Extremophiles



  Extremophiles

  Copyright 2017 William Petersen

  *****

  Dorn marveled at the dark, jagged peaks accentuating the rugged landscape; vast copper-colored lakes and flows broke up the stoic surroundings with lazy reflections. The occasional twinkle on the surface of the viscous liquid denoted the faint luminescence reaching out to the tiny world from a distant star.

  “It's not hard to get why others think we should stay within the safety of Onn,” Kil mentally broadcast from behind him, “Not that I agree, but I can empathize. It can be pretty intimidating when one looks at it from this perspective.”

  Dorn turned to see her staring up at the monstrous partial disk dominating the black sky above them. The twin vertical lines of blueish-white lights making up her eyes burned with curiosity and wonder as she stood upon another world and gazed back at her own.

  Milky white and tan cloud bands raced around the latitudes at varying speeds, some boasting visible turbulence and swirling storms. The monstrous ring system formed a majestic arc around their home world as ice chunks large and small rotated in an eternal, gravitational dance. All the while, the tiny moon on which they stood traced a haunting, black circle across the creamy surface.

  “Yes, but if we stay there, then we learn nothing more. Deep down, I think that everyone wants to know what is out there,” Dorn replied. He had come to think of her as one born of his own light, a third to join his younger two back home. Her light waves and dark, red and black skin patterns resembled those of his own family's so closely that most automatically assumed she was his offspring.

  Both sets of eyelash-like wings on his back urged to flutter in response to his desire to move but were restrained by his suit. He engaged the controls to reposition, and the diamond-shaped light on his chest throbbed as her infectious energy filled his own body. Dorn looked back to the rest of the team following behind them as they ventured out to sample the vast methane lake spreading out ahead.

  Two figures trudged over the alien landscape, taking care not to pierce their fragile suits. Walking was physically taxing and unnatural to them. It took endless training to learn how to rely solely on their legs. The two sets of black, frond-like wings on their backs cut through the dense atmosphere of their home world but were useless in the relative vacuum of the tiny moon.

  “There's just too much space,” Inst chimed in between breaths, never shy about voicing her opinion, “We can't be the only living things.” The biologist's normally soft, but confident, mental voice sounded tinny as it was processed by the electronics.

  The approaching pair moved slowly and deliberately in the near total absence of gravity; pushing too hard with their long, slender legs could easily launch them into orbit. The ethereal blue tints of their eye lights cut through the metallic, orange haze even better than the external lights on their suits. Each brightened their eye lines to take in more.

  “Space has nothing to do with it,” Uul, the engineer and ultra-pragmatist of their crew playfully argued, “It's all about finding methane in all three of its states. Find that, and you'll find life.”

  “You never know,” Kil sent back, “Look at the fossil records and some of the things that have been discovered above and below our so-called habitable layers. There's life in the turbulent, upper layers and even in the ices and rocks near the core. We used to think that nothing could live at either of those depths, but there they are.”

  Uul shot back, “Yeah, but none of those are advanced forms of life, nor will they ever evolve to be. That's why we're not looking at the inner planets. Well, that and the fact that we would sublimate into a gas that close to Rone. Nothing could live so close to a star.”

  Kil rose to the challenge, “But that's exactly why we should be looking at those planets. Just because life as we know it cannot exist there, it doesn't mean that something else can't evolve under those conditions.”

  Not one to be left without the last word, Uul concluded, “If we find anything out here, it's going to be primitive at best.”

  “I think Nia-1 is primitive at best,” chimed into their minds, “You guys want to get moving and answer some of those questions or use up your gasses discussing them?” Non, the captain of Nia-2 inquired with only a hint of humor.

  “Just waiting on the stragglers, and then we'll get around this formation. I don't want to lose sight of anyone,” Dorn announced, but as he exchanged glances with Kil, both of their chest lights flickered with levity.

  “Confirm that,” came Non's response in a much lighter tone, “We really just want you to hurry up and get around there, so we can see it too,” faint giggles trailed into the minds of the Nia-1 team as they regrouped.

  “And what about the lights?” Inst wasn't ready to let it go just yet. The others instantly roused and groaned at the insinuation. “You can't just dismiss them, we've seen them but still can't explain them.”

  “The lack of an explanation doesn't make them alien ships,” Uul fired back.

  “But it doesn't prove that they aren't...”

  “Alright, we're not debating this now. We've got places to go and work to do, so let's...” Dorn trailed off as he stared at the faint shadow cast by his form. It seemed to be growing darker, and then it began to flicker and move. He looked up at the others, now staring skyward.

  Dorn's breathing stopped as he gazed up at the tiny, blinding disc of light streaking through the outskirts of the moon's atmosphere. As his eye lights adjusted for the glare, an asymmetrical shape became clear. Gold and silver patches glinted with the reflected light of Rone, and two large, flat wing-like structures protruded from its center. Even at his current distance, he could see it was obviously metallic. It was something that had been made.

  Dorn looked back to the others, now staring at him, their eye lines were as bright as they could get with wonder and shock. He let his gaze return to the strange object in the sky. “Um, Nia-2, are you seeing this?” Dorn inquired and tapped his helmet as if it would actually have bearing on his mental signal being transmitted.

  “Yes, we...”

  Dorn didn't need any confirmation for the truncated sentence. The object in the sky suddenly brightened, and then a piece detached from the underside and began to drift downward.

  “Is it... Is it breaking up?” Inst questioned.

  Uul was quick to answer, “No, I don't think so. It looks more like a controlled separation.” The last two words echoed throughout their minds and those of the Nia-2 team.

  Kil's eye lines brightened, “But that means...” she trailed off.

  “It's a lander,” Uul finished for her. Though his professional confirmation as an engineer was not needed. A long, billowing tail had appeared with thin lines attached to something all of them recognized right away. A parachute.

  “What does Control say?” Dorn inquired of Nia-2.

  “We've sent the images, waiting on orders,” Non replied.

  The mental voice of the navigator for Nia-2 suddenly streamed into their minds with a noted urgency, “What if it's a weapon?”

  The group momentarily faced each other, and all understood that if it was indeed a weapon, there was no chance of escape. The craft descended as the four explorers tracked its progress with a mix of fascination and dread. They watched in silence as the disc-shaped object crept ever closer to the surface of the hydrocarbon lake.

  Their bodies tensed in anticipation as the craft touched down on the thick, amber liquid. Lazy ripples radiated outward in slow motion from the slight depression created by the impact. The parachute descended and draped off the object to rest on the surface of the golden-orange lake. The group was transfixed by the ethereal motions.

  Well, this makes collecting a methane sample seem a lot less important,
Dorn thought, shifting his focus from the lander to the object that had delivered it, streaking away into the blackness. A crushing confusion weighed heavy on his mind.

  “Orders...” broke Dorn's spell as it drifted into the minds of the Nia-1 team, followed by, “Control wants you back in the ship, now.”

  The team stared at each other for some time before Dorn took the lead and began the arduously slow and awkward journey back to the ships. He had expected them to argue about inspecting the object. Yet, no one spoke as they navigated the craggy, jagged terrain of ice and rock to reach their craft.

  Nia-2 slowly materialized through the haze, and Dorn admired the rectangular aperture atop the ship. It waited patiently for its time to peer farther into space than any other in their history. They assembled inside the airlock, and the process of pressurization began. As the inner door slid upward, the