Chapter 5

April said, "Some of them. There are many more dry planets than wet. I know of several that are wet but have no seas."

"No seas?" Vee asked.

"Rains like a sonofabitch," April said. "The ground reached saturation a million years ago ... it rains ... the water runs off into gullies that end in caves and those caves run perilously close to the core and turn to steam ... the steam vents ... the altitude condenses it ... it rains. Over and over again."

"That won't work..." Vee said, "How about oceans?"

"Sure ... but ... some of those are really dangerous ... the safe ones are fresh water only ... some lakes that would qualify as oceans but no salt water."

"Just fresh water? Life?"

"Nope ... they're missing at least one of the essential elements that combine to make life. Carbon, Hydrogen, Nitrogen, Oxygen, Phosphorous and Sulphur. Those six are easily combined by natural processes and are the building blocks of life as you know it."

"Amino acid?" There's twelve or sixteen different Amino Acids. They're mostly based on the first four elements. Those four are abundant but the conditions are wrong ... all six are necessary for life.