"Apparently, the laws of nature are such that man ultimately strives not so much for the perceptions themselves as for the processing of these perceptions, seeks to delight not so much the elementary senses as his main perceiving organ – the brain."
"Noon, 22nd century" by A. and B. Strugatsky

"On April 14, 2023, the European Space Agency launched the JUICE interplanetary station to study the Jupiter system and its moons for the presence of subsurface oceans, compiling topographic, geological, physical properties and data. Compared to Europa Clipper, JUICE will be the first to reach the Jupiter system and deliver data to earth. However, the EU is targeting Europe, something that JUICE studies only "superficially" …
On October 17, 2024, the Europa Clipper was launched in the United States, which passed without problems. In 2030, the automatic station reached the borders of Europe and began to explore it. During the mission, about 1 TB of information was transmitted to the base: high-resolution photographs (compared with photographs of other AU and telescopes at that time), information about the thickness of the ice and its composition, the presence of a subsurface ocean and its salinity... By 2032, the operation of the AMC was discontinued: repeated system failures and damage to some disk blocks were discovered, information from which could significantly help in synchronization with other indicators. The efficiency of the EU was also significantly influenced by the radiation background, protection from which was insufficient. The scientists lost contact with the station without destroying it. The data shed light on the nature of Europe, confirming many things, but they were not enough to conclude some conclusions.
... The re-launches of the AMS were planned for 2037 and 2042, but the political and economic difficulties of scientific communities and countries forced projects to be postponed indefinitely. The launch of the probe of the same name took place in 2045, a decade after the completion of the JUICE and EU missions, but communication with the station was lost in the area of Mars…
... On April 12, 2091, the launch of the Europa Explorer AMC took place at the Baikonur–2 cosmodrome. It was an improved model of its prototype, once a "namesake", which was equipped with: high-tech cameras, batteries, information blocks, protection from "dangerous zones of outer space". By 2095, the station, having passed the skeletons of the previous conquerors of the satellite, arrived in the orbit of Europe and conducted a number of detailed studies that were lacking to solve the mystery of alien life. By 2097, the data volume was about 3.5 TB. In addition, by 2100, the AMS should return to Earth with samples of materials extracted from the surface of Europe..."
– That's what humanity is capable of, concluded the man in a white coat, after reading aloud some excerpts from the interinstitutional publishing house Galactic Bulletin.
This man was Konstantin Valentinovich, an astrobiologist who held an important place in the National Astronomical Alliance and the astronomical institutes adjacent to it. He was reputed to be an unscrupulous but dedicated man.
Next to him, immersed in his own thoughts, his colleague Herman Vladimirovich, also an astrobiologist, sat leaning on the arm of a blue leatherette armchair. He was highly respected in narrow circles, unlike Konstantin Valentinovich. The opposite was known about him: a principled, honest and modest man, but diligent in relation to science. Completely dissimilar to each other, confident in science and its power in their own way, these people worked on one project - studying data with Europa Explorer.
"Humanity is capable of a lot," Herman replied, looking at the floor in some confusion. Thousands of thoughts were mixing in his head; at the same time he wanted to object to his colleague and leave his judgment unanswered.
– You put it correctly, German Vladimirovich. "Humanity is capable of a lot," which is why it decided to challenge nature and its laws, the laws of morality and faith, and take up the conquest of space. That's what they say... some people seem to be sure that we are "barbarians" destroying this unknown environment for us," Konstantin Valentinovich said, slowly pacing the laboratory in time with his words. – Yes, it is millions and billions of years old, our influence on it is negligible, it will outlast itself, as we will someday. So sooner or later, someone will still have to break into this dangerous and unexplored space. And by preventing such impulses, by that time we will have obtained so much knowledge and material that descendants will only have to come up with a third space one for a flight to some exoplanet, so as not to spend the best years watching the ether and fearing for their lives from the unknown… After all, people in some twentieth century dreamed of life on Mars or Venus, invented humanoids and technical settlements, composing fairy tales and creating illustrations. In our twenty-second century, we plan to populate this very Mars, open the way to Europe and other satellites and planets, proving that there is life there. But there is one, Herman Vladimirovich. And in the twenty-fourth century, people will fly to establish colonies in space, using the information that we get so hard. What we are working on is a huge step not only for the Alliance, but for all of humanity.…
– Yes... – the scientist drawled, listening to his colleague's reasoning, – people often dream... Yes, it was that in the twentieth century they dreamed of life on Mars. And in the twenty–first, these dreams were shattered by harsh facts: life on Mars is unsuitable for humans due to unfavorable conditions - radiation there, gravity is different, there is no atmosphere, the conditions are unsuitable for colonization… And after all, people did not despair and almost every day they discovered new planets and stars and calculated the distance to habitable exoplanets… Only I have always been somewhat confused about such impulses – why should humanity need them? What's the point of having an atmosphere of nitrogen and oxygen at such a distance on a planet with an incomprehensible abbreviation? We would have to fly to Proxima Centauri for several thousand years, but it's only four and two light-years away! And you're talking about hundreds and thousands of light years…  Eh!
Herman sighed wearily and reluctantly got up from his chair, making his way through the cluttered laboratory equipment to the table with magazines and reagents. 
– You know, Herman Vladimirovich, I really want to object to you, – said Konstantin Valentinovich.
– I know. I have no doubt about it. But don't get me wrong," the scientist said, looking over his shoulder. – I'm not against humanity developing. I am against it being too confident in its abilities. Why does he need planets and satellites? It would be better if it took care of its Land...
– Well, it's not for you and me to decide who is good for what. The Earth has been taken care of since time immemorial, let the activists do the same, but our purpose is different.
– Exactly. If you haven't forgotten, the astrobiologist shook the test tube in front of his face, watching the cloudy sediment. 
"I haven't forgotten," Konstantin Valentinovich breathed out nervously, "and I haven't forgotten for a moment. You'll forget it here! When people are constantly pressing around with the same questions, when you sit around waiting for a probe for days, when there are thousands of thoughts, hypotheses, formulas, theories in your head, and around you there are only tablets, electronics, flasks, wires…
The silence of the office was broken by the beeping of the speaker, which made both scientists' hearts tremble. "It is!" they both thought, turning to the huge plasma panel, the drawings from which the notification of the arrival of the AMC at the base had shifted.
– I congratulate you, German Vladimirovich.
– And I love you, Konstantin Valentinovich. But for now, they will disinfect it.…
And astrobiologists, imagining what a long and painstaking process it would be, sighed languidly in impatience and left the walls of the laboratory room.
***
– Listen, but this is just ridiculous!
Konstantin Valentinovich, hunched over the Petri Dishes, examined their contents through electron microscopes. There were several more Cups next to him, each of which was subjected to various tests: cold, heat, oxygen and vacuum. 
It has been a week since Europa Explorer arrived on Earth. And all this week, the scientist light has been working on decoding and analyzing the information received from the probe. Physicists, chemists, and professors of complementary sciences worked. Konstantin Valentinovich and German Vladimirovich worked on identifying life.
And they found out. And not only two astrobiologists managed to prove this, but also other scientists who studied the microbiological images of Europe, and those who were still working on the nature of Ganymede. To his great surprise, the scientist discovered the presence of traces of... earthly bodies on the foreign body.
"And yet they are not quite terrestrial," Herman said thoughtfully, looking at the research reports and the used containers with satellite materials. – Yes, these are the same anaerobic bacteria, but there is something in their nature that confuses me. For example, they react acutely to radiation, light and heat, while releasing a small amount of a kind of "protection" from the effects of the external environment. Almost the same as on Earth… In addition, I found traces of the presence of other life forms: I came across some flagella, apparently separated from their "hosts". These can be protists or zoophytes, but I doubt about the latter: they would be found directly under the ice itself, and this would require rovers and generators, and we do not have them and will not appear in the near future.
– I could also assume the existence of endoliths. You said it right: their nature is strange.
– Well, she should be weird. The habitat of Europe is very different from that of Earth. Therefore, the development bias of the creatures will be different.
–I'm thinking," Konstantin Valentinovich replied, "that the AMS would also do well to capture data from some asteroids. After all, she has overcome more than one asteroid belt. The same Trojans, for example.
"We wouldn't have to look for a horse among them later..." Herman remarked, carrying another container of soil from the refrigerator. Konstantin Valentinovich frowned while sitting over the instruments, but then smiled, appreciating the pun of his colleague.
Several more hours of painstaking work have passed. It was well past midnight. Both scientists worked almost without sleep. There was such a strong desire to get acquainted with something unknown. It was so important for them to take up this case.
What an anticipation it was! For a hundred years, Earthlings have been watching Europe, repeatedly trying to get close to it, and when it happened, when the probe was surrounded by thousands and thousands of journalists and scientists from all over the world, over the course of research, everyone was so surprised that it could not be compared with anything. Mankind's dreams of extraterrestrial life so amazed them that it was impossible to believe in such a cruel joke. There is life! What will the person who vouched for such responsible knowledge turn into now?..
Herman and Konstantin worked strictly in masks and gloves so as not to harm foreigners. The laboratory was completely sterile, except for the one in the zinc boxes from the satellite. But suddenly Herman felt a slight tickling on his fingertips. The scientist was confused by this. He turned his hands, examined his fingers, but did not notice anything. Nerves, he thought. "Nerves and fatigue."
But when the astrobiologist took up logging, a transparent little creature, similar to a centipede, crawled out over his fingers, coming down from a pencil.
The scientist's heart skipped a beat. His hand shook in surprise, and the creature fell onto the table, moving its antennae, while doing nothing.
–Konstantin Valentinovich,– Herman called his colleague. 
–Yes,– the scientist replied sleepily from the other end of the laboratory.
– Tell me, do we have crustaceans in the building?
— no. And it never existed. I remember a long time ago there was an exhibition of trilobites here," Konstantin said abstractly. – Wait, why did you ask?
"Come to me,– Herman said softly.
Konstantin Valentinovich quietly and cautiously got up from his chair and walked over to Herman's desk.
On the table, the transparent creature was moving millimeter by millimeter, still moving its antennae. Both scientists looked at him so fascinated that they were afraid to breathe. A minute passed in unknown silence.
- what is it? – Konstantin Valentinovich finally asked. – Is this what I'm thinking about?
– I do not know what you are thinking, Konstantin Valentinovich. I do not know what I am thinking about.… It crawled out from somewhere," Herman said in confusion. – I dropped it. But it's alive, by God!
– I see that it's alive. So…
An unexpected creature brought from another world has puzzled scientists. So much so that both were confused and did not know what to do with him.
– Do you think it looks like a remipedia?  Herman suggested, looking at the creature.
"It looks like it,– Konstantin agreed. – But "it seems" alone is not enough. It is necessary to operate and compare with what is there.
– What are you talking about!  The scientist breathed out in embarrassment. "Should I operate on her?" She's the only one we have.
– Have you already become attached to her in these five minutes?  Konstantin said with displeasure. – Understand, one or two, our task is to investigate them and enter all the data into the report in order to understand their nature. You can't write that a scientist who didn't sleep for a day found a transparent centipede straight from Europe.
– I won't write. But I won't cut it right away either. You forget yourself, Konstantin Valentinovich… No science should lose sight of such an organ as the soul. Cut and burn all the bacteria, but you will not find it, because you are not able to understand it! And we need to see more than just the physical shell…
– Then start describing the external signs and her behavior. And then I'll take care of her," Konstantin Valentinovich concluded dryly and sternly.
Somewhere in the corridors, the cheers of other scientists studying the nature of Ganymede could be heard. "They must have found something too," Herman thought, distracted by the noise. 
He was no longer a young man. He devoted his whole life to science and firmly believed in it as a miraculous force for discovering and knowing the world. He devoted his whole life to being ready to face the alien world. But when a small, defenseless and unusual creature crawled over his arm, all motivation to dissect and study nature in a rude way disappeared from him. He understood that this was not the same as looking at terrestrial bacteria and injecting rats. He felt an unpleasant heaviness in the chest area. The scientist looked back at the walls covered with posters, glanced at the wide table filled with laboratory equipment and instruments, looked at the floor and back at the walls – and did not find the reason for his doubts. He was not afraid, he was not afraid of an unknown life. But the idea of the very "barbaric" conquest of space, which his colleague spoke about not so long ago, stubbornly stuck in his head.
– Just think, if once extinct creatures on Earth were found on Europa, what can we say about the rest of the entire space!  Konstantin Valentinovich muttered to himself, resting his fist on his chin. – ...Surely there are larger, more progressive and intelligent creatures at the bottom of it. Any eukaryotes… Maybe they are not developed yet and are only at the stage of development? And considering what modern man is capable of with the era of synthetic biology… It doesn't cost us anything to take samples of these crustaceans in the future and subject them to mutation by our gene! Tame to our environment! Or vice versa – to bring our environment together with the environment of the satellite…
Konstantin Valentinovich's reflections distracted Herman from his mental and practical activities. Upon hearing about the "mutation" and "domestication" of the environment, the astrobiologist involuntarily frowned and put the tablet's stylus aside. 
– What are you saying there? – he threw in the direction of his colleague with displeasure. But the latter did not seem to pay attention to his remark.
– ...Someone has invented a god over us, and man obeys him. And we can become such gods for these creatures ourselves. Do you hear, German Vladimirovich?  He suddenly turned to the silent scientist, who was watching him with displeasure. – I praise your attentiveness! Thanks to you, we have in our hands a living sample of the "European" with whom we...
– There is no "we"!  Herman exclaimed. Anger was beginning to boil in his sleepy mind, but not clouded by the thirst for power and glory. – What are you saying, I'm asking you? What genes and codes are you talking about?
– About ordinary people, don't you understand? – the astrobiologist said in surprise. – If you and I don't do this now, then we won't have this opportunity again. Didn't you tell me that you complain about the forces of humanity? Now you have the opportunity to back them up! You told me that you are a mountain for the knowledge of the world!
– But not in this way!  The scientist jumped up from his chair. – How long has humanity, led by science, taken up the violation of the General Space Code? A simple human code! I didn't see any tasks in the report that would allow us to play gods for these creatures! 
– And you shouldn't have seen it! You are a stubborn sheep who stands guard over conscience and some kind of romantic science that is sure that everything around should be in harmony! What makes you think that humanity does not need to study distant stars and galaxies, that it does not need to study this bug, that it is disgusted by the violation of the order established by a certain assembly, eh?  Konstantin Valentinovich raised his voice in turn, coming close to Herman. – Would you forbid a baby to look at the world around him and put everything in his mouth that he sees in his path? He gets to know this world, and it's natural! And we, humanity, are getting to know this world, and this is natural! Leave your holy faith in the purity of science and man!
"If I see science in your face," Herman trembled, lowering his voice, "then there is no place for me in it!
There was a heavy silence in the bright office. Konstantin Valentinovich stood with his fists clenched tightly, sniffing menacingly. The words of a colleague somewhat brought him out of a state of passion. After all, Herman was a very respected and experienced man. If he had left science… His knowledge would be sorely lacking.
– German Vladimirovich… Leave it.
"Don't tell me anything," the scientist turned to the table, drooping his head, shaking with anger and excitement. Herman knew that he was powerless against such people, and even more so against such faith.
But before the astrobiologist could move away from one blow, another overtook him: the transparent creature darkened and stopped moving its antennae.
–I couldn't stand Wednesday," Konstantin Valentinovich concluded shortly, looking at the "European".
"More like an environment," Herman thought venomously, sympathizing with this crumb, which was abducted from its native expanses and destroyed by an evil being standing above it. 
"Even the lowest being had a tiny semblance of a heart. Something that some people don't have..."
***
"... in 2100, a meeting of the members of the National Astronomical Alliance was held, which was also attended by other persons in the scientific field. The conference was also attended by journalists from Galactic Bulletin, Space and Time. Konstantin Valentinovich ..., member of the OAA, Deputy Head of the Scientific and Technological University for Astronomical Research and Phenomena, made a report on the "existence of extraterrestrial life discovered on the moon of Jupiter". A scientist with a wide range of powers, who was fully involved in the Europa Explorer data, expressed an ambiguous opinion about the operation and the conclusions summed up during the work on the project.
"The information received by AMC for 2035 did not differ much from 2097. This, of course, caused some difficulties, but with due attention from scientists, they were successfully deciphered. All the data we have at the moment is absolutely reliable: photographs, analyses… The hypothesis that there is life on Europa is reliable. The hypothesis has come true. 
Life consists of the simplest organisms, most of which are anaerobic bacteria. Endoliths have been found in the ice crust, which, like zoophytes, can also be found at the bottom of the subglacial ocean. In addition, a creature was discovered during the research. It consisted of several distinct sections: the head, the trunk, and a noticeable number of organs. However, an unknown species died, unable to withstand the conditions of the Earth's environment. It is possible that they are found either in ice fractures or under it… 
No definite decision has been made on the study and colonization of Europe. Some researchers consider the research... inhumane and untimely. It is assumed that it is too early for humanity to come into "open" contact with the environment and interfere with its laws. Therefore, any project aimed at studying the subglacial ocean and its depths will be regarded as ... an attempt at expansion. However, this does not prevent us from currently developing projects for the further study and collection of European resources. In addition, at the moment the earthlings have material with which he will have to work for many more years..."