The home planet of the Qax was a swamp.
A sea, much like the primeval ocean of Earth, covered the world from pole to pole. Submerged volcano mouths glowed like coals. The sea boiled: everywhere there was turbulence, convection cells like the ones Parz saw in the globe at the heart of the Spline.
“Parz, turbulence is an example of the universal self-organization of matter and energy,” the Qax said. “In the ocean of my world the energy generated by the temperature difference between the vulcanism and the atmosphere is siphoned off, organized by the actions of turbulence into billions of convection cells.
“All known life is cellular in nature,” the Governor went on. “We have no direct evidence, but we speculate that this must apply even to the Xeelee themselves. But there seems to be no rule about the form such cells can take.”
Parz scratched his head and found himself laughing, but it was a laughter of wonder, like a child’s. “You’re telling me that those convection cells are the basis of your being?""
-Timelike Infinity, Ch. 3