THE FIRST FIRE STARTER

This planet is considered likely to have some type of life form existing on it because of its complex atmosphere. All passive scanners are focused on it in a search for any signs of technology for three full solar orbits. No visible or detectable signs of a technology base are found. At the beginning of the fourth solar orbit the Captain orders the first probe to be launched into the upper atmosphere of the planet. The probe safely returns and the gaseous atmosphere is found to contain: 78.09% nitrogen, 20.95% oxygen, 0.93% argon, 0.039% carbon dioxide, and trace amounts of other not easily discerned gases. It is also found that traces of the lower liquid atmosphere can and do attach to the upper atmosphere as a vapor. Initial analysis of the trace amounts of the lower atmosphere show that it is composed primarily by molecules of two hydrogen atoms and one oxygen atom.