story identification - A book where 2-dimensional species evolved on rapidly changing environment

I remember a book that described various lifeforms evolving in the galaxy (and i think may be the overriding theme was extinction).

One of them was 2-D species evolved on rapidly changing environment (probably rings of some planet?)

For some reason I'm thinking it may have been "Manifold" series but I honestly don't remember anything about that series, so it's just a vague feeling.

Answer

You might be looking for the book Manifold Space by Stephen Baxter. In it, he describes a two-dimensional life form (similar to a lichen) which exists and evolves on the surface of a neutron star (starting on page 115). It grows, evolves and dies in a repeating fourteen second cycle.

The book itself is about the Fermi Paradox which asks the question why in the universe if there is someone else out there, they haven't visited us yet. It postulates a series of regular galaxy-wide extinction events to explain it.

Comments

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