He abruptly woke up, shaking and sweating. He felt a hand on his arm. Ladli was looking over him with concerned eyes.
“Are you OK?”
“Yes… Just a weird dream…” he replied, panting.
Blobus Viscus
Back in pod 1, Ladli was looking at the video screen.
“So, what do we have?” she asked.
A few miles away, Dedrick was holding a small transparent container.
“It’s hard to tell in this light, but it definitely looks bluer than MA 5-23. One obvious difference, however, is how it changes color when I flash a light on it. It’s hard to describe. I don’t know if you can see that on your screen…” He tried to bring the sample closer to the camera.
“No, not really, but I’m looking forward to seeing it you all get back.”
“I’ll make sure to get several samples. Meanwhile, François found another passage down to a lower cave. You know how he is. The man can’t stay in place. I’m gonna go join him as soon as I’m done here. How’s everyone back home?”
“Dedrick! You shouldn’t leave him by himself. You know the rules.”
“Don’t worry about me, Liu Cherie. I appreciate the concern, but I can manage, I assure you,” said François who could hear the conversation in his in-ear monitor.
“Yeah, well, don’t take unnecessary risks. All is good here otherwise. Tendai is in communication with MF3. He should be done soon. Vera is resting in your pod, Dedrick. She’s fine, just tired. I ordered her to get some rest. Anyway… Glad to hear you guys got some samples to bring back. Looking forward to seeing you both when you get here.”
“Sounds good. I’m gonna go check on François. I’ll call you again in—”
François came bursting out of the tunnel.
“Dedrick! You better come see this!”
He sounded out of breath.
“What is it?”
François didn’t reply.
Dedrick knew his French friend too well. From his expression alone, he could tell it was something big. He hurried himself, following the Frenchman down the dark path.
A couple of minutes later, the two were standing in front of an underground water pond several meters wide. The cave’s ceiling was low, but a few leveled areas around the body of water allowed enough clearance for the two men to stand on the dry floor.
Dedrick was looking around for a clue to what François wanted him to see.
“Ok, what is it?” he finally asked.
“Check this out!”
Grabbing Dedrick’s wrist, he turned off the four flash lights of his suit. As soon as the darkness took over the cave, a greenish light began to glow from deep within the water. The effect seemed almost magical. A few seconds later, the whole pond was shining and glowing from hundreds of small points down below. The light was reflecting everywhere throughout the cave.
Dedrick gasped. “What is that?” he asked, completely baffled, leaning forward. Deep below, he could see small round sources of light. They seem to cover the entire bottom of the deep water-filled depression. He was about to say something when he noticed one of them move.
“Wait, look!! Did you see that?! That one just moved! I just saw it slide. That thing is… alive!!”
“Yep,” simply replied François.
“Holy shit! That’s incredible! What… what are they?” asked Dedrick completely confused.
“No idea, buddy. But I have named them Blobus Viscus.”
“Blobus Viscus? You’re serious?”
“Why not? I found them, I can name them whatever I want. It’s the privilege of the one who makes the discovery.” He grinned. “Check it out. I pulled this one out earlier, and let me tell you, those things are weird.”
He was holding the odd thing in his gloved hand. Dedrick had to admit, it did look strange. Some form of gelatinous blob, about twenty centimeters in diameter and half that in thickness. In François’ hand, the whole thing wiggled like jelly. Slime was running down François’ glove as the creature’s body was slowly flexing. The light green hue of its outer skin was contrasting with the dark-brown organ that could be seen in its entrails through the semi-clear body. Dedrick, trying to make sense of the creature he was looking at, realized one could have compared the “Blobus Viscus” to a compressed silicone breast implant with a small potato inside. He laughed at himself for thinking of such an odd comparison.
“Ok, I think you should put it back in the water, now. It doesn’t look too happy.”
The animal was slowly turning blue, and although they didn’t know for sure, it was fair to assume that just as a fish on Earth, the dear Blobus Viscus could not “breathe” out of the water for long. The creature had been in François hand for several minutes now. Realizing the obvious, the Frenchman leaned down and dropped the “fish” in the pond. As expected, the animal slid back down the wall of the pool and disappeared far below the surface emitting its green light as it mingled with its kind.
“Well. Congrats, François. You just found the first life form on another world! I guess you’re not so useless after all. Ha ha…”