2k40

What a mission!

Hi! I'm busy playing 2k40. The game takes place in the year 2040, when the government is selecting the best candidates for a mission to Mars. I'm trying to prove that I have what it takes for the job, like endurance, tenacity and good scientific skills. To find out, I have to survive a dangerous selection test. In an underwater survival station in the St. Lawrence, I have to pass all kinds of tests and survive as long as possible. My energy reserves are dwindling with every passing minute, but I get a bit more energy whenever I successfully complete one of the scientific tests. Needless to say, I have to think on my feet and react as quickly as possible. If I make the top ten list, I'll be chosen as a member of the Mars mission.

I've just finished my first test, and the timer says I've been in the station for 1 minute 23 seconds. Whoops! Here's a second test. Let's see… I have to operate a microwave for 14 seconds… with pedal power! I'd better get going!

Ouf! Let me tell you, pedalling for 14 seconds at that pace isn't easy. A microwave draws more power than a light bulb, a drill or a vacuum cleaner, but less than a hairdryer. Did you know that? I didn't. I slowed down a couple of times, and then the vacuum cleaner started running (my mother would have been happy). While I was pedalling, I lost half my energy. It was a good thing that I made it for all 14 seconds, because that earned me more energy.

Then I had to answer a multiple-choice quiz on food. I thought it would be a good chance to catch my breath, but it was no piece of cake, believe me! Like, what role do fats play in our diet? Now I know that they give us energy, for one thing. The trick with the quiz is that you have to get three correct answers in a row if you want to undo the three locks and earn more energy. My reserves were so low by the time I finished that the alarm had already started ringing.

After that I had to program a robot arm like the famous Canadarm used on the space shuttle. You have to tell it exactly what to do, step by step, so that it can get food out of a locker and give you some extra energy. Raise or lower it, move it to the right or left, open and close its grippers… you have to think of everything. I had to start over again, because I forgot to tell it to open its grippers. That cost me! The alarm went off again. But I made it, at the very last second. Now I have to dive through an underwater maze. See you soon!

I'm back. To find my way through the maze I had to do some addition problems in binary. I didn't really know where to start, but I used the DNA reader, which put me in contact with some famous scientists. One of them explained how the binary system is made up of 0s and 1s, and how I should carry numbers just as I would if I were adding decimal numbers. I made a couple of goofs and lost a lot of time. I'd used up all my energy by the time I got to the exit from the maze. I heard the alarm, then everything started slowing down and finally everything went black.

So the game is over. I lasted 8 minutes and 15 seconds. I checked to see whether my name was on the top ten list, but I guess I didn't survive long enough. Too bad!

2k40 is just a game, but they say that a shuttle with astronauts will actually be heading for Mars by 2020… Just think! It will take them several months just to get there, and the astronauts will have to survive on the Red Planet for a year and a half before heading back to Earth. They'll be in space for more than three years! I'd love to take a trip to Mars, but three years seems a bit much. What do you think?

See you again soon… Maybe on Mars!