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“That’s right.” Datuk smiled. “These brine layers also show heightened electrical conductivity. Such a unique property will be used to harvest water from the atmosphere of Mars. Something that the ExoMars lander—theKazachok—will attempt to demonstrate when it’s sent there in a year or two.”
Monk turned to Adam, lifting an eyebrow. They had both avoided raising the subject of the scientist’s connection to China’s space agency. If the man was a mole, they didn’t want to spook him. But Datuk had just offered them a perfect opening to broach the subject.
Besides, where could he go now?
9:50P.M.
As Phoebe studied the murky brine layer, movement in the window’s reflection drew her eye. She noted Adam leaning forward from the rear seat.
“Dr. Lee,” he said, “you mentioned earlier that your study into high-pressure organisms had interested the space industry. Why?”
Phoebe had been wondering the same. Intrigued, she twisted around to face the others.
Datuk grinned, his eyes sparkling. Like most scientists, he was happy to extol about his research. “I’m part of an investigative team called LAB. The Laboratory for Agnostic Biosignatures. We’re funded by astrobiology programs from around the world. Our mission is to explore beyond the current understanding of what constituteslife—to expand its definition. It involves studying the far corners of our planet, to search for life in places it shouldn’t exist.”
Phoebe glanced out the window. “Like where we’re headed.”
“Certainly. The searchbelowoffers unique ways of lookingup—beyond our world. It offers new approaches to search the stars for novel biosignatures of extraterrestrial life. So far, we’ve limited ourselves to looking for water on foreign planets or for the presence of methane or other organic compounds. LAB hopes to expand the scope of such searches.”
“That’s why you’re studying these extreme depths?” Monk asked.
He nodded. “Our team has been trying to break through the walls of accepted dogma. For example, it has been believed for decades thatthe emergence of life happened on Earth’ssurface, where water and atmosphere are exposed to sunlight and UV radiation. My goal is to prove otherwise. To show that life could have started in the subsurface environment, fueled by chemical energy. It’s what sparked my interest in Earth’spiezosphere—a layer that covers the deep sea and five thousand meters below the sea floor. In deep marine sediments, miles underground, we’ve found life where it shouldn’t be. Life that is so metabolically slow that one cell division takes a thousand years.”
Phoebe frowned. “And your study of such strange life hopes to expand the search for extraterrestrial biosignatures?”
“I believe it can. I’m convinced we have a greater chance of discovering life on another planet by searching forslowlife, buried deep.Fastlife on the surface comes and goes quickly. While planetary surfaces receive plenty of energy from their suns, they’re also susceptible to annihilation by meteoric impacts or stellar flares. Whereas subsurface life is protected and preserved from such disruptions, and thus more stable.”
Phoebe blinked as she absorbed this information.
Datuk stared past her shoulders and nodded toward the window. “Looks like we’re back in open water.”
Phoebe swung around.
The murkiness had indeed cleared.
Datuk reported from his bank of sensors. “Salinity has dropped back to normal.” A quizzical note entered his voice. “And it keeps dropping. And oxygen levels are also rising.”
Phoebe stared out at the dark ocean. By now, they had dropped below seven thousand meters, well into the hadal zone. “That’s expected at these depths,” she said. “The water in these deep ocean trenches is richer in oxygen due to the lowered salinity and higher pressure.”
“But look at these numbers,” Datuk said.
Phoebe drew her gaze from the seas to his small glowing screen. The DO reading—dissolved oxygen—steadily climbed. It crossed 12 mg/L as she watched—20% higher than expected. Similarly, the salinity had dropped below 29‰. Seawater typically stayed above 33‰, even at these extreme depths.
She shook her head. “Something must be wrong with the external sensors. Those numbers can’t be right.”
Bryan spoke from the pilot’s seat, interrupting them. “What’s that rising under us?”
Phoebe turned around. The others bent to their respective windows. She stared between her knees. The lower curve of the dome allowed her to look straight down.
Gasps rose around her.
She simply choked, strangled by astonishment.
Below—and rising swiftly toward them—the world shimmered and glowed. Traceries of emerald and cerulean fire lanced across the view, shooting off in hundreds of directions. Other areas pulsed through a radiant kaleidoscope.
She knew what she was witnessing.
Bioluminescence.
