The Most Probable Next Step in the Operator Hierarchy

Predictions based on biological evolution will always involve the descendants of organisms, the descendants of those descendants, and so on, for endless generations into the future. The characteristics of the organisms may change, as may their genes. But the offspring will always be organisms. Before there were organisms, however, there already was abiotic evolution. The operators that evolved before cells were molecules. The step from molecules to cells implied a transition from abiotic to biotic evolution. By analogy, a future dual closure could cause a shift from biotic evolution to something else. This may seem a far-fetched idea. So it is better to infer the properties of future operator types by extrapolating the operator hierarchy. In this way, we can learn more about how organisms are likely to evolve in the future. The challenge is to answer the question of who, or what, will be our successor in evolution?