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Chapter 3

It was Matt's free weekend and he was just preparing his breakfast when he noticed that he still didn't have any coffee. He glanced at his space suit, hanging in the cabinet next to the airlock, thinking about going to the store straight away, but he decided against it and finished his breakfast first. The UHSE had released some more reports from the Lab for Extraterrestrial Analysis and he was eager to read them. He hastily poured some water on his fruit mix to hydrate it and then sat down with the bowl in one hand and his phone in the other.

There were two new reports on the matter, one from 3 years ago and one from 2 years ago. Apparently, there were only two scientists working in the lab and it was based on Madagascar. He wondered why it was there of all places, but then he realized that it made a lot of sense. There were lots of exotic animal species on Madagascar that only lived there, so it was the perfect place to study extraterrestrial life. And in addition, if anything was ever contagious or dangerous, it could be easily confined to the island without becoming a danger to the planet. He started reading the first report.

UHSE Analysis Report #3623A5 - 2129.12.6

We have made some mentionable progress in the matter of the analysis of the fungal samples taken from the planet known as Fungus A in the Alpha Centauri System. As we have described before, these mushrooms are very similar to the ones we have here on earth, except their size. The size of these mushrooms can be attributed in part to the difference in gravity on this planet, which is 7,84 m/s², so about 80% of earths gravity. This does not explain the massive difference in size though, as the sample we have is almost half a meter high, and it appears to be a very small one in comparison to the ones on the pictures the probe took. Another explanation if the high radiation on Fungus A, as it's magnetic field is not quite as strong as that of the earth, so we tested this theory. We took a regular mushroom from earth and exposed it to these conditions, high radiation levels and slightly decreased gravity, and we got similar results, our terrestrial mushrooms got to almost the same size as our extraterrestrial sample, and it only stopped growing because it lacked nutrients and the mycelium to support it. As Fungus A is almost completely covered with these mushrooms, it is very likely that the whole planet has a huge network of mycelium growing underneath the surface, supplying the nutrients. It would be very interesting to study this network up close, as the transport of nutrients has to be very efficient in order to supply a whole planet. With this sort of support, new mushrooms can most likely grow up to huge sizes very quickly.

Matt was absolutely fascinated by these mushrooms. The probe brought back the smallest whole mushroom it could find, and it was half a meter tall! How big were the fully grown ones, he wondered. Probably as large as a house! Hell, you could probably even live inside of them if you wanted. He scrolled down and there was actually one of the pictures the probe had taken before it landed. It was a magnificent view. The whole area was covered in massive mushrooms and there was a small hill in the background, only visible by the elevated caps of them. They had bright green caps, and some of the taller ones stuck out of the massive forest of mushrooms, revealing tiny green spots on the stems. At the base of the hill, he could make out what looked like a small river of green liquid. Flowing down through the forest.

Matt was amazed by the picture and wanted to continue reading the next report, but he was stopped by a big yawn, and realized that he had to go to the store to get some supplies before it closed up. It was the weekend after all, and the stores closed early, especially this far out. He quickly finished his fruit mix and got into his space suit. He made sure the oxygen capacity was maxed out, because it was quite far to the store and he didn't have much fuel left in his buggy. He wanted to keep it for emergencies, so he walked.

About an hour later, he arrived at a crossing with 2 big signs on either side. One of them reading "Nova Interplanetary Supplies - General Store" and the other one "Spaceman's Refugee" which was a café, bar and restaurant. There were also some habitation domes similar to his own, though he didn't have a hydroponic dome, which most of these ones had. He turned left towards the general store and once inside, he was greeted by the owner.