Book 5: Chapter 18: Explorations
Icarus
July 2321
Wormhole network
We were continuing our survey of the Hub Zero systems and had just transited yet another wormhole. The system at the other end was a large one. So far, we’d identified fourteen planets, two of which were in the habitable zone. By this point, we weren’t bothering with stealth or even caution. The singular lack of any activity other than us was both reassuring and disturbing.
But there was something odd about the fourth and fifth planets, the ones in the habitable zone. The color was … well, purple-ish. That couldn’t be right.
The why became obvious, though, when we got close enough to be able to observe the fourth planet as a disk. It looked purple because it was, well, purple.
“I’ve never seen anything like that,” I said. “It’s beautiful, but what’s causing it?”
Dae looked up from the video window he’d been watching closely. “Believe it or not, it’s the plant life. Everything is purple instead of green. Here, take a look.” He swiveled the window around to show a low aerial view from a survey drone. Sure enough, all the vegetation was resplendent in various shades of purple, from a deep royal hue all the way up to something that was almost fuchsia.
“It’s a retinal-based photosynthetic system,” Dae continued. “I looked it up. It’s an alternative to chlorophyll. Supposed to be more efficient. It uses green light, so it reflects away the blue and red. Exactly the opposite of chlorophyll.”