"Our Rock" started several million years ago. It's difficult to say when; this Pacific has been around for over five-hundred million years—somewhere on our side of that figure, work was started on Ulithi. The millions of years and the billions of animals which developed it are responsible for it. We had nothing to do with it except a few quonset huts and some telephone lines. Otherwise, it was generally planned for us before we came.
Fundamentally, there was a long underwater mountain range which extended east and west near the equator. There were several volcanic craters near the surface of the ocean which provided a foundation for the sea-wall around our lagoon, In a sense, this was the beginning.
There is a chemical to be found in water known as calcium carbonate, or lime. There is quite a lot more lime in salt water than in "fresh" water. There is so much of it in an animal's body, or in our bodies for that matter, that without it there would be no bones, no teeth, no tissues—generally, no life. Using innumerable submicroscopic animals, the sea is able to convert calcium into a solid material. These animals are called polyps, and from their skeletons we get that which we call coral. Connected together they carry on their work projects year after year; they build on the clumped skeletons of their ancestors.
If the polyps are the carpenters, the algae do the painting, round off the edges, and prepare the finishing touches, The colorations which we find beyond the water line are made by these green algae, which live inside the polyp. They add the colorful touch, and then complete their task
2
