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.
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.
- Luken’s mother gives him some advice before getting into the rover.
- NODE lists how much each system uses.
- Luken starts giving instructions to NODE.
- Luken and Julen put on the thermal suits.
- The dust storm cuts the main power.
- Julen begs him to save the tomato plants.
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.
Why do you rule out the others? Explain one of them.
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.
- b) Without the recycler, the air would last almost a day.
- c) The tomato plants die if they go six hours without light.
- d) The thermal suits give protection for five hours.
- e) It’s enough for the beacon to transmit for a few seconds.
- f) Luken’s mother was with them in the module during the storm.
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.