More quotes by Nick Lane
Protocells of some sort [lie between a hydrothermal vent system and a virus] in my mind.
I do like this quote from Simon Conway Morris that if the aliens call then don't pick up the phone.
Attribution
Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Nick Lane (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.