Silicon, Not Mirror

It seems that mirror life is too big a risk to allow it to happen, which maybe puts paid to my right-handed leather idea on here. The danger is well-known, but in case it isn't here, the problem is that it may be undetectable to immune systems and reproduce unstoppably, removing possibly all of the biomasse, but the benefits are the likes of manufacturing medication of a particular chirality without producing a racemic mixture. I mean, I'm sure I'm preaching to the converted here.

I'm convinced that silicon-based life could never arise without technological intervention, but I also strongly suspect that once it started, it could be feasible in very carefully controlled conditions. It would need to be kept away from water and free oxygen, which is a very tall order on Earth. In order for it to survive at all, it would have to be in a sealed environment, possibly require something other than water as a solvent (maybe ammonia?) and also need nutrients which are themselves not very common or stable such as silanes. Nonetheless, I do believe that in highly artificial circumstances, it could be synthesised and persist. The crucial difference, as I see it, with carbon-based life is that the variety of compounds is much smaller but this could be compensated for by using larger polymers and macromolecules.

Now the thing is, the same results could be achieved with hypothetical silicon-based life as are currently being considered with mirror life, if it can exist. However, unlike mirror life, it could not persist outside of the aforementioned highly controlled environments. If it needs ammonia, the outside would be too hot. Atmospheric oxygen and water would quickly destroy it. There would be missing vital nutrients, such as the aforementioned silanes and perhaps others. There's no risk, in this case, of the artificial organisms escaping and spreading because Earth is such a hostile place for them.

The big "if" here is whether it's possible at all. I only suspect it is. I can't think of an alternative to amino acids and this, I think, is the big stumbling block. But just maybe this is the answer to mirror life, without the risks.