The Replication Limit: on Evolutionary Trajectories of Replication-Based Biological Systems

The well-known “Fermi paradox”, rather an insightful observation in astrobiology has been discussed at length by the research and general community. In this work, we offer a novel perspective associated with the relationship of timescales of development and response of natural replication-based evolving systems. It is shown that a balance that could lead to a long-term stable development of such systems can be highly unstable and the development trajectory is predisposed to one of the two main tracks: a gradual decline in a harsh environment; or exponential expansion driven by replication, with resulting depletion of the resources. Thus, the possibility of a stable balanced development beyond the planetary level can be strongly suppressed for such systems that can explain ob- served absence of observations of advanced intelligent species at the solar system and higher levels of development.