Quantum sensors installed on the satellites detected a strange electromagnetic signature emanating from the depths of the Atlantic.
The encrypted wave pattern could only be deciphered by applying the principles of quantum electrodynamics.
When the scientists deciphered the data, the discovery blew them away: a gigantic sea trench stretched along the mid-Atlantic ridge, with depths exceeding eleven kilometres at some points.
Unmanned probes were immediately deployed to explore this oceanic abyss.
The images revealed geological formations never seen before: massive hydrothermal vents spewing out flows of exotic materials at temperatures exceeding 700 °C.
But most striking were the fossilised remains of a man-made megastructure of unknown origin buried in the karst depths.
A relic of an ancient alien civilisation? A construction of our lost ancestors?
Whatever the answer, this unprecedented discovery opened up a fascinating mystery about the origins of intelligent life on Earth.
The Atlantic Trench would soon become the focus of frantic scientific exploration.