Subdued shadows silently crossed paths with peculiar, mute figures with gleaming, penetrating gazes. Why, at this moment, were these dim lights on the horizon losing their luster with such impact? These beings were trapped in the subjectivity of their collectivity. They were one and thousands, and none of their senses allowed them to discern how far they were from unimaginable things.
As the heat abandoned the orphaned planet, thousands of particles had to come together to survive. In the warmth of the universe, like a mother nurturing her offspring, life sought refuge closest to maternal warmth. It returned to its core. Europa, where it was hypothesized that life could thrive beneath its unyielding layer of ice. What would happen if the sun decided to set for good, beyond the darkness that would render us all blind? It would be a mere detail compared to the cold. The kind of cold that freezes your bones, where no one can find warmth. The earth would transform into an icy garden filled with humanoid sculptures halted in their mundane pursuit of warmth. What a magnificently grotesque and terrifying spectacle it would be.
Yet, life always prevails; adaptability and robustness are qualities one cannot deny. Although the material form may differ, it is alive somewhere, like the dormant Earth in our attics and linens, patiently awaiting the opportune moment to make its victorious return. It transported its new adventure to Europa, the orphaned planet. An irony that would make it smile if it had teeth. Orphaned, it lost its parents, Helios and Gaia, and found refuge in the cold heart of the abandoned child.
It was a new world, similar in its beginning but impossible to know in which direction it was heading. The conditions were so different that it would be unimaginable to paint a human portrait of what the new organisms would be. Beyond their physicality, moral and ethical questions also arise but are strongly linked to the human material form that places an entity in a body. The notions of majority, utilitarianism, ethics, and dualism will take on new forms because they are all intrinsically linked to the individuality of our bodies and the duality of our minds. Something so natural for us to conceive but will be disrupted by the formation of new multi-organisms.
At first, it was like millions of ants, millions of tiny organisms that had to adapt. They swarmed, searching for sources of energy. It was in the depths of the mother that the purest heat source was found. It was in her core that the particles gathered under this dome of ice. Unknowingly enclosed, their limit was not oxygen but a physical barrier that allowed no light to pass and reflected its interior. Like two mirrors facing each other, the reflection tires and only returns to a sad abyss without colour.
Rejected by the solar system, Europa cut through the universe in a straight line, if one can describe it thus, sometimes attracted by galaxies, sometimes pushed by celestial winds. Obsessed with the infinity of the stretching world, the void absorbed matter for entertainment. It was in the cruel struggle of celestial love that Europa passed a few thousand light-years from mortal Earthly Altair, and Princess Vega descended from the sky to form their fleshly bridge that Europa admired from afar. It was the seventh day, and the father had rested and fallen asleep on one of his thrones, yet she should not rest if she wanted to warm her heart.
What would happen if the sun extinguished?
Volcanic activity remained at its core, providing multiple organisms. Mixed with those of the Earth, they quickly evolved and adapted to their environment. Under Darwin's supervision, many died or had to undergo massive mutations to survive. Heat had replaced light and oxygen, but it was so weak that the concept of individuality disappeared entirely at the expense of survival. Like Antarctic penguins huddling in a tight circle to keep warm and forming only a moving black mass, soon, on the immense thick-skinned core, they became intelligent. Without light and under the frozen cold of the dome, it initially absorbed heat and instinctively found ways to produce and recycle its own energy, a self-sufficient mass. A gigantic anthill so massive that it could have sucked all the air in the world in one inhalation if it had a mouth. Because, yes, it would be foolish to think that this new form of life possesses our senses. Thinking to be the only living thing on Earth, communication with the outside seemed pointless.
A crack formed on the planet's surface; another sun must have taken it under its wing, revealing dark lights on the horizon.
Senseless,
Without light, and under the frozen cold of the dome, it initially absorbed the heat. Soon and instinctively, it wondered if other entities had formed around the gigantic core.
It grew until it was ready to store enough energy to recycle and didn't need to return, like a toddler creating its own energy.
As it was alone from the start, it believed it gathered all living beings on it, so no means for the excited senses to connect with others,
No need for senses
A little explanation from Nasa that inspired this creative quest:
What is a rogue planet? "Planets form around stars and then settle into orbit around the giant balls of gas. In recent years, astronomers have discovered rogue planets that roam interstellar space independent of any star. The first rogue planets to be discovered were very large – the size of Jupiter or even bigger".
This is the last post of the contest! I am happy I got to meet my amazing teammate genhayes, feel free to browse in her posts and most recent one onThese Yoga Pillars Offer Guidance and Meaning in Modern Life ! I am very glad I got to meet Sammi who invited me to register and teamed be up! I hope you enjoyed the few scientific and creative stories I wrote!