After countless random nucleotide chains were constructed and destroyed, a lucky sequence was stumbled upon, one that marked, at least on Earth, the first true rebellion against the seemingly inexorable onslaught of entropy. This new DNA-like molecule wasn’t alive per se, but it performed the most fundamental process by which life would later emerge: it duplicated itself. Although these self-replicating DNA-like molecules also succumbed to the destructive effects of entropy, they didn’t have to survive individually to survive collectively—as long as they endured long enough to create their own
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