Lindero-4 greenhouse, Mars. A storm, a battery and a sum that allows no mistakes.
The last thing his mother had said before climbing into the rover, three days earlier, was something Luken thought he would never need: “In a storm, air first; then, getting found. Everything else can wait.”
At six in the evening, colony time, the dust storm swallowed the Lindero-4 greenhouse and the main power went off. The emergency lights bathed the module in a dull red. Julen, his ten-year-old brother, pressed up against him.
“Backup battery active,” announced the calm voice of NODE, the module’s AI. “Capacity: twelve units per hour for the next ten hours. Power use: air recycler, six units. Heating, five. Radio beacon, four. Greenhouse lamps, eight.”
“Without the recycler, the air in the module will stay breathable for forty minutes,” NODE went on. “Without heating, the temperature will drop to twenty below zero within an hour. The beacon must transmit for one full hour for the rescue rover to fix our position; it will arrive three hours after receiving the signal.”
“The tomato plants!” cried Julen. “If they go six hours without light, they’ll all die.”
Luken looked at the trays: three months of work. Then he looked at the locker at the back, where two thermal suits were hanging. He read the label: “Duration: five hours.”
He took a deep breath, handed one suit to his brother and put on the other.
“Listen to me, Julen. We’re going to do this in order.”
And he began giving instructions to NODE.
Activities
1 Detective Inference
Which systems did Luken have switched on during the first hour? Tick the correct hypothesis.
- a) The air recycler and the heating.
- ✓b) The air recycler and the radio beacon, with the thermal suits on.
- c) The beacon and the heating, to call for help without getting cold.
- d) The air recycler and the greenhouse lamps.
Why was it the only possible option? Copy or summarise the clue from the text that proves it.
Correct hypothesis: b). Correct: ten units out of twelve. Air first; then, getting found.
Key clue: “It’s the only combination that fits in twelve units, keeps the air going and calls for rescue; the suits replace the heating.” Exactly: 6 + 4 = 10. Air + heating + beacon would be 15, too much.
2 The Loom Order of events
Put the events in time order (careful: the story doesn’t start at the beginning). Write the order number (1, 2, 3…) in each box.
- 1 Luken’s mother gives him some advice before getting into the rover.
- 3 NODE lists how much each system uses.
- 6 Luken starts giving instructions to NODE.
- 5 Luken and Julen put on the thermal suits.
- 2 The dust storm cuts the main power.
- 4 Julen begs him to save the tomato plants.
Correct order:
- Luken’s mother gives him some advice before getting into the rover.
- The dust storm cuts the main power.
- NODE lists how much each system uses.
- Julen begs him to save the tomato plants.
- Luken and Julen put on the thermal suits.
- Luken starts giving instructions to NODE.
His mother’s advice is told first, but it’s a memory from three days before. Then comes the storm, NODE reports, Julen asks to save the plants, they put on the suits and Luken gives the orders.
3 The Missing Page Coherence
What happens next, if everything is done correctly? Tick only one option.
- ✓a) At seven, Luken switches off the beacon and turns on the heating. The rover arrives at ten, and the tomato plants are still alive.
- b) In the second hour, Luken switches on the lamps and the heating at the same time to save the plants.
- c) The rover finds them without the beacon ever having transmitted.
- d) At around midnight, with the rescue still on its way, they take off their suits because the heating is now warming the module.
Answer: a). The numbers add up: 6 + 5 = 11 units; full signal at seven, rescue three hours later, and the plants spend only four hours in the dark.
- b) Eight plus five is thirteen units, and the air has to stay on too: the battery can’t cope.
- c) NODE is clear: without one full hour of signal, the rover can’t fix their position.
- d) The rover arrives three hours after the signal, at ten; by midnight they would already have been rescued.
4 Spot the Contradiction Literal reading
Three statements don’t fit NODE’s figures. Put an X next to the 3 statements that don’t fit the text.
- a) The battery provides twelve units per hour.For ten hours.
- ✗b) Without the recycler, the air would last almost a day.Only forty minutes.
- c) The tomato plants die if they go six hours without light.That’s what Julen says.
- d) The thermal suits give protection for five hours.“Duration: five hours.”
- ✗e) It’s enough for the beacon to transmit for a few seconds.It must transmit for one full hour.
- ✗f) Luken’s mother was with them in the module during the storm.She had left in the rover three days earlier.
5 The Gallery Visualisation
In the game you choose the illustration that answers this question: “Which illustration shows the module during the first hour, after Luken’s instructions?”. Here, you draw it yourself, with every detail the text gives you.
What should appear: Suits on, the beacon transmitting and the greenhouse lamps off.
Reward drawings that include the details from the text, not artistic skill.
Ending
To read aloud once the answers have been checked.
Luken asked NODE for air and the beacon during the first hour: ten units out of twelve. With their suits on, the cold didn’t matter.
At seven o’clock sharp, NODE confirmed: “Position received.” Luken switched off the beacon and turned on the heating: eleven units. Julen wanted to switch on the lamps as well, but he did the sum by himself, six plus eight, fourteen, and said nothing.
The rover arrived at ten at night, through swirls of dust. Their mother was the first to get out. The tomato plants had spent four hours in the dark: two fewer than they could stand. “Air first,” Luken said as he hugged her. “Then, getting found,” she replied.
Suggested marking
Each activity is worth 2 points (10 in total). In 1, one point for the hypothesis and one for the clue. In 2, give one point if only a couple of events are swapped. In 4, half a point for each correct cross and minus half a point for each true statement crossed out.