Chapter 507: Life on Mars

Several days later, on the South Pole of Mars.

The rovers were dragging what seemed to be a drilling device behind them as they advanced through the snow-coated ground.

Trailing further behind the rovers were five scientists fully clad in protective suits. They chatted amiably as they followed after the rover. In the background, a dome-shaped structure had been erected.

The height and circ.u.mference of this new structure were larger than the Ares s.p.a.cecraft. It was built using numerous slabs of steel plates. Each steel plate had identical measurements so they were easily replaceable if any damaged section was detected.

The collection of more than thousands of steel plate building blocks came together to form the shape of a steel dome structure. The topmost section of the structure was subst.i.tuted with gla.s.s instead to give the dome a transparent crown.

This building constructed by the fleet of XTN engineering robots would serve as the research station for the Mars expedition team from here on.

A miniaturized inertial fusion reactor was installed in the research station, which would be providing the station with sufficient electricity for more than a decade to come. The interior was divided into three floors. There was a large open garden in the center section of the dome that stretched from the base of the dome to its ceiling. The garden was filled with sustainable plants transported from Earth. During the mornings, the daylight would s.h.i.+ne through the gla.s.s crown of the dome, achieving a greenhouse effect which allowed the plants to perform photosynthesis.

It was not so much a research station at this point and was closer to a mini eco-garden.

The research station was surrounded by a ring of commodities which included the living quarters for the scientists, the canteen, conference rooms, warehouse, and various laboratories. The total surface area of the living s.p.a.ce came to roughly five thousand square meters which were more than enough for the crew of scientists to partake in their usual day-to-day activities as well as work.

Meanwhile, a drill well was being installed in a location roughly a kilometer away from the research station. It was the cape of a weaker part of the ice shelf that was recently identified during an expedition. The drill well was being set up by several XTN engineering robots that were preparing to officially commence the drilling operation.

The five scientists stood at the side and watched as the drill head slowly bore itself into the ice shelf.

Ten meters.

Twenty meters.

Fifty meters.

Hundred meters...

The drill continued rooting itself deeper underground until several hours later when a gentle beep was heard. The scientists present were delighted to see the indicator light on the control panel of the drill well suddenly flickering with green light.

This indicated that the drill head had successfully drilled itself into the designated location.

One of the scientists stepped toward the mounted display next to one of the XTN engineering robots. The display was a live feed of the cameras mounted on the drill. It was an open s.p.a.ce containing a pool of water that was reflecting the light that came from the surface.

“Found it, it's an underground lake!”

The scientist cried out with excitement. He took out the walkie-talkie strapped to his waist and announced loudly, “Drilling crew reporting to headquarters. We found an underground lake. I repeat, we found an underground lake!”

While the drilling crew was pa.s.sionately celebrating the success of their operation, Hannibal was occupied with his task inside one of the laboratories in the research station. He was dressed in a protective suit and was in the middle of taking out blocks of snow samples and inspecting them under a microscope.

This went on for some time. Despite his best efforts, he was unable to detect any signs of microorganisms apart from the occasional crystal and iron particles.

“Are there no life forms on Mars?”

Hannibal stretched his neck and frowned as he muttered to himself. It was then when the laboratory door suddenly opened with a short beep.

Another man dressed similarly in a protective suit stepped inside. This new visitor appeared to be in good spirits and was carrying a rack of test tubes. There were three test tubes mounted to the rack, each one of them filled with an unidentifiable, transparent liquid.

The new visitor went to Hannibal as soon as he entered the laboratory. “Hannibal, check this out!”

“What's this?”

Hannibal asked curiously.

“These are samples of lake water several hundred meters below the ice shelf. It was only extracted by the drilling team just now.”

The fellow scientist said as he placed the test tubes into another rack.

“We've reached an underground lake?”

Hannibal's eyebrows shot up as he asked.

“Haven't you heard about it?”

The other scientist only chuckled. “That makes sense, all you do is stay cooped up inside this laboratory, you're missing out on the natural glory of Mars. Half an hour ago, the drilling team discovered a sizable open s.p.a.ce several hundred meters below the ice shelf. This s.p.a.ce was filled with carbon dioxide and there was an approximately zero degree underground lake in its bottom. Do you have any idea what this could mean?”

“Water underground, close to zero degrees Celcius... This suggests the possibility of life forms in the underground lake...”

Hannibal quickly realized its implications. He took a look at the three test tubes and reached for them immediately. First, he placed one of the test tubes into a biosafety cabinet, then he trickled the contents of the test tube into a petri dish through the gloves fitted into the cabinet.

After that, he placed the petri dish underneath a microscope and proceeded to inspect it.

“So? Any findings?”

There was a faint tremble in the other scientist's voice as he watched Hannibal performing quick and familiar sequences of laboratory procedures. If signs of life were detected in the lake, it would be a defining moment in the history of mankind. Each one of their names, whether it was Hannibal, the members of the drill crew or the pilot would have their names etched into history books...

Hannibal had no time to respond to these strings of questions and remained focused on the task at hand. His attention was fixed on the microscope that was fixed on the liquid sample. What he saw through the microscope was what seemed like a foreign world...

“Hannibal?”

The other scientist prodded again.

Hannibal finally looked away from the microscope and nodded to himself as if to a.s.sure himself of his findings. “Call the captain and the rest of the crew as well. We have a major discovery...”

Half an hour later.

All sixteen scientists gathered in a meeting room inside the research station.

They did not conduct the meeting in the Ares because most of the equipment and whatever supplies were left in the s.p.a.ces.h.i.+p had been moved out of and relocated into the research station. Very soon, the Ares would be delivering a large amount of soil, water, air, and various minerals samples on Mars back to Earth.

“I'm sure most of you have an idea what I've gathered everyone here for.”

The captain of the Ares, Zhou Xiong, started without any further delay. He stood up and turned to Hannibal. “Hannibal, why don't you tell everyone your findings, I'm sure many of us are very eager to find out at this point.”

“Alright.”

Hannibal nodded and stepped to the front. A large display immediately appeared behind him. The image shown on the display was a pattern consisting of numerous collections of small black dots.

“This is the underwater microorganism discovered inside the underground water extracted from the drilling well.”

Hannibal explained discreetly, “What you're seeing now is the samples magnified ten times underneath a microscope. Most of those black spots are common impurities which include minerals, soil, ice particles, and whatnot. It's only after magnifying it by thirty times when the new discoveries surface...”

As Hannibal stated this, the image zoomed in closer to reveal a gray spot. It appeared that what was cast on the display was not a still picture but a recorded video instead.

Inside the gray spot, several oddly-shaped worms with six to seven tiny legs sticking out of them could be seen swimming around in the water.

The tiny, squirmish worms were completely transparent but their silhouette could be distinctly made out with the magnification of the microscope. They also had two long antennas that were nearly double the length of their bodies. The section around its abdomen region was shaped in rows like ribcages. It seemed to be a common breed of worm species.

“Chaetognatha marine worm.”

Hannibal stated, “These microscopic worms look like Chaetognatha worms, don't they? Apart from the absence of eyes and having longer antennas, their structure was nearly identical to Chaetognatha worms found undersea. Their measurements are roughly in between 0.1 to 0.2 millimeters...”

After stating this, Hannibal turned around and flicked his wrist, prompting the display to switch to another clip. The new footage showed the previous worm creature eating another insect smaller than itself that seemed to resemble common lice.

“Based on my current observation, it appears that they are carnivores of an extremely aggressive nature.”

Hannibal weighed his sentences carefully as he described, “The species which they consume is another marine worm species. These marine worms are roughly 0.04 millimeters large. These are gram-negative bacterias that belong to a subcla.s.s of algae organisms.

“Additionally, I also discovered three other algae organisms. These algae organisms are single-celled prokaryotes and don't contain chlorophyll and chloroplasts in their cell structure. I hypothesize that they are anaerobic organisms that don't need photosynthesis. What they need instead is suitable water temperature to allow for chemical reactions to sustain themselves.”

After showing several other bizarrely shaped microorganisms that would otherwise be considered as a typical, run-of-the-mill ent.i.ty in the world of microbes, Hannibal's expression turned solemn. “What I discovered after this was also very special...”

Following Hannibal's note, the display showed the image of a round, transparent bubble that was several times larger than the previous marine worm presented to the other scientists. What stood out about this bubble was a red-colored lump inside it that seemed to be faintly moving every now and then.

It looked like a heart.

“This is...”

The crew of scientists whispered amongst themselves.

“That's right, it's just as you guys suspect, it's an egg.”

Hannibal said with emotion, “The closest contemporary of this ent.i.ty on Earth would be fish roes. Certain marine species do lay eggs that are as small as a millimeter. One thing the existence of this egg proves is that there are life forms similar to fishes in the underground lake we discovered. I can't confidently say that the species laying this egg is a vertebrate species until I have proper visual confirmation.”

Hannibal's speculation awed the group of scientists. One of the scientists quickly jested. “Does that mean that we can fish underground if we want to?”

They shared a quick laugh upon hearing this.

“I can't tell you much about the prospect of fis.h.i.+ng, but what I've found is that the algae organisms need methane and sulfide.”

Hannibal added. “This trait is also observed in deep-sea archaea back on Earth. As you all may know, there are no sunlight or oxygen sources in the deep sea region on Earth. The archaeal organisms have had to coexist with deep sea worms since the beginning of time. The archaea used the continuous supply of sulfide from the underwater geysers to supply the required nutrients for the deep sea worms. The worms in turn secrete chitin components to protect the archaea. This mutually beneficial relations.h.i.+p forms the basis of the biological chain of the underwater geysers.”

Underwater geysers, also known as hydrothermal vents, refer to the geothermally heated water discharges seen in the depths of the ocean floor. Its principle was similar to that of a volcanic geyser.

The inspiration for this name was due to the sprout of heated water from the seabed appearing like a smoking vent from a distance. This “smoke” contained substances such as sulfide and methane. A scientist named Bischoff was the first one to record this strange observation in 1979 when he saw it at the bottom of the Pacific Ocean 2500 meters below sea level.

Generally speaking, these underwater vents should be extremely poisonous and lethal to most, if not all living beings. However, the almost miraculous observation noted by the scientists was a collection of living organisms surrounding the habitat that should have been barren of any life forms. These organisms survived on the heat, methane, and sulfide emitted from the hydrothermal vent. Just like how fish needed oxygen and algae needed sunlight for survival, these organisms also had unique sets of conditions for survival.

The crew of scientists immediately understood what Hannibal was trying to suggest upon hearing this. It was a valid point since if life existed on Mars, it should be reasonable to expect that they would have developed an independent survival mechanism to accommodate their environment. Due to the ice shelf blocking out the sunlight and the lack of oxygen, these organisms had developed other systems to extract resources from the environment.

Whether they lived on oxygen or methane, these organisms should still belong to the category of carbon-based life forms.

“Alright, everyone. This means that there's another thing we need to add to our checklist.”

Zhou Xiong suddenly got up and announced, “The discovery of life form on Mars is a monumental discovery of the century. This proves that humans aren't the only life form in the universe. From here on, our biology team will have plenty more work to do. I want to log everything that there is to know about these organisms. This means the history of their evolution as well as what may become of them in the future.”

“Don't worry, Captain Zhou Xiong.”

One of the scientists from the biology team mentioned with a short chuckle, “I do agree that it's shocking to discover life form on Mars, but I have some news that may sour the moment a little. These lives are very primitive and we haven't managed to confirm whether there are mammalian species just yet. From what we've seen so far, I have to say that the living conditions in the underground lake are sub-optimal at best. Based on the geological surveys conducted, its diameter is only about 20 kilometers. It may be a decent size but I doubt it's enough room to allow mammalian species to evolve...

“Simply put, the living conditions are simply too harsh to allow for the gradual evolution of any notable, intelligent species such as dolphins or alligators.”

Another scientist added. “Even if intelligent species manage to emerge in these conditions, the ceiling of their intelligence should only be on par with orcas. Think of it as the level of primitive human tribes. The foundations of civilization require generations to pa.s.s their knowledge from one to the next. I doubt the habitat here is suitable for that.”

“Maybe.”

Zhou Xiong first shot a look at Hannibal and saw that even Hannibal agreed with these claims. He then said with a quick smile, “With all that said, you can't dispute that these alien life forms have excellent research value. Besides, the people on Earth are eagerly waiting for whatever news we can bring to them. Before the Ares returns to Earth, we need to collect the appropriate samples and log as much data as we can and bring them home.”

“Can't argue with that.”

This statement gained a collective nod from everyone.