In the beginning the universe was timeless, without form
…and void
…and darkness brooded over the abyss.
From a single point within the darkness a voice resonated forth. "Let there be Light" perhaps it said, but the abyss was dark no longer. It was filled with expanding energy.
Waves of light and time and gravity, primal forces churned and rippled through all of space. The waves washed over one another, combining and twisting and stretching, but there was order within the chaos. The interactions of the resonating energies were governed by laws. Eventually, even inevitably, an energetic form arose that through it's interactions with the energy surrounding and permeating it, was able to give rise to new forms similar to itself.
Self-replicating waves propagated through space, drawing energy unto themselves. Competing continuously, the energies evolved. Variant forms arose, some sapping away the energy of their brethren to survive, while others stumbled upon new ways to draw out the sustenance found in the eddies and currents of space. Whole ecosystems developed in the maelstrom of energy.
The energetic forms became more intense and more complex as energy was drawn into them. The complex interplay of magnetic, electrical, gravitational and other energies that made up each form required more and more specific environments to sustain themselves. They developed senses we might call sight, balance and touch, to guide them through the maelstrom to the most desirable habitats. Among the most complex of those forms a variety arose that had become self-aware.
They communicated, developed families and governments. They used tools and shaped their environment to fit their needs and desires. Art and music, language and culture, they developed each of these after a fashion. Scientists and explorers eventually discovered that the whole universe could be circumnavigated in a single lifetime. They began mapping all the eddies and currents of space.
They became aware, over time, that the energies of the universe were becoming more diffuse. Careful measurement revealed that the universe itself was expanding, and given enough time, eventually, it would no longer sustain them. Scientists, scholars, theologians and philosophers dedicated their lives to finding a solution, but some believed it might never be found. They debated and studied and argued and fought but long before a solution was even suggested, a new threat presented itself.
A new waveform had arisen in the most diffuse and least energetic regions of space. It was a form that had never been seen before in all recorded history. In fact it had never yet arisen even before history was recorded. It did not appear threatening in its' unique simplicity. It was small and compact, and it seemed to disrupt every other form it came in contact with. Great energy was expended in the process, but the new form was eventually dispersed. Scientists concluded that this form was a product of the expanding universe. It was a low energy standing waveform and as the energies of the universe became more diffuse, these forms would eventually predominate.
More of these standing waves arose regularly and armies were raised to combat them. Scholars and philosophers lamented the cruelty of fate and sought a way for their wealth of knowledge, their society, culture, art and music to survive, even if they themselves could not. The knowledge would somehow need to be locked inside the standing waves. These forms were all that the scientists believed would survive the slow march of entropy that was destroying their world.
The standing waves that destroyed their society and their universe came to be known as protons and neutrons. All of the time, from the first self-replicating waveform, through the evolution of their species, to the end of their recorded history, by our standards, lasted only three minutes. Whether or not they found a way to somehow record all their knowledge within the protons and neutrons that destroyed them is not known.