The exosuits were a tight fit. By the time we were dressed, the relay was only several minutes away, exponentially growing in size as we approached. It looked like a mutant pinecone, covered in red and yellow wens, encased in thorny rings and antennae.

The ship spun around, met the dock's magnetic field, and drifted into place. Four loud clicks, hissing, and the airlock slowly opened. We put our masks on and followed Huxley's armoured form through disinfectant mist.

'Halt,' said a garbled voice, 'present identification.'

Huxley's equally garbled voice replied, 'Tennyson West, relay repairs. ID two-oh-six-five-one. Fifteenth shift on Martian relay SI-7.'

There was an long and eerie pause while the guard consulted a monitor on their wrist. The monitor chirped. The guard looked side to side, then back at Huxley. Their shoulders dropped.

'Jesus, they're really turning Interstellar into a dystopian nightmare, eh Tennyson?' The garbled noises might've been laughter, 'I don't think I'll ever get used to the new code of conduct. All these barcodes and IDs, whatever happened to trust?

'Tell me about it,' replied Huxley, 'the whole world's going to hell with this new management.'

'You can say that again. Okay crew, you're free to go. Upload your IDs onto the maintenance log, my men will be gone in a couple minutes.'

Once the guard was gone, another distorted noise came from Huxley's mask -- definitely a sigh of relief.

* * *

'Alright' said Stevenson, madly typing at at keyboard, 'this generator has been primed. The rest of Mars' relays will be critical in several minute's time'

'Great work,' said Huxley, 'the alarms will be going off soon, if we hurry--'

Everything exploded.

The air became fire, pressing us against the floor. Stabbing pain washed over my ribcage like sodium hydroxide on flesh.'

'Did you really think you could outsmart me, Rutherford?' Winthrop removed his helmet, revealing a over-ripened plum trailing into several chins. It was unclear as to how his flabular torso could compresse into an exosuit.

'It's been a noble effort,' he continued, 'but I'm afraid to say that your miserable adventure has come to an end.'

O'Harris, roaring, threw himself against Winthrop. A henchman intersected, hammered him down to the floor. Dimitriev was just about to follow suit when Rutherford stopped him with an outstretched arm.

More Interstellar goons flooded into the room, holding bulky and menacing weapons. Red-dot sights were poised like neon-chicken pox above our vital organs.

Winthrop sneered. 'It's a shame that we've resorted savagery, but you've left me with no other options, Rutherford. If only you'd agreed to my proposition all those years ago. Just think of what we could have achieved!

'You of all people should understand understand the importance of this technology. The entire System, instantly connected by a eight thousand relays! Just think of the implications!'

Winthrop's expression darkened. He placed his boot over O'Harris' hand and stomped down hard. O'Harris cried out in pain; Winthrop smiled. 'Instead of connecting the entire System, you locked our discovery in cage, hiding it away from the world. You halted humanity's progress in the name of useless, mindless creatures, incapable of anything but singing.'

'They're in pain, Winthrop,' said Rutherford, 'don't you see how much suffering the interference causes? The antiwave cannot be used by us, not like this.'

'And what if we never knew of these creatures, hm, Rutherford? Suppose we never discovered their presence, never knew them to be sentient? Perhaps there are a thousand more unknown beings in the Universe who suffer due to the actions of our daily routine,'

'You're forgetting something,' I interrupted, 'we do know about these beings, Winthrop, and that's what makes a world of difference.'

'Stay out of this!' shouted Winthrop, 'This is between myself and Rutherford. You, Isaac Wells, you were the worst of all, thinking you had a say in anything we did! The impudence! You are not a man of science! You merely romanticise layman's terms and feed nauseating drivel into the ears of the ignorant masses! You claim to be enamoured with the stars, and yet you you nothing of astrophysics.'

'I know that the stars are beautiful, even if I can't calculate their movements,' I replied.

Winston merely laughed at my remark. The guards were encroaching, the circle was contracting. I wasn't sure who the Instigator was going to be this time around.

Winthrop edged towards Rutherford, 'You're no better than me, Rutherford.'

'You pretend to value these useless creatures, empowered by your naive understanding of morality, but at the end of the day, the thing you care about most is your life.'

Winthrop was inches away from Rutherford's face 'You fear death, just like the rest of us. You are held captive the instinct of self-preservation.'

'That's where you're wrong.' Rutherford's armoured fist launched squarely into Winthrop's face, partially consumed by his waterbed cheeks.

Winthrop howled, reeling back with his hands across his broken face, 'Kill them, kill them all!'

Time alternated between slow-motion cinematic and over-cranked film-reels. O'Harris grabbed several guards by the shoulders, Stevenson took hold of a firearm and started shooting, Dimitriev slammed the rest of the gunsmen against the reactor's machinery. His dented suit was gushing with blood. Rutherford and Winthrop wrestled on the floor.

While I watched in horror, considering what I should do, Huxley slipped something into my hands and he ran. I understood.

'I've got it! I've got it!' said McGregor in the distance, 'Ahahah! Your horrific project will be no more!'

Winthrop pushed aside a fallen Rutherford, and fell onto McGregor with a sickening crunch. By the time Winthrop retrieved the decoy, Stevenson had pushed me into an escape pod, launching me out of into space.

* * *

Huxley's voice fought over radio static, 'Alright, Isaac SHH... It looks like we're going to have to improvise. I'm aboard the ship we came in on and I've got SHH... I've got an anti-wave generator primed. Your transmitter will only work once you leave the field of interference from both the relay and my ship. As soon as that red light goes green push SHH... push the button.'

'What about you and the rest?' I asked.

'We'll be fine, Isaac.'

Stevenson's voice came in crackling on the intercom, 'Come on, Isaac! Do it for all of us!' I heard carnage in the background.

Tears welled up in my eyes, 'You all knew that this would happen...'

'I'm sorry Isaac,' said Rutherford, panting, 'SHH... it was the only way. '

The green light appeared. 'It's been an honour working with you all,' I said.

I turned the dial one last time.

It clicked.

'The Sun!' cried Rutherford, 'our Sol! our dear, dear Sol! It's SHHH... thanking us! Thank you Issac SHH... Thank you! SHHHH... All the other planets! SHH... How happy! SHH... How happy they all are! SHHHHHHH--'

'Izak! Izak! SHH... Da zstradsvyet Solntze!*' shouted Dimitriev.

Stevenson laughed like maniac until the intercom cut out.

A perfect sphere of crimson fury spread across the sky. It didn't shrink, or expand, it simply stayed there, trembling. A moment latter, the rest of the relays followed suit. A curved row of giant Chinese lanterns inflated above Mars, several trailed off through the sky, towards other planets.

I pressed my hands against viewing glass inside the pod. Every single star was shimmering. The entire Milky Way was aglow! The pod landed, dug into the ground and unfurled. I stepped out and saw the SMO. It too was engulfed in a spherical sea of laser-light-volcanoes-crimson, finally receiving the viking burial it deserved.

I heard a sounds which weren't sounds. Audible trembling within my spine would be the best way of describing it. I heard them, I heard the Celestials.

'Thaaank youuu,' said Mars, in strangely accented English.

'THAAAANNNK YOUUUU' said all the planets in unison.

Sol didn't say thank you, it hummed. Louder and louder, like a colossal refrigerator on overdrive. I felt the vibration course over my entire body, and although I didn't understand the language of Stars, I recognised the intonation. The second Universal Constant was gratitude.

When I landed, it was midnight in the New Martian Territories, but suddenly, for several minutes, flashing daylight occurred, defying every clock in Wyndham. I feel to my knees and looked up at the strobe-light sky. The Celestials were dancing! They were all moving!

I wept.

I knew that Sol and all the planets were safe. They were happy, and for several minutes, I could hear their songs.

That night, all the stars and blinking planet-lights shined brightly over Mars.

END OF PART 3

*[Rus.] Issac! Issac! Long live the Sun!