Six

With 15 days left in the countdown, twenty astronauts on the lunar surface have already set up the space laboratory.

The space program, named "Prometheus", has high hopes that it will bring back hope for the salvation of the planet, just like the god who stole the fire in Greek mythology.

This project has exhausted almost all of mankind's technological reserves, and some people once joked that after the completion of this project, the level of space technology of all major countries in the world will remain at the same level.

The twelve lunar modules landed in the same crater for multiple people to cooperate, and the landing site error requirement should not exceed 0.5 meters, which was a great challenge for both the ground personnel and the astronauts, but fortunately, with the astronauts' superb skills, the landing was very smooth. The crater is close to the top of the massive number "1" on the moon's surface, allowing people to get a closer look at this bottomless ravine.

The command module and service module left in near-moon orbit are responsible for observing the process of digital changes on the lunar surface, and the observation data is sent directly to the Earth, and several giant radio telescopes in China are responsible for receiving the signals.

Chen Xin was one of the astronauts in charge of the lunar mission, and he was the commander of the Prometheus 7 spacecraft.

As the first Chinese to land on the moon, he has neither the ambition of Neil Armstrong nor his rhetoric, on the contrary, Chen Xin is very frustrated, in this situation the moon landing is indeed not an exciting thing, the astronauts of the moon mission are generally depressed, they do not even know if they can go back alive.

In fact, it makes no difference whether you can go back alive or not.

The astronauts brought plenty of fresh water and food, these survival necessities were enough for them to maintain their life on the surface of the moon for fifteen days, so that they could hold on until the last moment in the worst case, Chen Xin looked up at the light blue as crystal planet, he didn't know whether this was lucky or unlucky, if this was really the end of the world, those of them who stayed on the moon would not have to witness the last moments of mankind, so as to avoid the torment in their hearts, but it also meant that they could no longer be with their relatives, The most basic rights to die together are stripped away.

Chen Xin still remembers saying goodbye to his wife and family before leaving, they were all silent, and they looked at him as if they were at a funeral. The chief engineer once said to himself...... I know it's unfair to you, but there's nothing we can do about it.

Yes, there is no way, there is no way for humanity anymore.

The moon was barren and desolate, the sunlight was strong, Chen Xin was alone on the silver-white plain, and the extreme loneliness of isolation from the world came up like a tide, and he felt that he was abandoned by the world, or that he had abandoned the world.

"Moonquake! Oh, my God...... Old! There is a moonquake! Someone in the headset yelled, and Chen Xin heard the voice of John Young, the commander of the Prometheus 6 spacecraft, Yang was an experienced American astronaut with a calm personality and a calm personality, and Chen Xin had never seen him so panicked.

Before Chen Xin could make any reaction, the ground under his feet suddenly shook, the vibration felt from far and near, and finally it was so strong that the ground was like a trampoline, and Chen Xin could barely stand on his feet. He was like a piece of paper on the surface of a drum, and now suddenly someone started beating the drum so vigorously that the vibration was enough to make the piece of paper air. The gravity on the lunar surface is only one-sixth of that of the earth, and the friction of the lunar soil is very small, Chen Xin turned around and wanted to return to the lunar module, but his feet slipped and fell to the ground, through the gold-plated mask, Chen Xin saw that the landing gear of his lunar module collapsed.

In the operation control hall of the Beijing headquarters, the atmosphere is very tense, everyone is staring at the screen on the wall, and tonight they will observe the changes in the lunar surface numbers in real time.

"Moonquake detected!" People were in an uproar, "The amplitude of the earthquake continues to increase!" ”

"Quiet!" The director stabilized the panicked crowd, and he stood under the screen and shouted at everyone, "Sit down! ”

Concern for the safety of astronauts on the moon gradually crept into his mind, and the old station chief looked up at the noisy flickering blurred images on the screen, and pinched the sweat for the young people who were isolated and helpless 380,000 kilometers away.

"Oh, look, look, it's incredible." Komarov shook his head, he took off his mask, but still wearing a bulky spacesuit, the Russian gestured with his hands and tried to describe the association in his head to several other people, "It looks like ......"

"Like Tangram or Huarong Dao." Chen Xin said.

"Tangram...... Huarong Road? McKinleaf repeated the two outlandish words in a mouthful full western accent.

"It's an old Chinese game." Chen Xin explains, "Different patterns are pieced together from movable boards embedded in wooden frames. ”

"Yes, yes...... It's a movable board. Komarov nodded, "It's like the tectonic plates of the Earth." ”

The astronauts huddled in the small living module to observe the images sent by the command module in the near-moon orbit, and for the first time they saw the process of digital change so clearly, which is indeed like the movement of the earth's plates, the rocks on the surface of the moon seem to have become the world's largest tangram overnight, these moving rock plates are staggered and swapped with each other, leaving gaps to form numbers, it seems that there is an extremely large machinery in the center of the moon to provide the power for this change, and the operation of the engine is enough to cause a lunar quake of magnitude twelve.

The moon became a machine overnight, a fantasy even more absurd than the moon was a prehistoric bomb, a thought that even the most arrogant mentally ill would not dare to make, but it is true.

When reality is more presumptuous, crazy and hysterical than fantasy, human beings can only watch the world go crazy, but they don't know whether they should go crazy with it.

There are 15 days left in the countdown, the whole world is silent, and the universe has given mankind a problem, and mankind racks its brains to finally come to this problem without a solution.

This is the real desperation, as if the people who fled the fire are struggling to find a way out, only to find that the exit that had been pinned on hope is already blocked in front of the door. Now that the fire is getting closer and closer, all retreats have been blocked, and the people trapped in the fire have only two options...... Either stay where you are and wait, it will be an extremely painful process, and you can see death looming step by step, or you can commit suicide.

Some people choose to wait, but they still don't give up hope, they hope for a miracle, hoping to see someone rush in at the last moment to save them. Some people choose to commit suicide, and they dare not face the long ordeal.

The mass suicide incident did not really spread until the countdown reached a single digit, and the last hope in people's hearts was finally shattered as they saw the government approaching the government step by step towards zero.

The government is crumbling and barely maintaining the management of the country, but at this time the only people who can stick to their posts are the old janitors.

The vast majority of people suffer from a phobia of the moon, and they no longer dare to look up at the moon. People are frantically digging cellars, as if a few meters of rocky soil above their heads can guarantee their lives, and even more so that they dare not step on the ground all day long, and people stay underground to avoid the moon for psychological comfort.

Seven

There are three days left in the countdown.

The president prayed in the church, and the priest stood silently aside.

"God...... "Where is our way?" the president, looking up at the crucified Jesus for a long time? ”

He has just signed the White Paper on National Emergency Response, which stipulates that all acts of flight are no longer considered treason, and that citizens can go wherever they want as long as they are able, and there is no longer any need for any red tape.

NORAD is probably the last functioning government agency in the country, and it miraculously maintains the calm and seriousness of a military establishment, not only because the president and other high-ranking dignitaries are here, but also because the military department in the Cheyenne Mountain nuclear bunker is also responsible for monitoring the infrared signals of missile launches around the world.

Although the world has come to an end, the rigor and sense of mission of the military still allow these people to protect national security.

In a sense, the nuclear balance of this period was more volatile than it was during the Cuban Missile Crisis of the Cold War, and people did not know what absurdity could be done in an atmosphere of depression that drove people mad.

Even if there are only three days left, it is the task of these people to maintain the security of the country for three days.

The black-clad security guard burst into the church, interrupted the prayers, and picked up the president.

"Let go of me!" The president struggled and cursed, "I order you to let me go!" In this dark underground bunker, the church is perhaps the only place where you can find a little solace, looking up at Jesus crucified, as if all your suffering was not worth mentioning.

The security guard bowed his head and whispered in the president's ear, the president's angry expression froze on his face, and the words that came to his mouth were blocked in his throat, he waved his hands in the air as if trying to grab something, but finally gave up resistance, his hands and feet hung down weakly, and he let the big men take him away, like a death row prisoner dragged to the execution ground, with a relieved and sad expression on his face.

Sirens blared in the hallway outside the door, dark red lights flickered in front of their eyes, and people hurried to pass without saying a word.

The devil in the bottle was finally released, and the sword of Damocles descended from the sky and nailed the struggling man to the ground.

No one knows who launched the bomb first, and several nuclear-armed countries blame each other for not agreeing, perhaps as an act of national revenge, or perhaps just the madness in the minds of some people, but none of the reasons matter. When humanity crosses this red thread that once made them tremble with fear at a glance from afar, destroying each other is the only thing to do.

Just as Oppenheimer, the father of the atomic bomb, said when he watched the explosion of the nuclear bomb from afar, the sky is full of strange light, like the power of the Holy Spirit, only a thousand suns can compete with it, I am the god of death, the destroyer of the world.

A thousand suns erupted on Earth, and the dazzling light could be seen on the moon.

Humanity is its own grim reaper.

"Oh my God! OMG! No...... Nope! Chen Xin covered his eyes in pain, he watched the humans on Earth step by step towards destruction but could not do anything, they had just lost all contact with the ground.

There were only fifteen astronauts left on the moon, and Prometheus 3 Commander Collins took off his spacesuit and walked out of the living module when the first nuclear bomb exploded in San Francisco, killing him instantly.

Collins' entire family is in San Francisco.

Prometheus 4's aerospace engineer went crazy and turned off the life support system of the living module while the others were asleep, and by the time the others realized this, there were no living people in the living module of the 4 spacecraft.

"Crazy, all crazy!" Komarov threw the engineering manual in his hand to the ground, "We are completely abandoned!" ”

"Haha, they are all waiting for death, they are waiting for death on the earth, and we are waiting for death on the moon." John Yang's spirit was a little dazed, and he patted Chen Xin's shoulder with a smile, "Chen, what kind of death do you say?" There is probably no pain in being killed by a nuclear bomb, right? ”

Chen Xin was desperate, he buried his hand deep in his hair, and the roots of his hair were pulled out painfully.

There is no longer any point in not going back, and now the environment in some places on the earth is probably as barren as on the moon, and Chen Xin can only pray that those places do not include his hometown.

"I don't care!" Komarov got up, "Our mission is over, I'm going back to Earth!" I'm going back to Moscow! ”

The others sat coldly and indifferently.

"Hey!" Komarov grabbed a man by the collar and lifted him up, leaned close to his ear and yelled, "I'm going back, do you hear?" ”

The man's eyes were blank, his pale pupils so dull and cloudy that they couldn't even reflect the stubble-covered face of Komarov, who was close at hand.

"Tsk...... It's all fucking bastard. Komarov threw him on the ground and spat out, "I'll go back alone!" ”

"You can't go back." Chen Xin whispered, "Without the ground system, you will burn up in the atmosphere." ”

"Then I'd rather die on earth than wait to die in this hellish place!" Komarov scolded, "Look at it, I will scatter my ashes on the vast land of Russia!" ”

Chen Xin buried his head and curled up in the corner and muttered, "Then you go all the way." ”

Komarov put on his spacesuit and stepped out of the living cabin without looking back, Chen Xin admired this brave and fearless Russian, and his decisions never changed. Chen Xin watched his back disappear into the airlock, and by the time the hatch opened again, it was empty.

He really didn't come back.

Chen Xin was a little sleepy, he heard that mountaineers or polar expeditions lost their lives in their sleep when they died of hypothermia, which was actually not bad, ignorant and unconscious, without any pain.

The vision is getting blurred...... Faintly, Chen Xin saw his wife and children waving to him in the light.

(To be continued)