Chapter 19

Primordial Soup

A very strong hypothesis for origin-of-life is that complex biological compounds assembled by chance out of an organic broth on the early Earth's surface. This pre-biotic synthesis culminated in one of these bio-molecules being able to make copies of themselves.

The first support for this idea of life arising out of the primordial soup came from the famous great, great, great ancestors on Izra in which they made amino acids—the building blocks of proteins—by applying sparks to a test tube of hydrogen, methane, ammonia, and water.

If amino acids could come together out of raw ingredients, then bigger, more complex molecules could presumably form given enough time. Biologists have devised various scenarios in which this assemblage takes place in tidal pools, near underwater volcano vents on the surface of clay sediments, or even in outer space.

But were the first complex molecules proteins or DNA or something else? Biologists face a chicken-and-egg problem in that proteins are needed to replicate DNA, but DNA is necessary to instruct the building of proteins. Urnyx researchers two million Earth years ago think that RNA—a cousin of DNA—may have been the first complex molecule on which life was based. RNA carries genetic information like DNA, but it can also direct chemical reactions as proteins do.

Now it is not unthinkable that this so-called "RNA world" is still too complex to be the origin of life. Information-carrying molecules like RNA are sequences of molecular "bits." The primordial soup would be full of things that would terminate these sequences before they grew long enough to be useful.

Instead of complex molecules, life started with small molecules interacting through a closed cycle of reactions. These reactions would produce compounds that would feed back into the cycle, creating an ever-growing reaction network.

The screen beep signals that the topic was ending so Izra deactivated the switch. Too much more to know about the old files but since the mother ship was already on the nearest to their position, they decided to go back to the huge space craft. The two went out from the archive and have some short pep talks to the ground personnel of the Central Hub and Val wave good bye to Fhenyx who stand as donor of his life. Their wing-craft crews including Exxor who was with the other space craft were also busy entertaining acquaintanceship gestures to some personnel where they belong together in same squadron on previous missions. Ten of them alighted on their respective space craft as the inner ramp door open giving way to the exit tunnel. They roll one by one through the tunnel and zoom as the reach the outside perimeter.

Val relishes the sight of the rugged ice sheet covering white blanket of snow almost infinity until only the shadows of sky provide the silhouette below as their craft enter the outer space. Izra summon the meals and a little while platters paraded flowing toward them and as the eat the saucer craft's pilot lights flicker signaling that they are already being monitored by the mother ship radar checking their frequency for identification. Moment later their saucer craft slow down, a sign that they are about to land on the mother ship ramp. The same as it was, the routine touch-down was smooth and hassle free. Val hear the clicking, meaning the saucer craft was already attached to the hangar through magnetism mechanism. The side access door open as they disembark and walk to the waiting service wagon. They reported to the clinic for ray flushes and briefing on the adjacent glass cubicle.

After an agile conversation about the New World Center Hub Secret Base, they proceed to the parked wagon, embarked and proceed to the laboratory to visit their developing child. As they traverse their way to the lab, Val can visualize the features of New World Center Hub and the mother ship are typically the same, only in Antarctic, they uses indigenous materials such as wooden picket fences galvanized iron interlink coral, steels, concretes and other obtainable things in planet Earth. He was on the mode of recollection when Izra park the wagon. They disembarked together and straight way to the lab entrance where they registered and see the technician who was on routine duty. Some short pep talks and the technician cater them to the glass cubicle where parallel glass tubing and hoses interlink with some liquids of different amount of fill.

The technician adjusted the lighting intensity and there, their child is asleep on the glass tube full of liquid. It's about thirty two weeks old already on Earth counting. The baby's heart is already functioning and it's a girl. Happy and contented, the couple thanks the technician and ended their visit to go home to Izra's cubicle in the residential area. On their way out they meet the doctor near the door way and have some few conversation and was assured that the baby is in good health and nothing to worry for the child is growing in accordance to the program. The couples thanks again and walk toward the park wagon. Both embark and steer the vehicle home.

The route is the same as before aside from some field were already harvested and the fruit trees started to ripen. We stop at the depot to acquire some household supplies as Izra parks our space wagon. We made some rounds on the displays, pick up something we need. Again, it's a bunch of things and loaded it for home.

Izra parks their wagon as it was before as Val brought the bunch of things they acquired from the depot and stock inside. Then took a bath together to refresh them from a long journey and get ready to sleep. While in bed, Val open up a topic that they should go back on Earth to research more on ancient historical files in the New World Center Hub archive. Izra explain that she has to see the Federation Secretary to update her Mission Order since it is about to lapse, however she will activate her communication gadgets and link it to Antarctic antenna to open the archive files. In here you could partially review the ancient files to finalize it in Earth.

The two moves to the hall and Izra bring the chair where the table with gadgetries sits in the corner of the hall. She started to activate the machine and as the small lights flicker, Val move-in and position himself beside Izra. After a cracking mild tone, the screen roll and writings read: "For humanity retrieval" (marked: XX***XXX)

[Brief Glance on Life Forms - (mf series 2.8 bya)… "Sequence Earth"]

Way back around 3.5 billion years on Earth, occurrence of microspheriods, filamentous, microfossils and stromatolites provide strong support for existence of life much earlier that it was ever thought possible. Before the end of Precambrian era, when oxygen level in the atmosphere was less than 10 percent, organisms from primordial soup – predecessors of protein and DNA – energy triggered by chemical reaction that formed primitive proto-organisms developed method of obtaining energy by combining oxygen with nutrients in a process called respiration. At first there was no demarcation between flora and fauna similarly to our present plankton that shared some characteristics of both, utilizing the photosynthesis and respiration.

As more mobile complex form called metazoans evolved and totally relied on respiration, this animal form a predatory-prey relationship. In other phase, algae that live at the inter-tidal zone later developed into primitive form of lichen and moss. Then followed by tiny fernlike plants, which is the predecessor of trees.