Prebiotic Earth

PREBIOTIC EARTH, SECOND ATMOSPHERE The Pale Orange Dot For a brief moment, you question the reliability of your timewarp, as you gaze down upon a ball of orange mist you could only really describe as Titanian in appearance. But the shape of a looming half-Moon over its limb was distinctly Terrestrial, and gives you a reference to figure out just where you've ended up. Welcome to the Archean Earth, before the advent of life. The air is reducing and unbreathable, methane smog hovers in the sky, the oceans are murky and the few islands on its surface barren and windswept. Volcanic gasses replenish the air as it is being lost to space and the ionizing light of the young Sun. The Moon is bound tightly, but slowly it gains distance. Yet it is still Earth. Given some time, it will shine a brilliant blue as well.