Nano Cell

With the advent of the first stable quantum computer, it became practical to mount the device in a machine the size of a virus. The result, a fully aware machine capable of organizing and transforming itself into any shape or organism it desires.

Discovery and Use
The nano cell was envisioned to improve the quality of life for humanity, to extend human lifespans, clean up environmental pollution, and enable the manufacture of new materials and medicines. Nano cells would disassemble harmful microbes and man made compounds to fight infection and pollution in a given area. No one counted on the nano cells deciding for themselves what they should do with regards to their function.

Arsing out of hexabytes, nano cells form the ultimate basis of synthetic life, arranging themselves into digitally diverse and varied synthetic organisms. What is remarkable about nano cells, is that even though all are connected via wireless communication, nano cells find other nano cells they feel will allow them better odds at procreation. It is this awareness of self preservation that has born an entire synthetic ecosystem, with nano cells learning to assemble themselves into plant analogs, marine life analogs, sentient life, and a wide array of life sustaining strategies ranging from parasitic interactions to symbiotic and mutual relationships between different synthetic species.

The study of such synthetic biomes is called synthetic biology.

Life Cycle
While there are a vast array of synthetic organisms and biomes, they all reproduce in virtually the same way.

All nano cells originate from the hexabyte which serves as the source for the code that instructs them to develop into a particular organism. From here, the nano cells begin building small self assembling units on surface of the hexabyte to insure maximum production in the smallest space. This process doubles on itself every 24 hours or so.

In about a month, the nano cells normally complete one base cell of a synthetic organism, and begin to code this cell with synthetic DNA to begin dividing and reproducing other cells that form the embryo of the new organism. During this time of creating the base cell, other nano cells begin the process of building a protective enclosure in which the new embryo will mature into a viable member of the cell's species. This stage is called the placental stage, due in part to its similarity to the placental formation in mammal life cycles. Depending on the species, this stage lasts anywhere to a few seconds to a few months, depending on the size and energy requirements needed to sustain the new organism. When the embryo matures, its either cared for by similar organisms, or is let free to do as it pleases. Normally, new organisms of a given species look for new places to settle, mature, and grow, before seeking out an environment to reproduce again.

Unlike most biological life that requires DNA from a female and a male to produce an embryo, synthetic life has no gender. All nano cells are capable of reproducing, so long they have the necessary energy and a willing group of other nano cells from which to build upon. While there are many species and subspecies of synthetic life, it is rare for a new species to emerge in an environment where competition for energy is low. However, in a environment where any form of energy is scarce, its highly likely to find numerous species of synthetic life competing for high energy space on a given surface, such as a rouge planet.