Mens (english version)

  25.

  Therefore I had the problem to return on the surface Martian in solid and entire form. It didn't seem easy. The shuttle to which I was attached was firm in orbit, and you/he/she would have been for a long time it before the situation changed. I would be dead very first. I had to act.

  Besides, something told that Robin, Zeld and Hut would have put soon in the troubles, down there of under. Could I pilot that aircraft up to earth? I had to know more of it, on it, and then to take its control.

  The three astronauts didn't know what I had reduced the speed of the vector so that not to quickly be dragged I pour the Earth. They didn't even know that I was jumped on another vehicle, practically firm, and I had the whole time, it does him to say, to analyze hardware of it and software.

  But the things were not all right, after everything: among the available options in the interface it didn't seem to be us the possibility to pilot the shuttle. I could turn on and to extinguish the motor, certain; but I could not regulate the power of it, neither I was able to act on the commands to check the direction of march. Pull-ups and spins in atmosphere were to exclude, if I wanted to act from there. I analyzed the whole structure of the aircraft; I would have liked to have underhand the guys that had planned him with I wear my old thick body: it was an a little versatile object, it submitted too much us to the software of edge and there was scarce possibility of diagnostic and manual pilotage.

  I could turn on the motor. Then, if I wanted to try some evolution, I had to go of there and to reach a form above the bow, a kind of box of distribution entirely mechanics, from which the connecting rods departed that the inclination of the ailerons and the lower case letter regulated tail.

  I looked at Mars, for a long time: the exabyte overlapped the point of the mine to the image, where I would be liked to go. I maintained that signal on the video in permanent way; it was the only reference that I had for deciding the rout, sets that I was able to manage the aircraft.

  Mah, if I/you had thought more, I would have remained forever there.

  I raced on the longitudinal gun carriage and I unhooked the great net: in the atmosphere you/he/she would have created only me troubles. I tried to push her/it street, but he/she wanted to free me of it of it. I returned to the centralina and I turned on the motor; there was a light push, then I accelerated toward Mars in appreciable way. I continued to accelerate until I was not certain to have produced the decadence of the orbit, therefore I extinguished everything. The fall had set out; if I/you had had more time and knowledges, would have planned a long glide in the atmosphere Martian, slow and linear, but I didn't have there idea of the answer of the freighter to the thin air under. Perhaps the glide was not even possible. My hope was that a light vehicle so evidently also without motor you/he/she would have known how to get by. We were going down; after some moment incocciai in the beginning of the ionosphere: I saw him/it suffered by the extremities of the wings, illuminated by the first fatuous fires. We entered the alive one of the layer overheated by the solar wind, with the speed in increase. The shuttle was not in danger, but I had to predispose me for the control of the rout. I cautiously climbed above the bow and I opened the protection scatolotto of the pneumatic tenditoris; I individualized the system to cogwheels, a true anticaglia, but very reliable. To out motor it didn't work however, but I was able to operate the gears with the hands. I made a test on what had to regulate the tacking; I saw the small back aileron writhe himself/herself/themselves from a side, then from the other. The vehicle didn't not at all hear again any operation, it continued to increase the speed proceeding straight. It blazed everywhere. I grabbed the other command and I worked on the pull-up: I saw the ailerons get up and to lower, and this time the aircraft rippled in appreciable way. Badly. I was now beating in direction of Valles Marineris; I was still away from the surface, but I had the whole intention not to lose sight my objective. I overcame the warmest zone of the atmosphere with joy and I plunged me in the densest air, looking for to govern but without a lot of success. The portanza was ridiculous, I was falling with notable rapidity accelerating.

  Here I was now straightening. The aircraft responded even if with great delay.

  Almost parallel Spiraleggiai to the surface for a beautiful line, to subsequently lower me without estranging me from mine vertical of target.

  I saw well the enormous breaking, now. On the video the dot of the mine flashed, but behind the flag bright it sticks himself/herself/themselves he/she didn't succeed in big that.

  The rudder I was fast it didn't allow me that you veer ample, but the descent was so unstoppable that would have been able never to land hoping to stay only of a piece. I didn't have a lot of choice, so I made the only thing that came me to mind: I beat more still. The freighter sensitively waved and to check its direction became difficult. Also with the gears that amplified my strength, the hands had to put her/it to us all to boss the aircraft.

  When I was to around three hundred meters quota, I played my paper: although attenuate, to that speed also the atmosphere Martian offered a certain resistance to the motion, so I maneuvered to try a pull-up in vertical. It was my intention, but it was disattesa: the shuttle didn't feather him, it reduced only the inclination of the beaten one. I saw me sold, but I had fortune: if I/you had found the ground I would have broken, but with the belly of the mean I entered the amplissimo stomach of the canyon, going down under the jagged edge and sinking down of some about ten meters to the. Finally the vehicle, now fast as a rocket, it raised again him toward the sun calante and it found again him in vertical; I still attended so that the mean, climbing, it reduced the speed and it almost reached the stalemate. Then I left the grip and I let me fall: I gone down of a meter or few less, then the tail of the aircraft struck me projecting me in before. I fell free, now, and the hit had engraved me a direction in gone out of the canyon that I was not sorry. I in horizontal, I fell as a lead in vertical. I was to about ten meters of quota, the freighter was disappearing there before, going beyond some low hillocks and going down over. Gravity brought down it and disappeared to my sight, of certain coming to break out himself/herself/themselves from some part of my course. I fell to the ground and impattai to around seventy kilometers the time, a speed elevatuccia also for me.

  It went very well me: incocciai on the sour slope of a dune, that my trajectory sweetened and made me subsequently lower rolling in insane way. When I reached the feet of the dune, I almost horizontally tumbled and the impact with the ground Martian that followed was not too much dreadful. I was a pebble that rolled and rivoltolava incessantly, without not even the pretension to stay himself/herself/themselves: the only thing that I tried to do was to stay with the braccias around my body not to create dangerous bumps with the ground.

  This time I didn't succeed in maintaining the control of my global vision: I suffered the nausea, if I/you had been a more human tantino, I would have left a long wake of disgusting substances behind of me.

  I, I.

  I stayed me.

  Here I was immovable.

  I surrendered me to a fantastic feeling of stillness.

  My braccias were extended in the sand: I didn't have any intention to remove from her of for the next minutes there.

  I had succeeded. Unbelievable.