Asso - Александр Александрович Чечитов

without question and could even maintain a light conversation. This amused the small team of Earth astronauts very much. Of course, no one had yet written the rules for the duration of his stay on Mars, and, consequently, Matthew could not be forced to return to earth as soon as possible. Moreover, he and Paula found the remains of the ruins of ancient buildings. Matt delayed this news until the last, but when opening the lower layers, a drilling machine broke down near the dilapidated wall. On the morning of the twenty-fifth day of the expedition, while having breakfast, Ridge learned from Matthew about this dizzying discovery. Now he had to repair the device with them, which could allow him to learn even more significant secrets.

Well, can you manage here without us?

Ridge turned with a smile to the Asso, standing, at the table.

"Whatever Dr. Ree says," the chrome robot replied in a monotone tone. Iron hands began to remove used dishes from the table. Fast, silent, and flawless. Having finished with the preparations, the team of researchers went to the excavation site on light all-terrain vehicles.

Ridge, I couldn't wait to see the ancient Martian ruins with my own eyes. The road took about half an hour, and soon the stone skeletons appeared before the earthlings. About half a meter thick, the walls formed the semicircular contours of once-huge buildings. Hundreds of thousands of tiny holes were visible on the outer and inner parts of most of the visible remnants of the premises.

What do you think, Ridge? What could it be? Matt asked, pointing to the walls.

— I think the holes were made at the construction stage; they are very symmetrically executed. I would even say it looks like decor. Something resembling the likeness of a drawing but, of course, this is just a guess.

"Then we'll try to find out more," Matt said briskly. After a brief inspection,

Ridge found an empty tank for supplying hydraulic fluid to the working units.

Very strange, — said Ridgey, thoughtfully. All the adjacent equipment is completely serviceable and sealed.

Can we fix it? Matt said it impatiently.

Definitely, you just need to bring a few cans of hydraulics. Then let's not waste time. Let's go! Matt Heavy commanded. Ridge wanted to understand how the car he was servicing had failed for no apparent reason, and he thought about it all the way back. When they reached the landing site, the people stopped their all-terrain vehicles. Paula, Matt, and Ridge stared in horror at the melted Martian soil. This was almost all that reminded them of the ship they had left a few hours ago. The red-hot pieces of the spaceship's shattered skin turned into a shapeless mass. The first interplanetary ship turned into the first and only landfill on Mars. A little further away, where there were traces of metal feet, Ridge read the inscription.

"I fell in love with you because you created me. But I also managed to hate the desire to destroy. I managed to blow up the ship, and the blame for that is only on you."