Submitted by d4rk in Cybernetics

In order to give the limited understanding I have whatsoever of paleobiology. I would like to offer my take or at least an introduction to the problem that has been within my mind since childhood when researching on it. I placed it in this forum because it is a genuinely cybernetic problem with the solution found in Autopoiesis.

So, Meet Allan. Allan is not a living being, he's a chemical reaction. But we do not know what components it took to make Allan. While, we do not know what Allan looks like because for obvious reasons. We know however that he is an iron-based stable self-reproducing reaction. And, we know about his emergent properties, which we will explain thusly.

Allan lives in Water(H2O). He absolutely adores Sugar(CnH2nOn). In fact it is the only thing he eats. This is what happens whenever he eats Sugar. First, He uses the Hydrogen and Carbon to create Acetylene(C2H2), this is his energy source for the day. The Oxygen reacts to his Iron to form rust which carries the corrosive acetylene throughout his monocellular body. This reaction between rust and acetylene is Allan. This reaction releases a waste product(CO2)and something that is needed to produce more Allans(FeH2). The second one is its main focus in its short reaction.

When Allan has enough of the Iron(II) hydride through its consumption of Sugar. He won't be alone for long as another Allan joins the village of other Allans consuming this specific cluster of sugar. There are different forms of Allan however. There is Chad Allan, who eats cyanobacteria for its fix. There is Virgin Allan who want to stay below the sea in places where there is more methane and there are pressures enough to make Sugar. Then there is even Freshwater Allan where the Sugars come from actual plant material. Then there is Saltwater Allan. These different Allans have their own predators and are sometimes their own prey. This is necessary for them to survive in certain places where Sugar isn't readily available. Allans aren't naturally occuring in Sugar clusters underwater, rather they travel from cluster to cluster only surprised at where they are. They adapt in order to eat more Allans. However this is all only a hypothesis.

The problems in this Autopoiesis idea is that we need a few more compounds to make Allan a reality. Again there are different Allans depending on condition and availability of Sugar. Also, there is the vital problem of the Catalyst to react rust and Acetylene. Then there are the other compounds within Allan how do they react with the Iron base to form Allan. Maybe its impossibility is the mystery of life. The idea here is to make a stable reaction, not a living being. It needs to, through its chemical reaction absorbs, reproduces and shits and prove itself stable to do it regularly. That's all it needs to be recognized as Allan.

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