Stranded Page #2

-Rodrigo, you can take care of that.

-Sure.

Johnson, we need more room.

The acceleration berths won't be

needed anymore. Take them apart.

What about me?

Do you have anything for me to do?

Do you have any idea how to get the

resources we need from the surface?

I'll get working on that right away.

We all set out

on our new mission - survival.

Mars was the most inhospitable place

the human mind could ever imagine.

We were determined to use every

available resource to survive.

We all know that oxygen is the most

abundant element in the rocks of Mars.

-Is there any way to make use of it?

-I think so.

We'll improvise a silicate reactor

to produce methane and steam.

Steam? Did you say steam?

-Where are you going to get energy?

-We wouldn't use our generators.

-So how are you going to do it?

-With fuel from the Belos's engines.

We're not planning to take off and

can do what we want with the tanks.

Burning cryogenized fuel...

That sounds very dangerous.

-Luca... Did you hear Herbert's idea?

-Yes, I heard his idea.

-What do you think?

-It's ridiculous.

We don't know what condition the fuel

tanks are in. No one's checked.

We're having electrical problems.

The system is not working at all...

...and we're not getting

any feedback signals from the tanks.

Let's suppose that they're intact.

If we suppose that they're intact,

which is a bit optimistic...

...we still have to improvise a silicon

reactor from the Belos's engines.

It is not easy,

and a lot of things could go wrong.

We could focus

on more productive things.

But I'm not the captain,

so you make the decision.

Susana.

I know where we are. We're way off

the designated landing point.

We're right here at the planet's

equator - near zero latitude.

-How can you be so sure?

-The cameras took several pictures.

Let me see them.

-Unbelievable.

-It sure is. Look at this.

It looks like permanent bank of fog

at the bottom of the valley.

It's just at the point nearest to us.

Maybe Ares should take a look at it.

It could be water vapor.

-Could it be of use to us?

-I doubt it. We need more than fog.

-Do you know why we crashed?

-A software error.

It lasted only a few seconds,

but it misled the radio altimeter.

Bad luck, I guess.

Luca and Herbert,

start getting ready for EVA.

Take all of this outside, and then

you'll take a look at the engines.

I'll go with them. While they get rid of

this junk, I'll dig a grave for Andre.

What's the point of that? Let's simply

put the captain's body outside.

If we lose touch with what we believe

in, soon we'll be acting like animals.

You mean with our superstitions?

Let's focus on things that are practical.

Let's not waste time

digging a useless grave.

Let's gather our resources

and make some plans.

Okay, Luca... Nobody asked

you for help. I can do it alone.

We can't assume the responsibility

of taking the captain's body outside.

We could contaminate this planet.

The human body is filled with bacteria.

-Do you think bacteria would survive?

-To hell with bacteria!

I don't want to die thinking about

if we're going to leave bacteria behind.

Susana, do I have permission to

bury the captain in a Christian fashion?

Congratulations, Herbert.

You're the first man on Mars.

Baglioni's right.

It's absurd to bury the captain.

Does anybody want to make

a memorable speech?

Why don't you do it, Luca?

You're the brains of this mission.

I think I will, Herbert.

How does this sound?

Here lies Andre Vishniac.

He was born on Earth-

-and traveled a long way through

time and space to meet his destiny-

-right here,

in this miserable and desolate place.

I'll say a few words.

Wilson wrote them before meeting his

death alongside Scott in the Antarctic.

Do you know what I think?

I think Herbert really is optimistic.

But you are doing your part

- assuming all the responsibility.

I'm sure it must be very hard. Your

position is the most difficult of all.

Do you think I'm a pessimist?

I think you're a strong woman,

and you know what has to be done.

-I'm not strong. I can assure you.

-You seem to be.

I've spent all my life pretending.

That's a fair amount of practice.

But right now I'm scared to death.

-Don't tell the others.

-It will be our little secret.

I wish I was as calm as you.

"Although secrets must be hidden

until God reveals them to man"-

-"perhaps we are the ones he chose

to witness for the first time"-

-"the hidden heart

behind the barrier of ice"-

-"and the warmth of the sun under

the brilliant radiance of its rays-"

-"whilst the blizzard scorches and

freezes us with its biting embrace."

I'd like to confess something, Susana.

In my case I'm not so sure.

There's something that frightens me

as much as the idea of dying.

Losing my composure,

allowing panic to take over.

That's not going to happen, Fidel.

You'll know how to react,

as well as the rest of us.

I'm not a strong man, I can assure you.

But I can't control my curiosity.

That's why I joined the mission.

Okay, good...

Let's go.

We're going to check the tanks.

The first grave on Mars.

Luca and Herbert had done

a complete damage report.

There was no need to ask.

It was clear the news was not good.

But Herbert tried to bring us

some hope from the world outside.

It's ice. We've got ice, guys.

-It accumulated in the shade of Belos.

-How can it be water?

The Martian atmosphere

is dry in absolute terms-

-but the cold is so intense that it's

always on the verge of saturation.

Luca... Did you check

the engines and fuel tanks?

They no longer exist. They must

have been thrown off by the crash.

It's a miracle

they didn't blow up and kill us all.

It wasn't a miracle, but a curse.

We are doomed to die.

Even though we keep on breathing

for a year, we are as dead as Andre.

Are you saying that there's

no cryogenized fuel left?

I'm saying that

the contents of this cabin-

-is all that we have left to survive.

I don't think we're going to make it.

What's going on here?

Give us a break, okay?

Is anybody listening to what

I'm saying? This is water.

Do you know what it means? Water!

We didn't expect to have it,

but here it is.

The problem isn't water or air.

Our energy will run out within a year.

And there's no way

we can produce any more.

We have to start

saving energy right now.

Our only chance is to reduce energy

consumption to a minimum.

We've already lowered

the inside temperature.

Very well,

we'll have to hope it works.

-Any news on our rescue?

-No. I'll be leaving in two days.

They've called it an alternative

trajectory back to Earth. I'm sorry.

Do they have any idea back on Earth

why we crashed?

So far only theories. Some quite

intriguing ones, but only theories.

-In what way?

-Well...

As you know, Mars has no

planetary magnetic fields.

But it does have magnetic anomalies

and localized gravitations.

There's no satisfactory

explanation for this.

We've detected the strongest anomaly

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