“Ah…”
His first reaction was pain.
Johnson then felt a cold sensation going from his feet to his spine. He opened his eyes and woke up.
“Sh*t, I’m so cold…”
Johnson felt like his entire body was freezing. He tried to curl into a ball, but he found out that he was tied to the bed.
He used his finger to unlock the nylon straps. He then slowly floated up and sat on his bed.
He noticed the Chinese researcher who injected him with the antibodies was sitting on a bench while watching him.
“Your metabolic level is still at a very low level. It’s normal to feel cold.”
“How long… did I sleep for?”
Zhao Shuxuan looked at the watch on his wrist.
“Around 27 days.”
“27 days?!” Johnson was astonished, and he muttered, “That’s unbelievable.”
Zhao Shuxuan: “Why?”
“When I was in the Marine Corps, I went unconscious for a week due to injuries. I had to lay on my bed for a whole month. I remember when I was finally allowed to get out of bed, all of my muscles felt weak. It took the medical team half a month to help me walk normally.”
Johnson raised his arm and looked at his hands in disbelief as he said, “But right now, I feel like I just had a… nap?”
“It is really weird. Prolonged inactivity should lead to muscle atrophy, but the pheromone secreted by X-0172 bacteria prevents that. The pheromones protect the dormant cells.” Professor Zhao Shuxuan looked at Johnson sitting on the bed and said, “We are still researching the specific physiochemical process. If you are interested, you can pay attention to the follow-up research progress.”
When Johnson heard about the X-0172 bacteria, he suddenly became tense. He nervously asked Zhao Shuxuan.
“How’re the Martian bacteria in my body doing?”
Zhao Shuxuan: “It’s been removed.”
Johnson sighed in relief.
That knot in his heart was finally untied.
He no longer had Martian bacteria in his body.
He could finally go home.
He realized that his two teammates were still at risk.
After a while, he casually asked.
“What about Julia and Travis? How are my two teammates doing?”
Zhao Shuxuan looked at the watch on his wrist again and said, “Julia woke up 15 minutes ago. She’s probably doing personal business in the bathroom right now. As for Travis, his situation is more complex.”
Johnson asked, “What’s wrong with Travis?”
Zhao Shuxuan had a serious look on his face. After a moment of silence, he spoke.
“The way we remove the X-0172 bacteria is to prevent it from forming spores and then kill the bacteria with antibodies. However, his situation is a bit special because he has a built-in immune response to the X-0172 bacteria. This means that the spores in his body are always under attack. Even if we injected him with the blocking pheromone, the spores in his body wouldn’t become vegetative cells.”
Johnson gulped and said, “Which means…”
“He is still in a coma, staying dormant.” Zhao Shuxuan patted him on the shoulder and stood up. He said, “Don’t worry too much, we will take care of him.”
“Thanks.”
Johnson smiled weakly.
He wasn’t actually worried.
He never liked how rebellious Travis was. He only pretended to care about him because he was the captain. To be honest, he didn’t give a rat’s a*s on whether or not Travis would wake up.
The Ares program had completely failed anyway.
The medicinal cabin door opened, and a researcher with a beard floated in.
After Professor Stephen saw Johnson on his bed, he immediately floated next to Johnson.
“Oh, I’m so sorry! How are you feeling right now? Is there any discomfort?”
Johnson was bewildered at how enthusiastic Professor Stephen was. He looked at Zhao Shuxuan.
Zhao Shuxuan coughed and said, “This is Professor Stephen from Stanford University, a microbiologist appointed by the US government.”
He looked at his watch for the third time.
“I’ll leave the room to you guys.”
Zhao Shuxuan floated toward the door and left the two people alone.
Johnson watched the cabin door close. He hesitated for a bit before saying, “I’m doing fine… When can we go home?”
Professor Stephen patted him on the shoulder and said, “Soon. The Magpie Bridge is transporting supplies to the Moon Palace. The Chinese promised us that we can use the Magpie Bridge to return to the ISS. Then our own spacecraft will pick us up from the ISS.”
I can finally go home.
This was music to Johnson’s ears.
Professor Stephen looked at how happy Johnson was, and he said, “Speaking of which, what do you think about Mars? Do you want to talk about it?”
Johnson: “Is this part of the medical examination?”
“No, I’m just curious.” Professor Stephen shook his head and asked with a smile, “You are a hero. No one has ever stepped foot on that red desert planet, but you did! I’m curious, how was life on Mars? I heard that you planted potatoes there? Did you use Martian soil? How does it taste, is it delicious?”
Am I a… hero?
Faced with Professor Stephen’s questions, Johnson smiled bitterly.
Correct, they were the first to step foot on Mars, but the Chinese were the ones who brought them back.
This didn’t count as a successful trip.
The New Virginia life support system was being destroyed by the sandstorm. After surviving for a month, they were finally rescued by the Chinese.
Johnson looked outside the window, at the silver-white Moon. He took a deep breath and spoke.
“I wouldn’t want to go there again.
“It was horrible.”
