Chapter one in our particular case
第一章,生物起源
takes us back to 4.5 million years.
要將我們帶回450萬年前
to when the earth was really quite young.
當時的地球,初生不久
Exactly what triggered life here is still a mystery
生命的起源至今仍是未解之謎
but there are several theories.
但也有不少理論
The most common one is that life began purely by accident.
最常見的理論認為生命的起源完全是巧合
In pools of primodial soup,
起源于原始湯的水池里
full of chemicals called amino acids
富含名為氨基酸的化學物質
These molecules would have collided at random for millions of years
數百萬年來,這些分子不斷地隨機碰撞
until the perfect combination just happened
直到一次完美地化合反應發生
the ultimate lucky break that started the chain of life.
這次幸運之極的碰撞,開啟了生物起源之門
It is extremely unlikely that life could spontaneously create itself.
生命的自發產生,乍看之下讓人難以置信
But I don't think that's a problem with this theory.
但在這一理論中,這卻并非不可能之事
It's like winning a lottery.
就像是中彩票
with the odds are astro-nomical most weeks someone hits the jackpot.
雖然概率微小,但幾乎每周都有人中頭彩
But there is another intriguing idea called "panspermia,"
另一種有趣的理論,被稱為"有生源說"
which says that life could have originated somewhere else ..
稱生命可能起源于其它地方
and it's been spread from planet to planet
被傳播到各個行星
by asteroids.
載體就是小行星
It seems possible that lumps of rock could carry frozen organisms inside them
小行星內部似乎可以攜帶被冰凍的微生物
organisms able to with stand extremes of temperature and the vacuum of space.
能夠忍受極端的溫度和真空條件的微生物
If so, asteroids could even now
若真如此,小行星現在依然
be transporting life to other worlds.
能夠作為行星間生物傳播的載體
Regardless of which theory is right,
無論哪一種理論是對的
once life begins, the next chapter starts.
生命一旦出現,我們便進入了下一章
That's all about survival.
物競天擇,適者生存
survival links you me and ET
它將你我還有外星人聯系在一起
and it generates rules all of its own.
并且演變出了一套自己的法則
Survival demands a source of energy what we call food,
生存需要能量,即食物來維持
or else it would grind to a halt.
否則生命便會慢慢消亡
Once nourished, life can then copy itself to
一旦有了養料,生物便開始了繁殖
protect against the death of any one individual.
來抵御種族的滅亡
Ultimately, that leads to evolution
最終,這導致了進化
evolution that would happen even on alien worlds,
這種進化即使在其它星球同樣可能發生
producing, in some instances,
在某些情形下
animals that I think we would recognize as being alive,
產生的動物我認為我們可以稱之為生命
even if they look a bit strange.
即便它們看起來有些奇怪