Thirty-Seventh Entry

March 10^th, 2037

1345

Dear Space Diary.

I keep hearing noises outsides the space craft. I’m not entirely sure what. Either something is moving around amongst all the rocks, or the rocks themselves are moving.

Which means that either I’m being watched, or I could be at risk of another collapse in the pile, possibly burying me and my actual ship – wherever it is – under several hundred tonnes of soft pink rock.

That, admittedly, it would be pretty easy to dig out of. And it’s not like I’m ever going to run out of food or air, even if I can’t find my own ship. Fortunately (depending on your point of view) food processing technology was pretty advanced even twenty years ago, so I have all the nutritional paste I could ever want.

Which honestly is not a huge amount. Paste and taste are similar in name only.

1355

Noises still going. Seems stable enough so I guess I’m safe for the time being.

1400

NASA have messaged and asked me to make a copy of the logs from the Zubrin, but have asked me not to read them.

Their exact words were “Vital important documents thought lost on Zubrin. Please don’t read them though. They are of no importance, and probably also dull. But make sure you send them to us, they are extremely important.”

Hmm.

1405

I’m looking through the computer. Seems this ship doesn’t crash as well as mine does, either that or it’s been through a lot worse. Most of the drive seems badly damaged. I guess I should be thankful that life support still works, or I’d have problems of my own.

Quite a few files just crash when I open them. But the logs are still here.

1412

Now I know where I knew the ship name from! This is the Zubrin, the ship that left for Mars when I was a kid! No one really knows what happened to it though, the news just stopped reporting it one day.

You know, kind of like the way they stopped reporting about me...

That’s a thought that’s going to keep me up tonight.

Anyway, I wonder what it’s doing all the way out here though? This thing doesn’t have faster than light drive, it wouldn’t have taken forever to get out here.

...About twenty years, give or take.

Maybe I should take a look at these logs after – What was that?

1415

There is definitely something outside this ship. That was no rock fall. Something is walking around the perimeter of the ship.

I guess there’s no way of knowing without going outside. And I’m stuck in here for another few hours yet.

1417

Or I could look out the window. You know, the one I’m sitting right in front of.

1418

I can’t see anything, they must be on the other side.

1420

It’s Lightdog! What’s he doing down here?

Hang on though, Lightdog doesn’t walk.

1422

Oh. And neither do his two friends...