A Voyage through the Micro-Verse to Save Life on Planet Earth

Day 14: 1100 hours... Crisis! I am loath to report that we are stranded, now mired to the gunwales in the bottom ooze – and I have only myself to blame. The accident occurred in the middle of a strategizing meeting with naturalist Lyra Saunders and engine master Barron Wolfe.   They were elucidating me on their well-reasoned plan to modify Cyclops’ fuel production by utilizing the product and by-product of photosynthesis (starches and oxygen, respectively) to fashion a fuel supply that would be emission-free, resulting in no carbon exhaust, making us undetectable to the predators of the pond micro verse.   As proposed, our menagerie of green algae cells, which has provided the bulwark of our oxygen production, could also be utilized as a starch farm.   The starch would be processed to make a clean fuel for the boiler.   Combustion would provide heat to drive the turbine, and the carbon gas waste product channeled back to the alg...

Day 13: 0900 hours... Last night passed, at least for myself, with little sleep.   Slumber was kept at bay by a mind overly occupied, pondering the dilemma we now face of generating steam to drive our engine, but doing so without emitting carbon gasses.   We’ve learned from our observation of single-celled pond life and from our recent run-in with the flatworm, that most aquatic microorganisms have the ability to detect the presence of CO 2 – the universal product of aerobic respiration.   These organisms are adept at locating prey by following a trail of carbon dioxide – an ingenious evolutionary adaption.   Our own engine, which burns oil to generate heat, to in-turn boil water for steam, has the same effect on predators.   I am amazed that we aren’t now digesting in some micro beastie’s belly!   I am faced with the inescapable conclusion that it is only by luck and fast-thinking that we have avoided such a fate.   Surv...

Day 12: 1515 hours... Vorticella never lie … will be etched upon my grave – if this day plays out the way the last hour has been going.   We quickly learned what alarmed the stalked ciliates… a planarian!   This predatory flatworm has caught our scent – probably sensing the carbon dioxide from Cyclops’ engine boiler exhaust. “As a wise man once said: you can’t outrun a planarian,” warns Lyra in an analytical tone that defies the peril we were in. “Oh yeah?   Watch me!” snaps Gyro, then shouts into the voice pipe:   “Barron, give me everything you’ve got!” We have been trying to evade this denizen of the aquatic weed forest for the better part of an hour, but to no avail. We can neither outrun it, nor out-maneuver it through a maze of water plants and bottom detritus.   At every turn the flatworm sways its enormous head from side to side, using its ear-like chemical detectors to track our every move with uncanny precision.   I...

  Day 12: 1015 hours... The celluloid is rolling! We are now several days into the production of a moving picture documentary. When complete, our film will feature the numerous kinds of microscopic organisms found throughout the pond. The recent acquisition of several oxygen-producing algal protists has extended how long we can remain submerged, allowing for lengthier observations… and more time to “get the shot,” as they say. We are currently navigating our way through the dense and occasionally treacherous weedy shallows – treacherous because navigation is more hazardous, and one never knows what micro-denizens may lurk in the shadows of this aquatic jungle. Because of the abundant aquatic plant life for shelter, and plentiful sunlight, this region offers safe haven for a rich diversity of microorganisms.   Again and again we see, whilst filming, the relationship between hunter organisms – and organisms that graze. The hunters, or predators, capture and ...