《Mining Logs》


 Log 1-5

    Log 1


    Yo, my name is Rias. That''s not my real name but it is now. Sort of. Gotta psyche myself real hard if I''m ever gonna survive this ordeal.


    So!


    I woke up inside a Martian rover or something; not sure how to feel about that. In the few hours I''ve been here, I tinkered around, pushed a few buttons here and there, and turned on an AI. She tells me she isn¡¯t exactly sapient, so there¡¯s that. Named her Alice since she sounds like a little girl. There¡¯s probably a reason the designers decided a little girl¡¯s voice should be used for this model, but honestly, I just think it¡¯s creepy.


    I¡¯ve been asking the little GPT what the hell I¡¯m supposed to do, and she tells me that the equipment I found at the back is for mining.


    So, I¡¯ve got a vector for activity at least. Still wondering how in the hells I¡¯m supposed to live here, with the outside being a harsh, radioactive desert and very few supplies.


    Guess a little accounting is to be done.


    Log 2


    Alice says the fusion reactor in the vehicle is still at full capacity, which is a small relief. This means, theoretically, I have power¡ªprobably more than I need if I¡¯m just running the essentials and not doing any large-scale drilling yet. Water and air, though? That¡¯s a different story. My clothes aren¡¯t exactly a spacesuit, so it¡¯s not like I can go outside and start sifting through the green sands without¡­ well, dying.


    The futuristic boxes I saw were actually stasis-type storage implements or something. They contain food and water (mostly water as ice), and based on the markings on the side, it¡¯s good for a century. Alongside it was a sealed container filled with around 100 different plants with a 500 seeds for the ones with high calories and 250 seeds for the less essential ones.


    Reading further on Alice''s little manuals, I have the blueprints for a gestation pod of some kind to make more seeds, but that''ll probably be further into the future.


    Stolen content alert: this content belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences.


    Alice asked if I¡¯d like to give her my physical info so she can plug in a third-party program to monitor my caloric intake and such. I approved. Having an AI health and fitness instructor hits different. So food and water for the next six months are accounted for if I eat twice a day, one year if I limit myself to once a day. Cool.


    Alice mentioned that oxidized copper isn¡¯t just for pretty, shiny sand dunes. If I can figure out a way to refine it, maybe I can work some magic and turn it into something useful. Just not sure where to begin. I know a little chemistry, but turning copper and sand into breathable oxygen? Err, not really.


    Anyway, the AI has a couple of suggestions that sound promising. Alice says I could use the mining equipment to dig deep, especially with what she calls the "Personal Driller," where there might be remnants of water or other useful compounds trapped in the rock layers. Apparently, the equipment has a refinery attachment too. It sounds like it can analyze samples and even isolate compounds. With some modifications, it might be able to assist with basic resource extraction for air and water¡ªif I don¡¯t break it first.


    For now, I¡¯ll focus on two main things: keeping the fusion reactor running and figuring out a way to safely extract oxygen. If I can do that, I might just stand a chance of surviving, having been chucked into the middle of nowhere.


    Log 3


    I suggested trying to connect her to the rover¡¯s external sensors so she could scan for any potential mineral deposits without me leaving the vehicle. She tells me she¡¯s unable to do that due to her limitations as a quite simple (if you could call an interactive AI that¡­) program that just helps with finding stuff in her database. Guess it¡¯s on me to find a spacesuit.


    Log 4


    I found a spacesuit (though it¡¯s called an exosuit for some reason), and after asking Alice how to wear it, I got to work.


    However, digging down is going to be tough. The fusion reactor¡¯s power might be stable, but using the mining equipment for a prolonged time will eat up a lot of energy fast, plus I¡¯ll need a way to vent excess heat. The place I¡¯m in is pretty cold at around -2 Celsius, based on the rover¡¯s readings, but all that will be useless if the insides of my equipment turn to molten slag, short circuits, or something equally horrible and stupid. If I mess this up, I¡¯ll end up with broken equipment and nothing to show for it. I¡¯ll need to strike the right balance.


    So, here¡¯s the plan: a short excavation cycle, enough to breach the surface, then a sample extraction to test if the readings are legit. If we can access water, I¡¯ll have one less thing to worry about. And if I can find any kind of mineral with an oxygen component, I¡¯ll be one step closer to breathing without rationing.


    I¡¯m keeping this log in case someone finds it¡ªor if I make it out of this mess myself. Feels like talking to myself, but better than silence. Besides, maybe one day, if I¡¯m still alive, I¡¯ll look back at this and wonder how I pulled it off.


    Log 5


    Crazy stuff happened today while mining. I¡¯ve read the manuals for the mining implements, and honestly, it¡¯s a cheat. It just blasts the ground, and through some gizmo and technobabble I don¡¯t understand, vacuums the debris and dumps it into the numerous Ikea-style storage boxes. To be fair, it has its limits, especially with the time I can use it¡ªaround an hour each session with a 30-minute cooldown.


    Now for the crazy part. After I mined a bit, I searched around the refinery¡¯s database and found that it has limited capability as a 3D printer. Compared to stuff I¡¯ve seen on YouTube, seeing this was like an ant watching humans build houses. Like, I understand the principles, but to actually do it? Hell no. So, I naturally tried to set it up to make parts for another 3D printer. Emphasis on tried. While it is capable of doing what I want step by step (praise be its engineers), I don¡¯t have the materials necessary right now¡ªlike cobalt, lithium, aluminum, and a host of other metals from the periodic table. Yay.

 Log 6-10

    Log 6


    Got off my feet and went mining again this time with renewed vigour. Though it''s still mostly the driller doing the work, I''m literraly just holding and pulling the trigger. So as to use my time productively (read: not get bored af) I''m reading the possible techs I could get when I start finding the minerals I need. While it would''ve been more efficient to just find promising deposits, I don''t have a mineral detector or something, yet, but I also don''t have a vehicle to begin transporting the minerals. So there''s that.


    I could just make a subpar version of the 3d printer which would make it closer to the 21st century tech level, but it would still be able to manufacture simple stuff I need like nuts, bolts, screws, and maybe a plastic welder, though I need to get a carbon deposit... Ugh.


    Log 7


    Two days of mining and I¡¯m utterly exhausted. Mind you, I¡¯ve never done this much walking and piling in my entire life. At most, I¡¯ve moved a few boxes, but goddamn, having to move several dozen kilograms worth of rock, sand, and minerals is backbreaking work. I¡¯ve got to give props to miners who probably did this with less equipment than I have.


    Nevertheless, I¡¯ve struck my first methane fountain! Thankfully, it didn¡¯t spontaneously combust. Alice tells me there isn¡¯t much oxygen in the non-existent atmosphere to allow a fire, anyway. Silly me for worrying about that.


    Now that I¡¯ve got methane, I can dump it into the refinery and see it work its magic. I¡¯m hoping it¡¯ll yield something useful. If I can refine this properly, I might be able to produce enough fuel to power the scouting rover and maybe even help run some of the equipment more efficiently. The prospect of having more resources at my disposal is very exciting.


    But, I¡¯m alone out here, and a mistake could mean disaster, so I need to be cautious. I¡¯ve set up the refinery for a test run, carefully inputting the methane into the system. Fingers crossed, this will be a breakthrough.


    Log 8


    Fuck me sideways with a prickly cactus. The refinery gave me an error after I inputted the methane, trying to extract some hydrogen as a test. I asked Alice what was wrong with it, and she told me I just needed to be more specific.


    --


    Fuck me sideways again. How specific? I don¡¯t know! The manual had a lot of technical jargon, and my understanding of chemical processes is a bit rudimentary at best. I tried to input simple commands, but clearly, that wasn¡¯t enough.Did you know this text is from a different site? Read the official version to support the creator.


    I spent the next hour poring over the refinery¡¯s manual, trying to decipher the technical details. Turns out I need to specify the ratios for separating hydrogen from methane, and I also need to monitor the temperature settings to ensure everything runs smoothly.


    Feeling a bit defeated, I took a break. I couldn¡¯t help but wonder if I was overthinking things. I¡¯ve seen people on YouTube whip up advanced equipment in their garages; why was this so difficult? Maybe it¡¯s the pressure of being in a completely alien environment, or maybe I¡¯m just not cut out for this kind of work.


    Log 9


    GOT THE REFINERY WORKING, BABY!!! YEAH, THAT''S MORE LIKE IT!


    I just essentially told it to fuck off and separate the damn minerals from the hydrogen with oxygen. Using the refined copper oxide leftovers, I managed to create a controlled reaction. I can''t believe it? I¡¯ve produced a decent amount of hydrogen and some carbon, too.


    Alice chimed in with a bit of information about how the hydrogen can be used as fuel, while the carbon could potentially be converted into other materials. I can¡¯t help but grin; this is the progress I¡¯ve been hoping for. With this newfound resource, I¡¯m thinking about how I could expand my operations.


    What if I could rig the refinery to process more materials simultaneously? That would be nice to have. I could create a good system, producing most of what I need to survive.


    Just need to see if I can make Earth-like soil compounds and see if those seeds I found earlier worked as intended. Because it seems even future people understood the greatness of the humble potato. I''ll need rice later, but potatoes are fine.


    So I''ll need to plot my next steps. I¡¯ll need to gather more resources, both to feed into the refinery and to gain the possibility of enhancing my mining capabilities. With the right materials, I could create another printer, or even upgrade the mining equipment.


    Real peachy right there.


    Log 10


    Soil is surprisingly difficult to create¡ªgo figure. I thought you just needed a few minerals, some organic matter, and voil¨¤! You¡¯d have a nice patch of dirt to plant things in. Turns out, it¡¯s not that simple. I spent hours combing through the rover¡¯s database and analyzing the components I¡¯ve been mining. To make something resembling soil, I need a mixture of materials, including literal shit, gravel, and a bunch of other nice minerals.


    Alice suggested I could use the copper oxides I¡¯ve been mining as a base, but they alone won¡¯t cut it. I need organic matter to stimulate microbial growth and add nutrients. Given my current situation, I¡¯m starting to feel like Mark Watney from The Martian¡ªjust without the potatoes and the whole ¡°being on Mars¡± thing. May the spirit of Watney himself guide me as I use his knowledge for my survival.


    After some trial and error, I began gathering the necessary components. I knew I needed organic material, and while I can¡¯t magically summon plant life out here, I had a thought: what if I used some of the methane I had processed along with my shit? If I can synthesize it further and combine it with what little biological matter I have, maybe I can kickstart a self-sustaining process.


    I searched through the storage c ompartments for the methane supplies and found some. Now, for my shit.


    Damn, I need a drink; even coffee would be great.