The Science of The Expanse: Season 1, Episode 8

The Expanse is chock full of nifty gadgets, technology and, uh, sexual recreation. But just how realistic is all of it? Let's take a look at all of the future tech in each episode and discuss just how possible it really is.

In Season 1, Episode 8: "Salvage," we head to Tycho Station, where catch the sight of a giant golden statue in the middle of outer space. What is this, a trailer for the next Heavy Metal movie? No, it's part of the Nauvoo, the ship that Fred Johnson's building for the Mormons, the largest spacecraft ever constructed and whose maiden voyage will span over 100 years.

But could a gigantic golden statue actually be built in space? The truth is that we've already discussed the whole mining issue back in Science of The Expanse Episode 6, so we can assume that the mining of resources isn't a problem. Theoretically, this thing could be pure gold, and it wouldnt' have to deal with the structural integrity issues that gravity imposes upon the element. Also, here's another juicy tidbit that lots of sci-fi tends to forget: spaceships don't need to be aerodynamic, unless they're entering an atmosphere. Seeing as this is a generational ship, this statue is going to spend centuries without any atmosphere to deal with, and then if the Mormons finally do find an hospitable planet, it will be broken down by the atmosphere itself in a blaze of manifest destiny.

When the crew of the Rocinante boards the abandoned Anubis, Holden and Naomi make their way to Engineering, where they find the seemingly dormant nightmare that caused Julie Mao to scream her poor head off in Episode 1. The reactor has mutated somehow, pulsing with what looks like organic life. Naomi theorizes that it might be "stealth tech stuff," but since when did stealth tech feel so alive?

Could this be some sort of protomolecule? What is this? More on this in Episode 9.

En route to Eros Station, Miller makes small talk with a fellow passenger, a Mormon set to embark on the 100-year journey aboard the Nauvoo. Miller's cynicism and lack of faith makes the Mormon remark that the former detective "hasn't accepted Jesus Christ" into his heart. That's the understatement of the year!

We all remember back in Episode 7 when Avasarala commented on the books that Holden's mother Elise had at her home. She made it clear that we don't see these sort of fossils that much anymore. That's on earth! The only place in the solar system with trees, or as we might call them, unprocessed paper. So what is this missionary doing all the way out on a shuttle to Eros with this valuable relic of a forgotten era. Well, remember the Nauvoo? That ship the mormons are building to take members of their faith outside of the solar system. Let's put two and two together. Gigantic multi-generational ship, books to spare and dish out to random missionaries: The church of latter-day saints is loaded!

So, what sort of juicy secrets are being kept on the data cube that Fred Johnson swiped from the late, great Lt. Lopez? Johnson's assistant, Samantha Rosenberg, is hard at work un-encrypting the ultra-encrypted doohickey.

What's going on here? The data cube appears to be plugged into some sort of holographic console, so the computing system is reading the card, but what about those teal laser beam-looking things? If the card is already being read that means those laser beam-looking things aren't there for reading, they're there for security (which checks out because this cube is the key to finding those responsible for blowing up the Cant). That means the teal laser beam-looking things are actual laser beams! Cross them and prepare to have your hand Johnny Mnemonic'd

Miller, Holden, Amos, Naomi and Alex go up to Room 22, where they're greeted with a horrible stench … and blue-brown fungus-like tendrils in the bathroom. Upon investigating the shower stall, they find the body of a young woman. Coils of fungal growth spill from her mouth, her ribs and spine have grown spurs like knives, and spiky structures stretch from her back and throat, climbing the wall behind her.

"Julie," whispers a heartbroken Miller.

We're going to hold on discussing this until the next episode, but let's take a moment to appreciate just how much Julie's "infection" looks like the neurons of a brain cell, or for that matter, the universe itself

Salvage: Season 1, Episode 8