I remember when I could see the sky. I could see infinite blue only slightly hidden behind puffs of pure white.

Now it’s different. It all started when robotic space exploration was at all it’s height and glory. The years was 2010, and the product was the F.E.L.I.X. Model 73.9 Mars rover. The F.E.L.I.X. was designed to dig up massive amounts of the ground on Mars and bring it all back to Earth for tests.

The first launch of a 50-unit group of F.E.L.I.X. rovers was success. At first. The rovers where supposed to arrive at Mars and stay there for at least three years after launch . The operators at NASA had no way of monitoring the rovers, the F.E.L.I.X. was the first rover the be completely operated by AI.

Instead of waiting three years, the operators at NASA received a code yellow distress signal from a single rover. The operators chose to ignore the signal because a code yellow usually meant a small amount of damage was sustained for a rover, which was completely common on a Mars mission.

Maybe not…..