A Rover's Story

Mars, as a symbol, offers several features in these chapters that interact with the theme of Grief and Loss as Part of Life. The rock formation, one of the most outstanding elements of Warga’s Mars landscape, expands Resilience’s emotional catalogue yet again, introducing him to instinct coupled with hope and yearning. These emotions, arguably all elements of faith, become something he clings to as he grapples with existential dread after failing to revive Courage. Resilience has no scientific evidence that the rock formation will hold the discovery he seeks, but this lack of tangible proof does not keep him from striving toward it. In addition, the dust storm that Resilience encounters in these chapters demonstrates the tests posed in life to our relationships; the fragility of life is important to consider in weighing how we treat each other. Resilience refuses to leave Fly to fend for himself, and when the order comes through from the scientists to leave Fly behind, Resilience ignores it because he has forged a bond with the drone and does not want to continue without him. Resilience and Fly’s willingness to help one another when it puts them at great risk is also another turning point for Guardian. She’s unable to help, and watching machines she’s come to care for take risks while she’s safe in the atmosphere is something she can’t ignore.

The symbolism of Mars in these chapters also speaks to the nature of The Pursuit of Knowledge. First, it shows that the path is difficult. The landscape leading to the tunnel is already the most difficult terrain Resilience has encountered; the addition of this random dust storm makes the journey even more treacherous and costly. In keeping with his name, Resilience continues through these conditions. Resilience’s determination to reach the tunnel after discovering Courage also marks the importance of leaps of faith in pursuing knowledge. Perhaps Resilience will find what he’s looking for there. Perhaps he won’t. But his dedication, especially after his failure, is key to him reaching the location at all to find out.

Resilience’s encounter with Courage touches on one of the most difficult parts of the human condition—dealing with death. Up until this point, Resilience has imagined how getting Courage back online would go, as well as the relationship he might have with the other rover, his scenarios always positive ones. Finding Courage irreversibly damaged and his memories unretrievable shakes Resilience, a reaction that matches human reactions to encountering death for the first time. Seeing another rover unresponsive and erased is the most terrifying thing Resilience has experienced because he knows that Courage’s fate could be his fate too. The following chapters contain an existential crisis wherein Resilience, as humans would, questions the reason for existence and why we are given life only to lose it. His questions cut to the heart of Balancing Emotion and Logic as he struggles to process his most complex and overwhelming emotions yet, even as Guardian urges him to use the mission to center himself. Resilience’s observation in Chapter 71 that he doesn’t know how to find answers to the question of death reflects how humans view life. There are no answers to be found, and Resilience, like humans, must make the most of the time he has.

Resilience’s encounter with Courage is also the catalyst for the risks he takes and his fall. After being emotionally struck by Courage’s blankness, Resilience tries and tries to retrieve anything from Courage’s existence, something he is unable to do. This extension of his existential crisis shows him pushing away the idea of death because it is too huge and frightening to contemplate. When he finally does come to terms with the idea that he, too, may end up blank, Resilience realizes that he has to try his hardest to do something meaningful because he won’t feel right doing otherwise. With his primary mission unable to be accomplished, he chooses a new mission—finding a sample that will let him return to Earth—and unlike before, he is now willing to sacrifice himself to find something because he would rather die trying than live with the knowledge he didn’t try. This willingness leads him to take bigger risks than he would have before, and even when the conditions become perilous, he refuses to turn back.