3. Archaea (Ancient Bacteria)
Two weeks later. Youichi and Akane had a date at Sushi Bar near Tsukiji.
“It has been long time for Sushi. From what shall I start? Tuna or Octopus?”
Akane enjoyed her time and Youichi felt a little blue still thinking that meeting.
“What are you studying recently?”
“Now I am interested in the Archaea.”
“Archaea? What’s that?”
“The ancient bacteria which is thought to cause the mass extinction.”
“Mass extinction?”
“Yes. Almost 300 million years ago, we call it the Paleozoic Era, almost 90 percent of lifeforms had been disappeared all at once.”
“90 percent? It’s terrible. What is the cause?”
“There are various theories. Asteroid crash, volcano eruption, acid rain…, but recently the archaea is remarked as the persuasive one.”
“What do you mean by that?”
“Well, in a word, the sudden climate change. At that period the Earth had been covered by the shallow and warm sea. The sea was filled with a lot of species, for example, a trilobite, an ammonite and other strange shaped lifeforms. But most of them had been exterminated all at once.
By the recent excavating research a lot of fossils of archaea were discovered in the stratum of that era. Furthermore this archaea contained the solid methane, which meant the archaea had synthesized methane directly from CO2.
As the result the CO2 density had steeply declined and the global temperature had gone down rapidly. That is the cause of mass extinction.”
“Is that true? It was the very ancient Ice Age.”
“In a sense, it’s true. But it is only one hypothesis. Unless we discover a living archaea, it would be very difficult to prove it.”
“Let, Let us search for this archaea. If we find it, we will be able to stop the global warming.”
“Are you joking? It is a fossil of 300 million years ago. A living fossil…”
Akane stopped her word and thought for a while.
“Wait, wait a minute. By any chance we may do that, possibly. There is a study a part of such archaea is still alive at present. But it is under deep-sea. More than 3 thousand meters. I have heard there is a big flock of unknown bacteria in the deep-seabed. But how can we do that? If we seek for it by random guess, it will need endless time.”
They sighed together with big disappointment.
But soon after the Sushi Chef will become an unexpected white night.
Their dinner time had already closed to the end.
“At last, please Conger-eel for me.”
“Sorry, no conger now.”
“No conger? Why?”
“I am not sure. But recently the catch of conger-eel has heavily reduced. Fishermen are talking it is because of the Sea Catfish.”
“Sea Catfish? What is that? I have never heard the name.”
“I don’t know the details but it is a kind of deep-sea fish which is two meters long and looks like a snake. It has an enormous mouth and swallows many congers in a gulp. They are annoyed by this Sea Catfish whose meat is hard and smelled bad.”
“It may be the Aquanoproteus.”
“What? Aquano…?”
“Yes, Aquanoproteus, it is an academic name. It is a kind of deep-sea fish. Two meters long and like a snake. It swallows everything with its huge mouth. But strange. Usually it is living under thousand meters depth and seldom appears.”
“Something abnormal is happening under the deep-sea, isn’t it?”
“Sorry? Where can we get this Aquano…, no the Sea Catfish?”
“Well, anywhere at a fishery harbor. The nearest one is maybe Shimoda.”
3 days later, early in the morning. At the fishery market in Shimoda.
“10 thousand yen, 10 thousand. Any other”
An auctioneer’s vigorous voice echoed in the market. Akane and Youich came to Shimoda to search for the Sea Catfish.
“Excuse me, can I buy a Sea Catfish?”
“What? What are you doing by that?”
“It’s for an academic study. Only one is enough.”
“Look at over there. Take them as you like.”
At the corner of the market a lot of Sea Catfishes were piled.
“How much for one?”
“Free. They are not for sale. Just crash them to make manure.”
They got closer to the place and saw the real Sea Catfish for the first time. It was 2 meters long and its skin was slimy and shining black. Its mouth could be 30 cm width and many jagged teeth were glittering grotesquely.
“Give me your hands?”
Akane asked Youichi to drag one Sea Catfish.
“What are you doing now?
“I will dissect it and gather the contents of its stomach.”
“Are you joking? Why will you need such thing?”
“Because it might gulp not only a conger-eel but other various things including deep-sea mud. We may find something useful in it.”
“Do it yourself. I, I will keep away.”
“Don’t be scared. Hold it firmly. Please.”
Akane took out the dissecting kit from her bag and grasped a scalpel.
“Just think we are cooking a fish.”
Akane stabbed the abdomen with a scalpel and drew it outright. The abdomen of the Sea Catfish was opened and the football like stomach was spilled out with much blood.
“Yuck!”
Youichi threw up and turned his back.
“Shit! Really useless man, aren’t you?”
With complaining Akane filled an inspection bottle with samples she took out from opened stomach. It contained really various things, bones, stones, mud and other undigested substances.
“Thank you for your cooperation. What shall I do with this?”
“Leave them alone. At noontime the manure trader will come to pick up them.”
To Be Coninued
