From the moment the primal atom exploded there were forces, physical and chemical, operating to repair the fantastic damage. The raw material began to recombine. Eventually, on Earth and doubtless elsewhere, ever more complex structures emerged. When the higher grade organisms reproduced themselves, they passed on most of their characteristics to the next generation but built into the process was an element of uncertainty. The genes which provided the template for the progeny were capable of apparently spontaneous change. Instead of exactly reproducing the parent organisms, the offspring sometimes showed new characteristics. The fittest of these survived. The process was guaranteed to produce ever more viable beings. For a long time, the amount of power which the emerging creatures possessed in relation to the forces operating on them was small but with each advance there was a shift in the balance. New species emerged with even greater powers. They were no longer totally subject to the workings of the great machine of nature. They could make tools, harness power and form testable theories about how Nature worked. BACK