  Cairns-Smith (2008) has argued for a pre-Darwinian era, with a simpler basis
for life's functioning via primitive "crystal genes" (information transfer,
kinetic control on metabolic reactions). At the other extreme, guided by the
structural similarity of clusters in early-evolved enzymes to iron-sulphide
minerals like greigite, the hydrothermal mound scenario of Russell and
coworkers (1994) presents how non-equilibrium forces rooted in geochemistry
could be extrapolated to understand the metabolic functioning of living
systems. The informational vs metabolic aspects of life in these respective
scenarios can be linked together via a framboid-based theory of Sawlowicz
(2000), as these assemblies typically form in colloidal environments. In this
background, we consider the ramifications of a magnetic rock field on the mound
scenario, asking if soft matter assemblies are compatible with a coherent
order.
