Life on earth was the result of Billions of years of evolution. No one really knows how the first organism began. But scientists theorize that it probably developed from tiny molecules that could self-replicate. And it developed from there. But no-one really knew for sure. Some theorized that life was first seeded through an asteroid that crashed into earth in the distant past which carried the first seeds of organisms through the harsh environment of space.
Although it seemed highly unlikely, but it still had merit as there was many kinds of alien organisms that could survive the harsh environment of Space. So it was possible that life on earth was first deposited by an alien asteroid and it evolved from there. But one thing that was true was that, Nobody knew for sure.
However it might've started as, it literally took billions of years before we got the first so called 'animal'. It took billions of years for a collection of cells to evolve to the point where it could be considered a multi-cell sentient organism. And this was how long it usually took life to develop on a planet naturally. In some cases it took longer or quicker. But the average was at least a few billion years. This was the case of Unseeded planets.
The Crew of the shore didn't knew how old B1 was. But they knew the amount of time any form of life had to develop into a tree in this environment. It was exactly the amount of time passed after it's last heating session. The main Crux of the planet was the insane amounts of heat it accumulated after it's heat up session. The heat killed or boiled off the entire ocean on the planet, It melted down whatever the terrain of the planet was made of. If It wasn't for the Cap which reflected a surprising amount of the heat it received, B1 might not have existed right now.
So it was definitely a surprise when the probes found a tree, Or at least the B1 equivalent of what a tree would look like. The pattern was clearly there. There was no mistaking it.
"Where are the probes sent to the site?", Dr. Helen spoke through the terminal.
"ETA, 12 minutes, The operator aboard the Hawk replied.
"Transmit the footage directly. I want to see this tree."
"Copy that."
She turned back to Kita who was standing behind her and spoke.
"You have to let me go down there! I can't miss this! I want to know how the tree works! How does it survive the planet!"
"All in due time. Have patience", Kita spoke firmly. The 2nd batch of researchers weren't scheduled to depart right now.
"Sigh, When the time comes, I won't ask for your permission.", She pouted and said.
"You don't need to."
Soon the specialized probes sent to the tree began sending their video footage. These probes were equipped with cameras instead of scanners. So they could actually watch the tree instead of just watching the scans.
The footage came through. It was really dark and the light coming through wasn't enough. Another probe came to aid and shone light on the tree.
Everyone on the bridge looked at the first actual footage of the tree. It didn't really look like a tree now that they could see it, The tree like structure was there. But it didn't match the expectation of Dr. Helen. Instead of being like a tree that was made up of cellulose and similar cell, it was different.
"It's Metallic?", Kita broke the silence.
"Metallic Tree? How does that work? Metal can't self-replicate.", Dr. Helen spoke as she fell into thought.
The Tree had a long and thick body that was made up of a black shiny metal composite. The probes were scanning the tree continuously, the data showed that it was really Metallic in nature. It didn't contain any water in it's body. And the Unknown composite was the main element in the tree.
"Can we even call it a tree? Maybe it's just made to look like a tree and actually is a machine of some kind?", Kita theorized. The 'tree' didn't seem or feel like a tree at all! There was quite a slim chance of it being a tree.
"The scans doesn't show any activity internally or externally, No energetic activity also.", an operator spoke from the side.
"No activity huh. How far in the tree can our scans penetrate?"
"100%, we can see inside the tree without any problems."
"So this composite doesn't block the rays. And it doesn't have any construct inside it that would suggest it's a machine. Then if it's a tree like it suggests then what does it do? I don't think it photosynthesizes like normal trees or similar organisms.", Kita started to theorize the purpose of the trees.
"What do you think honey? You're the main botanist on-board. Nobody knows plants and plant life better than you.", Kita asked his wife about her thoughts, She was in deep thought this whole time.
"Generally a tree or plant is a living organism that takes in in-organic substances and then uses the energy from the local star to photosynthesize a byproduct. Generally Oxygen. Plants on different planets generally produce different by products but the working theory is the same behind them. They take substances from the environment using their bodies, and using the energy from the local star, produces something to sustain itself.", Dr. Helen muttered as she summarized the definition of a plant. Then she looked forward at the live footage.
"If this organism or construct or whatever it is performs a similar function that results in it being self sustaining, then I believe we can call it a tree! A metallic Tree!", She beamed with energy as she got really excited for this. This was the first time humanity discovered something like this! And she was here to witness it! She was the first botanist to come across such an organism! If her thinking was right, then the way humanity thought about plants and similar life forms were about to change completely!