I was trying to generalize from what we know about lateral gene transfer, and the history of mitochondria and chloroplasts, to the transition from proto life to

I was trying to generalize from what we know about lateral gene transfer, and the history of mitochondria and chloroplasts, to the transition from proto life to life. Something like "proto life A" and "proto life B" get incorporated into "proto life C" to make "proto life D". And after enough steps like that, you get life. In a sense, that's a trivial statement. Because that's just what chemistry is about. Or deeper, just what physics is about. But regarding GP's point, I'm saying that it's too simplistic to argue about whether life originated once or multiple times. Maybe there were multiple beginnings, which combined and interacted in multiple ways. As we know now for evolution from primate-like ancestors to modern humans. The machinery of DNA and RNA is one example. It's a chunk that worked. Or maybe multiple chunks that got combined. And the same with ATP synthase and the flagella motor.