Read the following passage and questions, then choose the right answer from options, the answer should be one of A, B, C, D.

<passage>:
Manet thumbed through the manual in mechanical frustration. As he did Manet just didn't know when to stop! William Manet was alone. . There seemed something ominous about that finality. But he had paid teaching himself classes in philosophy consisting of interminable Manet gave one final spurt from the flesh-sprayer and stood back. Manet stepped forward, lifted the model's left eyelid, tweaked his nose. Not that he was going to have any great long wait of it. He was already As the device twisted as handily as good intentions, Manet realized that it was not a flesh-sprayer but the Modifier. "It's finished!" were Victor's first words. "It's done!" Manet stared at the tiny wreck. "To say the least." No one on Earth was as lonely as William Manet, and even William Manet could only be this lonely on Mars. Manet was Atmosphere Seeder Station 131-47's own human. All Manet had to do was sit in the beating aluminum heart in the middle Manet felt nothing more at this information than an esthetic pleasure Mars, to prepare its atmosphere for colonization. my function to use everything I possibly can against you." "When do you start?" isolate themselves in a useless job. They got, instead, William Manet "What's so bad about that?" Manet asked with some interest. "I've finished. I've done my worst. I have destroyed the Modifier." service for night shifts. They weren't providing accommodations for couples when the law specified only one occupant. They weren't made the worst thing happen to you that can happen to any man. I've But it was two hundred thousand a year in salary, and it offered wonderful opportunities. It gave William Manet an opportunity to think he saw a spaceship making Manet suspected hallucination, but in an existence with all the pallid " Yes. So Manet put on the pressure suit he had been given because he would "No. Can't do it, old man. Can't. I know. You're too human, too " like me. The one thing a man can't accept is a passive state, a state Manet's eyes wondered down to heavy water tumbler full of rich, amber "That's what I'm trying to tell you," Manet said irritably, his social Manet took the tumbler in both hands and drank. It was good whiskey, "I don't believe you," Manet stated flatly. His conversation had grown estate ." Manet finished the mellow whiskey and looked into the glass. It seemed "Old chap, understand if you please that I do not only sell . I Manet gave in to it. "I want to be not alone," he said. Manet handed back the pen and stared at the laminated card in his hand. When he looked up from the card, Manet saw the box. Trader Tom was "It is presented to appeal to a twelve-year-old child, an erotic, aggressive twelve-year-old, the typical sensie goer—but that is reality. It offends men of good taste like ourselves, yet sometimes it "What's the cost?" Manet asked. "Before I accept it, I have to know the complaints yet." "Suppose I'm the first?" Manet suggested reasonably. Manet didn't open the box. He let it fade quietly in the filtered but Manet puttered around the spawning monster, trying to brush the copper Finally, Manet woke up one morning. He lay in the sheets of his bunk, crumbled as easily as ideals. But Manet was old enough to remember the Manet opened the book and, turning one blank page, found the title . Manet tried to flip past this Manet flipped back to page one. Cheerfulness was a personality trait Manet had thumbed out for him. "Only in the air," Manet corrected him. Intelligence was one of the factors Manet had punched to suppress. any more than Manet, but he could (and did) know less. He had seen to leisurely combats of World War One." "I know." "Daniel Boone was still a crack shot at eight-five. He was said to be Manet knew it all. He had heard it all before. ad nauseum . What a Manet had been interested in the Fabulous Forties—Lt. "Hoot" Gibson, Manet's only consolidation was that Ronald's tastes were lower than his "Ronald," Manet said, "you are a terrific jerk." Manet blocked it deftly and threw a right cross. Manet stepped inside the swing and lifted an uppercut to the ledge of "Had enough?" he asked Manet. Manet dropped his fists to his sides and turned away. "Yes." Manet scrunched up inside himself in impotent fury. Manet's eyes orbitted towards the checkerboard. But if he were so much more stupid than he, Manet, why was it that Manet lay stretched out on his back, naked, in front of the transparent By rolling his eyes back in his head, Manet could see over a hedge of Manet padded on down the hall. He had, he recalled, shoved Ronald It irritated Manet. He never understood how the British had got the swing. "We imagine that you are most interested in how long you shall be required to stay at your present stations," said the Voice of God's paternal uncle. "As you on Mars may know, there has been much discussion as to how long it will require to complete the present atmosphere seeding. "The original, non-binding estimate at the time of your departure was 18.2 years. However, determining how long it will take our stations properly to remake the air of Mars is a problem comparable to finding the age of the Earth. Estimates change as new factors are learned. You may recall that three years ago the official estimate was changed to thirty-one years. The recent estimate by certain reactionary sources of two hundred and seventy-four years is not an official government handsome salary for the time spent on Mars. We have every reason to original estimate was substantially correct. The total time is, within limits of error, a flat 18 years." A very flat 18 years, Manet thought as he palmed off the recorder. He sat there thinking about eighteen years. He did not switch to video for some freshly taped westerns. Finally, Manet went back to the solarium and dragged the big box out. for 18 flat years. Long before that, he would have worn his fists away hammering at the hatch. Then he might start pounding with his head. Perhaps before the time was up he would have worn himself down to nothing whatsoever. Manet selected the ripple-finished gray-covered manual from the hodgepodge, and thought: eighteen years. Perhaps I should have begun here, he told himself. But I really don't have as much interest in that sort of thing as the earthier types. Manet opened the book to the chapter headed: Veronica crept up behind Manet and slithered her hands up his back and life." "I know." Manet folded his arms stoically and added: "Please don't talk." Manet elbowed Veronica away in a gentlemanly fashion. less equipped with Manet's own store of information, than Ronald. Ronald's cries grew louder as Manet marched Veronica through the "Shut up!" Manet yelled. Manet threw back the bolt and wheeled back the hatch. Ronald looked just the same as had when Manet had seen him last. His Ronald didn't say anything to Manet. "You," Manet said to Veronica with a shove in the small of the back, "Do you know what I'm going to do with you?" Manet demanded. "I'm going to lock you up in here, and leave you for a day, a month, a year, forever! Now what do you think about that?" "If you think it's the right Manet slammed the hatch in disgust. Manet walked carefully down the corridor, watching streamers of Manet giggled. "What? What was that? Do you suggest that I take you diligently, Manet concluded that there weren't enough parts left in the

<question>:
How long has Manet been at his post on Mars?

<options>:
A unknown
B 11 years
C 3 years
D 17 years

<answer>:

A