200 Sols

"Damn, that's huge."

"Are you sure that's how you want to phrase it?"

"What?"

"What?"

There was not much Ray was able to understand after her check on 1441. Since then she had him placed on the operation table multiple times during their long road to Olympus Mons. After more than 50 sols since the start of the final project that would clear out humanity, they now found themselves at the base of the huge mountain.

"So...still nothing about me? I am starting to think you enjoy opening me up like that."

"Hah, never thought anyone would be dumb enough to phrase it like that. No. Still nothing."

In truth, Ray already had a couple of theories regarding the unusual nature of 1441, but she was not the kind of person who would state a conclusion out loud based on simple conjectures.

While the three of them were not supposed to travel together all this way, none of them had any complaint. Even if the banter between the man and the robot had seen great improvements since the sols when they started their journey, the thorny intellect and comments that Ray would add from time to time always served to keep the conversation alive.

It didn't take long for 1441 to go back to his usual hobby of watching the blue sunsets every sol. Only now it felt like he was waiting for something every evening.

While the sols passed peacefully, the impending sense of the clock ticking could not be denied, and the two travel companions understood that 1441 would be reminded of it with every passing sunset. They learned to not talk to him for that short period. Every single evening, the two of them would join him, both knowing that the weight of the feelings was for some reason not shared. It was clear that 1441 was carrying something that he did not want to talk about, but the two of them would, at times, joke in private about how he still acts childish despite the mature, detached, even nostalgic allure he is trying to show.

The evening of this sol should have been no different. The lady and the robot stood near the portable house and looked at the scenery. No. It would be better to say they looked at the man admiring the scenery.

The difference of altitude between them was rather high. The group decided to wait at the base, yet, contrary to how a group decision should work, 1441 decided to climb the steep 8000-meter cliff in one go before the evening sets in. The reason was simple. The cliff was blocking his view.

While such strenuous activity was not hard for a body like his, 1441 would still refuse to use his robotic components most of the time. This was an exception made in a desperate situation. That night, after the sun completely set, Ray and Soj could be found laughing about his stubbornness.

"I'm telling you, he won't use anything to come back here. He almost died refusing to use his body back when that crazy woman pushed him. It is already laughable how he threw away his own principles just to view his damn blue sky. Could this be some twisted form of homesickness? But he doesn't want to hear anything about the sunrise. Dare to wake him up too early, and you have nothing to talk to him about for the rest of the day. Just how much time does he want to waste with a body that barely needs any sleep?"

"While 555 makes a fair point, this unit would like to point out the mistake in underestimating his stubbornness. 1441 would not accept breaking the rules he himself set. The only way he would go for this course of action is if he plans to somehow fulfill and stay true to all of his obsessions. Please do not forget that viewing the sunset can be counted as one of said obsessions. The chances of him accepting compromise are slim to none."

"But he already strayed from one. You aren't going to tell me he will come back just to delete his progress and act like that evens it out. What kind of twisted logic would that be?"

"What twisted logic? I am pretty good with those." Were the words the robot and the lady heard as 1441 entered the room they were talking in? As he was wiping off excessive amounts of Mars dust, Ray faintly remembered a loud thump sound during their heated argument.

"Forget the body, I think the head was the one I should have checked all along..." Ray said as she angrily passed the digital map to Soj and left the room.

"So, did you two decide on the route we will take tomorrow?" The man asked in confusion.

"We do now, thanks to you. How could that robot win with such a twisted logic?"

"Huh? Soj, what did you win?"

"I think it is called a bet." The unit answered while signaling a wink with its newly fit digital screen.

The man, confused, tried to lighten up the mood.

"Hey, that aside, check this out! How did the tomato cross the road"?

"What even is a tomato?" Ray asked in an angry tone.

"Come on! It's...I...don't know. What is a tomato"?

The night came to an end with the question unanswered, yet the fact the joke failed remained perfectly clear.

...

The next sol, the three of them were climbing the almost vertical surface that would go up 8000 meters.

"You are aware that this is cheating, right? A normal human could never climb for 8000 meters like this."

"What makes you think that? Humans are lighter on Mars. No way someone of your intellect forgot that."

After his smug answer, the man smiled at the lady who was sitting on the chair of a smartly designed vehicle that would take her up the cliff.

"Of course I know that. A normal human, especially with no specific training, would still fail to complete such a task."

Ray was taunting 1441, who decided to climb the cliff the old-school way. But 1441 would not have any of it. He had already fallen 4 times, and three of those ended up being right on the chair Ray was sitting on. Hence why she decided to move her position above the man.

"I am lucky I have this little guy catching me now. How can you call yourself my partner and move out of the way when I am falling?"

"Whoever said we are partners? Besides, it would be so much more fun to see what such a big fall could do to your body."

"With every passing day I find myself more and more scared of you. Right, Soj?"

"Question: Why does 1441 insist on using the slowest climbing method. Given the time restrictions, the logical choice would be to use the same method as last evening."

"Did any of you ever feel adventurous, at least for a second? Like, ever? And don't mention anything about last evening; I don't know what you are talking about. I climbed like a normal human. I only came back down to check on you."

...

By evening they were at the edge of the cliff. When the sky started turning blue, 1441 suddenly used his newfound strength and doubled the initial pace at which he was climbing. However, any argument made by Ray or Soj about how that meant he used his mechanical body was firmly denied.

At night, Ray was just outside the house, thinking of a route for the next sol.

"It seems we are not the only ones left around." She said as she used her magnifying function to look around for any signs of life.

"Wait a second."

What she was not expecting was to find an organized group of over 30 people. From the walking formation, it was clear that one of them was the leader. People grouping together was not unusual, but accepting being led in your last few sols felt like something humanity wouldn't do.

She decided to zoom in and try to discern their faces, but a nervous biting of the lip made it obvious that it was a mistake.

"No...Of all people...Why you?"

In her field of vision was a pair of shining red eyes she could never forget. The second she finished her sentence, those eyes shifted right on her. She understood she had been discovered and made a step back just to stumble upon a chair and fall.

"There is no way I will have anything to do with you." She said, trembling as she went back into the house. The sheer fear instilled in her was enough to keep her trembling the whole night as she packed her bags and left the house.