Weizhou.
Shen Zongzheng holds a copy of The Martian
As a famous science fiction writer in Weizhou, Shen Zong was shortlisted for the Best Science Fiction Medium or Long Novel Award at this year's Galaxy Award.
He thought he would win the prize.
Unexpectedly, the grand prize was snatched away by a novel written by Qin Zhou.
to be honest.
Shen Zong was somewhat unwilling.
Shen Zong believed that the other two finalists were also unwilling to accept this, so after "The Martian" was released, he immediately bought a copy to take a closer look at where he had lost.
…
This novel meets the standards of a medium-length novel.
The story originates from the Weizhou Space Agency's series of Mars landing missions called Ares-God of War.
The protagonist Mark is one of the six pilots in the third landing mission.
On the sixth day after landing, they encountered a huge sandstorm. Unfortunately, Mark was hit by the antenna and lost his teammates. Despite his best efforts, he was unable to rescue his teammates and took the only escape capsule back to the Messenger spacecraft in space.
Everyone thought Mark was dead.
After receiving the news, the Weizhou Space Agency held a press conference to announce the failure of the Ares III mission and the death of astronaut Mark.
This is the background of the novel.
…
After reading the previous background explanation, Shen Zong raised his eyebrows slightly.
I didn’t expect that the background story of the book Chu Kuang actually took place in Weizhou.
It seems that Chu Kuang is really targeting Weizhou readers.
But this background is not abrupt.
Because Weizhou's technological level on Blue Star is indeed top-notch, almost comparable to Zhongzhou.
When many writers on Blue Star write books, they do not necessarily use their own continent as the story background for the sake of plot development. After all, the writing systems of all continents on Blue Star are unified, and readers from all continents have no problem with acceptance.
also.
Shen Zong did not find any loopholes in the novel's description of aviation technology.
Chu Kuang's knowledge in this area even surprised Shen Zong, a science fiction writer from Weizhou.
After all, I defeated myself.
He is indeed very capable.
However, this level alone is certainly not enough to convince Shen Zong.
Dipping his finger in saliva, Shen Zong turned the page and continued
In the book.
Of course the protagonist Mark will not die. The antenna is pierced into his abdomen, causing a hole in his space suit.
"Oxygen crisis?"
Shen Zong thought so subconsciously, but when he saw the following text, his cheeks couldn't help but get hot.
He was slapped in the face.
Mark will not be short of oxygen.
On the contrary, what Mark was afraid of was the oxygen concentration being too high.
Because one of the important functions of space suits is to reduce the concentration of carbon dioxide produced by breathing.
It will first use a simple chemical device to absorb carbon dioxide. When the absorber is exhausted, it will adopt a bloodletting mode, which is to automatically open the vents. Although this will eliminate carbon dioxide, it will also reduce the air pressure inside the space suit. In order to maintain the air pressure, the space suit will automatically inflate the inside. When the limited nitrogen is emptied, it will use pure oxygen to replenish the pressure.
You should know that the oxygen concentration in the earth's atmosphere where we live is only 21%, so we can breathe comfortably.
Excessive concentration of oxygen can burn the nervous system, lungs and eyes.
Shen Zong certainly understood this kind of thing.
But Shen Zong obviously didn't understand this function of the space suit well enough.
After returning to the breath cabin that was not destroyed by the storm with difficulty, Mark finally took off his helmet and breathed in deep breaths of air.
The daily life of an anthropologist and mechanical engineer on Mars begins here.
After checking all the equipment, Mark calculated and concluded:
The food he had left would last him less than a year at best, and ground rescue would not arrive on Mars until four years later at the earliest.
He had to solve the food problem!
Shen Zong smiled when he saw this. He had already guessed what the protagonist was going to do.
Wei Zhou has a science fiction novel called "Mars Base Plan".
In order to get food on Mars, the protagonist used his knowledge to conduct an experiment on soilless cultivation of vegetable plants.
The protagonist of Chu Kuang would definitely do the same!
really.
The following plot was just as Shen Zong expected.
The protagonist thought of soilless cultivation to solve the food problem.
However, the next moment, Shen Zong's smile disappeared.
He was slapped in the face again by the idea of this book!
Mark in the book quickly rejected the idea of soilless farming because it would require a lot of nutrient solution.
However, the nutrient solution in the habitat was not enough for Mark to use.
This thing is a consumable and cannot solve the problem fundamentally.
To solve the food problem on Mars, the right solution is:
Plant potatoes!
Shen Zong widened his eyes!
Because not only was he slapped in the face by Chu Kuang, even the food solution of the "Mars Base Plan" was denied by this book!
But Shen Zong had to admit:
Mark's idea is more feasible and the reasons he gave are impeccable!
In the absence of water, Mark used his knowledge of chemistry to produce water.
Potatoes are readily available, vacuum-packed. This stuff is famous for being a good variety, and the yield is not low.
stool.
Urine.
The fertilizer excreted by Mark himself is the best "nutrient solution" for growing potatoes!
"sharp!"
After being slapped in the face twice in a row, Shen Zong's expression became serious. He was not angry, but just admired Chu Kuang's rich knowledge!
The following plot made Shen Zong even more amazed:
In Mark's survival on Mars, every operation is extremely reasonable and feasible!
The scope of knowledge involved here is so vast that even Shen Zong, a science fiction writer, feels that he is ignorant!
But Chu Kuang wrote this process with ups and downs.
For example, when Mark was making water, he ignored the imbalance in oxygen ratio caused by his own breathing, which led to an explosion in the experiment.
Another example...
When the potatoes were harvested a long time later, the air pressure in the habitat unexpectedly became unbalanced, causing the death of all the potato seedlings!
But Mark no longer had enough conditions to grow potatoes.
The food crisis has re-emerged.
What should I do now
Shen Zong didn't realize that he had been completely attracted by the plot. He was eager to see how Mark would continue his journey of survival!
Continuing the plot.
An unexpected turn of events occurred.
The Blue Star Space Agency headquarters discovered that Mark was still alive.
at the same time.
Mark is also trying to contact the space agency.
He actually found the rover with communication function that Wei Zhou had sent to Mars decades ago!
The machine broke down, so he repaired it himself.
This process is not just glossed over, but Mark's specific operations are described in detail.
For example, how Mark used solar energy and nuclear reaction technology to build his own means of transportation.
A series of cool operations!
Shen Zong was amazed by what he saw!
But the book's imagination doesn't stop there.
Mark didn't know that everything he experienced on Mars was broadcast live to the world. When he communicated with the ground, he would swear and make dirty jokes, so that the entire ground-based space agency was completely confused...
Science fiction elements.
Dramatic elements.
Both are maxed out!
Even the character of the protagonist Mark is vividly portrayed on the paper. As a reader, Shen Zong really likes this male protagonist who copes with all kinds of difficulties on Mars with an optimistic and positive attitude!
Not to mention.
There are also scenes in this plot that make people smile.
For example, Mark found his teammate's music player, but it turned out that there were only Xianyu's songs in his teammate's player.
So it was Xianyu's songs that accompanied Mark through his loneliness.
Shen Zong had also heard some of these songs. After all, Xianyu became famous all over the world at the Blue Music Conference, and many people looked for his works to appreciate.
As for the end of the story...
This is what moved Shen Zong the most.
After paying a certain price, and some even risking being court-martialed, Mark's teammates decisively drove the spacecraft back to Mars!
They want to save Mark!
The novel does not end in tragedy.
After going through untold hardships, Mark successfully boarded his teammates' rescue spacecraft.
And that's it.
Mark has survived alone on Mars for a full 549 solar days!
"ox!"
This person's knowledge can only be described as profound!
Shen Zong even couldn't help but wonder, could Chu Kuang have worked in the Space Agency
The professional aerospace equipment information in the book cannot be found by just searching on the Internet!
Yet, surrounded by countless knowledge, this novel does not seem boring at all. The protagonist's use of knowledge is so flexible that it makes people worship him. Various cool operations emerge in an endless stream, and he has turned himself into the "King of Mars"!
People can't help but sigh:
Learn math, physics and chemistry well, and you won’t be afraid to travel around the universe!
The entire process of the novel is exciting!
It’s refreshing!
There are funny moments!
There are also tearful moments!
After spending a whole morning reading the entire novel, Shen Zong was shocked beyond words!
Galaxy Award.
Shen Zong admitted defeat sincerely!
————
ps: You didn’t expect that there is actually another chapter, after all, I talked about it yesterday. However, this novel is really too long, so I can only talk about it briefly so that everyone can understand what the book is about. If you are interested, you can watch the movie. The adaptation is not big, but the dramatic conflict has become bigger, so it looks very interesting.