario. There’s just no way he can make it to Ares 4 with that set-up. We never saw him load up the Oxygenator or Water Reclaimer. He can’t possibly have enough basics to live long enough.”
“I don’t think he’s going to Ares 4,” Mindy said. “If he is, he’s taking a weird path.”
“Oh?” said Venkat.
“He went south-southwest. Schiaparelli Crater is southeast.”
“Ok, maybe there’s hope,” Venkat said. “What’s he doing right now?”
“Recharging. He’s got all the solar cells set up,” Mindy said. “Last time he did that, it took 12 hours. I was going to sneak home for some sleep if that’s ok.”
“Sure, sounds good. We’ll see what he does tomorrow. Maybe he’ll go back to the Hab.”
“Maybe,” Mindy said, unconvinced.
“Welcome back,” Cathy said to the camera. “We’re chatting with Marcus Washington, from the US Postal Service. So, Mr. Washington, I understand the Ares 3 mission caused a Postal Service first. Can you explain to our viewers?”
“Uh yeah,” said Marcus. “Everyone thought he was dead for over two months. In that time, the Postal Service issued a run of commemorative stamps honoring his memory. 20,000 were printed, and sent to post offices around the country.”
“And then it turned out he was alive,” Cathy said.
“Yeah,” said Marcus. “We stopped the run immediately and recalled the stamps, but thousands were already sold. The thing is, we don’t print stamps of living people.”
“Has this ever happened before?” Cathy asked.
“No. Not once in the history of the Postal Service.”
“I bet they’re worth a pretty penny now.”
Marcus chuckled. “Maybe. But not too much. Like I said, thousands were sold. They’ll be rare, but not super rare.”
Cathy chuckled then addressed the camera. “We’ve been speaking with Marcus Washington of the United States Postal Service. If you’ve got a Mark Watney commemorative stamp, you might want to hold on to it. Thanks for dropping by, Mr. Washington.”
“Thanks for having me,” Marcus said.
“Our next guest is Dr. Irene Shields, Flight Psychologist for the Ares missions. Dr. Shields, welcome to the program.”
“Thank you,” Irene said, adjusting her microphone clip.
“Do you know Mark Watney
“ NASA’s a large organization ,” he typed. “ It doesn’t deal with sudden change well. The only reason we’re getting away with it is the desperate circumstances. Everyone’s pulling together to save Mark Watney, with no interdepartmental squabbling. I can’t tell you how rare that is. Even then, this is going to cost tens of millions, maybe hundreds of millions of dollars. The MDV modifications alone are an entire project that’s being staffed up. Hopefully, the public interest will make your job easier. We appreciate your continued support, Congressman, and hope you can sway the Committee toward granting us the emergency funding we need. ”
He was interrupted by a knock at his door. Looking up, he saw Mindy.
“Sorry to bother you,” Mindy said.
“No bother,” Venkat said. “I could use a break. What’s up?”
“He’s on the move,” she said.
Venkat slouched in his chair. “Any chance it’s a test drive?”
She shook her head. “He drove straight away from the Hab for almost two hours, did a short EVA, then drove for another two. We think the EVA was to change batteries.”
Venkat sighed heavily. “Maybe it’s just a longer test? An overnight trip, kind of thing?”
“He’s 76km from the Hab,” Mindy said. “For an overnight test, wouldn’t he stay within walking distance?”
“Yes he would,” Venkat said. “Damn it. We’ve had teams run every conceivable scenario. There’s just no way he can make it to Ares 4 with that set-up. We never saw him load up the Oxygenator or Water Reclaimer. He can’t possibly have enough basics to live long enough.”
“I don’t think he’s going to Ares 4,” Mindy said. “If he is, he’s taking a weird path.”
“Oh?” said Venkat.
“He went south-southwest. Schiaparelli Crater is southeast.”
“Ok, maybe there’s hope,” Venkat said. “What’s he doing right now?”
“Recharging. He’s got all the solar cells set up,” Mindy said. “Last time he did that, it took 12 hours. I was going to sneak home for some sleep if that’s ok.”
“Sure, sounds good. We’ll see what he does tomorrow. Maybe he’ll go back to the Hab.”
“Maybe,” Mindy said, unconvinced.
“Welcome back,” Cathy said to the camera. “We’re chatting with Marcus Washington, from the US Postal Service. So, Mr. Washington, I understand the Ares 3 mission caused a Postal Service first. Can you explain to our viewers?”
“Uh yeah,” said Marcus. “Everyone thought he was dead for over two months. In that time, the Postal Service issued a run of commemorative stamps honoring his memory. 20,000 were printed, and sent to post offices around the country.”
“And then it turned out he was alive,” Cathy said.
“Yeah,” said Marcus. “We stopped the run immediately and recalled the stamps, but thousands were already sold. The thing is, we don’t print stamps of living people.”
“Has this ever happened before?” Cathy asked.
“No. Not once in the history of the Postal Service.”
“I bet they’re worth a pretty penny now.”
Marcus chuckled. “Maybe. But not too much. Like I said, thousands were sold. They’ll be rare, but not super rare.”
Cathy chuckled then addressed the camera. “We’ve been speaking with Marcus Washington of the United States Postal Service. If you’ve got a Mark Watney commemorative stamp, you might want to hold on to it. Thanks for dropping by, Mr. Washington.”
“Thanks for having me,” Marcus said.
“Our next guest is Dr. Irene Shields, Flight Psychologist for the Ares missions. Dr. Shields, welcome to the program.”
“Thank you,” Irene said, adjusting her microphone clip.
“Do you know Mark Watney
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