The Short Ascension of Europa

Chapter 1 The Dawn
 

The Rock
 
 
 

Events in history can have funny consequences. Regardless how carefully one plans their actions, there are always unforeseen effects that can arise. Sometimes these take place immediately. Other times it can take centuries, if not thousands of years, before these effects become evident. Then there are factors such as the unknown, that which Homo Sapiens called the "X factor". Then there are accidents, which seem to come out of no where for no explainable reason, called again by the Sapiens as "Murphy’s Law". As it was with Sapiens, so it was with their powerful evolutionary successor Spiritous Sanctus Sapiens.

It was the SSS Explorer Sarah who was in charge of creating life on Earth. Having mixed the necessary ingredients of "Sarah’s Cocktail", the primordial soup was almost ready. Two final things, though, were required. One was ice. The other was a gentle touch by Sarah. The latter was the easy part; the former meant a little hard work. Out in the young solar system SSS Explorer teams gathered ice. After doing their calculations, the right amount of space ice was thus hurled into "Sarah’s Cocktail".

Finally a comet was added to the ice whereupon its impact on the Earth was the most spectacular event anyone had ever seen.  Furthermore, particles of the comet, not to mention rocks & primordial soup exploded up into the atmosphere. For the first time on Earth, rain began to fall upon its surface. In a few cases, bits of ice, rock & primordial soup actually reached the edge of space. All but one, however, were grabbed by the Earth’s gravity & eventually brought back to the surface. Only one large piece escaped into space & headed off towards the outer reaches of the solar system.

Although Sarah & the others were aware that one chunk of the Earth had escaped, they knew it meant nothing in the overall scheme of things. The loss was well within their calculations & there were far better things to do than chase after it. That was besides the fact that in doing so, without any coordination with the SSS Guardians, meant danger could be lurking out there. The Luciferins were still around & had shown on several occasions that they still had plenty of fight left in them. Given any opportunity, especially one like now, & they were bound to launch an ambush. Sarah thought, & rightly so, that the risks far outweighed the benefits.

So the Rock was left to drift in space to be forgotten by everyone. For centuries it drifted past Mars & then through the Asteroid Belt. Then, as it approached Jupiter, the terrific gravity of the gas giant began to pull it into orbit. As Jupiter had with numerous other asteroids & rocks, this particular rock began to orbit the giant planet. It would thus appear that Jupiter had gained a new moon, albeit one of its smallest.

For thousands of years the Rock from Earth orbited peacefully around Jupiter. As Sarah gave her cocktail the touch of life, the frozen primordial soup that formed part of the Rock, remained dormant. It would appear that it would remain that way forever frozen in time. Even worse was what came next. Passing too close to Europa one day, the moon’s gravity, albeit slight, was enough to change its trajectory. Two hundred years later, the Rock went smashing into Europa’s icy surface.

The impact of the Rock on Europa, however, did not see the destruction of either body. Instead the Rock remained intact. By far the more important aspect was that the frozen primordial soup stayed with the Rock. Thousands of years would go by as the Rock slowly worked its way down through the icecap surface . Whilst, all this time, it got closer & closer to Europa’s liquid oceans of water. Further deeper was Europa’s rocky surface. And finally in the centre of the moon was its molten core.

In every respect Europa was unique. No other body in the solar system came close. In fact only a handful of other bodies in the galaxy was like it. Although by far too distant from the sun to warm Europa so that it could be a miniature Earth, Jupiter instead looked after its sibling. The power in the gas giant’s magnetic belts was horrific. Io, for example, was one gigantic volcanic factory, made so due to Jupiter. Other moons were similarly effected, but on Europa the conditions were perfect.

While Jupiter was powerful enough to melt the rocky core of Europa, other factors ensured that it was no Io. The water ensured that the rocky core remained cool whilst the heat generated by the molten lava kept the water from freezing. At the same time, the coldness of space was enough to freeze the water creating a thick icecap that covered the entire surface. This icecap & the liquid oceans acted as a radiation screen blocking out much of the radiation emitted by Jupiter. Only enough of Jupiter’s power was allowed through to keep Europa’s core heated at the right level.

And in this environment the Rock found itself. Finally reaching the liquid oceans of Europa, it fell to the rocky surface in minutes. The change in travel time was amazing. It took 250 000 years to work its way through the icecap. The journey to reach the rocky surface took a mere 25 minutes. As it went on its journey, the warm water began to melt away the ice that had originally come from the comet that had crashed into the Earth. In doing so the frozen primordial soup began to melt as well.

As the Rock settled on the warm surface, it was fortunate enough to settle near one of the many volcanic vents that covered the rocky surface of Europa. It was an eerie scene. Nothing else existed on the surface save for rocky formations & the volcanic vents. Although no light came from above, in fact it was pitch black, the surface was another story. From the vents a red light constantly glowed, which inturn lit much of the surface. It was like being in a dark room when developing film. One could see, but long black shadows were cast everywhere.

The Rock, by this stage, had more or less melted away. Although the solid matter remained, the comet’s ice had already dissolved. Now the primordial soup likewise dissolved & began to mix with Europa’s  water. This, though, was most definitely needed. Just as water was added to Sarah’s Cocktail prior to her gentle touch, so too such a step was needed before life could commence on Europa. Thus, as the mixture approached that which was necessary, Jupiter’s radiation stepped in replacing Sarah’s touch. As on Earth thousands of years before, the elements in the cocktail formed the first very primitive life form on Europa. In fact it was so primitive, unless you knew what you were looking for, you would not even know that it was alive.
 
 
 

First Steps
 
 
 

Unlike those on Earth, the conditions on Europa were next to perfect for life. It is thus somewhat of a mystery as to why evolution chose Earth to be the birthplace of many marvellous life forms, whilst Europa remained stagnate for much of its existence. It is even more so strange when one considers the early expansion of life upon the watery moon. Thanks to Europa’s water, the first life form quickly spread through the oceans. Carried on by the currents & tides, within a few years, Europa was teeming with life.

Food, for this life form, was in abundance. Thanks to the volcanic process on Europa, plenty of minerals filled the water ensuring a constant supply. Not longer afterwards, due to several factors, other life forms, albeit still very primitive, began to evolve from the first. Many of the new species evolved due to the type of mineral intake that they fed upon, whilst others evolved due to the environment that they lived in. Chief among these influences were the volcanic vents & the radiation coming from Jupiter.

Millions of years, however, would go by before the first single cell organisms would evolve. In this case, Europa had beaten Earth in the evolution of things. Yet at this point, evolution on Europa slowed down immensely. Whether it was because of the limited & closed environment on Europa, no one is certain, but as things went slow on Europa, Earth changed dramatically from a rather hazardous planet to one, where the environment had significantly altered, that could support water & air breathers. As primitive fish began to evolve on Earth, & primitive land creatures evolved to live on the land, Europa could only boast advanced forms of bacteria.

Yet it would be this bacteria that would become the ancestors of millions of creatures in the future. Having said that, the fossil records from Europa are stunning. From the oldest available, through until recent times, the parallel development of water life on Europa more or less matched that of Earth. Being of the same primordial soup, although there is variation in individual species, significant similarities exist even at the DNA level. What passes as an advanced bacteria on Europa is essentially the same as that on Earth.

Eventually, of course, life on Europa did become more advanced. The first life forms, that were part of this process, were multi-celled organisms not much different from their ancestors. But soon primitive vegetation began to grow. This was mostly centred around the location of the volcanic vents, but some of this vegetation was also water borne. But as before, evolution took a slow path. Even variation between these two main specie groups was limited at first. Hundreds of millions of years would go by before even 100 different species could be identified.

By the time the first Homo Luminous was born, Europa still only knew what was essentially sea  weed, plankton & bacteria. By now, however, the outside world knew of the life forms on the moon. Major steps had been taken by the United Federation of Planets (UFP) to ensure that the moon’s environment was  not disturbed. The Europa Park forbad anyone, except for a few carefully selected United Planetary Expeditions (UPX) personnel, entry to the moon. Needless to say, it was rather difficult to get to Europa’s oceans & life forms in the first place.

Whether such contact with the outside world had any effect on the Europan life forms is unknown. Backing this position up; there was no immediate sign of influence. But as Homo Intelligens first stepped foot on Earth, the first true life form, other than vegetation, was discovered on Europa. Essentially it was a tiny fish. It was no more than 10mm long. But it had all the basics for survival including primitive gills, internal organs, & above all eyes. How much it could see was unknown. Amazingly, not long afterwards, other primitive fish were discovered, & unlike the first one which ate vegetation, some of these new fish preyed off the others.

Again thousands of years would go by as more & more fish evolved. Unlike the first generation, however, fish now evolved from fish. Although still limited in overall individual species, some had gown to well over 2 metres in length. These larger species were far more advanced as well. The most important aspect was the brain. This had clearly grown in size &, although far from anything approaching intelligence, some were considered "smart".

As with previously life forms, there was another aspect to the fish. Regardless of the species, UPX personnel were always amazed to discover that, for each Europan specie that they came across, they were able to find an equivalent specie on Earth: either from the past or in the (then) present. It was even at one point discussed whether an equivalent Earth specie could mate with its Europan counterpart.  A number of factors, however, eventually ruled this out. Not only was the gravity dramatically different between Earth & Europa, but there was always the fear of cross-contamination between species & environments. Due to previous disasters with similar experiments, the UFP had introduced strict laws governing any such action: in fact it was strictly illegal.
 
 
 

The Next Step
 
 
 

Ten million years would go by before anything substantially new would evolve on Europa. In that time the galaxy around the moon changed dramatically. The UFP would fall apart into several smaller societies. Sapiens would go into self isolation on the other side of the galaxy. Homo Spiritous & Homo Fontusme would leave to explore the universe or go Beyond the Vale. Only Homo Apparitio would remain in familiar space to oversee the younger species.

All these changes, however, had little effect on Europa other than the fact that UPX no longer studied the moon. Only on the rare occasion would a few Apparitio would drop by to ensure that all was well. As time went on, though, these visits became rarer & rarer.  Events elsewhere would grab the attention of Apparitio, especially on Earth, as various new sentient species would be born only to fail in one way or other. Some did so in spectacular fashion & attempts by Apparitio to intervene came far too late.

By the time Canine Superus blew everyone, including themselves, up in a nuclear war on Earth, Europa decided to begin to diversify life a bit more. Following along similar evolutionary lines as on Earth,  a new specie was born on Europa. Although at first sight it appeared insignificant, the evolution of Hippocampus was extremely important in the evolutionary process. This small aquatic life form once again resembled that same one on Earth. Known as the sea horse, the Europan one was much smaller & primitive than its cousins on Earth. But like on Earth, it would evolve into a creature much more advanced.

In what appeared to be an act of prophecy,  the Hippocampus group of species on Earth survived the nuclear war fought between Canine Superus, Hylo Sapiens & Delphis Mordere Terra. Like their primitive Europan counterparts, Hippocampus on Earth depended 100% on the oceans. These, thankfully, acted as a shield against the radiation caused by the nuclear war, but even here the environment had been extensively damaged. In fact it would take 250 million years before the Earth had repaired itself enough for  Hippocampus Erectus Superus to evolve. Alas this radioactive damage would also, after 2 million years, eventually wipe out this advanced sentient specie by way of irreversible gene contamination.

But this was not to be the case for Hippocampus on Europa. Two things worked in their favour. The first was the simple fact that Europa would never experience the horrors of nuclear war. The second was the very nature of Europa’s environment. Although the radiation from Jupiter was as powerful as ever, the icecap filtered out much of it. The other aspect, common to all of Europa’s life forms, was an immunity to radiation: at least to the levels that were considered normal on Europa. Any corporeal human specie, however, who went to Europa without protection from radiation would shortly thereafter die from radiation poisoning. Even the non-corporeal Apparitio had to take caution when visiting the water moon, for prolonged periods exposed to the radiation there would also mean death.

Another factor for survival on Europa came from Earth. As it was with the humans & the UFP, so too Hippocampus Erectus Superus took it upon themselves to look after Europa. Once again Europa became a planetary park. Mirroring the UFP, but even more so, Hippocampus Erectus Superus made enormous efforts in, not only studying the water moon, but ensuring that life there would continue undisturbed. What was even more of a motivation than anything was that fact that Hippocampus Erectus Superus discovered related species on Europa. Not only that, but there was the fascination with a specie that was their ancestor which had died millions of years ago on Earth, but was alive & well on Europa.

Hippocampus Erectus Superus, however, was to have more of an impact on their Europan cousins than anyone else. Being of the same specie group more than anything governed the actions in the final years of their existence. As mentioned, gene contamination from radiation eventually made Hippocampus Erectus Superus extinct. But it did not come suddenly after 2 million years. In fact the specie knew for thousands of years that one day they would die out. All their technology & knowledge alas could not stop their fate. But their memory would live on with the Europans. Not only were they essentially the same specie, but various records were hidden on the moon so that the Europans would get a helping hand when they had developed enough to discover them. Hopefully, the knowledge & wisdom that Hippocampus Erectus Superus had, would ensure the survival of their Europan counterparts, when they eventually evolved.

This, however, was all meaningless to the current Europans. In fact Hippocampus on Europa was far from being the top specie. This trophy was still owned by the predator fish that patrolled constantly the oceans on Europa forever looking for the next meal. But by the very nature of the obscure Hippocampus, they were virtually ignored by these predators. Only a few of the smaller species of predators bothered with the Hippocampus, & Hippocampus were equipped well enough to avoid being eaten. Being highly manoeuvrable, they could dart out of harms way & then hide in the vegetation or in rocky crevasses. It was, thus, their natural habitat, for Hippocampus, to remain around the ground surface of Europa (as against the Europan icecap surface high above): a ground surface that was very different from the one prior to life.
 
 
 

The Evolution of Hippocampus
 
 
 

Even though Hippocampus was a distinct development in the evolutionary scheme of things, once again Europa halted the development of any new species. As Earth gave birth to a few more sentient species, Europa remained stagnate. The only development during this period was a handful of evolved successors to species already present, but nothing in comparison to Earth.

Earth, during this period, was to be as active as ever.  First, the planet was invaded for a short time by the Obolong, who killed off the indigenous Raptus Intellectus. They, inturn, were exterminated by a vengeful coalition led by Apparitio, which included Homo Spiritous, Fontusme & SSS. Following this, the Earth took 100 million years before Canis Sapiens & Felis Superus evolved. Alas these two sentient species were soon mortal enemies &, after a long series of wars, annihilated each other in a nuclear war. Finally, it appeared that the Earth was fed up with trying out variations of sentient species, & went back to producing humans.

It was around the same time, at the birth of Homo Pan Intelligibilis, when evolution got back into gear on Europa. Within 250 000 years a whole range of new & improved species popped up on the water moon. Of course the most of important of these were of the Hippocampus group. As each new successor came along, changes & improvements were included in each new step. By the time of Homo Terra Omega came onto the scene on Earth, the most important Hippocampus to date evolved on Europa.

Hippocampus Europa Erectus was, by now, expected. Pan Intelligibilis who, as previously, had declared Europa a Park, had more or less predicted its arrival. It shared many of the features of previous Hippocampus, but had distinct differences. There were three such important changes, but possibly the development of arms & hands was the leading one. Furthermore, the fact that Europa Erectus had also developed the "opposite thumb grip" did not go unnoticed either.

Another important development were two stubs that could be used as legs. Unlike humanoids, however, Europa Erectus stood on a tripod arrangement. The two stubs/legs formed the front two supports when standing, whilst the tail acted as the rear support. It was a very effective arrangement that required almost no energy. It also allowed Europa Erectus the ability for rapid movement if required & likewise ensured that the individual was always aware of its surroundings. Something very necessary on Europa.

The final major developed was the brain. In order to control, what was now a very advanced life form, clearly a brain was required to be equal to the task. Although still not on a par with even Pan Intelligibilis, it was nevertheless advanced enough to be considered intelligent & semi-sentient: the first ever creature from Europa to be so. Some considered it to thus be the equivalent to Homo Neo-Neanderthal. And there was much truth in the comparison.

Although much smaller than Neo-Neanderthal, Europa Erectus, standing at a little over one metre, nonetheless shared similar abilities as its primitive human equivalent. Both had the capability to produce crude tools & weapons: the spear being the favourite of both. Both took a liking to living in caves. In doing so, both species gained some protection from the predators that roamed the planets of each respective specie. Linked to this, neither were yet on the top of the food chain, but both were getting close as both learnt that protection was in numbers & organisation.

It was probably this last aspect that ensured the survival of Europa Erectus. Unlike their ancestors, Europa Erectus had to make a compromise for the development of arms & legs. It no longer had the manoeuvrability that other Hippocampus enjoyed. They were also much bigger than most other Hippocampus & thus a tempting meal for any large predator; of which there were several.  But Europa Erectus soon discovered that spears could ward off such monsters. Not long after, it was further discovered that entire groups of Europa Erectus, all armed with spears, was almost invincible. Soon small phalanx of spears would become a common sight amongst the forests of seaweed & sea trees that covered the Europan ocean beds.

And that was the other thing. There were more than enough resources on Europa to supply spears for the needs of Europa Erectus. As stated, entire forests of sea trees existed on the moon that surrounded the volcanic vents. As one moved out from the vents, the sea trees made way for sea weed. Only on the fringes between vents was there any hint of the original Europan environment. Coral too had grown in abundance. All these resources would be used for the needs of the Europa Erectus. The trees, for example, provide the shaft of a spear; the coral would provide the deadly sharp tip; whilst the sea weed would substitute the twine that held the weapon together.

Yet, as had always been the case on Europa, once again evolution stopped for a long period with Europa Erectus. Having developed this marvellous creature, Europa became stagnate as it had on all previous occasions. This too was reflected in the development of Europa Erectus itself. Having learnt how to make tools & weapons, to live in groups & use caves for dwellings, no further societal development took place. Again scientists compared Europa Erectus with Neo-Neanderthal. And again theories were soon abound as to what would happen next.

Unfortunately, or so it seemed, some feared that there may not be a next step. By now, Earth had to be evacuated as the Sun had made conditions there far too harsh for life to survive. This was regardless of the numerous attempts at prolonging the inevitable. For many it was a sad conclusion for a planet that had given so much to the galaxy & universe. But that was only the beginning. Soon the Sun would greatly expand as it became a red giant. In doing so the Earth would be consumed in flames. As for what would happen to Europa, no one knew.

Still the recently formed Union of Planets (UP), which witnessed a uniting of three human species (Homo Pan Intelligibilis, Homo Terra Omega & the very ancient Homo Apparitio), ensured that life from Earth would continue. Before the end, "samples" of every known specie had been taken from Earth & deposited on several worlds within UP territory. The planet Locus, although having been inhabited for 5 billion years, still had much time left & so was a main recipient of Earth’s refugees. But more importantly for Europa, UP would do everything in its power to ensure that the water moon would survive for as long as possible. If everything went as hoped, that would mean at least another 100 million years.
 

This creative work is the property of David Mark Atwell.
Enjoy!
You must gain the author's permission prior to any reproduction by any technology currently available now or any new technology at any future date. That also includes those damned thieves the Buckhoo. (Why they remain in the UFP I'll never know).
Remember this is copyright protected!

© 1997, 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002 dmatwell@altavista.com