Unbounded

Chapter Eleven: Glimmerpool Glory

Mission Time: +675.532 Earth-years

Warning lights flashed in the dark of the Tui skiff's airlock. Then they switched off, and there was brief darkness again after the outer lock opened. The ramp lowered, and bright yellow sunlight spread down over Tai. Ryder saw the blues and reds of the landscape reflected in Tai's full-face visor. A Kea skiff rested in a broad clearing at the edge of a lake, with several humans and a Pelagoid gathered nearby.

Tai walked down the ramp, and Ryder followed. The ground was charred black and gray, but a few red shoots already grew from the desolation. A few meters beyond the patch of wildfire destruction was the wall of the jungle guarded by regularly placed motion-sensors. They trod carefully amongst the jagged embers as they made their way to the gathering at the lake's edge.

"Air temperature is almost 38 centigrade, near one hundred percent humidity. Pressure is about four atm," Tai said.

"And most noticeably, the surface gravity is 1.4 g. Don't trip," Ryder said.

Tekoha was lecturing to the senior staff, with the Pelagoid also listening. Technicians were deploying equipment packages. In a hole, the lake's surface rested a few meters below ground level. The jungle grew to its rim and spilled over; however, the wildfire damage went right up to the edge, so Ryder had a clear path to walk and look down. There were a few vines, but otherwise the white limestone walls were clear of vegetation. Flying organisms the size of small birds nested in the indentations of the vertical walls; their tentacled heads gave the impression of flying squid.

"That's very fascinating Tekoha, but can you get to the point?" Helga was saying.

"My point is that, given all the data from the Pelagoid probes and our own data so far, Glimmerpool can be classified as superhabitable. Now, that term may sound strange unless you keep the proper definition of 'habitable' in mind--which is the potential for biodiversity. And biodiversity is the number of species per volume of a given unit of space. Glimmerpool has extremely high biodiversity, as well as disparity--which is the number of morphologies of organisms. Predation levels are very high, akin to the late Jurassic Period on Earth. Venomous organisms are common. If we consider the current conditions on Earth to be an approximate base level of habitability, Glimmerpool is much higher in both potential and actual biodiversity. Looking at the climatic characteristics of Glimmerpool, it's not hard to see the reason. Surface temperature is warmer, and oxygen levels are better for animal metabolism at these pressures. There is no ice at the poles, as you can see here, so both poles are habitats for forests and their accompanying ecosystems."

"Wait a moment," Helga said. "I can't help but think about how, on Earth, we tried to prevent the polar ice from melting for the last few centuries. Now you're talking as if that would be a good thing."

"No, warming on Earth could cause a mass extinction because life is currently adapted to the interglacial ice age, in which we evolved and lived. But every mass extinction on Earth has been followed by a rapid increase in biodiversity as new forms evolve to fill empty niches. So moderate warming would be catastrophic for current life on Earth, but would be beneficial for life in general, in the long run. The main reason we're concerned about warming on Earth, obviously, is giving a foothold to hydrogen sulfide producing archaeans, who thrive in anoxic waters. A bloom of their population could kill off most life on land and in the oceans, leaving Earth nearly uninhabitable for millions of years. It happened once; it could happen again."

"Yes, obviously," Mbali said. "But Glimmerpool's superhabitability has what implications for establishing a settlement here? It sounds like the fauna could be dangerous."

"Mm-hm, and the flora. A settlement is possible with cautious measures. Certainly it would be easier than a non-habitable world like Mars. Many of the amino acids--and proteins--are the same in Earth life and Glimmerpool life. And since they also have the same chirality, this means we are potential food for each other--although it is unclear to what extent. The genetic material is different, though."