Wandering Meteor-Chapter 130: Light and Dark Reactions

Constant Star Lu Chen was very interested in the history of the Light Synthesis People and sought to understand it immediately.

He ordered the Wandering to dock all seven Cosmic Battleships at Earth’s Space Port, then arranged for the scientific teams of Earth Civilization to start contacting the Light Synthesis People.

There were three main purposes for the contact.

First was to engage in in-depth exchanges and negotiations with these Light Synthesis People.

Second was to study the life status of the Light Synthesis People, to understand the necessary conditions for their survival.

Third was to learn about the history of the Light Synthesis People and their place of origin, in order to fully assess whether they could become partners in a life community.

It was only after understanding that it became known; originally, the Light Synthesis People came from an ordinary planet, without Intention. This planet was self-proclaimed by the Light Synthesis People as the Light Synthesis Star.

The ecological environment of the Light Synthesis Star was very special. Over its long history of formation, it absorbed a large amount of carbon and oxygen. These two elements almost constituted fifty percent of the Light Synthesis Star’s mass. As a result, the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere of the Light Synthesis Star reached as high as sixty percent.

The earliest life on the Light Synthesis Star emerged 1.3 billion years ago, slowly evolving complex cellular life forms in the oceans.

Some of these life forms became what is known as sea grass in the ocean, while others turned into marine creatures.

And there were some that were more unique; affected by the environment of the shallower coasts, slowly plant cells and animal cells combined to form an initial life form with Plant and Animal Dual Attribute.

Then, another two billion years passed.

The oceans on the Light Synthesis Star gradually evaporated, and life forms in shallower coastal areas were the first to evolve again due to environmental influences.

They gradually left the water and became terrestrial creatures. However, due to the high concentration of carbon dioxide in the air, they had to retain the plant’s instinct of photosynthesis while possessing the cognitive abilities of animals.

This way, over a nearly one hundred million years of evolution.

This type of photosynthetic life form slowly evolved into several different species according to the environment.

Because they were able to supplement their bodily energy through photosynthetic reactions and didn’t need to eat, the survival pressure was not as severe as other animals.

However, for the same reason, many photosynthetic life forms began to be hunted as food by other animals, becoming endangered.

At this time, one type of photosynthetic life form, which had the highest intelligence, gathered all photosynthetic life forms together, using the power of the collective to protect themselves, thus avoiding many disasters and allowing the species to continue.

These photosynthetic life forms were the initial ancestors of the Light Synthesis People.

Due to the Light Synthesis People’s unique evolutionary history, and because they didn’t need to hustle and compete for food, they developed a rather amicable nature—I do not offend those who do not offend me.

Thus, ever since the Light Synthesis People formed primitive societies, up until they became a Second-level Civilization, they didn’t experience division. Even though rulers changed several times throughout history, the social structure always maintained very high cohesion.

However, also due to the lack of great survival pressure, the Light Synthesis People’s pursuit of knowledge advanced very slowly.

It took them thirty thousand years to become a First-level Civilization, and another fifty thousand years to become a Second-level Civilization.

......

After hearing the history of the Light Synthesis People, Lu Chen did not rush to any conclusions.

He was still waiting for the research from the biologists, to combine all the information before making a judgment.

Biologists of Earth Civilization quickly discovered through research that these Light Synthesis People—bearing one head, four arms, and two legs—were indeed very peculiar. They were smaller in stature compared to Earth People, typically around 1.6 meters tall, with light green skin that was quite tough.

Aside from their four arms and skin color, the other structures of the Light Synthesis People were very similar to humans.

They too had a pair of eyes, a pair of ears, and a rectangular nose.

As they didn’t need to eat, they did not evolve mouths. The Light Synthesis People’s method of communication was to directly exchange brain waves; their brains functioned as complex biological wave transceivers.

At the same time, unlike humans, the Light Synthesis People didn’t have hair on their heads, but instead had wavy, grass-like structures. The younger the Light Synthesis Person, the fresher and more vibrant the green grass atop their head; conversely, the older the Light Synthesis Person, the duller and more withered it appeared.

One could say that the green grass represents the lifespan of the Light Synthesis People.

The Light Synthesis People had incredibly long lifespans, usually living around two thousand years if no accidents occurred.

After researching, Earth Civilization’s biologists discovered that this was because the Light Synthesis People did not need to eat; there was no influx of waste into the body affecting health. In addition, the genes of the Light Synthesis People were very robust, capable of surviving in a vessel for about a week on their own.

However, the Light Synthesis People had a drawback.

That was their weak reproductive capability, a consequence of their Plant and Animal Dual Attribute. Precisely because of their poor reproduction, the population of the Light Synthesis Civilization never grew large, peaking at 1.2 billion and later gradually decreasing to one billion, subsequently entering an era of escape.

Based on these basic conditions of the Light Synthesis People.

Earth Civilization deduced that the gravity of the Light Synthesis Star must be slightly lesser than that of Earth, which later was also proven true. The essential conditions necessary for the survival of the Light Synthesis People are carbon dioxide and Constant Star light.

When the Light Synthesis People inhale carbon dioxide and bask in sunlight, their tougher skin layers perform photosynthesis, converting solar energy into chemical energy stored within formed organic compounds, becoming energy and nutrition needed by the body, and releasing oxygen.

Earth Civilization also discovered that the photosynthetic reaction process of the Light Synthesis People was very similar to plant photosynthesis on Earth.

The first step is the light reaction stage, where under the drive of light energy, water molecules are oxidized to release electrons, which are then passed along an electron transfer chain to NADP+, reducing it to NADPH. Another outcome of electron transfer is sending protons from the stroma into the thylakoid lumen, creating a transmembrane proton gradient that drives the phosphorylation of ADP to form ATP.

The second step is the dark reaction stage, where the NADPH and ATP produced by the light reaction are used for the assimilation of carbon, reducing carbon dioxide to sugars. Since this stage is not directly dependent on light but relies on NADPH and ATP, it is known as the dark reaction stage.

It may be hard for some to understand, but in simple terms.

The essence of the light reaction is to generate an "assimilation energy", and the dark reaction uses this "assimilation energy" to convert inorganic carbon into organic carbon.

The light reaction and dark reaction together constitute the entire process of photosynthesis.

After fully understanding the history, life, and thought processes of the Light Synthesis People, Constant Star Lu Chen immediately began discussing with Earth Civilization and the Wandering, considering whether to let the Light Synthesis People join their life community.

After a serious and responsible discussion, they finally reached a consensus, deciding to allow the Light Synthesis People to join.

However, they required the Light Synthesis People to adhere to one condition, that is absolute loyalty to the life community, or else bear the consequences.

As for the technological exchange between the two biological civilizations, there was no need to worry. After becoming a life community, Constant Star Lu Chen would guide them in technological cooperation.

Different from before, due to the addition of a new biological civilization, they held a joining ceremony at the Wandering Base and took an oath of loyalty in front of the Memorial Star System within the Wandering Base.