"We talked about what was necessary for life last week," Kaidan said. He gestured at a large hologram of... well, it was
Sur'Kesh, actually. "Well, according to the scientists of this era, number one with a dot is water. You don't get life without it. According to some estimates, one in five solar systems should have a planet that can support life."
He cleared his throat. "That's not taking the water factor into account," he said. "We're talking about Earth-like planets here. Planets in the right temperature zone. Hotter than that, and water evaporates. Colder than that, it freezes. Each solar system has a kind of... sweet spot, depending on the size and strength of its star, where life could hypothetically be possible. 'Course, not all of them have planets there."
His mouth quirked briefly. "So no," he said. "Unlike what some Earth philosophers would've liked to think in this time-- we're not special."
He handed a stack of
handouts to Mercy, instructing her to give one to each student.
"We're all going to design a planet today," he said. A holographic
interface appeared over each student's desk. "I want you all to team up. Each team designs one habitable and one uninhabitable planet."