Ancillary Documentation
The Amnion
First Contact (continued)
Captain Sixten Vertigus meeting the Amnion face-to-face was a pioneering moment in human history, as he was the first human to ever see any Amnioni. But that that moment comprised "first contact" has been considered debatable by galactic historians. This is because much more had been learned about the Amnion through the capture of one of their satellites years earlier by the Intertech ship Far Rover.
Far Rover was sent into an unexplored area with a standard mission of looking for resources, habitability, and life signs. When Far Rover first saw the alien satellite, she made a point to stay in the area for sufficient time to determine the satellite was not of local origin. The human ship took the satellite aboard, and crossed the gap back towards Earth. On Earth, the satellite was carefully opened.
This experience is considered by human galactic historians to be more legitimately "first contact" over Captain Vertigus meeting the Amnion, because from the mutagenic substance Earth learned that the Amnion were oxygen-carbon-based, they were technically sophisticated (particularly in biochemistry), and that they were very alien.It proved to contain a small cryogenic vessel, which in turn contained a kilo of the mutagenic material that comprised--although no one knew it at the time--the Amnion attempt to reach out to other life-forms in the galaxy.
Study of the mutagen went on for three years at a frenetic pace before Captain Vertigus and Deep Star were commissioned.
That the substance in the vessel was a mutagen was discovered almost routinely. In the normal course of events, scientists of every description ran tests of every kind on minute samples of the substance. Naturally most of the tests failed to produce any results which the scientists could understand. Earth science being what it was, however, the tests eventually included feeding a bit of the substance to a rat.
In less than a day, the rat changed form: it became something that resembled a mobile clump of seaweed.
Subsequently any number of rates were fed the substance. Some of them were killed and dissected. Pathology revealed that they had undergone an essential transformation: their basic life processes remained intact, but everything about them--from their RNA and the nature of their proteins and enzymes outward--had been altered. Other altered rats were successfully bred, which showed that the change was both stable and self-compatible. Still others were put through the normal behavioral tests of rats; the results demonstrated conclusively, disturbingly, that the mutation produced a significant gain in intelligence.
Experiments were attempted with higher animals: cats, dogs, chimpanzees. All changed so dramatically that they became unrecognizable. All were biologically stable, able to reproduce. All were built of fundamental enzymes and RNA native to each other, but wholly distinct from anything which had ever evolved on Earth.
All showed some degree of enhanced intelligence.
The mutagenic material also lead to uncovering information about what direction in the galaxy was the place where the Amnion originated.
It could just be my personal and very subjective objection to the injustice of their being forgotten, as I have admitted, but I just don't think they'd be that easily forgotten. Yes, the gap drive inventor's story is interesting, but at this time I will say no more. 