Europa

June 2, 2054

Something has gone horribly wrong. We have lost communication with the surface, and we are currently a mile deep in the vast ocean of Europa. Our submarine's integrity has not been compromised and we have a steady supply of food and a good three days of oxygen remaining. However, at this point without communicating with the surface there is no way to know what has happened back up there. Hopefully we will be able to find the cable and the system will pull us up when we are connected, but at this point that is anything but a guarantee.

At the very least if me and Hunt die in this submarine four hundred million miles away from home, we will die knowing that we were not alone in this universe. After giving my entire life to the question I can finally answer with certainty that there is life on Europa. Not only is it present, but it is abundant and advanced beyond what I ever could have imagined. If this submarine is ever pulled back up to the surface, there are samples for me to analyze for proof and to compare to samples from Earth, but I do not need those samples for certain. I've seen life on Europa with my own eyes.

It is hard to describe creatures that have originated on another world away from where language was created. Many of the creatures me and Hunt saw during our dive don't quite fit into the vocabulary we know and understand. However, like the features of Europa's surface these creatures are bright and vibrant.

For the first few hours as we lowered our submarine into the ocean there was nothing, maybe a few specs I used to take samples of but certainly the odds of them being organic was small. Then we saw the first of what Commander Hunt dubbed bubble fish.

We kept using the same word as we peered out in joy, after embracing to celebrate our mission's success. If it were not for the tight parameters of the submersible I would have jumped for joy.

The best way I could describe this "bubble fish" was a giant floating cell. The alien creature had clear skin and you could see some of its organs within, if that were what you would call them. Everything about this creature seems alien, which makes a lot of sense considering that is what it is. Around its round, jelly looking body it had countless long snake-like arms that were also clear. The submarine must have taken dozens of photos of the creature. After seeing it we took a sample of the water. While we were not going to potentially risk this creature's life, the samples of water from the area were sure to hold some sort of microorganism or cells if a creature the size of a golf ball was dwelling in it.

It was after we tried to make the announcement to the crew and send the early data from our expedition up to the crew that we identified there was an issue. The photo data was not going through and there was no response to our radio transmissions.

What was earlier the greatest moment of my life has turned to existential dread. Still, Commander Hunt made the decision to continue the expedition, so I took a deep breath and continued downward. The closer we get to the volcanic floor of the ocean the more life we were expecting to see, especially now that we'd seen something. It was like the opposite of Earth, mainly because life on Earth was based on feeding from energy from the sun. However, under two miles of ice the waters of Europa were frozen cold and pitch black. Our submarine's headlight may have been the first light that was ever lit in those depths.

I'm glad we continued downward because what we discovered below was a sight to die for, and to be honest with the state of the communications it might very well be a sight I will die for. We must have seen dozens of species, each next one more peculiar than the last. Down at the lower depths however many of the species seemed to glow, which leads me to the hypothesis that these creatures do have the ability of sight, although I cannot even begin to guess which appendages are used for sight. That would be research for me to conduct over a period of time with the footage, although while I enjoyed the view of these creatures, I am painfully aware that that is time I very likely do not have.

Even Commander Hunt was speechless as the alien life of Europa swam past our window. There were curves, and spikes, and spines, and beaks, and bumps, some would have elements that vaguely reminded us of Earth creatures, but for the most part they were vastly unique. For all the species we found not one looked remotely like a fish.

It was like watching a deep-sea episode of the nature channel. At what point one of the creatures even absorbed a smaller creature of its own kind.

As I watched from the window, I wondered how many species there were on Europa, if there was a dominant species, what was the largest creature, and what were the main sources of energy. I was so mesmerized that I forgot the question, will I make it out alive, however the more I wondered it began to creep back in the forefront of my mind.