Earth, Tibet, Xixia Bangma Peak, IEA headquarters, in the command center of the interstellar migration team, a giant display screen is playing images taken by Europa's expedition robots. Pen & Fun & Pavilion www.biquge.info

"I'm old, these pictures look really depressing, and they make me suffer from deep-sea phobia."

Durunik was sitting in a row with Hara Haochen, staring at the screen with his eyes hooked. The deep sea appears dark and terrifying, involuntarily creating a sense of horror that is deep and inescapable.

"I'm not young, but my personality is still like a young man!"

Yuan Haochen picked up the tea on the table next to his seat and teased.

"Do you think there's extraterrestrial life in Europa's subglacial ocean world?"

Durunik digressed the subject.

"According to the data obtained by the expedition robots, in addition to a large number of organic molecules, substances such as sodium chloride, magnesium chloride, sodium sulfate and magnesium sulfate have been found in the upper water bodies of salt lakes in the Europa Ocean, and with the presence of these substances, at least bacteria can use them for life activities." Yuan Haochen replied.

"So, do you believe in the existence of living beings?"

"Yes!" Yuan nodded in affirmation, "In addition to salt lakes, there are many volcanoes on the bottom of Europa. There, it should be rewarding to examine the robots. ”

"Hot spring ecosystems?" Durunik pondered, "It is indeed the place where life is most likely. ”

......

On Europa, 630 million kilometers away from Earth, intense exploration continues.

"The expedition robot has dropped 50 kilometers below sea level!"

"It's incredible, if the water pressure on the earth is 50,000 meters deep, not to mention the investigation robot, even the strongest tank in the world should be crushed."

"Robots 8, 19, 67, and 92 are about to reach the bottom of the salt lake. Get ready to collect sediment samples from the bottom of the salt lake! ”

"I don't know if there will be alien creatures at the bottom of the salt lake."

The scientists gradually entered a state of tension, with anticipation on their faces.

"OMG!! Look, look at the video signal of robot 19. A scientist suddenly exclaimed, "At the bottom of the salt lake, there is a light!" ”

Other scientists quickly surrounded him.

There was a faint light at the bottom of the salt lake, and it certainly wouldn't be a light. It could be the light emitted by some kind of luminescent creature, or it could be the bright light from the oxidative combustion of minerals on the ocean floor.

"No. 8, No. 67 investigation robots detected microorganisms in the water at the bottom of the salt lake!!"

Another surprise news!

"Look, that lamp really is a glowing creature!!"

"Is it a monkfish? Or glowing jellyfish! "One scientist immediately thought of several organisms that appeared in the deep seas of the Earth.

"Neither!!"

"It's shaped like a tube worm that grows at the bottom of a salt lake. Yes, it has multiple large openings at the top, and it is this opening that is glowing. ”

"It's a very inferior organism that feeds on the microorganisms at the bottom of the salt lake. Maybe it's just trying to attract the surrounding microbes. ”

Scientists have published their speculations.

"There are two of one, there must be three, and there may be other life forms around, search carefully."

"Watch me dig it up a lamp and come back and study it."

The scientists enthusiastically manipulated the survey robot and quickly roamed around.

Sure enough, more and more lifeforms were discovered by the investigating robots. However, the vast majority of life forms are very low-class organisms, and there are even some suspected life forms that do not have a cellular structure.

"At least 10 prokaryotic microorganisms similar to actinomycetes and spirochetes have been found."

"Robot 92 discovered a eukaryotic single-celled organism. Morphologically, it looks like a primitive flagellate. ”

"As it stands, that glowing tube worm looks like the highest life form at the bottom of the salt lake."

Scientists scanned the overall structure of the "luminescent tube worm" and then visualized it with the help of a computer system.

The whole is smooth cylindrical in shape, soft and leathery, and the tip is specialized into a funnel-shaped tentacle crown, which is attached to rock or sediment. The length varies from 50-80 cm. Analysis of its morphology has led to the conclusion that it relies on a funnel-shaped tentacle crown to attract and filter prokaryotic microorganisms and eukaryotic single-celled organisms at the bottom of the salt lake.

"Is it really because the environment is so harsh that the creatures on Europa are so low-level and primitive?"

"Can't you find an alien fish and shrimp?" Scientists quipped.

In the natural environment, the evolution of living things is an extremely long process, often taking hundreds of millions of years as a whole.

Life on Earth evolved from the most primitive state of cellless structure to prokaryotes with cellular structures, from prokaryotes to eukaryotic single-celled organisms, and then developed in different directions, and the kingdom of fungi, plants and animals appeared.

Among them, the plant kingdom went from algae to gymnoferns to ferns, gymnosperms, and finally angiosperms. The animal kingdom evolved from primitive flagellates to multicellular animals, from primitive multicellular animals to the emergence of chordates, and then evolved into higher chordates-vertebrates.

The fish in the vertebrates evolved into amphibians and then reptiles, from which they differentiated into mammals and birds, and one of the mammals further developed into higher intelligent creatures, which is why the human beings who now dominate the civilization of the earth appeared!

Therefore, it will take an incomparably long time for Europa's creatures to evolve into intelligent creatures. And, let's not forget, Europa's natural environment is nothing short of terrible compared to Earth.

"Let's get some microorganisms and luminescent tube worms to study first. Let's see what their cell structure really looks like. ”

Subsequently, the scientists operated the No. 67 expedition robot to collect samples of the "luminescent tube worm" and immediately began to return. Other robots continued to study in the Salt Lake area.

At the same time, research robots outside the salt lake have also dived to a position below 70 kilometers above sea level.

"The current average water temperature is 16.8 degrees Celsius, and the water pressure is 9.28*10^7 Pa."

"The temperature is starting to rise again!"

"Moreover, a large amount of sulfide, CH4, was found in the water samples. There is likely a volcano or hot spring down there. ”

"Pay attention to control the speed of the dive, it is estimated that if you go deeper than 20 kilometers, you will be close to the pressure tolerance limit of the robot!"

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(To be continued.) )