[ WP ] When we finally arrived on a new planet with life , we found that evolution was occurring exactly as it had on Earth .

Jonas Angström was the Captain of this ship and he commandeered it with the same confidence as did Captain Maria Curie did before him. Before her was Captain Henri Becquerel and before him came Captain Alessandro Volta, Captain Jean-Baptiste Biot, Captain Peter Debye and Captain Heinrich Hertz. And like them he never thought he would have to make any though decisions. Everything was already settled before the ship left earth. The course was preset, every eventuality was thought off in advance. They only had to react according to plan and keep the ship moving and everything else would fall into place. 
 
 This ship was the home of his people for generations. Tens of thousands of men and women lived here, who saw neither Earth nor their destination, who were born here, walked in this corridors, raised kids, grew old and died. But now they have finally arrived. He remembered the day when they saw the first clear picture of their destination, nothing more than an almost insignificant blue dot in the empty vastness of space, how it slowly grew bigger and bigger. 
 
 And now this… 
 
 “ Good morning, Captain! ” 
 
 Doctor Emily Blackwell looked a bit tired as she greeted the captain as he arrived in the meeting room.. 
 
 “ Doctor! How are you? ” Angström nodded to her and took his seat at the table. Right now there were only the two of them in the room. 
 
 “ I read your report, Doctor, ” Angström began, “ and I don ’ t think I understood it completely. 
 
 The doctor nodded and run her hand through her short hair. “ Yes, I know, I got carried away a bit. First things first: We actually found life on our new home planet. ” 
 
 “ We already knew that for generations. That is not exactly breaking news. ” 
 
 “ Well, yes, we knew life exited in one form or the other. The spectral lines of the atmosphere were a sure give away. ” The doctor smiled and something in Angström stirred a bit. 
 
 “ But now we have some actual living material from the planet, collected by one of our drones. The results are a bit troubling to say the least. ” 
 
 “ Is it too alien for us to understand? ” 
 
 “ No, Captain, quite the opposite. It is too familiar. The same amino acids, the same double helix… At first I thought we contaminated the samples. We were extra careful with the next probe we sent, but the results were the same. It ’ s without doubt. Life on this planet evolved exactly the same way as it did in earth. ” 
 
 Captain Angtröm leaned back in his chair. “ This seems absurd. Is that even possible? ” 
 
 “ Disregarding the fact that we have actual prove that it happened? Yes, it is possible. This planet is almost identical to Old Earth. It has the same gravitation, the same composition of gases in its atmosphere, the same temperature range and so on. Up to a point it makes sense that life on this planet evolved in a similar way. It has to follow the same rules of biochemistry for example. There are just so many ways ‘ life can be done ’. ” 
 
 “ Alright, I think I understand the idea, ” Captain Angström said slowly, “ But what is the real issue? ” 
 
 “ The real issue is that it is *too* similar. The differences we encountered so far seem to be almost superficial. There are feathered creatures we would call birds, scaled things in the ocean that look just like fish, trees and grass on the land and mammals of different sizes. ” 
 
 “ But that ’ s pretty exciting news, Doctor! It ’ s just like back on Earth. People will be ecstatic! ” 
 
 “ Yes, Captain. But there are also bacteria and viruses and moulds and other nasty stuff. I have already identified a bacterium that is almost identical to our own E. Coli bacteria. I am not sure if this strain is potentially harmful to us, but… There is a complete biosphere down there and it is compatible to our own. Simple statistics tells us, Captain, that *something* down there will be dangerous. Something will make us sick. If we go ahead with our plan to unload the ship and found our colony, we might simply perish by an unknown disease. It could be a variation of the common cold our body has no antibodies against. It could be Ebola. It could be something completely new. We simply don ’ t know. ” 
 
 “ Oh. ” Captain Angström slowly sat back in his chair. “ I think I understand know. What do you suggest? ” 
 
 Doctor Blackwell swallowed before she continued. “ One thing we have going for us is that we stay on board for a few generations if we have to. ” 
 
 Angström frowned. “ That ’ s not really an option. The people won ’ t like it. They want to claim what they see as their birth right. ” 
 
 “ Indeed, but we can ’ t simply touch down and hope for the best. What we could do - and I hate to say it - is to expose parts of our people to planets biosphere under control conditions. ” Her voice faltered as she encountered Angström ’ s stare. 
 
 “ Do I understand that correctly? ” he said. “ You want put them on the planet and see if they survive? Like guinea pigs in a reverse quarantine? ” 
 
 “ We already have volunteers, ” the Doctor said meekly, “ A lot of volunteers. ” 
 
 “ News travel fast on this ship, it seems. ” 
 
 The doctor shrugged. “ I don ’ t like the idea either. But the people are already restless with the goal so close. There are other suggestions, more radical in their approach. I heard your first officer has some *wonderful* ideas on his own. ” 
 
 “ Oh, what did Higgs suggest this time? ” 
 
 “ He wants to nuke everything from orbit. Just to be sure. ” 

