[Taban is now in his bunk, which is partitioned off from Daley’s. The HARE has accompanied him; it seems it has become routine for the HARE to enter sleep mode in Taban’s quarters.]

Taban: That went well, I guess.

HARE: . . .

Taban: You didn’t tell him, did you? About the distress beacon?

HARE: Negative. USER Daley has never interacted with me without you present.

Taban: I thought so. But—how did he know? You said the light on the undercarriage of the ship is broken.

HARE: It is. Unless he fixed it, USER Daley should not have been able to see it flashing.

Taban: Then how does he know we repaired the comm system?

HARE: I am unable to answer your query at this time.

Taban: . . . Well, whatever. It’s all out in the open now, I guess.

HARE: Yes.

Taban: It’s for the best.

HARE: . . .

Taban: They’ll probably have received the signal by now. Give them—what—two weeks to send an unmanned ship to do a flyby, send some images back to ISF? Then the actual rescue comes ten days, two weeks after?

HARE: These estimates seem fairly accurate.

Taban: We can do that. That sounds easy. Just sit on our asses and wait.

HARE: USER Daley will continue his exploration of the planet, designation: HARPA in the meantime.

Taban: Maybe. Or maybe he’ll get tired of scratching around in the ice and stop. Sooner or later he’s got to realize it’s a pipe dream.

HARE: What is a ‘pipe dream’?

Taban: It’s an old phrase. It’s like—a fantasy that’s impractical.

HARE: Are fantasies not impractical by nature?

Taban: No, like—it’s an illusion. It’s a dream you have that can never come true, because it’s so fantastic. It’s like me when I was a kid, thinking I was going to grow up to be a gridball star.

HARE: And this was impossible?

Taban: Kind of. By the time I grew up, they were figuring out that sports are kind of pointless on Mars.

HARE: How does a pipe factor in?

Taban: Who knows. Maybe it’s saying something about the destination. Dreams. Hopes. Sports. Names. At some point they all go down the shitter.

VIDEO LOG #56—Ship Designation CS Wyvern 7079

Day 10: 21:22

[The HARE is moving around the ship in the dark. Although the HARE itself is able to see in infrared and with night-vision, it does not apply these filters while recording its live footage. It enters a dark room, peers into it for a while, then returns to Taban’s bunk. Taban is sleeping fitfully on his right side.]

HARE: USER Taban.

Taban: Huh?

HARE: USER Taban. Your attention is required.

Taban (gasping): What?

HARE: Your attention is required.

Taban: Oh, it’s you. I was having another dream—a nightmare—I thought maybe you were talking to me. Or someone else was. Was that you?