Как я (не) пробивался на Amazon: от седых волос до первой публикации
Synopsis
In early 2025, a rocket was sent to Mars. The mission: to colonize the planet. The mastermind behind it is a character known simply as the Billionaire. The crew includes a geologist, a doctor, and a soldier. These 3 men are accompanied by an AI and 30 robotic units similar to "Tesla Optimus."
Picture this: a rocket and 30 robots all under AI command, plus 3 men. By Chapter 5, they arrive on Mars. What awaits them? What challenges and surprises will they face? Is the AI a practical tool or a broken toy? Does it help or hinder? The story features action, philosophy, and lyrical moments. This is science fiction set in the modern, real world.
Aliens on Mars
Let us begin, shall we? It was the year 2025. Planet Earth was still spinning in a spiral around a star named the Sun, accompanied by its companions — 8 or 9 other planets. A strange world dictates strange laws: long rivers have somehow ceased to be long, the color gray has acquired 50 more clones, and a planet is no longer a planet.
But people still inhabit the Earth; they multiply, they want to eat, walk, run, have fun, build, destroy, and grow rich. Eventually, it occurred to one wealthy man that Earth had become too crowded for us. A human is not an ape; a human can achieve things an ape could never dream of, and if a human wants something, they will get it. These "wants" manifest as cars, bridges, skyscrapers, ships, submarines, airplanes, and flights beyond the limits of possibility.
One such unimaginable possibility is space travel and the flight to the Moon. But man desired it, and man did it. He made it possible. Yet that was not all: against a backdrop of hunger, wars, and the advancement of science — and yes, science was advancing — scientists turned their gaze toward the planet Mars. Human desire wanted to visit it, but one bright mind wanted to visit it literally, so to speak, in the flesh. And he achieved much: he has rockets, robots, and his own unique artificial intelligence named IvA — Intelligent Android.
In this short story, I will tell you how things truly stand in the world. And if, while reading, you suddenly find a description of a person sitting in a cafe, drinking coffee from a paper cup, wearing ripped designer jeans and a T-shirt with a popular video game print, and realize I am describing you — let it be considered a mere coincidence.
Chapter 001: Preparation
The company of that very billionaire dedicated to conquering Mars, office number 08 in the basement floor. In the room were about 15 engineers, and the billionaire himself. The space resembled a mini-cinema but without the plush seats: a horseshoe-shaped table, modest padded chairs, and a massive screen. The final touches for a small step on the Martian surface.
Almaz presented the finished version of the robot, having arrived for the presentation with 2 engineers.
— This robot can operate at temperatures of minus 100 and plus 100, is protected from moisture, and has a lifting capacity of 47 kilograms.
During the presentation, the screen showed a video of the robot autonomously performing various operations in all sorts of environments. The robot itself was present in the flesh, featuring a screen instead of a face on its head.
— So, — said the Chief, — we have a robot that will work on both a hot and a cold planet. No problems with delivery. — Everyone nodded. — What are our visible problems? — the Chief continued.
— Weight, — said Viktor, one of the rocket engineers.
— Weight… — the Chief looked inquiringly at his colleagues and continued: — 30 tons is the maximum weight. And 20 tons of that is food and water. Because we are sending 3 humans.
— We could send 30 disassembled robots and 1 whole one, — said Almaz, who was responsible for the robots. — That would save a lot of space. Arms, legs — they can be mixed up and swapped from another robot; everything is interchangeable.
— May I speak? — Viktor raised his hand. — If we do it this way and it works, we could fly to Mars right now.
A wave of optimism, mixed with a slight note of criticism, passed through the room. The Chief looked at the large screen and said:
— Anton, visualize a landing simulation on Mars with disassembled robots.
A model appeared on the screen showing a 30-ton rocket landing on Mars.
— Anton, now add a crash and scatter the robot parts.
A model appeared where the crashed rocket lay on the lifeless planet, where the astronauts do not survive. The single whole robot, undeterred, methodically assembles another robot by gathering the scattered parts. Then, the 2 of them assemble a 3rd, then a 4th. After some time, all the robots are functional and begin building a base on Mars. "Mission feasible at 20 percent," the computer reported.
— Well, that’s not a failure, — said Almaz.
— If the landing is nominal, then...
While the Chief was thinking out loud, Anton said, "Wait," entered some changes into the model, and ran the simulation again. The rocket landed unsuccessfully on Mars; the astronauts survived but were injured, and the words appeared: "Mission Failed."
— What did you do? — the Chief asked Anton, not hiding his surprise.
— I added dirt to the contacts.
In the room, the engineers silently felt the weight of the problem at the very start of the journey, before even taking a step. But after a few seconds, the silence was broken.
— We can, — Almaz looked at his colleagues, — we can protect the contacts with a fluorosilicone gasket.
— Anton, — said the Chief.
— Got it, — Anton replied and, entering new parameters, ran the simulation. After a short time, the computer coldly delivered the result: "Mission successful at 100 percent."
— Alright, let’s celebrate cautiously, — the Chief said restrainedly.
— We need to conduct a test launch on Earth to check everything, — Viktor decided to anticipate all possibilities. He added: — Better to make a mistake here than on Mars.
— IvA, are there any errors in this simulation? — the Chief asked, addressing the AI.
A female voice, languid and calm, addressed the Chief:
— There are no errors in the model, but a trial landing on Earth to identify unforeseen circumstances would not be redundant. A successful landing will be broadcast on all the news and give you a good start for the Mars conquest mission.
— How much will this check cost? — asked the Chief.
— 2 million dollars, — IvA replied.
— Well then… — the Chief, grabbing the back of his head with both hands and staring at the ceiling while sitting on his budget chair, was silent for a long time. Then he spoke: — Any desert will look like a Martian landscape. If we drop a capsule of robots from a maximum height from an airplane without any publicity, I think that will suffice as a test.
— No, we need a rocket module, space exit, maximum falling speed, and the triggering of all protections. If it works here, it will work there, — said Viktor the engineer.
— Let’s do it quietly, without noise or dust. In case of failure, we will fix all the defects, — saying this, the Chief pointed his finger at Viktor. — I give the go-ahead for a trial launch from space.
3 days later, a rocket launched from the spaceport. Of course, the robot engineers had to sweat a little: they had to prepare 3 disassembled robots and install high-quality rubber plugs for the contacts, as well as teach the robot to assemble its own kind.
And so the rocket, slicing through the heavens, hurtled into the vastness of space with a fully functional robot in the astronaut's seat. Cold, sparks, and wind gripped the rocket, and a moment later, it was in space. The flight trajectory was programmed, and the subsequent fall of the rocket back to Earth did not frighten the people at the spaceport watching the flight.
The parachute worked like clockwork, but back at the base, anticipating this, they released it by command. The capsule, now without a parachute, gained significant speed and struck the ground somewhere in a desert part of the Earth. But the robot survived and, controlled by IvA, climbed out of the capsule and assembled the other robots.
The 3 people chosen for the mission to Mars were a Geologist, a Doctor, and a Soldier. A week later, the rocket stood on the spaceport in full readiness. TV crews were broadcasting live to the whole world. In the studios of the main channels of every country, hosts in fine suits addressed their viewers:
— This day has arrived. In just a few minutes, we will see the 3 brave souls, the conquerors of Mars. This is reality; we are conquering Mars. And here are the 3 astronauts walking to the platform; their names will undoubtedly be written in the history of mankind…
In the studio of a very popular program sat a host and the Billionaire; the interview was in full swing. The Billionaire was talking enthusiastically about the preparations and how great his rocket was.
— Excuse me, we don't see any pilots among the crew. Why is there no pilot?
— You see, — the Billionaire said, not at all embarrassed, — there is a pilot; there are even more than it seems. First of all, our Soldier — he is a pilot...
— He is a pilot? — the host said, nodding along.
— Yes, a pilot. He piloted excellently on the simulator, but we view him as security for the crew. There is a robot from our company controlled by our AI, and there is also an autopilot. And another 30 robots in the cargo bay, which are also controlled by the AI.
— There will be an AI on board?
— Yes…
— We’ve been informed, — the host said, catching a pause and interrupting the Billionaire, — excuse me for interrupting you, but a rocket has launched from your launchpad. We have an image.
On the large monitor, a video appeared: the rocket was already rapidly gaining altitude, slicing through the air, with flames behind it pushing the small rocket away from the Earth, carrying the crew of 3 into the cold, harsh space.
— Is this a giant leap for mankind? — the host looked at the Billionaire with delight.
— No. The giant leap begins in 12 hours. In low Earth orbit, we are assembling the main rocket for the flight to Mars there.
— Wait, wait, — the host said, slightly stunned, — hold on, you are assembling the rocket in space? That’s... that’s like something out of a science fiction movie. I can't wrap my head around it.
— Yes, it’s very similar to old sci-fi movies. Но мы можем, — the billionaire spoke calmly and excitedly at the same time, — and we are doing it, solving problems logically, and in the end, it turns out just like in the movies.
Всем привет! Решил поделиться своим «кровавым» опытом выхода на мировой рынок литературы. Я перевел свой рассказ про Марс и решил выложить его на Amazon.
Честно, я не знал, во что ввязываюсь. Двойная верификация меня чуть не доконала, а когда я думал, что всё позади, началась трехсуточная модерация. Волосы, кажется, поредели на 0,01%. Но вот она — книга стала «живой»!
Я сижу, обновляю страницу, жду... День прошел, два — тишина. Понял, что алгоритмы Amazon не знают про меня, а я не знаю, как их «разбудить».
Товарищи пикабушники, я не прошу покупать (хотя был бы рад). Мне просто нужно, чтобы алгоритм «увидел», что книга кому-то интересна. Если вам не сложно, зайдите на страницу, прочтите хотя бы пару строчек через «Look Inside» — это даст системе сигнал, что книга не мертвая, и, может быть, она начнет попадаться другим читателям.
Заранее спасибо за любую поддержку и конструктив! Ссылку оставлю в первом комментарии.




