Above the heavens.
The International Space Station.
From here, one could look down upon the magnificent Earth. The outlines of its seven continents and five oceans were clearly visible, and clouds and mist were Earth's gauzy robes, lending everything a sweeping grandeur.
Being able to work here would have been a wonderful thing.
Hill Emma had thought so at first, too. At thirty-four, she was a model female astronaut in this spacetime, and her existence inspired many women around the world.
But now, this place had become her prison, a nightmare she could not escape no matter what...
"Mayday! Mayday..."
The recorder beside the radio was still repeating endlessly...
Secured nearby by several straps, Hill watched the equipment running, her eyes lifeless in her gaunt face.
Ever since they discovered they had lost contact with the ground, they had been playing this distress recording day and night, without interruption.
Until a few months ago, when the external components could no longer withstand such frequent use and reached the end of their service life.
It was also then that three of their companions aboard the station decided there was no hope in continuing to live like this. They resolutely entered the return capsule and tried to return to Earth on their own.
However, the facts proved one thing.
Reality was not a movie. Not everyone could land safely without support from the ground.
Those three companions had never starred in a film called Gravity, so they were probably gone.
Gone, too, was the hope that they would make contact after landing, as they had agreed.
What followed was despair, deepened yet again.
Hill and the other two remaining astronauts dared not attempt to return on their own. They could only try to go outside, repair the external radio, and continue broadcasting.
Only after months of effort and preparation had they finally replaced the external radio components a few days ago.
Now they had entered another tedious stretch of waiting.
Hill stared expressionlessly at the clock, then suddenly turned her head and raised her voice. "Padalka, it's time for my workout. Come take over for me..."
"Coming!"
A sickly-looking man floated out of another module in response, speaking English with a thick Russian accent.
Hill undid her straps, ready to go exercise.
Their group of astronauts had originally planned to spend only a few months aboard the station before returning to the ground. Now they had been here for over a year, far longer than expected.
If they did not exercise every day to stay in shape, once their physical condition deteriorated significantly, even returning would be difficult.
The station continued flying through space. The sickly Padalka did not even look at the radio anymore, turning instead to watch Hill and Mike work out.
Mike, who was doing his daily exercises nearby, suddenly stopped. He looked up at the cables inside the station, growing melancholy.
"Hey, Hill, are we the last humans on Earth?"
"I don't know."
"Maybe we really are. Otherwise, it's hard to explain why no one has spoken to us in over a year..." Padalka looked exhausted, and even his voice was weak. "My stomach trouble is acting up again."
"Aren't you taking medicine?"
"There's not a single pill left..."
The conversation quickly shifted to their shortage of supplies.
Supplies aboard the station were limited, so they needed regular resupply missions. But now, more than a year had passed without a delivery, and all sorts of supplies and spare parts were running short.
"Sigh, maybe we'll just die like this, as the last humans on Earth?"
"No, in the end, we'll board the return capsule and return to Earth..."
"So we can be laid to rest in the earth?"
The bleak joke made everyone laugh.
Yet behind their smiles, despair lay on every face, until only silence remained.
Nothing cut deeper than having one's own hardships told as a joke.
"Mayday! Mayday..."
The recorder began another repetition.
Suddenly, Padalka could not take it anymore. He switched off the recorder with a sharp click and clutched his stomach.
"Is anyone there?"
"Can someone send me some stomach medicine? God? Buddha? Whoever you are, send me some stomach medicine... I feel like I'm dying!!!"
By the end, the man's voice was choked with sobs, and he was pounding the recorder with his fist, blow after blow.
"Hey!"
Seeing Padalka suddenly break down, the other two hurriedly floated over to stop him.
But just then.
A different voice came through.
"You need stomach medicine?"
A man's voice had actually come from the radio speaker.
"Am I hearing things?" Padalka stopped moving and looked at his two companions through tear-filled eyes.
But the radio answered first.
"No."
"Are you a god?"
"No."
"I'm speaking to you from Earth."
"You're an Earthling!?"
An enthusiasm never before seen suddenly burst across Padalka's face. He snatched the radio microphone to his chest and refused to surrender it, no matter how Hill and Mike tried to wrestle it away.
On the ground.
Listening to the chaotic voices coming through, Zhang Tianyuan exchanged a glance with Wu Yisi beside him.
"They're very excited right now," Wu Yisi said.
Zhang Tianyuan rolled his eyes. Who couldn't hear that?
Wu Yisi silently rolled her eyes back. After being trapped in space for over a year and suddenly hearing another human voice, what could they feel besides excitement?
"I can only speak to you while you're passing overhead. Please keep track of the time," Zhang Tianyuan reminded them.
Hearing this, the astronauts finally stopped fighting over it. Each reached out a hand, and together they held the little microphone.
"One question each!"
"Can we keep talking in the future?" Hill asked first.
"Yes," Zhang Tianyuan replied. "We have plenty of equipment here. As long as conditions on your end allow it, we can keep communicating."
All three astronauts breathed a sigh of relief.
Mike hurried to ask the second question.
"Can you rescue us and bring us down?"
Zhang Tianyuan covered the microphone and glanced at Wu Yisi. He did not know what state of mind these three astronauts were in, which was why he had called her over.
Many others were watching nearby, too, but no one dared make a sound.
"Answer honestly," Wu Yisi said quietly. "We can't let their hopes soar too high."
Zhang Tianyuan answered truthfully. "There are some difficulties, and I'm afraid we won't be able to do it in the short term."
"How long?" Mike hurriedly asked.
"I don't know. We're not in North America right now, and we also lack aerospace personnel."
"Then please tell us, what happened on Earth?" Padalka asked. "Why isn't our country contacting us? Is it because of that virus? One day, we suddenly lost contact with Earth... Also, if you're going to send supplies to the station, make sure you bring my stomach medicine. The brand is..."
Before Padalka could finish, Hill covered his mouth.
"Make the most of our time. Don't talk about useless things!"
Zhang Tianyuan was in a bit of a bind. Was he really supposed to tell them-
Your country might, possibly, perhaps no longer exist?