The Water

The planet Lavoisier was 93% ocean. Everything seemed pleasantly wonderful about this water world until scientists discovered Delphinus capensis swimming in those alien seas, 49.3 light years from home.

The 30,000-year-old secrets held by that planet were enough to give one scientist a crisis of uncertainty.

This short story takes place in the Psi-5 Aurigae star system, a solar analog with one Earth-like world dubbed Lavoisier. The fourth expedition to that star system made several startling discoveries, the most profound of which involved the planet's prodigious covering of water. Aboard the Interstellar Starship Anatolia, one scientist found a new level of humility in the age-old art of discovery.