  The cosmic inflation hypothesis, its relation to fundamental theory on the
beginning of the universe, and the light that both shed on how the various
elements and their relative amounts came into existence.
  The fundamental factors controlling the origin of the universe ex nihilo are
developed and from them the following alternative hypotheses are developed and
presented:
  - an alternative to the inflation hypothesis, the purpose of which hypothesis
is to explain how the structure in the universe developed from the initially
unstructured and symmetrical Big Bang, and
  - an alternative to the hypothesis that the various elements in the universe
were formed by nuclear fusion in stars [not denying that it may occur
occasionally].
