Sol 183
“It wasn’t an easy decision,” Teddy said to begin the meeting, “but I’ve decided against the Rich Purnell maneuver. We’ll proceed with Sleipnir 4 and a refueling mission to Sleipnir 3. Hermes will return to Earth and dock with the space station for refit.”
Teddy’s pronouncement was made to utter silence. Mitch Henderson clenched and released his fists, sitting up on the edge of the couch. Annie Montrose made a note on her phone. Bruce Ng slumped a little in his chair.
For his own part, Venkat felt a little disappointed. Yes, there was a lot of risk with the Rich Purnell proposal, but leaving Mark Watney and the aliens on Mars was a lot riskier. “If it’s not too much to ask,” he said, “what made up your mind?”
Teddy sighed. “It’s a matter of risk,” he said. “Right now we have six people on Mars with a source of food and more on the way. They have multiple shelters in case something goes wrong. We have at least limited communications with them. Granted that all of that could change at any time, for the moment they aren’t in direct and immediate danger.
“But the Rich Purnell maneuver puts the crew on Hermes in direct and immediate danger. Something might break that wouldn’t if a proper refit could occur. An error or malfunction with the engines could result in a failed maneuver, stranding them in space. The radiation shielding or heat transfer systems could fail during its close approach to the sun, killing everyone on board. If the resupply mission fails, they would starve, as would anyone they tried to rescue.
“And then there’s the plan’s dependence on the Sparkle Drive for success. Even for the ponies it’s an experimental system. We know practically nothing about it. It might not even work in our universe.”
“Rich Purnell says it should work,” Mitch growled. “And Watney’s reports include multiple cases of Starlight Glimmer teleporting, so we know it’s possible.”
“It’s still an unnecessary risk,” Teddy replied, shaking his head. “It would be different if the trajectory didn’t take Hermes in-system, or if Watney’s food supply were gone, or if Sleipnir 2 had failed. And I’m aware that circumstances could change to make the danger urgent enough that the Rich Purnell maneuver would have been the right call. But under the current situation, with Watney and the aliens sheltered, fed, and in daily communication with us, I can’t justify putting five more people in jeopardy, even to save seven months on the rescue date.”
“You left out something,” Mitch said, his voice raspy. “Watney and his friends are sheltered, fed, in communication, and on Mars. That last item’s the important part. We don’t know what the planet will throw at them next.”
“No, we don’t,” Teddy admitted. “But the same applies to space. And the known risks of the Rich Purnell maneuver outweigh the risks on Mars.”
“Did you even ask the crew?” Mitch said, his hostile tone of voice unmistakable. “We’ve trained them for years for their mission. They’re the foremost experts on what the risk is and how to counter it. Especially the risks to Hermes and the risks of Mars!”
Teddy shook his head. “You know the answer they’d give,” he said. “No matter the risk, they’d say yes. They’re emotionally invested in the answer. But someone has to be able to say no. And that responsibility is ultimately mine.”
“It should be their decision,” Mitch insisted. “You didn’t even ask.”
“It would still be my decision in the end,” Teddy said. “However, we’re not rejecting all of the Purnell plan. I’d still prefer to use a new MAV that can be landed at the Ares III site, but we could re-launch Hermes as much as two months early if we commit to Mark taking an overland route to Schiaparelli and the Ares IV MAV. Bruce, Venkat, I’ll need teams working on modifications to the rovers to carry all six of them there, plus food for the trip and fifty days on-site.”
“Once it’s refueled, we could redirect Sleipnir 3 to Schiaparelli,” Bruce said. “That’d take care of the food at the end of the trip.”
Teddy shook his head. “Too risky,” he said. “Where he is, Mark can grow food right up to the moment he leaves. Once he leaves he gives that up. If he only takes the food he needs for the trip, he has no margin if the food isn’t waiting for him at the end. No,” Teddy said, “food resupplies ship to Acidalia, and Mark judges for himself if it’s usable.”
As the discussion continued into the details of adapting the two Ares rovers for a trip of over 3,000 kilometers, Venkat spared a moment to contemplate the stout figure on the office couch. Mitch looked like he wanted to bite something- possibly galvanized nails. But more to the point, he wasn’t just furious, he was furiously thinking about something. Possibly planning something.
After a bit of thought, Venkat decided to pretend he’d seen nothing. Then the conversation returned to him, and he couldn’t spare any more thought for whatever might be going on behind Mitch’s glaring, squinted eyes.
But when the meeting broke up, Mitch walked out with Venkat. The moment Teddy’s office door closed, Mitch said, “He’s forgotten the urgency of the situation. It’s been too long since the Hab blew out.”
“He’s worried that Hermes might blow out instead,” Venkat said. “It’s a hard job.”
“You agree with him,” Mitch accused.
“I see both sides of the problem,” Venkat said. “And I wouldn’t have asked the Hermes crew either, not when we know the answer. But I don’t think I agree with him, no.”
“So you’d have gone with the Rich Purnell thing?” Mitch asked.
“I don’t know,” Venkat said. “I’d like to say yes, but if I was NASA Director and Teddy was just Project Ares chief, it might look differently.”
“Can you stop waffling for one minute and give a straight answer?”
Venkat stopped walking, thought a moment, and then said, “I think Hermes can make the trip without serious danger. And I think it’s vital to get Mark and his friends off Mars as soon as possible. My only concern is getting them all to Schiaparelli- Mark, the ponies, their food, and all the equipment they’ll need for the MAV modifications. That’s a gigantic challenge. But I think we can do it.”
He resumed walking, saying, “So on balance, I’d say yes, we should have gone with it. But it’s not our decision.”
“Damn right,” Mitch said. “It should be Melissa Lewis’s decision. And Watney’s, and Cherry Berry’s, for that matter.”
“Yes and no,” Venkat said. “I would never order Lewis to spend another year and a half in space. And I won’t order Cherry Berry’s crew to do anything whatever. But the first decision? The decision on whether or not the new mission is too risky? We have to make that decision, Mitch. Us, here on-“
“You just don’t get it, do you?” Mitch growled, brushing past Venkat and striding to the stairs.
Venkat, for himself, waited for the elevator. There were a lot of floors between Teddy Sanders’ office and ground level. He just hoped the long walk down the stairs cooled Mitch off a little, before he did something they’d all regret.
MISSION LOG – SOL 183
No TV tonight, because my guests spent the entire evening arguing about whether or not the Elements of Harmony would have any effect on Dolores Umbridge.
I’m assuming you can find a copy of the Harry Potter series for yourself, so I’ll just point out that the Elements of Harmony are magical artifacts which can purge a target of evil influences. Starlight Glimmer describes them as a “coherent wave of friendship magic produced by the interpersonal bonds between exceptionally close ponies.” Dragonfly describes them as “the rainbow magic hammer.” They’ve been used to save the pony homeland at least three different times.
Anyway, the discussion was mostly in English, although it drifted into Pony-talk towards the end as Spitfire and Fireball got tired of stumbling over their words. Cherry Berry and Spitfire insist that the Elements would cure Umbridge of being Queen High Sadistic Ultra-bitch. Dragonfly and Fireball insist that bitchdom is Umbridge’s default nature, and that the Elements would only banish her to the moon or turn her to stone.
Starlight mostly stayed out of the discussion. She looked really uncomfortable about the whole thing. When I asked her why, she said something about being a “recovering Umbridge” and refused to discuss it further.
That’s kind of strange. If I had to pick one of my guests to be the anti-Umbridge it would be… well, it would be Cherry Berry, because she’s about as malicious as a puppy. But Starlight would be a close second. I just can’t imagine her as a petty tyrant. I need to ask her about that another time, when she’s not feeling so defensive.
In other news, I noticed this morning that I only have three bacon breakfasts left. This is tragic, but it gives me an idea…
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Horse bacon!
Mmmmm, bacon. Any plan with bacon is a good plan.
Good! Very good!
Haybacon for the win!
Also, go fuck yourself Teddy...
RIP bacon.
Not sure how to feel about this. Mitch's position in the book was a lot more understandable than it is here, especially if he actually goes ahead with what he did in the book.
If the situation was actually dire, like it was when the decision was made in the book, there's no question in my mind that Teddy would order the Purnell Maneuver. But as Teddy points out, the situation isn't dire; they're in the position now that they were in the book, before the HAB blew. And I like to think it'd be a lot harder to sell the crew on mutiny when Mark's not facing a death sentence.
8849393 At the beginning of the story the ponies didn't have nearly enough magic storage for transmuting diamond to be feasible. In fact, they didn't have enough to transmute one fleck of crystal into one cherry.
Sealing the cave by transmutation is not going to be a small task.
Kris, I have to say I like the way you end chapters.
It's almost always on an interesting, or amusing note.
Teddy doesn't seem to be thinking of what the Equestrians represent. They're the only link they have to an alien civilization that has actual magic. If they die, they lose that link.
8849669
Eh, I can see where the guys coming from. Sure it sucks, but 1 astronaut and a few aliens vs 5 astronauts on their way home? The trajectories also cut into what NASA considers no-fly zones. Even with magic that’s incredibly dangerous. What if they stray too close to, what planet was it? Venus? Then you have 6 astronauts stranded on two different planets.
The tallest buildings at the Johnson Space Center are just 5 or 6 floors, if I recall. However, this is in the future, so maybe they built taller ones, or something.
Why not use Styrofoam as a barrier in the cave? (Aside from the fact that we've already used it to trash earth and it practically won't ever degrade.) Then again, maybe Starlight wouldn't be familiar with it. Ponies seem to have only minimal use for plastics and I don't recall ever seeing styrofoam in the show. I guess because they require fossil fuels and refining to produce and Equestria isn't big on pollution.
8849677
in more ways than one...for all Umbridge is pro Pureblood wizard, and toots her own horn as being as Pureblood as it gets...she actually is a halfblood, a wizard father and muggle mother. she just got it into her head that only Purebloods matter and that if shes ever going to get anykind of power for herself, then she had to be Pureblood as well. basically, Umbridge is the Diamond Tiara of the Harry Potter world in that in her mind she is the center of everything, or she should be anyway. her loyalty to anything is directly proportional to the amount of personal power that it gets her. thats y she was toadying up to Fudge, he gave her power. soon as he was out as MoM, she turned her loyalties to the new guy...
8849684
That being the case, his first priority is getting them back safely, rather than quickly. Unlike in the book, staying the course is currently their best chance of survival.
Oh boy this is a hard one, if anything its asking of "should i let them stay there where it still deadly but well known or go to space and be outside of anything world like and one but move will kill everyone"
I have a feeling mark is gonna have a revisit of the "crunch crunch crunch" fiasco given that spitfire will probably go after the bacon... also what sol was that incident on?
Ooo this is interesting! The new circumstances of your story change the situation and by extension the rationale for Teddy's decision. In the book it is fairly easy to call him a coward because he basically sacrifices most of their chance to save Mark out of fear of possible risks to the others - a face saving move. It might still be partly that here, but he does have several valid points that make the decision seem less urgent. I have a feeling Mitch doesnt see it that way though. Should be interesting to see how that goes.
Also rather like Starlight balancing out the argument of if people are evil by influence or evil by destiny, just from her existing as an example of someone who was evil by choice but also turned to good by choice. Which is really usually the case.
Whether or not to go for the Purnell manoeuvre is a tough call, but not going for it and still suggesting everyone treks to schaperelli seems the worst option of the lot
Surely it can't be worth the risk of taking the six of them three thousand miles carrying everything they can to save just two months of Hermes refit?
8849659
HAY BACON!!!
8849704
You don't survive on Venus not between sulphuric acid clouds, pressure equivalent of being 900m under water and a temperature of 462 °C.
8849709
That, and the fact that even a small flame would completely destroy it. Fireball would effectively be banned from the cave, and there's no telling how it would react to Starlight's crystal-cutting horn laser.
Hope Mark doesn't bring up Starlight's past. She usually becomes really sad and vulnerable when that happens.
And downright adorable.
If he drags this up, he'd better be ready to give her a hug to make her feel better.
With how the trip to the Schiaparelli crater was for 1 person plus with how miserable Watney and Starlight were getting the Pathfinder I can't wait to see what hell you put the cast through.
pre00.deviantart.net/99e9/th/pre/f/2016/160/0/6/sad_starlight_glimmer_by_tardifice-da5jwsj.png
vignette.wikia.nocookie.net/mlp/images/1/1a/Starlight_Glimmer_sad_that_Maud_Pie_left_S7E4.png/revision/latest/scale-to-width-down/640?cb=20170505125620
Hope Mark is ready with that hug.
8849709
8849759
additonally, the transmutation spell is unable to perform the aeration neccessary for styrofoam's structural integrity
8849762
It makes me wonder about Amacitas. It might not be able to get them to space, but maybe it could get them to Schiaparelli.
8849781
That could work or it could make everything even worse so win-win.
8849677
Ah, Umbridge. She truly was the most frightening villain of the entire series. Voldemort did terrible things, but he was always the boogeyman. A stereotypical supervillain out to take over the world. Umbridge was real. She was human. A petty, arrogant bureaucratic zealot who worshipped the system and was willing to step on anyone to get ahead. We've pretty much all met someone like that, or know someone who has, and the fact that it's so easy to imagine someone like her actually existing made her all the more terrifying.
As for whether the Elements would affect Umbridge, I'd say probably, but not to redeem her. As far as I'm aware the Elements of Harmony don't just "make you good". They purge away outside influences and then judge what's left. To earn redemption from the Elements at least part of you has to show remorse. Umbridge never did. She was not possessed, or affected by a magical artifact. She was not simply bitter and partially insane like Luna, or an angry jealous teen overwhelmed by the element of magic like Sunset. Umbridge was a petty child torturing authority obsessed bigot. A zealot who was convinced to the end of the rightness of her cause. I have no doubt that if blasted by the Elements she would be thrown squarely into some sort of imprisonment spell.
In addition to what's already been said about Mark and co not being in immediate danger, remember that in this story they're already planning a quick turn around on Hermes (with the possibility of additional rescue equipment) with a new crew. So the Purnell maneuver is probably just getting them off of Mars a year quicker instead of 3 years quicker and in a plan with more risks and narrower safety margins. Considering they have at least some redundancies in living space and life support, I'd probably make the same call.
If the cave blows out tomorrow and they're left with dangerous food shortages, then the math changes.
8849788
It's pretty much their only option. The fact is that, otherwise, they simply don't have the transportation required to get there. Remember, Mark had to heavily modify both rovers just to get just himself to Schiaparelli the first time. Make that six people, five of whom need rations, and it's just not going to happen. They need Amacitas, whether that means turning it into a sand-crawler, or convincing it to make one last flight.
8849676
Why would the crew go to ares 4, when ares 4 can come to them?
To quote the martian:
On the other hoof, 6% of battery was unable to transmute what, 20 grams worth of rock.
so for easy math lets say that it would have taken 10%
That would still be about 5 batteries per kg.
Or something like 100000 batteries to transmute a roof.
Dark magic? Dark Magic!
8849794
Actually the idea that the Elements of Harmony are good might not be right. In the comics Discord turns himself into a being of order aND harmony. But still evil. The Elements of Harmony end up backfiring when they try to use them on him, and instead blast the users.
i.ytimg.com/vi/qpLT7BEB660/hqdefault.jpg
The elements never had anything to do with stopping evil. Just chaos.
Harmony is not always good. And chaos not always evil.
Starlight stops him.
i.pinimg.com/originals/e0/5a/7f/e05a7fb3eccee295f82a3dab54726141.png
8849832
That comic honestly didn't make much sense. Harmony isn't order, and the idea that mind control is harmony is ridiculous. By that logic Sombra would have been undefeated the first time he fought Celestia and Luna.
That said, the Elements aren't purely driving out outside influences either. While it's popular fanon, Luna wasn't possessed by anything yet the Elements still somehow redeemed her. Sunset went demon with the magic of the Element of Magic, but she was a villain even before that. We don't quite know how they work, but they do seem to have some sort of mental influence.
That that they turned Discord to stone rather than purge his chaos is rather telling of their benign intent though. As we learn in Discordant Harmony, a Discord without chaos will simply vanish, so the only way to contain him without killing him was to turn him to stone.
8849854
Actually brainwashing is closer to harmony than it is to chaos. That kind of thing would drive Discord crazy because of how unchaotic the ponies become.
And the comics make about as much sense as Equestria Girls. If you are going to use Sunset, I'm going to use the comics.
8849780
So, use a different chemical.
I would vote Teflon, Great stuff that.
8849874
why not monolithic graphene while we are at it?
No bacon? Bring Sunset Shimmer on the mission!
Let's see.
But that's a little imprecise for my calculations here. The original risks were:
5*HermesIris + MarsIris vs. 5*HermesRPM + MarsRPM
And in this fic, it's:
5*HermesSleipnir + 6*MarsSleipnir + EqGoodwillSleipnir vs. 5*HermesRPM + 6*MarsRPM + EqGoodwillRPM
If the chance of dying on a final approach to Earth is nil, the Hermes terms on the left drop out. And I think I can get away with combining the Mars and Equestrian Goodwill terms.
MarsIris vs. 5*HermesRPM + MarsRPM
All of that versus:
6*Mars&EqGoodwillSleipnir vs. 5*HermesRPM + 6*Mars&EqGoodwillRPM
Soooooo... We know Sleipnir is less of a failure than Iris already. And the wait times are exactly the same, just spread out over more astronauts and contact with another universe.
I mean, I know humans don't actually calculate risks like cash registers, but it seems Teddy either thinks the Rich Purnell maneuver is equally or less likely to succeed than Sleipnir (which, given the greater success with Sleipnir versus Iris and the greater challenge of modding the MAV in Maretian versus Martian, is reasonable), or values the Hermes crew pretty close (like, maybe only a factor of ten lower) to the first-contact aspects (which... isn't quite as reasonable, but not terrible, and also not as likely as my first evaluation).
8849870
Dunno, Discord actually used brainwashing. Six times in a row. Brainwashing's only as orderly or chaotic as you make it, after all. I just vehemently disagree that the brainwashed hivemind that comic showed was the ultimate harmony, given how the series repeatedly shows us that you can be in harmony even with differences. It just feels like the comic wanted to force that twist in so Starlight could come to the rescue.
And even if we take out Sunset because EQG, that still leaves Luna.
8849780
Plus, I'm sure that styrofoam's structural integrity isn't strong enough to withstand the near vacuum of Mars' atmosphere. All the small pockets of air would probably immediately burst.
8849749 Getting a new MAV ready in time for Ares 3B is an open question. The trip to Schiaparelli might be necessary regardless.
8849704 Hermes never comes anywhere close to Venus the planet; it just spends a considerable period closer to the sun than Venus's orbit.
8849824 The MDV is not the MAV. Mars Descent Vehicle is what gets you from Hermes to Mars; it can't get you back to orbit. As of Sol 183, it doesn't exist. The Ares IV Mars Ascent Vehicle, on the other hand, was landed remotely by Martinez immediately prior to the Ares III expedition landing in Acidalia Planitia.
8849904 In the book Teddy is obsessively neat and risk-averse. And in the book it's made pretty clear that his call is the wrong one. I've decided to make the issue more ambiguous, and circumstances as they played out have backed me up on that.
8849854 Very few of the comics make any sense.
Not touching the Purnell decision... obviously I'm as emotionally invested as the crew would be so... yeah.
Umbridge, eh? We might see the first instance of a being getting banished... and then petrified in the place she was banished to. Harmony purges evil, there's no canon evidence that it's Order vs. Chaos. They didn't stone Discord because he was crazy, or Pinkie wouldn't be safe either. He warped minds, malicously... unless you think being forced to bully your friends or dig in the dirt like a dog is all in good fun. It isn't... they were coerced into being what they didn't choose. Discord can say he's chaos... but chaos and order are a matter of perception, nothing more. He warped them, overrode free will with his compulsion to act counter to their nature, because that is his nature. And the Elements couldn't purge that short of stopping him from doing anything. So they did. With Umbridge, it'd be the same. She didn't use magic so bluntly, though close, but she did try to warp those around her to be like her. Dunno for sure... obviously it's murky, but they sure wouldn't 'turn her good'.
In Our HAB, in Our HAB...
On a more serious note, is Mitch going to completely mutiny and send the Rich Purnell procedures to Hermes in this story? Further, if he does, what is the likelihood that Maretian!Lewis and company will actually go through with it? I mean, in this story, it feels like enough is different from the original book that the Hermes crew doesn't have to join Mitch in his little mutiny for the happy ending to transpire...
8849952 Well clearly their security sucked if they couldn't stop one kook! They deserved to get asploded!
Or... did God MAKE them all stupid so the kook could sabotage it! Or maybe... the WRITER was God and was pulling everybody's strings! DUN DUN DUUUUUN!!
8849961 Actually, it's pretty good in a near vacuum. We use a vacuum for drying slides and stuff, and we often put foam containers in there. Nothing appears to happen to them. Maybe in a COMPLETE vacuum there'd be an issue, but I think the biggest issue would be temperature differences. It'd also be a very weak material, too easy to puncture. Mylar would actually be a better material... since it was actually used in space on the Apollo command module. It's a polyester film and is quite tough.
Buuuut, if we're talking space-age stuff here, nothing would beat linked carbon-nanotube material layered with graphene sheets in terms of tensile strength, impermeability, thermal properties, flexibility. It's basically the ultimate super-material.
Now we just need to find away to make pieces of this material larger than a postage stamp...
I have a feeling Mark is about to get his revenge for that "crunch crunch crunch" comment. I can't wait.
8849974
Yeah... he may SAY he's the Lord of Chaos but look what he actually named himself. He's an incarnation of division, dissonance, misunderstanding. I actually did a blog on Harmony vs Discord and how it's not the same as Order vs Chaos, plus some speculation on how you'd do magic with them.
So Umbridge is getting stoned, yeah. She's discordant by nature.
if that bacon has fat... watney could make soap.
also i feel i prudent to point out, unlike the book/movie, technically Mitch is right here, teddy can't make that decision, this is now a multi planetary endeavor, him making this call without involving the ponies could be seen as a breach in protocol, the UN would have teddy's head on a platter if they knew he just did that.
"your mind?”
Teddy sighed"
Should there have been fewer line breaks there?
Good luck with the business, tiredness, and jangling.
Ugh, Umbridge. Such a terrible character.
On topic, I haven't read the book so I don't get why Mitch keeps pushing the Purnell plan. Half the plan relies on literal alien technology, field-salvage-rigged equipment and rationing in a situation where half the crew will have already been rationing for over a year. Forget NASA standards, if this was corporate the lawyers would throw Mitch out through the window.