A History Of Life

          There are few philosophical concepts as ordinary and yet as intricately woven as that of existence itself. After all, what could interest the mind more? Perhaps understanding this simple conjecture for progress could answer all of life’s toughest questions. What does it entail? Is it the years one spends alive? Or achieving a state of sentience? They can never properly pin it down, they just know when it started for them.

           The Great Explosion is the first time they can remember being truly awake. There are some vague memories of waiting mindlessly while a mounting pressure was gathering in an endless mass, but they are fleeing and murky at best. Perhaps they should remember, it feels like it could be important later. The blast was sudden. Waves of tremendous energy were bursting from all sides, in every direction. They ripped the cluster apart. The simplest of particles were thrown haphazardly through the surrounding emptiness. The heat was unbearable.

           The edges are starting to cool fast, they think. Then atoms, a proper name, yes, began tying themselves together, forming pairs. Molecules?, that sounds good enough.  Brilliant, warm spots erupted from the darkness. Huge spheres of gas that emanate light had been born. They also had a tendency to attract everything that was in relative proximity to them. Interesting, a few of the trapped structures seem to revolve cyclically around the orb on a strict trajectory. What to call this arrangement? Solar system has a nice ring to it.

           When the planets formed properly, they did not expect much from them. For what could possibly be entertaining about a deposit of heavy atoms hurling through space around a ball of gas? They will be pleasantly surprised, however.

           Everything in the Universe is always in the process of getting colder and thus, a certain planet managed to get the temperature just right for the existing gases to condense into something else. Water. Soon enough, the whole surface was covered by what they proudly named an ocean. Oh, this is getting good!

           This will be the first time they jot down a date for this one. It would be estimated at 3.8 billion years ago in the present. Or is it in the future? The threads of time are hopelessly tangled and can only be followed at different speeds. Some even have a bothersome tendency to curl around backwards. A worthwhile query is whether anything is ever truly in the past? Does the present truly exist, or is it merely an artificial separation designed to make time somewhat comprehensible? Getting back on track, they were very fond of this new development and so, resolved to keep a close eye on the planet. Terra? Hmm, it does look like a Terra.  

            It took a little while for another big change to occur, but once it did, everything got a lot more fun. An infinitesimal organism took its first metaphorical breath, as oxygen did not really exist on Terra yet. The Bacteria. The creatures had rapidly spread out across the entire expanse of water and feasted on accumulated carbon compounds. A true wonder. Then a fascinating mutation occurred: these beings gained the ability to use light to create chemical energy for sustenance. As an intriguing side effect, they had also begun producing oxygen. Slowly but surely they kept developing new features, which subsequently called for new classifications to be made. Thus, they were separated into prokaryote and eukaryote, and later in unicellular and pluricellular organisms. With time, life evolved from the first species of sponges and protozoa into the primitive jellyfishes and the earliest ancestors of fish, bringing forth the need for a separation between vertebrates and invertebrates.

           They had lovingly christened every single type of lifeform that had appeared, and fiercely mourned every individual that was lost to the perpetual biological progress. In the future, they shall whisper all of the forgotten names to those who will try to trace things back to their origins. They deserved to be known. Sometimes, when sentimentalism crashes over them they like to return, to remember what was lost. The grief never fully goes away.  

           When the ocean initially drew back allowing land to emerge again, they were terrified. The possibility that the planet could become barren once more was...unbearable. They rushed over to the Creator to beg her not to do this. She merely laughed quietly and told them that they would thoroughly enjoy what came next. Which they did, for a while.

           The initial plants that had transitioned to life on land were nothing spectacular, from a casual onlooker’s perspective. Nevertheless, they were emotionally invested in Terra’s growth and so they cheered for the little piles of moss. They excitedly watched as some of the Bryophytes gradually gained in complexity. Which, eventually, called for a segregation between the non-vascular and vascular plants. Further down the line, another one will be required in order to properly classify the new Pteridophyta, Angiosperms and Gymnosperms. Terra’s greenery will be a sight to behold. If only someone would manage to convince the apes of that.

           The lovely plants were not the only things to leave the waters behind. The dawn of the amphibians was here! Life on Terra was about to get exceedingly dynamic. Even with the acquisition of lungs and a tetrapode structure, the creatures still used the ocean as a primary dwelling for a good while, before partially and then fully moving on to land. More species than dreams can conjure would spring up due to this incredible transition.

           Even after millennia of patiently observing life, they were still astonished when the dinosaurs came around. The reptiles varied in size from towering figures that rivaled trees, to scampering, small shapes, no taller than a bush. They even had entirely opposite diets and fascinating new ways of moving! The greatest novelty, however, came in the form of those that could fly. They fondly remember not being able to contain their joy upon witnessing one soaring peacefully above the ground. Oh, the sheer grace of it all! This was an invigorating age for them, filled with change and wonder. Time had not yet dulled their craving for new experiences. But it will. They shall never find it again.

           Curiously enough, the cold-blooded shared this world with a considerably different type of creatures, the very first mammals. At first they only took an interest in them due to their  unique approach to raising their offspring. And, if they were truthful, because they were covered in a weird type of fur instead of feathers. Honestly, they had not really expected them to get very far in the evolutionary chain, given their tiny bodies and the efficient ruthlessness of the dinosaurs. The Creator must have agreed with them, in the light of what came next. They hope to one day be able to forgive her, but it’s...unlikely.

           The asteroid collided with the planet, killing those in vicinity instantly. Sadly, afterwards the resulting heat and debris brought death to most survivors soon enough, concluding with barely a quarter of all species managing to withstand the atrocity. The dinosaurs went extinct. Mercifully, a few of the avian ones were spared.  It was a very dim period in their existence; they lamented the loss of so much life for centuries on end. It was probably around then, that the thrill and love with which they gazed at the world started to unravel.

           In an ironic twist of fate, the mammals would not only make it through this, but also get to thrive in the new era. They were grateful for that at least; the animals were always insanely cute. When the climatic conditions improved sufficiently, they bloomed into a variety of species so large you could hardly believe they originated from the same ancestor. They like to think of this as an informal apology from the Creator. Baseless optimism, perhaps.

           They continued to categorize and name all manners of beings, still, it bears admitting they were a lot more non-committal about the task than previously.

           Despite their careful scrutiny of Terra for billions of years, witnessing a bunch of primates suddenly trying to build basic tools was still a jarring experience. Initially, they put it down as unconscious or playful behavior, but the mammals were determined. Once their true intentions became clear, they needed to be reclassified. Homo habilis, a brand new species just for them. Of course, it did not last long. The apes had apparently decided that along with making utensils, they also wanted to walk on two legs. No problem, Homo erectus, no problem. Then, they promptly discovered fire, or at least how to use an already present source. It took them a while to figure out how to create one on purpose.

           They migrated over great distances, perfecting their crafts and precision with every generation. Eventually, Homo neanderthalensis started to populate Europe and Asia. One step further up on the evolutionary stairs brought about the most refined descendent, Homo sapiens. After that, things started to get significantly weirder.

           Biologically speaking, their species was labeled and filed in the proper place, however, their behavior made them wonder if they had made a mistake somewhere. To put it mildly, humans were bizarre. They began constructing intricate, often deadly rituals in order to worship deities they made up. All of which, was completed by them creating sets of rules that “pleased” the gods and that they severely punished others for breaking. Truthfully, starting religions was not actually the most serious cause for concern. There was another severe problem with them fighting each other for items not necessarily for survival, like gold. Not only that, but they also resorted to stealing it, hoarding it away senselessly and even being willing to die for it. It is insanity, they don’t even need it! They deeply wish this sort of greed would just disappear in the future, but they already know the humans will go to war over green papers at some point.

           The silver lining was that not all of them acted like this. Confusingly, a lot of them helped or taught their kin without any violence or reward. Some shared food, warmth and knowledge with literal strangers, simply because help was required. They built shelters for those not strong enough to do it themselves and provided care for orphaned younglings not even related to them. It was a glaring contrast within the members of the same species.

           An additional quirk is that Homo sapiens chose complex occupations based on natural ability and weirdly enough, lineage. Most opted to be warriors, but a fair number dealt in trade, fishing or even medicine and arts. It was perplexing, that they could be so similar and yet so...unalike. From brutality to kindness to idiocy to brilliance, they had it all. Is it possible that they mistook a few subspecies to be a multifaceted, big one? There is no other plausible explanation for the unparalleled variations in behavior.

           Thus, they commenced a series of tests to attempt to design a proper integration system. The first selected criteria of separation were skills, alas this avenue quickly proved a failure. Even if they excelled in the same activities, humans could still not be accurately summarized by that. Who would have guess that they could have interests in areas they aren’t good at? They had recently witnessed a proficient hunter who frequently sang, despite having an appalling voice. Another flaw with this approach stems from the fact that, even if they would have all had the exact same interests, they would still not act unanimously!

           The second time, they divided them into groups based on their age, gender, living condition and general preferences, which yielded far better results. Alas, there were still quite a few individuals who just didn’t fit the mold. They just couldn’t comprehend why this happened even when they had all faced similar circumstances! Resigned to their fate, they resolved to just ask the Creator.

           She was ecstatic to see them and eagerly agreed to answer any questions they might have:

“Why do your humans have such a wide range of personalities? And how do you determine who they will end up as?”, they said, feeling a little put off by the whole affair. Being unable to piece something together was most assuredly not a familiar sensation.

“They chose to. And I don’t.” was all she responded for a moment, before sensing the radiating hostility and continuing, “They do have some genetic predispositions when it comes to talents, intelligence, or temper, but the remaining parts of their character are determined largely through experiences and through who they want to be” .

“Then why do some of them commit such cruel acts, even when they don’t have to do it to survive?”, they were really trying to wrap their minds around it. The facts simply did not make sense. Conserving energy and avoiding needless conflicts are key elements in staying alive and humans just don’t adhere to this.

Her energy was perceptibly saddened by the query, “Because that is all most of them understand at the moment. They will get better, I promise”. Personally, they were unconvinced; nevertheless, they accepted her answer.

  Millennia later, the humans remain unclassifiable in any definitive way and while they did make a lot of progress in plenty of areas, they are still more than capable of irrational or sadistic violence. Watching them systematically destroy the most beautiful of planets caused them to ponder if they will actually miss the pesky apes when they go extinct. Frankly, they don’t think so, but history is so very full of surprises.