Extremophiles
Feb. 24th, 2023 02:13 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmith... have formed a complex ecosystem inside a flooded uranium mine.
I am delighted to see this, and heartily encourage space programs to study it. You're looking at one example of the second-most-common type of ecosystem in most galaxies. The most common has only the simplest lifeforms. This is a step up from that. They're all still tiny individuals, but they are more sophisticated, some of them can form colonies, and there are many different types with complex relationships. This reeking, slimy mess is a sign of vigorous life and something to be watched for with great enthusiasm while exploring other worlds.
Also, you can plop your space probes down there and see how long they last. That's an important experiment. If you want to study life on alien worlds, your equipment has to stand up to what science fiction writers like to call "rigorous chemical conditions." In this case, slime, acid, and radiation make a hostile environment for human-typical technology developed for human-comfortable conditions. Figure out how to deal with it, because you're going to need that information.
Another useful function: take pictures and descriptions of this setting, and splatter them around every time people talk about nuclear technology as any kind of a good idea. Because this is the kind of ecosystem that supports. Only hardcore nerds find this at all appealing, and hell, even I wouldn't want to live in it.
I am delighted to see this, and heartily encourage space programs to study it. You're looking at one example of the second-most-common type of ecosystem in most galaxies. The most common has only the simplest lifeforms. This is a step up from that. They're all still tiny individuals, but they are more sophisticated, some of them can form colonies, and there are many different types with complex relationships. This reeking, slimy mess is a sign of vigorous life and something to be watched for with great enthusiasm while exploring other worlds.
Also, you can plop your space probes down there and see how long they last. That's an important experiment. If you want to study life on alien worlds, your equipment has to stand up to what science fiction writers like to call "rigorous chemical conditions." In this case, slime, acid, and radiation make a hostile environment for human-typical technology developed for human-comfortable conditions. Figure out how to deal with it, because you're going to need that information.
Another useful function: take pictures and descriptions of this setting, and splatter them around every time people talk about nuclear technology as any kind of a good idea. Because this is the kind of ecosystem that supports. Only hardcore nerds find this at all appealing, and hell, even I wouldn't want to live in it.
