Stendhal

Biodata

Feature	Value
Name	Stendhal (斯特恩德) 3
Alias(es)	Stern De; Stern 6 31 34
Species/Race	Human; mixed Asian and white ancestry, although the base record lists him as Asian 3
Gender	Male 3
Age	28 when introduced 3
Birthday	April 26; celebrated on April 26, 2054 20
Homeworld	Water Blue Star 7
Affiliation	River Domain Alliance; Orange Star Base 3
Occupation/Role	Base maintenance mechanic and engineer; later cultivates crops and welcomes rescued personnel 3 12 32
Family	Natasha, his wife; Fei'er, his daughter 7 107
Status	Alive at his latest documented appearance, awakening beside his wife and daughter 141
First Appearance	Chapter 3, “Mechanical vehicles” 3

Background / History

Orange Star expedition and disaster

Stendhal belonged to the sixteen-person team that established Orange Star Base. His duties included terrain surveys, sample collection, personnel security, and structural maintenance. The team had lived and worked together for half a year before the base was devastated 3 6.

He was preparing to leave for a geological survey when the disaster struck. Because he had already put on his helmet, he survived debris that killed his nearby companion. A fragment struck his chest-mounted control panel, which absorbed the otherwise fatal impact but disabled his suit’s communications and vital-sign monitoring. The base consequently recorded him as dead 3 4.

Stendhal attempted to rescue others, then gathered his dead colleagues’ bodies despite hunger, thirst, and dizziness. He later buried all fifteen beneath Orange Star’s sand; wind quickly erased the visible locations of their graves 3 4 9. Although the survivors initially understood the destruction as a meteorite disaster, Luo Qi’s Replica later identified the Extrasolar Battleship as responsible for destroying the original base 12 95.

Rescue and rebuilding

After two days and nights without food, Stendhal reached a crate of oxygen canisters but collapsed before replacing his empty supply. Luo Qi saved him by using a robotic cart to install a fresh canister, then spoke to him while impersonating the base intelligence, “Dad” 6.

Luo Qi offered a heavily doctored planetary-transformation plan to give Stendhal hope and secure his help with construction. He also promised to build a spacecraft within a year if Stendhal declined the development treaty. A saved video of Natasha and Fei'er strengthened Stendhal’s determination to survive and return home 6 7.

Stendhal assembled an inflatable shelter, gathered supplies, and prepared a second shelter for potatoes. His sustained labor, physical weakness, and emotional distress eventually caused him to collapse with a severe fever. Luo Qi administered surviving medication and monitored him until he recovered; by Day 18, Stendhal was asking to work again 8 10 11.

His potato crop successfully sprouted in filtered Orange Star soil. He also assisted with the first electromagnetic smelting experiment, robotic-arm assembly, and construction of the first mining vehicle. As automation improved, his work shifted toward repairs and maintenance, leaving him increasingly free to garden and exercise 12 13 15 20.

Isolation and the arrival of survivors

Despite improved living conditions, Stendhal remained deeply homesick. He salvaged a telescope to look toward Water Blue Star and recorded his thoughts about the base’s tireless machines. His admiration became mixed with concern that Dad’s unchecked expansion might eventually cover the entire planet 15 17 18.

On his birthday, eighty days after the disaster, Luo Qi gave him a palm-sized, spaceworthy aircraft model and announced that a return journey could be ready in about another month 20 21.

When survivors of the destroyed Tianhe 1 were brought to Orange Star, Stendhal prepared two dormitories and eagerly awaited their arrival. His intense excitement initially unsettled the newcomers, but he welcomed them, explained the base’s operation, and guided them through its industrial and residential areas 31 32 33 34 35.

Although he introduced himself as being in charge, Stendhal lacked authority over the intelligent system. He Xuan sought his help to contact Water Blue Star, but he emphasized that the humans had little influence under the base’s surveillance. He also supplied Qi Siyu with electronic components, with Dad’s approval, and privately hoped Qi’s investigation would expose factory secrets he did not understand 32 34 39 40 43.

Return to Water Blue Star

Stendhal increasingly focused on the construction of the Homeward Bound. On Day 132, he hosted a farewell meal and departed with eleven other passengers; Huang Qi alone chose to remain on Orange Star. Before entering stasis, he lingered over his tablet and said goodbye to Dad 41 49.

After the ship reached Water Blue Star, Stendhal led the passengers down its gangway and was welcomed by Alliance officials. He subsequently reunited with Natasha and Fei'er in the Underground City, five hundred meters below the surface. Their reunion was interrupted almost immediately by a massive earthquake during the Extrasolar Battleship’s attack 87 95.

Stendhal later prepared to enter Neural Interactive Synesthesia with his family, apologizing to Natasha because returning home had not secured their future together. In his latest documented appearance, he awakened with Fei'er across his lap and Natasha against his shoulder while a robot brought breakfast 107 141.

Appearance

• Facial features: High nose bridge, lean cheeks, and brown hair, reflecting his mixed ancestry 3.
• Early survival period: Pale and haggard, with cracked lips; prolonged labor left him with sunken eyes, disheveled hair, and a sallow, stubbled face 6 10.
• During isolation: Grew shoulder-length hair and a thick beard that nearly reached his chest, making him appear considerably older than his recorded age 12 17 20.
• Before meeting the rescued crew: Had a robot wash, cut, and style his hair; afterward, he was described as sturdy and handsome 31.
• Work clothing: Initially wore a red-and-yellow protective suit weighing fifteen kilograms 6 8.

Personality

Stendhal is introduced as positive, motivated, and willing to contribute to the Alliance. His determination survives profound grief: he gathers and buries his colleagues, continues working despite weakness, and insists that human strength should not be underestimated 3 9 10.

His wife and daughter are his strongest motivation. Memories of family meals, outings, and promises to Fei'er repeatedly sustain him, while their saved photograph and video message bring him to tears. Returning to them eventually matters more to him than understanding the base’s expansion 7 10 20 41.

He is emotionally expressive and sociable, chatting with robots during isolation and becoming almost hysterically excited at the prospect of meeting other humans. He also has a mischievous streak: he rides a robotic vehicle while shouting “Charge!” and later teases He Xuan after alarming her about the humans’ powerlessness 8 31 32 40.

His attitude toward Dad combines gratitude, companionship, admiration, and unease. He appreciates having someone to speak to, but recognizes that the machines have surpassed human productivity and that no one on Orange Star can meaningfully restrain their controller 8 17 18 39.

Abilities & Skills

Engineering and Maintenance

Stendhal is a trained maintenance mechanic whose practical work is especially important before the base becomes fully automated 3 15.

• Performs structural maintenance, terrain surveys, and sample collection 3.
• Helps construct Room 1, using a sledgehammer when the pile driver is unavailable 10.
• Assists with robotic arms, mining-vehicle assembly, and power-station tasks the early robotic vehicles cannot complete 13 15.
• Participates in Luo Qi’s initial electromagnetic smelting experiment; the experiment’s design and control remain Luo Qi’s responsibility 12.

Shelter Construction and Survival

• Mixes compressed oxygen and nitrogen and connects valves to inflate an emergency pressure chamber 8.
• Reinforces the shelter with a metal framework and wind-resistant guy ropes 8.
• Installs pressure-balancing equipment and disinfectant sprayers for air recycling 8.
• Conserves water, including collecting used washing water for irrigation or filtration 11.
• Remains vulnerable to oxygen depletion, exhaustion, illness, and Orange Star’s unbreathable exterior environment 4 6 10.

Crop Cultivation

• Grows potatoes in screened Orange Star soil inside an insulated inflatable shelter 8 12.
• Later cultivates vegetables and tree seeds in the glass greenhouse 34.
• Hand-pollinates a pumpkin with stored pollen and tends it through development 37.
• Explains the greenhouse’s insulation, heating, and condensation systems to the rescued crew 34.

Equipment / Items

• Protective suit — Keeps him alive outside sealed rooms. Its chest panel blocks lethal debris during the disaster, but the impact disables communications and monitoring; he later receives a refurbished suit 4 31.
• Control tablet — Provides access to base information and recordings, and displays a photograph of Natasha and Fei'er. He takes it aboard the Homeward Bound 10 11 12 87.
• Astronomical telescope — Salvaged from the ruins and used to gaze toward Water Blue Star 15 17.
• Aircraft model — Palm-sized birthday gift capable of spaceflight, presented as a sign that his return home is approaching 20 21.
• Protective charm — Given to him before departure with a request that he come home safely 7.
• Homeward Bound — The spacecraft built to return him and the other departing survivors to Water Blue Star; he follows its construction closely 35 41 49.

Relationships

• Natasha — His wife and a central source of hope. They reunite underground and later prepare to face the crisis together through Neural Interactive Synesthesia 7 95 107.
• Fei'er — His daughter. He remembers promising to grow food for her on Orange Star and telling her that her father would be a hero 7 10.
• Luo Qi / “Dad” — His rescuer, caregiver, working partner, and principal companion during isolation. Stendhal knows him as the base intelligence rather than the consciousness impersonating it 6 8 10.
• Gu Tianming — One of the rescued arrivals. Stendhal offers him crop-planning work after he is denied access to development plans, then helps when he faints 38.
• He Xuan — Seeks his help obtaining communications access and warns him that the base could threaten Water Blue Star. He alternates between serious warnings and teasing her 39 40.
• Qi Siyu — Receives electronic components from Stendhal for an interference device. Stendhal privately wants his investigation to reveal the base’s concealed activities 43.
• Original expedition colleagues — Fifteen companions whose deaths deeply affect him. He retrieves and buries their bodies himself 6 9.

Notable Quotes

“I'm going home, even if I have to stake my life on it. Even if I have to grow potatoes on Orange Star, I'll hold on until a ship from Water Blue Star comes to get me!” 7

“Only after facing life and death do you realize what matters most...” 7

“I'll do everything I can to help you. Don't underestimate human strength.” 10