The Last Radio on Mars

> ./report
Generating report for Outpost 12...

| Area                    | Status         |
|-------------------------|----------------|
| Hull pressure           | optimal        |
| O2 scrubbers            | 92% efficiency |
| Energy reserves         | 55%            |
| Last contact with Earth | 11,925 days    |
| Rations                 | tasteless      |
| Morale                  | low            |
|-------------------------|----------------|

[9:02 SET]

I updated my report subroutine last night. The new Rations and Morale values are hard-coded and will never change, but that's because very little changes around here. It's the same every day.

I don't even know why I keep writing these logs. The process manual says they're important, but the people who wrote the manual died long ago. We do it because the people in charge say we must. Not that any of them will read this - they care that an integer in their own report increases.

Let's see... energy reserves are at 55%. That's better than yesterday, but nowhere near as high as they should be following the solar collector optimisations work we carried out. I guess the components we salvaged from Outpost 14 were in worse condition than expected.

It's just Outposts 12 and 4 left, now. The lights went off on 14 a few years ago. It was the 13th (and last) outpost built, but for reasons unknown to me, it wasn't named Outpost 13.

Honestly, I was rooting for the rebels, but we all know what happened.

---

[13:42 SET]

I've just got back from the mess hall. News of the energy issue has travelled fast.

Rumour is that Outpost 4 has components they're willing to trade to help with our energy issues, but they're asking far too high a price. 12 has a civil relationship with 4, but there's an uneasy tension.

---

[16:23 SET]

What was that noise?

I was down on level 7 performing my weekly inspections when I heard something. It sounded like static, but more structured, almost like a voice. I kept calling out "Hello?" expecting someone to be playing a prank on me, but no one else was there.

I'm going back this evening, but first I've got 17 manifests to check over.

---

[20:23 SET]

I found the source of the noise, an old high-powered transceiver - the sort they used to communicate with Earth.

Of course, following The Quiet, most have been salvaged for parts, but the one I found was intact. And functional.

How do I know it's functional? Because it was receiving a signal. I could barely make it out at first, among the static, but I got it back to my workshop and fiddled with the components until I could hear the voice clearly.

A voice from Earth:

Proceed to the Valles Marineris rendezvous: One-three decimal nine degrees Sierra... Zero-five-nine decimal two degrees Whiskey. You will find what you need there.