"The Snows of Ganymede," VI.
Reproduce and accelerate the "'...physicochemical reactions...'" (p. 182) that generated life and you will generate life.
"'Oparin had sketched that out as far back as 1930 or so.'" (ibid.)
Ninety years ago. So is anyone in our timeline anywhere close to doing that yet? In the Psychotechnic History, only "'...microscopic organisms have been made yet...'" (ibid.) but that suffices for terraforming.
The Planetary Engineer, Yuan, plans rapidly multiplying unicellular organisms that will live on Ganymede as it is while metabolically removing poisons and releasing oxygen. Such organisms are preferable to animals that would need heat-producing cells to prevent them from freezing. The Order can make bacteria and protozoa for any conditions that allow life and it seems that Ganymede does fall within the necessary temperature range.
2 comments:
Kaor, Paul!
I like that idea, terraforming Ganymede. But, I have to wonder if the existence of both a thick ice mantle and a liquid ocean underneath that makes it to terraform that moon of Jupiter. But, I don't think Anderson knew about that when he wrote the magazine version of THE SNOWS OF GANYMEDE in 1954. Which means, incidentally, that this story belongs to Anderson's early phase as a writer.
Ad astra! Sean
Drat, I intended to write "practical" after "makes it" in the seconds sentence of my of my comment above. But did not. Including "practical" clarifies what I meant.
Sean
Post a Comment