98: Europa's life

Three months passed in the blink of an eye.

After resting at the Babel Space Station, the Ship Name had set off again, heading toward that frozen world in Jupiter's orbit.

If Venus were a violent heavy metal rock song, full of roars of strong acid, high pressure, and high heat, then Europa, the brightest moon of Jupiter, would be an ethereal and mysterious ice waltz.

Compared to the suffocating, terrifying environment of Venus, the exploration of Europa was technically much simpler.

There was no atmospheric pressure here capable of crushing probes, nor was there high heat capable of melting lead. There was only eternal cold, and the gas giant hanging in the sky, occupying a vast field of view with its Great Red Spot storm.

It was a sight that would make the heart of a megalophobe stop.

After weeks of accelerating flight, the silver-gray hull of the Ship Name cut into Europa's orbit.

"Entering the predetermined orbit, 200 kilometers from the surface." On the bridge, the Navigator's voice was much more relaxed. "The environmental radiation here is quite high, mainly from the charged particle streams in Jupiter's magnetosphere, but for the Ship Name's magnetic shield, it's just like a gentle breeze."

"Begin atmospheric composition scanning." Dr. Li Mingyu issued the order.

The high-sensitivity spectrometer carried by the Ship Name immediately began its work, capturing those gas molecules that were so thin they were almost negligible.

"The atmosphere is extremely thin, and the main component is oxygen." A female researcher in charge of atmospheric physics said excitedly as she looked at the data. "This isn't oxygen produced by photosynthesis, but rather sunlight and Jupiter's high-energy particles striking the ice, decomposing water molecules into hydrogen and oxygen. The hydrogen atoms escaped into space because they were too light, leaving behind these oxygen atoms."

"Additionally, we detected intermittent water vapor plumes above the Antarctic region." She pointed to a blurry thermal imaging map on the screen. "This means there is indeed active geological movement beneath the ice sheet; liquid water is gushing out through ice cracks. In other words, this place possesses the basic conditions for the birth of life."

A world with oxygen, liquid water, and heat! Although the oxygen content was extremely thin, liquid water only existed beneath the thick ice sheet, and the heat came from the tidal heating effect produced by Jupiter's massive gravity and Europa's own geothermal energy.

Although it couldn't be called a Cradle tailored for carbon-based life, it could certainly be described as an environment suitable for the birth and survival of carbon-based life.

"Prepare for landing." The captain ordered.

The anti-gravity engines emitted a low hum, and the blue ion stream drew a beautiful arc in the vacuum.

The Ship Name descended slowly, like a light feather.

Its target was that famous "chaotic terrain" on the surface of Europa—the Conamara Chaos. The ice sheet here was fractured and uplifted, presenting reddish-brown stripes; these were the traces of mineral salts left behind after deep-layer saltwater surged out, and they were also the closest gateway to the subterranean ocean.

Finally, this most advanced human research ship hovered steadily at a low altitude of 100 meters above the ice surface.

The anti-gravity device offset Europa's weak gravity, which was only 13.4% of Earth's. The spaceship was like a suspended metal fortress, quietly overlooking the desolate and magnificent ice field below.

Looking through the porthole, the scenery here was breathtakingly beautiful.

The ground was not pure white, but covered with crisscrossing reddish-brown cracks; these were the "blood vessels" of Europa.

On the distant horizon, the huge Jupiter radiated a soft and majestic light. The sunlight reflected by Jupiter's atmosphere illuminated this frozen world, as if a giant cyclopean eye were watching these tiny visitors.

"It's too quiet here, completely different from the hurricane-force winds of over a hundred kilometers per hour on Venus." Dr. Li Mingyu sighed.

Exploration work began immediately.

Unlike Venus, where only robots could be deployed, although the surface of Europa had intense radiation, researchers wearing special anti-radiation exoskeleton armor and thermal inner wear could perform extravehicular activities for a limited time.

They piloted small anti-gravity shuttles to land on the ice surface, setting up precision instruments on the iron-hard ice shell.

Laser drills, thermal melt penetrators, sonar detection arrays...

Humanity used the most advanced means to knock on this tightly closed door, attempting to peer into the secrets behind it.

"The ice thickness... is only about 3 kilometers in this area!" the engineer in charge of geological exploration shouted excitedly. "It's much thinner than we expected! It seems we found the right place; the heat flow activity here is very intense!"

"Activate the thermal melt probe."

A long cylindrical probe with a red-hot, high-temperature head was stood vertically on the ice. As the heating probe powered by nuclear batteries started, it melted the solid ice beneath it like cutting butter, slowly sinking into the deep darkness.

100 meters... 500 meters... 800 meters...

Everyone in the control room held their breath, staring intently at the constantly decreasing depth reading on the screen and the footage transmitted back by the camera.

At first, it was pure blue ice, then it turned into dark ice mixed with impurities, and finally, it was pitch black.

When the depth reached about 1000 meters, the resistance suddenly disappeared.

"The probe has broken through the ice layer! Entering a liquid water environment!"

"Turn on the searchlights! Turn on the sonar!"

On the screen, a strong light pierced through the darkness that had lasted for hundreds of millions of years beneath Europa's ice sheet.

What appeared before everyone's eyes was not the dead, silent abyss they had imagined, but a turbid body of water filled with suspended particles.

"The water temperature is minus 2 degrees, but it remains liquid under this high pressure and high salinity."

"Chemical signals from hydrothermal vents detected! Extremely high concentrations of hydrogen sulfide, methane, and iron ions!"

The probe continued to dive; its thrusters stirred this sleeping ocean, and some strange echoes began to appear on the sonar screen.

"Wait! What is th..."

Just as the probe's camera swept over a rock structure rising from the seabed, something tiny, emitting a faint, eerie light, flashed past the lens.

"Playback! Quick, playback! Slow motion!" Dr. Li Mingyu practically lunged at the screen.

The image was frozen, zoomed in, and then clarified.

A collective gasp echoed through the command room.

It was a creature.

A living, swimming creature!

It looked like a fish, but not quite. It was only about the size of a palm, its body appeared semi-transparent and gelatinous, and one could see complex, glowing organs inside.

It had no eyes because, in that deep sea that never saw the light of day, vision was superfluous. Instead, it had several tentacle-like sensory organs on both sides of its body; these were likely its "antennas" for sensing changes in water currents and chemical substances.

Its swimming method was very peculiar; it didn't rely on swinging a tail fin, but rather on the wavy rhythm of a row of fine cilia on both sides of its body, like a bird flying in the water.

"My God..." a biologist covered their mouth, tears welling up. "This is... life on Europa, life that has already evolved to such a high level!"

This was the first time in human history that a complex, multicellular life form had been discovered on a planet outside of Earth!

"Analyze its composition!" Dr. Li Mingyu shouted urgently.

"The shipboard research AI is building a biological model... Based on its appearance and environment, it shouldn't be a conventional type of carbon-based life. In this extremely cold and high-pressure environment, its cell membrane might be composed of some special lipid or even silicon-based compounds to maintain fluidity."

"Its energy source is clearly not sunlight." The biologist recorded rapidly. "It survives by relying on the chemicals spewed from hydrothermal vents, just like tube worms and blind shrimp in Earth's deep sea; that is chemosynthesis!"

"Look at its bioluminescent organs!" Another researcher pointed to the screen. "That eerie blue light might be produced by the reaction of some biological fluorescent enzyme with minerals in the water. This might be a way for them to communicate within their population, or it could be a lure used to attract prey."

This meant that there wasn't just one "fish" here; there was a complete, complex, and thriving ecosystem!

In this dark ocean beneath Europa's thick ice shell, life had been thriving for hundreds of millions of years with a tenacity that humans could hardly imagine.

They were the miracle of life itself.

This exploration by the Ship Name was destined to be recorded in history.

However, when attempting to capture live specimens, these glowing strange fish immediately swelled, deformed, and eventually dissolved after entering a low-pressure environment.

The crew of the Ship Name tried various methods but failed to catch a single live strange fish.

Although they failed to capture live specimens, these few precious video records were enough to shock the entire world.

When the Ship Name, carrying data that could make all of humanity boil over with excitement, reluctantly left Europa's orbit and embarked on the return journey.

On distant Earth, Lei Wen also saw this report.

A smile of discovering something new appeared at the corner of his mouth.

However, this joy did not linger on his face for long.

Because just as the Ship Name sent back the good news, the cold voice of "white flower" interrupted his thoughts.

"Father, there is a situation I think you must pay attention to immediately."

"More important than the discovery of life on Europa?" Lei Wen raised an eyebrow.

"In a sense, yes."

"white flower" unfolded a huge Star Map on the holographic screen; it was a map of the stellar distribution around the Solar System.

She placed a red marker at a location about 5.4 light-years away from the Solar System.

That was a direction diametrically opposite to Proxima Centauri (4.2 light-years).

Astronomers usually called this area the direction of Barnards Star, and in Lei Wen's Star Map, it was marked as the D-21 Galaxy System.

This was a dim galaxy system composed of a red dwarf and several dead planets; in previous observations, it had been as unremarkable as countless other corners of the universe.

But now, it had changed.

"February 21, 2056, at 11:24, which was thirty minutes ago." "white flower" reported.

"The [Archimedes] deep space radio telescope array located on the far side of the moon captured an abnormal signal in the direction of these coordinates while conducting a routine all-sky survey scan."

"An abnormal signal?" Lei Wen's expression instantly became serious. "Is it a natural phenomenon caused by a celestial body?"