The major divergence in approaches to biogenesis turns on the source and mechanisms of the first selectivity: whether it came from smallmolecule chemistry in a geochemical environment, or from a model of hierarchical control by macromolecules along the lines of Crick's Central Dogma. We argue that the emergence of life followed a path of least resistance along the “long arc of planetary disequilibrium,” involving the atmosphere, oceans, and dynamic mantle, described in Chapter 3. The major temporal stages followed the architectural layers of biochemistry described in Chapter 4. The first carbon fixation was mineral hosted. Feedbacks, initially via cofactors and later via oligomer catalysis, lifted core metabolism “off the rocks.” The emerging identity of the biosphere reflected the growth of autonomy as much as of chemical invention. Passage to an oligomer phase corresponding to the “RNA World” was a complex and heterogeneous transition, which transpired, and froze into place, in an already ordered organosynthetic context. We propose that cellularization occurred relatively late, and relied on functions of oligomers established in a mineral-hosted environment. The emergence of ribosomal translation originated in two parallel worlds of iron-RNA condensation-catalysis and template-directed ligation, which came together to form the first translation apparatus from mRNA to peptides. The refinement of translation fidelity, together with more precise RNA or DNA replication, ushered in the era of vertical descent along lines first appreciated by Carl Woese. Even in the era of evolution of effectively modern cells, many of the major transitions have been determined by biogeochemical reorganizations.