On the Shores of Titan's Farthest Sea

by Michael Carroll

  Fig. 61.5An inflatable habitat is pressure tested at Johnson Space Center (Photo by the author)

  Daily life on Titan would be a dangerous prospect, simply because of the “backyard grille effect.” In addition to methane, Titan’s atmosphere includes other flammable gases that Troy outlined for Abby: “All that ethane and butane and all that other stuff.” In Titan’s non-oxygen environment, there is no danger of fire. But people require oxygen, and this makes any human habitat a dangerous place to put in the wilderness of Saturn’s largest moon.

  The Applied Physics Laboratory’s Ralph Lorenz comments, “Methane is flammable in air at abundances of 4.4 % or above. If the abundance at Mayda is the same as the Huygens landing site (5.6 %), then a leak of Titan air in, mixed with oxygen-bearing air inside, will NOT lead to a combustible mixture (e.g., a 50/50 mix would be about 2.8 % CH4, 10 % O2 and 87 % nitrogen). If it is mostly Titan air, then there might not be enough oxygen to support combustion. [The danger could come from] extra-humid methane-rich air… or better, hydrocarbon ‘dirt’ from outside (which at habitat temperatures, would melt/evaporate) to have a fire hazard.”

  With everything saturated by the Titan environment, even the sand and “rain” tracked in by explorers might be a fire risk. But these are the types of hazards that are commonly dealt with in modern coal mines. Habitats would undoubtedly have mudrooms where uniforms and equipment could be hosed down or vacuumed off before entry into the living and working areas of the outpost. Laced with exotic chemistry, the air might smell like a gas refinery or a paint factory. Still, that external atmosphere could support human life for some time. It has enough pressure that a person could survive for quite a while with an oxygen mask and a good parka.

  For all its challenges, travel on Titan promises to present many varied possibilities. Because it has low gravity and a thick atmosphere, Titan affords opportunities for mobility on large scales. Whether flying heavier-than-air or lighter-than-air vehicles, the prospect is easy on Titan. Explorers could have a hot air balloon driven by the waste heat from a radioisotope generator, or a light gas balloon, or even an airship. In the dense atmosphere, heavier-than-air airplanes afford a host of possibilities. Helicopters would work well. Hovercraft have even been suggested. On the seas, floating vehicles have been studied in detail, and may be built and flown in the near future. Hovercraft could go from one environment to another. Submarines—robotic or piloted by human villains—are another option.

  Finding Life

  Tanya bemoaned the fact that “Titan was a lousy place for life.” But because of what she thought she had seen, she went down a mental checklist of the possibilities anyway. She was not the first to have done so.

  Although water cannot exist as a liquid on the cold surface of Titan, it may not be the only liquid that could support biological processes. Methane and ethane appear to be available in abundance, in liquid or vapor form, at various times and at various locations on the giant moon. But liquid water has some advantages over cryogenic liquids. In specific, chemical reactions will take place much more slowly in Titan’s liquid resources, which means that so will metabolism rates. Some biologists are skeptical that such slow biological processes can take place. It is possible that biotic forms may have developed weaker chemical bonding than terrestrial life requires, so the chemical reactions might not be so limited, but this has not—as yet—been seen in nature.

  Water has another advantage—it can dissolve a host of compounds to enable biological processes, far more than methane and ethane. Water is the enabler of most biological operations we understand, often serving as a bridge between important chemicals needed for life. And some compounds or elements simply may not be available at all. NASA Ames astrobiologist Chris McKay says, “The other problem suggested is the availability of elements other than carbon, hydrogen, and nitrogen, which are present in the organics produced in the atmosphere. Elements such as manganese, iron, and molybdenum are useful.” To determine if these elements are present on the surface of Titan will require advanced robotics not yet on the table.

  Nevertheless, as Tanya observed, Titan’s ongoing atmospheric chemistry experiments may offer possibilities for life. The Sun’s ultraviolet radiation reacts with Titan’s upper atmosphere to produce a smorgasbord of organic materials.Over the ages, a rain of organics has undoubtedly built up deep layers of sediment blanketing the surface and mixing with the methane seas. One such compound is acetylene, a heavy compound rich in chemical energy.5 We combine acetylene with oxygen to created superheated welding torches. But when it connects with hydrogen, it also releases energy—though more slowly—with methane as a waste product. This means that acetylene is at least one possible “food source” for Titan microbes (See Dirk Schulze-Makuch and David H. Grinspoon. Astrobiology. 2005, 5(4): 560-567. doi:10.​1089/​ast.​2005.​5.​560).

  However, where would that life come from? Even in Titan’s dense atmosphere, an occasional meteor makes it through to the surface, as evidenced by some fairly large impact craters. The dual-ringed impact basin Menrva, for example, is 270 miles across, and the impact crater Sinlap stretches 37 miles wide. At these and other impact sites, temperatures would have been hot enough for liquid water to exist for perhaps centuries or millennia. At other locations, cryovolcanism may have generated long-term heat, enough to liquefy the rock-hard water-ice surface. Perhaps these sources of energy fueled the chemical fires needed for life to take a foothold ages ago (Fig. 61.6).

  Fig. 61.6The impact crater Sinlap. Could such sites have played host to the genesis of biological forms? (Image courtesy NASA/JPL/Space Science Institute)

  There is, of course, another, deeper sea on Saturn’s planet/moon. Perhaps 100 km down lies the abyssal water ocean, locked in eternal darkness, cut off from any external energy and separated from the mineral-rich rocky core. To remain liquid, models suggest that the water is at high pressures and mixed with ammonia, a sterile concoction seemingly lethal to life. But just how sterile is that ocean? Studies of ice fields show that diapirs, slowly moving masses of solid ice, can move material from the base of a glacier upward within the ice. It may well be that minerals from Titan’s core have migrated upward to mix with its isolated water ocean, making it not so isolated at all. Additionally, if there has been cryovolcanic activity, it is likely connected in some way or in some locations to this ocean. This contact with surface hydrocarbons creates another source of biologically related materials that may be channeled into the subsurface ocean. Although there may not be any pink Nessies below, it makes us wonder, as Tanya did, “How many other choices could nature come up with that biochemists had not yet envisioned?”

  Shared Hallucinations

  The poor scientists at Mayda Research Station seem to have been afflicted by both delusions (false beliefs) and hallucinations (false perceptions) that have a dangerous effect on their well-being. Doc Mason leads the scramble to find the cause. Where could these strange visions of sea monsters and dancing petroglyphs be coming from? Why would more than one person experience the same illusion (Fig. 61.7)?

  Fig. 61.7The inhabitants of Mayda Research Station see hallucinations spawned by the petroglyphs of the Fremont culture, such as some of these in the Canyonlands region of Utah (Public domain via Wikimedia, commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File;Newspaper_Rock_closeup.jpg)

  Psychologists draw a subtle distinction between delusions and hallucinations. Delusions are false beliefs, such as the suspicion that “someone is out to get you” or the sense that the voice in your head is not your own thought, but rather something being transmitted to you by someone else. A delusion is a belief or impression that is strongly held despite being contradicted by generally accepted, external evidence or opinion. A hallucination, on the other hand, involves a false perception coming through the senses, such as seeing something that is not there (a visual hallucination) or hearing voices from outside of one’s self telling you what to do (auditory hallucinations). At times, delusions may reinforce hallucinations. For e
xample, a patient may perceive something crawling under her skin when she actually sees nothing there (a tactile hallucination), and at the same time she might believe that what is under her skin are creatures embedded there by aliens from Alpha Centuri (a delusion).

  In a landmark study published in 2007,6 researchers classified hallucinations by four categories: (1) Self-generated from an apparent inner source; (2) Self-generated from an outer source; (3) Externally generated from an inner location, and (4) Externally generated from outside. The self-generated “hallucinations” are ones that the subject understands are coming from within themselves. So, for example, self-generated thoughts coming from an inner source (the self), are healthy. These would include daydreaming, memories, songs, and various thoughts. It is clear to the subject that these are coming from inside, and their location is internal (the mind or consciousness). The problem comes when the perception shifts, so that it appears that either the thoughts are being generated from somewhere else or that they are occurring somewhere else. At that point, they become an hallucination. Rather than voices as a memory in the mind, the voice shifts to a sound coming from a darkened closet or hallway. Instead of a familiar song as a happy distraction, music becomes a haunting tune from an unknown location.

  What can cause hallucinations? Doc Mason talks about a fungal infestation of grain: “Claviceps purpurea. They call it ergot poisoning. And various toxic chemicals or microbes have been blamed for things like the events leading up to the Salem witch trials.”

  Salem Village, which is present-day Danvers, Massachusetts, was permanently settled as early as 1636. The small enclave consisted of a community of Puritans living under harsh conditions. The Salem witch trials took place 55 years later, as the town was recovering from the stresses of a British war with France in the American colonies in 1689 (the “Second Indian War”), a smallpox epidemic, and attacks from nearby Native American Massachusetts tribes. The stressful environment may well have contributed to the events spanning February 1692 to May of 1693, when dozens were accused of witchcraft, dramatically tried in court, and some 20 executed, most by hanging. Although often cited as a cautionary tale for isolationism, religious extremism, or the danger of a lack of due process, the Salem witch trials are widely accepted as a primary example of mass hysteria (collective obsessional behavior). Mass hysteria involves group delusions of threats to society that spread rapidly through rumors and fear. Its physical side is often characterized by a group of people believing that they are suffering from the same physical symptoms or disease. Mass hysteria typically occurs in stressful and isolated environments, much like Mayda Research Station, a remote science outpost suffering a massive power failure, cut off from any outside help.

  Aside from the external stresses suffered by Salem’s inhabitants, several medical theories have been put forward to explain its events. The most popular and well documented is called convulsive ergotism, a debilitating sickness that may have been caused by colonists eating rye bread made with grain contaminated by the fungus Claviceps purpurea. A 1976 article7 in the journal Science by psychologist Linnda Caporael blamed the bizarre behavior of Salem’s defendants on the fungus ergot, which can blight commonly used grains such as rye, wheat and other cereal grasses. The fungus flourishes in warm, damp climates similar to the swampy meadows in Salem Village, where rye was the staple grain during the spring and summer months. Ergot poisoning can lead to muscle spasms, vomiting, delusions, coma and hallucinations. Ergot poisoning broke out as recently as 2001 in Ethiopia from contaminated barley.

  Among other theories, another posits that an epidemic of encephalitis lethargica—which involves high fever, coma or psychosis—can be carried by migrating birds. But the Salem events may well have been a combination of biologically and socially caused phenomena. Examples of shared physical disorders with apparently psychological sources are well documented. Hysterical contagion occurs when a group of people share physical symptoms of an illness, when in reality the causes are psychological. And like the Salem witch trials, hysterical contagion has its classic example: the 1962 “June bug epidemic.” A mysterious disease broke out among employees of a dressmaking department in a U. S. textile factory. The symptoms included numbness of limbs, vertigo and vomiting. Rumors of an insect in the factory that would bite its victims and cause them to develop the symptoms quickly spread. Sixty-two employees soon developed the peculiar illness, some of whom needed to be hospitalized. After examination by company physicians and experts from the U. S. Public Health Department, researchers concluded that the case was one of mass hysteria. Although some workers did suffer insect bites, not all did. It is now believed that anxiety was the true cause of the symptoms. No evidence was ever found for a bug that could cause the flu-like symptoms.

  Factory managers evaluated the working environment, concluding that it was quite stressful. Several factors contributed to the heightened stress: the plant was newly opened, it had a large volume of work, and organization was poor. Most of the victims reported high levels of stress. Of the 62 employees that reported symptoms, 58 worked on the same shift in the same area, and 50 of the 62 cases occurred in the two consecutive days after the media covered the event.

  A similar shared hallucination, called conversion disorder, causes patients to suffer from neurological symptoms such as numbness, seizures or partial paralysis, and disturbances of senses like touch and vision, but without a diagnosable cause. Researchers theorize that symptoms arise in response to stressful situations affecting a patient's mental health. Conversion disorder is considered a formal psychiatric disorder (DSM-5). Typically conversion disorder begins with a stressful event or trauma that expresses itself as physical symptoms. Usually the physical symptoms affect the senses and movement. For example, a victim of conversion disorder may experience short-term blindness after the loss of a parent or spouse. Reports cover a wide range in severity and duration, but symptoms are usually short-lived and fairly mild. In the related mass psychogenic illness (MPI), symptoms spread rapidly, affecting members of a cohesive group, originating from a patient’s nervous system disturbance involving agitation or loss of coordination. Patients’ symptoms seem to have no corresponding physical source. Shared symptoms sometimes progress throughout an isolated group of people following ‘exposure’ to a common source person. Although MPI has been documented in a variety of situations, the common symptoms include rapid onset and recovery, occurrence in a segregated group, the presence of extreme apprehension, and symptoms that are spread via sight, sound or verbal communication.

  Psychiatric records document other cases of shared hallucination on smaller scales. Folie à deux (the “madness of two”) is a shared psychosis. A delusion is transferred from a dominant individual to a second person that would not, presumably, have become deluded on his or her own. Also called shared psychotic disorder, it most commonly appears in two or more individuals living closely together who are physically or socially isolated with limited outside interaction.

  A well-known case of folie à deux concerned a woman named Margaret, along with her husband Michael, both aged 34 years.8 The couple’s folie à deux took a unique form of shared delusions of persecution. The two believed that people were entering their house, spreading dust and “wearing down their shoes.”

  Folie à deux sometimes has a broader effect. When the delusions are shared among many, the syndrome is called folie a plusieurs, the madness of many. But when a large number of people come to believe obvious falsehoods based purely on rumor, these beliefs are not considered to be clinical delusions like folie à deux; instead, these are considered cases of mass hysteria.

  Similar symptoms to folie à deux have been induced by the military chemical weapon BZ (3-Quinuclidinyl benzilate, also known as “buzz”). In the late 1960s, the nerve agent was weaponized for battlefield use. Although never used in war, research showed that it caused stupor, delusions and hallucinations, disorientation and a loss of coordination. Stocks of weaponized BZ were destroyed u
nder treaty in 1989.

  More recently, anthropologists working in the rainforests of the Amazon Basin in South America reported9 mass shared hallucinations from the ingestion of ayahuasca. Ayahuasca is a tea prepared from the jungle “spirit vine” Banisteriopsis Caap mixed with other plants. The tea has rich medicinal and spiritual traditions among the indigenous tribes of the region and plays an important role in many ancient and emerging religions of the area.